The Stand-in of the Movie Emperor's First Love

Silas, the superstar actor, posted a tweet that instantly went viral.

[First time up North. I wake up dry every morning.]

Fans went crazy, praising my supposed ‘husbandtaming skills’ and calling me all sorts of powerful.

I was left scratching my head.

Couldn’t he just be talking about the weather?

…

——

In this transmigration novel, I was cast as the standin for superstar actor Silas Fuller’s first love, a fact everyone in the entertainment industry knew.

As a dutiful standin, I did my best to mimic her every move, from the way she spoke to how she dressed, trying to become a flawless copy.

Thanks to that, I had been living the high life, without a worry in the world.

The system used to update me in realtime on Silas’s affection level, but ever since it hit 80%, it just... stopped. After that, I had no idea if his feelings were growing or shrinking.

I wanted to scream.

“Wait, wasn’t I promised a billion once his affection maxed out?”

The system paused, pretending to think deeply.

“Maybe you’ll get your reward when his first love actually comes back.”

And just like that, it ghosted me.

So there I was, stuck trying to raise Silas’s affection all by myself while waiting for his first love to return so I could finally cash in and disappear into the countryside.

This time, I had tagged along with Silas to the North for a shoot.

As someone born and raised in the South, where the air was always humid, the dry northern climate was rough to get used to, especially with the grueling filming schedule.

Even Silas, as strong and fit as he was, had started to feel it.

One night, Silas posted a simple text on Instagram.

[First time up North. I wake up dry every morning.]

He even tagged the location: New York.

At first, I thought it was just a casual post. But the next morning, I woke up to 99+ DMs and saw that the internet had exploded.

[Silas Doing It For Love! Explosive!]

[Stella Joss Has Him Wrapped Around Her Finger! Explosive!]

The comments were full of wild theories, and I barely made it through two pages before nearly dying from embarrassment.

[Stella’s life is my dream!]

[Cancel everything, I’m flying to New York!]

[Spit it out, what’s the real story here?]

Even the crew had started giving me and Silas these knowing looks, like they were in on some secret.

I was completely lost.

What on earth was going on?

Wasn’t it possible that Silas was just talking about the dry weather?

…

The rumors online were spiraling out of control, and my face was burning so red it felt like it could catch fire.

Meanwhile, the one responsible for this mess, Silas, was still on set, doing wirework, completely unaware of the chaos brewing online.

With no other option, I unlocked his phone and posted a picture of his sinusitis diagnosis in the comments.

[The dry climate is really tough on those with sinus issues.]

I’d been managing Silas’s social media for a while, so this wasn’t anything new.

As soon as I posted that, the furious online chatter came to a screeching halt, the silence almost deafening.

It took a moment for people to process, and then a fresh wave of comments flooded in.

[Silas, have you considered working for a clickbait site? Because if you do, I’m calling the cops.]

[I need to stop overthinking everything. My heart can’t take it.]

[Anyone else suddenly feels a little defeated?]

[So ‘dry’ was just describing the weather, not… anything else?]

[Am I the only one who’s been sweating buckets in Orlando?]

[Whoever posted that, you’ve earned yourself a job writing headlines with Silas!]

And on it went, but at least the conversation had returned to something resembling normalcy.

Seeing things settle down, I finally breathed a sigh of relief.

But when I turned around, I ran right into Silas, who had just finished his scene.

He was wearing a white shirt, slightly damp with sweat, which clung just enough to highlight his strong chest, giving him a sort of understated allure.

His damp hair fell over his forehead, partly hiding those intense eyes.

I was momentarily stunned.

It wasn’t until he called my name that I snapped out of it, quickly swallowing and managing a response.

Noticing my flustered reaction, a small, knowing smile curved on Silas’s lips. His voice was soft and teasing.

“Today’s shoot is done. How about I take you out for a walk this afternoon?”

“Uh… sure,” I mumbled, still a bit dazed. Then I remembered the whole Instagram fiasco and hurried to explain as I followed him, sticking close behind.

I told him I’d used his phone to clarify things, conveniently leaving out the more… interesting comments from the fans.

“You’re pretty sharp, aren’t you?”

Silas’s narrow eyes twinkled with amusement as he listened to me. He just nodded and didn’t ask any more questions, his expression giving nothing away.

Was he upset? It didn’t seem like it.

Was he complimenting me? That didn’t seem right either.

I was completely confused. Just as I was about to catch up and ask him more, Silas gently held me back with his long fingers.

He pointed to a sign near the door, his smile turning into a playful grin.

I looked in the direction he was pointing and saw four big letters.

[Men’s Bathhouse]

My face flushed bright red, and I scrambled away in the opposite direction, mortified.

Behind me, Silas’s smile was both charming and gently teasing.

…

The filming location had shifted to a more remote spot.

Neither Silas nor I made any effort to disguise ourselves, and there weren’t many people around who recognized us.

It felt great, like we were just a regular couple on a casual date.

He held my hand as we wandered through a series of quirky little shops.

Everything was filled with fascinating, unusual items that caught my interest.

We came across a fruit stand, and I noticed some large, round pears. I asked the vendor, “Are these sweet?”

I expected him to give a standard sales pitch, but instead, he confidently picked out a pear, sliced a piece with a fruit knife, and handed it to me, then gave a piece to Silas.

“Try it. If it’s not sweet, it’s free!”

I’d never seen a sales approach like that before. Surprised but polite, I took the pear and thanked him before taking a bite.

I chewed thoughtfully and exchanged a knowing look with Silas.

Before I could figure out how to politely give feedback, Silas took the knife from the vendor, sliced another piece, and handed it back with a smile.

The vendor tried the pear, then suggested, “Maybe you should try some apples instead…”

Silas glanced at me, his eyebrows raised in a playful, questioning manner.

In the end, he bought both apples and pears.

On the way back, I couldn’t help but laugh. When I met Silas’s gaze, I genuinely complimented him, “You’re quite the clever one.”

“The pears are okay. We can use them to make juice for the crew. They’re low in sugar, so even those on a diet can have some,” Silas said.

I nodded, agreeing with him.

Silas had a striking appearance, his eyes slightly upturned, his lips a vivid red. He could easily charm anyone. Yet, his eyes often had a warm, gentle smile.

There were times I nearly got lost in his captivating gaze, but I’d remind myself to stay focused.

Think of the billion. Think of the billion!

Men are like clothes, but money is family!

…

The filming wrapped up in just two weeks, and during his downtime, Silas received an invitation to join an escape room reality show.

To my surprise, my name was on the invite as well.

I wasn’t part of the industry and didn’t have any filming commitments, so the sudden invite caught me off guard.

But then it clicked. I realized it made sense.

Shows like these needed someone who wasn’t a big name but could still stir up buzz and conversation.

As Silas’s standin for his first love, I was the perfect candidate.

“Do you want to go?” Silas asked, noticing my hesitation. “If you’re not into it, I can turn it down for you.”

“No, no, I’ll go!” I replied quickly.

Silas was always so considerate of my feelings. If I showed even a hint of reluctance, he’d have definitely turned it down without a second thought.

Honestly, I’d thought that if Silas and I ended up together, he’d be the perfect boyfriend. topnotch in every way.

But I wasn’t about to miss any chance to boost my standing with him.

After all, the allure of a billion dollars was hard to resist.

Besides, I was pretty fearless when it came to escape rooms.

Who knew, maybe the show would set up a herodamsel scenario, and if Silas’s heart was moved, my system might just get fixed.

I was actually looking forward to the show.

Before seeing the other guests: I was ready to shine.

After seeing the guest list: I was ready to bury myself.

What I didn’t see coming was that the two women who’d been the center of heated online debates over Silas were also on the guest list.

One was Bella Kelly, a rising star who shared the same agency as Silas. She had a habit of posting pictures with him at various events, always just enough to fuel the endless speculation online.

The other was Kayla Heath, an actress who had recently finished filming a drama with Silas. Despite not promoting much together or pushing any romantic angles, their fans had taken it upon themselves to ship them, creating all sorts of rumors.

Both Bella and Kayla had fiercely loyal fan bases constantly at war, fighting over who deserved to be Silas’s leading lady.

I was honestly a bit shocked.

The producers clearly knew what they were doing.

This wasn’t just an escape room show anymore. With two rumored love interests, me, the standin for his first love, and Silas himself, it felt more like we were setting up for some reality TV showdown. I could practically name the episode: Escape Room: Battlefield.

The tension, the drama, the chaotic energy, this show was guaranteed to be a hit.

And, of course, as soon as the guest list was made public, the hashtag [Escape Room Show Guests] shot straight to the top of the trending list.

Seeing our four names lined up together, netizens went into a frenzy, sensing the drama about to unfold.

One comment in particular stood out.

[They really picked these three women with a common thread. They’re all Silas’s backup options, the E choice, the Plan B, the extras.]

That one hit me right in the pride.

I couldn’t help but think to myself.

You better sleep with one eye open tonight, internet trolls.

The escape room show was streamed live, and Silas and I were guest participants for this episode. We were randomly assigned to two different teams.

My team had two guys and me, while Silas’s team had two girls and one guy.

As soon as the teams were announced, the chat exploded.

[I’m pretty sure the director did this on purpose, but I can’t prove it.]

[This lineup is pure drama!]

[I swear this is gonna turn into a dating show by the end.]

When the recording started, everyone was blindfolded and led into the escape room.

The door slammed shut behind us, and the room filled with immediate screams. Even the guys on my team couldn’t hold back.

I wasn’t too rattled by the typical haunted house setup.

After taking off my blindfold, I quickly adjusted to the dark.

My two teammates, though, were obviously new to this. They tried to act cool, but their shaky hands gave them away.

At first, they insisted I walk in the middle for "safety," but after seeing how calmly I took the lead, they quickly fell in line behind me.

Both teams tiptoed through the room, nerves shot, with every little sound sending shockwaves through us.

Then suddenly, a child’s voice echoed in the darkness.

“Brother and sister, I lost my doll. Can you help me find it? Please… please help me…”

The eerie, tearful tone in that small voice made my skin crawl, and it sent the rest of the group into a fullblown panic.

Screams erupted like it was a horror movie concert.

And just when we thought it couldn’t get any worse, a creepy lullaby started playing, the kind that sounded like it came straight from a nightmare.

Bella and Kayla had plans to play the damsel in distress, hoping to win Silas’s sympathy with a tearful act and maybe even cry their way into his arms.

But as soon as that eerie song started, they completely lost their cool. Terrified, they clung to each other, tears streaming down their faces, no longer caring about smudged makeup or broken facades.

Silas and I led the way.

While the others screamed behind us, I couldn’t help but glance at him, calm as ever. Finally, I gave in to my curiosity, tugged on his sleeve, and whispered.

“Hey, uh… maybe you could, you know, scream a little too?”

…

When the StandIn Became the One