Scumbag Actor Screwup System

Chapter 7 - Slumber Party

Xu Xiaosi as drawn by Nereviam on Twitter  . Thanks for the beautiful fan art!

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 To his credit, Xiaosi didn't flee when he saw the trashcan Shen Yuan called his apartment. He did, however, seem to be looking for more. More rooms, more... place. There was none.

"This is the grand tour, the door is the bathroom, the rest you can see. Make yourself comfortable," said Shen Yuan, taking off his shoes and putting them inside a small cramped piece of furniture that was actually supposed to be a nightstand. He gave Xiaosi his only pair of slippers he had and stepped in.

Other than the bathroom, there was only one room with a stove, a microwave, a small fridge, a bed and a desk. No room for anything else, not even a table. He always ate in front of his computer.

"It's a ... nice place," said the boy. Didn't sound convincing at all. He was now staring at some poster of a half naked girl from Azur Lane. It was an anthropomorphized US ship named Cleveland, a spirited little tomboy Shen Yuan quite liked.

"You act great on set but you really can't hide your shock here, you know,"

Xiaosi seemed to sober up at that comment and stood a bit straighter.

"You decided to come here, now you're staying and sleeping on the side of the bed close to that poster," Shen Yuan continued talking unperturbed and walked over to the fridge in his socks. His pinky was poking through a hole, not that he noticed or cared.

"Shizun, you should really move into a bigger place, this can't be healthy. Does the window open?"

"Only about 10 cm, but you can try to open it more," he replied, taking two plastic containers from the fridge. System had him get some special pre-made meals designed to gain muscle and no fat. He had one extra from the day he'd eaten at Xiaosi's, so he could share.

The boy was struggling to pull on the window. It had been stuck for ages.

Shen Yuan gave it a pull, he knew the technique to open the thing. Fresh, polluted city air rushed in.

"There you go. Do you like chicken?" he asked.

Xiaosi nodded absent minded and went straight to what he'd clearly been wondering since he got through the door.

"Why don't you get a bigger apartment?"

"I'd love to give you a nicer answer but the truth is, I'm poor. And I won't make an acting career out of this, I suck. So I'd better save my money for surviving after this," he answered, putting the chicken into the microwave.

"You might make acting into a career, you seem to be gaining quite a few fans. Even if you lack technical skill, you could study some more and-"

"I'm no pro nor will I ever be. These people will forget me soon. I'm not a pretty boy like you, I'm getting old. I'm better off studying something practical after this, maybe try to get a degree and a decent job."

Xiaosi nodded, he looked dejected. They stayed silent for a moment, then Shen Yuan took the chicken out of the microwave and handed it to him.

"Please, sit down," he said, showing the computer chair with his hand, "I'll eat on my bed."

"I'll recommend you for other jobs, I promise."

"I doubt it'd work. I'll be happy if I manage to keep this one. System is always pushing me to keep myself in character and keep the director happy or else. If I lose this job I will probably have to live on plain rice for a month or two. I know I'm a sarcastic asshole and not a lot of people like me. So yeah, thank you for helping me yesterday. If you didn't, if I failed... I'm not very sure what I'd do with my life."