Chapter 32 - I Can't Get You Out Of My Head

IloveMantou: [Did you see this painting?]

MissFit: [Whaaa!!! Who is that!? So hot, I'm getting thirsty!]

DRamaticalBurrder: [I can't tell if he's an angel or a demon, he's both so pure and enticing to look at!]

Jeanett:[Is he a celebrity? I think I saw him from somewhere.]

RAT-tatouile: [What's the painting's title? I saw it in the memes of 'When you wish your girlfriend/boyfriend can be as pretty as this', but never knew who made it and who the blonde boy was.]

Wedon'ttalkaboutJuno: [Person up top, its title is "The Love that Dare Not Speak Its Name' and the painter's username is Henry_Basildon! Go follow his other works, he's really good.]

BaphietheHESlayer: [Bro, that title be looking kinda sus. "The Love that Dare Not Speak Its Name"? Isn't that Oscar Wilde's final statement in court about his love for men being as pure as any other love there is, even during the times of Plato and Shakespeare itself?]

JeTaiMe: [GAYYYYYYYYY!!!!]

Wedon'ttalkaboutJuno: [It's the 21st century already, so what if he's gay? It's not an insult.]

JeTaiMe: [Wut, I tell my boyfriend that he's gay all the time and he likes it. If he tells me I'm gay too, I'm cool with that.]

BaphietheHESlayer: [Extra sus.]

JeTaiMe: [Your mom's sus.]

BaphietheHESlayer: [Your mom's more sussy baka.]

Zhe Chouhen didn't bother scrolling past the thread to know that it'll just be about being 'sus' and more immature dissing. He used to enjoy doing stuff like this, but now he's finding them cringey.

God, is Henry's killjoyness rubbing off him? He hoped not.

It's 2020, and Ashton has won the audition.

Ashton is unaware of all this commotion his portrait had made in the internet because he's too busy with his rom-com show, 'More Than Frenemies'. The director is strict on the schedule and has high standards with it being a famous production. It was also advised for them not to be on social media to avoid people leaking events from the show.

The plot of this show is just a simple 'enemies to lovers' series about two street painters, Ronnie and Julie, involved in a mural-making competition. They were used to being opponents, but now they have to work together. There is some family and friendship drama involved, with the girl's family constantly sabotaging the boy's family as revenge for something about stealing their secret pasta recipe.

It's like Romeo and Juliet, but more boring and slice-of-life.

That's not what matters anyway as the show will get famous not from the plot itself, but because of people recognizing Ashton from the painting 'The Love that Dare Not Speak Its Name'.

The Love Meter remained static at 44%, while the Satisfaction and Scum Meter continue to rise slowly by decimals every day. The show would soon air this summer, and Ashton would finally have a break before the producers decide if there could be a second season depending to the reception they receive. It's a gamble, after all, using unpopular actors.

But everyone involved was amazed by Ashton, and his leading lady, which was, of course, Sidney Lane.

Henry Basildon is not up to painting during these times since he was feeling 'unmotivated'. But a new set props man by the name of Harry Wotsil is being busy and making quite a few bucks painting the walls or doing small errands of refilling tissue papers.

Nobody knows what he looks like, because he always wears a mask and hat to hide his curly brown hair, and green contact lenses.

He stopped checking his phone and put it in his pocket to eavesdrop on the main cast's idle conversation. He squatted by a wall, painting the set differently again.

"How did you manage to sweat at will like that, Sidney? That's so amazing!" He heard Ashton's cheery voice.

"Oh, it's nothing. It's just method acting, I sort of feel like I'm the character you know?" Sidney said, in a friendly tone much to Zhe Chouhen's disliking.

"You're also a method actor? I've been trying it for a while, but I'm still getting a hang of it! You should teach me sometime."

"Sure, how about we grab some coffee and I'll talk you through it?"

SPLOSH!

A bucket of white paint spilled just as Ms. Lane walked through, reaching her sandaled feet.

"Ah!" She exclaimed.

"Oh, be careful! Paint is difficult to wash off on leather." Ashton reminded, grabbing her out of the way.

A male staff member saw this incident and reprimanded Harry Wotsil. "Be careful next time, kid! You gotta pay for that bucket, you hear me! Clean that up!"

Harry Wotsil just nodded, darkened face hidden under the cap.

He cleaned up the spilled paint with a bucket and a mop, and leaned on the tile bathroom wall, taking out his phone that showed a notification.

[Hey, what were you thinking!!!? Spilling paint just to have Ashton pull the rival closer!? Are you stupid?] An angry panda greeted him

"It was an accident." Zhe Chouhen pulled down his mask and grunted.

[Accident? You're just being petty! And being petty is not part of Henry's character, he's a smart and cunning devil! Now your Satisfaction Meter lowered to 10!!!]

"It's just 10 percent, I'll get it back someday." Zhe Chouhen answered annoyedly, putting down the phone by the side of the sink to wash his hands.

This kind of behavior made Daoist Panda frown. [Zhe Chouhen, be reasonable. Like I said, don't let your emotion get to you, or the penalty would be triggered.]

He emotionlessly shook his hand to dry. "Like I said too, it was just an accident. My hand slipped."

He changed the topic. "Anyway, are you sure there's no fast-forward option? I want to be rich and famous already. Why don't you just knock me out and make me sleep until this whole shooting is over?"

[What the---Listen to yourself. The Zhe Chouhen I know that is smug and unaffected wouldn't ask to get his head banged to the floor just so wouldn't drown in jealousy! Endure it a bit more, where's your willpower, bro???]

"Tsk, you're a useless system."

[What did you just say?]

"I said you're useless. You're not really helping me with anything just a few advice here and there to gain tiny Love Points. Which I can figure out by myself." Zhe Chouhen narrowed his eyes. "The more I think about your 'rules set in stone', the more it doesn't make sense. If you're truly on my side, why are you just stuck on my phone watching things go with popcorn? Unless..... You have other intentions."

Daoist Panda was so shocked by these accusations that he could almost cough up blood. [Are you distrusting me now!?]

"I wouldn't put it behind you to trick me. It's too suspicious that the very same guy who put me inside the world of his novels to get my face slapped again and again, not to mention threaten me with death so easily just for falling for his characters... Would suddenly be an 'ally'."

[I said I'm sorry, okay! I already apologized, and you've accepted my apology---]

"I didn't. I said, I don't need it, what I want is to go home. But you won't let me." Zhe Chouhen gripped his phone. "If this really isn't a trick, why can't you? What's your believable reason to why even you can't control your own world?"

Daoist Panda never expected this ultimatum to come so fast. He had always thought that his relationship with Zhe Chouhen is improving, becoming less of an enemy and more of a brothers-who-hate-each-other relationship. But then again, there were signs....

Like the time when he asked what's the point of all this. He must be running out of patience and slowly realizing things he didn't pay attention to before, albeit very slowly since he is too concentrated on Ashton. He did say he has limits, and Panda respects that, but....

[You don't know anything.]

Zhe Chouhen rolled his eyes. "Of course I don't, that's why I'm asking. I don't know what you're scheming."

[Zhe Chouhen, I know it's hard..... But you have to trust me. I'm the only one who can help you. I can get you out of this, it's just complicated.]

He went silent, expression unreadable. Daoist Panda silently prayed to all the gods he know that he can mend this bridge that is slowly crumbling between them and Zhe Chouhen, because that's the only way to succeed and counter the Teacher.....

"Daoist Panda, you said I don't know anything. I would also like to tell you....." Zhe Chouhen gave a bitter smile. "That you don't know anything about me either. I'm not a trustful person, especially if that trust is broken since the start, and I'm fine doing things alone."

"You keep count of the Meters by yourself, I'll bet everything on straight luck. I will get myself home with or without you. But I can't keep seeing your chubby little face and not be reminded of all the times you screwed me over, or being anxious about you screwing me over again."

[Zhe Chouhe---]

He clicked off the Daoist Panda app....

And uninstalled it!

Zhe Chouhen: .....

Zhe Chouhen: .......

Zhe Chouhen: (Sigh, sorry Daoist Panda. I had to do this.)

Now, that's one step of his plan done.

Zhe Chouhen is not as dense as the protagonists that the author writes. He had always had a feeling something more is going on. But in order to unveil all those shady secrets behind his transmigration, he needed to do something risky.

He had always felt that there was a third party involved.

He believes in his own judgment of whether people are lying or not, and he can tell that Daoist Panda's 'rules set in stone' excuse really is true. He has things he can't control, and there's someone else controlling those things.

Daoist Panda said that he wouldn't be in his headspace anymore, and he promised he wouldn't read his thoughts. But what if through him, this third party can still secretly glean on his thoughts? That's why he had to delete the app, to test the waters and see what happens.

Whether or not Daoist Panda is on the side against him, or his theory was wrong all along, and there was no third party but only Daoist Panda who could not be trusted, this is the safer option.

He could have the peace of mind that no one's secretly listening to his thoughts.

He looked at himself in the mirror and smiled.

"I should have been the one who's an actor, huh?"

A staff member passed by to take a piss, and he winked at the person, scaring him.

He just blinked at the staff member and go, "What?" Before leaving to continue his job of painting the walls.

The next day, that staff member spilled his coffee on Ms. Sidney Lane's shirt, causing her to stop clinging to Ashton for a bit. This made Zhe Chouhen quite happy about his luck.

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