(END) Reborn as a Substitute

Chapter 81-85

Chapter 81

When Ji Sheng opened his eyes, he was lying on the bed in the villa.

He propped himself up and grimaced for a while at the pain in his lower back and hips, and then raised his head to realise that he was in Xie Xuanming's bedroom.

Xie Xuanming must have brought him back.

Ji Sheng looked down at himself; his clothes had been changed and his body cleaned.

Xie Xuanming still had a conscience.

Ji Sheng bowed and hammered his waist a few times. In the midst of the pain, he remembered the dream he had just had.

Xie Xuanming was ridiculed for breach of contract, his company's reputation in the industry dropped to a freezing point. No one wanted to use him for a while. This situation continued until the release of his first movie "A Letter in a Frame" that grossed more than 2 billion at the box office, and Xie Xuanming won the best actor award.

On the other hand, Sheng Kongzhi's momentary popularity with passers-by allowed him to proceed smoothly, but his acting skills were so bad that since the release of "Wanna Stick It to the President" his rating kept falling and his various expressions in the series were cut into memes and mocked in forums.

A good hand was played badly. Even though Sheng Kongzhi could still rely on a huge number of fans to maintain endorsements and cut the leeks, the downgrade of acting resources was inevitable. The management did not want to let the reputation of "bad acting" artists corrupt its image. Sheng Kongzhi had not received a good script since then and the gap in status between him and Xie Xuanming in the entertainment industry continued to get wider.

After making some comparisons, one could only lament that playing smart could gain a short-term profit but would not support you for a lifetime. Only by relying on real strength could you sit firmly at the top of the pyramid.

After Xie Xuanming's ascension to glory he became more and more distant from Ji Sheng. For a long time afterwards they were cut off from each other. Until Ji Sheng asked for something... and only then did they get in touch again.

But with a stance more alienated than strangers.

After recalling the past, Ji Sheng slapped his back and sat up straight. The hammering had not eased the soreness in his back much, but his stomach had been hammered into a few "gurgles" of protest.

He hadn't eaten enough at lunch, skipped dinner and ended up being dragged through some strenuous exercise.

Even the best land could not afford to be ploughed like this.

Ji Sheng complained in his heart and raised his head to say a few words to Xie Xuanming, only to realise that he was the only one in the room.

"Xie Xuanming?" Ji Sheng called out with some surprise, "Is anyone there?"

What responded to him was the cold breeze from the air conditioner.

"Where did you go so late..." Ji Sheng lowered his head and muttered, deciding to solve his own sustenance needs first.

The mobile phone was placed at the head of the bed. Ji Sheng fumbled over and was about to unlock it and order a takeaway, but when he turned on the screen, he was bombarded with messages from an unfamiliar number.

[This is Su Jing, please send me a message when you see it]

Ji Sheng paused, his fingers hesitatingly hovering above the screen.

With a few more growls from his stomach, Ji Sheng briefly let go of his tangled emotions and tapped into the takeaway app to place a quick order before exiting and going back to read the unread messages.