Chapter 1: The Unambitious Woman
Just before reaching their destination, Yu Youyi seemed to suddenly remember something and woke up Zheng Ying, who was soundly asleep against the back of her chair, saying to her: "I almost forgot to tell you another thing, the male lead in this play is your ex-boyfriend Gong Jing"
Zheng Ying immediately shrank her neck and fell silent
Yu Youyi glanced at the coffee table, searching for the kettle
Zheng Ying has never leaned against a wall after drinking too much in her life, but she admires her manager Yu Youyi, because his ultimate skill of relentless calls is truly impressive
After participating in a series of local beauty contests, she encountered a life-changing opportunity—she stood out in a competition for the most beautiful qipao that tested overall physique. While winning a prize that would help sustain her family's livelihood, she caught the eye of Yu Youyi, and from that moment on, she became a signed artist under his management
In the aforementioned competition, she only did not receive a prize during the thigh competition, because the day before the event, her legs were itchy, and she practiced Taekwondo by kicking a stack of bricks, resulting in bruises on her thighs the next day. However, in the other competitions, she was either truly exceptionally beautiful or just incredibly lucky; in any case, she always returned home with stacks of prize money.
Zheng Ying wore a fawning expression, pointing at the coffee table: "Friend, I just want to pour you a glass of water... Look at how many layers of saliva you have sprayed on my face, I reckon you must be thirsty too..."
Today she is honored to have been the recipient of Yu Youyi's remarkable skills
After that drama was aired, she gained a bit of popularity for a while, barely managing to transition from a third-rate status to the ranks of a quasi-second-rate artist
Zheng Ying murmured softly: "You might as well let me continue playing a minor role!"
Zheng Ying stared blankly at her hands, recalling an incident.
After staying up late, she lazily slept until the sun was shining on her backside
The square has been occupied by the elderly women to the extent that there is no place left even to put a begging bowl
When calm, he looks quite good for a big man. But when he is angry, he is furious... He doesn't even fear having a stroke from all the rage, drooling every day...
Having navigated the entertainment industry for several years, Zheng Ying is now twenty-three years old, yet she remains a third-rate supporting actress
Zheng Ying hesitated: "It's not always ... ... "
She stayed up late again last night. It is only to blame that she carelessly opened the homepage rankings on the reading app before bed, then carelessly clicked on a novel, and ended up foolishly reading until three o'clock in the morning.
Yu's friendship nearly caused her to have a brain hemorrhage with that retort
He poked Zheng Ying's eyelid and said, "Look at yourself. As an actress, I usually remind you to take care of yourself, and what do you do? You just take care of yourself? Look at your puffy eyes. Did you stay up late reading novels again last night? Is that trashy novel that captivating?" He then poked Zheng Ying's forehead, "I have repeatedly urged you to apply a face mask every night before bed, and look at you. Forget about the face mask; did you even wash your face before going to bed last night?" He lifted a strand of Zheng Ying's hair, "Damn it, the hair on your head is your own hair, your biological hair! It's not a wig that I gave you! Can you treat it a little better? Do you have to let it tangle, do you have to let it tangle?"
Yu Youyi let go of Zheng Ying's hair, feeling so angry that he held his head and spun around.
When Yu Youyi saw her disheveled appearance, his overwhelming anger instantly transformed into profound heartache: "Zheng Ying, how could I have chosen you? Am I blind or possessed? Just look at your current state! Have I not told you that if I call your phone and you don't answer again, I will be furious with you? Do you treat my words as nonsense every time, don't you?"
It seems that I am a bit thirsty
When her parents said this, Zheng Ying felt a flash of lightning pass over her head, followed immediately by a great thunderclap striking down upon her
Zheng Ying's family was originally well-off, until her younger brother Zheng Yaozu, who was spoiled by their parents and treated like a little emperor, learned to gamble during her junior year. In less than a month, Zheng Yaozu squandered all the family wealth and incurred a significant amount of debt.
In this competition, Zheng Ying was unsure whether it was due to the low number of participants or if her claws were truly quite beautiful. In any case, she won the championship in a daze and received a prize of 30,000 yuan in a dreamlike manner
During that performance, Zheng Ying could cry without even needing to hum, effortlessly shedding tears in a continuous stream without any emotional buildup. Her sorrowful expression left the director in constant admiration, repeatedly applauding her talent.
As a result, this beautiful vision was completely shattered amidst the synchronized and bizarre dance steps of the square dance aunties
Listening again to the shouting of Yu Youyi outside the door, Zheng Ying felt that perhaps the end of the world had truly arrived
But when he saw the messy pile of snacks on the coffee table, he instantly forgot his thirst, and anger once again occupied his body and soul
She really wants to kick her agent out of frustration
Zheng Ying wore a satisfied expression, happily striking her left fist against her right palm: "The debts for this month have indeed been paid off, and there are still many days until next month's payment date. I can relax for a few days!"
Delivering takeout? That is not feasible either, as she is hopelessly directionally challenged, easily losing herself in the vastness of the journey while delivering lunch boxes. It does not matter if she exhausts herself; she has already grown accustomed to the endless search along the way. What worries her is the possibility of making the customers who ordered takeout wait until they starve.
On the way to meet the renowned director, Yu Youyi suddenly informed her: "By the way, I should let you know that the lead actress in this film is Chen Qing"
She thought for a while and recalled that she had practiced Taekwondo for several years, so a thought crossed her mind: if all else fails, she could perform in the square.
At present, Yu Youyi wishes to take advantage of her remaining popularity to seize the opportunity and establish a foothold in the second tier. Therefore, she has put in considerable effort to negotiate another role for her, still as the second female lead.
For this reason, Zheng Ying was quite upset for a while, to the extent that she couldn't even eat her favorite snacks. It was precisely during that period, due to her sorrowful expression, that her career unexpectedly took a turn for the better. An actress from the same agency, who was supposed to play the role of the second female lead in a drama, fell ill and could not perform. In a rush, her agent, Yu Youyi, forcefully pushed her into the role.
Yu Youyi turned his head and glanced at her, saying: "She stole your man, and you can't act with her anymore?" When he saw the sweet potato strip hanging from Zheng Ying's mouth, his gaze immediately shifted from a glance to a glare. He was filled with anger and yanked the sweet potato strip away, throwing it out of the car window, "All you do is eat, all you do is eat! Pooping machine!" After calming down, he continued to warn Zheng Ying, "Do you know how much effort I put in to help you raise your salary? You better cherish it, if you dare to act up and bail on me, I will make you regret it! This role is good for you, and if it goes well, you might even get to play the female lead after it airs."
He walked up to the coffee table, picked up a bag of potato chips that had only crumbs left, and shouted at Zheng Ying: "Why are you so unambitious? Look at the artists from other families, they strive hard, digging and climbing their way up. And you, all you do every day is sit around and wait for death! Other artists would do anything to become as thin as chopsticks, but what about you? All you know is to eat, eat, eat, eat, eat!" He tossed aside the bag of chips and picked up an empty cola bottle, angrily adding: "And drink, drink, drink, drink, drink!"
Zheng Ying quickly tidied herself up and was taken to the car by Yu Youyi
Washing dishes? No way, with her roughness, the unwashed dish soap would surely poison someone.
Then she saw a beauty pageant in a corner of the newspaper. It was a competition of hand gestures, and the winner would receive a prize of 30,000 yuan
Zheng Ying once had a boyfriend, and they fell in love while playing minor roles in the same production. In order to be with him, Zheng Ying resolutely resisted the intense opposition from Yu Youyi, who was almost murderous in his disapproval. However, in the end, she could not withstand her ex-boyfriend's unwavering determination to pursue a life filled with material desires
That day, after finishing the makeup photo shoot that revealed a large expanse of her white, bare chest, Zheng Ying was called aside by the assistant director, who made suggestive gestures, and was forcefully handed a card that appeared to be a hotel room key.
Yu Youyi looked at Zheng Ying with a serious expression, devoid of any emotion, and then bent down to take off his shoes.
Yu Youyi slammed the table and interrupted her: "Shut your mouth! Zheng Ying, do you have any sense of being an artist? I call you 'Auntie', can I ask you to be a bit more motivated? Your family's debts don't need to be repaid by you, do they?"
While she was desperately contemplating a way to survive, her home was already in such dire straits that they were on the verge of starvation. Thus, she flipped through the newspaper and thought with indignation: To hell with it, I will do whatever job comes my way! Whether it is selling smiles or selling my body!
She looked at her long, slender hands, touched her famished, sunken belly, flipped through the stack of debt collection notices piled up like a wall in her home, took a deep breath, and resolutely made the call to register for the competition.
In the days that followed, she participated in various beauty contests, including the Most Beautiful Electric Buttocks Competition, the Most Sensual Lips Competition, the Most Elegant Nose Competition, the Most Enchanting Long Legs Competition, and the Most Beautiful Feet Competition, among others
Yu Youyi shouted loudly: "Zheng Ying, you little bastard, if you don't open the door, do you believe I can kill you!"
Zheng Ying cautiously retorted: "Friend, I am an artist, not a deity. How can I not eat or drink? Don't you think so..."
Try to talk back to me again!
Zheng Ying has a laid-back personality; she is well-endowed but lacks ambition—she only cares about having enough to eat and does not worry about the debts she needs to repay next month as long as she can manage to pay her dues this month. This disposition has resulted in her lacking any motivation for self-improvement, and thus she has remained adrift between supporting roles and third-rate actors. ... There was once an opportunity for her to become a second-tier celebrity through a Tang Dynasty drama, but ...
Zheng Ying's hand was pinched and slapped by the assistant director, causing her great discomfort. Unable to endure it any longer, she suddenly pulled her hand back, raised her arm, and delivered a violent strike that was a cross between a knife hand and a slap, landing squarely on the assistant director's face.
She was finally awakened by a cacophony of terrifying mixed sounds—her phone was blaring Jay Chou's "Nocturne" as its ringtone; the landline in her apartment was emitting the monotonous, robotic notifications of a navigation voice: "Incoming call, incoming call, incoming call..."; the most frightening of all was the banging on the apartment door, which almost gave Zheng Ying the illusion of a zombie attack.
The assistant director, smiling with squinted eyes, told her while patting her delicate hands, which had won the championship in the most beautiful hand competition, which room he was staying in. He invited her to come over in the evening to have a chat with him about the play.
Yu Youyi roared, shaking the earth and mountains: "Then hurry up and go wash your face, change your clothes, and go for the audition!"
Zheng Ying quietly and silently inched her way towards the coffee table, all the while secretly grumbling to herself.
In the past, this amount of money was merely an insignificant sum for their family; however, now it has become a lifeline for a family of four struggling in hunger.
Yu Youyi suddenly shouted to stop Zheng Ying's movements: "Stand there! Have I finished scolding you? Did I tell you to move?"
Zheng Ying had a look of utter disillusionment
Zheng Ying hurriedly pleaded for mercy, saying: "Brother Friendship! Brother! My dear brother, I was wrong! I will perform, I will perform! Please don’t hit me again with your stinky shoes. The smell of your manliness makes me want to die!"
Yu Youyi almost had a falling out with Zheng Ying
In that drama, her crying scenes nearly overshadowed the lead actress.
The assistant director let out a cry, losing a tooth
Zheng Yingling deftly dodged the attack: "No, I haven't lived enough yet!"
Holding her head as if it had been struck by lightning, she pondered deeply about what she could possibly do
Zheng Ying, with a piece of sweet potato dried that she hadn't had time to finish eating, suddenly widened her eyes and exclaimed incoherently: "Brother Friendship, are you messing with me?"
Zheng Ying, in a fit of panic, rolled on the ground and jumped up to open the door
Others are a call, but Yu Youyi must be a pair of calls—he has two mobile phones, so when he needs to find someone, he can make calls simultaneously with both hands, continuously dialing without pause. One ear is pressed against one phone, while from the left side, he ferociously shouts, "Hurry up and bring the person here, if you can't, then go eat shit." Meanwhile, from the right side, he immediately switches to a gentle tone, pleading, "Sister-in-law, is Liang Ge really not at home? The award ceremony is about to start, it won't work without him."
Zheng Ying's parents are somewhat amusing yet exhibit a rather unconventional preference for sons over daughters. Although Zheng Yaozu has squandered the family fortune and incurred debts, they did not resort to extreme measures against him. Instead, they somewhat sadly encouraged Zheng Ying to work her way through school, saying, "From now on, your parents will no longer be able to pay your tuition. It is time for you to demonstrate your ability to survive and earn a living on your own!"
As soon as she finished speaking, a leather shoe belonging to Youyouwang appeared in her arms
When her addiction to novels strikes, she can become so detached that she forgets who she is.
On a dark and windy night, her spendthrift scoundrel boyfriend, unable to control his desires, ended up sleeping with the niece of a film company boss, marking the end of her love for a mere supporting role
As a result of this incident, Zheng Ying became well-known in her circle. For a long time thereafter, she no longer had the opportunity to approach the fringes of second-tier celebrities—she floated aimlessly among the sea of extras and third-rate actors, completely unaware of her troubles
From this point on, driven by hunger and poverty, Zheng Ying embarked on a long journey of beauty pageants
"Shut up! If you keep talking nonsense, I will kill you!"
She is indeed a practitioner who has trained in Taekwondo
A bottle of cola was thrown over by Yu Youyi: "Don't bother paying me back next month, just go die!"
Every time Zheng Ying saw Yu Youyi making a phone call like that, she felt a bit of trepidation. She suspected that her agent was a neurotic on the verge of a breakdown