The Male Stand-in Just Wants to Make Money – Chapter 19

The man holding the umbrella glanced at the pink-haired young man walking beside him.

After climbing the stairs, they stepped onto an ordinary street. Entering the residential building with its dim yellow lighting, the sound of rain was muffled outside.

Xu Sinian put away his umbrella and went upstairs with him.

The person who had resigned himself to never falling in love had already forgotten their previous conversation. Halfway up the stairs, he suddenly remembered something, turned around, and said, “I learned a new way to make small cakes today. Let’s try it together sometime.”

The man walking behind him responded with a simple “Mm.”

Chen Bai was in a great mood after successfully securing a cake-making partner. When he reached his front door, he waved goodbye before closing the door, a bright smile on his face.

Xu Sinian stood in front of his own door, quietly folding his dripping umbrella.

As soon as Chen Bai got home, he turned on his computer, launched the game and live streaming software. While the game was loading, he went to the bathroom, grabbed a towel, tossed it onto his head, and casually wiped his hair twice.

The heavy rain today made an umbrella only partially effective—it blocked most of the rain, but not all. A manual wipe-down was still necessary.

By the time the game finished loading, he was already seated, still drying his hair, and had started the live stream. He sent messages to his friends to log in.

Even though he returned relatively early, he had still started his broadcast later than usual. Some viewers had been waiting for a while and flooded into the live room the moment it went live.

“Sorry, I’m a bit late today.”

Glancing at the rapidly scrolling comments, Chen Bai wiped his hair with one hand while using the mouse with the other. “I just got back from work.”

“What kind of part-time job? The piano gig I mentioned before—just finished today.”

[Wait, someone actually booked you?]

[You look really good in this outfit today! So Erbai does own normal clothes?!]

[Did someone from the live stream invite you? Come out and tell us what Erbai really looks like!]

[OMG, someone actually hired you!]

Chen Bai chuckled. “Of course not.”

After getting into the game lobby, he quickly connected to a WeChat call with his friend, discussing which map to practice on today.

The two chatted enthusiastically, and the comment section was just as lively—but from the looks of it, they were all discussing something else entirely.

The viewers’ curiosity had been completely piqued. They kept trying to summon the mysterious person who had hired Erbai. At first, they were simply calling them out, but then they began speculating wildly. Eventually, they resorted to tagging random users from the top of the gift leaderboard. The game had completely changed—it was now pure chaos, but they were having a blast.

It wasn’t until the entire top ten had been tagged and all of them denied being from City A that the netizens reluctantly accepted that the client probably wasn’t one of them.

Then, just as everyone was about to give up and refocus on the stream, a new user quietly entered the chat. They dropped a reward, climbed straight to the top of the leaderboard, and casually popped in with a single message: [It was me.]

At that moment, the game wasn’t going well. Chen Bai, still with a towel on his head, was busy strategizing with his teammate and hadn’t been paying attention to the chat. After pulling off an ambush, taking out a few enemies, and securing some good loot, he finally had a moment to glance at the comment section.

By then, the chat had exploded into an absolute frenzy—messages were flying at an unreadable speed, and colorful fan badges filled the screen.

Most of it was scrolling too fast for him to catch, but he did notice that many users were tagging [雨隹日青] (Yu Xiu Ri Qing).

Already guessing what had happened and knowing that Huo Qing wouldn’t reveal much, Chen Bai simply laughed and went back to playing.

[I’m camping here today!]

[How was it? No need for details, just a general impression!]

[🙏 Please, I can’t focus on my homework anymore. The suspense is killing me!]

Faced with this overwhelming curiosity, Yu Xiu Ri Qing simply replied:

[I will definitely pass down the video of Erbai playing the piano as a family heirloom. 💖]

…You even have a video?!

[What video? Send it over for verification!]

[The curiosity is unbearable, help! 😭]

Despite the barrage of pleas, no further responses came. In the end, the live stream viewers came to two conclusions:

1. Erbai is ridiculously charismatic—he can chat with anyone, at any time, about anything, both online and offline.
2. He is seriously good at playing the piano.

Some people speculated that he must be good-looking, but since there was no confirmation, they lacked substantial evidence.

Meanwhile, the hands that were so skilled at playing the piano were now flying across the keyboard, delivering rapid-fire headshots in-game.

Despite a rough start, Genius Erbai clutched the match and secured a victory.

Back in the lobby, Chen Bai finally had some time to catch up with the chat. The comment section was still overflowing, mixed with a flood of colorful gift effects—it looked like a lively marketplace.

“Am I taking orders? Not for now. I’ll be busy for a while.”

“Curious about how I look? We all have the same standard-issue features—one nose, two eyes. Not much to see.”

He chatted casually with the audience while queuing up for the next game.

Something seemed to have triggered the audience tonight—Chen Bai’s live stream was unusually lively. From start to finish, the chat was buzzing, messages flying at an incredible speed.

As usual, he ended the broadcast on time, quickly showered, and went to bed.

He had work the next day—a magazine photoshoot he had accepted earlier. His agent was picking him up in the morning, and if he didn’t sleep early, getting up would be a struggle.

——Though going to bed early didn’t necessarily make things easier.

The next morning, Chen Bai successfully got out of bed, purely driven by his desire to make money.

By the time he finished freshening up and went downstairs, his agent’s car had just pulled up to the curb.

After confirming that the sleepy-headed man had eaten nothing for breakfast, the agent generously spent a small fortune on him—buying him a steamed bun.

Gao Qian accepted the steamed bun with gratitude but still reminded him to fix his messy hair.

The studio was on the other side of City A. The shoot was scheduled to start in the afternoon, but preparations had to begin in the morning.

By the time they arrived, the staff had already been busy for a while.

The place wasn’t just a simple studio but a grand, three-story white building. Chen Bai was headed to the second floor, which housed a lounge, a fitting room, and a dressing room in addition to the main photography space.

For a working man, the artistic atmosphere didn’t mean much. To him, every brick in this building reeked of money.

Gao Qian shared the same sentiment and commented, “Only EV can afford a studio like this.”

EV was the magazine behind this shoot. Backed by a major fashion brand, its most defining trait was, in her opinion—its wealth.

The project’s point of contact arrived, cutting their conversation short.

Chen Bai happily accepted his work badge, which granted him access to the building and certain privileges.

With his agent handling all the details, all he had to do was sit in the dressing room and let the professionals work their magic.

Midway through getting styled, Gao Qian returned, glanced at him from different angles, nodded approvingly, and said, “Much better than that bird’s nest you had this morning.”

A good stylist could not only restore his hair but also fix the mess left by a night of sleep.

The editor-in-chief had indeed kept their promise. The makeup artists and stylists working today were top-tier professionals in the industry. They carefully coordinated every detail, ensuring a seamless blend of makeup and wardrobe.

Chen Bai noticed that the makeup artist seemed to have a habit of using positive reinforcement, offering endless praise without exaggeration.

Coincidentally, Pink-haired was also quite the conversationalist.

The two of them politely exchanged compliments back and forth, leading to a back-and-forth match of flattery that had the surrounding staff shaking with laughter.

The battle of words ended in a tie. The stylist then asked him to stand up and check the final look.

For this shoot, there were three outfits in total. The first was a loose-fitting pink shirt with a sleek, well-tailored design—a piece from the fashion brand supporting the magazine. The color complemented his fair skin beautifully.

A group of people gathered to admire the look before calling in the project manager. The manager’s eyes lit up the moment he saw it, launching into a stream of praise.

The design was flawless—beyond expectations.

Everything was running so smoothly that even the manager couldn’t help but smile before heading off to check on the studio setup.

Since everything was on track, Chen Bai also went to take a look.

The studio was bustling, with staff moving around and cables from various machines crisscrossing the floor.

The setup appeared clean and minimalist, but in reality, a tremendous amount of effort had gone into it.

Pink-haired scanned the space, regrettably realizing there were no extra side gigs he could take on—his only job here was to be photographed. He could only sigh silently.

“…”

Hearing the sigh, his agent glanced over, observed him for a moment, and finally understood. He offered some encouragement, “Don’t be nervous. Just follow the photographer’s instructions.”

First-time models often found the process daunting, but everyone had a first time. With experience, they would naturally get used to it.

Chen Bai wasn’t nervous, but he also didn’t intend to tell his agent that he had been actively looking for a side hustle. He simply nodded and replied, “Okay.”

The set was almost ready, and while they watched from the sidelines, the final checks were underway.

The stylist came over to make the last adjustments to Pink-haired’s look.

Once the finishing touches were done, he briefly spoke with the photographer, smiling and nodding twice.

Everything was set.

Meeting his agent’s gaze, Chen Bai gave a small nod before stepping into the spotlight.

The photographers had been briefed in advance that the subject was a newcomer. They had mentally prepared themselves to provide constant guidance throughout the shoot.

But the moment the session officially started, the slim figure stepped into position. When he raised his head toward the camera, his light gray pupils reflected the studio lighting.

There was no trace of his usual playful grin. His posture was relaxed yet precise, striking the perfect balance between aloofness and effortless grace.

The photographers’ carefully planned guidance quietly dissolved amid the continuous clicks of the shutter.