“Really? Really? Then Li Feile must be fuming, right?”
During dinner that evening, Shu Qing didn’t even have time to pick up her chopsticks.
She practically bounced out of her chair to lean closer to Jiang Liuyue, her eyes glittering with excitement.
“Your boyfriend is so romantic—giving you a diamond ring as a wrap gift.”
“So much better than Chen Cheng. You know how many female fans he has—we have to keep everything on the down-low. Last time, he gave me a matching black shirt, said he wanted us to wear it together for a photo op, but guess what?”
“I hadn’t even worn that black shirt yet, and then that actress he had CP chemistry with during our drama—coincidentally or not—wore one just like it. Fans caught it, and their CP fanbase went absolutely crazy.”
As Shu Qing spoke, she grinned from ear to ear, her laughter bright and carefree.
She looked as if the couple being shipped weren’t her and her own boyfriend, but complete strangers.
Jiang Liuyue stared at her, surprised by her nonchalant attitude.
She couldn’t help asking, “Aren’t you angry?”
Shu Qing shook her head, then leaned in and lowered her voice.
“Why would I be angry?”
“Anyway, I’m starting a new shoot in a few days, hehehe. And the male lead I’ll be acting opposite is exactly my type.”
“Tall, broad-shouldered, and—well—a nice rear.”
At that point, her voice dropped even lower.
Jiang Liuyue felt her cheeks flush and her heart race.
She reached out and patted Shu Qing’s hand.
“Tone it down, will you!”
“Good thing Chen Cheng isn’t here today, or he’d be furious if he heard that.”
“Let him be furious, then,” Shu Qing said, lifting her chin carelessly.
“I don’t mind him shipping with other actresses. He’s not that petty, is he? My new drama even has kissing scenes—I’ll probably have to do CP promotions too. If he gets upset over that, he might as well drive himself crazy.”
Shu Qing spoke with a breezy, carefree tone, but then she suddenly stopped mid-sentence as if something had occurred to her.
Her gaze landed on Jiang Liuyue’s face as she lowered her voice again.
“By the way, is your guy the jealous type?”
“How are you going to handle your new drama then? It’s a youth romance—there are bound to be hand-holding, hugging, and kissing scenes.”
Jiang Liuyue thought to herself: Song Hanzheng is indeed a jealous man, and he has a strong possessive streak.
But since he arranged this drama for her, it probably wouldn’t have too many intimate scenes, right?
She didn’t dwell on it. She picked up a piece of sweet-and-sour pork rib, stuffed it into her mouth, and gave a vague “Mhm” as a response.
After dinner, the two of them went shopping together and gossiped about a few people in the industry.
They laughed all the way, growing even closer as friends.
Isn’t that what besties do—share snacks and dish the dirt?
……
The next day, Jiang Liuyue had just bent over to step into her van when her manager, Qian Li, who was already inside, pointed excitedly at her phone screen, her voice trembling with barely contained thrill.
“Liuyue, great news—your follower count has gone up!”
“Huh?” Jiang Liuyue was still a bit dazed, her hand pausing mid-motion as she clicked her seatbelt.
When she opened her phone and checked her personal page, she understood what was going on.
It turned out that her wrap-up photos and videos from the set perfectly matched the original character design.
There was a coolness mixed with a hint of stubbornness, a fragility that concealed a touch of sharpness, all wrapped up in her stunningly beautiful face.
As a result, she had attracted a lot of fans who were drawn to her looks. The comment section was flooded with messages like “Whose gorgeous girl is this?” “Please introduce me, give me the scoop,” and “A face like this not being famous is a crime against humanity.”
The videos and photos had gone somewhat viral.
The official account for The Legend of the Lihua Cat was smart about it, using her comment section to redirect traffic.
They pinned a comment that read, “Thanks for the love! For more highlights, follow our upcoming promotional campaign,” along with a link to their official page.
With that kind of viewership, the production team must have put some money into ads too.
Truly, the power of money.
There’s nothing money can’t solve—and if there is, you’re just not spending enough.
The comments section was a mixed bag. The top comment read:
“Wow, such a pretty girl. Is she a newcomer?” Followed by a string of starry-eyed emojis.
The second comment took a different tone entirely:
“Isn’t this the one who threw a diva tantrum and showed up two hours late last time?”
People immediately jumped in to argue below:
“Don’t spread rumors. Did you watch her interview last week? She came across as genuine. And with her current level of fame, do you really think the crew would wait two hours for her?”
“I’m just a fan of her face. As long as the pretty sister keeps her looks, I’ll support her unconditionally.”
Fans and haters were going at it hot and heavy in the comment section.
But Jiang Liuyue herself just scrolled through calmly.
In just one night, her personal social media account had gained over twenty thousand followers.
“You plan for it when you’re trying, and it happens when you least expect it,” Jiang Liuyue sighed, leaning back in her seat.
Last time, she had deliberately appeared on the Weekly Interview show, spoke earnestly to the camera for half an hour, and only gained a few thousand followers. Now, a random set of wrap-up photos had blown up instead. This was probably what people called “serendipity.”
Qian Li rubbed her hands together excitedly.
“It’s all fate! Liuyue, I have a good feeling about you. You’ve got the potential to be the next trending starlet stirring up a storm!”
“Having buzz is a good thing, but what really matters is being able to deliver work that stands out.” Jiang Liuyue seemed quite composed.
As their slow-moving van rolled along, she brought up another topic.
“Lily, do you know who they’ve cast as the male lead in ‘Falling Star’?”
Hopefully not someone too big-time, or else she’d risk running into another male version of Li Feile. That kind of “senior” who threw their weight around on set, bossing newcomers around like they owned the place—she’d already had more than enough of that during the filming of “The Fox’s Servant.”
Besides, some male actors, relying on their seniority, would get handsy with new female actresses during intimate scenes, and you couldn’t even call them out on it. The moment you did, they’d say, “I’m just fully committed to the scene, deeply immersed in my role. Why are you being so dirty-minded?”
That kind of rhetoric was practically flawless, leaving the victim looking like the one who was being unreasonable instead.
Qian Li shook her head.
“The production team has kept it under wraps. But once you get to the set, you’ll see who it is.”
“Fair enough.”
Still, Jiang Liuyue never expected what happened next.
When she pushed open the door to the “Falling Star” script reading session, she greeted Director Daqing’s warm welcome and took her seat. Her gaze swept across the familiar and unfamiliar faces gathered around the conference table.
She kept the polite smile she’d put on when entering, but her eyes had already widened slightly.
Because there he was, sitting at the other end of the long table, a man flipping through the script.
It was Lin Yizhou!!!
