My Costar is much more famous than me

Is he going insane? What the hell was that voice?

"Thank you for your time, Yao laoshi," the casting director says, motioning him towards the door with a raised arm. "We'll announce the casting results in three days time."

Yao Shen nods numbly and leaves the audition room.

Outside, Bi Jialu is waiting for him. Frantic with anticipation. "How did it go?" she asks, wringing her hands.

"Xin Hulei kissed me," he says, still in a daze.

He can't wrap his mind around that.

Bi Jialu blinks at him in rapid succession, her wide eyes enormous.

Yao Shen clicks his tongue at her. "Do you have something in your eye?"

"That wasn't in the script, why did he do that?" she asks, snapping out of her fugue state.

Yao Shen shrugs. "Probably to antagonize me, who knows what goes on in his mind?"

He doesn't tell her about Xin Hulei's declaration that Yao Shen was 'the one'. For one, it might not mean anything. It's one thing for casting choices to take into account chemistry with an already chosen actor, it's another thing entirely to cast someone based on another action's recommendations.

The most likely option is that it was another of Xin Hulei's attempts to humiliate him.

"Let's go, I'm tired," he tells Bi Jialu.

They leave the hotel and call a didi, to take Bi Jialu back to their agency's office, and Yao Shen home.

---

He barely remembers the weird voice he heard in his mind by the time he steps into his tiny rental apartment.

One of the hardest things of trying to make it as an actor, and failing at it, is affording Beijing rents on his agency's meager stipend.

Some weeks, all his meals consist of instant noodles.

He drops down into his beat up sofa with a tired sigh, sinking into the worn down cushions.

Sometimes he thinks he should get another job as a deliveryman or waiter, that would make affording rent less of a struggle, but on the other hand would also leave him with less time to attend casting calls.

He has already completely forgotten the eerie voice ringing in his mind by the time he hears it again.

[Capture Target Xin Hulei to earn rewards, ensure peace and prosperity of the human realm.]

Yao Shen jumps up from the sofa with a shout. "What the hell is going on? Why am I hearing things?"

[Demons have long escaped the demonic realm and roam the earth freely, causing strife, chaos and destruction. Host can achieve merits by capturing high ranking Demon King Xin Hulei, and locking him back in the demon realm.]

Yao Shen falls back into the sofa with a dispirited sigh, clutching his head between his palms.

"I'm losing my mind."

[Host can say: "Activate Demon Capturing Seal", to verify this system's claims]

Does he have anything to lose? "Activate Demon Capturing Seal," Yao Shen says, and nearly falls off the sofa when a flaming talisman materializes on his hand.

"What the fuck?"

[Host can use this seal to capture Demon King Xin Hulei, once he gains possession of his spirit stone.]

None of this is making sense. Spirit stone, what?

"Uhm, you seem nice and all, voice in my head, but I don't wan to do any of this," Yao Shen says, watching in awe as the flaming seal vanishes into thin air.

[Host doesn't have a choice.]

"Excuse me?"

[This Demon Capture System has been bound to him since birth. Close proximity with target 'Demon King Xin Hulei' activated it.]

How can this be? How can a 'Demon King' be something that exists?

"Like in the drama? Is Xin Hulei a demon like Xie Huan?"

[No, Xin Hulei is a real demon, not a character in a human charade for entertainment purposes.]

Then how can it fall to Yao Shen to capture him, or whatever?

"I'm really not qualified to do this," he says, with a groan of dismay.

[If Host fails to capture the target the human realm will sink further into chaos. Demons cannot walk the human realm freely. Their very presence is anathema to the balance of the Universe. They must be banished back to the Demon realm.]

Is the voice in his head trying to tell him the fate of the human race rests on his shoulders? Him? A struggling actor with 1000 yuan to his name?

[There are other Demon Exorcists, Host may cross paths with them in the course of his task, if they choose to reveal themselves.]

That's probably not as encouraging as the system thinks it is.

In the middle of all the wild information that has been forcefully shoved directly into his brain, the fact that Xin Hulei is a 'Demon King' is the more believable part -- it definitely explains his devilish good looks.

He bets demons have some other unfair advantages too.

[Demons have heightened charisma and charm. Seducing humans is easy for them.]

That gives Yao Shen some small measure of vindication. It explains Xin Hulei's meteoric rise to fame. Even though he's only three years older than Yao Shen, at 26 his movies completely dominate the box office.

'Shizun, this disciple will have to kill you', is his first drama since his debut in the popular 'Blooming Love of Innocence' when he was only 16 -- coincidentally, the first time Yao Shen saw him.

His performance as the lovelorn scholar Fei Gui earned him universal praise, and cemented in Yao Shen the desire to become an actor too.

He feels a shameful wave of rage bubble up every time he remembers that his childhood idol is responsible for his career never taking off.

Sometimes Yao Shen thinks the universe is laughing at him.

[Entirely possible, Host has worse luck than the average person.]

Not surprising, considering the overall trajectory of his life, but also, "why me?" he asks groaning into his open palms.

[Inconclusive.]

Yao Shen rolls his eyes. "Is there really no way for me to get out of this?"

[No.]

Fine, Yao Shen will just ignore the stupid system an go on with his life. Honestly, if they want an Exorcist, a Taoist Priest would be a more appropriate choice than a random actor.

[Resistance is futile. Host should work hard to gain the Demon King's trust in order to get him to reveal the location of his spirit stone. Host will find himself drawn to him regardless of his best efforts.]

Yao Shen sets his jaw. They'll have to see about that.

Demon hunting won't pay his bills, Yao Shen's biggest concern right now is getting cast in something, anything.

He'll think about sending demons back to where they came from when he feels like it, and not a second earlier!

---

It's easy to forget about the whole bizarre thing with the system over the next couple of days, since he doesn't hear the eerie voice again, and is busy attending other auditions.

Each of them more disappointing than the last.

Most of the feedback he gets involves some variation of, "we're looking for more established faces."

It's hard to become established if no one will give him a damn chance!

Yao Shen is brewing himself a pot of tea in his tiny kitchen, in his tiny apartment, when his mobile phone rings in his pocket.

Immediately Boss Huang's deep voice rings from the other end of the line, his characteristic smoker's drawl crackling on the connection. "Have you checked weibo today?"

"No, why?" Yao Shen asks, stirring his tea one handed.

"Do it now, and then call me," Boss Huang says, before disconnecting.

His cryptic words are worrying. Is Yao Shen involved in some scandal he doesn't even know about?

The number one trending topic catches his eye, and sends his heart into frantic overdrive: "'Shizun, this disciple will have to kill you' leads announced!"

Yao Shen almost drops his mobile when he sees the top post.

Two pictures of himself and Xin Hulei, announcing them as the actors playing Yan Shuyi and Xie Huan, respectively.

Yao Shen's first thought is that he wishes they had chosen a different photo for him. The one they picked is from an early photoshoot when he was still being styled as a teenager, despite being twenty already.

His second thought is dismay at reading the most voted comment: "Xin Hulei will do great no matter the project...but who the fuck is Yao Shen?" -- a sentiment shared by the over 800,000 people who liked the comment.