Chapter 26: The Big Star Returns

“Sister Xiaoqian?”

Zhongli Miaomiao waved her hand in front of Sang Zhiyi’s eyes.

“Hey?

Sister Xiaoqian, it’s your turn!”

Jiang Yingru looked at Sang Zhiyi, who had suddenly become distracted, and was a bit worried.

“…Are you feeling unwell?”

Zhongli Miaomiao heard this and nodded repeatedly.

“That’s right!

Sister Xiaoqian, you just got discharged from the hospital, so you must still be quite weak!”

Facing the faces of Zhongli Miaomiao and Jiang Yingru, both written with concern, Sang Zhiyi pulled herself out of her thoughts and smiled easily, shaking her head.

“I’m fine.”

Sang Zhiyi glanced at the pile of cards in the middle of the three of them.

“It’s my turn to draw, right?”

Although it was obvious that Sang Zhiyi was not “fine,” since she didn’t bring it up, Jiang Yingru wouldn’t insist on digging.

Jiang Yingru followed Sang Zhiyi’s lead and let the matter drop.

“Yes, it’s your turn.

Who wants to be the landlord this round?”

Zhongli Miaomiao had really wanted to continue asking Sang Zhiyi, but seeing that both older sisters were focused on playing cards, she could only mutter, “Are you really okay, Sister Xiaoqian?”

After a while, Zhongli Miaomiao finally threw herself wholeheartedly into the game.

“Wow, Sister Xiaoqian, how come you have four Aces again?!

Your luck is just too good, right?!”

Of course, Sang Zhiyi was not really fine.

In fact, Sang Zhiyi’s emotional fluctuations were not small.

After learning that the system had remembered her request as the highest-priority command, Sang Zhiyi immediately followed up with a question:

[Then, the fact that I could buy on credit in advance—was that also because of you?]

[Yes,] the system gave an affirmative answer again.

[The system store does not have a credit payment method.]

[But the permissions I possess allow me to make an exception for you.]

Sang Zhiyi: “…”

Sang Zhiyi had originally thought that the cost was coming from her side, so she hadn’t hesitated.

But she hadn’t expected it to come from System Sir instead.

She already owed System Sir so much…

Sang Zhiyi rarely felt that things had become tricky.

Such a profound debt of gratitude…

Would she ever be able to repay it all?

Sang Zhiyi felt quite helpless.

[Why didn’t you tell me any of this?]

The system said: [You did not ask.]

Sang Zhiyi: “…”

Sang Zhiyi closed her eyes.

She really wanted to see what kind of idiot this system was, always making losing deals with her.

***

One week later.

After repeated pleas from her new agent, Sang Zhiyi finally set foot inside Starlight Entertainment again.

While Sang Zhiyi was still “recuperating” in the hospital, Lou Yanchen had already fulfilled his promise, swiftly firing Ren Xiaoqian’s original agent and assistant.

Soon after, Lou Yanchen personally arranged a new agent and assistant for Sang Zhiyi, and personally instructed them to take Sang Zhiyi seriously.

Sang Zhiyi didn’t know exactly what Lou Yanchen had said to his subordinates, but anyway, these two new colleagues were more nervous than the other when they saw her, trembling so much that Sang Zhiyi almost thought she was back in her real world, facing her biological father’s illegitimate children.

However, those illegitimate children harbored not only deep fear of her but also uncontrollable hatred.

These two new colleagues had no grudge against Sang Zhiyi.

Although Sang Zhiyi wouldn’t particularly care about them, her agent had begged her several times, almost in tears.

Sang Zhiyi didn’t see the need to make things difficult for her.

Besides, she had indeed promised Lou Yanchen before that she would go to Starlight to see him once she had recovered a bit.

Conveniently, she also planned to go through the termination procedures with Starlight.

Whether Lou Yanchen couldn’t swallow his pride to come find her again, or knew that even if he did, he would just get shut down, he would rather have his agent urge her repeatedly than contact her directly.

Oh, and there was another possibility, Sang Zhiyi thought as she looked at the Starlight building—Lou Yanchen simply didn’t have her direct contact information.

To Lou Yanchen, Ren Xiaoqian had just been a clinging vine he had once held high hopes for but who had ultimately disappointed him deeply, not worthy of much of his attention.

When Sang Zhiyi had blocked everyone at Starlight before, she hadn’t found Lou Yanchen’s name in her contact list anyway.

Back then, Ren Xiaoqian could only reach him through intermediaries; now, he had to do the same to find her.

Even as she walked into the company, Sang Zhiyi found it somewhat amusing.

“Ren Xiaoqian, you’re so happy just by coming back?”

A sickly sweet, sarcastic female voice rang out.

“Isn’t it just that you’ve gotten a little famous recently?

But internet celebrities come and go so fast these days.

There are plenty who are all the rage one day and forgotten the next.

You don’t think one little taste of fame is enough to turn your life around, do you?”

Sang Zhiyi shifted her gaze and saw that it was a young woman with curled, wavy hair, wearing a wine-red dress.

After searching her memory for a while, Sang Zhiyi recognized her.

Her name was Lu Yaqi, an artist currently signed to Starlight, who had debuted around the same time as Ren Xiaoqian.

Debuting at a similar time, both young female artists, within Starlight, which already had insufficient resources for female stars, Lu Yaqi belonged to the group that had been most deprived of resources by Lou Yanchen.

And one of those who hated Ren Xiaoqian the most.

In the original plot development, after Lou Yanchen abandoned Ren Xiaoqian, although Lu Yaqi hadn’t caused much harm to Ren Xiaoqian due to her own lack of ability, she had certainly done her fair share of kicking her when she was down.

So Sang Zhiyi’s smile grew even brighter.

“At least I’ve been famous once.

That’s still better than someone who’s never been famous at all, right?”

Her most painful point directly hit, Lu Yaqi flew into a rage.

“What do you have to be smug about?!

Ren Xiaoqian!

President Lou is long tired of you!

Your agent and assistant have already been kicked out by President Lou!

You’re next!

Let’s see how you stay arrogant then!”

Lu Yaqi knew very well that President Lou was Ren Xiaoqian’s Achilles’ heel.

Before, whenever she brought up President Lou’s coldness and neglect toward Ren Xiaoqian, Ren Xiaoqian was sure to get teary-eyed.

With a little more provocation, Ren Xiaoqian would cry pitifully.

It made Lu Yaqi feel incredibly pleased.

The impressions built up over two years were deeply ingrained.

Even though Sang Zhiyi had been acting out of character by not coming to the company for over half a month, hoping President Lou would spare her a glance, Lu Yaqi still felt this trump card would surely work.

But the result Lu Yaqi got was that Sang Zhiyi’s eyes lit up.

“Really?

That’s great.”

Sang Zhiyi urged with interest, “Let’s go find President Lou together.

You can help me tell him about my contract termination.”

That would save her the trouble of talking to the scumbag herself.

Lu Yaqi: “……???”

Lu Yaqi choked, almost unable to catch her breath.

Was she hearing things?

What did Ren Xiaoqian say?!

Contract termination?!

This hick, who loved President Lou so utterly without dignity that she would silently endure any kind of mockery or mistreatment, actually wanted to terminate her contract with President Lou?!

Lu Yaqi’s eyes widened, staring at Sang Zhiyi as if she didn’t recognize her.

…Although she hated to admit it, the Sang Zhiyi standing before her now truly had nothing to do with the word “hick.”

The woman who made her grind her teeth in hatred wore an irregular-hemmed white dress with dark gold embroidery that was simple yet elegant, paired with a pearl necklace, cat’s eye earrings, and white leather shoes.

Every detail was perfectly matched.

Before, when Lu Yaqi had scrolled past clips of Sang Zhiyi’s mermaid performance online, she could still tell herself that the production team had used filters, and Sang Zhiyi had been underwater where she couldn’t be seen clearly anyway, so the real person wasn’t even one percent as beautiful as she appeared in the videos.

But now, face to face with Sang Zhiyi’s delicate, beautiful features and the gracefully elegant demeanor that had somehow changed so dramatically, Lu Yaqi even felt that the real person was actually more vivid and beautiful than in the videos.

Lu Yaqi: “…”

Lu Yaqi’s expression grew more and more twisted.

Sang Zhiyi and Lu Yaqi were standing in the first-floor lobby of the company, out in the open, and soon another young female artist in an orange dress came over.

Looking at Sang Zhiyi, who was not what she used to be, the woman in orange spoke in the same sickly sarcastic tone.

“Oh my, oh my, our big star Ren thinks that just because she’s finally famous, she can start acting up?”

“Using contract termination to get President Lou’s attention, huh?

Ha, that trick is long out of date!”

Just like Lu Yaqi, the woman in orange simply couldn’t believe that Sang Zhiyi actually wanted to terminate her contract with Lou Yanchen.

More artists who had a grudge against Ren Xiaoqian gathered around, one after another hurling sarcasm and insults at Sang Zhiyi.

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