Huayu: From charlatan to great entertainer

Chapter 569 A pitiful person, a hateful person
PS: Bonus chapter for the guild leader [My Little Follower of the Sea], and double votes please, thank you!
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Honey was in high spirits this Spring Festival.

She used her true love to acquire a luxury mansion in a prime location in Beiping, a symbol of status and wealth. Even if it can't compare to her best friend's 70,000-square-meter estate, it's still better than the 400-square-meter villa she bought before.
Moreover, this obedience test with many women was a great success, and Yang Mi doesn't mind shedding her image as a single young actress. Following in the footsteps of Lu Liuren, she'll leverage the popularity of the "Celebrity Couples Ranking" to begin building a diverse persona.

Capital Star.

This is a new trend in the entertainment industry after Wuyue's listing this year.

From a professional entertainment media perspective, this is a leap to enhance their bargaining power, transforming them from a pawn into a player.

Like her predecessors Bingbing and Yanzi, Yang Mi had long seen through the fact that even the most famous actresses are merely commodities and pawns in the hands of producers and investors. The status of a "capital star" means she is no longer a simple employee, but a potential partner and investor, with vastly different bargaining power.

This is also an important measure to build a moat against risks and combat the fragility of an acting career. Putting aside other factors, who can stay young and beautiful forever?
Cosmetic surgery isn't an option either; does that mean I have to keep sucking my cheeks in?
On the morning of the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, the "Celebrity Couples Ranking" selection event, inspired by the "Queen of the Duck Shed" duo from this year's Spring Festival Gala, launched by Nanfang Metropolitan Daily, came to a close a week later.

Ten eligible couples made it to the final round, most of whom are highly talked-about figures.

For example, last year there were rumors that Liu Tao, who had a brief affair with Qiao Feng on the set of "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils," and Wang Ke, one of the "Four Young Masters of Beijing."

Liu Tao got married last year and then announced her retirement from acting to focus on being a wife and mother. The couple is very sweet and wealthy, ranking fifth with a total score of 173.

Next is the Wang Fei and Ya Peng duo, followed by Deng Chao and Sun Li. The latter couple's new versions of "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber" and "Little Aunt Duohe" are both popular dramas in the past two years. In this life, Deng Chao is signed with Xiao Ma Ben Teng and is considered one of the few young actors under Brother Da Gou's company.

In addition, Zhang Ziyi, who was involved in the hype from the beginning of the marketing campaign, ranked second; Yanzi and Huang Youlong, a married couple, ranked third; and another couple, including Zhou Xun and Wang Shuo, who are known as the "Four Young Masters of Beijing," ranked fourth.

All three couples are incredibly wealthy, but their level of sweetness is rather disappointing. They consist of female celebrities with legitimate domestic and international business capital, and the female celebrities themselves have rich romantic histories.

But the level of discussion is sufficient.

The remaining couples, Wen Zhang and Ma Yili, Huang Xiaoming and Yang Ying, and Zhang Jie and Xie Na, are ranked 8th, 9th, and 10th respectively. Unlike the previous three couples, these three are all pure celebrity couples. Their work is basically the same, and their fans are quite accepting of their current relationship.

A couple with an eight-year age gap, a domineering CEO and a young model in a wish-fulfillment story, and another couple where the woman is stronger than the man.

The last remaining pair, naturally, are the players who recharged their accounts—

Yang Mi, one of the "Four Little Flowers" and LeTV's top star, and Xu Duojin, the son of a coal mine owner, won the championship as a powerful duo.

The Metropolitan Daily's commentary was extremely embellished, written in a style full of envy and quite suggestive:

This year's crown was won by Yang Mi, one of the "Four Little Actresses," and Mr. Xu Duojin, a behind-the-scenes capital tycoon.

Although Mr. Jin is low-key and rarely appears in the news, his family's strength is unfathomable. In recent years, with extraordinary foresight, he has led a huge amount of capital to enter the film and television culture industry, making rapid progress and turning stones into gold.

With her captivating acting skills and immense popularity, Ms. Yang Mi is rapidly rising to become a leading figure in the new generation of LeTV Culture and even the Chinese entertainment industry.

Their union is no ordinary romance; it's a perfect marriage of capital and popularity, a top-tier combination of hard and soft power, foreshadowing profound changes in the future landscape of the entertainment industry. Mr. Jin's financial power has paved not only a path to stardom for Yang Mi, but a road to royalty forged with real money.

Their triumph marks the arrival of a new era for entertainment capital. We look forward to this formidable duo creating more phenomenal works in the future and ushering in their own entertainment era!

……

The online and offline marketing efforts of Nanfang and Tencent ultimately created a phenomenal buzz during the entertainment lull of the Spring Festival season.

With its massive user base and precise traffic distribution, Tencent pushed the topic of the list to the top of the internet, with the special topic on the portal homepage receiving over 7000 million clicks and related discussion posts increasing by over 20 in a single day on the Tencent community.

The ranking's "wealth value" and "sweetness level" quantification system has been widely imitated and has become a common template for netizens to joke about celebrity relationships. It distinguishes Yang Mi from a group of young actresses of the same age, while the mysterious capital background represented by many gold coins adds a huge space for imagination and topicality to this image.

The number of fans of Da Mimi has increased dramatically. The original die-hard fans have been refined and their stickiness has been enhanced. In fact, the biggest benefit for her is that she has attracted many casual fans, baby fans, career fans, and inspirational fans.

While those in the industry understand the complexities of celebrity relationships and capital operations, the general public only encounters stories carefully crafted by the media. The *Metropolitan Daily*'s campaign packaged a complex reality involving resources, capital, and personal ambition into an easily understood and widely disseminated inspirational saga.

Female celebrities win the favor of top capital and achieve upward social mobility by virtue of their charm and strength.

As a result, the fans who had been hyping this up since after the Lunar New Year quickly reached a fever pitch, and began to reconstruct the subtle relationship between "Yang Mi and other female celebrities" through "history books of time" to establish their master's status in the entertainment industry.

Someone posted photos from the set of "The Return of the Condor Heroes," bringing up the casting process again, and published a post titled "The Casting Story of 'The Return of the Condor Heroes': A 10,000-Word Article Revealed!"

If Yang Mi hadn't been involved in some shady dealings back then, where would Liu Yifei's "Little Dragon Girl" be? Now, this young actress is proving with her talent who the real phoenix is! Doubtful people can take a look at this photo of Liu Yifei holding an umbrella for Yang Mi; their initial positions on the set are quite clear.

Why did the subsequent changes occur?
It was because a certain washing machine who wanted to play Zhen Zhibing (Yin Zhiping) threatened and bribed Zhang Jizhong that if he didn't follow his arrangements to give his mistress an important role and satisfy his perverse taste for playing "strong games" in the play, his "The Condor Heroes" would not pass censorship and would not be broadcast on TV.

As is well known, "Wenjie Mouji" and "Zhongying Moudiao" have been colluding for a long time, and the latter was also involved in this scandal, which led to Zhang Jizhong's retreat and Yang Mi's helpless concession.

The bearded man had no choice but to make a decision that went against his ancestors' wishes, switching the roles of Yang Mi and Liu Yifei, which led to Liu Yifei's incredible luck and meteoric rise to fame.

From then on, the history of Chinese TV dramas "lost a classic Little Dragon Girl and gained a fresh and refined Little Guo Xiang," which is quite regrettable.

……

Knowing that such a distortion of the facts would definitely be censored on Weibo, a flood of online trolls quickly appeared under this popular Tianya post, providing corroborating evidence for the story from different angles.

For example, photos of Zhen Zhibing, played by Washing Machine, plotting against Xiaolongnu, and photos of Xiao Liu laughing unrestrainedly with his teeth showing, taken by someone in the crew, are compared with Yang Mi's meticulously edited photos and they look quite similar.

Besides redefining their past and status by disparaging Liu Cixin, the LeEco Culture team went to great lengths to create a persona, and their angles were also very unconventional.

How can we highlight Yang Mi? Aren't female celebrities in the entertainment industry always being called "actors" or "vagrants"?

Now, by using the "Celebrity Couples Ranking" to promote Yang Mi to capital, and then developing her image as a talented woman, classic advertorials are born.

[Exclusive Deep Dive from "Bigstar"]: The Inside Story of Yang Mi's Choice Between Tsinghua and Peking Universities and Beijing Film Academy Revealed! The Ambition of Four Top Students in the Entertainment Industry Can No Longer Be Hidden!

Yang Mi, a rising star who is currently enjoying great popularity and has topped the "Couples Popularity Ranking," has an academic background that is far more impressive than the outside world imagines!

During the Spring Festival, this magazine visited several schools in Beiping and the admissions offices of prestigious universities such as Tsinghua University and Beijing Film Academy, obtaining a wealth of firsthand information, which led to the discovery of the true identity of this academic star hidden in the entertainment industry.

It turns out that Yang Mi had been a top student in the science class of Beiping No. 4 Middle School, a prestigious school, since middle school.

What is the significance of No. 4 High School?
There's a saying in Beiping (Beijing): "Fourth High School gets you into Peking University and Tsinghua University, and the High School Affiliated to Renmin University gets you into other schools." Those who can get into Fourth High School are already the best among their peers.

In an interview, Mr. Zhang, Yang Mi's former homeroom teacher and a municipal-level distinguished teacher, stated that Yang Mi's mock exam scores in her senior year of high school far exceeded the admission lines for Tsinghua and Peking Universities that year. However, just when her family and teachers were expecting her to enter prestigious universities like Tsinghua and Peking, Yang Mi made a decision that astonished everyone:
He gave up Tsinghua and Peking Universities and was admitted to the Performance Department of Beiping Film Academy with the highest score in his professional courses!
This move caused quite a stir at the time.

According to her former classmates, Yang Mi frankly said at the time, "China doesn't lack female academic superstars from Tsinghua and Peking Universities, but it lacks truly outstanding actresses." She was determined to make a name for herself in the entertainment industry through her own talent and hard work, rather than relying on the halo of a prestigious university.

Now! She did it!
As expected, the replies were still full of corroboration and comparisons from various parties. In addition to showing that everyone else in the entertainment industry is illiterate, they specifically pointed out and brought up the "special case" that Liu Yifei was admitted to the Beijing Film Academy at the age of 15, implying that she had committed academic fraud and transferred benefits.

One is a highly talented top student from Beiping who graduated from No. 4 High School and "married down" to Beijing Film Academy through her own efforts;
One of them was an American immigrant who hadn't even finished high school back then, and who used a policy loophole to "climb the ladder" to get into university.

Sit down!

……

Among the wide variety of marketing articles, there are even rehashed old ideas.

A bribed moderator on Tianya somehow obtained photos of Liu Shishi, Yang Mi, and Liu Yifei eating hot pot together!
This is a scene from when Xue Xiaolu was filming "Bad Genius," where Liu Shishi, who was signed by Liu Yifei's studio at the time, made a cameo appearance as a female student. The rest of the crew, along with Yang Mi and others who came to visit and gain attention, were having dinner at Haidilao. (Chapter 282)
Obviously, this photo was only provided by one of the people who had the dinner party, but there's a lot that can be made out of it.

This Tianya moderator created a fake account impersonating Zhuo Wei, the self-proclaimed "China's No. 1 Paparazzo," using names like "Zhuo Wei" or "Fengxing Tianxia Studio," and confidently made revelations—

The Coldness of Human Relationships in the Entertainment Industry: Of the Three Best Friends from Back Then, Only One Remains!

Do you remember Long Kui from the casting for "Chinese Paladin 3"? That's right, she's the second girl from the left in this photo. Like the rising star Jing Tian, ​​she was also a pure and innocent girl from the Beijing Dance Academy back then. (Chapter 253)
Because of her ethereal beauty, she was poached from Tangren Media by a certain artist who possessed a keen and shrewd mind from a young age, and signed to his agency. (Screenshot of the blog post from the artist's studio at the time is attached below.)
However, something unfortunate still happened.

Because of her striking resemblance to a certain fairy, the latter discovered, while instructing his slightly chubby agent to tailor a development plan for her, that this girl named Liu Shishi possessed extremely strong plasticity and dazzling star power!
And when she made a cameo appearance in "Bad Genius" back then, she even stole the spotlight from the main actors! (Below are screenshots and a 30-second clip of Liu Shishi's cameo appearance in "Bad Genius")
It can only be said that for Liu Shishi, a girl from the Beijing Dance Academy with no background in the entertainment industry, her beautiful face was like "a child carrying gold in the market," which quickly aroused the jealousy of a certain fairy.

Because she was worried that this actress, who debuted with the title of "Little Liu Yifei," would one day surpass her, which was something she absolutely could not tolerate, just like her later exclusion and suppression of Yang Mi.

As a result, the casting of Long Kui, who was originally ranked first in the online vote, was deliberately sabotaged, and the opportunity for Li Xiang, who had been selected by Hunan TV to replace the pregnant host, was also lost! (Chapter 289)
For Liu Shishi, who came from a family of traditional performing arts, this was a misfortune in her life.

Fortunately, she also realized the true colors of a close friend who had been so eager to support her through this incident.

After being betrayed by her best friend and jointly suppressed and blacklisted by capital, the once dazzling star Liu Shishi almost retired from the entertainment industry. She only had the opportunity to play a fox spirit in last year's "Xin Shisi Niang," and has faded into obscurity. (Chapter 450)
After everything settled down, the three best friends from back then—Mou Xian, Yang Mi, and Liu Shishi—have drifted apart. Now, only Yang Mi, who has become a huge star, still takes care of and looks after her former best friend, which shows her loyalty and affection.

The ever-changing nature of the entertainment industry and the fickleness of human relationships are truly lamentable.

……

This masterpiece is so remarkable that it's hard not to suspect that it was written by Liu Shishi in collaboration with LeTV Culture and Yang Mi. Since she was already a nobody, she might as well try her best to get involved, even if it means dying.

However, the historical records of those years have reached an appalling level.

Calling these three best friends is a bit of a stretch, but it's not entirely untrue. After all, Xiao Liu never intended to harm anyone; their relationships were just a matter of personalities. Yang Mi and Liu Shishi were even invited to her 18th birthday party.

However, after the "825 Yifei Incident," which was destined to be recorded in the history of the entertainment industry, Da Mimi and Tangren instigated Liu Shishi to betray Liu Yifei's studio. In the end, the latter was also ruthlessly dealt a blow by the time traveler, cutting off her chance of survival. This is also an indisputable fact.

Two parts truth, eight parts falsehood—this marketing campaign perfectly embodies the tactics of later marketing accounts, effectively fooling many new fans who fell for Nanfang's marketing.

Overall, for people who were previously unfamiliar with the entertainment industry, these intriguing rumors are quite interesting and captivating.

Can this kind of hype increase Yang Mi's fans? Of course it can. Just like how a small online novel on a certain entertainment website can attract a lot of casual fans to female celebrities, let alone this kind of free and ubiquitous promotional article.

The key articles are published on websites outside the official channels, which then forces and guides users and fans to promote the content spontaneously on Weibo.

From the initial hype surrounding Yang Mi's cash-out purchase of a house after the Lunar New Year to the multi-pronged attack following the announcement of the Nanfang selection results, LeEco Culture's post-Lunar New Year event marketing campaign was a significant investment, yielding remarkable results and demonstrating a strong logical structure.

The list of popular couples in the Chinese entertainment industry elevated her from an ordinary actress to a high-profile female star with financial backing, similar to Bingbing.
Distorting the casting of "The Return of the Condor Heroes" is an attempt to reconstruct the status relationship between Yang Mi and Liu Yifei, and to readily exploit the situation.
To cultivate a "top student" persona, one can ruthlessly belittle other female stars and allude to Liu's past experience of entering the Beijing Film Academy.
As for bringing up Liu Shishi's story again, it's to add a touch of human warmth to the somewhat aloof Yang Mi after establishing her persona as a woman of wealth and academic excellence, and incidentally, to rewrite the history of "Little Consort Liu" in the annals of time.

Just like the Chinese entertainment industry in the real world, in 2025 we can still hear many unbelievable stories, such as Liu Yifei being called "Little Liu Shishi" back then.

From this point on, a three-dimensional and dynamic new version of Yang Mi's image leaps off the page:
She is a shrewd player deeply intertwined with capital, wielding enviable resources and influence;
They are also highly educated elites from prestigious universities with keen insight, and their choices are imbued with an idealistic color that transcends fame and fortune.
She is also a "heroine" who values ​​loyalty and righteousness and protects the weak in a complex world, showing human warmth amidst the ruthless competition.

Apart from the adorable little feet having a slightly unusual fragrance, everything else is perfect.

On the morning of the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, just hours before the news of the “terror descending” hit Lin’an Shuangma, Da Mimi was nestled in her bedroom at the old house, leisurely watching the “online extravaganza” she had bought at great expense.

She had just liked a trending post that said "Congratulations to my friend for surpassing 1100 million Weibo followers," and was enjoying the comments marinated by marketing accounts, feeling incredibly comforted.

"I didn't pay much attention to the entertainment industry before, but I never expected that Yang Mi, a child star, would help Liu Yifei, who then turned her back on her after getting involved with the richest man in China, and even tried to bribe her other friends to ostracize Yang Mi! Disgusting!"

"I think Yang Mi and Xu Jin are childhood sweethearts and have a long-term relationship, which is in stark contrast to the celebrity capital games of the richest man in the world. Xi Shi was just tired of playing around and asked her to take over, it's definitely not true love!"

"Now it's obvious. The washing machine and the fairy have a sweetness level of 0. Even if you give them 100 wealth points, they still can't beat the honey and rich couple."

"Now it's even more obvious! The washing machine couple withdrew from the competition, it must have been Nanfang who was persuaded by them, they were afraid of losing face!"

Of course, on Weibo, Liu Yifei's stronghold, there's a lot of hype and even more criticism of Yang Mi and her recent marketing campaigns, which muddies the waters and leaves uninformed viewers confused.

dong dong!

"Dad? You're done playing chess? It's not even dinner time yet!" Da Mimi looked at her father knocking on the door with a happy expression, but his face was visibly pale.

"You bought a house, and your mother and I were the last to find out?" Old Yang looked incredulous. "If someone hadn't told me while we were playing chess in the neighborhood just now, I wouldn't have known my daughter was such a rich woman!"

"An 8000 million yuan house, you paid for it in full?" The old policeman slammed his hand on the table, not too hard, not too soft. "Tell me! Where did you get the money!"

"Oh, that's marketing!" Yang Mi wasn't so heartless as to include her own father in history books, but what she said wasn't exactly honest either:
“That house was originally quite expensive. I got it for over 3000 million yuan through Xiao Xu’s father, and I paid the down payment myself.” Beiping Dasa Mi jumped up from her gaming chair in the bedroom and excitedly explained, “I’ve already started looking at renovations. You and Mom can get ready to enjoy your retirement!”

Old Yang was clearly not so easily fooled, but after staring at his daughter for more than ten seconds, he couldn't bring himself to interrogate her like a criminal during the New Year. After a long while, he finally said in a deep voice:

“Once you become an adult, you will be in control of your own income. If you are willing to tell us, we will know something. If you are not willing to tell us, we will not covet our daughter’s money. That’s the first point.”

"Secondly, we don't object to you dating Xiao Xu, but as his father, I have to be upfront about this: you need to be discerning and simple-minded. His family background is very complicated..."

Yang Mi was already in a good mood today, and she felt very pleased to hear the concern hidden in her father's stern words. She hugged his arm and said, "I know, respected police officer!"

"But you say that someone has a complicated background and that I should be discerning and quick-witted, which I understand. But why do you also say that I should be simple-minded? That's contradictory."

Old Yang looked helplessly at his daughter, who was like a little monkey in front of him, and said earnestly, "Being sharp-eyed and discerning means you can see the situation clearly and know the depths of the matter. This is a survival skill, especially in your industry."

"But if you understand the situation clearly, and your purpose and thoughts are simpler, you may achieve better results."

He paused, perhaps recalling the myriad aspects of life that had been laid out on his desk over the years, "Sometimes, relationships between people are like looking in a mirror; you are what they are."

“Dad, you don’t know what it’s like in our line of work.” Yang Mi sighed, not quite agreeing with his statement. “What about the saying that kind people are often bullied? Those with simple minds have long been devoured without a trace.”

Old Yang said sternly, "There's only one reason you're bullied: you're weak but have some exploitable value. It's not because you're kind that you're bullied! If you're targeted by someone you can't fight back against, do you think being unkind will help you escape?"

“Dad knows you’ve had a tough time in this industry, and you’ve achieved a lot now, but I’m just worried that if you stay in this environment for too long, you’ll lose all your softness and resilience.”

"Take this Xu for example. If you're sure he's someone you can date, try to keep your relationship simple. What's the point of all this hype? What does it matter to us if he's rich? Is your home, which you've lived in for decades, really that shabby?"

The old policeman, who had been holding back for a long time, couldn't stop talking once he started. "Everyone has several faces. I treat my superiors and my colleagues differently. That can't be denied; it's just human nature."

"But daughter, you have to leave a clean and soft place in your heart, right?"

“This place isn’t for your future husband, or for your mother and me; it’s for you! You need to leave yourself some breathing room, right?”

Da Mimi looked somewhat depressed. Her lingering ambitions and inner demons were hard to shake off. Although she didn't agree with some of her father's advice as an experienced person, she couldn't bring herself to refute him even once.

Especially after so many years of ups and downs in this cesspool, female celebrities cherish their families even more.

Seeing her remain silent, Old Yang sighed, lamenting that daughters are no longer under their fathers' control once they grow up. "Times have changed. We all understand that celebrities need marketing, but don't be fooled by what you see online. With your grades, you think you can get into Tsinghua or Tsinghua University? Even if your uncle pulls strings for you, you'll still be short enough."

He also knew to save face for his daughter and didn't mention anything about Beiping No. 4 Middle School.

I was just playing chess in the courtyard of the community when a group of old men and young men teased me for a long time. I was shocked to find so many strange things about my daughter on the internet, which I usually don't pay attention to. I was also annoyed and worried by some of the numbers.

What does 8000 million mean? He knew his daughter had been working non-stop on commercial performances, endorsements, and filming projects these past few years, but no matter how he calculated it, he couldn't have such a high net income.

Yang Mi quickly put on a smiling face and looked at her father innocently: "Where? Do you think I asked someone to send those out?"

"The company just helped promote my relationship with Xiao Xu a bit. This is normal industry practice. I don't believe you haven't seen the publicity surrounding Liu Yifei and Lu Kuan? It was everywhere."

"Your daughter is just starting out, okay? Isn't it all for the sake of making money from film and television projects?"

Mr. Yang pursed his lips, thinking about how several young women in his workplace who were in charge of household registration were always staring at Liu Yifei's Weibo, gossiping about things like "the road-killing dog" and "the washing machine incident," and he couldn't help but sigh heavily, no longer demanding perfection.

No one knows a daughter better than her father, but he felt he had said enough today, and that his daughter was smart enough to understand what he meant.

The old policeman may not have seen countless people in his life, but he was certainly quite experienced in society. He knew very well that the difference between petty cleverness and true wisdom was like heaven and earth.

Some clever tricks may seem like shortcuts, but it's better to have none at all, or even better to be a complete fool.

Another thud!
After listening for a while, Yang's mother pushed open the door and entered, smiling as she defused the situation: "What are you two whispering about during the New Year?"

As always, she acted as a mediator, resolving the deadlock by giving equal blame to both sides: "Girl, don't pay attention to your stubborn old man, but I think you should bring that little Xu home so your parents can have a look at him."

"Also, don't find your dad annoying. You still need to tell this old man about any decisions you make. After all, he's been wearing the police hat for so many years."

"Hehe, I know, Mom." Yang Mi smiled and put her arms around her parents' arms. "Let's eat, let's eat. After we finish eating, I'll take you for a walk around Dongshan Villa!"

The family sat down at the table, started eating, and clinked glasses. At this moment, there was no big star Yang Mi, just an ordinary girl and a pair of ordinary parents who loved her, a simple family of three.

Actually, if it weren't for her father's words, Yang Mi might have actually shown him the contract she signed a few days ago.

Even if the latter may not understand the intricacies, it is still good to provide some general advice and judgment.

but now……

With all this online hype, how dare you even open your mouth when you've only spent less than 100 million yuan registering the company?

Besides, she didn't think she had done anything wrong.

This is just a romantic relationship between a couple. What's wrong with Jin liking me and buying me a house? Did she hold a gun to my head?
Did Liu Yifei buy the 70,000-square-meter manor she lives in now? How much did she pay for it? Can she afford it?

I currently only own the Dongshan Villa through the company. Even if my father finds out the truth later, he will still give me a lot of money. In any case, I am much more noble than Liu Yifei, who only sucks blood.

Perhaps even Yang Mi herself didn't realize that whether it was her conversations with her father or her own inner thoughts, she could never escape the shadow of another young actress.

Those days of groveling before her, that shivering winter night waiting in front of the Wenyu River government office, that infuriating moment caused by Jin Yong's double-dealing—none of these were things she could easily forget. (Chapter 555)
Just like the time she vented her anger in the room when many Jins heard it, revealing her true thoughts: she always believed that the only difference between her and Liu Yifei was the width of the road.

Yang Mi even sometimes dreams of the white-clad Little Dragon Girl floating before her eyes, and then she can't help but imagine a scenario that doesn't exist:

That world wasn't wide enough. Liu Yifei, this fairy who never descended to earth in the entertainment industry, was relentlessly attacked by the domestic entertainment companies that blocked her path, with Huayi Brothers being the ringleader.

Without the backing of capital, Liu Yifei, an independent businesswoman, only has some goodwill from casual observers in the Chinese entertainment industry. Awards and high-quality film resources are irrelevant to her, and Weibo is a stronghold for her haters. They would never advocate for her like they do now.

What about yourself?
Without Lu Kuan's concoction of some ridiculous ethnic cultural issues, he would have already become famous with "Chinese Paladin 3" and the upcoming 2010 drama "Palace," and might even end up like Bingbing, owning his own company and transforming from an actor into a capitalist.

Unfortunately, it was just a dream.

Fortunately, I'm not doing too badly now. I have a devoted boyfriend from a coal mining family and a background with LeEco, which is about to go public. All that's left is to work hard.

In any case, Xiao Liu, who had never been interested in these things, had become a benchmark for Da Mimi's career and life, and a vessel for her ambitions and inner demons.

……

At 2 PM on the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, the two Mas from Lin'an met at the Four Seasons Hotel West Lake. Da Mimi from Beiping, who had just finished her afternoon nap, also got up to put on makeup, preparing to take her parents to see the house in Dongshan Villa.

People don't wear fine clothes at night; it's human nature, and it's also the driving force behind striving.

Of course, this trip didn't escape the paparazzi's attention either. In addition to the aforementioned persona, fans will also see her filial piety, warmth, and return to her family. This shows that she doesn't miss any opportunity and is trying to build herself into a well-rounded female warrior.

The afternoon sun was shining brightly, dispelling the slight chill of winter in Beiping. Yang Mi drove her parents slowly out of the old alley near Dashilan in the southern part of the city.

Outside the car window, the familiar bustling city life mingled with the leather fragrance inside, creating a peculiar sense of dissonance.

"This car is quite comfortable, but it's a bit cramped," said Mr. Yang, sitting in the passenger seat, looking at the interior. His tone was ambiguous, neither praising nor criticizing. Mrs. Yang, in the back seat, chuckled and tried to smooth things over: "Your daughter is capable; why isn't she happy to enjoy some comforts?"

With a smile on her lips, Yang Mi skillfully turned onto Chang'an Avenue and drove towards the East Fourth Ring Road.

In high spirits, she patiently pointed out the scenery outside the window to her parents, pointing out which building was a newly built skyscraper and which area was a planned business district. Her words inadvertently revealed her familiarity with the city's development and a sense of ownership.

This is the confidence that she, a newly emerging "capital star," unconsciously reveals.

As the car entered the Dongshan Villa area, the atmosphere suddenly became tranquil. Towering ancient trees, meticulously manicured gardens, and the villa spires peeking out in the distance silently proclaimed the social class of this place.

The security post at the entrance was particularly eye-catching. The security guards, dressed in smart uniforms, saw the luxury car approaching from afar but did not immediately raise the barrier. Instead, they jogged forward and bent down slightly to look out the driver's window.

The car window rolled down, and the security guard recognized Yang Mi. His face immediately broke into a predictable, slightly obsequious smile: "Miss Yang, good afternoon! Here to see the house?" His gaze quickly swept over Yang's parents in the back seat, his smile growing even warmer. "Hello, Uncle and Aunt! Your house is truly magnificent; we always take a second look during our patrols!"

Yang Mi nodded reservedly and hummed in agreement. The barrier quickly rose, and the security guard, maintaining a bowed posture, watched the car enter, his demeanor even more respectful than when meeting a real resident.

"Tsk." Mr. Yang snorted. "Quite adept at handling things."

Yang's mother gently patted him: "This is his job."

Yang Mi didn't speak, but the smile on her lips deepened. This feeling of being accurately recognized, this courtesy received without having to give her name, was like a faint electric current, gently smoothing through her vanity.

This is a blatant testament to the world that female celebrities strive so hard to enter.

She parked her car in front of a villa with a private courtyard. The gray stone facade and high-ceilinged windows looked sophisticated and expensive in the winter sunlight.

"This is it, 1100 square meters, with a small garden. Mom, you can plant some flowers and plants here." Yang Mi said casually, as if she were talking about something insignificant. She took out her key, pushed open the heavy copper door, and led her parents into the living room with its nearly six-meter-high ceiling.

Sunlight streamed through the huge glass windows, casting dappled shadows on the gleaming floor. The space was spacious, brand new, and still carried the faint smell of building materials, yet it was also brimming with the boundless possibilities that money could buy.

Mr. Yang stood with his hands behind his back, silently observing the scene, his eyes sharp as if he were investigating a crime scene. Mrs. Yang, on the other hand, nervously touched the shiny stair railing, inwardly sighing that her husband's suspicions were well-founded.

Is this something that daughters can afford these days?

As Da Mimi was enthusiastically planning where to build a home theater and where to leave a sunroom for her parents, her phone rang in her bag.

It is a lot of gold.

She answered with a smile, her tone sweet and boastful: "Hello? I was just about to call you! I brought..."

"There are some minor issues that might cause the situation to change, so be prepared." The second-generation coal miner on the other end of the phone, however, lacked his usual honest and composed demeanor, and interrupted her with an barely suppressed anxiety.

Yang Mi may not have noticed the slight abnormality after the contract was signed. Why would the second-generation sycophant talk like that?
She assumed that something had really gone wrong, which would greatly diminish all her efforts over the past few days, and after giving her parents a quick glance, she walked away.

"What's the problem?" Da Mimi's heart skipped a beat, pulling her mind from the house blueprints. "Which rival has bought smear articles again? Or is it Liu Yifei's fans causing trouble? Let the team handle it." These were all things she had expected. After all, the weakness in public opinion was an undeniable fact. This time, the significant effect was only achieved by relying on Nan Fang and Tencent, who had a distant and hostile relationship with Wenjie.

However, she didn't understand what Xu Jin said for a moment. "Not yet. Wenjie just issued an announcement, which was only one line long, saying that they were going to make instant messaging software."

"What? What's instant messaging... Oh! QQ chat and stuff like that, right?" Da Mimi, a top student from Peking University and Tsinghua University, almost didn't understand. She breathed a sigh of relief and laughed, "What does it have to do with us? Tencent must hate them! It's a good thing for us, right?"

Many Jin couldn't explain to her the extent to which this decision would change China's internet landscape and business competition, and perhaps even he himself hadn't fully grasped it yet.

As far as he knew, every company like LeEco Culture, whose main business was related to the Internet, was urgently convening meetings to discuss the matter. Nobody knew why Wenjie suddenly went to provoke "Nanshan Invincible".

He called Yang Mi, just to discuss some matters that might be related to their current public relations stunt:

"Putting their business with Penguin and Ali aside, what I want to tell you is that Shen Hao from Nanfang just called me. He sounded fairly calm, but he informed me—"

"Chen Juhong, the vice president of Tencent who helped Nanfang with the event, called him and said that she had been badly harmed by Shen Hao because she was scolded by Ma Huateng for helping Shen Hao mediate with Yang Siwei."

Yang Mi, a top student, was completely confused. "What does this have to do with Yang Siwei?"

She didn't really like this slightly overweight agent; people like him were like Real Madrid's villain Ramos, Portugal's martial arts master Pepe, Chelsea's stunning Costa, and Manchester United's Roy Keane—

He's the kind of ruthless character who hates his own people but benefits them immensely; he's incredibly good at stirring up trouble.

Especially for the incredibly easygoing Xiao Liu, Yang Siwei can complement her and help her handle many tricky situations.

Many people called again from Jin's mobile phone, and the caller succinctly said, "Yang Siwei has already posted on Weibo. You'll understand once you see it yourself. It's a forced interpretation and an attempt to frame someone."

"Starlink, which she is in charge of, controls the monetization of celebrity traffic in the world. It has abundant public opinion resources and a strong ability to connect people. It might do something to overshadow your popularity. We can only wait and see how things go."

Do you want my popularity?
That would kill me, wouldn't it?

Looking at the overwhelming historical records, Da Mi Mi, who had been happy for less than a morning, couldn't accept such a rollercoaster ride. Listening to the dial tone on the phone, she stood there dumbfounded.

Outside the window was a luxurious courtyard worth tens of millions, the sun was shining brightly, but she suddenly felt a chill rise from the soles of her feet.

Da Mimi seemed to see Yang Siwei's chubby, ordinary-looking face, through an invisible network, precisely slamming a giant wrench onto the fragile ladder she had just carefully built leading to "capital star".

"Mimi, are you alright?" Yang's mother approached with concern, while Old Yang trailed behind, wanting to say something but hesitating.

Yang Mi opened her mouth, but the joy she had wanted to share with her parents about the luxury house was now stuck in her throat, and she couldn't utter a single word.

She needed to hurry back and check the online public opinion. Even though this "WeChat" with its weird slang seemed to have nothing to do with her marketing, there was no guarantee that Yang Siwei, that fat woman, wouldn't cause trouble.

Unfortunately, Murphy's Law has come true once again.

The reason why Yang Siwei can give many fans, Yang fans, and many outsiders the impression that she is not someone to be trifled with is because that's exactly who she is.

As early as 2004, she dared to use Boss Lu's name to deceive Hunan TV and fight for the legitimate treatment of the artist Xiao Liu in the company. The chaotic environment of the entertainment industry was perfect for her to thrive.

Whether it was Bingbing's meteoric rise to fame in her previous life, or the recent 2025 Magnolia Awards where she helped Song Jia build momentum and stir up trouble to defeat "The Story of Rose" and win the Magnolia Award, it all demonstrated her skill.

However, in this life, she was taken under the control of capitalists early on and played her due role as the general manager of Starlink.

In this situation, if it were an ordinary person, after accomplishing the strategic goal of "stirring up trouble" assigned by the boss and successfully generating buzz to introduce the topic of "the birth of WeChat," the task would be considered complete, and they could retire gracefully.

But Yang Siwei isn't the kind of person who only does what the boss tells him to do; the boss's wife hasn't given him any instructions yet.

Even if Liu Yifei doesn't explain, or shows no interest in Yang Mi's marketing hype and WeChat announcements since the beginning of the year, this "feeling not very happy" is still due to her husband's coercion.

But Yang Siwei knew perfectly well what Liu Yifei truly liked.

The slightly overweight agent seized this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and launched a frenzied marketing campaign without any prior instructions.

She posted the startup animation from the official announcement of "WeChat Launch" on her Weibo account, continuing her deception after her previous post that "Liu Yifei is not in a good mood":
First of all, congratulations to our company on embarking on a new journey and exploring new avenues.

Ask the people, ask the spirit, and always walk on the broad road of serving the country, the audience, and the users!

But to be honest, I was stunned when I saw the startup screen of this software called "WeChat" after I forwarded the company's Weibo post.

Why was it released at this particular time? And why use such a seemingly lonely image? What is its symbolic meaning?
When I looked back at the startup animation, I stared at the tiny figure standing in front of the huge blue planet on the screen for a long time. Suddenly, I felt a sense of enlightenment and emotion, and I couldn't help but feel my eyes well up with tears.

Do you all remember the film review that Sight & Sound wrote for Sky of History in Berlin in 2008?

It says there's a profound sense of loneliness in the boss's films.

This scene at this moment seems to be a continuation and sublimation of that feeling of loneliness.

But what touched me even more was the texture of this planet. It was a deep blue, crystal clear, like a giant crystal, silently radiating a warm and firm light in the deep universe.

Crystal?

Isn't that Sisi's English name?
The following is merely personal speculation and I assume no legal responsibility whatsoever.

I believe that at a time when Sissi was feeling uncomfortable about being "withdrawn from the selection by Tencent and Nanfang," her announcement of entering the instant messaging field, along with the use of such a visually appealing opening screen that is open to interpretation, was a way of saying something to my "most difficult generation of" artist, Tianyi:

Now, no one will think you withdrew from the competition because you were afraid of losing the sweetness index to others, right?
shock!
Suddenly it dawned on me!

That little figure, with his back to all living beings and facing the planet, is less a symbol of loneliness than a symbol of complete dedication to protection.

What he was protecting was this planet called "Crystal," which was pure and solid, representing a precious essence that could not be tainted.

When the outside world tries to measure or even define her using various standards, he chooses to respond in the most silent yet grandest way: to create a world for her that reflects her essence in her name.

This crystal-like planet is his silent vow.

It means that in the universe he has built, she will always be the most central and purest existence, and so the chaos on those lists suddenly seems insignificant under this starry sky that shines for her.

……

In an effort to curry favor with the landlady, Yang Siwei spent only ten minutes exhausting his imagination to write a heartfelt and powerful essay, and then began making phone calls and sending messages...

From the Baidu Tieba administrator to the QQ groups, from Yifei Xianju to Chinese websites, and other portals and media forces with good relations with her, give her a huge push! Reply! Hype!
Fans of the celestial beauty love this kind of vibe the most; within minutes, everyone is gathered.

"Luckily, the washing machine prefers fragrant and soft angels. If it were a stinky sheep, the startup animation would probably be a damn big foot!"

"I'm tired of cursing all morning. What's the point of comparing a stinking coal hauler to the richest man? Unless you're a damn oil miner in the Middle East, maybe a washing machine would be inferior."

"We're too busy admiring the cosmic romance of Sisi's Starry Sky to pay attention to the trending topic of the Stinky Feet Sheep Community's luxury mansion."

"Sigh, I guess I'll have to step in from the internet. It's just a shame you also have the surname Yang. We're the same person, so why is there such a big difference in our character?"

"Okay, once this thing called WeChat takes off, won't a billion people across the country be eating their PDA every day? What do you think of this sweetness level, @Nanfang?"

"What do you mean 'wait for it to be done'? You think you're WeChat? Just look at this crazy move with the washing machine, you all better start using it!"

Yang Siwei, sitting in front of the computer, burst into laughter, unexpectedly gaining another insight—

They've inadvertently advertised the boss's new product. This couple is sucking up to him together; their path to success is practically guaranteed!
Although my rambling was a kind of "forged edict," it was still in line with what the boss said about having a legitimate reason for my actions, by linking the WeChat message with "Xiao Liu is unhappy."

As for her own love-struck celebrity, she couldn't even imagine how wide Liu Yifei's mouth must be grinning from ear to ear right now!

Ding Dong!

Yang Siwei was happily contemplating the outcome of the battle when a special reply notification caught her eye—a Weibo message from Zhang Xiaolong.

As general managers of the same subsidiary, these dozen or so black slaves naturally maintained close ties.

The slightly chubby agent thought the head of the department was going to thank her for advertising on WeChat, but then she saw a reply from a straight man that left her speechless.

[Zhang Xiaolong VIP]: Thank you for the promotion, but this interpretation is overblown. The design inspiration for this image comes from NASA's most iconic photograph of Earth, the "Blue Marble." It symbolizes humanity's loneliness in the vast universe and its essential yearning for connection.

This also serves as a brief introduction to WeChat's original intention: to be a tool that allows every individual to be seen and connected. That little person represents each individual user of WeChat, not any specific person.

As for the associations with "Crystal"...

"This old Zhang?! Is his brain made of code?" Yang Siwei was simply incredulous. How could there be such a clueless idiot?

Is this going to hinder my progress? This is unacceptable!
The slightly overweight agent reacted quickly, clicking the mouse rapidly and operating frantically.

However, she wasn't someone who didn't know how to handle people. She took out her phone and sent a message to Zhang Xiaolong in the small group of core leaders—a group without the big boss.

At this moment, Zhang Xiaolong, who had been working overtime at the company since the second day of the Lunar New Year, was quite astonished when he saw the more than 50,000 replies under Yang Siwei's Weibo post. Is this the effect of the entertainment industry and celebrity traffic?

From this perspective, Tencent has a basic user base, but Wenjie has a massive amount of traffic-generating tools. Even if the former reacts and catches up, the outcome is still uncertain.

Zhang Xiaolong was not a time traveler, so of course he didn't have enough knowledge about the software he had created, and he had no doubt that Tencent would quickly copy it after finding out the truth.

He glanced at the message he had just replied to Yang Siwei, and suddenly realized that he might have been undermining her. He was about to click delete...

System message: This post does not exist.

What do you mean?
Zhang Xiaolong refreshed the interface, and when he tried to click the mouse again, another system notification appeared:
You have been blocked by this user!

Beep beep! Yang Siwei's message to him in the small group arrived at just the right time.

"Mr. Zhang, my assistant just accidentally blocked you instead of pinning your post... I'm so sorry. To make up for it, I'll go to the beauty salon that my wife recommended this week and top up her card. Haha, it's just a small token of my appreciation, I'm really sorry!"

Zhang Xiaolong was speechless. He wasn't stupid; he understood the situation perfectly well. However, the other party's attitude in admitting their mistake was impeccable.

However, among the dozen or so core executives of Wenjie, he was the only honest person; the others immediately started cursing.

[Wenjie Film and Television Long Dan Ni]: You're obsessed with improving your thinking. I think Yi Fei is holding this photo right now and questioning her boss—you're doing underground work, aren't you? You've hidden it very well!
[Liu Hong from Zhijie Video]: Yang Siwei is such a treacherous and cunning woman! Delete it and send it to me! Or at least tell me before you send it so we can grab a front-row seat, okay? What a beast!
[Vice President Dong Shuangqiang]: A good name, and your thinking is quite divergent. But the way you flattered Consort Yi reminded me of An Lushan dancing for Yang Guifei. Hmm, your figure is quite similar too.

Liu Qiangdong, Gao Jun, Xie Ning, Lu Yao, Zhong Lifang, and Chen Zhixi: Second!
[Starlink Yang Siwei]: ??? Go ahead and curse me, I'll admit defeat if you even frown, you're all just being sour!
Didi! Yang Siwei, who was having a heated online argument with her colleague, received a private message:
[Vice President Liu Qiangdong]: Siwei, take a look at the startup animation of our Wenjie Mall mobile app. Is there anything special about it?

……

The company group chat was buzzing with excitement during the Chinese New Year. Yang Siwei's Weibo post effectively linked the "Celebrity Couples Ranking" to the trending topics, serving as a call to action for Liu Yifei's fans to launch a counterattack and relentlessly clash with her online fans.

"Yang Siwei has a big mouth? His mouth doesn't even have the smell of a stinky sheep's feet."

"Is Yang Siwei's statement far-fetched? Please, even a stinky-footed sheep can spout nonsense about wanting to go to Tsinghua or Peking University and wanting to be an excellent actor. Is there anything more outrageous than this?"

"Liu Yifei's fans: From celestial beauty to Yang Mi, I've passed through the human world; Yang Mi: From heaven to hell, I've passed through Yang Siwei."

……

Online discussions were rife, escalating from 2 PM into the evening, with the topic continuing to emerge and the situation becoming increasingly dramatic.

For example, the emergence of a large number of clarification posts and debunking posts.

A significant portion of LeEco Culture's marketing articles are written outside of the Wenjie Group's websites. This is to avoid posts like "The Condor Heroes casting scandal" being directly deleted.

Now everyone understands where the bottom line for public opinion in the Zhijie community lies. People can attack, debate, and reason with each other, even if it's Nanfang, as long as it's not pornography, gambling, drugs, politics, or other illegal and disorderly conduct, it's fine. Generally, the right of users to speak out is guaranteed.

This also demonstrates the inclusiveness and vision that has enabled Weibo to consistently occupy a leading position in the dissemination of public opinion.

Therefore, LeEco Culture could only publish these speculative and risky advertorials elsewhere. Even if the posts couldn't last forever, they could fool as many passersby as possible, and even just one or two netizens without the ability to judge would be good.

The key point is that now that there is an announcement from Wenjie, Yang Siwei's two Weibo posts, which were supposedly to complete the task but were actually to flatter the boss's wife, are now too risky to gamble on websites like Tianya, Wangyi, Hupu, and Xisi Hutong.

The saying "to risk one's life for a beautiful woman" seems a bit absurd, but what if it were true?

Just like Shen Hao before him, people usually don't care about calling out the washing machine for a bit of fun, but when it comes to something like this, who dares to be careless?

Including the parties involved in many of the "historical records of the years" contacted by Yang Siwei, the overly excessive marketing articles published by Happy Vision Culture were deleted, and a flood of debunking posts began to appear.

What truly dealt a painful blow to Yang Mi, who was hiding in her small room with a cold expression, were these debunking posts that destroyed her plans to continue generating hype.

[Zhang Jizhong Studio]: Recently, some internet users published a long article claiming to be "the inside story of the casting of 'The Return of the Condor Heroes'", the content of which is seriously untrue and has caused great damage to the reputation of the director and all the main creators of the series.

The claim in the article that "the actress playing Xiaolongnü was replaced due to coercion from capital" is pure nonsense. The selection of all actors for "The Return of the Condor Heroes" strictly followed artistic standards and the suitability for the role. Ms. Liu Yifei was chosen to play "Xiaolongnü" because of her unique classical charm. This was a professional judgment made by the production team based on art.

This post maliciously fabricates facts and is suspected of defamation. Our studio reserves the right to pursue legal action. We urge netizens not to believe or spread rumors and to work together to maintain a clean and healthy online environment.

The renowned Beijing No. 4 Middle School even registered an official Weibo account to refute the rumors.
I. After verifying the academic records of all registered students from the 2000 to 2005 cohorts of our school, it has been confirmed that Ms. Yang Mi is not a graduate of our school, nor has she ever had any record of studying or temporarily attending our school (including the junior high and senior high sections).

Second, according to the strict policies of "admission to the nearest school based on household registration" and "districted quotas for general high school admissions" implemented in Beiping at that time, Ms. Yang Mi's household registration was located in Xuanwu District (now part of Xicheng District), which did not meet the basic requirements for applying to Beiping No. 4 Middle School in Xicheng District. Any claim that she "got admitted to No. 4 Middle School" is a serious misunderstanding or malicious misinterpretation of Beiping's basic education admission policies.

Third, as a school with a century-long history, Beiping No. 4 Middle School has always cherished its reputation, and all students' enrollment and graduation are recorded in a strict, transparent, and verifiable manner. The school firmly opposes and severely condemns any unverified or misappropriated use of its name for personal publicity or self-promotion.

The few things that weren't refuted were the advertorial about the "three best friends" story of Tianxian, Yang Mi, and Liu Shishi, because Liu Shishi had already been signed to LeTV Culture by Yang Mi, and the latter had no opportunity or position to speak out.

For this "Little Liu Yifei" who survived the battle against adversity, after her sky-high contract with Sugar Manufacture was bought out following her birthday banquet in 2005, she had wasted five years and had few options left.

Or there may be only one.

……

At 7 p.m., the night of the seventh day of the Lunar New Year had fallen early.

The occasional sporadic firecrackers outside the window and the faint sounds of laughter from the neighbors listening to the Spring Festival Gala replay made Yang Mi's small bedroom seem even more quiet and cold.

The computer screen glowed dimly, illuminating her expressionless face. The trending topics and press releases that had once filled her with pride now felt like cold needles, stinging her eyes painfully.

Outside, I heard my mother's footsteps approaching quietly, then hesitating before leaving, along with a few suppressed sighs.

Yang's mother didn't understand the intricacies of online discussions; she simply sensed her daughter's unhappiness instinctively. The oppressive atmosphere made her feel both heartbroken and helpless. She wanted to ask, but didn't know where to begin, and was even more afraid of saying the wrong thing and incurring even greater misfortune.

Her knowledge was far inferior to her husband's, but even Lao Yang, faced with the ever-changing and unpredictable online world, could no longer see the truth and could only futilely sulk and go out to find someone to play chess with.

Their daughter has grown up, her wings have hardened, and she has long since flown to a sky that ordinary people like them can neither reach nor understand.

Yang Mi took a deep breath, slammed her laptop shut, and got up to open the door.

In the living room, Yang's mother was anxiously tidying up the already clean coffee table.

"Mom, where's Dad?" Yang Mi's voice was a little hoarse.

When her mother saw her come out, she immediately put on a cautious smile: "Your father went for a walk and played chess in the courtyard of the community."

She recalled the little argument between the father and daughter in the room that afternoon and wanted to encourage them to get closer: "I made black chicken soup that you both love tonight. Go and call your dad back for dinner."

"Playing chess in the pavilion with a bunch of old men from the neighborhood, all wearing military overcoats in the freezing cold, they're all not very bright."

After listening to her mother's deliberately humorous complaints, Yang Mi only managed a forced smile and put on her cotton coat without much concern for her image, even though she grew up in the old residential area.

"Then I'll go call him..."

This old Xuanwu neighborhood courtyard seems like a completely different world from the luxurious and tranquil Dongshan Villa I saw this afternoon.

There were hardly any people left in the neighborhood; almost everyone was at home eating. The cold winter wind howled through the bare branches of the trees.

In the simple sheltered pavilion in the corner of the courtyard, under the dim light, several old men and middle-aged people, wrapped in thick cotton-padded coats and wearing woolen hats, were indeed huddled together, playing chess around a stone table.

Smoke swirls around the chessboard, and the chess pieces clatter loudly as they are played. This is the most common and stubborn scene of life in old neighborhoods, carrying a slowness and antiquity that is out of step with the rapidly changing times.

This is a scene that Yang Mi has witnessed countless times since she was a child.

Before dinner, "Honey, call your dad home for dinner!" "Okay! Sure!"...

However, now that she's a big star, she doesn't have many opportunities to come back. Even when she does, it's mostly just driving in and out, and she rarely interacts with the old neighbors who watched her grow up.

She saw her father's familiar figure from afar; his military overcoat, worn for many years, looked somewhat bulky as he intently stared at the chessboard.

Yang Mi was a few meters away, just about to go up and call out to him, when suddenly her father roared angrily under the dim light!

"Say one more word to me?" Old Yang, who was only a few centimeters taller than his daughter, suddenly stood up and swung his thin but still strong arm!

"Crash-"

The chessboard and all the pieces on it were blown away and rolled all over the ground!

"Zhang the Bald, I'm warning you!" Old Yang's face was ashen, his finger almost poking the face of a middle-aged man opposite him, who was also wearing an old cotton-padded jacket and had a slightly balding head. His voice trembled with anger, "If you dare to make up another bad word about my daughter, I'll slap you across the face right now! You don't believe me? Try me!"

The onlookers were all longtime neighbors, and everyone was taken aback by Old Yang's usual calm and refined demeanor!
The middle-aged man surnamed Zhang across from them was also getting a little embarrassed. His face turned red and he stuck out his neck: "Are you crazy! I was just joking. We've been neighbors for decades. Is this how you treat an old acquaintance?"

"Mimi is someone we've watched grow up. Who wants to see her being gossiped about online? But you're a veteran police officer. Do you think a female actress who's only been in the industry for a few years can afford that house?"

Baldy Zhang got more and more excited as he spoke: "Don't you guys love talking about evidence the most? This is about your own daughter, are you still going to talk about it? Huh?"

Old Yang's chest heaved violently, and his breath exploded in the cold air. He stared at the other person, his teeth grinding together, but he couldn't utter a single word in rebuttal.

It's a feeling of powerlessness, like being slapped hard in the face by reality.

Several veteran chess players nearby quickly intervened to mediate: "Hey, Lao Yang! Lao Zhang! Say less! It's the New Year!"

"Let's play chess, why are you getting so worked up!"

"Alright, alright, Lao Zhang, you're the same, you can't keep your mouth shut..."

The crowd dispersed dejectedly, leaving only Old Yang standing alone in the pavilion, panting heavily, his back hunched and lonely.

He slowly squatted down, not to pick up the chess pieces, but to take out a crumpled cigarette box, shake out a cigarette, light it, and take a deep drag. The dim light made his gray hair and the wrinkles on his forehead particularly clear.

Yang Mi hid in the shadows not far away, her heart trembling with pain as if it were being squeezed by an icy hand.

She heard it all.

Old Yang would sternly reprimand her in front of her, analyzing the pros and cons to make her realize the situation, but outside, he wouldn't allow anyone to say a bad word about her.

But how cruel it is to drag my father into humiliation because of my own unquenchable ambition.

She didn't have the courage to step forward at that moment, and she didn't know what expression to wear when facing him. How could she possibly tell her father the same old pretense and lies that she could so openly tell outsiders?

The female celebrity, who had once again become a "loser" today, trembled as she took out her phone, took a deep breath, tried her best to adjust her breathing and make her voice sound as normal as possible, and then dialed the number.

The phone rang abruptly in the silent, cold wind. Yang Mi watched as her father in the pavilion took out his phone.

The daughter is pretending, and so is the father.

Old Yang deliberately kept his voice steady, even with a hint of feigned ease: "Hello? Daughter? Are you done with your work in the room?"

"...It's alright, Dad will go home after finishing this game of chess." The old policeman, who hadn't argued with his neighbor in over ten years, tried to calm himself down. "Don't take things online too seriously. If someone praises you, you have to accept that someone else will criticize you. It's normal..."

Yang Mi, her voice trembling with suppressed sobs, couldn't utter a single word. She simply looked at her father, whose hair had turned gray, facing the empty stone table, and suddenly raised her voice, saying:
"General! Where do you think you're going to run this time!"

After a clumsy performance, he comforted her over the phone, "Honey, your mom made chicken soup today. It's black chicken soup that we both love. Don't worry, I'll be back in a bit."

He was afraid his daughter would see him looking so desolate, and even more afraid she would know about the gossip the neighbors had been having about her. So he quickly added, "Your Uncle Zhang won't let you leave until this game is finished. Don't come out and get cold, it's freezing."

Not far away, Yang Mi listened to her father's feigned nonchalance on the phone and watched him talking to himself in front of the empty chessboard. She could no longer hold back, covered her mouth, and tears instantly streamed down her face.

The suppressed sobs broke apart in the cold wind, like the whimpers of a kitten, and entered the ears of the vigilant police officer.

The performance on the other end of the phone also came to an abrupt end.

The father, wearing a military overcoat and already over fifty years old, slowly turned around and, following the sound of crying, saw his daughter curled up in the shadows, trembling with sobs.

His thick eyebrows were furrowed, and his face was etched with exhaustion and helplessness. He then stubbed out his cigarette, stood up, and walked step by step to Yang Mi.

The old policeman didn't ask or say anything. He simply reached out his rough, calloused hand and, just like when his daughter was a child, hugged her shoulders tightly and pulled her closer to him.

"Go home and have dinner."

(End of this chapter)