Chapter 43
Chapter 43
Lu Yao shuddered at the thought and snapped, “I knew Wei Sheng was no good! The moment he saw you, he sidled up with that lecherous look on his face!”
Anger and contempt filled her voice. “He was on an IV and still arranging hookups. Then he had the nerve to set his sights on you. Why didn’t the illness just kill him?”
The mere thought of it made her sick.
That night, she had a dream.
It was a very, very long dream. When Lu Yao woke, she touched her cheek and found it wet.
She seemed to have been terribly sad in the dream, yet she could remember none of it after waking.
She sat on the bed in a daze.
Only after her usual waking time had passed did Zhu Yin knock and come in.
Seeing how badly swollen her eyes were, Zhu Yin asked in surprise, “What happened? Did someone bully you in your dream?”
Lu Yao looked thoughtful. “I think I had a really complicated dream. I can’t remember much, but I seemed to know Wei Sheng pretty well in it.”
She shivered as soon as she said it. What horrible luck.
Zhu Yin said casually, “Oh. Maybe in another world, you and Wei Sheng really did know each other well.”
Lu Yao’s face tightened with distaste. “Then the me in that other world must have been miserable.”
She shook her head and scrubbed hard at her face, casting off the inexplicable dream. Once her spirits had recovered, she went to wash up in the bathroom.
Behind her, Zhu Yin smiled and shook her head.
.
Desire, as it turned out, could drive people to do anything.
Ever since that strange night, Zheng Yushu had kept his promise. He exhausted every resource at his disposal, devoting himself to paving the way for Lu Yao’s career.
Zhou Yan was the pair of eyes and the liaison he had placed at Lu Yao’s side. Zheng Yushu himself did not dare ask a single unnecessary question about what happened here, much less meet Zhu Yin.
Yet after Zhu Yin made that pot of “soup” on *I’m No Superstar*, the man took the unprecedented step of coming to see her himself.
When he looked at Zhu Yin, ambition had replaced his fear.
“You possess powers beyond ordinary understanding. I would like to confirm something with you. Does the medicinal soup you made truly have the miraculous effects people claim?”
Zhu Yin lounged against the sofa, toying with a little lamb plushie. Neither her appearance nor her behavior bore the slightest resemblance to the public’s idea of an exalted master.
Zheng Yushu did not dare underestimate her for it.
“Miraculous?” Zhu Yin pinched the plushie’s fluffy ear and tugged a little harder, pulling out several wisps of fuzz.
She raised her fingertips to her lips and blew gently.
Zheng Yushu’s eyes widened. The tiny white wisps drifted down, and the instant they touched the floor, a miracle unfolded: they became three bleating lambs.
Losing almost all composure, he crouched on the spot and reached for them with trembling hands.
They were alive and warm, living creatures that backed away in fear when he came close.
He heard a soft laugh.
He looked up blankly. From the sofa, the young woman gazed down at him. “That was merely something I tossed together to pass the time.”
A fierce light suddenly blazed in Zheng Yushu’s eyes.
.
Lu Yao did not know what Zheng Yushu and Zhu Yin discussed in private. She only saw him leave with a feverish expression, cradling the three lambs with utmost care.
W-wait. How had lambs appeared in their house?
She was utterly baffled.
Zhu Yin winked mysteriously at her. “I promised him something.”
Zheng Yushu was undeniably ambitious. When he first came, what caught his eye was the value of Zhu Yin’s miraculous “medicinal cuisine.”
Something so extraordinary could unquestionably bring enormous benefits to Lu Yao and Landi Entertainment.
But the moment he saw those three lambs with his own eyes, his goal changed.
Giving life to an inanimate object out of thin air could no longer be explained as merely having a few unusual tricks. When Zheng Yushu left, the way he looked at Zhu Yin was hardly the way one looked at a human being.
Lu Yao had matured greatly since before and immediately grew wary. “You didn’t have to promise Brother Zheng something because of me, did you?”
“Don’t imagine things.” Zhu Yin chuckled. “No one in this world can force me to promise anything.”
Her promise to Zheng Yushu was merely a ticket to the unknown.
The popularity of this episode of *I’m No Superstar* was quietly suppressed by many parties acting in tacit agreement.
At the same time, countless calls and invitations flew toward Lu Yao and Landi Entertainment like scraps of paper.
People in show business were shrewd. Once they quickly determined that Zhu Yin was Lu Yao’s personal assistant and had also signed a contract with Landi, Lu Yao received more overtures and goodwill than she ever had in her life.
In a single month, she received offers for two films, five television dramas, four variety shows, and several endorsements of varying prestige.
Every invitation hinted at the same thing: they had long admired Ms. Zhu Yin and hoped to meet her.
Lu Yao: …They were already addressing Zhu Yin with such deference.
With her face scrunched up, she went to find Zhu Yin.
Zhu Yin told her to contact Zheng Yushu. “Use him without hesitation. Squeeze him for all he’s worth.”
Lu Yao: ?
She could not understand how Zhu Yin and Brother Zheng had suddenly become so familiar, or why Zhu Yin trusted him so much.
But she trusted Zhu Yin. If Zhu Yin said Zheng Yushu was reliable, then she would go to him!
The next ten years in show business came to be known as “Lu Yao’s Decade.”
The gifted young woman no longer had to face malicious schemes or suppression. Landi Entertainment devoted itself wholeheartedly to nurturing her, and she had access to countless scripts and roles suited to her.
Her talent was given every chance to flourish, and outstanding works poured forth one after another.
Ten years later, she stood on the awards stage representing the highest honor in Xia’s performing arts.
The decade had left no trace of age on her. Instead, time had carved and polished her with exquisite care. In the prime of her life, she possessed peerless beauty in every glance and boundless allure in every gesture.
She stood on the stage just as she had dreamed ten years before, all the starlight in the heavens gathered upon her as countless eyes watched.
“There is only one person I have to thank above all for making it this far…”
Ji Lingze sat in an inconspicuous rear row, staring dazedly at the radiant woman onstage as his head throbbed with pain.
He kept feeling… that this was not how things should have been.
His only connection with Lu Yao had been *The Swordsman* ten years ago. That big-budget martial arts drama had failed to become a breakout hit. The plot was mediocre, and the male lead had dragged it down.
But its female lead, Chi Lian, had become a sensation.
After that, he and Lu Yao never had another chance to work together.
The year after filming *The Swordsman*, he met a newcomer.
She was as lovely as a new moon. At a reception, she accidentally bumped into him, looking as panicked as a little white rabbit that had wandered into the mortal world.
She fit his tastes perfectly.
He pulled a few strings and got the young woman into his production.
Lu Yao was beyond his reach, so he chose a new target. This young woman’s looks and personality suited his preferences, and he intended to shape her bit by bit into the form he liked best.
The scheming man did not know that someone else had also carefully selected this ambitious newcomer.
She already fit Ji Lingze’s tastes. Through constant adjustment in daily life, she came to suit him more and more, seeming to have eyes and heart only for him.
Ji Lingze fell helplessly. He loved her.
But it was all false. Only her looks were real. Her personality was an act, her love was an act, and she had approached him solely for his resources and connections.
He gave her all his sincerity and spent three painstaking years making her famous. The first thing his lover did after winning Best Actress was dump him.
She did more than dump him. In a public interview, she denounced his pathological need for control and the private predilections he could not discuss with others.
Ji Lingze’s reputation plummeted, and his career suffered a devastating blow. Years passed, yet he never managed to recover.
At this very awards ceremony, for instance, he had sat in the front row ten years ago as a celebrated genius director. Now, only old favors had secured him an admission ticket.
And his seat was in an ignored corner.
While he sat in a daze, the ceremony reached its end.
He heard thunderous applause and followed the cameras and everyone’s gaze to a certain seat in the front rows.
The most mysterious and untouchable legend in show business–Lu Yao’s cousin and benefactor–sat there surrounded by stars.
If time had mellowed Lu Yao into richer beauty, then ten years had failed to leave even the faintest mark on this woman.
Her figure remained as light and graceful as a young woman’s, and even her eyes were as clear and profound as they had been ten years ago. Nothing had changed.
It was shocking, and made people flock to her all the more eagerly.
As if sensing something, she suddenly turned her head and glanced toward his corner.
Many people sat there, the light was dim, and she should not have been able to see clearly from that distance. Yet Ji Lingze felt certain she was looking at him.
He even saw the corner of her mouth lift in a smile.
What was she smiling at?
Ji Lingze clutched his head. His final memory was of the world spinning and cries of alarm erupting around him.