Chapter 1

Zheng Baozhu saw her aunt Su Mingmei for the first time during the Spring Festival when she was six years old.

At that time, Su Mingmei was wearing a tight-fitted light-colored qipao, with the popular big wavy hairstyle. One side of her black hair was casually pinned behind her ear, revealing a shiny pearl earring, while the other side of her black hair draped forward, partially covering the pearl necklace on her collar. As she sat in front of a large poster, she held a slender cigarette between her fingers, delicate smoke rising from her impeccably manicured fingertips.

Her aunt Su Mingmei possessed such captivating allure that she effortlessly commanded attention, surpassing even the vibrant ambiance of the Spring Festival.

Zheng Baozhu stood at the doorway, staring blankly, completely forgetting that her grandmother had sent her to call her aunt for dinner.

Sensing Zheng Baozhu's gaze, Su Mingmei turned her head and looked at the small figure standing at the door, and flashed a smile at her.

That smile perfectly matched the poster behind her.

That was Su Mingmei's own poster. The six-year-old Zheng Baozhu had heard countless people say that her aunt Su Mingmei was the most popular celebrity.

Her film posters could be seen everywhere on the streets, and her jewelry commercials played repeatedly on television, creating a frenzy that could encircle the Earth twice.

But this Su Mingmei, who was so popular, took her own life at the age of twenty-five.

Zheng Baozhu had never imagined that her first meeting with her aunt Su Mingmei would also be their last meeting.

That year's spring was particularly bright. Su Mingmei starred in the movie [Spring No More], which was also released in the spring. The film told the story of an aspiring painter who, after experiencing a series of setbacks and grudges, ultimately committed suicide using a toxic substance called "Li Green". After her death, her artworks became highly valued, especially her last piece created before her death, [Spring No More], which sold for an astonishing price.

This painter died in the spring; Su Mingmei also died in the spring.

Some say it's because she couldn't make it in the entertainment industry, while others say it's because her path was rough. Regardless of what outsiders say, the name "Su Mingmei" became taboo for both the Su family and the Zheng family.

Even the term "celebrity" became the greatest taboo.

It was under these circumstances that Zheng Baozhu, against all odds, wrote the word "celebrity" in her workbook.

"Baozhu, Qu Zhi, why are you both ten minutes late today?" Zheng Baozhu's mother, Su Mingxi, came to pick up Zheng Baozhu after school and also brought along Qu Zhi, Zheng Baozhu's classmate, with them. Qu Zhi lived in the same residential area as Zheng Baozhu, and his parents were both involved in scientific research. Sometimes when they were too busy to take care of him, they would ask their caring neighbor, Su Mingxi, to look after Qu Zhi.

Although Qu Zhi was a boy, he was beautiful and intelligent, and Su Mingxi really liked him.

Qu Zhi tilted his head and answered Su Mingxi's question, "Today's last class was a composition class. Teacher Zhang asked us to write an essay. We could only leave after finishing it."

"Oh, I see," Su Mingxi held Zheng Baozhu's hand on the left and Qu Zhi's hand on the right as they walked towards their parked car, "What was the essay topic?"

Qu Zhi replied, "My Dream."

Su Mingxi asked curiously, "What did Qu Zhi write?"

"Scientist," Qu Zhi said with a straight back, looking as neat as the words he wrote in his workbook, "I want to become a scientist like Mom and Dad and contribute to the development of our country."

On the other side, Zheng Baozhu rolled her eyes and inwardly made a clicking sound.

Qu Zhi really knew how to say beautiful words, completely unlike other kids—especially the naive ones.

Su Mingxi was quite pleased and praised Qu Zhi, then turned to Zheng Baozhu and asked, "What did Baozhu write?"

"I..."

"Zheng Baozhu wrote 'celebrity'," Zheng Baozhu barely had a chance to speak when Qu Zhi interrupted, "I saw it."

Zheng Baozhu felt a sharp pain in the hand that was held by Su Mingxi. Before she could shed a tear, Su Mingxi glared at her and said, "Zheng Baozhu—! Do you still want to become a celebrity?"

Zheng Baozhu was taken aback. She removed her hand from her mother's hold and ran away. Su Mingxi chased after her, scolding her along the way, "So you still want to become a celebrity? Just watch, I'll beat you up today!"

"I didn't say it, it was Qu Zhi!" Zheng Baozhu cowered at the school gate, but none of the passing parents lent a helping hand. Instead, they smiled and watched the commotion. Qu Zhi was also there, watching as if he were a righteous avenger, "Aunt Su can ask Teacher Zhang to confirm."

"Alright, now you're even lying!" Su Mingxi caught Zheng Baozhu, berating her mercilessly, "You're getting bolder and bolder! Do you dare to tell your grandparents about this?"

"Waaaah!" Zheng Baozhu burst into tears and, while crying, didn't forget to curse Qu Zhi, "You rotten Qu Zhi! You and I can never coexist!"

Perhaps because she shouted too loudly in her dream, Zheng Baozhu abruptly woke up from her sleep.

The phone on the bedside table was still buzzing relentlessly. Zheng Baozhu turned the alarm off on her phone and sat up on the bed.

Oh my, I actually dreamt... of Qu Zhi?

Ugh! How unlucky!

She casually brushed her long hair a couple of times, wore her slippers, and pulled back the curtains, letting in the slightly glaring sunlight. Zheng Baozhu stood lazily by the floor-to-ceiling window and, with a turn of her head, saw her own essay framed on the wall—"My Dream".

It was an essay she wrote in the third grade of elementary school, but it was torn to pieces by her mother later on. Little Zheng Baozhu felt indignant and painstakingly pieced it back together, using scotch tape in a crooked and twisted manner, preserving it until now.

"My Dream," Zheng Baozhu faced the framed essay on the wall and read it out loud, eloquently, "My dream is to become a beautiful celebrity like my aunt. I want to have the most fashionable big wavy hairstyle, wear the shiniest earrings and necklace, and have the most beautiful nails. I also want to act in movies like my aunt. I want everyone to come and watch my movies, and I want my big poster to be displayed prominently in the shopping malls, where people will see it and say, 'Wow, it's Zheng Baozhu, she's so beautiful!' One day, I want to be as shining and radiant as my aunt, sparkling from head to toe!"

Below the essay, there was a teacher's comment written in red pen.

"A celebrity is more than just surface glamour; there are also hardships in filming. We must not only see the bright side but also understand the difficulties and meaning of this profession. I hope Baozhu, when facing setbacks in the future, won't give up easily. With that attitude, one day you can become a sparkling celebrity. Keep up the good work!"

It was written nicely, but the grade she had given to her was a B-.

Heh.

I remember Qu Zhi got an A+ for his "My Dream" essay.

Qu Zhi had always excelled academically. After graduating from high school, he smoothly went abroad for further studies, distancing himself from Zheng Baozhu's life. Since Qu Zhi left, Zheng Baozhu felt that her life began to reach its peak.

Although she couldn't fulfill her dream of enrolling in a film academy after high school, she had a natural talent for business—or perhaps she was just incredibly lucky. Starting from university, whatever she pursued, she made money from it. She effortlessly expanded her business and became successful.

However, the dream of becoming a celebrity still remained unchanged until today. During her senior year of high school, Zheng Baozhu secretly set a small goal for herself: once she earned one billion, she would -- without her family's knowledge -- pursue her dream!

And today, she was finally taking the first step towards that great dream!

Zheng Baozhu knew that venturing into the entertainment industry at the age of twenty-five would be difficult, especially now when talent shows were selecting younger and younger contestants. Joining such shows would only make her seem like an old auntie. But it didn't matter; she never planned to join a talent show. In her aunt Su Mingmei's era, many superstars started as extras, and Zheng Baozhu wanted to try that path.

Since she had no formal education in acting, she had taken a few months of private lessons. Starting from the bottom would not only allow her to hone her acting skills and learn more about the entertainment industry, but she could also keep it hidden from her family. After all, this was the most discreet way for her to step into the entertainment industry.

Today, she woke up early to prepare to visit the Film and Television City so that she could familiarize herself with the surroundings.

Zheng Baozhu took a shower first, then walked into her spacious walk-in closet, choosing her outfit while combing her hair. The closet was very large, with various types of clothing, shoes, bags, and accessories neatly arranged. She even had a personal stage set up specifically to display her most luxurious golden evening gown.

"Today's lucky color is green..." Following the result displayed by a fortune-telling app, Zheng Baozhu picked a French-style pointed collar blouse and paired it with a vintage green midi skirt. As she closed the app, she caught a glimpse of "Today's Horoscope" at the top.

——Do you anticipate a reunion?

Zheng Baozhu raised her eyebrows, crossed out the app, and went downstairs to have breakfast.

Currently, City A was vigorously developing its southern area, with Starlight Park and Starlight Farm bringing in a lot of popularity. Zheng Baozhu's country-style hotel was located in Starlight Farm. Although it couldn't compare to the star-rated hotels in the city center in terms of scale, it had gained a certain reputation in Starlight Farm, attracting many tourists.

Zheng Baozhu lived in her own hotel and enjoyed three meals a day in the kitchen. The hotel had a buffet-style Western restaurant and a Chinese restaurant, offering both pizza and farmhouse stir-fries. Liang Huihui, the hotel staff, quickly brought breakfast to Zheng Baozhu's table, "Miss Baozhu, here's your breakfast!"

"Thank you," Zheng Baozhu smiled and thanked her, using her well-manicured hands to pick up the spoon.

Today, Liang Huihui was once again momentarily dazzled by Zheng Baozhu's appearance. She stood there and gossiped, "Miss Baozhu, I heard that a new company specializing in artificial intelligence will be listed in the Science and Technology Park today."

"Oh..." Zheng Baozhu nodded indifferently. The Science and Technology Park was also a key project for the government's development in the southern area. The park had been built earlier this year and was beautifully designed. Several technology companies had gradually settled in.

Liang Huihui asked, "Artificial intelligence means... making robots?"

"Something like that."

Liang Huihui's expression turned peculiar, "I saw on the news before that hotels and restaurants in other countries have already started using robot waiters. If they research that here, won't they be trying to take our jobs?"

Zheng Baozhu finally understood the reason behind Liang Huihui's curiosity. So she was worried about unemployment? Amused by Liang Huihui's thoughts, Zheng Baozhu chuckled lightly and looked up, "It's possible."

"But... but that's not acceptable! Robots can't do what I do!"

Zheng Baozhu laughed, "Don't worry, in the short term, robots won't be able to completely replace human work."

Hearing this, Liang Huihui seemed slightly relieved. She collected the plates, took a few steps, then turned back to add, "Can a robot greet customers with a smile like me?"

As she said that, Liang Huihui smiled, showing off the brightest smile of her life with her two sparkling white front teeth.

"..."

Zheng Baozhu was momentarily dazzled by her smile. Liang Huihui was really putting in the effort to avoid unemployment.

Because Artificial Intelligence threatened their livelihoods, everyone had a certain prejudice against the new technology company. Zheng Baozhu listened to their whispers and smiled as she opened her Weibo.

As an aspiring entertainer, Zheng Baozhu logged into Weibo every day to absorb knowledge about the industry. The first thing she did, of course, was to check the hot topics.

Among today's hot topics, besides familiar names and a few political news items, what caught Zheng Baozhu's attention the most was this one——

How high is the value of an ordinary person?

Curious, Zheng Baozhu clicked on it.

「The Most Stunning V: #HowHighIsTheValueOfAnOrdinaryPerson# Come on, let's share pictures of the most handsome ordinary guys you've seen.」

In the popular comments, there were photos of exceptionally handsome men, but the one that really stood out was the most upvoted comment. After all, it featured a man who, with just half of his face, managed to pull ahead in likes compared to the second-most popular comment!

「Make way, everyone! This is the guy I saw at the airport this morning. A true handsome guy can captivate people with just half of his face! [Image]」

The man in the picture wore a mask, with his black short hair exuding a somewhat lazy charm, but the eyes that were facing the camera were sharp and piercing.

Zheng Baozhu's heart skipped a beat, captivated by his gaze. The hormones emanating from the man in the photo seemed to overflow from the screen.

He probably noticed someone taking his picture, so there was a hint of displeasure in his eyes. Although the mask covered the lower half of his face, the curve indicated his superior facial features.

「Oh my god, he's so handsome, I declare him today's champion!」

「Ah, ah, ah, the look in his eyes is so captivating, it strikes the heart through the screen!」

「Husband!!!!」

「Let me just drool here [doge]」

「I can't allow the entertainment industry not to have such a fish in the net. This handsome guy must debut!」

「City A International Airport? I was also at the airport this morning, and I missed this handsome guy?!!! 🤦‍♀️」

Zheng Baozhu stretched her neck and frowned, staring intently at the man on her phone.

This was unbelievable. Why did she feel like this person looked more and more like Qu Zhi???

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***