Chapter 1

It was night, eight o'clock, usually the busiest time in the county town.

However, around six o'clock, it started to drizzle. At first, it wasn't heavy, but it gradually intensified. By now, it was pouring down with a loud pattering sound, showing no signs of stopping.

Jiang Xixi stood at the door, watching the rain, and sighed silently.

Then she took the elevator to the ninth floor, room 901.

She knocked on the door, but no one responded.

She pushed the door open, and the room was pitch black, seemingly empty.

But Jiang Xixi was used to it, so she slightly opened the door and peeked inside.

The room was a bit messy, with clothes scattered on the chair and takeout boxes by the trash can. The TV, with poor picture quality, was playing local news:

"Thanks to the famous film crew shooting in MS County, we will vigorously develop the tourism industry, continuously adjust the county's industrial structure, and make tourism a pillar industry of MS County, thereby expanding employment opportunities in MS County and..."

She moved closer to check if anyone was sleeping on the bed or had gone out to buy cigarettes.

"Is there something you need?"

Then, in the next second, she heard a sudden male voice.

It was slightly hoarse, with a roughness like sandpaper.

But when she turned around, she saw a boy with a rather handsome face. He was in his early twenties, wearing a white long-sleeved shirt and blue-gray jeans, sitting on the edge of the bed.

He was tall and well-built, with a striking appearance. His most distinctive feature was his arched eyebrows, which, rather than being too sharp, added a sense of stability to his face. However, at this moment...

His face was a bit gloomy.

He held his phone, said those words, and then leaned against the window, silently watching her.

"You scared me. Why didn't you say anything when you woke up?"

Jiang Xixi sighed, still taking a few more looks:

Scary as it was, another glance revealed that this guy was indeed very good-looking. If he weren't a musician with his own band, she would have definitely signed him as an artist.

Unfortunately, he refused to sign with her.

So, there was no need for her to go out of her way to please him—those stories about spotting a handsome guy or a beautiful girl on the street, being amazed, and crying and begging to sign them, then promoting them with the whole company, and making them famous...

They didn't exist. The entertainment industry was not short of handsome guys and beautiful girls:

Although, the one in front of her wasn't just handsome; he had a faint aura of "keep away," which Jiang Xixi called the "artist's temperament," adding a few more points to him.

He also had a somewhat melancholic feel, as if he had some worries.

This could be felt from his surroundings.

This temperament also made Jiang Xixi seriously pursue him for a while, but she eventually gave up. Every time she saw him, she felt a bit regretful.

So, she steadied her thoughts and continued to remind him:

"I've already talked to Xu Yizhou. He will come back to learn guitar from you tomorrow morning at 8 o'clock."

The boy didn't hide his frown and then looked up: "Tomorrow? There's only a few hours left, maybe two or three. He wants to learn guitar for an audition, but he probably won't even learn a decent posture."

"...I know, but in any case, Han Sheng...

Forget it, just do your best to teach him."

Jiang Xixi sighed, looking helpless: "Xu Yizhou has a spoiled personality, and I can't do anything about it. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been staying outside these past few days, not learning guitar from you."

"Okay, then."

Han Sheng nodded. He taught people instruments for money, but he wasn't really their teacher. Some things, just mentioning them was enough.

Since the other party didn't want him to take responsibility, there was no need to say more.

They both nodded and had a brief conversation.

Then, she closed the door and left.

...

"Rushing, rushing, rushing..."

The rain outside was getting heavier, as if it wouldn't stop until it had rained three feet deep that night.

In this somewhat gloomy weather, Han Sheng, who was already quite gloomy, now seemed to relax a bit: although he didn't look much different, he felt less depressed.

It couldn't be helped; the situation was indeed serious.

Anyone who woke up a few days ago in a strange place, found themselves turned into a stranger, and even seemed to have come to a different time and space...

Wouldn't be so calm.

So, Han Sheng became depressed.

He first used depression to avoid contact with the original owner's friends, then locked himself in the room and started to frantically gather information about this place.

The good thing was that many things were similar, including the overall environment, social development, and miscellaneous details. The bad thing was that many things were different, for example, he didn't see any familiar names or faces online.

How to put it?

A similar time and space, but with different cultural development.

After a day and a half of intense thinking, he finally decided to take it slowly.

First, he needed to figure out his identity, yes, a guitarist and lead singer of a band, with some fame in the industry, and his name was the same as his.

Then, he learned that he grew up in a single-parent family, with a beautiful mother who was a dancer. However, she seemed to be carefree and had remarried a wealthy businessman a few years ago, so they had less contact.

Just as he was about to continue exploring...

His friends, worried about him, came to visit.

This was not easy to handle, but fortunately, a call came, offering him a job to teach someone guitar.

Han Sheng himself knew how to play, and he was quite good at it. As for how he compared to the original owner... that wasn't the point. The point was to leave this place, as he felt more of the original owner's friends would come looking for him.

So, he came here.

His plan was to temporarily escape for a while, finish this job, and then find an excuse to go on a trip, preferably to places like XC or Dali. When he returned, he would say his soul had been purified, and his personality had changed, which would be fine...

Anyway, he couldn't return to his original environment for now.

With this plan, things went relatively smoothly.

However, some changes occurred when he came here.

He was here to teach a new actor named Xu Yizhou how to play guitar.

Or, more accurately, to learn some basic posture in a hurry.

As for why it was so last-minute...

There was no choice.

After listening to Jiang Xixi's explanation, Han Sheng understood why:

A few days ago, in the film crew of "Awakening of Insects 2," which had an investment of 300 million, a supporting actor with some scenes had to leave due to personal reasons. His scenes were about to start shooting, and time was of the essence.

So, they lowered their standards and recruited actors who were available recently.

They required someone young, handsome, with decent acting skills, and at least some knowledge of guitar.

Even with these requirements, they wouldn't hold auditions.

It was an internal position.

Very sought after, as the requirements were not high.

Jiang Xixi managed to secure this opportunity and brought Xu Yizhou, hiring Han Sheng as the teacher.

However, who was Xu Yizhou?

A rich kid, whose last drama was produced by his own company. Even though this audition was a rare opportunity, Xu Yizhou didn't like it and was very resistant.

He practiced for only half a day and then ran away.

Jiang Xixi spent two days persuading him to change his mind, but the audition was the next morning, and he said he would practice at 8 o'clock...

"Really..."

Han Sheng sighed.

Although he didn't know how prestigious this film crew was, just from the investment and Jiang Xixi's attitude, he knew the opportunity was rare.

If it were him, he wouldn't have thrown a tantrum, or even if he did, he would have practiced all night to ensure he passed—like cramming formulas the night before an exam.

But Xu Yizhou wanted to practice the next day.

"Whatever, don't think about it."

Han Sheng was not a rich second-generation, even though the original owner's mother had remarried a wealthy man, the original owner never asked for money from home.

So...

That's it.

He looked at the time; it was already late, so he got up and started to move around.

These past few days, to pretend to be depressed and reduce contact with people, especially Jiang Xixi's various inquiries, or because he was really confused, the room was indeed messy.

But he needed to tidy up for the next day's work.

Clean up and go to bed early.

Before sleeping, he could think about what to do after finishing the class and getting paid...

...

He had a dreamless night and woke up at seven the next morning.

His alarm was set for 7:20, and the class was at 8, but Han Sheng, with something on his mind, couldn't sleep well.

He got up, washed up, and had a quick breakfast.

Then he started waiting.

At 8 o'clock, no one came, and it seemed that Mr. Luo was going to be late again.

At 8:30, still no one, and feeling something was wrong, Han Sheng sent a message to Jiang Xixi, but got no response.

At 9 o'clock, Han Sheng, out of professional spirit, called Jiang Xixi. But she... still didn't answer.

Well, there was nothing he could do.

Just like yesterday, he was just a teacher here to teach an instrument, and he would do his job. He didn't consider other things—although it was clear that something was wrong with Jiang Xixi.

Indeed, by 10 o'clock, no one had come.

Han Sheng had already planned a "10-day tour of Dali" and was thinking about the "cycling and taking photos along the Erhai Lake" part, but the money seemed a bit tight, so he was considering cutting it out when...

The door was pushed open with a "bang."

"...Just you?"

Han Sheng watched the door slam against the wall and shake a bit, and couldn't help but grimace. But he still asked, out of professional concern for his client: "Where is Luo Yizhou?"

"...It's Xu Yizhou."

Jiang Xixi was sure she had a black line for 0.01 seconds, but there was no time: "Forget about him, quickly, get ready and come with me!"

"What happened?"

Han Sheng was pulled forward by Jiang Xixi, who grabbed his hand. He was caught off guard and could only ask while walking: "What's going on?"

This guy, even robbers weren't this forceful.

"...Xu Yizhou ran away."

Jiang Xixi, rarely, had a face full of displeasure, but more fatigue and a bit of... relief?

In any case, she continued: "You go and audition in his place."

Han Sheng's headache worsened: "Why should I go if he ran away?"

"Because we can't stand up the director."

They walked to the elevator, pressed the button to go down, and Jiang Xixi turned to explain succinctly: "Director Zhang hates it when people stand him up, so even if Xu Yizhou ran away, we must have someone there."

The atmosphere became silent.

"Why me? What about your other artists?"

After a moment, Han Sheng asked: "I remember you said the opportunity was rare, and everyone wanted it."

"The opportunity is indeed rare, and I would have called someone yesterday."

Jiang Xixi raised her wrist, showing him the watch: "But now, there's only an hour left until the audition, and they can't fly here in time."

"...Then there's no need for me to go. I can't act, and I would just mess up."

Han Sheng preferred to avoid trouble, especially since he had already booked a train ticket for 12 o'clock.

No need, really.

"I said, just go, and it doesn't matter how you act."

Jiang Xixi had no choice: "As for the role, it's a rich second-generation who loves playing guitar. At least half of it matches you, so just play yourself."

"..."

This guy made it sound like it was just a quick fix.

But he was only hired to teach Luo Yizhou...

"It's Xu Yizhou."

Jiang Xixi sighed again: "Forget it, it doesn't matter. I know I only hired you to teach guitar. What do you think? Will you help? I'll give you an extra 5,000 as a bonus."

This, this was like getting 5,000 for free?

Han Sheng's mind raced. Although he thought, "Why am I worth 5,000," his mind quickly showed him a picture of himself cycling and relaxing by the Erhai Lake...

Damn, the entertainment industry really makes money fast.

His original plan was to teach for eight hours a day, with a class fee of 2,000, which wasn't cheap. Now, he would go and stand in for an audition, probably for two hours, and get 5,000.

"Do you want to do it?" she urged again.

"Actually, I've already bought my train ticket..."

He thought:

So, can you also reimburse my train ticket? After all, there's a 20% cancellation fee...

Before he could finish his thought, Jiang Xixi turned and said: "If you don't do it, I'll give you 10,000, but no more. I can find someone else downstairs..."

"Beep..."

The elevator dinged.

The person in the elevator looked up and saw Han Sheng's face with a professional smile: "Of course, Sister Xixi has been so busy these past few days, I should help out.

And actually, I'm not doing it for the money. I'm purely supporting your art, you know..."