The Stand-in Side Character Only Wants to Make Money – CH23

Chapter 23 – Engagement Banquet

As he unwrapped the box, Xu Sinian heard a soft laugh from above. Chen Bai looked up to see his neighbor’s lips curve upward and the gaze that followed.

“Are you happy?” he said with a smile. “These cupcakes were made with premium flour, a tribute from the Western Regions.”

By “premium,” he meant 20% off.

When the box was opened, six perfectly arranged cupcakes were revealed, with a small bag of homemade cookies on the side.

The pink-haired guy went on to assign them: “This one’s for tonight’s snack, these two are for tomorrow’s breakfast, and the remaining three are for your assistants. The cookies were baked on a whim, so you can keep them as snacks.”

Everything was carefully allocated, down to the last cookie.

He then looked up and added, “Next time, I’ll make a version with cream. I’ll wait until you have some free time to try it.”

His neighbor agreed.

Having spent time on film sets, Chen Bai knew that breaks weren’t long, so he didn’t stay much longer. After delivering the box, he patted Xu Sinian on the shoulder, smiled, and waved goodbye.

He had really just come to deliver the cupcakes. He arrived quickly and left just as swiftly, disappearing right after saying his farewell.

Xu Sinian, holding the box, watched him until he was completely out of sight. As he turned back, the security guard, who had also been watching the pink-haired guy leave, smiled and said, “Mr. Xu, your friend is really something.”

Xu Sinian looked at the guard, who continued, “He was asking about the requirements for this job, saying he’d like to be a security guard someday.”

The guards didn’t take this too seriously, thinking a young person like him wouldn’t actually consider such a job—they just found his sense of humor amusing.

Xu Sinian: “…”

For some reason, Xu Sinian felt like the guy wasn’t joking.

Later that night, the assistants—still curious about why their boss had gone to the front gate—noticed the box in his hand when he returned.

They received a cupcake each and couldn’t help but sense that although Xu Sinian wasn’t outwardly expressive, his mood seemed noticeably better.

—Though it might not have been outright happiness, it was a feeling that was hard to put into words.

An assistant asked, “Did someone from your family come by, Mr. Xu?”

“No,” Xu Sinian replied, typing on his phone, the screen’s light illuminating his sharp features. “It was a friend. He brought the cupcakes for you.”

Finding freshly baked cupcakes in an area where not even a convenience store was open at night, the assistants felt grateful toward this unseen friend, who had already earned their favor. They mentioned that they would love to meet him someday.

Meanwhile, the friend who remained unseen made it back home just in time to catch the last bus.

It was a bit late, but still early enough for a live stream. He could get in a few hours of streaming if he started now. Between resting and working, he decisively chose to earn money.

The platform’s technical issues had been resolved earlier, and now everything was running smoothly. His teammate, Qingzhou, was online, and as soon as he started the stream, Qingzhou called him on WeChat.

He picked up.

To be honest, Chen Bai’s initial plan after the competition was to part ways with his temporary teammate and find separate partners.

But Qingzhou turned out to be quite skilled at playing bait games and had great acting chops, which made Chen Bai decide to make him a long-term teammate.

The two of them had a blast playing their bait games, and their fans were loving it.

After the competition, fans were initially worried that they might not play together again, especially when they saw Qingzhou streaming solo. Without the usual banter, something felt off.

Fortunately, the delay was only temporary, and fans breathed a sigh of relief.

Chen Bai, who had been delayed by other matters, was now eating one of the cupcakes he saved for himself while multitasking during the game—busy as ever.

That night, the chat was buzzing with both gifts and messages, with most fans celebrating their recent championship win. Chen Bai made sure to thank everyone for their gifts and couldn’t stop chatting with Qingzhou the whole time. During the stream, he drank several glasses of water to keep going.

Thankfully, his voice was naturally suited for live streaming. Even with the high-intensity talking, his throat didn’t give out.

The official announcement of the competition results came out later that day, though the public release would take a few more days.

In the meantime, his neighbor, who had been out on location for filming, had returned. Without the need for daily practice, Chen Bai resumed his usual routine of unlocking doors, enjoying dinners with his neighbor, and returning to a more normal life.

When the official results were published, Chen Bai was in the middle of a bait game with his newly minted long-term partner. Noticing a notification pop up, he quickly wrapped up the game and took a look.

It was probably the fastest he had ever opened a system message.

The public announcement was vague, only mentioning that the top three teams would receive prizes ranging from 150,000 to 10,000 yuan, while the fourth and fifth teams would get a few thousand as consolation. The notification in the back-end system, however, was much more specific, listing all the rewards for the champion team.

Since it wasn’t confidential, Chen Bai shared the message with his viewers, letting them experience the thrill of being a champion together.

[First Prize: 150,000 yuan, to be deposited within seven working days. Please be advised.]

[Homepage feature: 7 days]

[Exclusive Champion Avatar Frame]

[Game Couple Skin: 1]

*

Chen Bai scanned through the rewards and still felt the first one was the most substantial.

The chat buzzed with curiosity about the couple’s skin, so he decided to check it out.

Claiming the skin was easy—just enter the redemption code in the game to access the reward.

When the screen loaded, and he saw what the skin looked like, Chen Bai paused and said, “Huh?”

Good news—the skin was a rare, premium one, and according to the store, it was quite expensive.

Bad news—it was a couple’s skin.

[Haha, the developers sure know how to have fun]

[? This is kind of weird, let’s wait and see]

[It might be a little odd, but I bet Chen Bai will use it—it’s expensive after all (nodding)]

[As everyone knows, teammates = couples]

[Haha, a new weird ship is forming!]

Seeing the two cute characters on the screen, Chen Bai—unsurprisingly—claimed the skin, unwilling to waste a penny.

He then suggested to his teammate, “Qingzhou, don’t you think this girl character is kind of cute?”

He added, “You should pick her.”

Unfortunately, Qingzhou had no interest in picking the girl character.

??The two briefly discussed it and decided to settle the matter by rolling dice, a method everyone loves. The one with the lower roll would use the cute pink girl character—fair and square.

Since the game didn’t allow dice rolls, they had to use WeChat to roll. Qingzhou went first.

He rolled a massive two. After rolling, he stayed silent.

In normal circumstances, it would be hard to roll a number lower than that.

Normally, at this point, Chen Bai would have burst out laughing, but this time, he was unexpectedly quiet. He hovered the mouse over the dice but didn’t click.

[Why is Chen Bai hesitating?]

[Hahaha, Qingzhou’s terrible luck!]

[Wow, good roll, Qingzhou!]

[You’re all focused on Qingzhou’s luck, but I noticed Chen Bai secretly changed Qingzhou’s contact name to ‘Rice Porridge,’ haha!]

[Looks like he’s planning to keep him as a long-term partner!]

Unlike the lighthearted chat, Chen Bai felt a heavy weight on his mind.

Only someone who had played countless rounds of Ludo like him knew how easy it was for him to roll an absurdly low number.

After hesitating for a while, he still didn’t roll. Instead, he said, “My friend has great luck. I’ll go touch his hand for luck. Be right back.”

With that, he took off his headphones, got up from his seat, and walked away. The sound of his slippers gradually faded.

He knocked on his neighbor’s door.

Sure enough, his neighbor hadn’t gone to bed yet. Wearing casual home clothes, the neighbor bent down to open the door, and they were standing fairly close to each other.

Ignoring the height and the slightly intimidating proximity, Chen Bai quickly said, “There’s no time to explain. I need to borrow your luck—can I use your hand for a moment?”

His neighbor: “…?”

Not sure if he understood correctly, the neighbor cautiously extended his hand.

The next second, his hand was gripped firmly.

The contact was brief, and his hand felt slightly cold—both the palm and the back.

Chen Bai, leading the handshake, made sure to clasp it with both hands for extra luck. After thanking him and wishing him goodnight, he quickly ran back to his apartment.

The entire action was executed smoothly, without a single unnecessary move.

Xu Sinian: “…”

Although he had no idea what was going on, the guy seemed genuinely busy.

The very busy person immediately returned to his computer, put on his headphones, and said, “Thanks for waiting.”

Worried that the luck might wear off, he quickly clicked to roll the dice.

The dice spun around a few times on the screen before finally landing in front of everyone’s eyes.

A glaring red number one flashed on the screen, piercing to the core.

“…”

The hard-earned luck didn’t work. Chen Bai immediately pulled out his phone and sent a voice message to his neighbor: “You’ve truly let me down.”

Even a hand that could roll all sixes couldn’t save him.

His neighbor typed for a while before finally deciding not to send anything in response.

[Hahaha, you’re just blaming him for no reason!]

[The poor friend, getting scolded out of nowhere, haha!]

[I’d like to touch Chen Bai’s hand too! (quietly)]

[Losing even with borrowed luck, Chen Bai, your luck is something else…]

[Haha, just accept your cute character already!]

[The poor friend, first getting his hand touched, and then scolded after, haha!]

At this point, Qingzhou couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

Hearing Qingzhou’s laughter, the chat watched Chen Bai change Qingzhou’s nickname from “Rice Porridge” to “Vegetable Porridge.”

The live stream viewers immediately understood his thought process, knowing the change meant he was calling Qingzhou bad at the game.

[Great, now his nickname went from ‘nutritious’ to ‘healthy but plain.]

After changing the nickname, Chen Bai took his well-deserved victory and selected the girl character. Upon claiming the character, both he and the character remained relatively silent.

Qingzhou chuckled and echoed Chen Bai’s earlier words, “Pretty cute.”

Chen Bai replied, “Thank you.”

That night, the cute girl character dominated the entire map.

But the next day, she wasn’t as successful.

Chen Bai went to his part-time job at a restaurant, working the evening shift.

Despite his bad luck, it seemed that working part-time often led to good things happening.

Just two hours into his shift, something exciting happened near the end.

It was the couple to whom he had previously dedicated a piano cover of “Sunflower.” They had decided to get married and would soon hold an engagement party. They wanted to invite him to play the piano at their event.

Everyone who frequented this restaurant was wealthy, and their offer was generous: a five-figure payment for a single day.

With no major plans coming up, Chen Bai agreed and exchanged contact information with the couple on the spot.

While writing down a note, he paused, looked up at the client, and asked, “Qianduo?”

The client nodded. “Is there a problem?”

Chen Bai replied, “No, it’s just… that’s a great name.”

He had heard that name before.

While going over a novel’s plot, he hadn’t retained much of the story, but the name Qianduo stuck with him.

Qianduo, like the god of wealth, was a person swimming in money—true to his name.

The name wasn’t important, though. What mattered was that this engagement party was connected to the main plot of the book.

The god of wealth a.k.a (Huo Chuan) would attend as a symbolic gesture since they were from the same circle. However, on the way to the event, an accident would send him to the hospital. The business deal he had been working on would be snatched by another company, costing him a significant amount of money.

During the months that Huo Chuan would be hospitalized, one of the supporting characters diligently visited and took care of him, bringing them closer and setting the stage for a tragic love story.

Chen Bai, of course, didn’t want to become anyone’s unpaid caretaker. More than that, the idea of Huo Chuan being hospitalized for months wasn’t appealing at all.

Huo Chuan’s absence meant Chen Bai wouldn’t get any jobs from him for several months.

That was a problem since Huo Chuan’s commissions made up half of Chen Bai’s income.

Running a hand through his pink hair in frustration, Chen Bai confirmed the date and location, then nodded and bid the couple goodbye.

The engagement party was set for a week later, with a rehearsal scheduled for the day before. The venue was a nearby hotel, which offered food and lodging, so there was no need to rush home after the rehearsal or return early the next day.

Having taken on many similar gigs before, Chen Bai was quite experienced. He confirmed the song choices with the soon-to-be-married couple and coordinated with the host to review the event’s flow before the rehearsal. On the day of the rehearsal, everything went smoothly.

After the rehearsal, Chen Bai didn’t leave. Instead, he stayed at the venue, which was still being decorated.

In the story, the God of Wealth, Huo Chuan, was supposed to have an accident at the engagement party, but it wasn’t specified how the accident happened. To prevent it, Chen Bai would have to come up with something on his own.

He chatted with the staff setting up the venue and asked about safety precautions.

The staff assured him that they were a professional team, building their reputation through word of mouth. They would conduct at least two thorough checks of the venue to ensure there were no safety hazards.

Since it didn’t seem like the problem would arise from there, and he couldn’t find a valid reason to stop the God of Wealth from attending the engagement party, Chen Bai decided to just stay alert the next day.

After spending some time wandering around and not finding anything suspicious, Chen Bai returned to his hotel room, which the client had booked for him.

Since the hotel was far from home, he couldn’t continue his locksmith side business. Without the equipment to stream and with his neighbor also at work, there was no one to play Ludo with. With nothing else to do, he took a shower and lay in bed reading a book.

He had finished reading ‘An Actor Prepares’ some time ago and had now moved on to ‘Six Lessons on Acting’. Although the e-book didn’t have the same feel as a physical book, it was convenient.

Compared to other academic books, these were relatively interesting.

He hadn’t read much when his manager, who he hadn’t heard from in a while, messaged him to ask him to register a Weibo account.

It only took a few minutes to set up an account. The only part that stumped Chen Bai was choosing a profile picture.

He debated which image of the God of Wealth to use from his phone.

His favorite image was the one where the God of Wealth held a gold ingot in each hand, but he had already used that for his streaming account, Chen Erbai. After hesitating for a while, he settled on an image of the God of Wealth holding one enormous gold ingot.

The username “Chen Bai” was already taken, so he changed it to “Chen Yi Bai.”

“Chen Yi Bai” wasn’t taken, so he got it.

Since he wasn’t good at managing social media accounts, he swiftly sent the login details to his manager, trusting them to handle it.

His manager thanked him for his trust and paused for a moment after seeing the profile.

After a short silence, the manager sent a brief message:

[Nice profile picture.]

Chen Bai accepted the compliment, logged out of the app, and continued reading his book. Before going to sleep, he glanced at the music sheets for the next day.

Qian Duo and her fiancé were throwing an engagement party as extravagant as a wedding. The engagement ceremony was to be held at noon on the hotel’s lawn, while the banquet would be held in the hotel’s ballroom in the evening.

Technically, Chen Bai was only working a half-day shift, responsible solely for providing piano accompaniment during the engagement ceremony. Another pianist was hired for the banquet.

In the morning, as the guests arrived, a band played live music, so Chen Bai didn’t have to start working yet. He sat in a corner with his fellow musicians, chatting about the current market trends.

Business was steady, as usual—nothing much had changed.

His colleague had won several awards and now only played at high-end events. The circle of wealthy clients was small, and after spending enough time in it, you got to know a lot of people—and a lot of gossip. As they watched guests pass by, the colleague pointed out one after another, each with their own juicy story.

Chen Bai listened with wide eyes, nodding from time to time, more focused than he’d ever been in class.

Among the four musicians sitting together, they could link six pairs of former couples. Some guests were simultaneously siblings and in-laws. In short, the relationships were incredibly complicated.

The colleague, however, recounted all this with a calm and unbothered expression, as if he had seen it all before.

Chen Bai couldn’t help but express his admiration.

As they were discussing these stories, a commotion arose in the distance. People scattered across the lawn began to gather, and the atmosphere grew lively.

It seemed that someone had arrived.

Sitting in the corner, Chen Bai and his colleagues didn’t join the crowd but simply watched as people moved toward the commotion. The entrance was quite grand, and Chen Bai, unsure of who it could be, checked the time to confirm that the engagement ceremony hadn’t started yet. Then he looked up again.

At the center of the crowd was a man.

He was tall, sharply dressed in a suit, with sharp features. As he lowered his head to speak to someone next to him, his height and striking appearance created an air of intimidation. Every movement he made exuded the calmness and authority of someone who had been in power for a long time.

It was the God of Wealth, Huo Chuan, himself.

Still thinking about the potential accident, Chen Bai glanced around Huo Chuan’s surroundings but didn’t notice anything that could explain how the man would end up in the hospital for months.

“That’s someone from the Huo family,” his colleague remarked, noticing Chen Bai’s lingering gaze. “He’s got great prospects, but you’d best not get any ideas.”

Good looks, great family background, wealth, and power—getting close to him would mean a lifetime of comfort. Anyone would be tempted.

But only under normal circumstances.

“This guy has a ‘white moonlight,’” the colleague continued. “His heart’s already taken. You see him standing there alone now, but there’s someone special he’s always thinking about. Few people can get close to him.”

As far as the colleague knew, Huo Chuan also had a younger sister who was extremely protective of him. She despised anyone who tried to get close, so even if you managed to win his heart, it wouldn’t be smooth sailing.

Chen Bai finally tore his eyes away from Huo Chuan and glanced at his knowledgeable colleague.

This colleague really was the king of gossip.

Chen Bai then asked quietly, “Can I ask you something?”

The colleague looked at him.

With caution, Chen Bai asked, “Do you know what kind of salary Huo Chuan’s previous assistants made?”

He wasn’t asking for any other reason—just curious to see if there was room for his own salary to grow.

“…”

The colleague: “?”

Stumped by the question, the colleague admitted he didn’t know.

Meanwhile, in the center of the crowd, Huo Chuan glanced slightly to the side, his gaze sweeping over the people around him until it landed on the pink-haired figure sitting in the corner.

Standing nearby, his sister Huo Qing, who had been idly listening to people exchange pleasantries, followed his gaze and spotted the same pink-haired person. She was taken aback at first, then her eyes lit up with excitement as she turned to her brother and said, “I’m going to go over there…”

Someone shouted something, and the pink-haired person sitting in the corner stood up and followed the others out.

Noticing the glances cast his way, Huo Qing waved it off, “It’s fine.”

It was about time for the ceremony to begin, so Chen Bai went to prepare for work.

The band that had been playing before left, and the guests took their seats. Ushers stood on either side of the aisle, and the atmosphere gradually quieted down.

The lawn had been transformed into a sea of flowers, with each breeze carrying petals through the air, filling the space with a light floral fragrance.

Amid the rustling of the petals, the sound of a piano emerged.

It was a soft, gentle melody. Flower petals floated onto the piano keys, but the pianist didn’t pause, continuing to play seamlessly through the fluttering petals.

Huo Qing didn’t sit with her brother; instead, she found a group of her girlfriends and claimed the best spot for filming. She immediately pulled out her phone, striking a posture that was both awkward and professional.

She didn’t carry herself like a typical heiress at all.

Since her dress didn’t have pockets, she had borrowed her brother’s phone to film.

She wasn’t the only one holding up a phone.

One of her friends succinctly said, “Send me a copy once you’re done.”

As the music shifted and the couple made their entrance, the other guests turned their phones to capture the soon-to-be-wed pair walking in from the entrance. Meanwhile, Huo Qing kept her focus on the pianist.

Another friend glanced at her and said, “You’re pretty loyal, huh?”

Still filming diligently, Huo Qing replied, “That’s my friend. I need to get as many shots as possible.”

For a moment, the rest of the group all looked at her.

There were speeches, a champagne tower ceremony, and more speeches.

The piano accompaniment and the host were all perfectly in place, just as in the rehearsal, with no problems at all.

As the ceremony concluded, Chen Bai had finished most of his work.

The guests began to mingle on the lawn, and once the band took the stage again, his job was officially done.

While in the middle of wrapping up a conversation, Chen Bai had to abruptly stop. His colleague had been waiting nearby and immediately approached as soon as Chen Bai lifted his hands from the piano keys, eager to continue their earlier chat.

But someone beat him to it.

Just as his colleague was halfway over, a man in a suit was already standing by the piano, locking eyes with the pink-haired pianist.

It was the very man they had discussed earlier, Huo Chuan from the Huo family. Close but not too close, the colleague watched as Huo Chuan lowered his head and asked, “What are you doing here?”

It wasn’t an accusatory tone, just a normal question.

His voice was casual, and it was obvious the two knew each other.

“…”

The colleague stopped in his tracks, eyes wide, ears perked.

—It was clear what Huo Chuan was doing there, standing by the piano. Anyone with eyes could see that.

But this was Huo Chuan, the God of Wealth, worth 120,000 yuan per gig. Chen Bai smiled slightly and said, “I’m here for work.”

Then, with a hint of surprise, he added, “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

His smile was captivating, his almond-shaped eyes reflecting the light, and when he looked at someone seriously, there was a certain sincerity about him.

Huo Chuan met his gaze head-on without flinching. After a moment, he responded with a casual “What a coincidence,” set down his wine glass, and extended a hand slightly. “Sitting for too long isn’t good for you. Take a walk.”

Chen Bai didn’t take his hand, but he also didn’t waste the kind gesture. Instead, he raised his hand and, through Huo Chuan’s sleeve and shirt, grasped his wrist just above his hand. Using Huo Chuan’s arm for support, he stood up and said, “Thanks.”

Huo Chuan’s eyebrows lifted slightly, and he replied, “No need.”

The person was so light that holding him up barely took any effort.

Despite his delicate frame, Chen Bai had shown impressive strength while playing the piano.

Huo Chuan’s gaze dropped slightly to the pianist’s long, pale fingers, then shifted to the hem of Chen Bai’s shirt, which fluttered in the breeze. After a moment, he glanced in another direction and said, “It’s windy here, let’s go over there.”

The colleague watched the two walk away, his mind racing, when he suddenly noticed another figure running toward them from the other side.

The person bore a strong resemblance to Huo Chuan and was lifting her skirt as she ran straight toward the two.

It was Huo Qing.

The situation was escalating quickly, and before the colleague could warn anyone, Huo Qing was already standing between the two.

Just as things seemed to be reaching a breaking point, the colleague saw Huo Qing exhale, then look at Chen Bai and ask, “Er… Bai brother, could you take a picture with us?”

Huo Qing turned toward her group of girlfriends, who had been watching from a distance, and said, “My friends want to take a picture with you.”

It was just a photo, so Chen Bai didn’t mind. Smiling, he nodded and said, “Sure.”

In front of her brother, Huo Qing led Chen Bai away. Before leaving, she glanced back at her brother as if she had something to say but ended up keeping quiet.

As Chen Bai was being led away, he noticed his colleague looking at him with a complicated expression. Chen Bai waved and smiled, “Sorry, I’ll continue the chat later.”

The colleague: “…”

Suddenly, the colleague didn’t feel so rushed anymore, as if his mental CPU had overheated. All he could do was nod and say, “Alright.”

The group of girlfriends got their picture with Chen Bai as they had wanted.

Taking a casual photo was very different from a magazine photoshoot, and Chen Bai secretly made a peace sign.

In the last picture, everyone was making peace signs and laughing so hard they nearly toppled over.

It felt like this place had become a photo-op destination. After the pictures with the girlfriends and the God of Wealth’s sister, Chen Bai was pulled into another photo with the soon-to-be-wed couple.

While everyone was busy taking pictures, conversations continued energetically among the other guests.

Huo Chuan didn’t join in the chatter, taking the moment to rest and stand apart from the crowd.

Clang.

Someone passed by and dropped their phone on the ground, creating a loud noise. Huo Chuan didn’t pay it much attention and shifted his gaze toward the group taking pictures a few steps away.

The person who had dropped their phone bent down to pick it up, but as they straightened, they stumbled and bumped into a nearby table with a dull thud, inhaling sharply from the impact.

On the table stood the champagne tower.

This wasn’t the usual five-tier tower seen at engagement parties—it was an impressive structure of more than ten tiers. The couple had even needed a small ladder to pour the champagne at the top.

After the muffled thud, there was a faint, almost imperceptible sound of glass rubbing together, as if something had shifted in silence.

Huo Chuan glanced down at his wristwatch.

On one side, the faint sounds quickly intensified. The towering champagne tower, with its dozens of tiers, tilted and started to collapse towards them. The person who had just picked up their phone widened their eyes in shock.

“…”

Amidst the sharp, piercing screams, a blur of white flashed through the air, rushing towards the falling tower.