GRMFBS CH13

“His accent is so heavy, I only understood those two sentences,” Matthias lamented. “And when I speak English, he doesn’t understand me.”

Zhan Yan was even more curious about what Matthias might have owed the man in a past life. What could have left such a deep impression on a ghost from the Ming dynasty that he was still chasing after the debt, even going so far as to learn English?

He patted Matthias on the shoulder. “Let me figure out a way to translate it for you.”

Matthias thought he was joking and laughed heartily. “Alright, I’ll try harder to dream about you next time.”

After wrapping up the dream discussion, Zhan Yan took Matthias out for some sightseeing. Around lunchtime, they went to a restaurant highly rated by a certain hungry ghost. Matthias approved of the ghost’s taste.

While they ate, Zhan Yan casually replied to a message in his class group chat, asking Duan Hong which spot he was sitting in the study room. He planned to check it out when he returned to school tomorrow.

Another notification popped up on his phone, this time from his sister, Zhan Suiru. Her avatar was a cartoon of a sunbathing fish wearing sunglasses.

Zhan Suiru had forwarded him a few Weibo posts. Their chat history was mostly filled with these gossip exchanges.

Zhan Yan opened the messages.

The first post was from a popular verified account with a large following. It featured a few behind-the-scenes photos.

Ling Yuteng Fan Account:
Admire these beautiful photos of Teng Teng!
[Image][Image][Image]

This account’s entire feed was filled with Ling Yuteng-related content, clearly run by a devoted fan.

In the photos, Ling Yuteng was dressed in costume with various looks, but all shared a consistent style—red and gold, exuding a youthful and heroic charm.

The comments below are all licking, and fawning over him, with some asking if this was for a new drama and when it would air.

The fan account owner, Ling Yuteng Fan Account, replied enthusiastically:

Ling Yuteng Fan Account: [I know, right?! Teng Teng looks amazing in this outfit!]
Ling Yuteng Fan Account: [I love it so much!]
Ling Yuteng Fan Account: [Too bad we can only admire the pictures.]
Ling Yuteng Fan Account: [These are all we’ve got, so cherish them.]

Her vague responses stirred up curiosity in the comments, prompting fans to ask what drama this was and why it wouldn’t air.

Ling Yuteng Fan Account: [No, no, the drama’s still being filmed. It’s the one we promoted earlier.]

Ling Yuteng Fan Account: [But it seems Teng Teng won’t be acting in it anymore.]

Ling Yuteng Fan Account: [They replaced him with someone else.]

Ling Yuteng Fan Account: [I don’t know the details, so don’t ask me.]

Another major fan account chimed in.

Ling Ling Ling: [Yeah, they switched actors. The big boss from the production’s investor personally brought someone to the set.]

Ling Ling Ling: [It’s such a pity. Yuteng was super busy but still prepared for this role for so long, only to be replaced as soon as he joined the crew.]

The comments section exploded with fans demanding answers, asking who the replacement was.

Ling Yuteng Fan Account: [Not sure. But it seems the new actor isn’t young.]

Fans quickly dug into which drama this was and bombarded the production team, director, investors, and related companies on Weibo with angry comments.

[Yuteng helped promote this months ago, and now you just kick him out? What kind of scam is this?!]

[We’ve been hyping this up for ages. If you wanted to replace him, why not say so earlier?!]

[Ridiculous! This role clearly suits a heroic young man, and you’re giving it to some old, ugly actor through shady dealings?]

……

They tried to uncover who had replaced Ling Yuteng. However, ever since Zhan Yunkai joined the set, Xia Yuexian had taken over the crew’s management, leaving no leaks. After extensive digging, the fans still couldn’t figure it out.

Zhan Yan clicked his tongue. These two fan leaders were something else, truly masters of the art of language. Was their brother the one who had spent months preparing for the role before joining the set? No, it was the crew that had specifically adjusted the shooting schedule to accommodate his availability.

As for Boss Xia bringing his father to the set, wasn’t that because their brother had refused to continue filming unless they added scenes for him? His father had clearly gone to help salvage the situation, but now the narrative implied he was there to steal the role.

Zhan Yan opened his gossip system and started searching for the latest updates.

These photos were all of Ling Yuteng’s costume fittings, outfits he had only worn during his trial session at the set a couple of days ago. For someone to capture these images, they must have been an insider on the production team.

After a bit of searching, sure enough, it turned out that two of Ling Yuteng’s fans had infiltrated the crew as on-set assistants and had secretly taken these pictures at the time.

However, there was no need for Zhan Yan to point this out—Boss Xia had already fired them on the spot. Well done!

Because they were dismissed immediately, those two didn’t get to see Zhan Yunkai’s later appearance. When he arrived, the dim lighting prevented them from getting a clear look. All they knew was that the person seemed older.

Now, however, this group’s online antics were becoming increasingly annoying. They even bought a trending topic claiming Ling Yuteng’s photos outshone others, all while insulting his father as an “old and ugly casting-couch actor.”

At the same time, someone else was equally upset about the trending topic.

Ling Yuteng: [Who bought that trending topic about me outshining others? Take it down now!]

He glared at his assistant, practically seething.

Others might not know, but how could he not know who had taken his role? He had seen Zhan Yunkai in person at the set and had been utterly intimidated by the man’s appearance and aura.

Zhan Yunkai’s looks were beyond what any plastic surgery could achieve. If people swarmed the production’s social media, and the crew released Zhan Yunkai’s official stills, the side-by-side comparison would be devastating. The higher the trending topic went now, the harder Ling Yuteng would be mocked later.

Other actors were one thing, but Ling Yuteng knew full well that his career relied entirely on his looks. This would be a catastrophic blow to him!

The assistant sighed in exhaustion, sounding like a corporate drone working overtime. “We didn’t buy the trending topic. It was probably your fans.”

The situation was a complete mess. When Xia Yuexian decisively replaced Ling Yuteng, the investors behind him had initially tried to threaten the crew with pulling funding. But Xia Yuexian kicked them out without hesitation.

The character’s scenes were already minimal and had been pushed to the end of the schedule. If this wasn’t resolved quickly, the filming would wrap up in a few days, and the production would be done.

Unfortunately, it was too late to suppress the trending topic. At this moment, another behind-the-scenes photo began spreading rapidly online. It showed the day Ling Yuteng stormed onto the set and was reprimanded by Zhan Yunkai with a single sentence. The photo, taken from the side, clearly captured both their faces.

Zhan Yunkai was over half a head taller than Ling Yuteng. His fitted costume and cinched golden armor perfectly highlighted his excellent physique. His expression was calm as he turned back, yet his presence was overwhelmingly commanding.

In comparison, Ling Yuteng’s previously decent costume photos now looked like a child playing dress-up in adult clothes. His attempt at appearing dashing came off as forced and laughable when contrasted with the demon king’s aura.

Even without focusing on their faces, Zhan Yunkai’s physique and bearing alone crushed Ling Yuteng completely.

Ling Yuteng’s hands trembled as he stared at the photo.

Who?! Who took that photo and posted it?!

It wasn’t Xia Yuexian. While it would have been satisfying to use the demon king’s looks and charisma to overshadow the other, that would have meant pushing Zhan Yunkai into the spotlight, exposing him to Ling Yuteng’s rabid fans. Xia Yuexian wouldn’t do something like that.

Considering how Zhan Yunkai had managed to stay in the background for years despite his striking appearance, it was clear that the demon king had no interest in advancing his career.

Yet sometimes, fame finds you whether you want it or not.

After the photo was shared, the comments were filled with ridicule toward Ling Yuteng and inquiries about Zhan Yunkai:

[Ten minutes. I want all the details on this handsome guy!!!]

[Seriously, how did Ling Yuteng’s fans have the nerve to call him old and ugly? If this is old and ugly, then what’s their idol? An alien creature?]

[Is this handsome guy a newcomer? Why is there no info on him?]

[Wait, he looks kind of familiar. Have I seen him somewhere before…?]

With the photo circulating, Zhan Yunkai’s information was quickly uncovered, and soon a swarm of people flooded his Weibo.

There, they were greeted by his latest post:

Good morning. Today’s breakfast: century egg and lean pork congee, shrimp dumplings, and smashed cucumber.
[Image][Image][Image]

The newcomers were baffled: ???

Scrolling further down, they found post after post—nothing but pictures of breakfast, lunch, and dinner, all of which looked incredibly appetizing.

Had they stumbled into the wrong place? Was this a food blogger?

Although Zhan Yunkai was a minor actor, his occasional appearances in stunning, vase-like roles had earned him a small group of fans who adored his looks.

These fans quickly explained the situation:

[Nope, you’re in the right place. Our guy never promotes himself; he just posts food.]

[Yep, he doesn’t even share his own stills. If you’re looking for resources, you won’t find them here.]

[Want resources? Sure, here’s a link: Zhan Yunkai’s film and TV scene compilations.]

[Anything else? Nope. Not a single personal photo. Our guy never shares daily life pics or modeling shots.]

[With a face like that, he’s managed to stay on the fringes of fame purely through sheer determination.]

[Stealing roles? Ha! Who are you even talking about? The guy who’s turned himself into a food photographer?]

Some quick-fingered fans had already scrolled through all of Zhan Yunkai’s posts and fell silent. Over ten years of acting, and apart from reposting official promotional content, his entire feed was just food—enough to make anyone hungry.

Oh, and every year on his wedding anniversary and his kids’ birthdays, he’d post more food, along with cake. No personal photos, at most a pair of hands.

Yes, the handsome guy was already a handsome uncle—married with kids. Three of them, in fact!

Meanwhile, Zhan Yunkai remained blissfully unaware of the online chaos. A new growth-oriented anomaly had appeared, and the Wan Yao Alliance and the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau needed to coordinate urgently.

At that moment, Zhan Yunkai was logged into his “Chongming Demon King” account, remotely negotiating with the bureau.

The bureau’s foreign affairs team had sent an entire delegation to talk with him, only to be completely outmatched:

“If that anomaly appeared in your territory, so what? Does that mean it belongs to you? If so, why didn’t you catch it when it showed up? What were you doing at the time—thanking Mother Nature for her gift?”

“Even a three-year-old demon knows that, aside from their parents, they can’t demand someone else’s prey. Other demons have no obligation to feed them.”

The negotiation experts were on the verge of tears.

Damn it! The Chongming Demon King’s tongue was lethal!