Lu Zhi Wei hugged Sang Wan Ci tightly, burying her face in her shoulder.
This surprise came too suddenly, Lu Zhi Wei didn’t know how to control her emotions.
She wanted to laugh, and she wanted to cry.
In the past, no matter how hard she tried she would never have been able to touch the periphery of her dreams.
But she still gritted her teeth and persevered on, until she finally left the entertainment industry.
There were so many nights when she dreamt of standing under the bright lights and becoming someone like Meng Lian Yu.
And there were so many nights when she had to accept her fate of being someone as small as a speck of dust.
Until today, the dawn of her dreams came to her on its own initiative, letting her know that she still had a chance.
In that moment, her joy was hard to put into words, but her sadness was also etched into her heart.
Her life had been too hard in the past.
Sang Wan Ci had just walked out of the washroom, her hair still damp when she was caught off guard by Lu Zhi Wei.
Hearing Lu Zhi Wei happily tell her about it, she immediately reacted.
—— Chosen, her Zhi Wei had been chosen for the female lead!
Joy filled her eyes as she hugged Lu Zhi Wei and gently stroked her hair.
“That’s great,” her gentle tone melting into the intimate hug. “That’s great……”
My Zhi Wei, finally, someone saw how good she is.
Lu Zhi Wei frantically nodded: “Mm!”
It’s great, it’s really great.
She no longer had to stay in the same spot. It was too great to be able to race towards her dreams!!
Lu Zhi Wei’s eyes reddened.
The tears of joy and sadness blurred her vision, even her voice had become clogged up.
Her joy was in her tears, and the sorrow was in the back of her throat, stopping her from speaking.
Eventually, she couldn’t hold it in any longer, bawling in Sang Wan Ci’s embrace.
She finally had the right to chase her dreams like a normal person.
This was the first time she had unreservedly cried in front of someone else, aside from acting.
Sang Wan Ci could acutely feel that every tear, every sob was out of happiness and pain.
Her heart felt for Lu Zhi Wei as she listened.
Her kind and capable Zhi Wei, how could she have lived such a hard life previously……
Her Zhi Wei clearly deserved the best of the world……
Sang Wan Ci didn’t speak, hugging the person in her arms tightly, letting her cry.
It’s okay, everything will get better.
It’ll only get better in the future.
I will walk with you past all the bright stars, I will always, always be by your side.
In the control room, Lao Wu looked at Lu Zhi Wei, who was finally willing to cry in front of someone else. He took off his spectacles and pinched the bridge of his nose.
The more he understood Lu Zhi Wei’s past, the more he felt for her.
She clearly had the right to live like a normal person, but she was imprisoned in the transparent physique, able to only float by the edges of the world.
She had to use a lot of strength just to keep living.
If it wasn’t because she was afraid of pain, she definitely would have ended her life early and bid farewell to this world……
But not everybody had the right to pity her.
At least, the system didn’t.
Lao Wu gazed at the corner of the screen in a daze, it was the first time he had doubts about the system’s methods.
—— Is it…… really right for them to do this?
Nobody could give him an answer.
The only person who could answer him was no longer around.
Bai Zhi……
Lao Wu closed his eyes, gently calling out in his heart for the person he loved.
… Please read at jiulian lian . wordpress . com
Lu Zhi Wei finally got her emotions under control after crying for a long time. The tissue box was half depleted by her alone.
Sang Wan Ci sat by her side, patiently accompanying her, consoling her.
She looked at Sang Wan Ci.
Sang Wan Ci wiped away her tears, moving aside her hair, her actions were gentle and restrained.
She suddenly didn’t know what to say, all she could do was continue looking at Sang Wan Ci.
She didn’t have a lot of people to share her joy with.
Sang Wan Ci was one of them, a very precious one.
And before the official announcement, she couldn’t tell her only fan that she had been selected as a female lead.
Her parents didn’t care about her.
Her sister didn’t know she was an actress.
Thinking about it, she could only tell Sang Wan Ci and Ying Xi Ze.
Any way you looked at it, her friend circle was really small, but they were very precious to her.
Sang Wan Ci would be happy for her.
Ying Xi Ze would too.
And Lao Wu.
Enough, she thought that that was enough.
After all, she was someone who didn’t even dare to hope in the past.
“Thank, thank you……”
She sniffled as she said the phrase that Sang Wan Ci hadn’t heard in a long time.
Her eyes were red, but her gaze was still bright and sparkling, like the stars in the sky.
Wiping away her tears, she smiled: “Thank you for always, always accompanying me.”
Sang Wan Ci’s eyes showed her heartache.
She pulled Lu Zhi Wei into her embrace again: “Don’t thank me. It’s what I should do, I will always accompany our Zhi Wei.”
Until you successfully accomplish your dreams.
Until the end of the world.
“Mm……” Lu Zhi Wei smiled in satisfaction, wiping away her tears as she got her emotions under control. “Sorry I embarrassed myself, it’s the first time I’ve been chosen, I was a little agitated.”
“No,” Sang Wan Ci said warmly. “I’m very happy you’re willing to show your emotions to me.”
In the past, Lu Zhi Wei would wipe away her tears and keep her emotions under control.
This time, she finally learnt that she didn’t need to hide her emotions from Sang Wan Ci.
Lu Zhi Wei had finally stopped treating her as an outsider in her heart.
Lu Zhi Wei smiled through her tears, saying: “It’s pretty embarrassing, I’m so much older than you too……”
A big child crying in front of a small child, they would always feel like they had been embarrassed.
“It’s fine even if you’re ten years older than me,” Sang Wan Ci said. “You can always show all your emotions in front of me, I’ll accept it all.”
Hearing that, Lu Zhi Wei’s heart felt warm.
She laughed lightly: “Okay, I’ll remember it. Then I’ll go bathe first.”
“Go ahead.”
Sang Wan Ci let go of her and watched as she hugged her pyjamas, entering the washroom while wiping her tears away.
When the door closed, she turned away and opened WeChat, going to Zhang Xian Rui’s chat.
[Sang Wan Ci]: Zhang jie, are you sleeping?
[Zhang jie]: Not yet, what’s wrong?
[Sang Wan Ci]: I wanted to check on something with you.
[Sang Wan Ci]: How is Liu Zhao as a director? Are his works good?
This was Lu Zhi Wei’s first time acting as a main lead, she wanted to make sure Lu Zhi Wei would be fine.
There were too many directors, she didn’t know all of them. The industry insiders Zhang Xian Rui and Meng Lian Yu had taught her about them.
[Zhang jie]: Ah, Director Liu, he’s not as good as Director Guo and Director Li, but he’s passable. He takes responsibility for his own work
[Zhang jie]: I remember that your aunt is friends with him
[Zhang jie]: What’s wrong? You want to work with him?
[Sang Wan Ci]: No, Zhi Wei recently passed the audition for his drama, so I wanted to help her find out more.
[Zhang jie]: A recent drama? That 《Symphony of Dreams》?
[Zhang jie]: That’s not too bad. I heard that’s his carefully polished script, so he was very strict when choosing the leads. The fact that Lu Zhi Wei managed to pass means she has skills
Seeing this sentence, Sang Wan Ci’s eyes showed a trace of pride.
Even though it was about Lu Zhi Wei, she felt glory too.
[Sang Wan Ci]: Mm, she has always been excellent.
[Zhang jie]: I agree with you. Honestly, I feel like Sheng Yue should promote her instead of Zhou Ling Ling
Zhang Xian Rui’s judgement had always been sharp and extremely accurate.
Putting Zhou Ling Ling and Lu Zhi Wei together, she would only choose the latter.
The former was flighty and impetuous, not as steady and reliable as the latter. Besides, the latter was a moldable talent, she would be able to shine with a light that couldn’t be underestimated as long as she was polished a little.
If Sheng Yue still didn’t discover Lu Zhi Wei’s pros and Zhou Ling Ling didn’t work hard enough and couldn’t keep advancing in the industry…… Then it would be useless to keep giving her good resources.
Zhou Ling Ling wasn’t like their artiste Sang Wan Ci who could keep stably advancing.
If 《Phoenix》’s viewer ratings could keep increasing like it was now, then it would definitely be one of the hottest dramas of the year. The female lead Sang Wan Ci would also be more popular, increasing her value.
Even if it wasn’t the hottest drama, Sang Wan Ci’s popularity would only be increased from now.
No matter which outcome, it wouldn’t be a hard task to overcome Sheng Yue’s Zhou Ling Ling.
Thinking about Sang Wan Ci who worked hard, Zhang Xian Rui felt comforted.
If all the new artistes could be as hardworking and develop like Sang Wan Ci, she wouldn’t have to worry so much.
[Zhang jie]: Oh that’s right, do you have any interest in shooting a movie?
[Zhang jie]: I have a few invitations from movies here with your name on it
Filming a television drama and filming a movie were two different genres, and the skills didn’t necessarily translate.
Some actors could do both, some actors could only do one.
Zhang Xian Rui naturally hopes Sang Wan Ci could do both, like her aunt Meng Lian Yu.
[Sang Wan Ci]: I do.
As an actor, she naturally hoped that she could do anything, she could try anything.
And with her movie star aunt Meng Lian Yu as a role model, she wanted to try everything too.
[Sang Wan Ci]: But wait for me to finish filming this show before we discuss it.
[Zhang jie]: Okay
[Zhang jie]: Rest early, goodnight
[Sang Wan Ci] Goodnight.
… Please read at jiulian lian . wordpress . com
Lu Zhi Wei laid in bed looking at the comments on 《Phoenix》.
They mostly were praising the male and female leads on their acting.
She searched for “Xiao He” and there were about a dozen comments complimenting her.
@Shall we date? I’ll beg for food to feed you: It’s fine if other people scold her, but you can’t scold her young miss. Even if she stutters and can’t speak well, she’s going to use all her strength to call you a “scumbag”. Save me, it’s too cute, this actress is so good!
@The profile picture is me, I’m not satisfied either: After seeing Xiao He, my daughters have increased by one
@Rainbow frog: Xiao He and the female lead, f*ck, I vaguely ship them……
After switching to her official account, there were a few more live fans and the comments section was more lively.
And her iron fan Qiao Qiao was there, as usual, selling Amway and working hard.
The fans were already working so hard, how could the idol lose?
She put down her phone and said goodnight to Sang Wan Ci, preparing to sleep and get some rest.
Rest up so she could film her scenes well tomorrow, and work hard!
Seeing her motivated, Sang Wan Ci couldn’t help but smile.
“Goodnight.”
I hope my Zhi Wei can always be this happy every day.
……
Ever since the little junior sister became a demon, Lu Zhi Wei’s scenes become a lot easier.
Because she no longer needed to memorise her lines, how could a “dead person” speak?
All she had to do was move and express her attitude.
But to make acting easier, she still memorised all the lines of the other actors in the scene, and sometimes she could even become a human teleprompter. This was all captured as behind-the-scenes footage.
Lu Zhi Wei’s scenes had already been shot until the demon general met with the female lead.
After becoming a demon, the little junior sister was like a dead person. She had no rationality and no capacity to think. Someone from her old sect was no different from a stranger to her now.
Even if the person standing opposite her was her shijie, the softest moon that used to be the person in her heart.
So Lu Zhi Wei didn’t need any expression, she just had to stand there and stare at Sang Wan Ci’s Qiao Jing expressionlessly.
Seeing the little junior sister who used to follow her around and call her shijie all the time become something like this, Qiao Jing was in distress.
But she had hatred too.
She hated that she didn’t find out the sect leader’s scheme earlier, that she wasn’t able to save her little junior sister earlier.
If she had figured it out earlier, the little junior sister might not have become like this.
She wouldn’t have that unlucky fate that didn’t belong to her either.
Sang Wan Ci, acting as Qiao Jing, frowned as she looked at the red-clothed little junior sister standing ten paces away from her.
Her pretty eyes were filled with pain, resentment and disbelief.
She slowly, experimentally stepped forward and called out: “…… Shimei?”
At this moment, she still had a ray of hope in her heart.
Hope that the little junior sister hadn’t really turned into a numb, killing machine. Hope that the little junior sister still had some rationality and knew who she was, able to call her “shijie” again.
Guo Hui looked at Sang Wan Ci on the monitor.
Sang Wan Ci had completely nailed Qiao Jing’s emotions. It was like she wasn’t Sang Wan Ci at this moment, she was Qiao Jing.
Just through the screen, it was enough to let the audience feel her conflict and pain.
She hated demons, but she didn’t hate the little junior sister.
But the little junior sister had become a demon……
This was a difficult question.
The other camera was aimed straight at Lu Zhi Wei.
She wore a red dress, standing under the scorching sun as her face remained expressionless. She didn’t even move an eyebrow.
It was heart-wrenchingly cold.
The closer the two of them were in the past, the more painful it was to see her coldness now.
In the next second, the little junior sister heard the order from the demon prince and materialised her demonic energy as she charged towards Qiao Jing.
Good and evil clashed, but Qiao Jing would only defend and not attack, unable to draw her sword against her little junior sister.
This was the difficult problem she faced today —— unable to let go of the past.
The little junior sister was like a test given to her by God. Only by hardening her heart and doing what was difficult, learning to let go, could she break through in cultivation and learn how to better control Shen Bing.
But that was the little junior sister.
Someone she treated like her own sister.
How many people on Earth could mercilessly kill someone of their own blood?
So Sang Wan Ci’s eyes were filled with doubt, with hesitation and with helplessness.
Her acting completely didn’t disappoint Guo Hui, she was even more sure that her initial choice to let Sang Wan Ci be the female lead was correct.
When Lu Zhi Wei was acting, she would also pay attention to the other person’s emotions.
Acting was a profession where you needed both people to work together to achieve optimal results.
If both parties were in character, then it would be easier to act out the scene. Otherwise, wouldn’t it just be useless?
Looking at Sang Wan Ci’s expression now, she could feel the distress.
It was that kind of expression that the scriptwriters wanted, to make the audience feel distressed.
This was the emotion that Sang Wan Ci had cultivated for a long time outside of filming.
Seeing her so serious, Lu Zhi Wei was also encouraged, acting seriously.
She had to work hard.
This way, the “male lead” could be worthy of the female lead.
But unexpectedly, when she lifted her hand and charged towards Sang Wan Ci, the fake nail accidentally left a scratch on the back of Sang Wan Ci’s hand.
She jolted, her eyebrows furrowing ever so slightly.
After making eye contact with Sang Wan Ci, she forced herself to finish the scene.
After Guo Hui shouted “cut”, she immediately grabbed Sang Wan Ci’s hand and rubbed it gently, her face filled with anxiety: “Sorry, sorry, I didn’t mean to, does it hurt?”
“It’s okay.”
Actually, it was just a light scratch, Sang Wan Ci didn’t feel any pain at all.
But seeing Lu Zhi Wei keep holding and rubbing her hand for fear that she was in pain, she suddenly couldn’t stop herself from playing a little trick.
She wanted Lu Zhi Wei to hold her hand longer.
She wanted Lu Zhi Wei to feel dearly for her.
She lowered her voice so only the two of them could hear: “It hurts a little bit, help me rub it a bit more jiejie.”
A whisper.
The ambiguity.
Lu Zhi Wei’s ears felt hot as she kept holding on to Sang Wan Ci’s hand, rubbing the back of it.
She was afraid of pain and she was very empathetic, so when Sang Wan Ci said it hurt, she could almost feel the back of her own hand hurting.
“I’m sorry Wan Ci, I didn’t mean to……”
“I know, it’s okay.” Sang Wan Ci consoled her as they walked to Guo Hui’s side to watch the scene.
Lu Zhi Wei thought it would require a reshoot, because of the small pause at the end which wasn’t in the script.
But after the scriptwriter and Guo Hui discussed it, they decided to keep the pause in.
So Guo Hui nodded and said this take was good, and asked them to prepare for the next scene.
Sang Wan Ci saw Lu Zhi Wei still looked a little guilty, and she couldn’t help but chuckle: “Director Guo said it, jiejie acted very well.”
Lu Zhi Wei lowered her head, still holding on to her hand as her eyebrows knitted together: “But I still accidentally scratched your hand……”
Sang Wan Ci said gently: “It’s okay, it just hurt a little bit. It’s fine after rubbing it, it doesn’t hurt now.”
Lu Zhi Wei complained: “A little bit is still a lot of pain……”
To her, a little bit of pain was enough to kill her.
“I’ll rub it a bit more.” Lu Zhi Wei said.
Sang Wan Ci nodded.
She was so happy, it was more than what she could have wished for.
If Lu Zhi Wei could fall for her quicker, that would be even better.
…… Please read at jiulian lian . wordpress . com
《Questioning Deity Sect》’s filming was going smoothly.
While Lu Zhi Wei was filming, 《Phoenix》 has also been slowly airing.
As her iron fan, Lu Si Jiao had naturally started watching the drama. Not only that, she had Amway-ed the people around her to watch the drama as well.
In the blink of an eye, Lu Si Jiao’s entire dorm had started watching 《Phoenix》.
When her dorm mates complimented Sang Wan Ci and Ying Xi Ze, she ignored them.
When her dorm mates complimented Lu Zhi Wei, she immediately jotted it down and sent them all to Lu Zhi Wei.
This weekend, she went home.
She was bored in her room, and sent Lu Zhi Wei a direct message on Weibo.
[Qiao Qiao Ya]: I Amway-ed my dorm mates to watch the drama
[Qiao Qiao Ya]: These were all the stuff they said praising you. I didn’t make it nicer, it is word for word what they said!
[Qiao Qiao Ya]: I hope these praises can give you a bit of motivation
[Qiao Qiao Ya]: I just wanted to tell you, you’re really very, very good. There will be a day when you can shine bright and let the whole world see you!
[Qiao Qiao Ya]: I will also always like you! 【finger heart.JPG】
Lu Zhi Wei saw her messages.
Then she screenshotted them one by one and saved them in a folder titled “motivation”.
[Lu Zhi Wei]: Thank you, I’m really very happy to be liked by you
[Lu Zhi Wei]: Don’t worry, I will definitely work hard to live up to your Amway!
[Lu Zhi Wei]: Good luck in your studies too, don’t forsake studying
Lu Si Jiao didn’t know whether to cry or laugh.
Ever since Lu Zhi Wei knew this fan was still a student, she was exceptionally concerned about her studies.
Every time they chatted, she would ask Lu Si Jiao to study hard and not let being a fan affect her grades.
Was this an idol? No, more like a student monitor checking their classmates’ progress.
[Qiao Qiao Ya]: Why do you always ask me to study hard
[Qiao Qiao Ya]: Like a study inspection team leader……
[Lu Zhi Wei]: Because to a student, studying is the most thing
[Qiao Qiao Ya]: Then when your fanbase grows in the future, there’ll definitely be a group of students right? Will you send a Weibo every day asking them if they studied?
Lu Zhi Wei thought about it then replied: [That’s a good idea]
How could chasing idols be more important than studying!
Sorry, this study inspection team leader, she was definitely going to do it!
Lu Si Jiao: “……”
Jie, no need.
Seeing that Lu Zhi Wei had free time, she couldn’t resist chatting a bit more.
[Qiao Qiao Ya]: Zhi Wei jie, do you…… have any younger siblings?
[Qiao Qiao Ya]: Ying Xi Ze doesn’t count!
[Qiao Qiao Ya]: They have to be biological
[Lu Zhi Wei]: I have a younger sister, she’s around the same age as you, third year of university
Lu Si Jiao interlaced her fingers.
Chatting with her sister about herself under the identity of a fan, was surprisingly exhilarating.
[Qiao Qiao Ya]: Is that so? Do you like her?
[Lu Zhi Wei]: Of course, she’s always been a likeable child since young. She’s the little princess at home
[Lu Zhi Wei]: I still remember that the first present I ever gave in my life was a little teddy bear toy I made
Seeing the words “first present I ever gave”, Lu Si Jiao froze.
Lu Zhi Wei was still absorbed in her memories.
[Lu Zhi Wei]: But I was young then and my needlework wasn’t good, so it was pretty ugly
[Lu Zhi Wei]: But my family’s little girl still kept it, smiling happily and sweetly telling me ‘thank you jiejie‘
My family’s little girl……
Seeing those words, Lu Si Jiao forgot to reply.
Her sister didn’t hate her.
She really liked her, liked her family’s little girl.
Lu Zhi Wei never said these to others.
Now that she had the conversation chat open, she couldn’t help but say a bit more.
[Lu Zhi Wei]: But it’s been so long, that teddy bear was so ugly, she probably doesn’t remember it anymore. Or maybe my parents threw it away
Just like the her who was disregarded, would eventually be thrown away and forgotten.
She couldn’t salvage or change this reality.
Afraid that Qiao Qiao would see the disappointment in her heart, she changed the topic.
[Lu Zhi Wei]: Haha, that’s considered part of my dark history. It was really too ugly, I only thought that it was very good because I was young
If it had been someone else on the other side, maybe they would have been fooled by her.
But it was Lu Si Jiao.
She knew better than anyone else the distance between her sister and her family.
She could also see the sadness from Lu Zhi Wei’s words.
She didn’t know what to say, casually replying with a: [Wow, it must be super blissful to be your sister!]
Then she sat up and got off the bed, walking to the bookcase along the wall.
There were three drawers at the bottom of the bookcase.
She opened the smallest drawer.
There was an ugly teddy bear toy inside.
The button eyes weren’t even aligned.
The two ears were made with different colours and were different sizes, the handiwork was clearly not polished.
Additionally, there were some ugly small flowers and a small sun sewn on.
Everything was Lu Zhi Wei’s handiwork when she was small.
Except for a piece of paper that Lu Si Jiao wrote on herself.
She held the ugly teddy bear toy in her hand.
Actually, compared to Ying Xi Ze’s hat, she liked this ugly bear more.
After all, this was the first ever gift her sister had given.
… Please read at jiulian lian . wordpress . com
Seeing Qiao Qiao’s polite words, Lu Zhi Wei smiled.
What was so blissful about being her sister?
For so many years, she was like a hidden person. There was no difference between having her as a sister or not having a sister.
Who would give their love to a transparent person?
She was about to put her phone down when Lu Si Jiao suddenly messaged her.
[Si Jiao]: Jie, I was packing up my room and found something, so I decided to share it with you and reminisce
[Si Jiao]: [Photo]
[Si Jiao]: Compared to your handiwork now, it’s really ugly
[Si Jiao]: But after looking at it for a while, it’s actually quite cute
Lu Zhi Wei looked at the ugly teddy bear int he photo, along with the piece of paper that had fallen out of the drawer.
It was written on with crayon, each stroke messy: Jiejie gave you this, don’t throw away.
The last two words were even written in pinyin[1].
This was proof that Lu Si Jiao had tried hard to remember her.
Suddenly, she couldn’t say a thing.
Her eyes started burning as her tears fell.
So it turns out that in this world, there was someone who had tried to remember her……
[1] Pinyin is the romanisation system for the Chinese language, and it’s used to help teach children Chinese typically. When I was a kid, our Chinese textbooks had pinyin above each word to teach us how that word was supposed to be pronounced.
