The Stand-in Side Character Only Wants to Make Money – CH42

Chapter 42 – Cover

The guy with the knife met his unflinching gaze, instinctively stepping back as his hand trembled.

In that moment of hesitation, Chen Bai lunged forward, his school jacket flaring as he moved with a sharp, slicing sound.

He twisted the other’s hand, forcing him to drop the knife, catching it mid-fall.

Chen Bai held the knife, pressing his elbow down to pin the guy to the ground. He lowered his eyes, and the blade was at the man’s neck.

A little more pressure would pierce the skin, and blood would seep out.

With emotions fully engaged, the oppressive atmosphere in the dark alley made it hard to breathe.

“…”

The set was silent; only the guy’s trembling hand on the ground moved.

“…Cut!”

The director was the first to react, and the clapperboard signaled the end of the scene, breaking the silence.

Chen Bai twirled the folding knife in his hand before putting it away, then offered a hand to his co-star, the last of the “friends” on the ground.

In an instant, he was back to his usual self, smiling with relaxed eyes. Aside from the grime on his face, he looked like any other cheerful high schooler.

The co-star hesitated for a moment before accepting his hand. After a quick apology, he added, “…Thanks.”

The thanks was for more than one reason.

Starting with the knife snatch, things had strayed from the original plan. Chen Bai’s intensity and piercing gaze had been so overwhelming that his co-star wasn’t sure if he was still acting or genuinely about to fight him. In the panic, he had forgotten the plan, acting on instinct.

When he fell, he missed the designated padded spot. Fortunately, Chen Bai reacted quickly, cushioning his head with a grip on his hair, protecting the back of his skull.

He was genuinely considerate, but also truly terrifying.

When the knife had been at his neck, he’d forgotten it was a prop and nearly lost his composure. Now, his legs and hands were still shaky, unsure if he could stand.

After helping him up, Chen Bai returned the folding knife without further comment, then walked over to the monitor to review the footage. “Did it work? I was off by about ten centimeters.”

The director, still watching the footage, broke into a wide grin. Clapping him on the shoulder, he said, “It’s perfect! Well done!”

He gave another hearty slap on the shoulder, his face beaming with excitement. “You’re a natural, Chen Yi Bai! I knew you had it in you!”

Since his Weibo handle was “Chen Yi Bai,” the nickname had stuck since the last project. Even the director was now in the habit of using it.

Chen Bai “…”

After taking the hit on his shoulder, Chen Yibai sidestepped and replied, “Glad it worked.”

His manager and assistant quickly approached to check on his hand.

The stone-paved alley had rough surfaces that easily scraped skin. The knuckles under his wrist guard were raw, with tiny blood marks mixed with dirt.

Injuries happened on set from time to time, so they were prepared with a first aid kit. His assistant Liu was experienced and swiftly disinfected the wounds to prevent infection, while Xiao Meng held up a small fan to dry the sweat on his face.

As his wound was being treated, his study partner praised his performance.

Chen Bai neither nodded nor shook his head. He looked up slightly and said, “I wouldn’t exactly call it acting.”

With his uninjured hand, he ruffled his hair, uncertain whether to call it a genuine emotional release or a natural expression of himself.

Zhou Jing “…!!”

Upon hearing certain words, Friend D, crouched nearby, looked over warily, momentarily pausing in his fanning.

Chen Bai quickly clarified, “When I say genuine emotion, I don’t mean I really wanted to hit you.”

Friend D nodded slowly and then, after a pause, returned to his script.

Zhou Jing asked, “A natural expression of yourself?”

Chen Yibai gave a slight smile but didn’t elaborate.

He had followed the advice of Comrade Lao Xu and tried to become Xu Yifan.

He, too, had once been cornered in an alley by friends. But unlike Xu Yifan, they weren’t trying to pick a fight. Their motives were equally unusual.

Real friends don’t corner you in an alley to propose a romantic relationship with money as an incentive.

—Honestly, he would’ve preferred a fight.

His friend hadn’t hit him, but he had hit back, ending their friendship then and there.

When his wound was dressed, the makeup artist came over to touch him up, and they moved on to the next scene.

In the next scene, the male lead would confront Xu Yifan in the same alley.

Once again, in the dim alley, Zhou Jing felt an overwhelming pressure, this time even more intense than before.

The speed at which he improved was terrifying.

…

After they wrapped up the scene, the quick-learning actor collapsed into the car, clutching his back as if he were lifeless, pretending to be a corpse.

The “corpse” had spent the entire morning in the old town and was now transported back to school by midday.

Good news: they’d returned to school just in time for lunch.

Bad news: since they were supposed to film until the afternoon, the crew hadn’t prepared lunch for them.

Good news: the director decided to treat the team to a meal at a nearby restaurant.

With the director paying, everyone braved the scorching sun for a meal outside school.

During lunchtime, the nearby eateries were packed, mostly with students. The summer camp was a little more lenient than regular school, so students could go out for meals as long as they returned in time for roll call in the dorms.

The two leads, along with the director, cinematographer, manager, and others, sat together. Since they had work in the afternoon, there was no alcohol, only water and soft drinks.

The director wanted a cigarette but saw some students in school uniforms around, so he tucked the cigarette behind his ear instead.

As they waited for their food, Chen Yibai was still playing dead, leaning against the wall. Zhou Jing, sitting next to him with a water cup in hand, reminded him, “You have a basketball scene in a few days.”

The timely reminder caused the “corpse” to close his eyes, prompting laughter around the table.

The cinematographer glanced around the table, focusing on the director with the cigarette behind his ear and the two students in uniform, and commented, “It feels like we’re gangsters corrupting high schoolers.”

The two “innocent” high schoolers chuckled.

The restaurant was crowded, and despite the chef’s best efforts to keep up, they had to wait a while for their meal.

In what had been an unremarkable day, the restaurant was suddenly bustling with students, drawn in by the spectacle.

——

Xu Lang, too, had gone out for lunch with his desk mate and a group of classmates.

It wasn’t that he particularly enjoyed the food outside, but he wanted some fresh air beyond the school gates.

Nearby restaurants were packed at lunchtime, and one seemed particularly lively, with people gathered outside and some taking pictures.

They’d eaten at that restaurant before, and while it was good, it wasn’t usually this popular.

Unable to resist curiosity, they pushed forward, peering through the crowd.

It was a large establishment, packed with students and locals alike, with a few students mingling among the older crowd.

—— Or, they didn’t quite look like students.

Following the direction of the onlookers’ cameras, Xu Lang spotted a high school student among the adults.

The student, slumped against the wall, finally lifted a hand to grab a water cup and turned slightly.

From the back and the profile, he looked quite familiar.

Seemingly aware of the attention, the student glanced over, one hand holding the water cup, the other supporting his back. When he turned his head and saw the crowd gathered at the door, his half-lidded eyes widened.

As he looked over, the sound of camera shutters sped up.

It was brother Bai, who hadn’t been at school that morning.

A table of students left, and the people outside kept watching, while a nearby promoter slipped leaflets into the hands of passersby.

The onlookers outside didn’t seem intent on coming in, so Xu Lang tucked the flyer into his pocket and went inside.

They were a group of about a dozen, managing to find seats around a circular table with some extra chairs.

The fans in the restaurant were no match for the heat, so the owner turned on the air conditioning and drew a curtain across the entrance to block the heat—and the prying eyes and cameras outside.

At the table, except for his desk mate, the others were friends Xu Lang had made through basketball.

They had invited him and his desk mate to play the night before, which led them to miss evening study hall and end up outside the classroom on detention. The shared punishment had bonded them, so they had agreed to have lunch together today.

Xu Lang glanced across the table.

He looked for a while before catching Chen Bai’s eye.

Chen Bai, clutching his back, greeted the others at the table before heading over to join the high school students.

He initially just wanted to have a few words with Xu Lang, but as he got closer, he noticed that the whole table was full of familiar faces.

Unlike last time on the basketball court, when they kept calling each other “brother,” this time, the high schoolers seemed much shyer. Xu Lang was the first to greet him, “Brother Bai,” and the others followed suit.

Suddenly, he had over a dozen “half-brothers,” and Brother Bai hesitantly nodded.

Xu Lang glanced at his waist, which Chen Bai was still supporting, and asked, “Brother Bai, what happened to your waist?”

“Long story,” Chen Bai replied.

He glanced around at the high schoolers he’d played basketball with before and saw that they all seemed unfazed. So, without revealing the true cause of his back pain, he simply said, “Just a bit too much exercise recently.”

“Too much exercise” referred to playing a game of basketball, which left only him with back pain.

Xu Lang didn’t quite understand, but he nodded and said, “You must’ve worked hard.”

Chen Bai thanked his little brother for his concern and, glancing down, noticed a red-and-yellow piece of paper sticking out of Xu Lang’s pocket. “Hey, your stuff is about to fall out.”

Xu Lang quickly turned to check his pocket.

In doing so, the paper completely fell out.

It was a flyer he’d kept because he hadn’t found a trash bin, along with a few folded sheets of white paper.

Having caught dropped papers a few times today, Chen Bai bent down to pick them up, supporting his back as he did so.

The folded sheets opened, revealing half-finished homework questions.

Xu Lang explained, “These are the questions our teacher assigned today. I didn’t know how to do one, so I thought I’d take it back to the dorm and figure it out.”

The others immediately turned their heads. Xu Lang’s desk mate whispered in disbelief, “You’re doing homework over lunch? Are you secretly this diligent?”

Some people wouldn’t even bring a backpack back to the dorm, let alone homework.

Ever helpful, Chen Bai glanced at the only unanswered multiple-choice question and offered, “Need a hand with this?”

Xu Lang immediately straightened up, “Would you?”

Chen Bai looked over at the chef still busy in the open kitchen and nodded, “Food isn’t ready yet. There should be enough time.”

Xu Lang quickly stood up, vacating his seat for the temporary teacher Chen, and took out a pen along with a roughly folded piece of scratch paper.

Chen Bai rolled up his sleeves, took the pen, and looked at the question.

It was a physics multiple-choice question, mostly related to magnetism, with a few notes and a rough diagram, suggesting some struggle.

Surrounded by eager students, some of them decided to listen in, opting to watch rather than be left out.

Because none of them could solve the question either.

The question involved magnetism and required a combination of other concepts. It wasn’t difficult but somewhat complex. Chen Bai grabbed a fresh sheet of scratch paper and, pointing at Xu Lang’s notes, said, “Your initial approach is correct, but it’s a bit convoluted. You can start with magnetic flux density here.”

After listening for a while, the students realized that Chen Bai was genuinely explaining, and Xu Lang was genuinely listening. They hadn’t expected him to really know the answer.

One of the students in the crowd muttered, “…Dang, I didn’t pay attention.”

Not a big deal, as none of the surrounding students had been listening carefully either; they were all just watching him.

They watched as Chen Bai scribbled out a series of equations, the rough diagram evolving until it became unrecognizable.

“…”

After completing the explanation, Chen Bai turned around to see a few blank stares.

Xu Lang seemed to understand but was still sorting it out in his head.

Noticing that the food for a nearby table was only half-served, Chen Bai kindly re-explained, this time with more clarity.

This time, everyone listened closely, and someone even exclaimed, “Oh! That’s how it works.”

Chen Bai didn’t solve for the final value, instead returning the spot and paper to Xu Lang to complete.

Then he watched as the whole table behind him pulled out their notebooks and pens, including the desk mate who had earlier mocked Xu Lang’s diligence.

“…”

Seeing the high schoolers’ level of intensity, Chen Bai chose this moment to glance at the flyer on the table.

It was an advertisement for a supermarket at a nearby mall.

Not exaggerating, his frugal, civic-minded self couldn’t help but be moved.

While the students worked on their questions, he quickly took out his phone, snapped a photo of the flyer, and sent it to his good neighbor and frequent meal companion with a direct message.

His friend quickly responded, understanding immediately.

After receiving confirmation, Chen Bai put his phone away and asked Xu Lang, who was jotting down more notes, “Anything you’d like for Friday?”

Then he added, “Your brother and I are going grocery shopping today.”

Xu Lang blinked. “…Huh?”

Though he had a hard time picturing his brother grocery shopping, he quickly rattled off a list of dishes.

Seizing this opportunity to make the most of his brother, he didn’t hold back.

Chen Bai jotted down the list, waved, and efficiently left the group of high schoolers, returning to his fellow adults.

He arrived just as lunch was being served. His manager glanced over at the table of high schoolers still working and asked, “Friend of yours?”

Taking his chopsticks, Chen Bai nodded. “My friend’s younger brother.”

The manager, who had heard enough about Chen Bai’s friend, immediately knew who he was referring to and nodded, saying it made sense.

His friendship with this friend was well-known, so it wasn’t surprising that he knew his friend’s younger brother.

Zhou Jing glanced over and asked, “The friend we saw at the hotel last time?”

Although “last time” was indeed a while ago, Chen Bai thought for a moment, then nodded. “Yes.”

Zhou Jing glanced over at the group of high school students and then looked away without saying anything further.

After lunch, the crew resumed filming, and things went smoothly, allowing them to wrap up early at 8 PM.

Chen Bai’s good mood was obvious as he clocked out. His two assistants watched him leave, puzzled about what had him in such high spirits.

The manager, who knew Chen Bai well, held onto a flyer someone had handed him on the street and could probably guess why Chen Bai was happy. There are people who enter this entertainment industry but are always easily content.

The contented man met up with his dear neighbor at the gate of their apartment complex after work.

Tall, long-legged, and dressed all in black as usual, his neighbor stood out like a signpost, easily spotted from afar.

Chen Bai tipped his cap slightly and jogged over.

Expecting him to run over, his neighbor was ready to catch his arm, helping him slow down.

Successfully slowed, Chen Bai stopped, pulled out the supermarket flyer from his pocket, and enthusiastically showed it to his dear comrade, Old Xu.

Though the lighting was dim, Old Xu gave it a quick look out of courtesy.

As he looked away, he noticed a scrape on Chen Bai’s knuckles and commented, “You’re hurt.”

Chen Bai lowered the flyer, looked at his hand, and replied, “Just a scrape. It’s nothing.”

“Does it hurt?” his neighbor asked.

Chen Bai replied, “Not at all; I don’t feel a thing.”

If he says it doesn’t hurt, it really doesn’t. Last time, when it did hurt, he was practically thrashing in his neighbor’s car.

After a quick glance at his hand, Xu Sunian responded with a nod.

Their task for the evening was to buy everything missing at home and the ingredients for the dishes that Little Xu requested. Chen Bai put away the flyer, took out his phone, and showed him the list of dishes.

After skimming through the long list, Xu Sunian raised a brow and said, “You don’t need to take him too seriously.”

Chen Bai found it reasonable and patted his shoulder. “He only comes back once a week; he deserves a good meal.”

Old Xu was tall, so Chen Bai had to raise his arm to pat him, which tweaked his back, making him wince in pain before quickly withdrawing his hand to support his back again.

He moved like an eighty-year-old grandpa with back pain, but he was determined to go to the supermarket nonetheless.

The supermarket at the mall was bustling, even at this hour, thanks to its extensive advertising campaign.

While Chen Bai led the way, Xu Sunian took charge of pushing the cart and picking items from the shelves, and then they queued up to weigh their items.

The line was long, so it took a while. But with his endless chatter, Chen Bai kept them entertained.

Xu Sunian quietly listened as he pushed the cart. The supermarket’s bright lights exposed every detail, and with his actor’s keen senses, he soon noticed the glances from people nearby.

Most of the glances seemed to be directed at Chen Bai’s wrist, where a long scrape was clearly visible due to the short sleeves and lack of a wristband.

Lowering his head, Xu Sunian reached for his watch strap.

‘Click’

Chen Bai paused mid-conversation, hearing the faint sound amidst the surrounding noise. He turned and saw his neighbor removing his watch, then quietly said, “Raise your left hand.”

After a brief moment, Chen Bai followed instructions, and soon, he felt the warmth of his neighbor’s watch against his wrist.