HEIFEIGU -Chapter 1

So noisy.

The soul-transmigration caused severe dizziness. Xie Jixing frowned deeply as the blurry sounds gradually became clear.

“Xie Jixing, who do you think you are, coming here to complain? You drank that water yourself. Blame your carelessness. You think I’ll punish Ji Jin for this? Impossible!”

His temples throbbed painfully.

His throat burned too—probably related to that “water.”

“And don’t even think about quitting the group. Do you think the company signed you to make you famous? How naïve!”

“This group needs someone to take the blame. You’re here so others can step on you to climb up.”

“You want to quit? Can you pay the penalty?”

Who’s talking? So annoying.

Step on me?

Bold.

Even though his soul hadn’t fully merged yet, Xie Jixing slowly opened his eyes and looked coldly at the nagging middle-aged man.

The manager froze when their eyes met.

Those ink-black pupils made him shiver.

Something felt different.

He forced himself to shout:

“What are you staring at?!”

“The livestream starts in 20 minutes. Get ready. If you delay it, you’re dead!”

He slammed the door and fled.

---

Silence returned.

Xie Jixing rubbed his aching throat and temples, then looked to the side.

A ghost floated there, emitting cold air.

It looked similar to him—probably the original owner’s soul.

In his mind, he asked: “Do you want to go back?”

The ghost shook its head.

“Then should I send you off?”

Blue flames appeared on his fingertip.

The ghost panicked and shook its head violently.

“Not going back, not leaving. So troublesome.”

He glanced at it.

“Then follow me?”

The ghost hesitated, then drifted closer.

Xie Jixing bit his ring finger.

A drop of blood appeared.

“Come. Let’s form a contract.”

The ghost hugged his finger.

While forming the pact, Xie Jixing reviewed his memories:

“Orphan… raised in an orphanage…”

“Entered entertainment through singing streams…”

“Debuted in a boy group… met scumbags…”

“Teammates bought bots to smear you… even drugged you and ruined your voice…”

Xie Jixing sighed.

“Damn. That’s tragic, bro.”

He patted the ghost’s head.

“Come on, unlucky ghost. Let’s see what these trash people are up to.”

---

He checked his surroundings—a rarely used restroom.

Probably chosen by the manager to intimidate him.

Luckily, the original body had recorded everything.

Xie Jixing saved the file.

He had to attend the livestream.

But he couldn’t sing or dance.

And his throat was ruined anyway.

He needed another plan.

He went to wash his face.

Looked in the mirror.

“…Where did this ugly guy come from?”

The makeup was ridiculous.

Foundation two shades darker.

Heavy contour.

Dirty-looking face.

Thick eyebrows, harsh eyeliner, fake eye bags.

He choked.

So I’m the ugly one.

He washed everything off with soap.

Cleaned his green seaweed bangs.

Brushed his hair back.

Now he looked 80% like his old self.

Good enough.

---

When Xie Jixing appeared at the studio entrance like this, the other members and the manager were stunned.

The boy group’s styling had been specially designed for the captain, Xia Letian, leaning toward a European aristocratic aesthetic.

With his light chestnut curls and radiant smile, Xia Letian really did look like an innocent little noble prince.

But the others didn’t get such good treatment.

Aside from Zhu Qian, who wasn’t present, three members of Summer Star were there, and their styling clearly fell into three different tiers.

Xia Letian wore high-quality silk, tailored close to his body. Though the design was ornate and complex, it didn’t look bulky at all. Instead, it made him appear elegant and noble.

Ji Jin’s outfit was a step down in both cut and fabric, but at least it was still decent.

As for Xie Jixing, his was far worse.

Although it was supposedly the same style, his European-style shirt was wrinkled and itchy. The ruffled edges even had several loose threads dangling and twisting in the air. It looked extremely crude.

Even so, once he washed off the ugly makeup, these cheap clothes—so cheap they looked like something bought for 9.9 yuan with free shipping—could no longer suppress Xie Jixing’s natural brilliance.

Standing beside Xia Letian now, he wasn’t inferior at all—he even looked more outstanding.

Someone who had always been timid and never dared to resist was suddenly acting strangely today.

Seeing Xia Letian’s expression change, the manager questioned Xie Jixing, “Who told you to—”

Before he could finish, a staff member interrupted.

A young woman hurried over. “Is Summer Star ready?”

She scanned the three of them and froze slightly when she saw Xie Jixing. She silently praised him—how had she never noticed before that Summer Star had someone this good-looking?

After admiring him briefly, she frowned. “Why is there someone who isn’t wearing makeup?”

“Forget it, there’s no time. The livestream is about to start.” She glanced at his stunning face again. “He doesn’t need makeup anyway. Hurry to the studio.”

Orange TV was one of the country’s biggest entertainment networks, with many top-rated variety shows. This time, Summer Star had finally managed to get on their flagship weekly variety program.

The show had been running for years. With technological development, it had shifted from recorded broadcasts to live streaming and was now one of the hottest “meal-time” shows. Even a minor staff member wasn’t someone a group like Summer Star could afford to offend.

With staff watching nearby, the manager couldn’t pursue the issue. He could only watch as the three followed them to the studio.

The live broadcast was divided into segments. Summer Xing’s group performance had already been done in the opening. Now came the individual encore stages. If they performed well, it would greatly help them gain personal fans, so all three had prepared seriously.

The unlucky ghost was good at singing but terrible at dancing.

He had spent almost 24 hours a day in the dance studio, practicing tirelessly.

When he was exhausted, he even slept on the floor—just to erase the label of “useless at both singing and dancing.”

But in the end, all his effort was destroyed by a scumbag’s drugged drink. Under extreme exhaustion and despair, he even lost his life.

In the corridor, Xia Letian stopped and raised his hand in the air, flashing his signature sunny smile.

“The livestream is about to start. Let’s cheer together!”

“Come on, Summer Star! Go, go, go!”

Ji Jin immediately stacked his hand on top. “Summer Star, go!”

Even the staff nearby smiled warmly at their display of harmony.

Only Xie Jixing didn’t move.

Seeing this, Xia Letian tilted his head slightly. “A-Xing?”

Xie Jixing looked at his delicate makeup and proper costume, then at the unlucky ghost beside him, who was radiating resentment and unwillingness.

Not only did he not reach out—he crossed his arms, sneered, and replied lazily in a hoarse voice, “Heh. Sure. Go for it.”

“A-Xing, aren’t you joining?” Xia Letian shook his hand again.

Xie Jixing curled his lip in disgust. “Who knows how many layers of powder are on your hand? I just washed mine.”

“Xie Jixing, you—!” Ji Jin wanted to scold him, but remembering there were people around and his gentlemanly image, he gritted his teeth instead. “You really don’t want to deepen your bond with your teammates?”

“Deepen feelings?” Xie Jixing looked at him as if he were filth. “If your feelings are so deep, why just hold hands?”

“Why don’t you make out and really cheer for the team?”