Chapter 3

I rarely appeared on variety shows.

I’d always believed an actor’s work mattered most.

Variety shows didn’t count.

Appear on too many, and the moment an audience saw your face in a drama, they’d be pulled out of the story.

That was hardly a good thing.

But you couldn’t be absolute about everything, seeing only black and white.

As long as you didn’t overdo it, it was fine. Five or six variety shows a year would certainly ruin an actor’s prospects.

An occasional appearance, though, was a treat for the fans. No harm done.

It could give my popularity a boost too. Why not?

This show had become a hit because it was so open-minded.

It encouraged all kinds of romantic relationships.

Not just those between women and men.

Audiences had long since tired of the manufactured sweetness between women and men anyway.

Everyone wanted something different.

So the producers had invited a group of young male and female stars, along with a group of non-celebrities.

Some were straight, some gay, some bisexual.

They’d put them all in the same setting and see what sparks flew.

Forget whether it would be romantic.

Just tell me that wouldn’t be exciting.

The previous season of Tidal Lovers had produced quite a few unforgettable scenes for precisely that reason.

Plenty of viral jokes had come out of them too.

The show had taken off.

And now, this season, the producers had money to spend.

They could even afford a star of my stature.

I wasn’t expecting to find true love on this show.

But I still put myself in an enthusiastic, ready-to-date frame of mind.

That was what being a professional actor required.

Since I’d agreed to come, I would give them a proper performance.

I would make it worth the audience’s time.

My participation made the show blow up all over again.

The producers didn’t have to say anything except, “Wang Zige, the woman who wants a billion-yuan betrothal gift, is joining us.” Tens of millions of views followed.

Everyone wanted to see who Wang Zige, with her constant talk of that billion-yuan gift, would fall for.

And whether the other person would agree.

I wheeled my suitcase into the house the show had prepared for us.

The livestream was already packed with viewers.

The moment I appeared, the comments flooded the screen.

There were already people on the sofa.

All younger colleagues from the industry.

They greeted me as soon as they saw me.

But none of them stood up.

Understandable. We might end up “dating,” after all.

If we made it as formal as a meeting between a boss and their staff, how would we sell ourselves as a couple later?

Even if it wasn’t real, getting paired with a major star would make the trip worthwhile.

The fans could still ship us to their hearts’ content.

I greeted everyone in turn.

I was the last to arrive.

The young stars were all there, and the non-celebrities had settled in long before.

Without a word, they’d all left the best room for me. Nobody dared claim the largest, sunniest room at the far end of the second floor with the livestream audience watching.

The industry’s hierarchy was still very strict.

After asking where my room was, I was about to carry my suitcase upstairs.

Suddenly, the non-celebrity woman who had been sitting quietly in an armchair stood up.

She came over. “Your suitcase looks heavy. Let me help.”

I looked at her.

Professional habit made me scan her from head to toe.

Over a hundred and eighty centimeters tall, strikingly handsome, with the ends of her hair dyed silver-blue and an air of irreverent swagger.

I worked hard to keep the astonishment out of my eyes.

A non-celebrity… could look like this? Have a body like this? Carry herself like this?

She wasn’t even wearing makeup…

I ordered myself to stay calm.

“How do you know my suitcase is heavy?”

The corner of her mouth lifted.

“I can hear it. A light suitcase and a heavy one sound different when you roll them.”

“I see.” I gave her a polite smile. “But I can manage. Thank you.”

She said nothing more.

I picked up the suitcase and headed upstairs.

Less than a third of the way up the long spiral staircase, I put it down on a step, panting.

She’d followed at an unhurried pace. When I stopped, she chuckled. “Need a hand?”

I kept the polite smile in place. “No, it’s fine. Go ahead. I can manage.”

She didn’t leave. Instead, she slipped both hands into her pockets and leaned against the banister, watching me with a teasing half-smile.

I looked at the stairs still ahead.

Taking a deep breath, I lifted the suitcase and climbed a few more steps.

I hadn’t even reached the landing when I stopped again. The suitcase practically dropped out of my hand and hit the step.

I hurried to steady it, terrified it would roll down the stairs.

Aware of the mischievous look she was giving me, I blurted out an explanation.

“I… I didn’t eat much this morning, so I’m a little weak. Normally, I can carry a grown man!”

Hearing this, my fans immediately started posting comments.

“That’s right! Our Zige’s strong! She really can carry a grown man. There’s video proof! She must have been dieting again and starved herself weak!”

“I feel so bad for her… She loves food so much, but her manager makes her starve herself. She’s posted several videos of herself crying because of the diet.”

“Wage slaves making three thousand a month feeling sorry for celebrities in the 2.08-million-a-day club. Hilarious. Why not feel sorry for yourselves? She’s a celebrity. Watching her weight is part of the job. What’s there to pity?”

“She’s changed managers. It should get better.”

“Better my ass. She’s still so hungry she can’t even carry a suitcase!”

“Maybe it’s just too big and tall for her to get a good grip.”

People were already arguing over my inability to lift a suitcase.

That was the power of a major star.

I drew attention wherever I went. My smallest action could keep people talking for ages.

The woman stood beside me, looking at my hand.

“You’ve sprained your wrist.”

I covered it automatically.

“No… I haven’t. I’m fine.”

She said nothing more.

But she stayed against the banister, regarding me with amusement.

For some reason, I was annoyed.

I didn’t know why I was angry, but whenever I met those eyes that seemed to see straight through me, my defenses went up instinctively.

And the undisguised laughter in them made those defenses feel pointless and ridiculous.

I tried to lift the suitcase again.

A sharp pain shot through my right wrist.

I let go before it even left the floor.

I stared at it.

As if I could stare a hole through it.

After a long while, I sighed.

I turned to the woman. “I’m sorry. Could you help me?”

Her smile deepened.

“My name’s Zhu Tian,” she said suddenly.

I blinked.

Then I caught on and quickly tried again. “Zhu Tian, could you help me? I did sprain my wrist a little. I can’t lift it.”

She slowly straightened.

I stared at those long legs in her suit trousers.

With legs that long, couldn’t she spare me a few centimeters?

I was only a hundred and seventy centimeters tall.

In an industry full of beautiful women, that barely passed muster.

She stepped closer.

I didn’t dare move away on the stairs.

I tipped my head up to meet her gaze.

Her eyes were full of teasing amusement. She hadn’t said a word, but somehow I could read a great deal in them.

She raised a hand toward me.

Thinking she was going to touch my hand, I hurriedly hid it behind my back.

But hers passed me and landed directly on the suitcase handle.

She took hold and lifted it.

I stared.

The suitcase was so heavy… Yet she didn’t seem to feel the weight at all.

Her upper body stayed perfectly straight. Using only her left hand, she picked it up as if it were a light plastic bag.

That effortless ease was frankly terrifying.

My mouth hung slightly open for a long time.

After climbing a few steps, she noticed I hadn’t followed and looked back. “Aren’t you coming?”

I snapped out of it and hurried after her.

“Zhu Tian, you’re… you’re really strong.”

She chuckled.

“Not bad. I’m not the strongest of my sisters.”

“What? You… you have a sister stronger than you?”

“Yes.”

“Who is she? How can she be that strong?”

“My sixth sister.”

“Sixth… How many sisters do you have?”

“Nine of us, including me. My mother adopted another girl too.”

“What?!”

I was stunned.

“There… there are ten sisters in your family? Nine children weren’t enough? She had to adopt another?”

“My mother has a lot of love to give.”

Her smile faded, turning a little chilly.

Instinct warned me not to ask any more.

She carried the suitcase to the second floor, but instead of setting it down, kept going toward the room at the end.

“Zhu Tian, this is fine. You can put it down. I’ll take it from here.”

She didn’t answer.

Nor did she put it down.

At the last room, she looked at me.

I hurried to open the door.

She carried the suitcase inside.

She set it beside the bed.

I let out a breath.

“Thank you, Zhu Tian.”

I wanted to get rid of her as quickly as possible.

My instincts were sounding an alarm, warning me over and over that this woman was dangerous.

Zhu Tian looked down into my eyes.

“Your wrist.”

“It’s fine,” I said immediately. “I have everything I need in my suitcase. I’ll put some ointment on it later.”

She paused for two seconds. Then, looking at me with the indulgence one might show a kitten or puppy, she slowly continued, “…Don’t lift anything heavy for a few days.”

My face went red under that look.

With anger.

I didn’t understand why she was looking at me that way.

I was Wang Zige, one of the biggest actresses in the industry.

People always addressed me respectfully as “Ms. Wang.”

Yet since we’d met, she hadn’t called me that once. Instead, she was treating me like a kitten or a puppy.

What gave her the right to be so arrogant?

Did she think being tall made her special? Being good-looking?

How did you raise someone to be this haughty, as if the whole world were beneath her notice?

What kind of aristocratic family could have ten children and still bring her up like this?

Royalty?

Was she a princess or something?

Ridiculous!

My head was flooded with a furious running commentary.

Before I knew it, I asked, “Where do you come in the family?”

She lifted one corner of her mouth, looking even more rakish.

“Third.”

I was even more bewildered.

Third… That unloved middle-child position. How on earth did she dare act so outrageously?

She gave me one last look, then turned and left.

Only when her tall figure disappeared through the doorway could I finally release the breath trapped in my chest.

Zhu Tian. I didn’t know what she did for a living.

But her presence was overpowering.

I strongly suspected she was either very rich or very powerful.

Why on earth would someone like her come on a dating show?