"How many seats should I reserve?" Zhou Huaihuai asked, looking completely bewildered.
“Yes, invite people close to you to the birthday party, family and friends are all fine,” Tang Xiaole asked casually. “But I don’t think I’ve met any of your relatives yet, Zhouzhou. Aren’t they all in this city?”
"... ..." Like Zhou Paihuai, the original owner of this body also grew up in an orphanage and had no relatives. She was very concerned about this experience, so she had always kept her background a secret. But even her assistant, with whom she spent every day, didn't know. She really kept it a secret well.
"Zhou Zhou?"
"Ahem—" Zhou Paihuai coughed a few times, about to say no, but suddenly thought of Xiao Heifen. If Cheng Minxin and Tang Xiaole were her colleagues with good relationships, then Xiao Heifen could be considered her only friend in this unfamiliar world. It was really hard to imagine that the two of them had so many things in common... But should she really invite Xiao Heifen to the birthday party? Not to mention that this friendship was only unilaterally certified by her, and Xiao Heifen might not be willing to come, the nature of this birthday party itself—interacting with fans was secondary—was mainly for generating buzz, so she naturally didn't need to invite her self-proclaimed friend.
"No, you and Sister Cheng can decide on the list." Zhou Huai smiled and handed the matter over to his assistant.
Tang Xiaole nodded and said, "Don't worry about leaving it to me. I will definitely arrange the list properly."
... ...
Two weeks later, Zhou Paihuai's birthday party was held as scheduled. She had underestimated the number of fans a third-tier actress had. Although she didn't seem to have many fans on various online platforms, the number of true fans willing to attend the birthday party far exceeded the capacity of the venue.
“Zhou Zhou, did you see that? These are all your fans.” Tang Xiaole said from backstage, pointing to the fans in front of the stage. “Sister Cheng said she would need to hire extras, but it seems we don’t need to now.”
Well, it wasn't just Zhou Paihuai who lacked confidence; her manager and assistant both thought she wouldn't have that many fans. She didn't directly respond to Tang Xiaole. For some reason, she felt a little uneasy, as if something was about to happen.
However, she designed the entire birthday party program, and even the lines she had to say were specially simplified by her. Logically, there shouldn't have been any problems. Zhou Paihuai appeared on stage in unease. Fortunately, she was socially anxious and had a blank expression, so no one could detect her nervousness and unease.
Cheng Minxin, watching Zhou Huaihuai's performance from below the stage, was not satisfied. Hadn't they rehearsed beforehand? Why was she still like this? She had a cold face at the birthday party. Once the photos and videos were released, there wouldn't even be any need for the haters to do anything; a huge wave of controversy would be stirred up.
Fortunately, the fans knew Zhou Paihuai's personality, so they didn't mind too much, and the birthday party went smoothly. Soon, the songs were sung, the cake was cut, and the fans spontaneously lined up to give Zhou Paihuai birthday gifts and cards with heartfelt messages.
The atmosphere improved, and Zhou's lingering smile gradually appeared on his face, but the unease in his heart grew stronger.
Until one fan, with a smile on her face but cold eyes, said, "Zhou Zhou, I really like you so much. I made a very long video for you, and I want to show it to you live, is that okay?"
The fact that this "fan" looked suspicious instantly dispelled Zhou's anxiety. Things had finally come to a head, and she no longer needed to be on tenterhooks.
“Since it’s your wish, then of course you can.” Zhou Huaihuai smiled at her.
--------------------
Author's Note:
Sorry, I was planning to write more during the holiday, but I caught a cold the day before the holiday started and have been feeling dizzy and lightheaded every day, so I haven't been able to write. The weather is a bit warmer today, and I feel a little better, so I'm finally able to update.
Chapter 32 Background
Zhou Paihuai wasn't that stupid. She saw through the so-called fan's ill intentions, but in front of everyone, she couldn't very well refuse a "fan's" offer. She could only deal with it as it came, taking it one step at a time. Besides this reason, she also had a sense of confidence. After all, neither she nor the original owner of this body had done anything heinous, so even if the videos released were "dirty stories," it wouldn't matter.
But when the video was released, Zhou Paihuai became puzzled. It wasn't about awkward acting, unflattering photos, or news of her past "diva behavior," but rather a video made up of old photos. As for why old photos, it was because they were all black and white; someone unfamiliar with the subject might think they were watching a movie from the last century. Confused, she turned to look at Tang Xiaole and Cheng Minxin, hoping to find answers from them.
Tang Xiaole looked just as bewildered as Zhou Paihuai, but Cheng Minxin's expression turned grim, as if the fake powder had been contaminated with something terrible. She looked left and right, but aside from the black and white photo and the dilapidated house in it, she couldn't discern anything. But judging from Cheng Minxin's expression, shouldn't she start to panic?
Unfortunately, Zhou Paihuai overestimated her acting skills. The more she tried to express herself, the more expressionless she became. To onlookers, she only seemed to be radiating coldness and possessing a very powerful aura. The fake fan in front of her stared at her, saying in a fierce but weak voice, "Zhou... Zhou Paihuai, you... you don't... don't try to deny it. This is the orphanage where you grew up. You... you're just an unwanted wild child!"
"... ... " It turns out these photos are from the orphanage where the original owner lived as a child. Zhou Paihuai was so nervous for so long, afraid that it was some important place and he wouldn't recognize it, and that Sister Cheng would see through his act. This fake fan is quite capable. According to the original owner's diary, this place was demolished more than ten years ago, yet she still managed to get the photos.
Seeing Zhou hesitate and not respond, and her expression turned very strange, the fake fan thought he had caught her red-handed and became arrogant again: "So many people here are your fans, but you have been deceiving them all along. Don't you feel ashamed?"
Zhou Paihuai was genuinely surprised by her dramatic flair. He curled his lips and said, "Deceive? That's hilarious. What did I lie about? Did I fabricate my background for anyone?"
One sentence left Zhou Minjing speechless. Yes, although the original owner didn't want anyone to know her background and had kept it a secret, she had only kept it a secret; she had never fabricated anything about her origins. Without even lying, how could it be called deception?
"You... ...then why didn't you say so?"
"Enough!" Just as Zhou was about to respond, Cheng Minxin stepped forward and interrupted their conversation. "Madam, today is Zhou Zhou's birthday party. If you are a fan of Zhou Zhou and have given her a gift, please return to your seat. If not, this occasion may not be suitable for you."
Cheng Minxin was not only warning her, but the security personnel at the venue were also approaching. After all, Zhou Minjing's behavior could be described as disrupting the event. If she was unwilling to leave, they would need to use some forceful means to ask her to leave.
Zhou Minjing is well aware of the principle that "a wise person adapts to circumstances," and since she has already achieved her goal today, it won't be long before Zhou Paihuai's background becomes a trending topic. Let's see how she pretends to be a princess in front of her fans.
"Hmph!" Zhou Minjing snorted coldly, stepped off the stage, and went straight out through the main entrance.
After Zhou Minjing left, the atmosphere became extremely awkward, so quiet it felt like it wasn't a birthday party at all. Cheng Minxin, who usually had excellent control over the situation, couldn't think of a good solution for the moment.
"Zhouzhou, this is a gift for you."
Zhou's lingering gaze followed the voice to the last row of the venue, where he saw a little girl wearing a mask that covered her up completely, holding a Jones figurine in her hands.
Wow, anyone who dares to speak up in this situation must be a true fan, especially since she knows what I like! Zhou Paihuai felt a surge of joy, a smile spreading across her face. Her steps to receive the gift were even lighter; she wanted to make a mutual connection with her true fan.
But people can't be happy, because excessive joy can easily lead to sorrow. Just as Zhou was about to reach out her hands to receive the gift, she suddenly slipped and fell into the arms of her devoted fan as if she had been thrown out. Surprisingly, her devoted fan still managed to catch her steadily, even though she was holding a fragile figurine.
Such a socially awkward situation was truly unbearable for someone as socially anxious as Zhou Paihuai. She really wished she could dig a hole in the ground with her hands and disappear into it, not even caring about the pain in her hands. However, her blunder actually warmed up the atmosphere again, sweeping away the previous embarrassment and replacing it with a new kind of awkwardness.
"It seems Zhouzhou really loves playing games, she's so eager to get started!" Sister Cheng smoothed things over for her, "It's getting late, and Zhouzhou has prepared gifts for everyone, you can go to the staff to pick them up."
... ...
The birthday party ended without incident, but Zhou Paihuai, holding a Jones figurine, knew from Cheng Minxin's expression that she had prematurely declared it "without incident." She put her hands behind her back, shamelessly moved closer to Cheng Minxin, and said, "Sister Cheng, you really shouldn't frown, or you'll look old!"
"..." Cheng Minxin was speechless. She really didn't expect Zhou Paihuai to still dare to come over with a grin. "Come on, if you hadn't annoyed me like this, I would be five years younger than I am now. Tell me, what were you thinking? How did you have the audacity to put such an uncertain factor on stage?"
"Calm down, calm down..."
"But then again, haven't you always been reluctant to let others know about your background? Why do you seem less concerned about it today?" Cheng Minxin asked casually. She didn't think too much about it, but she felt that Zhou Paihuai had indeed changed a lot.
Zhou Paihuai's smile froze. She had been careless again. After all, she was not the original owner of this body, and the things she cared about were completely different from those of the original owner. If she was not careful, people would find out that she was wrong.
"I... I've figured it out now. No one can decide their own background, and looking back on my days in the orphanage, it wasn't so bad after all." Zhou Paihuai lied. Admittedly, she had a good life in the orphanage since she was a child, but according to what the original owner wrote in her diary, that time was not pleasant for her. That's why she was so bothered by her background and hid her former self, unwilling to let anyone know.
"..." Cheng Minxin didn't want to dwell on her painful past. After a moment of silence, she said, "It's good that you've come to your senses. Anyway, it's all in the past, and you have a bright future ahead of you. It's just that such a big thing happened at your birthday party, I'm worried..."
"Sister Cheng, don't worry. My background is not my fault. My fans won't stop supporting me because of this. As for the haters, they can make up all sorts of things, and I'm not afraid of their comments."
Chapter 33 The Road Ahead Is Long and Arduous
Back in her apartment, Zhou Paihuai put away the Jones figurine and then went to the study to find the original owner's diary. Today's events had caught her completely off guard; she needed to catch up on her studies and understand the original owner thoroughly in order to become her.
Although the original owner of this body had been keeping a diary to record her life, it only covered about fifteen or sixteen years of her life, amounting to less than two hundred thousand words. Zhou Paihuai could usually read a novel with over a million words in just two or three days, but she had never finished reading the original owner's diary. The main reason was that the writing in the diary was too depressing, making Zhou Paihuai, a fan of sweet and satisfying stories, uncomfortable. However, the current situation forced her to read it.
Time flies, and it was already past midnight. Zhou Paihuai yawned, put away the diary she was almost finished reading, and planned to continue tomorrow. However, after washing up, she habitually took out her phone to watch some videos to fall asleep, but unexpectedly saw herself trending on social media.
It has to be said that netizens these days have a lot of free time. They don't care about what they eat, drink, or how much money they make, but instead they're concerned about the background of this washed-up actress who has no connection to them whatsoever. Is it because she, an orphan, is spending their taxpayers' money? It's truly baffling.
While mentally grumbling, Zhou Paihuai's hand still honestly clicked on one... ...and another popular comment. Tsk, this generation of netizens really knows how to make up stories. Compared to professionals like her, they're not fast at all. According to incomplete statistics, Zhou Paihuai's personality has already split into several parts, making her a complete polyhedron... ...quite interesting.
As she drifted off to sleep, Zhou Paihuai had completely lost track of time, and she had no idea what day it was. As for the announcement for the next day, she had completely forgotten about it, so she could probably set the alarm clock in her dreams.
... ...
Zhou Huapai has been very dedicated lately. Without Tang Xiaole constantly nagging her, she hasn't been late or left early again. So when she didn't show up at the company by the agreed time, her assistant panicked. She tried calling her cell phone but couldn't get through, thinking something might have happened to her on the way.
"Tang Xiaole, where is Zhou Zhou?" The director, unable to find her, went directly to Cheng Minxin.
Cheng Minxin naturally went to find Tang Xiaole, but unexpectedly saw Tang Xiaole looking anxious and saying to her, "Sister Cheng, Zhouzhou is missing."
What does "disappeared" mean?
"I don't know, I can't get through on the phone, I'm afraid something happened to her on the way!" Tang Xiaole was very nervous, wishing she could grow a pair of wings right now and go find her on the road.
"Why can't I get through on the phone again?" Cheng Minxin asked, puzzled. "Have you gone to her house to look for her?"
"Sister Cheng, do you mean Zhouzhou had an accident at home?"
"..." Cheng Minxin was quite helpless. Tang Xiaole was a good kid, responsible and conscientious in every way, but she had a wild imagination and always thought of the worst. "It's not necessarily that something happened. It's very possible that she slept with someone. She's not without a history of such behavior."
Tang Xiaole refused to believe it, arguing, "No way? Zhou Zhou, she..."
"Go to her apartment first and see if you can find her," Cheng Minxin interrupted her directly. "If you can't find her, then we'll talk again." Her tone was very certain, as if she was sure she could find Zhou Paihuai.
"Oh well."
After arriving at Zhou Paihuai's apartment, Tang Xiaole started knocking on the door, but no one answered after a long time. She knew it! How could Zhou Zhou still be in bed? Something must have happened on the way. Although she was certain Zhou Paihuai wasn't home, Tang Xiaole decided to go in and check since she had brought a spare key to the apartment.
Upon entering the bedroom, there was indeed no sign of Zhou Paihuai. She thought to herself, "I knew it! How could Zhou Zhou oversleep again? She's not a child anymore." Just then, Zhou Paihuai appeared behind her with her long hair disheveled, nearly scaring her to death.
"Ah—" the assistant screamed, startling Zhou Huahuai, who was half asleep.
"Wh...what's wrong?"
"..." To be Zhou Paihuai's assistant, one must have a strong and unyielding heart. Tang Xiaole took less than a minute to compose herself and was able to speak calmly to Zhou Paihuai. "Zhou Zhou, did you sleep in the study last night?"
"Yeah, yesterday I... I stayed up quite late, so I probably just slept in the study?"
Tang Xiaole mustered all her strength to force a smile: "Do you even remember you had work this morning?"
"I'll go get myself ready right away!"
This body is young and has a good foundation; even after staying up so long last night, the dark circles under the eyes were easily covered. Zhou Paihuai quickly tidied himself up and appeared in front of Tang Xiaole like a gust of wind.
"Shall we go to the company now?"
Tang Xiaole shrugged and said directly, "Sister Cheng just said that the director got impatient and stormed off, so you don't need to go over."
"He stormed off in a huff? Is the director really that short-tempered?" With the alarm lifted, Zhou Paihuai immediately relaxed. "But that's perfect, I can catch up on some sleep now."
"You... ...even at this hour you're still thinking about sleeping? What exactly happened yesterday... ..." Tang Xiaole started to say, then suddenly stopped. Yesterday's birthday party seemed a little unpleasant, so it was understandable that Zhouzhou was upset and had trouble sleeping. Thinking about it, Tang Xiaole decided against criticizing her further; after all, Sister Cheng had said it was fine.
Who would have thought that Zhou Paihuai would reveal something? "Sigh, actually I didn't do anything. Last night I was trending on Weibo again, so I went to check it out for a while. The comments from netizens were so funny that I couldn't help but watch for a bit longer."
"You didn't get up yesterday because you were looking at your own trending topics?" Tang Xiaole was exasperated. "Didn't I tell you a million times not to look at these things? Are you planning to switch careers and make money by making fun of yourself?"
"I can't do that. Only comedians can make that kind of money. I don't have that kind of talent."
"So you actually thought about it?" Tang Xiaole's emotions were stirred up again.
"I was just kidding." Zhou Paihuai pressed Tang Xiaole down to sit on the sofa with him. "Don't get so agitated. Although it was wrong of me to stay up late last night to check Weibo, I did it to get a feel for public opinion so I could come up with a response."
Tang Xiaole glanced at her and said, "So what solution have you come up with?"
"I've noticed that although I'm trending on social media and they've made up quite a few stories, not many people are actually criticizing me, so there's not much I need to do. I'm saving you and Sister Cheng some trouble!"
“... ..."
"By the way, can you find out the identity of the fan who gave me the figurine and helped me out yesterday? I want to thank her properly."
“I can find it, but it’s a bit troublesome. I’ll contact the fan club’s admin and ask her to look for it in the fan group.” Tang Xiaole said as she took out her phone to prepare to do so.
"Never mind." Zhou's thoughts changed in an instant. The little fan wore a mask the whole time, probably because she didn't want anyone to disturb her life; there was really no need for her to make a fuss. "Xiaole, was Sister Cheng particularly angry about what happened today?"
"Is she particularly angry?" Tang Xiaole thought about it carefully. It seemed that Sister Cheng wasn't particularly angry today, just like how Zhouzhou definitely couldn't go today. "She shouldn't be particularly angry. Sister Cheng has always been on your side, so you don't need to worry."
... ...