The next morning, Haicheng's autumn air carried a crisp bite.
Lin Chen stood in front of StarShyne Media's modest six-story office building. In this timeline, the company was barely a year old, surviving on small variety show contracts and a few supporting-role actors. Nobody could imagine it would one day become the titan of the Chinese entertainment industry.
Nobody but Lin Chen.
He adjusted the borrowed blazer hanging loosely on his shoulders. The cuffs were frayed, but his back was straight, eyes sharp. This wasn't the same Lin Chen who had stumbled through life before.
Today, he carried the confidence of a man who had lived — and failed — once already.
Inside the Lobby
A young receptionist glanced up from her desk, her tone polite but skeptical.
"Hello, are you here for…?"
"Actor recruitment. I have an appointment for the open audition," Lin Chen replied calmly.
She handed him a form. "Please fill this in. The audition will be in Studio 3, fifth floor. And… good luck."
He signed his name in neat strokes: Lin Chen
By the time he reached the fifth floor, the waiting area was buzzing. Young men and women in perfectly styled hair and designer clothes rehearsed lines, their voices dripping with overconfidence.
A sneering voice cut through the air. "Hey, look — thrift store blazer. Guess they're letting anyone in now."
Laughter rippled.
Lin Chen didn't react. Instead, he closed his eyes and thought of the Perfect Audition Card sitting quietly in his system inventory.
[Item: Perfect Audition Card – Guarantees Host's performance will flawlessly match the role, leaving an unforgettable impression.]
He almost smiled.
The Audition Room
The heavy door opened. Inside sat three judges: a middle-aged man with a thinning hairline, a younger female assistant with sharp eyes, and—
Lin Chen's gaze locked. Yang Mei.
Even now, before her superstardom, she radiated presence. Dressed simply in a white blouse, her expression was calm but attentive, her dark eyes weighing every person who stepped into the room.
"Name?" she asked.
"Lin Chen," he replied, voice steady.
The male judge flipped through his sheet. "You'll be reading a short scene from Silent Tears, playing a grieving son returning to confront his father's killer."
"Understood."
Perfect Immersion
The moment Lin Chen began, the Perfect Audition Card activated.
His shoulders slumped in anguish, his eyes burned with suppressed rage, and when he spoke, his voice carried the tremor of a man holding back years of pain.
"You took everything from me… my mother, my smile, my home. But you—" He stepped forward, his hand shaking as if clutching an invisible blade. "—you won't take my soul."
By the final line, his breathing was ragged, and the room was silent. Not the awkward silence of boredom — the charged stillness of people forgetting to breathe.
Yang Mei's eyes narrowed, as if she had seen something rare. "Lin Chen… have you acted before?"
"In this life? No," he said, and his smile was faint, almost teasing.
The male judge cleared his throat. "We'll be in touch."
But Yang Mei spoke before he could dismiss him.
"Cancel the callbacks for the role. Sign him."
Heads turned in shock.
Yang Mei's voice was firm. "Talent like this… if we don't take him, someone else will."
Lin Chen bowed slightly. "Thank you, Director Yang. I won't disappoint you."
As he left the room, the system's voice chimed in his head:
[Quest Complete: Join StarShyne Media.]
[Reward: Song Creation Pack Unlocked.]
He smirked. Acting, singing, directing… this is only the first step.
Outside, the autumn wind carried the promise of change.
And Lin Chen was ready to rewrite the script of the entire entertainment industry.