C25

The King of the underworld felt something strange today.

 

 

He was obviously sitting in the hall at work, yet he smelled the scent that belonged uniquely to Qiong Ren. It was true that his avatars were parallel consciousnesses, each one being himself, but the senses of the avatars were all independent.

 

After all, the Underworld initially developed the Incarnation Dharma for multi-threaded processing of massive amounts of work, so if they couldn’t exist independently and think independently, and everyone still shared brains and senses, how could they judge ghosts with a hundred different lives impartially at the same time?

 

 

When he missed the scent of Qiong Ren’s body, he would temporarily share his senses with Yan Mo, his avatar.

 

But he didn’t do that today, yet he still smelled the scent in the Underworld.

 

This was really strange.

 

 

Secretary Nan also found it strange. The Great King had been distracted too often lately.

 

 

She was very worried.

 

Secretary Nan had followed the King of the Underworld for twenty years, and the former King of the Underworld would never be in a daze or suddenly show a smile.

 

It seemed that she had to ask Auntie Qingxi for the psychiatrist’s number.

 

According to the secretary’s special intelligence network, it was rumored that Doctor had recommended Qiong Ren’s musical works to King Qinguang, saying that listening to his songs could calm the mind, it was beneficial to sleep and psychotherapy, and that it was clinically used with good results.

 

 

King Qinguang originally wanted to firmly refuse, but during this period of time, Doctor Ren had labored for him, and he couldn’t say no to the doctor, so he could only humiliatingly listen to the songs in the treatment room.

 

 

As a result, it was really good.

 

Since listening to Qiong Ren’s songs, it felt like he was getting better faster.

 

Yesterday when the ten kings were meeting, King Qinguang frantically hinted to Emperor Song to send Qiong Ren’s album to him.

 

Seeing this, Secretary Nan thought that the information from the Secretary’s Intelligence Network was conclusive, and that Ren Yisheng was indeed a good doctor. Little Aunt Qingxi quickly sends the hospital where he was inaugurated and tips on how to grab a number.

 

 

The Great King was saved, she smiled in relief.

 

 

Secretary Nan couldn’t help but happily hum “Da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da”

 

Hearing the secretary singing, King Yan wasn’t irritable and easy to anger like before, his heart was soaked with Qiong Ren’s fragrance, he basically lost the function of being irritable.

 

Today, the working atmosphere in the Temple, as always, was busy and pleasant.

 

Yan Mo entered the door and put the ice cream in the refrigerator.

 

The agent froze at the sight of such a big handsome man, looking dumbfounded for a split second.

 

“Wow, are you interested in becoming a star?”

 

Yan Mo frowned slightly, “No. Thank you for the invitation.”

 

The agent hadn’t seen such a burst of seriousness, and the first sentence gave him a feeling that he couldn’t handle it, he replied with a dry smile, “So polite.”

 

He went to fetch the fruit and saw a piece of Qiong Ren’s clothes covering the “god of Wealth” statue. He muttered, “What’s wrong with you? How can you put the clothes you’ve worn on the god of Wealth? It’s too much. You’re not afraid that the god of Wealth will hate you?”

 

As he spoke, he went to take away the clothes.

 

Qiong Ren rushed over, “Wait!”

 

The agent lifted half: “?”

 

Qiong Ren calmly covered the cloth back: “I checked online, there are rules for inviting the idol to your home, and there are requirements for the time and location. When I figure out where the feng shui position of my house is, then I will put it up. For now, let’s cover it up first, so that the god of Fortune doesn’t realize that we didn’t put him in the right place.”

 

 

The broker now had a heavy feudal superstition, and when he heard Qiong Ren being so flippant, he immediately retracted his hand.

 

 

“Still, you’re thoughtful.”

 

 

Yan Mo was a bit offended, “You invited the god of Fortune statue back?”

 

 

The agent enthusiastically introduced: “Yes, this god of Fortune is very effective, our family Qiong Ren’s fortune depends on worshipping the god of Fortune. Young man, do you want to also invite? I’ll introduce you to the seller. Their god of Fortune is cheap, only fifty yuan a piece.”

 

 

Him inviting the god of Fortune? That would be unseemly.

 

 

“Thanks for your kindness, it’s not necessary.” Yan Mo looked at Qiong Ren and asked expectantly, “Have you ever thought about offering to the King of the Underworld?”

 

 

Qiong Ren: “……” Was he trying to gather believers?

 

 

But then again, King Yan temples were really rare. And the King of the Underworld in the temple didn’t resemble the King of the Underworld himself at all. He didn’t know if he burned incense in front of such a misrepresented statue of the god, it would go to the king of the Underworld.

 

 

The agent put the fruits on the dining table, which was the only place where Qiong Ren’s family could entertain guests. Like every old father who entertained his son’s classmates, he spontaneously peeled the fruit for his guests.

 

“No one seems to offer the King of the underworld at home.” The agent peeled this apple almost as well as a dog gnawed on it, “He doesn’t care about getting rich or career in-laws, it seems like they just stop by to offer sacrifices when people die. But now during the Qingming Festival, people aren’t allowed to burn paper and incense, I think the King of the Underworld has been poor for many years.”

 

Stop it, stop it, Qiong Ren broke out in a cold sweat.

 

 

This was the bad thing about hiding things from the family, and occasionally you had to suffer the consequences of them saying things one shouldn’t say.

 

 

Yan Mo immediately disproved the rumors, “King Yan has a house, a car, and plenty of savings. He is the Lord of the Underworld, and all the living beings in the Underworld have to pay taxes to him. There is no need for earthly incense.”

 

 

Weren’t you already broke and the haunted house went out of business, so you had to move to his neighborhood with cheap rent? Qiong Ren really wanted to vomit.

 

 

Yan Mo’s eyes flicked towards the cabinet. He cared very much about that god of Wealth statue.

 

Again, he could live in Qiong Ren’s house, and be covered by Qiong Ren’s clothes, and Qiong Ren would burn incense and paper for him.

 

Why not offer it to King Yan. Was King Yan not good?

 

 

The agent handed over the peeled apple, “What exactly does King Yan bless?”

 

 

Yan Mo: “……”

 

He didn’t have this function.

 

Yan Mo pinched the apple and lowered his eyes.

 

Such beautiful hands holding a tattered apple, Qiong Ren felt that this image was an eyesore. And Yan Mo seemed a little frustrated.

 

Understandable, everyone who came out to work had self-esteem, being told to your face by a customer that you are not as good at your job as someone else and that no one is hiring you, anyone would be sad.

 

 

He scooped three balls of ice cream out and handed it to Yan Mo, pouring strawberry sauce he made himself.

 

 

“Eat.”

 

Qiong Ren took the tattered apple out of Yan Mo’s hand and nibbled on it himself.

 

Yan Mo quietly dug into his ice cream, and although there was still little expression on his face, it seemed to Qiong Ren that he was in a much better mood.

 

 

Qiong Ren smiled.

 

What an easy to coax Yan Mo.

 

 

That night, Yan Mo was suffering from insomnia as usual, only that Qiong Ren’s aroma had been lingering since daytime, so he was still in a pleasant mood. Suddenly, a burst of green smoke rose, piles of treasury money and gold foil crackled down, and a rain of money fell in the small bedroom.

 

He sat up, a little confused and a little puzzled.

 

Every time he received money, nine point nine out of ten times it was to bribe him in the hope that he would give the ghosts a convenience in the underworld. Yan Mo never received bribes, and had nowhere to return them, so he exchanged them for Yan Hei coins, which were then exchanged for money in the living world, and taken to donate to the orphanage.

 

 

But this time the money came in a very special way, the money was not followed by a wish, nor a request.

 

It seemed as if they just wanted to burn some money for him.

 

What a strange believer.

 

The audition time for the cast and crew of ‘Peach Blossom Fan’ had been moved up, and Qiong Ren suddenly received a phone call from the crew informing him so he had pluck himself out of bed stiffly.

 

 

Last night, HBL2003 sent him a message that a Male Ghost musician had joined FDD Media Culture and passionately composed a new song – “Asshole Pay Back the Money” – based on his experience of recovering money owed to him.

 

 

Qiong Ren discussed several versions of the arrangement idea with him, and the two of them talked and changed it until after three o’clock, when the fluffy rabbit fell and turned off the computer in one move, Qiong Ren rolled off to bed.

 

The feeling he had now was one of regret, a great deal of regret. His head was groggy, as if he’d been punched in the face.

 

 

He was alone, why did he have to argue with ghosts to stay up all night, it was impossible to win ah. Not to mention the ghost judgment hall time difference, he stayed up late while the other was doing normal work, it was a big loss.

 

Although Qiong Ren now had a bit of money, but he was still very frugal, he didn’t take a taxi, he took the subway. The road to the audition location was especially prone to traffic jams, and the agent’s pick-up and drop off was not as fast as taking the subway himself.

 

He often took the subway, but this time, Qiong Ren felt the gap brought about by popularity, and as soon as he got on the car, he was stared at by enthusiastic eyes. In the past, because he was handsome, he was also looked at everywhere he went, but looking at a handsome man was different from looking at a star.

 

 

About the time the motion picture of him shooting arrows was widely circulated, the recognition immediately went up.

 

 

Some people boldly came up to talk, hoping that he could sign their phone cases, Qiong Ren gave his signature, not expecting him to be so good at talking, they were all a little surprised.

 

 

A pale hand reached out, with a wide jade bracelet hanging on. The wrist was so thin, making it appear empty and worrying that the bracelet would be thrown out if not noticed.

 

“Can you also sign for me? Thank you.” She said in a soft voice.

 

 

Qiong Ren was about to pick it up when he realized that the paper wasn’t quite right, there were little red dots on it, much like writing had been done on the front of the paper, and the marks bled over to the back, which she then gave him to sign.

 

 

Not that he minded the used paper, well he did.

 

 

The first rule of idol survival that his agent taught him was not to sign randomly. If the paper handed to him already had words on it, it was even more important not to sign it.

 

 

Who knew if those words were a contract of sale.

 

 

“Please sign it for me. Thanks.”

 

Qiong Ren’s eyes followed the pale hand, but it was as if the hand had appeared out of thin air in a crowd of people, and the owner of the hand couldn’t be seen.

 

Only the voice rang out insistently.

 

 

“An autograph, please.”

 

 

There were a lot of fans surrounding him, but no one looked toward where the owner of the hand was supposed to be, as if they couldn’t see the person or hear her.

 

 

When they arrived at the station, Qiong Ren got out and waved at the fans.

 

 

He walked a bit and looked back, the subway doors were still open and the hand was still extended towards him.

 

 

Qiong Ren pulled out his cell phone to take a picture and sent it to Yan Mo.

 

 

“There’s a ghost in Longcheng subway line 9, tricking people into signing autographs in the subway, presumably trying to capture someone as a stand-in, please help me report it to the police.”

 

Yan Mo quickly replied, “I’ll come to you.”

 

 

Qiong Ren: “No need, she’s very weak, she only has one hand, ordinary people can’t even see her.”

 

 

Yan Mo wasn’t good at typing, Qiong Ren would make a point to send voice notes with him. However, because Yan Mo’s voice was particularly good, Qiong Ren always felt that although the intention was to take care of the other, in the end, it felt like he earned something.

 

 

Qiong Ren put on his mask, exited the subway door, straddled a shared bike, and he got to the audition location in less than ten minutes.

 

 

He put the bike away, he had to ride it back later.

 

 

The agent was waiting for him at the entrance of the audition location, and as soon as he saw him, he stuffed coffee into his hand: “Hurry up and drink, wake up.”

 

 

Qiong Ren couldn’t drink this kind of bitter and sour thing, he completely treated it as medicine, pinching his nose as he drank it.

 

 

It seemed to be a bit useful, he felt more awake.

 

 

Walking to the waiting place, he walked towards the registration desk, “Hello, please give me the number, my name is Qiong Ren.”

 

Chen Ruize came in through the side door, and the whole room looked at him, standing up and calling out, “Teacher Chen.”

 

He greeted everyone roughly and rushed over to meet them.

 

 

“Qiong Ren, come over here, I’ll lead you to meet the director.”

 

 

The room full of people looked towards Qiong Ren, and the ones who weren’t good at hiding their emotions had already rolled their eyes. Many people muttered in their hearts, if you want to through the backdoor, be a bit more covert, how ugly was this?

 

 

Chen Ruize didn’t care what others thought, he took Qiong Ren by the shoulders and said in a low voice, “I’ll talk to you first, among the people who are vying for the role today, there’s my opponent, you must take him out.”

 

 

Qiong Ren: “How come you have so many opponents ……”

 

 

Chen Ruize: “I was an idol first, then I transformed into an actor, and released an album that barely counts me as a singer. Three fields, one field one opponent, how can there be more.”

 

 

Before entering the door, he instructed once more, “Finish him off ruthlessly, don’t show mercy, it’s best to be able to do the same as Fu Jiaze, so that this person will have a lifelong psychological shadow.”

 

 

“Director Zhang, Qiong Ren is here.” Chen Ruize passionately introduced, “Take a look at our Qiong Ren, he’s a big handsome guy, the future top star, if you invite him now, it’s equivalent to getting a self-traffic bulletin board for nothing in the future.”

 

 

Qiong Ren was familiar with Zhang Hao’s face. There was another person standing next to him, he looked familiar as well, but he just couldn’t think of his name.

 

 

Zhang Hao came over to shake hands with him, and the eyes of the person next to him were so wonderful that they greeted Qiong Ren’s face with swords and spears, and if it was possible, Qiong Ren felt that he could not wait to send an atomic bomb over with his gaze.

 

 

It must be the producer’s “choice”.

 

 

Qiong Ren had no grievances in his heart. He was also introduced by Chen Ruize, everyone was a resource expert.

 

Qiong Ren was auditioning for a role called Ming Chen. It was the senior that Song Yuncheng, the male lead whose career wasn’t going well, longed for and the light in his heart.

 

 

His song would serve as a clue to string together the stories of the two male leads.

 

Ming Chen had no prototype; all the actor needed to do was to restore the flavor of the singer, while delivering a convincing superstar performance.

 

 

Everyone was polite.

 

 

Zhang Hao’s attitude towards Qiong Ren was obviously a bit warmer: “You perform well later, don’t be nervous.”

 

 

Qiong Ren nodded as he came out before asking, “Who’s that guy inside?”

 

 

Chen Ruize froze and laughed, “You’re too much, how come you don’t even recognize the most popular singer in the universe, Miao Zheyan?”

 

 

Chen Ruize and Miao Zheyan were both finalists for an album of the year award that had zero gold content, and whoever won the award relied purely on fans to vote. Chen Ruize was at least a former top star, and his fans were very strong.

 

In the end, the number of votes almost killed Miao Zheyan twenty times, Chen Ruize brought back a wild prize that no one cared about.

 

 

But Miao Zheyan cared about this award, he had repeatedly connived that Chen Ruize bribed the organizers and resorted to any means to win the award.

 

Chen Ruize was most annoyed by his lack of ability and the way he talked too much, but he was too lazy to argue with him. After all, with Chen Ruize’s reputation, if he were to argue with Miao Zheyan, it was basically equivalent to giving him attention.

 

 

He wouldn’t do such a thing.

 

 

“Miao Zheyan’s mind’s eye is smaller than the pores of the fractional laser that I’ve done countless times, you were introduced to the audition by me, and the hate value in his heart has probably already been pulled up.”

 

Qiong Ren felt both amused and helpless, how did he get one more hater for no reason, he was too wronged.

 

The audition began.

 

 

The performance piece assigned by the crew was A Fire in Winter. This was a very representative song of the last century, and it was just right as an audition song.

 

 

There were about thirty people auditioning for the role, and Qiong Ren came in ninth.

 

 

Chen Ruize was very upset. Originally, Zhang Hao was satisfied with Qiong Ren and had already finalized him, however, the producer was the owner of Miao Zheyan’s company and forced him over.

 

 

Zhang Hao was also unhappy, so he didn’t even engage in internal recommendations and directly opened auditions, which would embarrass whoever sucked.

 

 

Most of the people who came to audition were active idols, or actors and singers who had some strength in singing and dancing, and the first few were of average strength, and the director quickly passed them without saying anything.

 

 

Miao Zheyan was in front of Qiong Ren, and his performance made the director frown.

 

 

He danced with a lot of heart and sang well, but his style highly overlapped with the original singer’s, so it could only be described as a parody, not a performance, and even less relevant to the superstar.

 

 

 

By the time Qiong Ren came on stage, he performed the song as he wanted to, singing and dancing with the feeling of that time, and improving it a bit according to his own vocal characteristics.

 

 

Anyway, he felt pretty good, he just didn’t know if the director and the others would be satisfied.

 

After the performance, he stood on the stage with the microphone, why were these people just looking at him and not talking, could he get off the stage or not?

 

 

Zhang Hao got up and applauded, breaking the quietness of the scene.

 

 

His eyes were full of amazement: ”This is the true superstar style! Ruize even told me that you don’t know how to act, if you don’t know how to act, how can you portray an idol in the hearts of all the singers out on stage?

 

 

“Your performance was very natural, as if you were the superstar Ming Chen himself, with a loose body state and full of confidence. You performed with the heartfelt belief that your audience would go crazy for you.”

 

 

“When you faced us, you were completely free of the constraints of an idol coming to this place, as if you were really as popular as Ming Chen. This role that so many people want, the audition for a big production, is nothing to you.”

 

 

“This feeling, I’m so surprised, your acting is so good. Qiong Ren, listen to me, you should be an actor.”

 

Qiong Ren: “……” Director wake up, what the hell are you talking about!

 

 

The screenwriter also kept nodding, “Yeah. My biggest worry was that the singer who strung the whole movie together wouldn’t be able to stand up, I didn’t expect to actually see a performance like this, I’m finally relieved now.”

 

 

The producer shut up and was amazed, although he had recommended his company’s singer, Miao Zheyan, he wasn’t so bad as to jeopardize Peach Blossom Fan for the sake of Miao Zheyan. He could only say that he was indeed less skilled than others, he didn’t expect this Qiong Ren to have such exquisite acting skills.

 

 

Miao Zheyan was filled with resentment. His popularity had gradually declined over the past few years, and it was not easy for him to grind up such an opportunity, he wanted to take the chance to break into the path of an actor.

 

 

But looking at the director’s reaction, he definitely didn’t have much of a chance, and he couldn’t help but feel a wave of resentment in his heart.

 

 

The other people who came to audition originally had some criticism for Qiong Ren, but seeing how well he performed, they were convinced. He really shone brightly on stage, making people unable to take their eyes off him.

 

 

The audition wasn’t over yet, but it seemed like it was.

 

 

After Qiong Ren got off the stage, Chen Ruizhe bumped him with his shoulder and grinned happily, “Alright, you’re in better shape today than in the last variety show, especially charismatic, it’s almost like the word superstar is written on your face. Did you try to figure out the feeling of a superstar at home?”

 

 

Qiong Ren: “Don’t speculate, I am.”

 

 

Acting and all that was impossible. It was just that he, who had a billion fans, was acting in his own color.

 

 

Chen Ruize gave a thumbs up, “Very good, keep that feeling. I’m sure you’ll be a hit.”

 

 

Although the results weren’t announced on the spot, everyone had already tacitly agreed that the winner was Qiong Ren.

 

 

Qiong Ren, on the other hand, had already added the WeChat of the director, producer, screenwriter and others, and Zhang Hao’s meaning was clear, telling him to go back and wait for the contract to be signed.

 

 

Before leaving, Zhang Hao stuffed a piece of information into his hand, saying that the cast and crew all had it, so they could better understand the background of the plot.

 

The agent drove back to the orphanage. Qiong Ren got into a shared bike.

 

 

Halfway through the ride, hail suddenly fell from the sky, Qiong Ren turned in the right direction and rushed to the eaves of a house to avoid the hail. He wore short sleeves, but in just a moment, his arms had already gotten a few cuts from the hail.

 

 

So boring ah, Qiong Ren stood against the wall, watching the huge hail. Many cars’ security bells were smashed.

 

 

He took a picture and sent it to Yan Mo.

 

[Endeavor to be rich: Is there a spell for not having hailstorms?]

 

 

[Cover my vest: Yes. Wait a moment.]

 

 

Qiong Ren was happy when he looked at Yan Mo’s WeChat name, it was the name he had noted to Yan Mo to remind himself to always remember to help his gentle neighbor cover his little vest.

 

 

Yan Mo made a video call over to him.

 

Yan Mo: “Face the screen toward the sky.”

 

Qiong Ren did as he was told.

 

 

“One Tai and one Arctic, Jade Light and Yuan Essence. Water and hail messengers, thunder strikes and wind runs. Wide spread for ten thousand miles. The talisman arrives to be consecrated, no stopping. Urgent as the law order. ”

 

 

The words were said silently, immediately the sky suddenly became bright and the hail also stopped.

 

 

Qiong Ren thought this wasn’t scientific at all ah, wasn’t King Yan wasn’t part of the Buddhist system? How was the Taoist incantation used so well ……

 

 

But it was good that it was clearing up.

 

 

The hail on the ground hadn’t melted, he felt unsafe to ride a bike, so he pushed the bike to the release point and walked to the subway.

 

 

It wasn’t yet evening rush hour at this time, but there was never a shortage of people on the subway in Dragon City.

 

 

Qiong Ren went up and caught a glimpse of someone he had just met, Miao Zheyan.

 

 

Miao Zheyan had driven himself to the audition, and on the way back it suddenly hailed, he didn’t slow down and crashed his car. He was in a hurry to catch a plane to attend a commercial performance, so he simply parked the car on the road, letting his assistant drive it, and took the subway to the airport himself first.

 

 

When he saw Qiong Ren get into the car, he let out a cold snort and turned his head forty-five degrees.

 

Qiong Ren was quickly recognized again, a bunch of people gathered around him to talk for autographs, and kept sending out all sorts of “he’s so handsome I’m going to die”, “oh my god is this face real” and other exclamations of amazement.

 

 

“Gathering in the carriage will disturb others and it’s not safe, if you want autographs come one by one, don’t all stand here.”

 

 

Qiong Ren’s tone was gentle, the fans obediently dispersed.

 

 

 

Miao Zheyan listened in exasperation, he had been sitting here for several stops, how come no one recognized him.

 

 

There was a young girl who came over from the front carriage to find a seat, and when she saw him, she suddenly revealed a thoughtful look.

 

 

Miao Zheyan was already touching his pen.

 

 

“Excuse me, are you ……” The passerby suddenly turned her head, “Ahhhhhh, Qiong Ren!”

 

Miao Zheyan with the pen, “……”

 

 

At this time, a hand wearing an emerald bracelet reached over, holding a piece of paper, and said in a faint voice, “Hello, can you give me an autograph?”

 

---

TN:

I honestly love YM