Chapter 9 CP9
Xia Xia gasped in shock upon hearing this.
Chen Fu's words shattered all her beautiful illusions. What the person in front of her said made sense: Ms. Sun only had a few people under her, and she had always looked down on artists who came from idol backgrounds. Weighing the pros and cons, she would inevitably be the one to be abandoned.
But she is still young, she still wants to be famous. She has only accumulated her first batch of fans this year, and she has a long acting career ahead of her. She wants to act and appear on television. She can't waste her time on these useless live broadcasts.
"There are still fifteen minutes before the show starts, so our guest teachers can come and touch up their makeup."
In the chaos, Xiaxia grabbed Chen Fu's wrist.
"Sister Fu, please help me. I... I don't want to... Since you've come to talk to me about this today, you must have a way to save me, right?"
Chen Fu slowly pushed her hand away.
"Everyone's in a mess, how could I possibly save you?"
A thin wisp of smoke escaped her lips, and the cigarette, barely puffed twice, was stubbed out in the ashtray. Perhaps seeing Xiaxia's almost-crying expression, Chen Fu crossed her arms, a hint of tenderness and pity on her face.
"Actually, if we miss the live stream, we can just skip it. The one who's most worried is Sister Sun. She had discussed a lot of scripts with Wei Xi before, but Wei Xi isn't in good shape right now. If she can't join the crew, things might get messy."
She grabbed Xiaxia's wrist and pulled her in front of her, carefully examining Xiaxia's face. Yes, it was exactly the type most popular in the market right now—sweet, youthful, and full of vitality.
"People have to earn their own opportunities. Sometimes, how do you know you can do something if you don't even try?"
The close contact allowed Xiaxia to smell the cool fragrance emanating from Chen Fu. As if bewitched, Xiaxia slowly nodded.
*
Half a month after the audition, Chen Fu finally received a reply from the director's team: she was confirmed to play the female lead in the TV series "Cultivation." This news was told to her by her assistant, Xiao Lingdang—her original assistant had been fired by Lu Xiaomi for obstructing her during the audition. Xiao Lingdang was Chen Fu's new assistant, chosen directly by the secretary without being assigned by the HR department.
This person really holds a grudge.
The young woman was a recent college graduate, and she was overjoyed when she received the notification.
"Sister Fu, the TV series will officially start filming in less than a week. Let me know when you have time so I can help you pack."
During the days of waiting for news, Chen Fu did almost nothing. Ever since Lu Xiaomi scolded her to her face, Ms. Sun had tacitly agreed that Chen Fu had found a very important person to support. From then on, her attitude changed completely. She would ask about Chen Fu's well-being regularly every morning and evening, and she would turn down all the tedious work that would damage her reputation, saying that she would give Chen Fu the most spare time to study the script.
Chen Fu smiled faintly at such concern, knowing that Ms. Sun hadn't been having a good time lately. News of Wei Xi being disliked by President Lu spread quickly. The production companies immediately stated that the casting of the several TV dramas Ms. Sun had secured for her involved Lu's investment to some extent, and that further discussion was needed regarding the actors.
Ms. Sun had placed many hopes on Wei Xi, and faced with this outcome, she could only swallow her anger and resentment. Coincidentally, Xia Xia had recently started causing trouble again. This little girl, having heard some rumors, tearfully offered herself to Ms. Sun, begging her to help her get introduced to the film crew.
Xia Xia's request came at such a timely moment, it was almost as if it had been pre-arranged. However, Ms. Sun was also driven to a dead end, and as a result, many of the resources that had originally been negotiated with Wei Xi ended up in Xia Xia's hands.
Little Bell is young and loves gossip. Chen Fu didn't originally care about these things, but Little Bell kept nagging her about them every day, making it hard for her not to know.
As she packed her things, she listened intermittently to Xiaolingdang's ramblings, and a sense of unreality began to creep over her. So much had happened in the past few days; she had unbelievably landed the lead role in "Cultivation," something Chen Fu would never have dared to dream of before.
She still remembers that day, the day she first met Lu Yu. Lu Yu's private secretary told her to go to his office to see him. The assistant was very confused when she heard this and said that she had to call Sister Sun first to ask for permission, but the secretary retorted.
"Mr. Lu needs Ms. Sun's consent to meet with artists. Who set this rule?"
The assistant, used to throwing her weight around in front of Chen Fu, remained resentful even after being rebuked. Chen Fu had to persuade her a few times before she reluctantly let her pass. The secretary, on the other hand, was very gentle, saying that their CEO, Mr. Lu, particularly admired Ms. Chen's character and couldn't wait to see her as soon as he arrived at the company.
Many people had said this to Chen Fu—Sister Sun had said it, her assistant had said it too. When they said it, their faces were filled with fawning hope, their lips, bright as lotus blossoms, painting a rosy picture of the person before them: the boss of the company, the high-ranking TV station executive with considerable resources under his control—but after a couple of drinks, they were all just the same beasts. Chen Fu understood what they meant. The entertainment industry wasn't an easy place to navigate, especially for female artists. There were too many temptations and hardships along the way; there would always be someone who would trample on you, taking what was originally yours, and then returning it as a favor.
Two years ago, Chen Fu was young and, relying on her abilities, rejected everyone without exception. She thought that sticking to her principles was admirable, but she never expected it would bring her so many setbacks.
Later, she had an accident and might never be able to go on stage again. Seeing her former dream getting further and further away from her, she finally woke up and cut her losses to survive.
The secretary led her to President Lu's door. She had met President Lu once before, during Sun Hao's meeting, when he was grabbing Sun Hao's hair and cursing him.
Chen Fu had wanted to do this for a long time.
But when he saw Little Deer, he found that she was different from before. She seemed so shy, not at all like a seasoned veteran of the world of pleasure. She sat awkwardly on the sofa, not daring to look at him, and was not as fierce as when she had beaten up Sun Hao.
However, this was not something Chen Fu should be thinking about; she only needed to kneel down and do what she had to do. She deliberately spilled the wine, letting the red liquid stain her fingertips. Her gaze towards President Lu deepened; she thought she had given up. The appearance of 0505 had completely lowered her standards, and she had finally bowed to fate.
Chen Fu recalled 0505's first task for her: "Intimate contact with Lu Yu." The scope of "intimate contact" was too broad. Chen Fu had anticipated what would happen next, but nothing could compare to the pleasure derived from conquest. Chen Fu disliked men; they were too rigid and animalistic. She always felt that even if she had to do this kind of thing, it would be easier with a girl.
But what she expected didn't happen. Boss Lu pushed her away, his cold gaze making Chen Fu think the shy person from before was just her imagination. Boss Lu told her to leave, his eyes filled with disgust as if she were humiliating herself.
However, what happened next...
Those protective actions, those whispered secrets in her ear—she even knew about her own dark past and inner turmoil.
This left her confused about Lu Yu's thoughts.
Does she love me?
The thought that popped into her mind startled Chen Fu.
It seems that anything can be justified if it's called love. Little Bell was still chattering on and on, asking Chen Fu when she was going to pack her things. Chen Fu thought for a moment and said there was no rush.
“Last time, Ms. Lu left something with me, and I was thinking of bringing it to her in the next few days.”
Little Bell happily agreed. The girl said, "Sister Fu, when are you planning to go? I'll go with you to find Boss Lu."
"No need for that trouble, I can go by myself."
Chen Fu sat on the bedroom floor, packing her luggage while making a phone call to Xiao Lingdang.
Chen Fu and Lu Xiaomi's relationship is currently ambiguous. The girl on the other end of the phone was stunned for a moment, then immediately realized what was going on. She said, "I used to be Mr. Lu's personal assistant for a while, and Mr. Lu gave me an access card to his apartment."
"Sister Fu, please wait at home for a moment, I will bring you the access card right away."
In fact, Lu Yu didn't leave anything with her; Chen Fu was just making up an excuse.
0505 went online again a day ago and gave her a third task.
"Conquering Luyu Series Mission (Part 3) Mission Requirements: Spend the night at Luyu's house. Completion Reward: Increase popularity points by 1,000."
Chapter 10 CP10 Chen Liaoliao's Second Teasing
Lu Xiaomi had a dream.
In her dream, she was wearing a white dress and sitting in front of the mirror in the dressing room. The person in the mirror had a cold expression, looking like herself but also like Lu Yu. She couldn't tell, so she tentatively raised a hand and touched the piping on her chest.
The bright red rose still had two drops of water clinging to it, turning cold as it touched her fingertips. Lu Xiaomi's heart sank. Suddenly, she heard the door being flung open, and 0413, dressed in an emcee's uniform and holding a microphone, stood in the doorway.
"Groom, hurry up and come on stage! The wedding is about to begin."
Wedding, groom?
What does this have to do with anything?
Who is the bride?
The emcee, 0413, looked at Lu Xiaomi with suspicion, as if she were an idiot.
"Who else could it be but Chen Fu!"
Chen Fu?
In the dream, 0413 obviously didn't have time to argue with her. He grabbed Lu Xiaomi's hand and walked towards the stage. The hall was full of guests who came to attend the wedding banquet. Yanshan was eating melon seeds while trying to get close to the secretary. Sun Hao was sitting in the first row, holding a tissue and crying like he was giving away his daughter. Lu Xiaomi felt a chill.
Before her was a row of arched flower stands that gradually extended backward, leading to the distant horizon. 0413 said that Chen Fu would come on stage from the other end of the flower stands in a moment, walking step by step to her.
Am I going to marry Chen Fu?
She had never considered this possibility, and now she couldn't even face her own feelings for Chen Fu. In the past, Chen Fu was too far away from her; she felt that it was enough for her to just look at her from afar.
But what about now?
"No, I don't agree to this marriage!"
This earth-shattering shout silenced the entire banquet hall instantly. Yan Shan's hand, which was cracking sunflower seeds, trembled slightly. He thought to himself, "They say art imitates life. In all my years, I've finally witnessed a wedding robbery."
Standing below was none other than his mother, Su Qing.
Su Qing is another female protagonist in the fanfiction Lu Xiaomi wrote for Chen Fu...
In other words, she was the original couple Lu Xiaomi paired with for Chen Fu...
Lu Xiaomi's breath hitched.
Two spotlights shone on Su Qing, and under everyone's watchful eyes, she stepped forward and shouted at Lu Xiaomi.
"mom!"
...
Lu Xiaomi felt extremely embarrassed, and her face turned as red as a pig's liver.
"Mom, I'm the first original character you created! How can you steal my wife!"
The audience members below the stage looked astonished.
What a huge surprise!
As the saying goes, the hatred of someone who steals another's wife is irreconcilable. This Lu Xiaomi not only stole someone else's wife, but also delayed their play. With old and new grudges surging in her heart, Su Qing stood in front of Lu Xiaomi with a fierce aura, as if she wanted to fight her to the death.
Mom didn't want it to be like this either; she had her reasons.
She said, "Where did I steal your wife? I'm your mother and also a big fan of Chen Fu. How could I not be worried when I see your sister being bullied like this? Your storyline is too flat, and readers are complaining about it. I have to step in myself, don't I?"
Besides, although my relationship with Chen Fu sometimes changes, overall I'm still a big fan of hers, okay?
Unexpectedly, Su Qing snorted coldly upon hearing this.
"Mom, how dare you say that? Your fandom has changed a long time ago, hasn't it?"
...
The scene before her eyes changed to the audition day with Su Qing's cold snort. Chen Fu sat in her lap, her slender waist tightly wrapped around her arms, a large red lip print on her cheek, her eyes filled with confusion.
With witnesses and physical evidence on display, even someone as shameless as Lu Xiaomi wouldn't dare to lie through her teeth.
Enraged, Lu Xiaomi waved her hand.
"alright!"
"I just like Chen Fu, so what!"
"You finally admit it."
A cold, mechanical female voice suddenly rang out. This "person" was 0413's boss, who would occasionally come to check on Lu Xiaomi's transmigration into the book. Lu Xiaomi abruptly opened her eyes in a panic, her clothes disheveled and her breath ragged. The weather outside was perfect; sunlight streamed through the half-drawn curtains onto the bed. Lu Xiaomi felt tightness in her chest, shortness of breath, and her body ached all over; she had none of the energy she felt after a good night's sleep.
She opened her sore eyes and saw 0413's magnified fox face. The little thing had climbed onto her to sleep again in the middle of the night, right on her chest, completely unaware of it, fast asleep with half of its pink tongue sticking out.
So you're the one who gave me nightmares?