The Stand-in Side Character Only Wants to Make Money

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Chen Bai died from overwork while trying to pay off a million-dollar debt.

To his surprise, he becomes a side character who not only shares his name and appearance but is also burdened with an even greater debt left by his father—a staggering million yuan. In the original storyline, this character is destined to be a mere stand-in for the male lead’s lost love, enduring an abusive relationship and ultimately succumbing to despair by taking his own life.

Refusing to repeat the tragic fate scripted for him, Chen Bai confronts his overwhelming debt with unwavering determination. Embracing his innate work ethic, he juggles eight jobs a day—by day, a dedicated stand-in actor fully immersing himself in his role; by night, a relentless worker taking on odd jobs and live-streaming until the early hours. His exceptional skills and genuine dedication not only help him chip away at his colossal debt but also inadvertently capture the attention and affection of the male lead.

When the original love returns, the male lead realizes he can’t let go of his feelings for Chen Bai. In a grand romantic gesture filled with flowers and music, he confesses his love. Yet, ever the pragmatist, Chen Bai interrupts to take a call, casually announcing that his shift has ended and he must head to his next job—unlocking someone’s door.

Stunned, the male lead asks if there’s someone else. Chen Bai simply replies, “I need to go unlock someone’s door.”

Balancing his roles as a professional stand-in and a part-time locksmith, Chen Bai navigates his new life with practicality and resilience. In defying his predestined path, he transforms from a tragic side character into the unexpected hero of his own story.

A witty and heartwarming tale of determination and self-reliance, this novel explores how one man’s relentless work ethic and refusal to accept a doomed fate can rewrite the pages of destiny—even within the confines of a fictional world.

Associated Names
One entry per line
替身男配只想赚钱
Related Series
N/A
Recommendations
100,000/Hour Professional Stand-in (1)
Recommendation Lists
  1. TBR (GL/BL) 5
  2. BL Modern Setting Transmigration/Reincarnation
  3. maybe??
  4. Reading
  5. Want to read part 2

Latest Release

Date Group Release
03/04/25 Panda-Translations c106
03/02/25 Best Novel Translations c24
03/02/25 Best Novel Translations c23
03/02/25 Best Novel Translations c22
03/02/25 Best Novel Translations c21
03/01/25 Panda-Translations c105
02/27/25 Panda-Translations c104
02/25/25 Best Novel Translations c20
02/25/25 Best Novel Translations c19
02/25/25 Best Novel Translations c18
02/25/25 Best Novel Translations c17
02/25/25 Best Novel Translations c16
02/25/25 Best Novel Translations c15
02/25/25 Best Novel Translations c14
02/25/25 Best Novel Translations c13
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9 Reviews sorted by


anjellyfeesh
anjellyfeesh rated it
November 18, 2024
Status: Completed
I really prefer novels like this one. Because sometimes, showbiz novels have too much drama or face-slapping. While I do believe that the entertainment industry is not peaceful, not everyone is out to create drama with another artist like how it happens in other novels.

This novel feels so refreshing and soothing because of how light-hearted it is. The humor is also top notch.

MC:

... more>>
Spoiler

The MC is pretty funny, thrifty, and chatty. He may look OP at first glance but with his background, I think his skills are understandable considering how many jobs he took. He works hard and you can see it when he took up acting. Besides, there are moments when you can see him failing and it's just funny lmao.

I also understand why a lot of people like him. He's a genuine person, kind, gentle, and funny. He's helpful when others need help and very polite and casual to his fans. He's friendly with any person regardless of their profession like a driver, assistant, stylist, or butler.

Also, I'm determined to call him "80-year old Grandpa Chen" from now on.

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ML:

Spoiler

As for the ML, he's pretty supportive and gentle. He's not the cold aloof CEO type but more like an introvert who is gentle to people he likes. He finds the MC funny and weird lmao.

I love the fact that most characters that see him wearing his disguise always question the MC's description about him being kind. It's like they get a whiplash lol

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The other characters, from his agent to new friends he meets because of the OG ML and the ML, are all great characters.

I love his agent, the ML's brother, the white moonlight, and the OG ML's mother and sister. I also like his friendship with his fellow actors.

OG ML:

Spoiler

I don't hate him but I do think he's quite dumb with his romantic relationships or friendships.

It's not entirely his fault why he thought that the MC loves him but considering that their "relationship" started because of a s*upid contract, he should've been more clear about his feelings than use money on a guy who needs that money. Even the casual time the MC has with the OG ML's family was shaken because he paid him thousands or millions when the MC just wants to spend time with them.

Honestly, I want them to be friends because he can be pretty nice and funny when he's not all serious but I don't think they can considering how awkward it will be. Unless, he emotionally matures in the future...

Thankfully, his family and the MC are still friendly with each other. I seriously like his mother and sister and was worried they won't remain friends after the contract.

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Again, this is a pretty light-hearted novel. There's not too much drama although the beginning of the novel was pretty dark/morbid.

CW:

Spoiler

The OG committed su*cide and left a scar on his wrist so there are times when someone notices it. Thankfully, they just hide it for him whenever he forgets out of concern for his privacy and don't ask too much or become too overbearing.

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This is a novel that is not too long or too short. It's not too descriptive about the MC's shows and films but is mostly focused on his relationships with his friends and the ML.

It's a really sweet novel. <<less
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Ecirteab
Ecirteab rated it
November 13, 2024
Status: Completed
A slice of life story that's not too dramatic, an easy palette cleanser in between more stressful or bitter stories.

The earlier chapters can feel a bit dull as you follow MC through his various part time jobs. Eventually it settles on his acting career and the other jobs fall off.

The white moonlight substitute plot really isn't that important, the big boss is so busy most of the time it's easy to forget his existence. I liked how it was resolved and the backstory is a bit more interesting than the... more>> usual overseas white moonlight story.

ML is his neighbour Xu Sinian. Relationship is neighbours to friends to lovers. MC is s*upid regarding relationships and despite being straight, keeps attracting men lol. Not too frustrating because when ML is obviously special to MC even as a friend.

Their relationship is honestly sweet from friendship phase to lovers. And MC's reasons for not wanting a relationship are reasonable (huge debt).

MC is a super extroverted, if you're in the same room as him you'll probably become friends type. It's easy to see why people like him.

The author does like to do this thing where instead of using names they use nicknames or descriptors? Instead of MCs name, sometimes they use his unique hair colour like pink hair or white hair. ML is frequently neighbour or 'good neighbour'. You get used to it but sometimes I think using the name is fine lol <<less
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BoriCats
BoriCats rated it
March 8, 2025
Status: c15
It's pretty bland.

I know this is a slice of life novel but I guess it was not the slice of life feeling I was hoping for. It's also my fault expecting that the slice of life would be more of a side plot, not the entire plot. What's with the turbid blurb it had making me think that it had a lot of drama, conflict, struggles or even a little angst. But no, don't expect a lot of that, this novel is pretty tame, like walking beside a calm sea,... more>> there's no tension at all.

I know slice of life prioritize the serene feeling, but I don't think using a plot where a person has to do a lot of jobs for money is the perfect premise for that. One, because the drive to work these jobs needs tension and drive for the readers to give it importance. Like we want the character to work in order for them to achieve their goals, we want to be connected to that. But the MC feels a little bit detached to this drive. He was working a lot but he did not have the urgency, because in fact he could just find jobs easily and most of the time by chance, and he could do the job really well. That's why it did not have tension. One factor was his lack of urgency and worry, the problem looked like not a problem at all because he was not thinking it was something he could not achieve, it was pretty thrown in the back of his head.

Slice of life surely are peaceful books to read, and this one is, but it also needed tension, this one did not have it. The characters were calm, the plot was calm, the MC is calm, even the ML is calm. There's nothing to see. It's like watching a fish swimming on the sea, it's interesting from the first look but grows boring afterwards.

It did not have the achievement feeling. Because whenever he finished a job, it was not shown how much he earn and how much progress he had with his current debt, there's no sense of winning little or the fulfillment of someone who was making progress with his goal, in fact he felt pretty detached with his debt. Aside from the start, he never mentioned it again, or more like thought about it or gave it value, it was like the author just brought it out as a plot device and was not planning to make character conflict or growth from this plot. They just made it so that the MC has a reason to find a lot of jobs.

It also does not let us root for the MC as there is nothing to root for, it was obvious he'd be able to pay those debt with his ability and luck. No challenges or problems he'll face. No villain to boot. No tension with the ML, they just walk together. And one of the little gripe I had with this is his force thriftiness.

He values money and appeared to be thrifty but it was not well permeated to his character. The blame should be in the author, probably because they never experience the same situation of the MC and so did not write well the essence of someone going to that situation.

There were instance where they made MC character act quirky by telling other people that he valued money, but it felt forced. Like writing on paper and showing to other people he like money, or to always acquiescence to other people's request as long as he did not pay, or even voicing out from time to time how he like money. It was too excessive. For one, it was not in line with his character. His lifestyle clearly did not value that money much, he likes to cook a lot, if someone who claimed to be thrifty cooks without caring, like he always have spares, don't tell me he did not calculate how much he could made from the ingredients, because if not then clearly he did not value money so much. He always have a consciously made excess food. He also shares it with a neighbor that did not do anything to him, like he did not owe him anything, but he shares his food all the time for some reason when he didn't need to, that's not a behavior that says he's saving money. I am not saying money-strapped people could not splurge in their daily lives, but he was clearly acting miser on other things, like that did not make sense other than making a plot where the two characters could be close to each other. It was not in line with his character and felt forced.

He also knew that he had to be thrifty, but for the plot, he had to turn off his brain. For someone who knows his body was his source of money, he was quite reckless of it. Like if the option was buying a cheap umbrella or going to the rain and risking getting sick and potentially spending a lot of money for medicines or hospitalization, he chose the latter. That is not how someone's brain who was strapped for money works. It was clearly though, it was made for the plot which made his character inauthentic.

Generally he gives off the fake feeling of someone who's a miser on money, when the plot needed it this character trait would be turn off. It would not have been a problem if he was not vocal and frank of his miser tendencies, which led me to the second point. He was overly showy that he's thrifty to money that it was already too much. Yes, you need money and you don't like to spend it, but it does not mean you have to tell the world about it all the time. Show them by your actions, not vocalize it, other people did not have to be bombarded with it. It's also not something that to brag, generally people did not want others to know they're strapped on money especially if they did not have one, as it bordered on pride and self preservation, people think this was a source of pity and they usually did not want to be pitied. We can argue that this was not his character, that he just vocal about his financial states like it did not matter to him that people think he in love with money, but with how his character was made and act, it looked more like a crude behavior. Clearly it was made for comedic relief, but it was not funny at all. Thus, in this area, the author failed.

Overall, it was not that bad, if you like to read a conflict-less novel with nothing to little going on despite him scampering around with all of his jobs, then this is for you. Was it an effective slice of life novel? No. Will you enjoy it? Depends, as I believe some people might be like just watching a breathable book with little conflict and tension to it. With all of the slice of life novel that I have read, this one was just below average, but if you have nothing going on, then you can spend your time reading this, we might know, this might be for you. <<less
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WallEyeKnee
WallEyeKnee
December 16, 2024
Status: Completed
MC is Jack of all trades, he can do anything, pick locking, gaming, piano, acting, cooking, horse riding archery, you name it. Except for his bad luck and artistic sense. He's really good at everything. Very sociable, always smiles gets along with everybody. His charm is unmatchable. Comedic sense is off the charts, his waking up habits, the way he speaks, his personality, his background story, he's such a fun and well rounded character. Can't help but love him.

ML is nice and considerate but meh I find him pretty boring.... more>> The cool guy who only has emotions for MC that type you know.

The story starts with MC starts with alot of part time jobs then he focus his career on acting where the big bucks comes in to pay his debts. Other activities becomes less and less as the novel moves on

Romance is a slow burn, it will be a slow and long wait.

Everyone is very nice for a change in this entertainment industry. Hardworking will be rewarded, no shady business

The novel mostly driven by MCs comedic actions and the way he thinks and how he approaches life. Very carefree and go with the flow.

Weibo commetors very friendly for once I like it.

A hardworking novel where MC takes on jobs to repay his debts mostly acting and being in crews. Side plot of original novel ML and his friends misunderstandings of the relationship of MC and him. Everything else is mostly focus on MC and his career while interacting with different characters building relationships. <<less
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Noonoo11
Noonoo11
November 6, 2024
Status: c14
So far it’s a slice of life we follow the MCs daily life as he steadily earns an income to pay off his debt. His relationships right now are very superficial there isn’t much depth as yet but it’s still only 14 chapters in.

I’m not sure who the ML is but if we’re going by the rules of these stories it’ll be the Boss he’s employed as a stand in for BUT in all 14 chapters he’s interacted more with his neighbour who is giving off second male lead syndrome.... more>> At this point in time I’d prefer him as the ML because they interact more. Another male character was introduced and I’m like Harem? Three male leads maybe? Anyways I won’t rate it as yet cos I didn’t finish reading all the available chapters because the relationships are all surface level it got a little boring. <<less
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RickyTracy
RickyTracy rated it
May 6, 2025
Status: Completed
In the entertainment category, this is fresh spring breeze at the end of the day. In the Stand-In Category, this is ice cool water at the mid of one summer.

This is refreshingly cool, funny yet warm and even the side characters have the most effective character developments.

I have been tired of seeing entertainment struggle and comments about how one try hard and deserve to be there. This one can almost said no scheming and talanted agent make most efficient ways out of the best what they could get.

MC on the... more>> other hand, struggling for dept but have the most work ethic of all, giving his services what his employer deserves.

ML. Great. Patient. Boiling frog in the cold water and succeed. No tragic but takes time.

Other side characters. Necessary, funny, give warmth, make the plot line most colourful with their vivid personality.

Overall, this deserves 4.7 out of 5 <<less
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Linlinyu
Linlinyu rated it
March 12, 2025
Status: Completed
The story is very light and can make you laugh a bit here and there.

I like that the MC works hard and his friendliness and experiences from multiple jobs helps in his career. In my opinion it feels like his life is very smooth but we can tell that he spend most of his time working with sleep only few hours in order to pay the debt.

It helps lighten my mood a bit when having headache from working and can enjoy the story even if I skipped reading a day.

I... more>> think this novel is suitable to read if you want to rest a bit from reading psychological story.

The romance started slow and later in the story because MC focus on work and his friendship. Like most innocent romance story, friendship become love. The ML its just the typical male lead in chinese bl novel. He is not talkative, caring for MC a lot, hardly smile.

The title is really the best summary for the novel. MC hardly had to do his role as stand-in side character. Most of the time MC is working or spending time with neighbour. <<less
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amikyun
amikyun
March 11, 2025
Status: Completed
4.0 is a maximum for me, maybe it just bcs the different of taste, in my opinion this really bland despite many attempt to make a drama in it, I gonna write an essential spoiler ... more>>
Spoiler

our ML is xu guy, the ceo (og ML is just a clown), sweetness is just half a tea spoon with many filter to take it, this is a real slow romance story, our MC got together with ML on ch 89+, with a fake scary experience

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I agree that u may feel bored when reading it, bcs despite all his skill author keep jumping here and there, we just see bit by bit and with a tiny description, author told us he take many par-time job lalala and it makes him op, I also kinda confused about his debt, 4 million? 40?400? We just know he take many job even it just make 50$ per job like bruh.. U're an actor! And what something about many peach blossom MC got kind of annoying (although it not his problem), I get it he attractive and have social butterfly tendency but bruh.. He also somehow have a traumatic experience about it, idk why he just can let it go with ML when ML break the wall. For me the acting part also just so so. Usually when we read showbiz story at least we can have a engagement with their acting story but here the act story just comes and go without more seasoning :) they literary just became a prove that MC had a really good acting skill, after the wall break? It just flushing into married in rush. Idk if author tendency to not using their real character name is also a thing but I somewhat feel there's a thick viel that separate us, MC and author. <<less
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Nadelyn
Nadelyn rated it
March 18, 2025
Status: c10
Even if the novel is a slice of life, I feel the author needs to put more effort into it.

So far the novel has been very tell, don't show in the sense that there's barely any dialog. It wasn't till the novel explicitly said that MC was a social butterfly that I as a reader knew that about him. It this wasn't said, there was no way you would ever know cos they don't show it! They just tell you.

I'm only at chapter 10, but if this continues.... idk
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