ABSML Chapter 58: No Room to Act
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ANNOUNCEMENT
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The music in the gym has a rhythmic, energetic beat. Fang Jun couldn’t quite catch the conversation of those around him, but he could feel that the atmosphere was unusual.
The burly man standing in front of him wore a conflicted expression, seemingly trying to convey with his eyes: Should we continue the act?
With the arrow on the string, Fang Jun couldn't think of a better decision for the moment, so he gave a slight nod.
The burly man, feeling a bit impatient, decided to take a gamble. He gave Fang Jun a hard push, muttering, "You’re asking for it."
The man was falling toward Chen Zhan’s direction, and it was only natural and reasonable that he should be helped.
"Are you okay?"
After Fang Jun steadied himself, Chen Zhan showed a concerned look.
A young man nearby muttered a few words to the wealthy businessman: "This one’s about to get played."
The wealthy businessman, however, saw things more clearly. Anyone who could be friends with Yin Ronglan on the surface was a cat, but deep down they likely had the heart of a weasel.
Among the onlookers was an investor introduced to Chen Zhan by Lin Chiang a while ago.
Recently bored with life, witnessing this situation made him seriously consider whether he should participate in the act.
After hesitating for a moment, he took a step forward, taking on the role of a ‘black market henchman’ for the moment. "He’s just a waiter, what right does he have to challenge a guest?"
The young man, seeing this was a real-life cosplay, thought it was far more fun than a game, clearing his throat and agreeing, "That’s right! Doesn’t care about dirtying other people’s eyes!"
It seemed better than expected, although his instincts told him something was off. Fang Jun still slightly turned his face, clenching his teeth.
Everyone was awkwardly acting out their parts. As the protagonist, Chen Zhan couldn’t stay passive either. He had no choice but to cooperate, standing next to Fang Jun and reciting his lines seriously: "Having money doesn’t mean you can bully others."
Fang Jun grabbed him: "Don’t worry about me, it’s not worth getting into trouble over this."
Chen Zhan’s gaze turned slightly cold, but he still said, "It’s fine."
The young man was one of those people who had been pampered and lacked practical life experience. Referring to the bullies in TV dramas, he said in a harsh tone, "Today, either kneel and apologize, or you’ll never be able to stay in Y City!"
Fang Jun’s face turned pale, and Chen Zhan sighed, "I’ll take you to the other side."
These ridiculous lines made it hard for him to continue the conversation.
An older person present, who was relatively more decent, spoke as Chen Zhan walked away, seemingly sarcastic but actually a double-edged remark: "Birds of a feather flock together."
The club had many entertainment facilities, but there were very few places where one could truly rest in peace.
A glass of lemonade was priced transparently, and Chen Zhan helplessly swiped his card for a dozen or so bucks before handing the drink to Fang Jun: "Is it okay?"
Fang Jun lowered his head, his expression unclear, and his voice seemed a bit sad: "It’s fine, I’m used to it."
When he looked up again, his expression appeared fragile: "Do you look down on me?"
If conditions allowed, Chen Zhan really wanted to call Yin Ronglan over to see what real acting looked like, with layered emotional progression. Then he’d compare it to what the person in front of him was doing… the same old exaggerated "little sunshine" act.
"Every legitimate job deserves respect." Chen Zhan pushed aside his distracting thoughts and took on the role of the considerate older brother.
"Thank you." Fang Jun tightened his grip on Chen Zhan's wrist with one hand.
Chen Zhan raised an eyebrow… Was he testing for a lie?
He subtly withdrew his hand: "Working here isn’t a long-term solution. You need to find another way out."
When he finished speaking, he noticed that Fang Jun’s eyes seemed to light up, as though he had been waiting for these words.
"I’ll think about it."
After a long pause, Fang Jun stammered out this sentence.
Because of this small interruption, Chen Zhan’s club visit was cut short.
Fang Jun seemed to be thinking of something, and before parting, he displayed his unease clearly: "Will you come here again tomorrow?"
Chen Zhan didn’t respond immediately.
"I’m afraid that person will come looking for trouble again tomorrow."
A reasonable request.
Chen Zhan smiled: "Alright." Then, with a meaningful tone, he added, "After all, we’re friends, right?"
·
Meanwhile, Yin Ronglan mysteriously received a box of instant noodles. His first thought was that it was a wrong delivery, and he had his subordinates contact the sender to return it.
One of his subordinates, who was attentive, said, "The name and address are yours, and the sender is Mr. Zhang."
Yin Ronglan put down the pen in his hand, raised his head, and said, "Open two packs and have a look."
As it turned out, it was just ordinary cup noodles.
After thinking for a few seconds, Yin Ronglan opened his computer and searched for information about this brand of noodles. The advertisement seemed quite popular, and the search bar automatically showed a catchy tagline.
Yin Ronglan looked at it for a moment and seemed to realize something. He called Chen Zhan, but the line was busy.
Five minutes later, the call was finally connected.
Yin Ronglan’s voice was warm, not the usual coldness he had when working: "Who were you calling?"
Chen Zhan: "An actor."
Yin Ronglan: "Got a new role?"
"A real-life actor." Chen Zhan mentioned an encounter by the trash can, though it was hard to detect any sarcasm unless one was paying close attention.
Yin Ronglan’s gaze shifted: "He’s pretending to be poor to get close to you?"
Someone was stealing his tricks.
Even though they were separated by distance, it felt as if Yin Ronglan could read Chen Zhan's thoughts. Chen Zhan’s tone had a touch of drama: "Pretending to be poor isn’t exclusive to anyone."
After a bit of playful banter, he got to the point: "Have you heard of this person?"
Yin Ronglan replied negatively.
Chen Zhan wasn’t disappointed.
The people at the club seemed to have no idea who Fang Jun was, and it was normal for Yin Ronglan not to know.
After the call ended, a subordinate looked at Yin Ronglan, waiting for his cue: "Should we check it out?"
Yin Ronglan thought for a moment, then nodded: "I hate it when others play the tricks I’ve used before."
The subordinate rolled his eyes internally, thinking that the "pretending to be a fool" strategy had been overplayed for centuries.
·
The club was expensive. After two consecutive visits, Chen Zhan had already spent hundreds from his card.
Most people came to the club for entertainment, and during the day, there weren’t many customers, especially in the gym area, which was usually quite empty. However, by the third day, it became packed.
Although they tried to hide it well, Chen Zhan could still feel that people were watching him more than a little.
Fang Jun did mostly odd jobs. Sometimes he wiped gym equipment, and when a customer ordered a drink, he had to deliver it.
There weren’t many people making things difficult for him, but it wasn’t exactly rare either.
From Chen Zhan’s perspective, it was just a big, clichéd drama.
Someone nearby, leaning against the treadmill, wiped sweat off while casually saying, "That person’s fingers are pale and slender, looks like he’s never done any hard work, and the fragrance he’s wearing is from a new luxury brand…"
It sounded like Sherlock Holmes-style reasoning, and Chen Zhan raised an eyebrow: "What are you trying to say?"
"You’ve been fooled by your friend."
Chen Zhan nodded: "I know."
Soon, a second person came over and spoke: "He’s the younger son of the Sun family, takes his mother’s surname, just came back from abroad. He has an older brother."
The power of the crowd is indeed limitless. This was the first time Chen Zhan heard any information about Fang Jun’s identity, so he immediately perked up and listened closely.
At that moment, Fang Jun happened to walk in, but was soon dismissed by a young man: "Go get me a cake and put it on the table."
Fang Jun’s face darkened, but he still left.
The person who had been talking continued, "His older brother used to harass Jiang Ying on set."
The rest of the story was obvious—Chen Zhan had probably given the older brother a thorough lesson.
Someone nearby removed their headphones: "Careful planning means he’s not trying to solve this with brute force."
"Exactly," a passing girl pressed her lips together: "If it’s not to harm someone’s life, then it’s probably for money or emotions."
Chen Zhan glanced at them with a complex expression. The people didn’t seem the least bit guilty about watching the show, and the girl, looking all understanding, said, “You’re Uncle Yin’s friend. We can’t let you be fooled.”
It sounded so grandiose that it was hard to argue with.
The feeling of being quietly watched wasn’t pleasant, and after not having exercised for long, Chen Zhan walked over to a place behind a frosted glass to rest.
Suddenly, a plate of snacks appeared on the table. Fang Jun, who had no idea when he showed up, smiled and said, “This is for you.”
After staring at him for a few seconds, Chen Zhan suddenly wanted to repeat the words he once said to Yin Ronglan verbatim… "You were once a beauty, but now a thief."
He sighed lightly and made a gesture to invite him to sit: “Sit for a while.”
Fang Jun replied, “It’s work time now.”
Chen Zhan responded, “If you get in trouble, just say it was an unreasonable request from a guest.”
Fang Jun finally sat down across from him. After hesitating for a moment, he spoke up, “Actually, I’m working here because the salary is good. They pay biweekly.”
Chen Zhan’s response was somewhat indifferent: “That’s good.”
“I want to save some money for an investment,” Fang Jun’s expression was quite fitting as he said softly, “There’s a really good project recently, guaranteed to make money.”
Here comes the attempt at financial manipulation.
Without changing his expression, Chen Zhan cooperated and asked, “How much do you need to invest?”
Fang Jun didn’t mention a specific amount but said, “Investing six parts can make ten parts.”
It sounded tempting, with Fang Jun occasionally throwing in professional jargon, making it seem all sophisticated with words that Chen Zhan didn’t understand.
Chen Zhan stated that he would consider it.
Fang Jun, like a patient predator waiting for his prey, pretended to be sincere, “Let me know whenever you’ve made up your mind.” Then he added, “I paid off my study loan completely with this.”
After a short while, Fang Jun was sent away to do other tasks.
When Chen Zhan returned to the gym area, many eyes turned towards him.
This time, he initiated a conversation with someone nearby: “Have you heard of Hongliu Company?”
“It’s a biotechnology company. A lot of people made a fortune investing in it.”
Chen Zhan never imagined that the company Fang Jun introduced to him was actually something that could make money.
A well-informed wealthy businessman waved his hand: “Not anymore. I have insider information. Their project’s funding chain has collapsed, and it’ll last until the middle of the year at most.”
“What’s there to be afraid of?” The girl, who had been listening in, couldn’t resist joining the conversation: “I’ll get my dad to invest in it, and we can flip the situation.”
“…”
The music was too loud, and Chen Zhan didn’t notice his phone ringing for a while. He quickly moved to a pillar to take the call.
Yin Ronglan: “Fang Jun is actually…”
Chen Zhan: “He’s related to the Sun family.”
Yin Ronglan: “He wants to…”
Chen Zhan: “Get me to invest in a company that’s about to go bankrupt.”
Yin Ronglan paused slightly before asking: “Did you… investigate everything?”
“If I told you I haven’t done anything, would you believe me?”
“…”
Before Yin Ronglan could respond, Chen Zhan gently expressed that, if possible, he hoped Yin Ronglan could help solve this matter.
Yin Ronglan laughed: “This doesn’t seem like your style.”
Chen Zhan said seriously: “If this continues, I’m worried he might turn dark.”
_____
Author's note: Chen Zhan: Life forces me to be kind
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T/N: Please support my ko-fi page so I can post more, thank you🌸🌸🌸
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