The Male Stand-in Just Wants to Make Money – Chapter 10

The call connected.

The car window slid down, letting the heavy sound of rain pour into the car. The assistant saw a thin figure standing on the roadside, holding his phone in a strange posture.

He stared at it for a long time before realizing—the posture was to shield the phone from getting wet.

The person could get drenched, but the phone couldn’t.

The assistant’s mouth twitched imperceptibly, but he still spoke.

“…”

The sound of rain mixed with faint voices came through the phone. The person on the roadside finally looked over.

The assistant opened the car door.

Crash—

The door opened and then closed, blocking out the rain’s noise.

After stepping inside, the assistant patted the rain off his body and handed a towel to the person in the back seat. Even though he had an umbrella, he still got wet.

Chen Bai took the towel and thanked him.

The car restarted, merging into the traffic.

In the quiet cabin, the man with his eyes closed opened them and looked at the person beside him, who was using the towel to dry his hair.

The messy-haired man had damp hair tips, and droplets clung to his overly long eyelashes, about to fall.

The water droplets were finally wiped away by the towel.

Huo Chuan instructed the driver to turn on the heater.

A considerate God of Wealth.

Knowing that this kindness wasn’t directed at him, Chen Bai didn’t comment. He casually draped the towel around his neck and only asked, “Where are we headed?”

Huo Chuan: “Home.”

After a moment of silence, he glanced at Chen Bai’s completely soaked clothes and added, “It just so happens to be nearby.”

It sounded like an explanation.

Chen Bai smiled and softly acknowledged it.

The assistant in the front glanced at the rearview mirror and couldn’t help blinking.

…So similar.

The last time he saw this person was at the contract signing. Back then, he had just thought they looked somewhat alike. But now, he realized their temperament and tone were eerily similar. If he weren’t careful, he might even mix them up.

In other words, it was only a matter of time before things got complicated.

Outside the window, lights and shadows flickered, quickly swept away by the moving car.

What Mr. Huo called “nearby” really was nearby.

His company was in the city center, and to make commuting easier, the rich man had bought a high-end duplex apartment nearby.

As they rode the elevator up, Chen Bai silently calculated how much of his 3-million-yuan goal this property could fund. The more he calculated, the more his heart ached. He slowly placed a hand over his chest.

“What’s wrong?”

Noticing the movement, the man beside him lowered his gaze and asked, “Feeling unwell?”

Chen Bai put his hand down and said it was nothing.

The elevator stopped, and the door opened.

Mr. Huo’s duplex apartment was just as Chen Bai had expected—gray, white, and exuding a strong asexual atmosphere. It was as tidy as a model house.

It was hard to imagine that someone like this had a Bai Yueguang (white moonlight) he still longed for.

The house had two floors. The personal assistant and driver had rooms on the first floor, while the second floor had the main living area. The driver stayed behind to park the car, and the assistant led Chen Bai directly to the guest room.

Although it was a guest room, it had never actually been used. It was livable but lacked spare clothes. So, Chen Bai was given a new set of clean shirts and trousers for emergencies.

This set of clothes came straight from the closet of the God of Wealth himself.

Holding the clothes in his hands, Chen Bai hesitated. Instead of taking them right away, he asked the assistant, “I don’t have to pay for these, right?”

The assistant, already expecting this question, replied that it was free—Mr. Huo had given permission.

Chen Bai cautiously added, “If there are wrinkles, damages, or stains, I won’t compensate for them.”

“…” The assistant wiped his face and said, “Understood.”

Finally reassured, the man with messy hair took the clothes and politely thanked him.

After taking a hot shower, the damp and sticky feeling was gone. A fresh and dry version of Chen Bai emerged into the world.

But instead of leaving the room immediately, he lowered his head and busied himself rolling up his sleeves and pant legs.

He was quite tall, but the God of Wealth seemed to have the protagonist’s aura—his height was the same as his neighbor’s. His arms and legs were long, and the oversized shirt required multiple folds on the sleeves to function properly.

After rolling everything up, he pulled out his phone.

Since he had originally planned to work the night shift, he logged into his live streaming account and updated the status to announce a day off. Then he returned to the home screen, only to find an unread message.

It was from his neighbor, sent half an hour ago.

[Did you bring an umbrella?]

A simple message. Chen Bai smiled and typed a reply:

[Nope.]

[I’m staying at a friend’s place nearby tonight.]

As soon as he sent the message, he noticed that the other party had been typing but suddenly stopped. After a while, he received a short reply:

[Okay.]

The response was disproportionately short given the typing time. It was obvious his neighbor had wanted to say something more.

Curious, but mindful that there was still a big boss outside with a salary of 120,000 yuan per meal, Chen Bai put away his phone and opened the door.

Across from the guest room was the living room, where he immediately spotted someone sitting on the sofa.

Huo Chuan had removed his suit jacket, leaving only a dress shirt. His dark blue tie was loosely hanging, one hand lazily holding a glass of wine, and his phone screen was lit up on the table.

Chen Bai glanced at the phone and saw the call log interface. Being professional, he didn’t stare and quickly looked away.

Noticing the movement, the man on the sofa looked over, paused with his wine glass, took a sip, and gestured for Chen Bai to sit.

Chen Bai didn’t sit.

Instead, he picked up a warm water bottle from the table, poured a cup, and handed it over.

The wrists beneath the loose sleeves were thin and pale, and the fingertips holding the cup were slightly reddened.

An unexpected gesture.

Huo Chuan’s eyebrows twitched slightly, but his expression remained unchanged. He raised his head and said calmly, “You are not him.”

Chen Bai didn’t withdraw his extended hand. He simply smiled faintly and said, “It’s better not to drink before bed.”

The man on the sofa stared at him with dark brown eyes. Chen Bai met his gaze, unfazed, and added, “I hope you take it soon. My hand can’t hold on much longer.”

“…”

Click.

In the silence, Huo Chuan finally set his wine glass down, the faint clink of glass against the table breaking the stillness.

The cup of warm water was finally taken.

Chen Bai withdrew his hand and slowly poured himself a glass as well.

What he had just done was risky, but it paid off.

Huo Chuan had found several people resembling Bai Yueguang before, but without exception, they were all dismissed within a few months.

Those people had been careful, too careful—so cautious and restrained that they failed to meet expectations.

He didn’t want to be dismissed after just a few months.

It turned out he had made the right bet.

After handing over the cup of water, Chen Bai leaned back on the sofa, turning his gaze toward the rain-streaked window. “Seems like it’s getting heavier.”

His tone was casual, like idle chatter. The man holding the cup took a sip and responded, “Yeah, it’s heavy.”

The lights in the second-floor living room remained on until late at night. Rain continued to lash against the floor-to-ceiling windows, blurring the city lights.

—

The next morning, the rain hadn’t stopped.

Waking up in an unfamiliar bed, Chen Bai’s brain cells took a moment to reboot. The first thing he did after regaining consciousness was pick up his phone to check the time.

[9:36]

Great. Half the morning was already gone.

After chatting with the God of Wealth last night, he had thought it was still early. But after flipping through a few pages of a new piano score, he had mismanaged his time.

He closed his eyes, reopened them, then sighed and sat up.

—Something felt off.

His feet in slippers felt like they were stepping on cotton. When he stood up, his vision blurred slightly.

“…”

He hadn’t taken his temperature yet, but he had a bad feeling about this.

When he walked out of the room, the second floor was empty, so he went downstairs.

An assistant was waiting there and quickly turned around upon hearing movement.

He informed Chen Bai that Mr. Huo had already left for work and that his clothes had been sent for dry cleaning. Fresh clothes had also been delivered that morning.

After a moment of hesitation, the assistant added, “The cost of the clothes won’t be deducted from your salary.”

A quick learner.

Chen Bai acknowledged this and only then noticed something unusual.

His throat felt dry and hoarse, and there was a slight pain when he spoke.

His good throat was also gone.

After confirming that his throat was shot, Chen Bai sped up his movements noticeably. He quickly changed into the new clothes handed to him, politely declined the assistant’s offer to take him to the hospital after breakfast, borrowed an umbrella, and left as soon as possible.

There was a subway station just outside the neighborhood, so he didn’t even need navigation.

On the way back, he called the director.

As soon as the call connected, he said straight-up, “Director, it’s me. I have a cold.”

“…” That was direct. The director took a moment to process, then said, “Oh, Xiao Chen.”

Then he asked, “Are you asking for leave? It’s raining, and your outdoor shoot for today just got canceled. The notice should’ve—”

“That’s not it.”

Chen Bai interrupted, “Don’t you think my voice is perfect for the scenes where Ah Huai speaks after his condition worsens?”

Those two scenes had been left unfilmed. But now, with his current state, it fit perfectly.

Director: “?”

After double-checking that Chen Bai was indeed available to shoot today, the director hung up and quickly reshuffled the schedule, feeling indescribably conflicted.

It took an hour to get from the city center back to the old neighborhood.

The director moved quickly, finalizing the new shooting schedule while Chen Bai made his way back. With some time to spare before filming, he decided to go home and change.

After swapping back into his cheap and durable home clothes, he grabbed his key and opened the door.

The door next to his also opened at the same time.

A familiar figure stepped into view.

Chen Bai hadn’t expected such a coincidence. Even though his voice was hoarse, he still greeted habitually, smiling: “Good morning.”

This time, his good neighbor didn’t reply as usual.

It wasn’t early, and he didn’t look too well.

Xu Sinian lowered his gaze, his dark pupils fixed on him, and asked, “Did you get caught in the rain?”