Chapter 4

I realized I’d been abandoned.

Grabbing a chair, I battered the door like a madwoman.

My hands were cut and dripping blood. I felt no pain.

At last, I broke the door open.

And saw Du Ruoruo onstage, the center of everyone’s attention.

She sang in a beautiful dress, like a princess.

I stopped and stared.

Blood dripped from my hands onto my white dress.

Every difficult dance sequence had been cut from the play.

Just so Du Ruoruo could perform?

“Don’t compete with Du Ruoruo. There’s no point. She has people behind her.”

I gave a bitter smile.

For the entire two-hour performance, I stood backstage and stared at her.

After the curtain call, radiant with joy, she ran into the audience amid thunderous applause.

A man in a suit sat there, with the director and producer beside him, looking at him ingratiatingly.

He gazed at Du Ruoruo fondly and draped a coat over her shoulders.

That was the first time I saw Lu Yan.

At the celebration dinner, everyone acted as though I were invisible. No one explained. No one apologized.

Du Ruoruo got into Lu Yan’s car to leave. I rushed over and blocked its path.

She got out. Seeing my disheveled state and bleeding hands, she looked astonished.

“Jiang Li, what happened? They told me you dropped out of the performance voluntarily. I had no choice but to go on.”

I didn’t even look at her.

Instead, I walked over and pounded on the car window.

I knew Lu Yan was watching me from inside.

When the window stayed shut, I bent down, found a stone, and prepared to smash it.

Then the door opened.

I took two steps back.

Lu Yan got out.

He wore thin-rimmed glasses, his hair brushed back. In the moonlight, he looked distinguished and refined.

Turning his ring, he lowered his eyes, utterly casual.

“Can I help you?”

“You’re Du Ruoruo’s backer? Do you know who I am?

“I’m the lead actress she pushed out.

“I prepared for tonight’s performance for six months.

“What gives you the right to destroy all my work so easily?”

All the blood in my body seemed to rush to my head. Tears spilled down before I could stop them.

“Do you think money makes you so great? Does having money give you the right to trample other people’s hard work and take shortcuts?”

My chest heaved so violently I could barely breathe. Finally, despite myself, I covered my face and cried.

Every grievance poured out like a flood.

I don’t know how long I cried. The person in front of me made no sound. I even wondered whether they’d already left.

But when I calmed down, I found him watching me quietly.

“Young lady.” A smile touched his lips. “Of course money makes a difference.

“Otherwise, you wouldn’t be wearing fake Prada.”

I looked at my heels. Yes, they were knockoffs.

Suddenly mortified, I hid them beneath my skirt.

“What do you know? You think I’m vain?”

He put his hands in his pockets and leaned slightly toward me.

“Aren’t you?

“Given a shortcut, people don’t choose a fair contest.

“Did you get the lead on talent alone?

“Is there really nothing between you and the director?”