Chapter 42 Scammer Decides to Be a Good Person 17 – Looks Like It’s the Agency

The moment those words left his mouth, even Du Heng froze.

As if possessed, he had no idea why he had blurted it out.

But now that it was said, it somehow gave him a great deal more courage.

He looked straight at his girl, hoping for even a little pity from her, pity for this pitiful man who loved her so clumsily.

It was only the span of a breath, yet it felt as long as several lifetimes.

Like a cat huddled through the dead of winter, he waited for the judgment of fate’s god, whether to die in the wind and snow, or be reborn in the spring.

Then he heard his girl’s bright, lively voice.

She said, “Okay.”

She said okay! She agreed!

Du Heng was struck by a surge of overwhelming joy, as if he had fallen into a dream. He was so dazed he could barely think straight.

She had clearly uttered only two syllables, yet to his ears they sounded like the most beautiful music, the most thunderous sound in the world.

Like a seed sprouting through the soil, like flowers blooming, like spring thunder at the waking of insects¹.

Shi Lan had answered casually, but once the words were out, her face grew a little warm.

Still, it was nowhere near as bad as the foolish look on Du Heng’s face!

Yang Chong had been working hard on his meal, intent only on enjoying the food, but as the atmosphere between the two people at the table grew more and more intimate, as though no one else existed, he ended up clutching his bowl and trying to shrink his presence. He had no idea how a perfectly normal meal had somehow turned into a proposal scene.

In a small voice, he suggested, “Should I… step out for a bit?”

Du Heng was so full of joy at that moment that the only person in his eyes was his girlfriend. After hearing him, he replied, “Sure. You can go.”

Yang Chong nearly choked from how blatantly this guy was choosing romance over friendship.

Fortunately, the other main character wasn’t as cruel as he was.

Shi Lan said, “Go where? We’re eating.” Then she said to Yang Chong, “We’re done talking. You focus on your food.”

Yang Chong was moved. “The moment I first saw my future sister-in-law, I knew you were a good person.”

He immediately started egging them on. “Come on, come on, at a moment this important, shouldn’t we clink glasses and celebrate…” Then he launched into a string of auspicious blessings, wishing them a happy union and lots of children and the like, his tongue glib as ever.

After that, he threw an arm around Du Heng’s shoulder and, while Du Heng looked utterly disgusted, sighed with emotion. “So in your heart, I was already your best brother all along. Such an important moment in your life, and you let me witness it. Only me!”

Who knew what Yang Chong had imagined in his head, but he was having a grand old time.

Du Heng kept a blank face, wanting to speak but stopping himself.

Seeing the way the two of them got along, Shi Lan found it endlessly amusing.

Because of that little interruption, the meal dragged on indefinitely.

Yang Chong felt drinks weren’t exciting enough and started making a fuss about drinking alcohol to celebrate. Du Heng actually agreed, and halfway through the meal, the two of them went downstairs and hauled several cases of beer back up.

At first, Shi Lan tried to talk them out of it, but the more they drank, the higher they got, and they even tried to pull her into drinking with them. So she stopped bothering, left the table to the two men, and sat on the sofa to the side watching TV.

The two of them chatted about everything under the sun, talking about childhood, the beatings they’d taken, the girls they’d secretly liked…

Then the two drunkards started dancing around the room with absolutely no dignity left.

Shi Lan only regretted that she didn’t have anything on hand to record it with. It would have made perfect blackmail material.

They were so drunk they blacked out and didn’t even notice when Shi Lan later replaced all their drinks with honey water. But in exchange, Shi Lan ended up learning all about their “glorious deeds” from back when they were still in diapers.

When the two of them finally ran out of things to say, they collapsed right where they were.

Shi Lan couldn’t possibly move two tall, full-grown men. She dragged a mattress out of the guest room and threw it onto the floor, then hauled the two of them onto it. After cleaning up the mess covering the table, she didn’t go back to her room either, instead sleeping on the sofa to keep an eye on them.

She kept watch until noon the next day before the two drunkards finally woke up in misery. The moment they woke, they started fighting over the bathroom. It was truly unbearable to watch.

So this was what the two big shots from the book were like?

Thanks, the illusion was completely shattered.

“There’s hangover soup in the rice cooker in the kitchen. Go drink it yourselves. The food is still being kept warm on the stove.” Shi Lan rubbed her stiff shoulder and stood up. “Now that you’re awake, I’m going to get some sleep. The tailor shop closes late, so it’ll still be fine if we go in the evening.”

From now on, she absolutely couldn’t let people get this drunk at home again, especially Du Heng.

The ones drinking felt awful, but the one taking care of them felt awful too.

Without waiting for either of them to react, she shut the door and got into bed in one smooth sequence.

Shi Lan looked visibly exhausted.

Du Heng’s heart ached for her, and he regretted following Yang Chong into such foolish drunken antics the night before. He hurried after her, wanting to say something.

He twisted the doorknob… and found it had already been locked from the inside.

He turned toward the culprit and glared.

Yang Chong looked back innocently, holding a cup of hot water and doing his best to make himself small.

–

Shi Lan slept until the evening sky blazed with sunset before she slowly got up. Du Heng had already prepared dinner.

It didn’t taste as good as Shi Lan’s cooking, but having food ready the moment she got up meant she wasn’t about to be picky.

Yang Chong, on the other hand, was quite disdainful of it, and Du Heng couldn’t be bothered to care.

Shi Lan brought the two of them to the tailor shop.

The shop was tucked away in an alley in the old residential district. The location and the storefront completely overturned Young Master Yang’s understanding of what a private custom studio should look like.

Could it be that the tailor inside was some hidden genius, a reclusive master in disguise?

Only after learning more did he realize the hidden master was actually right beside him.

The sample patterns in the shop were completely ordinary. The real essence lay in Shi Lan’s revisions and suggestions.

Yang Chong said to Du Heng, “Your taste in girlfriends beats ninety-nine percent of people.”

“One hundred percent.”

“Hmm?”

Du Heng said, “Lanlan agreed to marry me. That means I beat one hundred percent of people.”

“Ugh… that’s so mushy.” Yang Chong rubbed at the goosebumps on his arms.

By now, the tailor had been trained by Shi Lan into a sort of unspoken understanding. With practiced ease, he found a round table for them to sit around together and began drafting a new tailored pattern according to Yang Chong’s needs and preferences.

After downing several cups of tea, Yang Chong belatedly said, “If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be better if you just drew up a design draft for me and let me take it back to have someone make it?”

A studio he knew well would surely have better craftsmanship than the old tailor in this little shop. He was seriously starting to wonder whether the old man could even see the markings on a ruler clearly through his reading glasses.

Shi Lan spread her hands. “I don’t know how to draw design sketches. I never studied this.”

“Then how did you come up with all those styles?”

Shi Lan said, “I just tell the tailor what kind of clothes I want, and then the tailor draws it. That’s all.”

At that, even Yang Chong, who was usually so talkative, was left a little speechless.

This was what being naturally gifted looked like, right? Right?!

All in all, Yang Chong’s trip had been a complete success.

He got clothes made, ate great food, and even took quite a lot of it with him when he left. He got to know a formidable future sister-in-law, and on top of that, unexpectedly witnessed a newly engaged couple’s proposal scene.

In his own mind, he had already become Du Heng’s best friend. They had gotten drunk together, and he had even been the only witness to Du Heng’s happiness.

As for this self-appointed “best friend,” what Du Heng actually thought of the title was known only to himself.

Yang Chong left step by step with great difficulty, because his suitcase was stuffed with so much food that it had become too heavy to drag.

Du Heng and Shi Lan were planning to go back to their hometowns. First, to register their marriage, and second, to use the trip to transfer their household registrations out.

Since the house could be used for registration, the sooner they got it done, the sooner they could enjoy better resident benefits.

The two of them weren’t from the same province, so they had to make trips to two different places. Fortunately, there was still some time before Du Heng had to join the set for his next project, so they could use this gap to take care of everything.

Oh, right, Du Heng had passed the audition for that role he came back for last time.

Only after he got the script did he realize the role this time was that of a noble young master from the Republican era². It matched the look Shi Lan had styled for him that day almost perfectly.

Shi Lan naturally claimed some credit for herself, saying maybe her aesthetic sense had helped him pass.

Before they could leave, however, a small matter came up.

Someone called the house, claiming to be from a film and television talent agency, and invited Du Heng to sign with their company.

The talent scouts in this circle really were no pushovers. Their information network was astonishingly sharp. Du Heng didn’t even have any aired work yet, and he had only ever joined one production crew, but people looking to scout fresh talent had already caught the scent and come knocking.

Having a big tree to lean on was always better than fighting alone, and Du Heng was quite excited.

They arranged to meet at a teahouse near his home. Shi Lan insisted on going along, for no other reason than that she was worried her family’s little fool would get scammed.

After talking for a while, the man introduced himself as surnamed Huang. He really wasn’t a fraud, but a proper agent, and he even had seven or eight minor artists under him.

Shi Lan sat by their side the whole time, listening to the two of them talk without interrupting, like a sweet, obedient little thing who clung to her boyfriend and understood nothing at all.

She listened as the man kept painting rosy pictures for Du Heng, offering a base salary of eight hundred, with additional commissions for any acting jobs he landed. He went on and on about how big the company was, bragging about its size and staff, and even listed some film and television productions he claimed the company had invested in and produced. As long as he signed, acting opportunities and resources would be no problem, and the company would also provide all kinds of training.

He even pulled out the contract on the spot and pointed out some of the benefits to Du Heng, making it all look very convincing.

Du Heng quickly flipped through the contract, then set it down beside him.

Pretending to be curious, Shi Lan picked it up and leafed through it. Manager Huang glanced at her but did not stop her, and continued chatting with Du Heng. In short, he was saying only one thing: following him was the right move.

Manager Huang said, “Take a look and see if you have any other questions. If everything looks good, we can sign today. There are two copies of the contract. Once it’s signed, I’ll take it back to file it and stamp it with the company seal³, then send your copy back in a couple of days.”

At last, Shi Lan stopped pretending to be a mushroom and asked in a very silly, innocent, and utterly harmless tone, “I have three little questions.”

Manager Huang kept his pleasant temper and smiled gently. “Go ahead, go ahead.”

“First, about artist rights. How many acting opportunities or project connections can the company guarantee each artist every year, and what level of productions are they? Also, regarding training, what are the frequency and cycle like? Is it large group instruction, or targeted development based on each artist’s individual situation? What kind of teaching staff does the company invest in for training? And during the training period, is salary still paid?”

“Second, about artist obligations. After signing, what obligations must an artist fulfill? For example, are there any detailed rules regarding workload? As for the company’s work arrangements, does the artist have to obey unconditionally, or do they get to participate in the selection? Please don’t think I’m asking too many questions. It’s just that these things are directly tied to the artist’s own interests, but the contract doesn’t spell them out clearly, so I’m curious.”

For the first time that day, Manager Huang gave Shi Lan his full attention, and that long string of questions caught him completely off guard. Two young people who looked so naive and inexperienced had actually gone straight for the key issues.

Seeing that he could not organize an answer right away, Shi Lan continued on her own. “Second question, I’d like to know what exactly your company sees in our Du Heng. If he signs, what plans do you have for his development and raising his profile?”

This question was much easier to answer than the last rapid-fire barrage. With the eager expression of someone thirsting for talent, Manager Huang praised him lavishly. “As for Xiao Du, he’s good-looking. Forget everything else, with that face alone, he’s got a future in this industry. And I’ve also heard he’s a good actor. So you can rest assured when it comes to artist development and promotion. Our company has a professional team for that…”

So this was basically a sell-yourself contract with unclear rights and obligations, and the employer had not even discovered Du Heng’s real strengths yet, much less planned any targeted branding or promotion for him.

It seemed this agency was just casting a wide net to scoop up fish fry.

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Translator’s Notes

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1. waking of insects: Refers to Jingzhe (惊蛰), the third of the twenty-four solar terms in the traditional Chinese calendar. It marks the time when spring thunder awakens hibernating insects, symbolizing the start of spring and the renewal of life. ↩
2. Republican era: The period from 1912 to 1949. In Chinese media, this era is often romanticized for its distinct fashion—a blend of traditional Chinese and Western styles—and its portrayal of sophisticated, wealthy ‘noble young masters’ (guigongzi). ↩
3. company seal: Also known as a ‘gongzhang’ (公章). In Chinese business, an official red ink stamp is legally required to validate contracts and documents, often carrying more legal weight than a personal signature. ↩