Entertainment China: The System That Lets Me Farm Emotions from Actresses

In his past life, Xu Yang was a security guard from a county martial arts school, barely scraping by on a late-career internet trend at age forty-three. Then he wakes up in 2002—just as the golden age of Chinese entertainment is dawning. This time, he is bound to the Emotion-to-Stats Actor System: every emotional reaction he draws from a female star can be converted into attribute points. He invests in acting, dialogue, singing—and even charm. When a period-drama goddess cries, “If something really happens to you, I will never forgive myself!”—he gains Rapid Recovery. “Save Xu Yang—he got hurt saving me!”—he gains Wire-Fu Mastery. “If you end up crippled, I’ll take care of you!”—he gains Savage Charge. From stunt double to silver-screen tyrant, from extra to crowned Best Actor. Years later, when a reporter asks whom he thanks most for his entertainment empire, Xu Yang gazes at the sea of dazzling actresses beneath the stage and simply smiles.