Chapter 1 Late-Night Barbecue
As an eighteen-line small-time celebrity in the Domestic Entertainment Circle, I knew my place clearly. I wasn't destined for massive fame, so I just picked up small jobs now and then to scrape by.
The peanuts I earned would make my mom laugh her teeth off.
These past few days I had been filming the female Nth lead. To look good on camera I had eaten nothing but grass for a month. Tonight my scenes finally wrapped.
I was starving in the middle of the night, so I walked downstairs a few steps into a Barbecue stall.
Being a nobody was the best disguise. I didn't even need a mask when going out.
I was too hungry and only thought about eating, so I forgot to check my phone battery. Just as I was about to pay, my phone suddenly went black.
"..."
The boss and I stared at each other.
After two seconds of silence I smiled and told the boss to wait. I turned and scanned the area. Finally in an inconspicuous corner I saw the familiar figure still holding his camera.
I waved at him. "Paparazzi Bro, come help pay the bill."
A moment later the guy dressed in gray emerged from the shadowed corner. He grumbled while scanning the QR code to pay.
"Jiang Dai, I must owe you from my past life. Back when I saw you on the Idol Survival Show looking pretty I thought you'd make it big, so I followed you. All these years later I haven't made any money and even lost 78 bucks—"
His tone suddenly changed. He stared at me with wide eyes. "You, a female artist, ordering 78 bucks of Barbecue at midnight? Alone?"
"So what?" I looked at him strangely. "Paparazzi Bro, you don't think I can't finish it, do you?"
My loyal Paparazzi Bro stared at me with an indescribable gaze for a few seconds. Then he delivered the golden line.
"I'd rather there was a second person in your room. At least I could dig up some dirt."
Crude but true. But still...
I picked up the packed Barbecue and said to Zhang Youze, "Paparazzi Bro, thanks for your hard work tonight. I'll treat you to a big meal another day."
Paparazzi Bro gave me the same heavy-hearted look my agent always did.
"Jiang Dai, you need to be more careful. Day after day filming you makes me a laughingstock among my peers."
"..."
Paparazzi Bro, I'm so sorry!