Cannon Fodder in an Era Drama — I Survive with Acting-Chapter 175: A Terrible Performance

His pace was steady and unhurried. His clothes were neat. He wore a dark gray long robe with perfectly pressed cuffs, and not a hair was out of place. He looked extremely meticulous.

The moment he entered, his gaze fell upon the table in the center of the room, where he saw Fei Jin and Song Qingya sitting side by side.

"Fei Village Chief, Doctor Song," he said with a sincere tone. His voice was neither too loud nor too soft, just right for everyone in the room to hear clearly.

"I came today with the sincere intention of making friends. The things Wang Kang has done in the past stirred up a great deal of public resentment, and you may have misunderstood me as a result, thinking I’m cut from the same cloth. But I must be frank—I truly have no desire to follow his path. Cooperating with him was merely a matter of circumstance. Now that the time is right, I want to live differently."

He paused, looking at the two of them with a sincere gaze before continuing, "So, I’ve prepared a small token of my goodwill. While it may not be valuable, it is a gesture of my sincerity. I hope you will both accept it..."

As he spoke, he turned and gestured outside with a slight lift of his hand. "Just leave the gifts at the door. Don’t disturb them."

Seeing that Fei Jin remained seated and still, Song Qingya cut him off directly. "Mr. Yang, if you have something to say, just say it. Neither of us likes to beat around the bush, and we don’t want to hear a lot of pleasantries. You can’t have come here just to give us a gift. Whatever it is, lay it on the table. We’re listening."

Yang Kai was taken aback, clearly not expecting Song Qingya to be so blunt.

His eyes flickered as he shot a quick glance at Fei Jin, trying to read his expression.

However, Fei Jin’s expression remained placid. He neither nodded in agreement nor showed any sign of disapproval.

This husband and wife were perfectly in sync.

One played the gentle role, leaving some leeway.

The other was direct and confrontational, leaving no avenue of escape.

He composed himself, took a deep breath, and stopped mincing words.

"Fei Village Chief, Doctor Song," he said, straightening his back. "I’m here today because I want to formally take over the daily administration of this city. Public security, the granaries, business registration, citizen resettlement... I am willing to take the lead on all of it. I know that you two are the true backbone here, and the power is in your hands. But I can guarantee that I will follow the rules, never abuse my authority, and I won’t embezzle a single penny."

He paused, then added with a frank expression, "Of course, Fei Village Chief, if you have any concerns, you’re welcome to inspect my work at any time. All of my accounts, records, and personnel deployments will be completely transparent. If I do anything poorly, you need only say the word, and I will correct it immediately."

His words were easy on the ears, betraying no ambition to seize power, nor the emptiness of hollow promises.

He expressed his determination to take on the work, while also proactively placing the power of oversight in Fei Jin’s hands, which implicitly elevated Fei Jin’s status.

Fei Jin smiled to himself.

He knew Yang Kai was no simple man.

His words were eloquent and presented respectably.

But only his future actions would reveal the true intentions hidden behind them.

For now, however, he showed no emotion, simply continuing to sit in silence.

’This Yang Kai is certainly more silver-tongued than Wang Kang, but... isn’t he being a little too eager to prove himself? A bit too hasty?’

’He can’t even be bothered with basic pretense. It’s like he can’t wait to shove himself into that position.’

Fei Jin sat quietly in his chair, his fingers tapping gently on the table.

The sound wasn’t loud, but every tap seemed to pierce Yang Kai’s nerves.

He managed to maintain his composure at first, but as the tapping continued relentlessly, his breathing grew more and more rapid.

Finally, he could no longer sit still. He leaned forward slightly and said, "Fei Village Chief, you might not know this, but Wang Kang is nothing but an empty suit! The only reason he was able to get that position was because his old cronies were propping him up. And what about him? He has neither the ability to manage the big picture nor the courage to make decisions. All he does all day is put on airs and act tough, fooling people with empty talk!"

He became more and more agitated as he spoke, his voice rising unconsciously.

Fei Jin listened in silence, his expression unreadable, but inwardly, everything became clear.

’This Yang Kai didn’t come here to offer goodwill or to cooperate.’

’He isn’t exposing Wang Kang’s shortcomings. He’s rushing to snatch that seat for himself before I’ve had a chance to pick someone.’

’He wants to use me to completely overthrow Wang Kang.’

"Is that so?"

Fei Jin finally spoke, his voice quiet.

He raised an eyebrow, a hint of faint amusement in his voice. "So, according to you, you’re more popular among the people?"

Yang Kai straightened his back, nodding with absolute certainty. "But of course! I’ve made my way in this city for many years. Countless difficult situations were only resolved because I stepped in to mediate!"

He paused before adding emphatically, "If Wang Kang hadn’t been such an insufferable bully, constantly suppressing honest people like us, I wouldn’t have needed to step forward and take on this heavy burden."

Fei Jin didn’t respond, merely giving Yang Kai a cool glance.

Then, the corners of his lips lifted slightly as he casually tossed out a question: "If your reputation is so good, why haven’t I seen any of the townspeople come to me themselves to report the situation? There hasn’t been a single signed petition, no collective pleas, not even one person coming to my door to deliver a message."

The question struck Yang Kai right in his weak spot.

He opened his mouth, wanting to argue—to say that the people were too scared to speak out under Wang Kang’s oppression, that they were afraid of getting into trouble and could only support him in secret... But as the words formed on his lips, he realized the logic was flimsy.

He couldn’t very well claim to represent the will of the people while being unable to produce a single shred of evidence, could he?

For a moment, he was speechless, a fine sweat beading on his temples.

Seeing he was getting nowhere with Fei Jin, and knowing that pressing the matter would only lead to his own humiliation, Yang Kai quickly shifted his gaze to Song Qingya, who was seated beside him.

He put on an earnest, pleading expression. "Doctor Song, Wang Kang has done some truly wicked things lately! I saw it with my own eyes—last month, he forcibly confiscated medicinal herbs from three families in the west district and didn’t pay them a single coin. He called it a ’wartime requisition,’ but those herbs ended up in his relative’s apothecary! And the orphanage in the north district was promised two large bushels of rice each month, but for two months in a row, the delivery has been intercepted. The children are so hungry their faces are turning pale!"

He paused, heaved a heavy sigh, and added, "It’s not that I don’t want to take care of the people in this city. Everyone has parents, brothers, and sisters. But tell me, how can I light the stove when there’s no rice in the pot? I have no men at my disposal, no money in my pockets. I can’t even afford to hire a messenger boy. With what am I supposed to fight them? My heart is willing, but my hands are tied!"

He spoke with a tragic look on his face, his voice trembling slightly, as if he were some righteous hero who had suffered endless injustice while fighting a lonely battle.

Song Qingya stared at him, and listening to his speech made her feel sick to her stomach.

’I’m not an idiot. How could I not see through his fake sincerity?’

’He’s obviously here to fight for power and personal gain, yet he insists on pretending it’s all for the people.’

’His hypocrisy is absolutely sickening.’

’The man’s acting is terrible!’

"Mr. Yang," she began, her voice cold. "Are you trying to waste our time?"

Her gaze was like an icicle, boring straight into Yang Kai’s face.

Her stare made the hair on his arms stand up. Yang Kai felt like prey targeted by a predator, not daring to even twitch.

"No! That’s not what I meant at all!"

He denied it hastily, his voice laced with obvious panic.