Every Day the Villain Continues to Fail
[Quick Transmigration]
o0o
Since it wasn’t the busiest time yet, only a few scattered customers sat at the bar, drinking.
In the dim lighting, Ruan Yao moved through the space without obstruction, heading straight to the location Yan Hui had given him.
The upper floor of the bar was divided into VIP private rooms.
When Ruan Yao arrived at the door of the designated room, he ran into a woman in a form-fitting dress stepping out.
She had clearly had too much to drink. Her gaze, heavy with intoxication, swept over him and a knowing smile curled her lips.
“Go on in” Her balance wavered as she teetered on her high heels, nearly stumbling.
Ruan Yao instinctively reached out to steady her.
The overpowering scent of expensive perfume mixed with the sharp tang of alcohol. Even through his mask, the strange combination made him wince.
Her eyes, hazy from the alcohol, blinked open. Smudged mascara and eyeliner blurred around them, and a patch of lipstick was missing from her full lips.
She looked like she had just been through something intense.
“Thanks, handsome” She giggled and, despite the mask between them, pressed a flirtatious kiss to his cheek.
Ruan Yao froze.
“System…, she kissed me” His voice wavered, and a soft, embarrassed pink bloomed beneath the mask.
The system’s voice sounded oddly displeased, almost petulant. A small, sulky expression appeared on the screen. “You had a mask on. It doesn’t count”
Ruan Yao didn’t care. It was the first time a girl had ever kissed him. Unlike those forced encounters in the past, this one felt… soft.
No wonder humans liked being around women.
Still feeling a little lightheaded, he stepped into the private room adndthen sobered instantly.
His hand flew up to cover his eyes.
The air inside was thick with alcohol and perfume. A mixed-race man with his hair tied back lounged lazily on the sofa.
His shirt hung open at the collar, revealing most of his chest, where several bright red lipstick marks stood out against his skin.
The foreign actor who was usually seen with Yan Hui wasn’t here.
The pretty boy knelt at the man's feet, took a sip of martini himself, and prepared to bend down to feed it to the man's mouth, while gazing into the director's eyes with amorous intent.
Ruan Yao had a feeling he might develop an eye infection after this.
If he paid more attention to the entertainment industry, he’d recognize the boy as the third male lead in a currently trending romance drama.
Seeing Ruan Yao enter, Yan Hui finally lifted a hand. The boy hesitated before swallowing the sip of alcohol himself and obediently shifting to the side.
Even then, his gaze lingered on Ruan Yao, carrying a subtle trace of hostility.
Ruan Yao had always found men like Yan Hui repulsive, so he made a point to sit at the very edge of the couch.
Yan Hui chuckled. “You really don’t seem to like me”
He had East Slavic blood mixed in his veins. His sharp features, deep-set eyes, and high nose made his pale skin look even more like that of a vampire.
There was something unsettling about him, something predatory.
Ruan Yao didn’t like those iron-gray eyes staring at him. They reminded him of a snow wolf, waiting for its prey to walk straight into its jaws.
Yan Hui dismissed the boy, leaving only the two of them in the room.
With a mask on, Ruan Yao’s face looked even smaller. When he glanced warily at the man, his beautifully shaped eyes widened, and his thick, dark lashes trembled like stars quivering in the night.
Something about it set Yan Hui’s heart pounding.
The urge to press a kiss to those lashes, to run his tongue over the delicate skin of his eyelids, to feel the boy shudder beneath his hands in panic, it was overwhelming. He wanted complete control, to make him his.
“Why did you call me here? What do you want?”
Ruan Yao’s fingers unconsciously tugged at the wrinkled hem of his shirt. He barely knew Yan Hui, but his instincts screamed that the man had something sinister planned.
And yet, the system insisted this was a crucial mission point. He had no choice but to be here.
Yan Hui let out a soft chuckle, masking the feverish glint in his eyes with a gentle, almost gentlemanly smile “I just think you’re perfect for a role in my film”
He laced his fingers together, completely at ease, his confidence absolute “You’re going to love it”
He wasn’t lying.
Finding Ruan Yao’s background information had been easy. Yan Hui knew he was being kept by Sheng Yirong. He also knew about Sheng Yirong’s twisted possessiveness, how he had repeatedly sabotaged Ruan Yao’s career in the industry.
A face like that, constantly attracting attention without even realizing it. If it were him, he might have done the same as Sheng Yirong.
Or worse.
He wouldn’t let him run around catching people’s eyes.
He’d lock him in a gilded cage, drape him in jewels, grant him ultimate power. And then, he would be his, completely and entirely.
Yan Hui had spent years navigating an industry that looked glamorous on the surface but was rotten to the core behind the scenes. His heart had long been eroded by it, and nothing about the filth in this world surprised him anymore.
Ruan Yao had practically disappeared from the entertainment industry for years. If someone so much as extended an olive branch, he would take it. Especially when that branch came from Yan Hui’s film.
^"olive branch" is a metaphor that means an offer of peace, reconciliation, or opportunity. (like offering him a role in a movie)
Silence settled between them.
“Why me?” Ruan Yao finally asked. Just because they had met twice? The way this role was being cast felt almost random. He blinked slowly, a little dazed.
Yan Hui raised an eyebrow, his expression indulgent. “If you want, you can read the script first. This role was practically made for you”
“I can’t think of anyone who would fit it better”
Ruan Yao listened carefully, unconsciously tilting his body slightly.
The distance between them grew smaller.
Yan Hui watched with quiet satisfaction as the little beauty took step after step into his carefully laid trap.
“I’ve never acted before” Ruan Yao’s tone wavered. He looked at Yan Hui, a little embarrassed. “And I have nothing to repay you with”
Repayment was never necessary.
Yan Hui would find his own way to take what he wanted from the little beauty.
Yet when facing Ruan Yao, he always put on a virtuous front. His voice was warm and coaxing. “Do you know what matters most to a director? A successful film”
“I think you have talent”
Ruan Yao was naturally gifted. After all, he was destined to win the Time Administration’s Annual Acting Award.
He didn’t notice how much closer they had become.
At some point, Yan Hui had already moved to sit beside him.
Ruan Yao’s hand rested on the sofa, elegant and refined like a jade carving. His fingers were long and slender, with just a hint of soft pink at the tips, like the petals of a budding flower.
It made people want to hold them, to trace every delicate contour, to savor the sensation.
If Yan Hui lowered his head just slightly, he could easily press a kiss to Ruan Yao’s smooth forehead.
Ruan Yao stared at him in a daze. Even his breath smelled sweet, nothing like the indulgent decadence that clung to the air of the room.
It had a way of stripping away rational thought, making people willingly offer him everything.
“I hope to see you on set when filming begins” Yan Hui leaned in and whispered beside his ear, watching with satisfaction as the boy’s jade-white earlobe flushed a decadent shade of red.
So sensitive.
The color in Yan Hui's eyes darkened.
o0o
After Ruan Yao left, the boy from earlier entered again, draping himself over the man with a boneless grace. His shallow breaths carried a hint of desire. "Director Yan."
He clung to the man, a fawning smile stretched across his delicate features.
Yan Hui found it irritating. He downed the last sip of his drink and spat out a single word. "Leave"
The boy’s face turned a mix of red and pale. He had no idea what had set Yan Hui off this time, but there was nothing he could do. Frustration and grievance flashed in his eyes as he backed out of the room.
Outside, someone was already waiting for him, his manager.
“Why are you out so soon?” The greasy middle-aged man wiped sweat from his face, his expression tense.
“Did he agree to give you the role of the second male lead in 'City Without Love'?”
The boy’s face was ashen. He gritted his teeth. “No. That bastard Yan Hui must be impotent. Every damn time, all he does is kiss me. I even tried taking his pants off, and he still wouldn’t let me. So what was the point of calling all those people in? Just to put on a show?”
The manager let out a derisive chuckle. “A man like him looks like a playboy, but deep down, he’s impossibly arrogant. If you don’t truly catch his eye, it doesn’t matter what you do”
“I told you Yan Hui was unreliable. Everyone’s been fighting tooth and nail for this role, and no one’s gotten it. Li Mingzheng still has a part left uncast. Pack up now and set your sights elsewhere”
The boy shot a resentful glance at the tightly shut door, his mind suddenly drifting to the person who had just left.
A mask and a hat covered most of their face, leaving only a sliver of pale skin visible at the collar—so strikingly white it almost glowed.
Just before entering, he had accidentally locked eyes with them.
A fleeting moment.
Light amber eyes shimmered like rippling water, pulling him in with an almost hypnotic force. Staring too long at those eyes would be dangerous. It would be far too easy to lose oneself completely, to forget even one's own name.
Beauty like that was rare in this world, but it carried an equal measure of danger.
"Could they be your muse?" he murmured under his breath.
o0o
Ruan Yao had barely returned to the hotel when Yan Hui sent over the script and character profile.
The role Yan Hui had chosen for Ruan Yao was named Ning Zhen, a troubled youth who had been raised as a stand-in for his mother since childhood, leading to a distorted perception of gender identity.
Ruan Yao rubbed his eyes, double-checking the words on the screen. Troubled. Youth.
Raised by an uncle with no blood relation to be his mother’s substitute.
For a solid moment, he struggled to untangle the mess of relationships in this story.
His pupils trembled. Was this really okay?
Were films allowed to be this fearless?
Had he completely misunderstood humanity’s sense of restraint?
"Brother System, am I sleep-deprived, or am I actually seeing this?" Ruan Yao clung to a last shred of hope.
The system was merciless. "Nope, your eyesight is perfectly fine. No nearsightedness, no hallucinations"
As dark clouds of despair gathered around him, the system finally softened its tone. "Movies like this usually aim for international awards. If you win, your career will skyrocket"
"And this is an excellent opportunity to hone your craft"
Ruan Yao poked his head out from under the blanket, his chestnut hair a complete mess. With a serious expression, he nodded.
"You make a good point"
o0o
C71-C75 on ko-fi.
Author’s note:
Alright, he’s been tricked into filming an art film.