Chen Hao woke up from his dream and realized that he had actually arrived at a battlefield filled with smoke and fire, with corpses everywhere, all dressed in military uniforms from the Republic of China era. He was also in military attire, covered in blood.
"Oh my gosh, have I time-traveled to the Republic of China?" Chen Hao immediately reacted. As a young man in his prime, he had been influenced by countless time-travel novels and dramas, so he was no stranger to the concept of time travel. But how did he end up in the Republic of China, an era that treated people like grass?"
"Oh crap, the corpse moved." Chen Hao jumped up from the ground, looking at a dead body nearby, shouting in alarm."
It wasn't just one corpse moving at first; soon, all the corpses were stirring.
"A man, covered in blood, saw Chen Hao's shocked expression and said with annoyance, "Dude, you're not dazed from that explosion, are you? This is a filming set." He then slapped Chen Hao on the shoulder, saying, "That's a wrap! Go collect your pay for today and grab a free meal box before you head out."
At that moment, a person holding a clapperboard also came out, calling everyone, "That's a wrap! Great job today, everyone gets twenty bucks and a free meal box."
Chen Hao finally understood. This place was a filming set, and he was actually acting in a war drama. However, just like in his past life, he was still just a background actor.
Indeed, in his previous life, Chen Hao had also spent a few years as an extra in Hengdian, but soon due to the pressures of life, he stopped and returned to his hometown in Yunnan to find an ordinary job, which he held until he time-traveled.
Now, Chen Hao was a seventeen-year-old born in a certain year. This year marked his seventeenth birthday, and he had been an extra in Hengdian for over half a year. Inspired by Hong Kong actor Stephen Chow's movie "King of Comedy," he had developed the dream of becoming an actor and had been in Hengdian for half a year, but unfortunately remained just an extra.
Chen Hao took a van and soon returned to his place, an old building outside Hengdian Town, with a rent of two hundred yuan per month, a cost he could barely afford.
He took out his keys and opened the door, immediately greeted by the aroma of cooking. Inside, he saw a slender figure.
"Ah Hao, you're back?" The woman turned around and smiled sweetly at Chen Hao, saying, "Dinner will be ready soon."
Chen Hao looked at this woman with an exotic charm, feeling as if he had seen her somewhere before, and suddenly blurted out, "Are you Yaya?"
Yaya didn't respond but continued stir-frying vegetables in the pan, plating them, then shot Chen Hao a glance and said with a smile, "What's up? Trying to pretend you don't know me? We agreed that I'd do your laundry and cooking, and you'd waive my rent to let me stay here. You can't back out now."
A memory quickly surfaced in his mind; the person in front of him was indeed Tong Liya. As for why she was in Hengdian, it turned out she was also there to be an extra, or rather, to chase her dream of becoming a big star.
Because I was inexperienced and unaware of how dangerous society could be, all the few hundred yuan I brought with me were swindled away a week ago.
The reason she got scammed was because the assistant director of a certain film crew took a liking to our sister Yaya and wanted her to play the female lead. But there was a catch—she had to pay 600 yuan upfront.
Although Sister Yaya hesitated for a long time, she eventually handed over her 600 yuan, leaving herself with less than 10 yuan in her pocket.
However, when she went to the film crew the next day to report in, she discovered that the so-called production team didn't exist at all. The assistant director had vanished without a trace, and her 600 yuan was gone, just like that.
After a long day of playing background roles, Chen Hao happened to see a beautiful young woman crying on the side of the road. He went over to ask what was wrong and learned that she had been scammed. He comforted her gently and even invited her to have a proper meal.
Listening to the beautiful woman in front of him pouring out her sorrows with tears in her eyes, he couldn't help but feel heartbroken. He patted his chest and made a bold promise to help her with her accommodation.
At first, Sister Yaya was a bit wary. But when she looked at this harmlessly handsome young man in front of her—and considering she barely had any money left—she decided to follow him back to his place.
After a week, aside from the initial two days of adjustment, Yaya quickly regained her spirits. By the third and fourth day, she was already going out with Chen Hao to take on extra roles.
Today, they seemed to have finished work early, bought some groceries, and came home ahead of time to cook dinner.
As they sat eating the delicious home-cooked meal, looking at the beautiful woman in front of him with her charming smile, Chen Hao suddenly felt that being reborn wasn't so bad after all. Although he had been a post-90s kid in his original timeline, he was now from the 2000s. Still, to meet a lovely sister like Yaya on his very first day after being reborn—perhaps, as the saying goes, a blessing might come in disguise. Maybe his luck was finally turning around.