The Stand-in Side Character Only Wants to Make Money – CH25

Chapter 25 – Xu’s Younger Brother

The good-tempered friend spoke, looking down as he said, “The water’s warm. You can drink it directly.”

His voice was clear and crisp, with an unmistakable coolness, like the clinking of jade.

There was even something oddly familiar about it.

Huo Qing: “……”

A thermos, a smile, slow speech. Three things matched up with the image in her head, but the thermos had been brought for the person sitting next to her. After a brief silence, she felt a bit thrown off.

Chen Bai took a large gulp from the thermos, and after he finished, the good-tempered friend took it back, screwed the lid on, and bent down to offer his other hand.

Though Chen Bai’s legs weren’t injured to the point where he couldn’t stand, he still used his friend as a human crutch to get up, complimenting his ‘crutch’ as he did.

The friend’s gaze fell on Chen Bai’s bandaged hand. After a moment of silence, he asked, “Does it hurt?”

Chen Bai glanced around and casually replied, “It’s not too bad.”

“……”

Huo Qing stood on the side, watching the two of them, and something suddenly clicked in her mind.

Her eyes brightened, her posture straightened, and she no longer felt the same sense of pressure.

Once the patient handover was done, and they left the hospital, Huo Qing stood beside the driver, watching the two men leave.

The pink-haired one turned around halfway and waved at her, and the good-tempered friend nodded slightly as a greeting.

Huo Qing immediately waved back and said goodbye.

Watching the two of them get into the car and then the vehicle drive away, she turned to the driver beside her and said, “Isn’t this friend much better than my brother?”

The driver didn’t quite understand what she meant and felt it was a difficult question to answer, so he chose to remain silent.

The black car left the hospital parking lot, got back on the road, and headed home.

Inside the car.

The energetic pink-haired guy who had been lively outside slumped into a heap as soon as he got in.

Chen Bai, sitting in the front passenger seat, was scrolling through his phone while slowly sliding down in his seat. He’d slide down to the bottom, then push himself back up.

He had received a few messages, some from others and some from today’s soon-to-be-wed couple, along with two bank transfers.

The first was his salary, and the second was a large sum of money labeled as medical expenses and a thank-you gift.

If anything had gone wrong with Huo Chuan at the engagement banquet, this gift would’ve been far more than just a thank-you.

As much as Chen Bai liked money, he knew which money he should and shouldn’t take.

He accepted the salary he had earned, but he didn’t take the second transfer, telling them they could contact him again if they needed anything in the future.

It pained him to refuse such a large sum, and after sending the message, he put his phone aside and patted himself.

The person next to him turned to look at him, glanced at his hand, and asked, “Does it hurt?”

Though this question had already been asked at the hospital, the good-tempered friend still asked again.

“It hurts like hell.”

Hearing this, the person in the passenger seat started flailing his arms and legs as if throwing a tantrum. If it weren’t for the limited space and the seatbelt, he might have started bouncing around.

He was a completely different person from the calm individual in the hospital who said it didn’t hurt at all.

Back in the safety and comfort of the car, Chen Bai, who had been putting on a brave face, dropped the act and pointed at his hand while complaining non-stop: “When the skin first broke, it was fine, didn’t feel much, but when they disinfected it, it was like pouring lava into the wound—do you know what lava is? My poor cells probably died wave after wave.”

He lamented, “My poor little cells had only just come into this world.”

“My poor, poor cells.”

He seemed less pained by the injury and more pained by the loss of his cells.

Xu Sinian offered some comfort to both Chen Bai and his poor cells, then asked how he got hurt.

The message Chen Bai had sent earlier was brief: he’d hurt his hand and was at the hospital, asking if a kind-hearted person could come to pick him up. He didn’t give any other details.

Chen Bai gave a simple explanation, “I did a good deed. In the end, it all worked out for the best.”

He got his salary, Huo Chuan was fine, and he even received a bonus. Scraping up his hands had been totally worth it.

“Was that person earlier your friend?” Xu Sinian asked as he kept his eyes on the road. “She looked pretty young.”

Chen Bai nodded. “Sort of. She’s also the younger sister of one of my clients.”

Once again sliding down in his seat, Chen Bai didn’t resist this time and just let himself slump down comfortably. “I remember you also have a younger brother.”

All those shared meals hadn’t been for nothing—Chen Bai, a natural conversation starter, had already picked up quite a bit about his neighbor over dinner.

“Yeah, he’s in high school,” Xu Sinian replied. Mentioning his brother caused his usually calm expression to change slightly, a hint of exasperation appearing. “He really likes video games.”

His younger brother, Xu Lang, originally attended a private school that focused on individual development and didn’t impose many restrictions. Xu Lang had so much “individuality” that their family transferred him to a public high school.

Despite switching schools, Xu Lang continued as he was, sneaking out to play games whenever he had free time. He’d watch game streams at night, and none of the tutors hired for him stayed for more than a month before quitting.

“……”

The game streamer next to him commented, “That’s not looking too good.”

Xu Sinian’s expression became even more troubled.

Chen Bai then found out that things had gotten so bad that Xu Lang was being sent to stay with his brother during the next holiday.

Although Xu Lang feared nothing, he was afraid of his older brother. Only Xu Sinian could keep him in line.

“Why would your brother be afraid of you?” Chen Bai’s train of thought went slightly off track as he asked, “Aren’t you pretty gentle?”

Though Xu Sinian could probably knock out ten people with one punch, he didn’t seem like someone with a violent temper—a good older brother, really.

Xu Sinian glanced sideways at the person slumped in the passenger seat and smiled.

With his hand injured and temporarily unable to touch water, Chen Bai enjoyed a free dinner cooked by his good neighbor that night.

He couldn’t touch water, but he could still play video games. The bandages were a bit of a nuisance but didn’t stop him from performing. Chen Bai, determined and resilient, played on despite his injury.

Playing with his injury, his teammates were especially considerate that day. Sticking close together, they operated as a pair, and when an enemy team member turned on voice chat to curse at the ‘clingy couple,’ Chen Bai shot them with a single shot.

Injured, but his skills remained sharp.

Over the next few days, Chen Bai spent his time between lock-picking and live-streaming. During this time, his money-making partner a.ka. (Chen Bai manager) sent him a message.

His agent had forwarded an audition invitation along with a script excerpt, asking if he was interested in trying out.

The audition was in two weeks, and the filming would start a little over two months later. It was a historical drama, and they had a stylist to fit him with a wig, so his hair color wouldn’t be an issue.

The invitation came from a somewhat well-known director in the industry, who was friends with the director from his previous project. The invitation had been specially extended following the recommendation of the previous director.

The roles he was asked to audition for were two: one was a physician who had climbed up from the bottom, and the other was a noble playboy born into wealth.

In terms of character design, they were completely opposite personalities.

His agent suggested that he should give it a try, to avoid being left without options later on.

Apart from the audition invitation, his money-making partner also had a few magazine shoot invitations. However, her advice was to not accept them for now.

His first magazine shoot had been for EV, a high-end start, and for the sake of long-term financial planning, it would be better not to take on shoots for lower-tier magazines.

Leaving professional matters to the professionals and following their advice, Chen Bai agreed.

So, his task for the next two weeks became studying the script.

There were two audition scripts, each with several scenes. The specific scene for the audition was unknown but would definitely be selected from these options. Not knowing which one would be chosen, he had to memorize them all.

Luckily, Chen Bai had a pretty good memory. With a bit of spare time during his lock-picking jobs, two weeks would be more than enough.

During the day, he balanced lock-picking and script reading, while at night, he continued his livestreams. Once his bandages were removed, his gameplay became much more aggressive than before.

He once again encountered players mistaking him and his gaming partner for a couple. After many similar incidents, he had learned not to explain, simply taking them down instead.

As the screen switched to the victory screen, his phone, placed to the side, lit up. He briefly left the keyboard and glanced down at the message.

It was from his good neighbor, who should have still been at work.

Leaning back in his seat, he read the message from start to finish, a small smile appearing at the corner of his eyes. Then, he raised his hand to type a reply.

His neighbor’s younger brother had arrived early. His family couldn’t stand him playing video games at home any longer, so they had sent him over early.

The younger brother didn’t have a key, and the neighbor wouldn’t finish work until late at night. Chen Bai still had the spare key his neighbor had given him earlier, so he could help by opening the door.

It was a simple task. After replying to the message, Chen Bai lowered the volume on his headset and told his livestream audience, “My friend’s younger brother just arrived. I’ll need to step out for a bit later.”

*

On a quiet street, a black car pulled up briefly before speeding away, showing no signs of hesitation.

As the car left, a figure appeared on the empty street.

The person, wearing a blue and white school uniform, carried a backpack and held a phone in one hand. His half-lowered eyes lifted slightly as he looked toward an old residential building, clearly worn with age.

After standing outside the building for a while, long enough for the wind to make him feel chilly, Xu Lang finally walked inside.

He shouldn’t have expected much from the interior. The building looked old on the outside, and it wasn’t any better inside. The lighting was dim, and the stairs were a tough climb.

He slowly made his way up, floor by floor, stopping in front of a door. He glanced down, then back up, compared the numbers on the door, and raised his hand to knock.

——Except, he didn’t actually knock. Just before his hand touched the door, Xu Lang pulled it back, removed one earbud from his ear, and put it in his school uniform pocket. After hesitating for a moment, he removed the other earbud as well, before finally raising his hand to knock.

“Click—”

The person in the school uniform knocked on the door in front of him, but the sound of footsteps was followed by the door opening next door instead.

The first thing Xu Lang saw was a head of striking pink hair, followed by a familiar yet ordinary set of clothes.

It was, objectively speaking, a very good-looking person.

The pink-haired guy looked at him and asked, “Are you Xu Lang?”

Then he quickly added, “Your brother should’ve told you by now, the key’s with me. Come inside first; once I finish this game, I’ll find it for you.”

He spoke quickly and moved quickly. Before Xu Lang could react, he was swept along with the pace, stepping into the apartment and closing the door behind him.

The pink-haired guy turned and headed toward the master bedroom, telling him to sit in the living room for a bit, saying, “I’ll be as fast as I can, maybe ten minutes.”

And just like that, Xu Lang found himself standing in a simple living room, next to the sofa.

After zoning out for a moment, he weighed his options—figuring out the situation or temporarily sitting down—and chose to put one earbud back in.

From the living room, he could see into the master bedroom. The door wasn’t closed, and as he turned to put the earbud in, he saw the guy sit back down at the computer, put his headset back on, and say, “I’ve got something here. ‘Vegetable Porridge’ a.ka. Qingzhou , we need to wrap this up quickly.”

“…We need to wrap this up quickly.”

The voice from his earbud and the one coming from the master bedroom overlapped. Xu Lang, standing in the living room, froze for a second, hand pausing mid-air as he was about to put in the other earbud.