Chapter 3

My phone rings. It’s my agent.

I’m in no mood to listen to her chatter and am about to switch it off.

“Answer it,” the spirit says lazily. “Your chance has arrived.”

“Jiang Li!” She sounds thrilled. “The news just broke. There’s a massive role up for grabs!

“Director Liu is casting the female lead for his new film!

“You know Liu. He’s made several actresses international award winners.

“He wasn’t very keen on you at first. I called in every favor I had to get you an audition.

“It’s tomorrow. You have to make the most of it!

“But…”

“What is it?”

“Du Ruoruo is auditioning tomorrow too.”

“What?”

“Well… the Lu Group is the film’s main investor. You’ve heard the rumors. Lu Yan is Du Ruoruo’s backer.”

Now I understand what the spirit meant.

Lu Yan. I still can’t escape him.

After all, this wouldn’t be the first time he’s sacrificed me to promote Du Ruoruo.

Du Ruoruo and I shared a dorm room at university.

In the acting department, I never fit in. I was poor and kept to myself.

Du Ruoruo was my opposite. Wherever she went, everyone revolved around her.

She was the only person who showed me any friendliness.

But I didn’t need her friendship. I wanted success.

Day and night, I studied, auditioned, and chased every opportunity.

Yet I became little more than her foil. If she was there, I was certain to lose.

Someone told me not to compete with Du Ruoruo. There was no point. She had powerful people behind her.

I refused to believe it. I thought I wasn’t working hard enough, wasn’t good enough.

I ranked first in our practical assessments every semester, yet hardly ever got a chance to perform.

At last, an opportunity came.

One day, Du Ruoruo slipped in the dorm bathroom and suffered a minor fracture.

The play she was starring in included several difficult dance sequences.

The production had no choice but to find a new lead.

I auditioned again. At last, I was chosen.

Then the rumors began.

They said I’d deliberately made Du Ruoruo fall. They said she’d always been so kind to me, and now I’d stolen her role.

I was ostracized. Locked in the toilets. Deliberately tripped during dance practice. My lunch was thrown downstairs.

I didn’t care. I practiced in the studio and on the way there. Chilblains formed on my hands, splitting, bleeding, and scabbing over.

After six months of preparation, the performance day finally arrived. I put on my costume.

A few deep breaths, and I was ready to go onstage.

Then I discovered I was locked in the dressing room.

I hammered on the door and shouted. No one helped me.

Something was wrong. Once they realized the lead actress was missing, surely someone would come straight to the dressing room.