9pm, one alluring night.
After drinking a little too much at her bachelorette party, Tangning's fiancee picked her up and brought her home to their apartment. Finally coming to her senses, she forced open her eyes, holding back an excruciating headache. As her vision cleared she could make out the figure of a man and a woman kissing passionately under the dimly lit room.
Like being struck by lightning, Tangning looked at the two in shock as they continued to kiss by her bedside. The anger inside her began to boil...
"Yurou, stop messing around, Tangning only just fell asleep! " the man warned as he restrained the woman by her waist.
"What? Are you afraid your fiancee will wake up? " Mo Yurou responded in an annoyed tone, "You are getting married tomorrow. Why don't you give yourself to me tonight?!"
"Babe, you are such a troublemaker, let's go to the other room," the man smiled seductively.
"No! I want to do it here! I want to do it right in front of her! " Mo Yurou swiftly unbuttoned the man's shirt as their lips once again locked.
Tangning tried to hold back her tears, but could feel them slowly trickling down her face. Who would have thought, the man she was to marry the next day would be cheating right in front of her.
"Behave, let's go to the bathroom. Isn't the bathtub your favorite place?"
"Fine then, you go in and fill up the bathtub first... Mo Yurou nudged the man's chest towards the bathroom. As soon as the man left the room, she sauntered over to Tangning. Leaning over with a cold smile, she whispered, "Tangning, I'm not going to let you and Yu Fan sign those papers tomorrow. I'm pregnant, he's mine! "
Tangning tightened her hands into a fist as she held back her emotions - careful not to let out a sound. It was not until she heard the moaning sounds of the couple coming from the bathroom did she feel her world had fallen apart.
Three years ago, Tangning was once Beijing's top model. But, because of this man, she gave up everything, handing over her hard- earned position to Mo Yurou. As it turned out, everything she did merely went towards preparing someone else's wedding dress. No! This must be a dream, just a horrible nightmare, everything will be back to normal tomorrow!
Tangning continued to lie to herself. Until halfway through the night, Mo Yurou complained of feeling unwell as she led Han Yufan out of the hotel. With that, Han Yufan was to leave and not return...
But, they were to get married tomorrow!
The next day, as planned, Tangning drove to the Civil Affairs office with a bitter smile. As she stepped out of her car, she gave Han Yufan a call. The voice on the other side coldly answered, "Mo Yurou was injured on stage, I have to deal with this urgent matter first. Let's postpone the registration to another day. "
There is no 'another day', Tangning disappointedly told herself.
Tangning turned around and put on her sunglasses, ready to leave, but at that moment, her eyes were drawn to a tall figure heading her way. She couldn't help notice the fitted dark blue retro suit which complimented the masculine body underneath and out of the front chest pocket, the corner of a wine red handkerchief could be seen peering out subtly. Glancing down, Tangning could see a pair of perfectly straight legs leading to a pair of freshly polished brown leather shoes which glistened in the sun.
This man... had such a strong presence, like that of a medieval king!
Especially as although he he got closer, was wearing sunglasses... his perfectly chiseled face and sexy lips were enough to drive any woman crazy.
Tangning recognized this man, he was the CEO of Hai Rui Entertainment Mo Ting. Back when she was still famous, they had met once at a ball.
Is he also getting married today?
"President, Miss Chi has not arrived on time... she is late by 10 minutes! "the assistant behind him reported.
"Ring the Chi family and tell them: if they can't even be on time to a wedding, then don't bother coming at all," the man responded coldly.
"But, the chairman said that you must get married today, no matter what. Even if you were to marry a transvestite he wouldn't care... " the assistant replied timidly.
"Then, just randomly pick a lady from the socialite families... I'll give you half an hour... the man ordered. He seemed a bit unreasonable.
Oh... so he is faced with a similar dilemma... even though it is slightly different.
Mo Ting had so much power, he could simply choose any woman he wanted. And as one of the most eligible bachelors, love was not his priority, his priority was to deal with the pressures from his elders to get married.
Suddenly, an idea came to Tangning's mind. Taking off her sunglasses, she walked in front of the man and gently suggested, "President Mo, your bride hasn't arrived and my groom has run away... may I suggest we get married?"
Mo Ting's assistant froze in disbelief, how is this woman so brave...?
Tangning stood straight in confidence, she had gathered all her courage to do this.
Mo Ting removed his sunglasses, revealing a pair of dark ink-like eyes; his pupils glimmered like a diamond. After a short moment, he turned to his assistant and ordered, "Give me her details!"
Of course, Mo Ting's assistant already knew who Tangning was. He quickly grabbed his cell phone, did a quick search for Tangning's name and offered the findings to his boss. Two minutes later, the man's lips twitched ever so slightly as he responded with one word, "OK! "
Tangning felt that meeting Mo Ting was the luckiest thing that could happen to her. He had no reason to use a woman, nor did he require love and best of all, he had no shortage of women to sleep with.
Ultimately, she wanted Han Yufan to regret his decision!
The couple's wedding procedures were processed quickly. In just half an hour, Tangning held the marriage certificate in her hands. From now on, she was a married woman.
"President Mo, may I have a few words with you?"
"Get in the car! Mo Ting put his sunglasses back on as he walked out of the registration hall.
Tangning followed closely behind. After getting into the Rolls-Royce, she nervously looked at Mo Ting before requesting, "Thank you for marrying me. If you need anything from me in return, please tell me, I will do anything. However, I have two simple requests I hope you can promise to abide by.
"Speak!" Mo Ting responded tiredly as he loosened his collar.
"Firstly, unless you have no choice, do not reveal our relationship. Secondly, do not interfere in my personal matters. Do not worry, since we are married, I will not get overly close to another man."
After listening to Tangning's requests, Mo Ting gave a slight smirk. A dangerous aura swept through the car, "I promise you... but, after I give you some time to tidy up your past, I want us to have a trial marriage. After 6 months, I will publicly announce our marriage.
"Thank you!" Tangning nodded.
"Also... I don't believe a married couple should live separately! I'll give you three days to pack all your belongings and move to a place of my choice. My assistant will be in touch with you. "
Tangning had no objections. Since they were now married, a request like this was reasonable. So she obediently nodded her head as she replied, "I agree!"
"Good!"
After the two made their verbal agreement, Tangning got out of Mo Ting's car and left. Mo Ting's assistant sat himself in the driver's seat and looked at Mo Ting through the rearview mirror, "President, shall we return to the office? Or would you like to return to the mansion to tell the chairman the news?"
"Follow Tangning and report her every move to me! " Mo Ting ordered before stepping out of the car.
Suddenly asking him to marry her, something must have happened!
As the president of an international entertainment agency, of course, he had heard of Tangning before. Once a famous model in the industry, three years ago she suddenly rejected an offer from the top entertainment agency, Star King, resulting in her being blacklisted. Eventually, she announced she would be signing with Tianyi Entertainment and became a hot topic with the boss, Han Yufan.
And thus began the fall of a supermodel...
But, from the looks of it, Tangning's story did not end there.
In all honesty, Tangning had never realized she was so brave - she had actually married a stranger! But, what was done was done, she would never regret her decision.
Tangning returned to her car. Just as she was about to start the engine and head home, she received a phone call from Han Yufan.
"Tangning... where are you right now?"
"In front of the Civil Affairs Office, about to go home, Tangning replied casually, hiding her emotions.
"Yurou has a very important show... I need you to substitute her immediately. I'll tell the makeup artist to provide you with a mask no one will be able to tell it is you, Han Yufan ordered with the tone of a superior. "Since Yurou is injured, you will have to suffer a little... -
"Didn't you say Miss Mo got hurt on stage? In that case, the media should already know she is at the hospital..."
"But, I have already asked someone to let it slip that she will still be attending even with her injuries. I told you to go, so go!"
He was so shameless. In the past, Tangning had already done stupid things like this for Mo Yurou.
As it seems, she was being used. However, she wasn't going to continue this way!
Tangning stayed calm and nodded, "OK, let me know the time and address, I'll head over there now."
"Tangning, we are about to get married. Help give Yurou a bit of a boost, her career is currently on the rise. "
"I'll give her a boost for sure... Tangning responded with a hidden meaning.
"I'll hang up then. Let's have dinner later.
Han Yufan had no idea the tables had turned, presumably now, he would be sitting by Mo Yurou's bedside, watching over his lover tenderly... Tangning hung up the phone before giving her manager a call. Her manager immediately responded in anger:
"President Han wants you to step in for that B-Grade model? Is he joking? If you didn't decide to retreat from the spotlight, she would not even survive in the industry. "
"Long Jie, I've already agreed... Tangning replied calmly.
"Do you really have to go? Her manager was about to spew blood in disbelief. Tangning and Mo Yurou were both models signed under Tianyi Entertainment, but because of Tangning's decision to retreat, her manager was dragged down with her and ridiculed.
Tangning knew her manager wanted to stick up for her injustice. Reassuringly she responded, "I won't be that stupid anymore, I will not let them use me! "
After hearing those words from Tangning, her manager's face lit up, "So, are you saying you have a plan?
"Long Jie, from now on I can only trust in you, can you help me do something?"
"Speak." Her manager was loyal to her. After all, they shared the same objective.
"Mo Yurou is so desperate to convince the media that she is attending the show even with her injuries because she doesn't want it to impact her eligibility for the 'Top Ten Model Awards'. Help me pay a visit to Tian He Hospital.
"I see what you're getting at. Obtain evidence that she was still at the hospital during the show and reveal it to the public! " the manager smiled excitedly.
"No, I have bigger news. She's pregnant! and the child is Han Yufan's. Also, help me prepare a statement stating that Han Yufan has used me multiple times to substitute Mo Yurou during her shows. As for which shows? I will need you to help me find evidence for that."
The manager was surprised at first, but quickly understood why Tangning's attitude had changed. Such a shameless cheating couple! Not only did they cheat, but they also used Tangning - ordering her around like a puppet.
"Don't worry Tangning, I will help you do all these things. "
Tangning did not respond. She felt unusually calm. She was going to treat them like they had treated her!
After clearing her thoughts, Tangning quickly gathered her belongings and drove herself over to the venue for the show to meet up with Mo Yurou's assistant.
He was a married man with a strong bulky physique and cunning personality. a
He was reasonably polite to Tangning. Even though she was no longer famous, the Tang family was still not one to be looked down upon.
"What took you so long? Quick... come and get your makeup done...
"What type of show is it today? Tangning asked as she was hurried down the hallway.
"Nothing special! the assistant replied. In fact, it was actually a jewelry show for the famous French brand: hf...
After this show, Mo Yurou would have the opportunity to sign on as hf's spokesperson. Originally, Mo Yurou would have lost her opportunity due to her injuries, but with Han Yufan's suggestion of using Tangning, Mo Yurou certainly had no objections.
Actually, on her way to the show, Tangning had already done her research on today's show: The Crown's Star Jewelry Show.
Mo Yurou's assistant had intentionally lied to her. Had she always been this easy to trick?
"Thanks to Yurou's current status, you have your own makeup room. You will appear in the grand finale and this is the piece of jewelry you will be presenting today. Here is the schedule..." the assistant explained as he pointed to the jewelry on the stage. He then ordered the makeup artist to start applying Tangning's makeup.
Did Han Yufan really think that by giving her a mask, people would not be able to tell it's her?
Although what she had in mind was quite extreme, she was going to give the cheating couple a surprise of a lifetime.
Meanwhile, Mo Ting's assistant had been following Tangning's every move and overheard that she would be substituting Mo Yurou in the show. Immediately he reported everything to Mo Ting. As soon as Mo Ting found out, he ordered his assistant, "I am going to hf's jewelry show. Make immediately!" arrangements
"Yes, president!"
This wasn't a particularly special show, but he wanted to Tangning in action. see
11am, classical music resounded off the walls of the Hai Yi Centre, the show had begun.
Inside the makeup room, Tangning's makeup was complete and she was now standing in front of the mirror in anticipation. Wearing a white tight-fitting long dress, simple but classy, adorning a beautiful golden mask giving off a mysterious aura, hair tied back away from her face with a single white rose - she was absolutely stunning...
The assistant was speechless. Inside he was thinking: Even if Tangning was to stand still, she would surely attract the attention of everyone around her. Mo Yurou will get the contract for certain!
"You will descend onto the stage via a chair that will be lowered from above. This bracelet here is the Crown's Star, let me put it on for you." The assistant unclasped the bracelet and carefully put it on Tangning. However... Tangning was slimmer than Mo Yurou, resulting in the bracelet being too big. With a lift of her arm, the bracelet would slide around...
This bracelet was designed by the founder of hf for his beloved daughter. In the middle of the golden bracelet was a crown encrusted with white diamond. On the two sides of the crown were two stars made from a pure and immaculate white gemstone - just like two parents protecting their precious child.
"There's no way for you to wear it... what should I do?"
"Do you trust me?" Tangning suddenly asked Mo Yurou's assistant.
"At this moment, I can only trust you," the assistant nodded. Without a solution, he could only trust the model. This was Yurou's opportunity at being a spokesperson, if he messed it up, President Han would definitely fire him.
"In that case, leave it with me... Tangning reassured.
"Hurry, get ready... you will be going on stage soon! "
Amongst all the commotion, the assistant did not take notice of the look in Tangning's eyes.
Tangning smiled as she gave a nod before lifting up her dress slightly and running towards the back of the stage. With her mask on, if you were to point out one distinguishing feature between Tangning and Mo Yurou, it would have to be Tangning's legs. Tangning's legs were once known as one of the most beautiful legs in the world.
Just as everyone thought the show had reached it's climax, Tangning descended gracefully to the stage on a chair. All the spotlights immediately focused on her...
... but
... the Crown's Star was nowhere to be seen...
What had happened?
Everyone present ran around frantically looking for the Crown's Star, they even searched Tangning all over. Because of this, many people couldn't help but notice her lovely pale long legs...
Legs beautiful, they SO unforgettable... were
Just as everyone was about to give up, a smile appeared from behind the mysterious golden mask. Tangning elegantly raised her arm, tilted her head backwards and lifted her left leg which was facing the audience - striking a beautiful dance pose. At that moment, out from under the white dress and down her smooth legs, the Crown's Star appeared around Tangning's ankle sparkling magnificently.
Wow...
Everyone froze in amazement at the scene in front of them. The sight of Tangning lying on the chair seamlessly moving from one pose to the next was unforgettable. Most impressive of all, every single pose Tangning pulled, the Crown's Star would be presented in a different light; showing off it's beauty over and over again...
The audience rose to their feet and gave Tangning a standing ovation...
Amongst the crowd, in a high but hidden position, Mo Ting's gaze was focused on Tangning. His new wife, once Beijing's top model, was here standing in on behalf of a B-Grade model.
There was no denying it, no matter if it was 3 years ago or 3 years later, she was still the same model - born for the runway...
After Tangning's final pose, the show came to a satisfying end. hf's founder was extremely impressed with her performance. Of course, he wasn't aware the model on stage was Tangning; he still believed it was Mo Yurou.
He appeared from behind the stage and approached Tangning. Like a gentleman, he offered his hand, helping Tangning off her chair and led her to the front of the runway as they bowed thankfully to the audience.
"Thank you everyone, and of course, thank you Miss Mo for a spectacular performance, it was certainly impressive."
Tangning stayed silent. She just simply responded with a bow. When suddenly, from the front of the runway came a high-pitched voice, "She isn't Mo Yurou, I've seen Mo Yurou in real life and she does not have such long legs!"
At that moment, everyone was stunned as they looked up and down Tangning's legs with doubt, "If you are indeed Mo Yurou, then remove your mask. If you are not, then Tianyi Entertainment are a bunch of liars!"
Sounds of doubt multiplied and grew louder. Even the designers of hf were beginning to question whether the woman in front of them was Mo Yurou.
"Miss Mo, please remove your mask... The designers were curious. Was she really Mo Yurou? If she really wasn't then their collaboration with Tianyi Entertainment would have to come to an end.
Tangning hesitated, but she was already surrounded. With no other choice, she slowly removed her mask. At that moment, everyone held their breath. At the sight of her face, some recognized her immediately as the once famed model...
"It's Tangning!"
It was rumored that after Tangning was blacklisted, her status had completely deteriorated. She was even worse off than unsigned models. Who would have thought she would stoop so low as to step in for someone else. Was she deliberately creating hype or was she forced due to her current situation?
"Tangning, it's actually Tangning. The reporters quickly surrounded Tangning, giving her no room to escape.
"Miss Tang, could you please explain the current situation? Mo Yurou was the one that was invited to appear in today's show, but how come it turned out to be you?"
"From what we know, you were blacklisted 3 years ago. Are you trying to take this opportunity to announce a comeback?"
"As a once-famous model, are you trying to take Mo Yurou's jobs? Are you taking advantage of her being injured and stealing her opportunity to be a spokesperson? "
"It's obvious you are just trying to create hype. I knew it. Mo Yurou was already injured, how could she possibly attend the show. Famous supermodel my a**! More like famous superCHEAPmodel! "
The reporter's questions got more and more intense, in fact, some were already spouting insults.
"Outdated cheap model... "
"Yurou should be the spokesperson, give it back to her!"
Tangning was slowly forced to retreat as the reporters surrounded her. Some even pushed her. At this moment, hf added to the insults, "I am going to sue Tianyi Entertainment, what you are doing here is blatantly lying! I asked for Mo Yurou, instead, you gave me a 3rd-rate model. "The designer had no idea how famous Tangning was 3 years ago. All he knew was that he had not seen this model appear anywhere in recent years.
"As for you, I'll see you in court! But, for now, get lost! You do not deserve to be standing on my runway! " he yelled.
The sharp voice echoed through the building, even the reporters were surprised. No model would just stand there and let someone yell at them like that.
"Why are you still here? Get lost!
Tangning already prepared herself for this moment, but still struggled to hold back the humiliation. It was at that moment, a deep, attractive voice resounded from the end of the stage, "Yes, someone should get lost indeed..."
In surprise, the reporters turned to where the voice was coming from. There, standing at the end of the stage was Mo Ting. Everyone's eyes opened wide in shock... Isn't this the CEO of Hai Rui Entertainment? Why is he here?
Most importantly, why is he standing on the stage? It was a well-known fact that Mo Ting despised artists that played mind games. Tangning is digging her own grave. This time even Hai Rui can't help but step out from behind the sidelines.
Everyone held their breath, certain that Tangning was out of luck. But to their surprise, Mo Ting walked over to Tangning and stood by her side. With the intimidating tone of a king, he turned to the designer and continued, "... but, she is not the one that should get lost... it is you!"
"I could make hf disappear from Beijing if I want to. Your manners appear to be on a different level to your jewelry."
Tangning's heartbeat stopped for a moment. Who would have thought... her new husband, who she had only met for the third time, would stand up for her.
All the reporters were stunned as they began to worry. Had they known earlier that Tangning had ties with Hai Rui, they wouldn't have been so rude.
hf's designer was not impressed, but he knew he could not offend Hai Rui International. After a few moments of silence, he reluctantly apologized, "Sorry, President Mo. I didn't know of your relationship with..."
"You are wrong, I have no relations with her. I'm just simply... questioning your character!" Mo Ting denied his relation to Tangning and began to walk away. But before he left, he turned around and announced to the reporters, "There is, however, one thing I cannot deny. She will definitely become a rising star in the modeling industry!"
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