The Stand-in Side Character Only Wants to Make Money – CH77

Chapter 77: Friend Circle

Chen Yi Bai initially thought “a lot” meant the usual crowd. He later realized that the cameraman had understated things.

Even though he had braced himself a bit, he was still caught off guard by the barrage of camera flashes the moment he stepped outside. Thankfully, “Comrade Xu” pressed down on his hat brim just in time.

The production crew had coordinated with local authorities to block off half the street for filming, leaving the other half open to pedestrians. This area usually wasn’t very crowded—at least, when they arrived yesterday, there had been almost no one around. But when they woke up today, it was like they were in an entirely different place.

The street was packed with people from one end to the other. No faces were visible, only a sea of raised phones and cameras.

Chen Yi Bai “…”

Chen Yi Bai lifted his hat brim slightly to take another look.

He still couldn’t see the end. The crowd stretched from one end of the street to the other, with non-stop camera shutters going off. He turned to his co-star (Comrade Xu) and whispered, “Is this the red carpet?”

His co-star advised him to keep sipping his soy milk.

Walking was almost impossible. At this rate, they wouldn’t make it to their destination even after a whole morning of walking. So, Chen Yi Bai obediently kept sipping his soy milk as “Comrade Xu” led him into the production van. Before the door closed, he waved politely at the crowd.

Once the door shut, the sound of camera clicks was blissfully blocked out, and it was finally quiet.

As the vehicle pulled away, the hardworking cameraman continued filming inside. He looked at Chen Yi Bai, who had just finished his soy milk and seemed surprisingly relaxed, and asked, “Mr. Chen, are you worried about today’s tasks?”

“Worried?”

Chen Yi Bai chuckled. “Not really.”

He held his fingers up, showing a short distance, and said, “I’ve had a bit of experience working before.”

He was still working now, just in a different way.

It was a familiar phrase and gesture. Fortunately, his manager wasn’t in the van this time, so they didn’t have to be fooled by his definition of “a bit.”

The bubble tea shop where he had worked was located in a particularly busy area.

Even before it opened, there was already a long line stretching from one end of the street to the other. Chen Yi Bai lifted his hat brim again and succinctly commented, “Red carpet 2.0?”

No one expected him to make the joke again, and this time, the crew in the van couldn’t hold back their laughter, hurriedly covering their mouths.

The bubble tea shop was part of a chain, as were the convenience store and bakery from before. Chen Yi Bai glanced around and quickly figured out where the production team’s funding had come from.

The shop was set to open at 9 a.m., and it was now 8:30. They still had half an hour to get ready.

Chen Yi Bai was given a pink uniform: pink hat and pink apron, transforming him from Chen Yi Bai into “Chen Yi ‘Pink’.”

Having never seen his good neighbor wear this color, Chen Yi Bai immediately turned around after changing and saw that his neighbor had already tied on an apron.

Cool guys still look cool in pink.

His movements were surprisingly smooth, catching the attention of the store employees nearby.

Chen Yi Bai glanced over as well and complimented him, casually explaining, “This guy spends quite a bit of time in the kitchen at home.”

After that, he raised his hand and offered to help put his neighbor’s hat on.

His neighbor handed over the hat and bent down slightly.

Chen Yi Bai took the hat and eagerly placed it on the other person’s head. After carefully adjusting it, he seized the opportunity. Using the person’s shoulder for support, he jumped up slightly and, taking advantage of the moment, quickly patted them on the head twice. A smile immediately spread across his face.

So that was his real goal.

[Chen Yibai, you’re so childish! Others might not tolerate this level of immaturity, but I can! Come play with me—I can handle it!]

[Mr. Xu is laughing! Oh my god, he’s laughing!!]

[Chen Yi Bai, if you want to pat his head, there’s no need to be sneaky. I’m sure ‘Comrade Xu’ would just bend down and let you do it!]

[When I pat my friends on the head, they just shove me to the ground. No wonder Yi Bai enjoys playing with you, Xu! (Thumbs up)]

[He’s so smooth with this, you can tell it’s not the first time he’s done it! Couldn’t I at least get someone to randomly play with me like that? [Crying cat emoji]]

Chen Yi Bai clearly understood the principle of sustainability—after just two quick taps, he withdrew and landed back on the ground.

There were two tasks in the shop: one was making milk tea behind the counter, and the other was restocking in the front. Given Chen Yi Bai’s relatively slim build, he could easily be swept away by a crowd or get stuck in it. So, they assigned him the safer task of making milk tea behind the counter.

Two staff members brought him over to the workstation, where the three of them donned masks. They taught him how to identify the different types of tea and other ingredients, demonstrating the process once. A fresh cup of milk tea was quickly prepared. The employee randomly handed the cup to a nearby staff member, saying, “It’s okay if you don’t remember everything. You can pick it up as you go, and if you’re unsure about anything, just ask.”

Making milk tea wasn’t as simple as it looked. There were many things to remember, and under normal circumstances, it would take days to master. But since he was only there to experience the work for the sake of the show, the expectations were lowered.

After explaining, they mentioned a few popular tea combinations and toppings. Knowing that it would be hard to remember, they said it just to give him an impression, planning to reinforce it later.

Chen Yi Bai simply nodded and said, “Okay.” Meanwhile, the staff member who had received the fresh milk tea had already started taking pictures of it for the memory.

At exactly 9 a.m., the store doors opened.

The customers in line had agreed to appear on camera, and as the camera panned across, all you could see were people.

At first, the livestream viewers were just shocked at how many people had lined up, thinking that they’d never finish making milk tea for everyone, even if they worked from morning until night.

But soon, a few viewers started to notice how quickly the line was moving. People who had been waiting outside with umbrellas were already inside the store.

They finally realized that for a while, they hadn’t heard the voice of a certain someone who loved chatting with others.

When the camera shifted, they saw the figure silently working behind the counter.

It wasn’t what they had expected. There was no flustered scrambling, nor was there much interaction with the staff. The whole team was working quietly and efficiently, with only brief exchanges between them and the customers.

The person in the apron had blended right in with the staff, swiftly adding tea and milk, stirring it in a measuring cup, and quickly serving it in cups. If no one was available to use the whipped cream dispenser, he silently picked it up and did it himself. After topping off the milk tea, he handed it over with a slight smile and said, “Sorry to keep you waiting, here’s your Oolong Green Tea.”

He was fast, efficient, and incredibly polite.

[Wait, why is Chen Yi Bai so professional?? I was wondering why you were so quiet—turns out you were busy doing important things!]

[I envy every single person there. The lady’s ears turned red! I wish I could see Yi Bai up close too!!]

[Friends, when he says he’s working, he really means it! I’ve done part-time jobs before, and there’s no way he’s doing this without experience. (Eyes wide open)]

[I can’t relate. I’m still trying to figure out how he memorized all those milk tea names and ingredients. My brain would have already short-circuited!]

[Maybe he’s worked at this chain before.]

The store manager had assumed he was just bringing in a celebrity as a good luck charm for the shop. Little did they know, they had actually gotten a hardworking, dedicated employee.

The line outside was still long, and Yi Bai continued making milk tea at the counter. When the manager noticed him quietly using the whipped cream dispenser again and saw his slender arms, he quickly intervened, saying, “Wait, wait… Yi Bai, take a break for a second. The people outside have been waiting a long time.”

He grabbed a stack of small cups and said, “I’ll make some sample drinks for you to hand out and cool them off.”

After whipping up another batch of milk tea, he placed the pot and small cups on a tray, which Yi Bai took from him.

As he stepped out of the counter area and into the front, the once-empty space was now packed with people—it looked more like a bustling market than a tea shop.

“…”

Chen Yi Bai figured he might not be the best fit for handling the front of the store, so he quickly set off with the tray, ready to hand out drinks and cool people down.

The sun had tilted, and there was a stretch of shade on the street where the people waiting in line had naturally gathered. Moving from the front to the back, Yi Bai handed out the small cups one by one.

The people in line were originally glued to their phones, only moving forward a step whenever the line advanced. Suddenly, a hand holding a small cup of milk tea appeared in their view. When they looked up, they were met with a pair of light gray eyes under a pink hat brim.

Those eyes smiled as they handed the drink forward, saying, “This is a new item from the shop—would you like to try it?”

His voice was clear, his tone clean, and his words pronounced crisply. It was like a soft breeze tickling their ears. The person in line, still somewhat dazed, instinctively took the cup and mumbled a thank you.

He got a quiet “You’re welcome” in return as Yi Bai passed by, heading toward the next person in line.

It wasn’t until he had walked past and the cameraman followed that the person realized who had just handed them the drink. They quickly turned to look again, but by then, Yi Bai had already made his way to the other end of the line, smiling and chatting with the next customer.

By the end of just one morning, the shop’s revenue had already exceeded several times the usual full day’s earnings, and that was a rough estimate.

Within half a day, the trending search terms were updated in real-time, and the latest one became: #Chen Yibai  #Life Is Full of Challenges

After the previous round of investigating Chen Yibai’s history with the BCL Championship, the online sleuths dug deeper into photos and news from before Chen Yi Bai entered the public eye, finally uncovering details that had always been there but never noticed.

[Archaeology complete. So this guy really can do anything—Chen Yi Bai, you truly can walk any path!]

[Judging by Yi Bai’s skill and responsiveness today, insiders wouldn’t exaggerate by saying that if he stuck with it, he’d easily become a head store manager or regional manager.]

[Fresh from the store, still holding my milk tea. I came here just to see Chen Yi Bai and had already planned how to praise him. I wanted to say his work uniform looked great and that his smile was charming, but in the end, the only thing that stuck in my head was how fast he served drinks. It was lightning fast—I wanted to linger, but there was no chance!]

[Don’t underestimate playing the piano in a restaurant! You can search online—five-star restaurants require a certain level of skill to perform there. Chen Yi Bai could probably make a career out of being a professional pianist too (closing eyes).]

[Let’s put everything else aside for a moment—I just want to know how he even knows how to unlock and change locks! Master Chen, what exactly do you do for a living?!]

When unlocking and changing locks was mentioned, the earliest beneficiaries of Chen Yi Bai’s lock-changing services finally had their chance to speak. They proudly showed off screenshots of WeChat conversations, with names and profile pictures heavily censored.

[Thanks for the invite! In my opinion, the best actor to get on WeChat is Chen Yi Bai. It only takes two steps: 1. Call the lock-changing hotline and hire Master Chen; 2. Add him on WeChat under the pretext of ‘after-sales service.’ His contact info is legit, and you’ll occasionally see him post in his Moments (though it’s usually just scenery and food).”]

[And by the way, Master Chen no longer does lock changing, so this method won’t work anymore (hehe).]

The final “hehe” was especially cheeky, yet the recipients of his lock-changing services remained firm. Despite hundreds of high-priced offers for Chen Yi Bai’s contact info in the comments, they stood their ground and refused to give it out, determined to honor the trust Master Chen had shown when he shared his contact.

Although fans didn’t get the contact information, they were rewarded with previously unseen photos and videos of Master Chen during his “pink-haired piano-playing” phase.

When silent, Master Chen looked quite serious and professional. As he played the piano, his eyes were slightly lowered, his back naturally straight, giving off a completely different vibe from his usual self.

According to the current information and combining it with his present main job, it’s now known that Chen Yi Bai has held four different jobs.

Most people wouldn’t juggle multiple jobs unless absolutely necessary, and the netizens were now fully convinced of the rumor about him being in debt, something that had been casually mentioned in passing before.

Rumors about him having powerful backers were quickly disproven.

Though no one knew how much debt he owed, based on the facts, if he really had such strong connections behind him, he wouldn’t have to be working multiple part-time jobs. Even if he reached that point, he still had a friend who was practically unbeatable. Relying on that friend would be far more reliable than relying on anyone else.

Netizens speculated that his certain “friend with the surname Xu” wouldn’t let things get to that point.

With nothing more to say, several marketing accounts quietly deleted their previous sponsored posts, and the anonymous “insiders” who had claimed to be in the know on forums vanished without a trace.

Meanwhile, Chen Yi Bai hadn’t touched his phone all day and was completely unaware of the online frenzy. His past was being dug up, but he, oblivious to it all, happily finished his shift that afternoon.

His wages were paid daily, and to make it clear and accurate, he was paid in cash. After receiving his earnings, Chen Yi Bai and his good friend were also treated to a free milk tea, a perk offered to all the staff.

With all the customers gone and the store doors closed, only the staff remained. The manager asked each person what they wanted to drink. After stuffing his double wages into his pocket, Chen Yi Bai leaned against the counter and began scanning the menu from top to bottom.

He was reading carefully, which made the cameraman curious. “Mr. Chen, didn’t you already memorize the menu items?”

“I only remember the ones I made today.”

As his eyes skimmed over the rows of text, Chen Yi Bai explained, “I’m not familiar with the ones I haven’t made. I don’t usually drink this stuff, so I’m not well-versed in it.”

Sensing something from his words, one of the staff asked, “Didn’t Yi Bai work at a milk tea shop before?”

After just one day, the social genius had already gotten to know all the staff members and was on a first-name basis with them.

Chen Yi Bai thought for a moment and said, “That was a long time ago, and it was at another store.”

The “other store” referred to a different milk tea brand.

“?”

The manager, surprised to hear he didn’t drink milk tea and hadn’t worked at this shop before, asked, “Then how did you…?”

How had he managed to work so smoothly today, only asking questions about the drinks that hadn’t been explained to him?

Chen Yi Bai tapped his head lightly and humbly smiled. “My short-term memory’s not too bad.”

“…”

The manager felt that his memory was more than just “not too bad.”

After scanning the menu for a while, Chen Yi Bai finally found a drink he liked and ordered it with regular ice.

His quiet, good-natured neighbor looked over and gently reminded him, “You’re supposed to avoid cold and spicy things for a while.”

His gastritis wasn’t something that could be fixed with simple remedies, and in order to avoid taking too much medication, he had to be careful about his diet.

Chen Yi Bai tentatively asked, “Less ice?”

After glancing at his neighbor’s expression, he reluctantly revised his order: “Very little ice.”

His neighbor exhaled and said, “Your Aunt Jiang is watching TV, too.”

Realizing that Aunt Jiang was keeping an eye on him, Chen Yi Bai clutched his chest dramatically and, with tears in his eyes, said, “No ice.”

It was the greatest compromise he could make. His neighbor, knowing this, complimented him with a nod.

The manager took note of the order and then asked Mr. Xu what he wanted. Before he could answer, Chen Yi Bai replied for him, “He’s a lifelong water drinker.”

Meaning no preparation was necessary. The manager moved on to ask the other staff.

At 6:30 p.m., with his hard-earned wages in hand, Chen Bai got into the car to head home.

For the first time since getting off work, he pulled out his phone and took a photo of his reward.

Remembering that he hadn’t interacted with his friends on WeChat Moments for a while, he didn’t put his phone away but instead opened Moments and posted the picture.

Typing with one hand was a bit tricky, so his good neighbor instinctively took the drink from his hand, allowing him to type with both hands.

With nothing else occupying his hands, he leaned back comfortably into the seat. Chen Bai, after a moment of thought, finally remembered to block the God of Wealth from seeing the post.

The God of Wealth was probably still busy chasing his “white moonlight” in their endless game of cat and mouse. Even though Chen Bai didn’t think Huo Chuan was the type to check Moments, thoughtful as always, Chen Bai decided to block him anyway, to give the God of Wealth some peaceful, uninterrupted space.

Two cameras were positioned in the front row, unable to see what he was doing on his phone. Only the ever-observant Mr. Xu beside him could catch a glimpse, watching as Chen Bai responded to his friends’ comments on Moments.

Just moments after posting, the comments had already grown so numerous that they couldn’t all fit on a single screen.

“…”

It seemed that this person had far more friends than he had imagined.

—

In City A, at a bar.

A clink of glass hitting the tabletop was followed by the steady sound of liquid pouring into a cup.

The scene was familiar—the same private room—but this time, there was no rain outside, and only one person occupied the room.

As the glass was lifted again, the doorknob turned, and the door swung open.

Zhang Wenxuan entered, immediately noticing the strong smell of alcohol. Being accustomed to heavy drinking himself, he easily brushed it off, pushed the bottle aside, and sat down, saying, “Back to drinking at my place again? So, no progress with Yang Shu?”

Loosening his tie casually, Huo Chuan replied, “He’s refusing compensation.”

Zhang Wenxuan had expected that. “He doesn’t need your money anyway.”

Though the Yang family couldn’t compare to the Huo family, they were still wealthy enough not to be concerned about a few million.

Glancing at the window and the bare table, which held nothing but bottles and glasses, Zhang Wenxuan remarked, “Last time you were here, Chen Bai was with you.”

After thinking for a moment, he added, “I remember he even brought you some flowers.”

The details were fuzzy, but he recalled that the flowers were quite beautiful.

Taking a sip from his glass, Huo Chuan said, “Sunflowers.”

“Wow.”

Zhang Wenxuan couldn’t help but be impressed that Huo Chuan still remembered such a small detail after all this time.

After a pause, Zhang Wenxuan added, “You’d better speed up the progress with Yang Shu.”

Huo Chuan looked over at him, and he continued, “You’ve been so focused on Yang Shu lately that you might not have noticed, but Chen Bai has a new friend.”

“The friend’s status isn’t any lower than yours,” he said, giving Huo Chuan a sidelong glance, “and that friend doesn’t seem like someone who’s content just being friends.”

Zhang Wenxuan wasn’t one to spend all day glued to livestreams, but he had seen a few clips, and even those few clips were enough to raise red flags.

Chen Bai seemed completely unguarded around this new friend, and the friend clearly had ulterior motives. If things continued to develop, it could be hard to predict what might happen next.

Given their dynamic, it wasn’t impossible that the friend might eventually take Huo Chuan’s place.

Huo Chuan “…”

Huo Chuan set down his glass and turned to face Zhang Wenxuan.

Leaning back, Zhang Wenxuan said, “Didn’t Chen Bai just post a picture on his Moments today? There was a hand in the frame—that hand belonged to his new friend.”

Huo Chuan immediately pulled out his phone.

Zhang Wenxuan watched as he tapped a few times on the screen, then suddenly stopped.

Curious, Zhang Wenxuan poured himself a glass of wine, leaned back on the sofa, and asked, “What’s wrong?”

With the screen glowing in his eyes, Huo Chuan said, “He didn’t post anything on Moments today.”

“How could that be?”

Zhang Wenxuan, not thinking, reached for his own phone and started to check, only to pause mid-action as realization dawned on him.

His hand froze, and he decided to put his phone away tactically. Instead, he leaned over to peek at Huo Chuan’s screen.

The last post from his WeChat friend, marked as “Chen Bai,” was from a long time ago—a photo of a cup of soy milk.

Zhang Wenxuan “…”

Zhang Wenxuan’s hand trembled slightly as he sneaked another look at his own phone, muttering, “Maybe I made a mistake. I surf the internet all day; I must have gotten things mixed up.”

Switching to his WeChat Moments, he saw that his friend, labeled “Chen Bai,” had indeed updated his post.

The soy milk had been replaced by a cup of milk tea, with additional replies to comments from other friends below.

Oh no.

Slowly covering the screen of his phone, Zhang Wenxuan swirled the wine in his glass and said, “You’re in trouble. You really need to pay more attention.”

Huo Chuan glanced down at his phone screen, which remained unchanged.

—

Author Note:

At this moment, the God of Wealth, who had already fallen into the loser’s bracket, quietly shattered.