The Stand-in Side Character Only Wants to Make Money – CH84

Chapter 84: I Have a Boyfriend Now

After standing up from the wheelchair earlier, Yang Shu stood again for a bit while walking around the park in the latter half of their stroll. Since Chen Yi Wan had played too much in the first half and got sleepy, they had to carry him for a while, and his weight eventually made their arms sore. So, Yi Wan was placed in the wheelchair to sleep soundly.

They spent the whole morning walking around most of the park. After having lunch with White Moonlight, Chen Bai took Yi Wan home. Upon arriving, he collapsed onto the sofa and posted the promised Weibo update.

[Chen Yi Bai V: Look at Yi Wan [photo] [photo]]

The caption was simple and straightforward, and the pictures were clear.

As soon as the post was updated, the comments quickly started pouring in.

[What abstract photos! So it turns out that your abstract photography isn’t limited to people, but indiscriminately applies to all living things!]

[We can tell that you posted this yourself this time. There’s no way your agent would’ve approved these abstract photos! [nodding.gif]]

[A species 100 times more expensive than 100 yuan has appeared!]

[Wait a second, is this even the same dog? [retweeted Weibo]]

The retweeted post was from an ordinary user with an ordinary post.

[I want Yi Bai to be my wife: Today I saw the cutest little dog in the park! The owner’s voice was so nice; I’m melting! [photo] [photo]…]

The little dog was wearing a blue and white knitted bib, its big ears standing up, smiling happily at the camera.

It was a simple, ordinary post sharing daily life, but because of the keyword triggers, it received a few scattered likes and comments, all praising the dog’s cuteness. The background matched, the bib matched, and even the toy matched, but the only thing that didn’t match was Yi Wan’s appearance.

[It’s not an exact match—just two similar but different versions. Chen Yi Bai, you should reflect on why there’s not a single comment praising how cute the dog is (pointing finger)]

*Of course, the voice is nice! Because that’s Chen Yi Bai’s voice! Where did you meet him, aaahhh!]

[Your wife was right in front of you, and you didn’t even notice (not serious)]

[Haha, you had the person you like in front of you, yet you focused on taking photos of the dog. Role model! (thumbs up)]

Soon, the comments section was filled with the anguished cries and twisted rolling of the netizen who wanted Yi Bai as their “wife.”

No amount of rolling around would lead to another chance encounter. Some people strolled around the park for days but never ran into Chen Bai walking the dog again.

After resting for two days, Chen Bai went back to work.

During a break, while quietly listening to gossip, he heard from an industry insider that at a banquet recently, the wealthy Huo Chuan had been kicked into the swimming pool for a couple of laps.

Unfortunately, no one at the gossip site had attended the banquet, so no more details could be revealed. Before he could find out more, his agent took him abroad.

EV, an international brand with headquarters overseas, had a major show and banquet coming up, and they had invited him to attend.

The social butterfly remained a social butterfly abroad, and when photos from the banquet were sent back home, Chen Bai was already arm-in-arm with the headquarters staff and other invited brand ambassadors, everyone posing with peace signs.

After a week of enjoying himself and his agent successfully securing a big deal, they returned home satisfied.

It had been sunny when they left, but they returned to cloudy, rainy weather.

The driver was already waiting outside the airport. After passing through the crowded terminal, they finally got into the car and greeted the driver.

The rain was shut out as soon as they got in, and sitting down, Chen Bai finally took off the stifling mask, breathing in fresh air.

His agent turned around and asked about his plans.

By “plans,” they meant whether he would return to the estate or head back to the apartment.

“Let’s go to the apartment first,” Chen Bai said, taking off his hat and fanning himself. “I’ve got some things to do. I’ll meet Aunt Jiang later tonight.”

Aunt Jiang and Mr. Xu had long since concluded that whenever he went out for work, he wasn’t eating well. So, every time he finished a job, they immediately scheduled a meal, presumably to try to help him gain some weight. Tonight’s dinner had been arranged several days in advance.

So, the driver set the GPS for the apartment.

When he got home, Chen Bai said goodbye to the assistant who helped with the luggage and quickly took a shower. After getting fresh and clean, he started sorting through his multiple suitcases.

The contents were varied—lots of random stuff—but it wasn’t necessary to deal with it all right away. However, he wanted to stay awake to adjust his jet lag, and doing some tasks would help keep him from getting sleepy.

Just as he was finishing sorting a few small items, his phone, sitting off to the side, lit up.

He was feeling lazy, and the room was dimly lit by the light from the floor-to-ceiling windows, so the phone’s glow was particularly noticeable.

It was a phone call. He glanced at the screen, and upon seeing the contact name, his eyebrows raised slightly as he answered.

It was Huo Chuan.

They hadn’t been in touch for a long time, and the voice on the other end sounded unfamiliar. After a moment of careful listening, Chen Bai realized that it was indeed Huo Chuan.

Placing the phone aside, Chen Bai replied with a simple “mm-hmm” and continued sorting his things.

Huo Chuan asked, “Are you free this afternoon?”

People don’t usually ask for your time without reason. Chen Bai didn’t reply immediately, asking instead, “Is something up?”

Huo Chuan said yes—there was something he wanted to talk about. His voice was deeper than Chen Bai remembered, and every word was clear, sounding unusually serious.

It seemed like this was important, something beyond the stand-in business that Chen Bai had ended. So, he replied, “I’m free until 6 p.m.”

Given their past agreement, and out of professional courtesy, Chen Bai didn’t mind sparing some time, especially since he was curious about the story behind Huo Chuan’s unexpected swim at the banquet.

The person on the other end of the call mentioned the meeting location and said it wouldn’t take long, promising to wrap up before six o’clock.

Hearing that it wouldn’t take too long, Chen Bai figured he wouldn’t get to hear about the pool incident. He glanced at the time and casually agreed.

It seemed like the other person hadn’t expected him to agree so easily. There was a brief silence, followed by a rare and quiet “thank you.” The unexpected expression of gratitude made Chen Bai raise an eyebrow, and he glanced at his phone before politely replying, “You’re welcome.”

Feeling a bit drowsy, his brain was already transitioning into sleep mode. With fewer words than usual, he stopped talking after saying “You’re welcome.”

Faced with Chen Bai’s politeness and silence, the other side fell quiet again for a moment before softly saying, “See you later.”

The call ended, and the phone’s screen dimmed.

After packing up and finishing his tasks, Chen Bai checked the time. With the weather being cold, he pulled out a jacket from his wardrobe — the one closest to the door — and headed out.

On a gloomy afternoon, there wasn’t much difference between day and night. The city’s streetlights were already on, reflecting off the rain.

The service was quite comprehensive, with a driver ready to pick him up. Once Chen Bai left his apartment complex and got into the car, they headed straight to the meeting place.

The location for this meeting was the same restaurant where they had first met, also a place where Chen Bai had worked for a while. It was nearby, so they arrived quickly.

Based on his past experience, the restaurant should have started welcoming guests by this time. However, likely due to the rain, it was unusually quiet, and the elevator to the top floor only carried Chen Bai and Huo Chuan’s assistant, who had been waiting downstairs to go up with him.

The elevator was tall, and the ride took a while. Fighting against his biological clock, Chen Bai tried chatting with the assistant to stay awake. The assistant responded but seemed unusually nervous, frequently glancing at the elevator’s floor indicators.

Chen Bai lifted the brim of his hat slightly and asked, “What’s wrong?”

The assistant quickly looked away, replying, “Nothing.”

Chen Bai didn’t think it looked like “nothing,” but since the assistant didn’t elaborate, he tactfully didn’t press the issue.

“Ding—”

The elevator slowly came to a stop at the top floor. Just as Chen Bai stepped out, he turned around and noticed that the assistant was staying in the elevator and had no intention of following him out.

Seeing Chen Bai look over, the assistant quickly explained that they had another errand to run later. “Mr. Huo is already inside. You’ll see him if you keep walking.”

Fair enough. As the elevator doors opened, Chen Bai waved and politely said goodbye. The assistant, mimicking his gesture, smiled and waved back as the doors closed.

“…Huh.”

Watching the assistant disappear behind the closing doors, Chen Bai lowered his hand and turned around, only to be greeted by an unexpected scene of pink and white.

He paused mid-step, turning back to confirm the elevator’s floor number and the restaurant’s sign.

It was definitely the same restaurant he had worked at before. Although the decor had changed significantly, the basic layout remained the same—the large floor-to-ceiling windows were still there, offering a view of the gloomy weather outside.

The only recognizable feature of the old restaurant was these few details.

There was no one in sight, and the floor was covered in a blanket of pink and white flower petals, forming a path that led to the other end of the restaurant.

It looked like a flower-filled version of a Hollywood red carpet.

The path of petals was lined with huge bouquets of flowers, not just roses but other arrangements as well.

The air was thick with the scent of flowers, and the restaurant was brightly lit. Chen Bai pondered whether this was a prank by the restaurant or the work of a guest, but he quickly gave up trying to figure it out. He politely avoided stepping on the petal-covered path, carefully walking along the edge to avoid crushing any flowers.

Though he didn’t fully understand the situation, it was clear that someone had gone to great lengths to prepare this, so law-abiding and considerate Chen Bai did his best not to disturb the setup.

Most of the hallway was covered with flowers, leaving little room for him to walk, which required some careful maneuvering.

After an awkward journey around the flower arrangements, he finally made his way past the dining area and onto a broader, more open path.

The restaurant had a greenhouse garden, where flowers bloomed year-round. It was available for customers who needed a more scenic dining experience, but Chen Bai had never been interested in it during his time working there. He had only heard from former coworkers that the view from the garden was excellent.

Following the path, the only destination ahead was the greenhouse.

The path had been empty so far, so Huo Chuan must have been waiting inside the garden.

It was quite a long walk, and Chen Bai wondered if Huo Chuan had also awkwardly maneuvered around the flowers to get there.

After all this time working here, Chen Bai was finally seeing the restaurant’s greenhouse for the first time.

The garden was large, with glass walls all around, offering a clear view of the heavy clouds and the city’s tall buildings cloaked in rain. Thanks to the lights, raindrops could be seen falling onto the glass ceiling, sliding down in arcs.

The greenhouse, too, was filled with flowers.

Having reached the entrance of the garden without seeing anyone—no sign of Huo Chuan or any other staff members—Chen Bai hesitated, wondering whether he should retreat and make a phone call or continue forward.

Before he could step back, a sound other than the rain broke the silence.

It was the sound of a piano, coming from within the greenhouse, starting with a few tentative notes before flowing into a continuous melody.

Chen Bai recognized the song—it was a nocturne.

It wasn’t exactly well-played, but each note was hit with precision. Some of the tones were slightly off, though most people wouldn’t notice.

When one note was drawn out longer than necessary, Chen Bai finally realized—it seemed like Huo Chuan was the one playing the piano.

Having had the nocturne echoing in his mind ever since Huo Chuan had blasted it at full volume previously, Chen Bai had memorized that particular melody, especially Huo Chuan’s habit of lingering on certain notes.

Flowers, a private setup, a piano—by this point, even someone as slow to catch on as Chen Bai realized this was a confession scene.

He finally understood why he had been invited here.

—If Huo Chuan had mentioned earlier that he needed someone to witness his confession, Chen Bai would have gladly shown up after hanging up the call.

No wonder it was so extravagant—if it was Huo Chuan, that made sense. Whether or not he could join in on the fun wasn’t important; what mattered was that Chen Bai had a lot of confidence in his role as the “mood-setter-in-chief,” sure that he’d win the title of “top supporter of the day.”

There was no one else in the restaurant, and he figured they were already inside the greenhouse. Not wanting to be the one slowing things down, he boldly walked forward.

Boldly moving ahead, he still took care to avoid stepping on the petal-strewn path.

With his head lowered, he walked a considerable distance. When the legs of the piano came into view, he finally stopped, finding a spot on the side to stand and raising his head.

Under the endless curtain of rain, by the glass windows, the only person in the entire space was the man seated at the piano.

Fingers resting on the black and white keys, the man was wearing a simple shirt with a neatly fastened tie. A silver-gray tie clip secured the tie in place, reflecting a cold glimmer under the light.

Chen Bai “…”

Chen Bai felt something was off.

First, he didn’t see any other supporters, and second, the person playing the piano seemed quite serious, not as if they were just rehearsing.

Last time, Huo Chuan had played the nocturne with a grand, almost overwhelming intensity. While today’s performance still felt a bit off, there was noticeable improvement.

Considering this person’s artistic talent, practicing to this level must have taken a lot of effort, likely repeating it many times.

What puzzled Chen Bai was why Huo Chuan had chosen to practice a nocturne. From his time working at confession and proposal events, Chen Bai remembered that most people would choose pieces like Liszt’s ‘Liebestraum’ or ‘Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star’ variations. This was the first time he had seen someone play a nocturne for such an occasion.

The atmosphere felt strange, but it didn’t seem polite to leave now. Torn between leaving and staying, Chen Bai decided to wait a bit longer for the other supporters to arrive.

The rain outside continued to fall. By the time the nocturne ended, he still hadn’t seen any other supporters join him.

Standing was tiring, and nearby was a new white cashmere carpet. After brushing off a few flower petals, Chen Bai sat down.

“Thud—”

The last note of the nocturne fell. Huo Chuan’s fingers lifted from the keys, and he exhaled quietly, turning his head toward the lighted path filled with flowers.

No one was there as he had expected.

The greenhouse was empty—no figures, no sounds.

Huo Chuan’s fingers twitched slightly as he stood up from the piano bench, scanning the space again.

Something moved in the corner.

Behind the piled bouquets, a figure could be seen. Just a head peeked out, with the brim of a black hat visible.

The person turned their head slightly, lifted the black hat’s brim, and revealed a pair of light gray eyes. “Finished playing?”

Air returned to Huo Chuan’s chest, and the lights seemed to flicker momentarily before returning to their usual brightness. He lowered his gaze and relaxed his previously clenched hands.

He bent down, picked up the bouquet placed beside the piano, and stepped toward the figure, replying, “Finished.”

Unlike the pink and white petals around them, this was a bouquet of red flowers, matching the black piano perfectly.

The person didn’t seem to have any intention of leaving their spot, so Huo Chuan walked over. As he closed the distance, he could finally see more of the person hidden behind the flowers.

Today, the person wore a pink hoodie with a large black coat over it. The sleeves were rolled up twice, revealing pale wrists resting casually on the ground. They looked comfortable, well-taken care of.

It was completely different from what Huo Chuan had imagined. The person wasn’t sitting in the middle of the flower display or expressing any of the emotions he had expected. Instead, they were relaxed in the corner.

The plan changed in an instant.

All the original arrangements shifted. Without any of his usual formalities, Huo Chuan sat down on the steps beside the carpet and said, “Long time no see.”

Then he asked, “Why are you sitting here?”

It had indeed been a while since they last met. Chen Bai responded, “Your setup looks great, but I didn’t think it was appropriate for me to step on it.”

The atmosphere was far from what it should have been, and they were chatting like it was any other day.

For the first time, Huo Chuan brought up Yang Shu and what had happened in the past.

Although Chen Bai wasn’t sure why Huo Chuan wasn’t preparing for something else and instead started a conversation, it was clear that he really wanted to talk, so out of basic politeness, Chen Bai didn’t interrupt and listened quietly.

Hearing the events from another person involved after so many years, Chen Bai realized that, from a purely factual standpoint, both Huo Chuan and the so-called “white moonlight” figure had been quite honest. There was no exaggeration or attempt to avoid mentioning things that didn’t reflect well on them. The facts matched up.

The incident had happened, and there was no turning back. Nothing more could be done to help. The only thing Huo Chuan could offer was money and time, visiting occasionally when the other party was in a good mood to check on their health.

Zhang Wenxuan had once said in private that Huo Chuan’s feelings toward the “white moonlight” figure were complicated, and Chen Bai agreed.

It wasn’t purely guilt. It was his mistake that led to the outcome, and Huo Chuan had long been prepared to carry that burden for the rest of his life.

Huo Chuan said, “Do you remember the key you helped me pick up before? That was the key to the yacht.”

It was the thing he least wanted to see in his life, but for some inexplicable reason, he still carried it with him. “The key is gone. When I fell into the water, the key got washed away.”

The knot was untied, and the key was gone.

Huo Chuan felt like he could finally do what he wanted to do. Yang Shu wasn’t wrong—at his core, he was selfish.

He wanted to be selfish this time.

Caught off guard by the details of the near-drowning, Chen Bai, ever the professional gossip-consumer, suddenly perked up. Based on the information at hand, he had a good guess who had pushed Huo Chuan into the water.

That “white moonlight” figure really was a person of action.

After hearing the whole story, Chen Bai finally felt he could ask his question, returning the conversation to the fact that this was clearly a confession setup. Glancing at the time on his phone, he noticed it was almost six o’clock and promptly reminded, “So, where are the others?”

“The others?” Huo Chuan paused for a moment, then replied, “There are no others.”

Chen Bai “?”

Chen Bai paused mid-motion as he was about to lock his phone, feeling an increasing sense that something was off.

Then, he heard the person next to him speak.

“I don’t have many strengths. I play the piano poorly, and I can’t draw well either.”

Huo Chuan glanced down at the flowers in his hand and said, “But I want to keep practicing.”

He continued, “I want to mess around with the piano with you, to doodle together.”

There was no particular purpose, no real desire to improve or achieve anything. He simply enjoyed being together.

For the first time, he understood what it meant to feel happy just seeing someone else smile. For the first time, he realized the powerlessness of wanting to care for someone who was sick but not having the right to do so. For the first time, he discovered that even getting drenched in the rain together could be fun.

Chen Bai caught on to what was happening. Although he had never personally experienced this before and had been too busy working to think about such things, he had recently watched many films for work. He’d seen scenes like this in those films.

…This development didn’t seem right.

He straightened up slightly, subconsciously adjusting the oversized coat he was wearing. His fingers tapped the carpet twice as if grounding himself.

In the steady, quiet rhythm of the rain that was hard to ignore, he heard the man next to him say “I like you.”

A genuine, unmistakable confession of love directed at him.

“…Wait, hold on, buddy.”

No joke, Chen Bai nearly tore a hole in the carpet with his fingers. Before Huo Chuan could continue, Chen Bai quickly interrupted him, “I’m Chen Bai. Chen as in ‘Chen Bai’, Bai as in ‘Chen Bai’. My last name isn’t Yang.”

He privately thought that his acting skills shouldn’t be so good that Huo Chuan would confuse him with someone else, but clearly, this was happening.

“I know. I’m very clear on that.”

Huo Chuan looked down at him, his voice deliberate as he clearly enunciated his name, then bent over and handed him the bouquet. “I’m hoping you’ll give me another chance.”

The garden, the oddly familiar words—it was all too much.

With all this information flooding his brain, Chen Bai’s thoughts cleared, and then everything stopped. Only one thought remained.

He was definitely cursed when it came to gardens.

Meeting Huo Chuan’s gaze, seeing the sincerity in his dark eyes with no hint of a joke, Chen Bai’s brain rebooted and began cooling itself down. He exhaled deeply.

Every romantic film he had ever watched flashed through his mind in an instant. He quickly raised a hand to stop the bouquet headed his way, offering a polite smile. “Sorry, I already have a boyfriend.”

He lied through his teeth, but his voice didn’t falter even for a second. As a professional actor, he didn’t break character. He glanced down at the coat he was wearing and said, “This is my boyfriend’s coat.”

Sorry, Comrade Old Xu.