Chapter 84: A New Role on the Horizon!

With over 180,000 points of applause, Li Shixin had never seen such a number in his life! Forcing down his excitement, he cleared his throat and stood up under An Xiaoxiao’s envious and jealous gaze.

He had intended to visit the restroom to carefully study the source of those 180... well, thousand points of applause and consider how to distribute them. But before he could leave the set, a shout erupted at the entrance.

“Where’s Old Master Li?!”

Turning around, he saw Wang Hai—his plump figure squeezed into a fitted striped suit, looking like a wrapped zongzi—striding in.

The production’s budget was tight, so everyone from the director to the extras ate the same meals. At that moment, Jiao Chendong was still shoveling boxed rice into his mouth. He was startled by Wang Hai’s urgent entrance.

“Director Wang, what’s happened?”

“Old Master! Old Master Li is trending!”

Wiping the sweat from his brow, Wang Hai pulled out his phone and opened Weibo. The hot topic “An Elderly Man Chasing Dreams in Rongdian” was displayed prominently.

Many extras had been present during today’s shoot. Upon hearing this, they hurriedly crowded around.

When they saw the trending topic about Li Shixin and noticed that his followers had already surpassed seventy thousand, the extras suddenly found their boxed rice had lost all taste.

Each bite felt like chewing wax, and faintly... tsk! Was that the tartness of aged Shanxi vinegar?

They’d all heard about Li Shixin’s story. Damn it—why should it be him! They were all here in Rongdian chasing dreams, young men and women who had floated about for five or six years with no progress. But how long had this old man been here? He already had roles, and now even fame...

Heavens above, have you changed from Heaven the Father to Heaven the Mother?!

“Ahem.” At this moment, the man himself coughed softly from outside the crowd.

Seeing his slightly stooped figure and smiling, wrinkled face, the extras—faces complicated—parted to let him through.

Beep!

Received applause points with the tag “envy, jealousy, hatred”: 3,821 points!

“Heh.” Silently thanking this group of green-eyed patients, Li Shixin nodded at Wang Hai. “Director Wang, you were looking for me?”

“Oh, my dear sir!” Seeing Li Shixin, Wang Hai immediately bent over, supporting his arm.

Noticing that Li Shixin was still dressed in his costume in the cold, without even an extra layer, Wang Hai quickly snatched a military coat from the cameraman nearby and draped it over Li Shixin’s shoulders.

“Why aren’t you wearing more? What if you catch a chill?”

Seeing the fawning smile on Wang Hai’s face, Li Shixin raised his eyebrows.

No one offers flattery for nothing—ulterior motives, surely.

Though he hadn’t known Wang Hai long, Li Shixin understood the boy’s character as thoroughly as a bachelor peering through a hole in the wall to watch a widow bathe—nothing escaped him.

Unscrewing the lid of his thermos, Li Shixin sipped his goji berry tea. “Thank you for your concern, Director Wang. Was there something you needed?”

“Tsk! The old master is wise.” Wang Hai knew there was no out-talking Li Shixin, so he bent even lower, put a stool under Li Shixin, and helped him settle down. With a sheepish grin, he began, “Well, sir, after the opening ceremony for our drama, the publicity didn’t meet expectations.”

“Oh.” Li Shixin chuckled.

What a load of nonsense! Last night, before checking his own trending status, he had already read the news about “Riding the Wind”’s launch. The buzz was indeed lacking, but that wasn’t the publicity team’s fault. The money simply hadn’t been spent where it counted—the news platforms used had only limited influence.

If he’d managed to catch fire, it was all thanks to his own cunning maneuvers. Otherwise, with Tianmeng Company’s PR resources, there was no way things would have blown up this much.

Now this kid, who couldn’t make things work with a small budget, was clearly eyeing him for help.

“What’s it got to do with me?”

“Ahem!” Wang Hai’s next words caught in his throat.

“Old master.” With a bitter face, Wang Hai crouched before Li Shixin, “You see, you’re one of our main actors, too. If this show gets popular, wouldn’t that reflect well on you as well? How about riding this wave of attention to promote our drama?”

Li Shixin cast him a sidelong glance.

“Director Wang, yesterday someone told me I should avoid too much media exposure. If I get too much attention and something happens to me during filming, the crew would have a mess to clean up.”

“Who said that?” Wang Hai’s eyes widened instantly. He glared around at everyone, barking, “Which bastard said that? Jiao Chendong, was it you?”

Ahem.

Jiao Chendong coughed lightly and looked away.

“Then was it you?” Wang Hai turned to the PR director.

“Wouldn’t dare!” The director gave an awkward grin.

After questioning everyone and getting no confession, Wang Hai sidled up to Li Shixin with a fawning smile. “Sir, you must have misheard. We treasure you, there’s no way anyone would say such a heartless thing.”

The whole crew, watching Wang Hai berate the air, all focused their gaze on the ceiling, secretly sighing: Not only does Director Wang have a thick skin, his acting’s top notch, too!

“Oh?” Li Shixin curled his lips.

Seeing the look of disdain on Li Shixin’s face, Wang Hai slapped his thigh and pulled him aside.

“Sir, let’s be honest. Name your terms!”

Seeing Wang Hai grit his teeth as if cutting his own flesh, Li Shixin just chuckled and turned away.

“Roles.”

“That’s it?” Wang Hai was momentarily stunned.

“What else would an old man want? That’s all I care about.”

Wang Hai gazed deeply at Li Shixin and nodded solemnly, clasping his fists. “Alright! Sir, you have my word. It’s just roles! I just landed a big project this morning—period drama, large scale, huge production! I’ll get you lined up for it right away!”

Seeing Wang Hai so sensible, Li Shixin patted his fleshy shoulder with a smile. “Good boy, you’re thoughtful. Director Wang, your father this year...”

Rumor had it in the crew that Li Shixin had taken on two godsons in a month, perhaps becoming addicted to the practice.

Now, with Li Shixin’s kindly eyes fixed on him, Wang Hai shuddered.

“He just turned seventy! Fit as ever! Not in need of a father!”

Seeing how quickly he cowered, Li Shixin winced as if with a toothache.

“What a pity.”

...

All things considered, Li Shixin was quite satisfied with Wang Hai. Though slippery and reeking of money, the man wasn’t a bad sort.

As for Wang Hai’s earlier difficulties, Li Shixin could understand them. Tianmeng was a big company; it couldn’t afford to make risky moves. As person in charge, a bit of stinginess and caution was to be expected.

With “Riding the Wind” progressing nicely, his role would probably wrap in under a month. Since he hadn’t signed with any agency and was already worrying about what to do after this show, Wang Hai’s promise put his mind at ease.

During the crew’s half-hour lunch break, Li Shixin slipped alone into the makeup room. Locking the door, he opened his system. Seeing over 180,000 applause points, he felt thoroughly delighted.

User: Li Shixin.
Remaining lifespan: 121 days.
Physical age: 63 years, 237 days.
Current applause points: 188,113.

With 120 days of life left—enough to get by for a while—Li Shixin focused on the age reduction option.

Winter was coming, the weather turning cold, and the strain of filming was taking its toll. His old legs had started acting up again. In the mornings, his throat rasped and wheezed—this year’s bout of whooping cough had arrived right on schedule.

Since death was no longer an immediate concern, it was time to pursue quality of life!

“Come on, let’s do this!”

Without hesitation, Li Shixin invested 137,000 points into the age reduction feature.

As his physical age dropped from 63 years and 237 days to 63 years and 100 days, he felt a warm current surge through him; the nagging pain in his knees faded, and the dryness in his throat eased considerably.

Savoring that addictive sensation for a long while, he finally curled his lips in satisfaction.

Looking at the remaining fifty thousand applause points, he rubbed his twig-like hands together and resolutely poured them into the lottery option.

Beep!

You have obtained [Old Man’s Joy] x1. Description: This little item will soothe your unspeakable itches on every lonely night!

😒

You cheeky lottery, trying to tempt this old man with such things again?