Found it.

For several days, Li Jie didn’t dare to utter a word in the “Ten Years as a Hater” group; he simply couldn’t bring himself to talk about it. Then news came from Chen Pi’s side: the production cost was extremely low, just an idol movie about a monkey falling in love with one of the Seven Fairies. Erlang God was merely a supporting role, and the Howling Celestial Dog was a minor character among minor characters. It was likely that not many people would watch it upon release.

He’d slip into the village quietly—no big deal. As long as he didn’t promote it himself, what was there to fear? Stay calm.

As for the story of a monkey falling for a fairy, Li Jie wondered if Director Lu’s ideas were a bit off; such an adaptation was hardly respectful of the original… Still, since Director Lu was paying eighty thousand, he’d better make it a good film. Whatever approach he wanted to take was fine.

In the past couple of days, after registering and receiving his military training uniform, Li Jie also signed up for the fireworks technician qualification exam. Unlike other schools where military training lasted thirty days, Jianye Academy of Arts typically held training for only ten, sometimes fifteen days. After all, art students were considered delicate, and perhaps society at large saw them as fragile.

Doing the math, he’d be able to obtain his certificate before heading to Luzhou to play the Howling Celestial Dog. If time permitted, he could even take the makeup artist or prop master qualification exams as well…

He couldn’t help it; he’d managed to wring over twenty different qualifications from the dog system, so he figured he might as well pick something useful and get a skill under his belt.

These certificates were all divided into five levels; level five being entry-level, level four intermediate. Li Jie already had the capability for level five. He was at the pinnacle of entry-level for fireworks technician, makeup artist, and prop master.

When he’d reach the threshold of intermediate, he’d need to pass a written exam at the very least. The theory had to be solid.

But Li Jie had no intention of actually studying for these. He’d just wait for another chance to exploit the dog system and squeeze some more value out of it.

When it came time for dorm assignments, Li Jie thought he’d get to meet new friends. But he’d arrived too early, so the spare dormitory he was staying in became his, with no one else moving in. The downside was paying for his own utilities, but the upside—

Living alone was a delight, and with an annual dorm fee of only twelve hundred, it was much cheaper than renting off-campus!

He’d changed his hairstyle and wore a pair of non-prescription glasses; his classmates didn’t recognize him as “Masked Guy.” Of course, it wasn’t as if all university students knew “Masked Guy” anyway. Li Jie just wanted to avoid trouble, just in case.

So, in the eyes of his fellow students in the Film and TV Photography and Production program, Li Jie was a muscular, athletic man. The girls weren’t swooning just yet, but the guys were already envious, calling him “Brother Li” and hoping he’d share his secrets for building eight-pack abs.

Why was it that, despite eating so many lean burgers and drinking diet sodas, they couldn’t get the same lean, muscular physique as Brother Li? Eating string fries hadn’t helped their muscles “string up,” either.

Having bonded with the guys over their shared quest for abs, Li Jie offered a bit of personal advice: if they wanted arms as thick as his, they needed to eat at least one chicken wrap as thick as their arm every day. Chicken was lean protein, essential for fat loss, but they shouldn’t restrict themselves too much—add a bit of red meat, maybe some special chili oil or red sauce.

Absolutely delicious!

The classmates took note, and one, weighing one hundred and sixty pounds, resolved to follow Brother Li’s advice and try to slim down to ninety kilos this semester.

But what truly brought Li Jie closer to his classmates was the first evening class meeting, where he led four of them to victory in “League of Kings.” His hand speed was unmatched—even a vacuum cleaner couldn’t compare. In the lower ranks, game sense wasn’t as important as technique, and his skills were top tier.

Since he’d switched servers for the match, he didn’t duo with “Shake Shake Shake,” but she didn’t mind, merely spectating the game.

“Big Brother D, are you boosting accounts for clients tonight?”

“The client wants to reach Platinum rank—fifty bucks, so I’m just doing it in passing,” Li Jie replied with a lie, feeling no guilt when facing his sly little sister.

“Is earning money very hard for you, brother?”

“It’s alright. I just need to save up to get married someday.”

“Where are you from? Are dowries expensive there?”

“It’s a matter of quantity.”

“…”

Anyone else would have thought “quantity” meant a lot of dowry money, but Su Mengyao had researched Li Jie and knew one of his dreams was to marry twelve wives—matching twelve mothers-in-law.

The relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law had to be harmonious, balanced in number…

Looking at the shameless reply on her phone, Su Mengyao blushed, determined to keep working hard. She immediately investigated everyone five-stacking with Li Jie, and found that one female player had even revealed her high school’s name.

It was a high school in Huai West. She quickly found its official site—really just a web page—which listed this year’s top university admits. Eliminating those who’d enrolled outside Jianye, then filtering out the boys, eighteen girls remained.

Of those, a third had gone to universities in Canglong District—six in total. One girl was admitted to Jianye Academy of Arts.

Next, Su Mengyao checked Jianye Academy of Arts’ website, and, using the internal department’s new student list, she finally found the name “Li Jie” in the Film and TV Photography and Production program.

“Got you~” Su Mengyao murmured, her eyes shining as she held her face in her hands. She decided to sneak in for a look.

The next evening at seven, Su Mengyao took a green “Gluttonous Delivery” uniform off the wall at home, put it on, and rode a small electric scooter straight into Jianye Academy of Arts.

Fully charged, she headed for the main athletic field.

At the time, many classes were drilling on the field, since the lights were on. Wearing a dust mask, Su Mengyao slowly circled the fence, searching for Li Jie. It wasn’t hard; he was tall and muscular.

But there were too many people, all in military training uniforms, so picking someone out took time—especially since some classes were sitting on the ground listening to instructors or singing, making it impossible to distinguish by body type.

Still, she was patient. At last, she spotted a particularly conspicuous figure in one formation…

She said nothing, simply watching Li Jie from afar.

“In person, he seems even more reliable,” Su Mengyao whispered to herself. Glancing at the girls in the ranks, she noted that their line was straight but not particularly impressive.

Average, she thought.

With that, Su Mengyao happily rode her scooter away from Jianye Academy of Arts.