"Assistant Xia, please bring me a cup of milk tea. Yuan-jie will want to drink it after she finishes shooting." The tone of her request was similar to ordering an errand boy—though clearly asking for help, she didn't give a word of thanks.
Hao Ritian who was being commanded, "…"
Give him an AK-47. He'd shoot the person speaking to smithereens, regardless of their gender.
Yet as soon as he opened his mouth, a breath of cold air entered his lungs, triggering a distressing fit where he coughed so hard his lungs were in pain. He covered his chest and hurriedly regulated his breathing. The coughing only stopped after a while, and when he looked back at the woman who'd asked him for a cup of milk tea, he found her further away with a look of distaste on her face.
Hao Ritian, "…"
Now he needed a grenade.
Still, he hadn't ascertained his current situation yet and didn't want to make a mess of things. His eyes surveyed the scene. Very good, he could discern the gist of the situation without any explanation: this was a film studio. In front of him was a group of people foolishly standing around in a concave shape. Every once in a while, the director roared in anger from behind the camera, resulting in the actors apologising. They were obviously filming.
He asked the system to scan for any hot beverage shops nearby, intending to confirm the location before buying a hot beverage. He wasn't following that foolish woman's order, rather, he himself needed a hot drink to warm his aching lungs.
System, "Sorry, System doesn't have permission to search."
Hao Ritian, who'd just coughed up a storm, was a bit miffed. His tone was puzzled, "Since the evaluation of the first world was A+, can't you detect any particular situation within a hundred meter radius?"
"That's right, but the functions acquired in the first world can only be utilised in the second world, while the functions acquired in the second world can only be utilised in the third, and so on and so forth. Host's evaluation grade for the previous world is A and only A+ and above can receive tools for additional aid, so this world can't help Host."
"…"
The golden finger was gone.
"This is why the host should strive to complete the mission as quickly as possible. Only by attaining a high evaluation will you receive help for the next world. Host's behaviour in the previous world was obviously unadvisable. Now do you realise your mistake?"
The system never missed an opportunity to earnestly lecture the host, but it was also deserving of pity.
A slight ticklish sensation appeared in his throat again and he had the urge to cough. Though, once Hao Ritian recalled the pain from when he'd been hacking up a lung, his expression became somewhat unsightly and he hastily adjusted his breathing and massaged his throat.
Without the system's perfect assistance, Hao Ritian's only option was to ask someone, and after ascertaining that a hot beverage shop was near the film studio, he promptly left. As he breathed in the cold air outside, he felt his throat become more and more itchy.
Hah, the weather was really cold.
Rubbing his hands, Hao Ritian hurried to the hot beverage shop and bought himself a cup of milk tea, drinking two sips to ease the itchiness in his throat. While he warmed his hands, he began to take in the mission details for this world.
The original owner he'd transmigrated into was named Xia Luo, and he was the assistant of a celebrity. There weren't any issues with his basic settings—the biggest problem lay with Xia Luo's personality.
Frankly speaking, Xia Luo had the personality of a steamed bun. Shortly after entering university, his parents died in an accident, leaving no one to care for him and his younger sister. Due to his strong sense of duty, he immediately assumed responsibility for his sister. During his four years in university, apart from focusing on his studies, he also had to work to afford their tuition and living expenses. Xia Luo was originally (mildly) asthmatic, but with the way he recklessly busied himself, his condition gradually worsened by the time he graduated.
At first, his only sister, Xia Xin, had been considerate and wouldn't add trouble to her older brother's plate. She also knew that no one besides her brother would take care of her and was therefore extremely grateful to him. However, after reaching university, she began to change, becoming fond of keeping up with the Joneses and taking Xia Luo's contributions for granted.
Xia Xin was beautiful. She studied acting and wanted to become a star. Acting classes were extremely expensive and Xia Xin was no longer considerate about the work Xia Luo put into earning money. Because of her classmates' clothes and expenditures, she began to compare herself with others and made demands of Xia Luo as if it were her right.
Unfortunately, Xia Luo had gotten used to his sister's demands. Knowing that his sister wanted to become a star, he even decided to work as a celebrity assistant after graduation to build up experience before becoming a manager so that he could be his sister's manager once she became a star.
His university major was in fashion design, and he was incredibly gifted in this area. During his time in school, he still managed to attain scholarships despite working a lot every semester. His teachers considered him a very intelligent student and assumed he would step into the fashion design industry after graduating. Who would've expected that he'd become a celebrity assistant? They lamented his failure to live up to expectations.
Still, Xia Luo didn't wise up—actually, to say that would be inaccurate. Rather, he knew that the entertainment industry wasn't easy to mingle in and, being a girl, it was especially difficult for his sister to enter. As her older brother, if he could amass some experience beforehand, he would be able to protect her and allow her to take it easy when the time came.
After their parents' deaths, the siblings were left to rely on each other for survival. One could say he loved his sister dearly.
Although his job didn't match his major, Xia Luo was very meticulous and was a quick thinker. It didn't take him long to learn the ropes of being an assistant to a star as he was often able to spot small details others wouldn't notice. In all honesty, assistants were considered a celebrity's nanny to a certain extent, and Xia Luo was one of the best.
The star he was responsible for was Li Bufan, a young, handsome man only 22 years old. Li Bufan had a terrible personality and was picky about his clothes and food. Many of his acquaintances thought he was difficult to please, except for Xia Luo. In no time at all, he'd learned Li Bufan's preferences and would take good care of him in every aspect.
After taking care of him for so long, Xia Luo grew to consider Li Bufan a younger brother. In fact, the reason he was very indulgent with Li Bufan and was willing to meet his demands was because he could feel Li Bufan's implicit care for him.
Li Bufan was a man with a hard mouth but a soft heart. He was very pleased with Xia Luo but would occasionally talk back on purpose, which was actually just to assert his existence, and Xia Luo would accept it all.
At this point, Xia Luo had been an assistant by Li Bufan's side for a year.
Hao Ritian 'tsk'-ed, "This is really…"
Although he wanted to scold Xia Luo severely, he tried to put himself in his shoes. Xia Luo really couldn't be blamed. Though Xia Xin had changed, she would pretend otherwise, and Xia Luo couldn't think badly of his sister for no reason. His work alone kept him very busy. In his position, the fact he could get this far was quite admirable.
As the little sister who was being selflessly taken care of by Xia Luo, forget being deeply grateful, if Xia Xin was at least thoughtful and had a conscience, Xia Luo would likely feel gratified.
But Xia Xin was a complete and utter white-eyed wolf.
The points in time Hao Ritian crossed over to would always be monumental nodes in which the original owner's fate would change. Xia Luo was naturally no exception.
Xia Xin was a junior in university this year. For students who studied performance, junior year was the time when they'd begin forging their own paths. There couldn't be a more fantastic result than being noticed by a brokerage company and then signing a contract right away. Even if a contract wasn't signed, one had the chance to appear on TV and show their face, which was also a great outcome.
Coincidentally, Qingfeng Entertainment was preparing to shoot a Xianxia drama this year that was greatly hyped. From the director to the actors, it was clear that this would be a big production. Apart from the leading roles, other roles would be chosen through public recruitment and newbies without contracts could also audition. A single stone evoked a thousand ripples, and numerous acting students were eager to give it a shot.
Among them was Xia Xin.
Naturally, the standards of large-scale productions were very high. The only reason they opened a public recruitment was because they couldn't find suitable candidates for two relatively special roles. Expecting newcomers to be more malleable, they decided to try casting a wider net.
Unsurprisingly, Xia Xin flunked her audition and couldn't even land the role of an extra. In big TV drama productions such as this one, not even extras were roles that just anybody could do.
At first, Xia Xin thought this TV drama would have nothing to do with her after her failure. She didn't expect there to be a turning point—one of the investors took a fancy to her brother. That investor was gay, and he especially liked men that were beautiful and slim. Be it Xia Luo's looks and figure or his disposition, they were all pleasing to him.
After receiving this news, not only was Xia Xin unflustered, she even thought an opportunity had come. It was harmless; she knew her brother was gay, and now that someone had just so happened to have taken a fancy to him, wouldn't she be killing two birds with one stone by helping her brother find a boyfriend and having an investor give her a role in the TV drama?!
Xia Xin didn't think there was anything wrong with her idea. On the contrary, she thought she was doing Xia Luo a favour. She'd seen the investor with her own eyes and he was a handsome and rich man. Her brother wouldn't lose out by being with him.
Consequently, Xia Xin contacted the investor without asking the ignorant Xia Luo's wishes beforehand and sent him to the investor's bed.
Xia Luo didn't learn the truth until he met with the investor. Of course, he didn't agree, but how could the investor let this opportunity slip away? If Xia Luo wasn't willing then he would force himself on him. It wasn't the first time he'd forced himself on someone anyways. As Xia Luo struggled, he also learned from the investor that everything had been set up by his good little sister and became dumbfounded.
The investor wasn't aware that Xia Luo had severe asthma. In the midst of Xia Luo's strikes and struggles, he suffered an asthma attack of unprecedented seriousness and couldn't breathe. However, in the eyes of the investor who wasn't aware of his condition, he simply thought Xia Luo was angry and didn't pay it any mind.
As a consequence of his inattention, Xia Luo dropped dead before he could do it.
Hao Ritian, "I really…"
Your mom's a bitch1. He'd never taken over someone who'd died in as aggrieved a way as this one. In terms of mission difficulty, this was the easiest world so far, but it was also the one that disgusted him the most.
The way Xia Luo died was too awful. One could say he hadn't died by the investor's hand but by the sister for whom he'd toiled so hard. She disgusted him so much that he wished he could torture her a hundred thousand times using the cruelest ways possible.
Xia Xin was a natural white-eyed wolf who was brain damaged beyond saving.