Spring had arrived, and warmth was starting to return to the city’s weather. News about Stars Entertainment’s upcoming audition spread across the city like wildfire. Only eight women would be selected from the audition to join an elimination contest, which would be broadcast live by a TV station.
Stars Entertainment would sign on the top three candidates from the elimination contest. The candidate who ranked first in the battle would get a movie role right away.
Nowadays, star-making platforms were thick on the ground, so were the women who aspired to become a superstar. The audition had ended a month ago, and today, which also happened to be April Fool’s day, was the final round of the elimination contest.
“So. What do you think?” asked Zhou Na.
Ah Sha had just gone through the scripts of two movies: an action movie in the urban setting; a costume drama which was also a romantic comedy.
When Ah Sha was silent, Zhou Na added, “When I spoke to President Wan, I get the impression that he’s hoping that you’ll pick the costume drama.”
Ah Sha chuckled. “Fine then!” Ah Sha closed the scripts. “I’ll listen to him and go with the costume drama.”
Ah Sha knew what Wan Qingsi was thinking. He just didn’t want her to be involved in the action movie since it involved a lot of dangerous stunts. During Apocalypse’s filming, she always came home with bruises all over her body due to the wires. Needless to say, Wan Qingsi always nagged her ears off when that happened.
The costume drama was a comedy, so most of its scenes were light and funny. The plot was about a carp spirit (in the form of a woman) who decided to marry a scholar out of grat.i.tude. It was a romantic story filled with funny and tear-jerking scenes. Besides, the movie had a cute name too: Fishing for Happiness.
“You’re one of the judges tonight,” Zhou Na reminded Ah Sha. “The first place of this contest would be a.s.signed as the second female lead of this movie. You don’t really have to worry about anything else. Just pick whomever you like.” Ah Sha laughed and said, “Why didn’t you reveal this information to the contestants sooner! I’m pretty sure I would’ve gotten lots of gifts by now if you did!”
Zhou Na’s lips formed a tight line. Even if she knew that Ah Sha was only joking earlier, she felt like she had to clarify it. “We’ve put in a lot of effort to keep that a secret, you know?” Zhou Na said sternly. “We’ll only make the announcement tonight at the beginning of the contest. We didn’t want to give Sky Entertainment the chance to cause trouble.”
Wan Qingsi was having dinner with the people who ran the TV station. Ah Sha took a nap after she got home from the company. After she woke up, she put together a simple meal. Then, Xiao Hua called, offering to pick her up and drive her to the TV station. Ah Sha thought it was too much of a ha.s.sle, so she declined, saying that she could drive herself. Even until now, she hadn’t once driven in the car her dad had gotten her!
Xiao Hua would bring her dress to the station, so Ah Sha left the apartment in a pair of jeans and a bugs bunny sweater. For her disguise, she wore a baseball cap and a pair of sungla.s.ses. With her current get-up, she looked just like an ordinary teenager. n.o.body would be able to recognize her. “Perfect,” she thought.
Ah Sha drove into the TV station’s parking lot and parked her vehicle at an empty parking s.p.a.ce. When she got down, a BMV pulled up at the parking s.p.a.ce beside her car. The window of the BMV was lowered and an attractive, coquettishly-dressed woman poked her head out. “Hey, you!” the woman said. “Are you the staff?” Clearly, the woman had noticed the TV station’s visitor pa.s.s hanging on Ah Sha’s shirt. “Help me move my things,” the woman ordered.
Ah Sha smirked and walked away without saying a word. However, the woman suddenly rushed out of her car and blocked her way. “Do you know who I am?” the woman asked before she froze suddenly. “Hey, this staff looks pretty,” she thought. The woman didn’t notice it just now because of Ah Sha’s sungla.s.ses. But soon that she was up close, she realized that Ah Sha’s skin was fairer than her own.
Ah Sha took a step back and said, “No, I don’t think I know you.” A look of envy formed on Hao Yuan’s face. “Hah. I bet you’re here to socialize with rich people,” Hao Yuan said. “Let me tell you something, I’m the boss here. If you listen to me and do whatever I say, I’ll introduce you to celebrities. How about that?”
“Oh,” Ah Sha answered blandly. “You know celebrities?”
“Celebrities are nothing! I will also become a celebrity once I get first place,” Hao Yuan said. “Didn’t that Mei Jing become famous after she found a sugar daddy? See? She became popular because of a man. My dad is super-wealthy, so he’ll support me. When I get in, I’ll s.n.a.t.c.h Stars Entertainment’s boss away from Mei Jing and become the number one lady in the company!”
Ah Sha’s silent made Hao Yuan stop her boasting. That was also when Hao Yuan noticed the smirk on Ah Sha’s lips.
“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean? Take off your sungla.s.ses,” Hao Yuan ordered. She had a feeling that Ah Sha was making fun of her.
Ah Sha removed her sungla.s.ses and stared at Hao Yuan coldly. “It’s still too early to be saying those things you said earlier. You should wait until you get first place in the compet.i.tion, then talk.” Ah Sha smiled. “Hope I’ll see you around at Stars Entertainment.”
Hao Yuan’s stared after Ah Sha retreating figure. All of a sudden, her eyes widened. “Oh! She’s Mei Jing!”
Ah Sha saw Xiao Hua the moment she stepped out of the elevator.
“Young miss!” Xiao Hua said, taking Ah Sha’s bag. “Come on. Over here!”
Xiao Hua led Ah Sha to a private dressing room with her name printed on the door. “The young master had already prepared your favorite desserts and fruit juices,” Xiao Hua said, opening the door. “We’ve changed the couch as well. The room is comfortable!”
“I can’t believe you guys went through all that trouble even when I’ll only be staying for a while.” Ah Sha was just about to sit down when she heard a commotion outside the door.
“Sun Hui, you promised that you’d get Zheng Gege to swap places with me when he had dinner at that time! But now she’s refusing. What am I going to do?”
“I… I only told you I’d do my best. I didn’t promise you anything,” another woman answered anxiously.
“That’s a seafood buffet! It costs over 500 bucks. Look, I don’t care. You have to pay me back!”
“I don’t have that kind of money!” The poor girl sounded like she could burst into tears at any moment.
“If you don’t have that kind of money, then why are you even here, in a TV show of all places! Lowly citizens like you should be doing takeout deliveries, not walking around in a TV station! I don’t care! Either you beg Zheng Gege, or you pay me the money.”
Xiao Hua wanted to step out, but then she changed her mind when she saw Ah Sha listening to the conversation with interest.
“Young miss, listen to them. I can’t believe people like them are having delusions about becoming a superstar!”
Ah Sha shushed Xiao Hua by pressing her index finger to her lips. Sobs came from the other side of the door. Apparently, the poor girl could no longer hold back her tears. “Zheng Gege, please just swap with Wu Li, please? Please?” she begged.
Then came a third voice, which was cold and aloof. “Why should I swap with her?” said the third voice. “You’re the one who promised her, not me.”
The sobs grew louder and louder, which were punctuated with curses and shouts. Eventually, the commotion got loud enough to alert the TV station’s staff. A few staff ran over and rebuked the women. After that, things quieted down. When the drama was over, Xiao Hua began badgering Ah Sha to get changed and do her make-up.
The contest would begin at 8 o’clock sharp. There were two other judges other than Ah Sha: Director Lin Dong, who directed The Chronicles of The Emperor’s Harem; and Qi Xiu, who would be the judge on behalf of Wan Qingsi.
Once Ah Sha got settled in the judges’ panel, Xiao Hua ran up to her and handed her a phone; Wan Qingsi wanted to speak to her.
“Ah Sha, I’m afraid I can’t leave just yet,” Wan Qingsi said. “I’ll pick you up after the contest.” Ah Sha hummed in acknowledgment, then said, “Trust me, you won’t be able to find a place to sit even if you come here!”
Wan Qingsi laughed. “I can always swap places with Qi Xiu!”
“Alright, that’s enough. It’d be ridiculous if the boss himself shows up. Go easy on the alcohol, okay? Come pick me up later!”
The MC announced the start of the event after Ah Sha hung up. First off, all eight candidates would introduce themselves on stage. Then, the MC would ask each candidate for some test questions. The candidates had been asked to draw their problems before the event even began, so each of them had already prepared their answers beforehand.
Lin Dong leaned towards Ah Sha and whispered, “Which candidates do you favor for the top three?”
“What about you, Director Lin? Which ones caught your eye?”
“6, 8 and 1 I guess.”
When she checked, Ah Sha was a little surprised to find that Hao Yuan, the arrogant woman from the car park, was among the three candidates that the director had picked. As for the other two, Ah Sha could tell based on their voices that they were the ones involved in the argument outside her dressing room just now — Sun Hui and Zheng Gege.
“The number one candidate will star in the movie with you, so you need to consider your choice carefully,” Lin Dong said. For a moment, the director seemed a bit hesitant about what he wanted to say. In the end, he decided to give Ah Sha another reminder. “Hao Yuan could bring more funds into the movie’s production.”
Ah Sha kept her face neutral and nodded. She understood what the director was getting at. Qi Xiu, who had been listening to their conversation beside them, frowned slightly. “Ken has already made it clear that we should go with your choice,” Qi Xiu said.
Ah Sha smiled at Qi Xiu. “I won’t pick Hao Yuan. Give her the number three spot. If we’re only using her for her money, any movie will do. It doesn’t have to be this one.”
Qi Xiu nodded. “I got it.”
Below the stage, Hao Yuan was filled with regret. She had already called her father, who told her not to worry: “We’ll pour in more funds! They won’t turn away more funds just for the sake of one of their female celebrities, don’t worry!”
Although Hao Yuan was still feeling a bit antsy, being reminded of her wealth did calm her down quite a bit. Even if Mei Jing were Wan Qingsi’s woman, he would never turn away her father’s investment because of her.
At that thought, Hao Yuan began to feel smug again, until the MC made the final announcement, that is.
As expected, Lin Dong had given the top spot to Hao Yuan, followed by Zheng Gege, then Sun Hui. Ah Sha and Qi Xiu’s pick were the same: first place went to Zheng Gege, second to Sun Hui, then the third to Hao Yuan.
Thus, the contest ended with Zheng Gege seizing the first place! When Hao Yuan heard the results, she nearly charged towards the judges’ panel.
After the announcement, Qi Xiu would sign the contracts onstage with each of the top three candidates. For Zheng Gege, a new agreement was signed, since she would be a.s.signed as the second female lead for “Fishing for Happiness.”
Backstage, Hao Yuan stopped Qi Xiu from leaving. “Manager Qi!” Hao Yuan yelled. “What’s the meaning of this! My father had invested so much in your movie, yet you guys gave the role to someone else!”
Qi Xiu gave Hao Yuan a polite smile. “That’s just how it works, Miss Hao. This is a contest, after all. We’ve already made the rules clear to Boss Hao from the start.”
Ah Sha, who had just changed out of her dress into plain clothes, arrived backstage. “Miss Mei Jing! Hold it right there!” Hao Yuan yelled the moment she saw Ah Sha.
“Young miss,” Xiao Hua said, pointing at her watch. Ah Sha nodded, ignoring Hao Yuan entirely. “I said hold it right there!” Hao Yuan said, grabbing Ah Sha’s forearm.
Qi Xiu frowned and said, “Let her go, Hao Yuan.”
Ah Sha removed her arm from Hao Yuan’s grip with ease. “Is there anything else you want to say?”
“You—” Hao Yuan paused and took a deep breath when she saw Qi Xiu’s glare. Her tone was much calmer when she spoke next. “You’re taking revenge on me for a personal matter at the cost of the company’s benefits. Do you know how much my family has invested in your movie?”
Ah Sha laughed out loud. “So Manager Qi hasn’t told you yet, huh? Well, I guess I’ll tell you then. Yes, your family had indeed given a lot of funds to the company. But those funds don’t have to go into the movie that I’m about to star in. You’ve already signed your contract, which means you’re one of Stars Entertainment’s celebrities now. When you get a.s.signed to a movie, then, by all means, bring in as much money as you want.” .
“Oh, as for that thing about revenge…” Ah Sha smirked. “So what if I am paying you back for your comments. You’re the one who bad-mouthed me first, yet you expect me to star in the same movie as you?”
Hao Yuan never expected Ah Sha to be this direct. “You despicable bit*h—”
“Silence!” A voice cut in. “Who are you to be raising your voice at her?”
Ah Sha’s eyes gleamed. However, a pair of arms snaked around her waist before she could even turn around.
“Why did you come up? I thought I told you to wait for me at the car park?”
Wan Qingsi studied Ah Sha’s face and noticed that she was still smiling. “I can’t wait to see you, that’s why I came up.”
“Pre- President Wan!” Hao Yuan was blushing furiously at that point, and her heart was racing. She’d seen Wan Qingsi’s photo online before, so she knew that he was a handsome man. She never thought that he would be even better-looking in person.
Wan Qingsi glanced at Hao Yuan briefly. “You signed her?”
“Yeah,” Qi Xiu said. Then, an idea came to him. “Ah Sha picked her,” Qi Xiu quickly said.
Wan Qingsi made no comments after that. Ah Sha shifted inside his arms and said, “Let’s go!”
Hao Yuan bit her lip and stared at Wan Qingsi furiously. “How dare he look down on me… I’ll tell my father about this later, and you can say goodbye to your funds!”