“Director Cheng’s call…” The manager’s cell phone started ringing abruptly. He glanced down at the screen before back up at Mu Xing. “What should I do now?”

“What you should do now? Answer the phone of course!” Mu Xing’s gaze was mocking. “Tell him that my schedule’s way too packed.”

“But, Li Yu’s also in the cast.” The manager found it odd that Mu Xing was the only one who knew about this. Considering how important Li Yu was, he should have been aware about this from the very start. “I didn’t receive news of him leaving the cast.”

“They’re fools, I ain’t one,” replied Mu Xing in a whisper. “Not a lot of people know about this. I was informed about this by an important person that I met not long ago. Anyhow, just wait around and you’ll see that they won’t even make it past their project’s starting ceremony.”

The manager went silent upon hearing that. What Mu Xing said was convincing enough that he took it as the truth.

He answered the phone call and had a polite exchange with Cheng Zhou. In any case, muddy water absolutely mustn’t be allowed to mix with soup!

It didn’t matter if they had to pay a hefty fine.

Cheng Zhou’s old pal looked at him with a sympathetic expression the moment he hung up the call. “What are you gonna do? Now that you’ve lost your second male lead.”

“Old Liu, would you like to join this project? You’ve read the script and you’ve even praised it. Come join me, there’s a vacant spot for an assistant director,” asked Cheng Zhou to his friend.

Old Liu gritted his teeth. Indeed, he had read the script and he felt bad thinking about the project’s impending doom. “You know what? To hell with it! I’m in!” He was really looking forward to working on this project. If they were joining forces, no way their adversary could topple them both, right?

After working in the entertainment industry for so long, they had built up a robust network of connections.

“I knew you would say yes!” exclaimed Cheng Zhou with a beaming smile.

Old Liu looked painfully at Cheng Zhou. How on earth was Old Cheng able to stay so calm? The fire was already scorching his brows and yet he didn’t seem to mind it one bit. ‘Perhaps I have willingly jumped into a trap this time’, he thought to himself.

“Old Cheng, remember to save some space for me when we’re out begging on the streets.”

“Ain’t no way that’s happening!” said Cheng Zhou as he patted Old Liu’s shoulder. “Let’s go. I’ll show you our film crew. Our budget’s astronomical so you’ll definitely love it!”

Old Liu left with Cheng Zhou listlessly. His brain did not register what Cheng Zhou was saying. All he could think about was the issue involving Peng Zixian.

Cheng Zhou drove all the way to where they were going to film their movie. They had just started renting the place this morning. Because the studio was the only one in the Imperial Capital that had intricately-made artificial structures, the rent for this place was through the roof. Usually, this place was used for huge blockbuster projects only.

Old Liu was stunned after stepping out of the car. “You robbed the bank or something?”

“You’re the only one who could do that!” Cheng Zhou glared at him briefly before a smug look resurfaced on his face. “Our partners have already promised us limitless funding. We can use as much money as we want. You know what sorta person I am. If I have the money, I’ll use it to get the very best results!”

“Then what about profits?” Old Liu felt as if he had arrived at the wrong place. Was this a scam?

“No, I’m not doing this for money.” Yu Ning popped into Cheng Zhou’s mind. “I’m doing this to kiss someone’s ass.”

“You’re spending this much just to kiss an ass?” Old Liu looked at all the top-of-the-line equipment being operated by the film crew. He was shocked beyond words. It felt like he was looking at people who had just turned into overnight millionaires after selling their real estate. “How dare you use such trickery!”

“You think I’m that type of person?” Cheng Zhou paused for a moment to think about it. He really was the sort of person Old Liu was talking about. Still, he continued speaking. “Well that person fits what I have in mind like a hand in glove. You’ll get it when you see her. I can guarantee you that it’ll be worth it, kissing her ass. I’m telling ya, she’s perfect in both looks as well as acting skills.”

Cheng Zhou then went silent when Gu Xiqiao popped into his mind.

Most of the crew were already present by now. Apart from the staff members, even the male and female leads had all arrived on set.

A beautiful girl reading her script intently caught Old Liu’s eyes immediately. From time to time, she would look up and speak to the young man beside her. Judging from her demeanor, she seemed like an easygoing person. On the other hand, Li Yu, the male lead, was waving his glowing sword around. Apart from them, there were a couple of other celebrities here too. Though, they weren’t as popular as the aforementioned ones. They were all standing around speaking. Some would even crack jokes and laugh; none of them seemed particularly tense.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s anyone else but why is Li Yu acting like this too? Is he unaware of you disagreement with Peng Zixian?” Old Liu could no longer suppress his curiosity.

Cheng Zhou responded with a laugh. “You’ve been working in this field for so long now, don’t tell me you still think Li Yu’s a simpleton?”

Old Liu started thinking about his exchanges with Li Yu. He had a likeable personality but not much was known about his personal background. And so, Old Liu shook his head.

“…”

‘Then I guess there isn’t much I can say, is there?’ thought Cheng Zhou to himself.

They were supposed to hold an opening ceremony today to mark the start of their project. However, because of the second male lead’s unexpected withdrawal, the ceremony was held back by half an hour. Cheng Zhou made a call and assured everyone that he would handle this issue himself; the ceremony will still be held.

Old Liu was surprised to discover how orderly everyone was acting. Still, he couldn’t help but steal glances at the actress whom his pal said was the one they were sucking up to. She looked like a seasoned actress and her temperament seemed well too. However, he had yet to see her act. For Cheng Zhou to praise her skills, she must’ve been a real convincing actress.

Noticing that someone was looking at her, Ning Qing put down her script and rose from her seat immediately. “Director Liu!”

“Yeah, I presume you’re Ning Qing?” Without making the entire situation awkward and tense, Old Liu started speaking immediately. “That male lead has left it seems.”

“That’s right, Director Cheng’s informed me about this a while ago,” replied Ning Qing as she nodded. Then, she stepped forward and whispered into Old Liu’s ear: “He said that we were destined to fail after angering Peng Zixian. Mu Xing left the cast right shortly after the incident.”

“…”

‘Why are you so calm even after knowing this?’ Old Liu wondered to himself.

As if she could read his mind, Ning Qing answered his question before Old Liu could even open his mouth. “Of course, I have faith in our boss.”

Just who on earth has given you such a large pair of bollocks? Old Liu stopped himself in the nick of time from asking her this question. As Li Yu entered his view, the assistant director’s eyes remained fixated on the man the entire time. Chuckling, Li Yu reminded Old Liu, “Director Liu, the ceremony’s starting now. What are you waiting for? Director Cheng’s gonna start cursing us out any moment now.”

Since they were already well-acquainted with each other, the both of them conversed as they walked over to the area where the opening ceremony was being held.

In the end, Li Yu pointed at the studio. “I expected your doubts to clear up after coming here.”

Here? Old Liu scanned his surroundings. Apart from a more massive expenditure, nothing in particular was out of the ordinary. Suddenly, he froze in his tracks. A ray of light shone through his mind. That must be it! This studio! It probably belonged to the state!

***

The Peng family. A young man answered a call. “Zijie, it’s not that I don’t want to help you but the person we’re up against has a pretty solid background himself. Do you know who’s backing them up?”

Peng Zijie flicked the ash hanging off the end of his cigarette. “Who? Tell me.”

“Nine Heavens!” The voice on the other end of the line suddenly sounded more grave. “It’s that Nine Heavens that ended the entire Bai family! You’re involved with the military, aren’t you? You might not know about this but you have to trust me. I really don’t have any way to do this.”

“The Bai family?” Peng Zijie raised the pitch of his voice. “That Bai family? The business one?”

The person on the other end of the line understood what Peng Zijie was trying to imply. “I know that you’re gonna tell me, Nine Heavens is nothing but a business. But I’ve received news that Nine Heavens once signed a contract with the state. It’s first-level confidential stuff. Even with my level of security clearance, I am forbidden from seeing the contents of that contract. Though, I think you should be able to.”

“A secret contract with the state? What are they doing?” Peng Zijie slammed his fist on the tabletop. What he thought was just your run-of-the-mill filming crew had now evolved into something much more interesting.

“I don’t know about the specifics of their contract but you should know about the top-secret deal back in N City.” The sound of documents being flipped open came from the earpiece. “I’ve done my research on Nine Heavens. Seems like they started up in N City. Also, despite having a level-4 security clearance, I couldn’t get anything about the person behind this company.

Level 4 security clearance was pretty high; national leaders were usually found at this level. For him to not be able to access the confidential files, it must mean that the person they were up against was higher than a national leader.

“I understand.”

Peng Zijie hung up the call after that.

He brushed his fingers over his crew cut hair. Then, he dialled for another person on his phone. His call was accepted after just two rings. “Zixian.”

“Brother?” Peng Zixian sounded surprised. “Why are you calling me today?” Peng Zijie normally turned his phone off when going out on missions.

“I’ve completed the task ahead of schedule. The organization’s given me a week of vacation. How have you been recently?” Peng Zijie put out his cigarette and a smile gradually appeared across his face.

“I’m fine, I guess. I’ve just joined the cast of a web drama yesterday.”

“If you need anything, you can just tell me. That bunch at home will never support your decision to go into showbiz. Just remember, big brother is on your side no matter what. I’m just waiting to see you on the TV screen some day.”

“You can get on the screen more easily than me!”

The two continued speaking for a while before Peng Zijie cut off his cell connection abruptly. He then picked up a dedicated phone and tapped out an incredibly strange string of numbers on the keypad. His call was answered the moment it started to ring. “Hello, this is operator 001.”

“I am Peng Zijie and I possess a level-7 security clearance. I would like to know every little detail about the person behind Nine Heavens.”

This was a state-run security bureau. Peng Zijie had no idea who was in this bureau but what he did know, was that the information they offered was incredibly detailed. Those secrets could be either from the regular world or the criminal underworld. They did their job so well that Peng Zijie would often wonder to himself if they possessed some sort of psychokinetic energy to be able to know so much and at such levels of detail.

The voice went silent for thirty seconds before a reply was heard. “I’m sorry Mr. Peng but this is above your level of security clearance.”

Above? Peng Zijie was momentarily stunned. He bit his lip and the look in his eyes grew darker. “I would like to know about the first-level secret contract between Nine Heavens and the state.”

“A level 5 security clearance is required to do so. Mr. Peng, the contents of this contract will immediately be sent to your special account. Do remember to check it after this.”

Peng Zijie hung up the call. There was a notification from his account. An evil grin broke across his face after opening the file on his phone. Something interesting would again, unfold in the Imperial Capital.

***

Beauty Qiao, someone is trying to retrieve information about you. Gu Xiqiao had just ended her phone call with Jiang Shuxuan when the system suddenly alerted her.

“Me?” She narrowed her eyes. “Who?”

‘To do such a thing, he certainly has balls.’

Please wait.

A clear board then materialized in front of Gu Xiqiao’s eyes. Everything about Peng Zijie was instantly displayed on the board.

Look at this! With little system around, life was such a breeze!

“I’ll leave him be for now. I won’t move if he doesn’t.” Gu Xiqiao spared it a glance but lost all interest upon discovering that he was not someone from the ancient martial arts world.

Peng Zijie was completely oblivious to the fact that the person he so desperately was trying to uncover already possessed everything there was to know about himself. Worse still, his enemy cared so little about him that she went on with her life, as if nothing had happened. He would probably break down in tears if he learned about this.

***

In the afternoon, Cheng Zhou created a new post on Weibo.

(Verified) ChengZhou: “The opening ceremony of the film project, ‘River’s Lake’ has ended successfully. Thank you all for being here with me today! JPEG”

So they’ve succeeded? This came as a surprise to everyone.

Typically, his friends would share such a post to congratulate him but now, apart from the crew members, no one in the entertainment industry dared to even like the post, what more to say of sharing it.

Mu Xing was stunned when he was scrolling through Weibo. He then looked up at his manager.

“See this? They’re laughing now. They’ll be crying in the afternoon.”

The manager nodded his head, thinking what Mu Xing said was true.

‘River’s Lake’, which he thought would not even last through their opening ceremony had not only concluded said ceremony happily, they had even become a hot topic on the internet. Just like the last time, a lesser-known celebrity named Ning Qing had become famous in a matter of hours.

Her exquisitely-taken photos, and more importantly, her mesmerizing face had increased her million-strong fanbase fivefold in the blink of an eye.

Mu Xing reminded himself to stop scrolling through Weibo. Still, the urge to do the opposite was way too strong. Like a self-harm addict, he continued scrolling through the site. It wasn’t a surprise for Li Yu’s fanbase to grow after every film but this was Ning Qing for God’s sake!

She was just a nobody with only a million followers. How on earth was she able to achieve such a feat? He also had roughly the same amount of fans as she did currently.

Envy! Mu Xing was envious! Still, he suppressed his emotions. He kept telling himself that they were heading towards a dead end. The happier they were, the worse they would feel after the fall.

Unsurprisingly, this calmed himself down pretty quickly.

Come afternoon, not only was there zero signs of ‘River’s Lake’ being sabotaged, they had even managed to finish filming the first scene. More and more fans started rallying together after every post the crew members made.

This was a standalone film with no preceding materials, meaning it had no original fanbase to begin with. And yet, the project had become so insanely popular.

Cheng Zhou was the only one who was worthy of being called Cheng Zhou. No matter what sort of film he was directing, it would all end up being major hits.

By now, Mu Xing had started panicking. Still, Peng Zixian was still fresh on his mind. And so, he said, “At most, they’ll last a couple of days. Tomorrow! That’s when they’ll fall!”

The manager nodded while reading through the messages being shared around Weibo.

“I think so too.”

On the second day, not only was ‘River’s Lake’ still alive and kicking, they even uploaded a small clip on the internet.

This time, Mu Xing had a gut feeling that something was off. He shattered the mug he was holding after reading Peng Zixian’s post on Weibo.

(Verified) PengZixian: “Congrats Director Cheng!”

/

/@ChengZhou: “The opening ceremony of the film project, ‘River’s Lake’ has ended successfully. Thank you all for being here with me today! JPEG”

It was as if Peng Zixian had flipped a lever right after posting her congratulations on Weibo. Everyone who was related to Cheng Zhou started sharing that post. Do you know what that means?

It means that the popularity of the upcoming film, ‘River’s Lake’ was unrivaled!

Mu Xing cursed under his breath after seeing how well the project was coming along. He then raised his voice at the manager. “Why are you still standing there? Hurry up and give Director Cheng a call! Tell him that our schedule’s just freed up.”

If only he knew this would happen, he would never have opted out of the cast! Mu Xing stared at Ning Qing’s follower count rise constantly. Even the extras were getting increasingly popular, what more to say of the female lead? Regret filled his heart in an instant. Oh how he wished to stop himself from doing what he did yesterday!

The manager hurriedly whipped out his cell phone and gave Cheng Zhou a call.

Cheng Zhou was in front of the camera when his phone started ringing. He wanted to reject the call but because Mu Xing was a fairly popular actor, he reluctantly answered the call with a nasty expression. “So, I assume you’re gonna tell me that Mu Xing’s schedule has just been freed up?”

“That’s right Director Cheng. Seems like we can work together again,” said the manager with a bright smile on his face.

“I’m sorry but someone has already been picked as the second male lead. Do you know Yi Junyu? He’s a really popular young man.” Cheng Zhou spoke with a lazy tone as he sunk into his chair. “He called me up yesterday. Said he heard that there was a vacancy for the role of second male lead. He came running over the moment I said yes.”

Their conversation became so awkward that the manager’s face turned purple from embarrassment.

Bang!”

With a kick, Mu Xing flipped over the table in front of him. “What the f*ck!”

“Mu Xing! Can you be more rational about this!” The manager’s face was dead serious. “Was the thing you said about Peng Zixian true?”

“That person’s a politician1! What do you think?” Mu Xing found the current situation hard to believe. Why did Cheng Zhou get away scot-free?

The manager thought about it for a while before his expression suddenly turned darker. “I think we’re left with only one explanation for this. The person backing Cheng Zhou must be someone who was even more terrifying than Peng Zixian. I don’t think it’s wise for you to hang around in front of Director Cheng for now. He might just end your career if you piss him off.”

Mu Xing did think about this. However, realization had only set in after being reminded by his manager. Fear followed shortly after. Looking up, he asked, “What should I do now?”

“What should you do? Get your shi*t together and be a man.”

The manager let out a long sigh.

If he didn’t quit the cast yesterday, his followers should probably be in the tens of millions by now. He had screwed up royally now; he had offended Cheng Zhou. Countless people were willing to kiss Cheng Zhou’s ass without questions asked and yet here he was. Mu Xing could almost feel his heart bleed as it throbbed in pain.

He felt nothing but regret every time he was reminded of this.

However, there was no such thing as a magical pill to quell this feeling.

As Cheng Zhou hung up the call, Old Liu shot him a glance in contempt. “Aren’t you the one who called up Yi Junyu?”

Not only did Cheng Zhou claim that Yi Junyu called him, he even said that the actor came running to him after hearing about the vacancy. ‘This guy’s going down to hell for sure’, thought Old Liu.

“Well, you only need to know that a phone was used. Doesn’t matter who called who, does it?” Cheng Zhou spoke shamelessly. “Look up at the camera.”

This was a scene involving Li Yu and Ning Qing.

Old Liu thought to himself for a while before sighing. “This Ning Qing girl, she’s a lucky one isn’t she?”

Indeed, she was a lucky one. Her film had a good script, she had good looks, a good opportunity, and she even managed to become a hot topic. There was nothing that she lacked at the moment. Only a handful in the showbiz was as lucky as her. This film alone will probably be more than enough to propel her into becoming an A-list celebrity.

“Yeah, she has to thank her lucky stars.” Cheng Zhou couldn’t help but sigh too. Even Su Wu’s luck was comparable to Ning Qing right now.

There were lots of talents in this world but only a handful could ever make it out on top. For some inexplicable reason, these two were picked by Gu Xiqiao herself. After this film gets released, not only would Ning Qing be in demand, but Su Wu too, would undoubtedly become a famed screenwriter.

In front of the camera lens, Ning Qing was looking up at Li Yu. A tear rolled down her cheek and without saying a single word, she conveyed her message to her partner through her bright eyes. Even through the lens, Cheng Zhou was able to feel the immense feeling of sorrow emanating off of her.

“This Ning Qing is crazy talented! I’m surprised how she’s holding up while working with Li Yu!” Old Liu sounded excited. “I say, you’ve got an eye for great actors don’t you, Old Cheng?!”

Li Yu, as an actor, was unrivalled in showbiz. Do you know why his fans are so loyal? Well, it’s because his acting skills have long transcended into a whole other realm! Even the movie queen reported that she felt pressured while working with him on set. Who could make themselves hate a man who not only had good looks, but also an equally great personality?

Even foreign blockbuster movies were looking to work with him.

Cheng Zhou noted that Ning Qing’s acting skills were not too far behind Li Yu’s either but then someone else popped into his mind. Immediately, he started gritting his teeth.

“Just wait till you see the person who tangos with Li Yu in front of the camera every day. You’d start to think otherwise!” said Cheng Zhou angrily.

“Tangos with him every day?” Old Liu was astonished. “Little Song’s improved that much?”

“What Little Song, no! I’m talking about…” Suddenly, a familiar silhouette appeared in the corner of Cheng Zhou’s eyes. He grunted grumpily. “Look! She’s here!”

Old Liu peered in the direction Cheng Zhou was pointing towards. In an instant, he was stunned.

To be honest, he was already plenty impressed when he first laid his eyes on Ning Qing. She didn’t become so popular overnight for no reason; her beauty was distinct from every other actress in the entertainment industry. Even if we were speaking in terms of international films, Ning Qing remained a rare sight to behold. He found it hard to believe that she had been stagnating in her career for the past three years.

And yet, the young girl standing next to the door made him change his worldview. Oh, so there were still girls out there that were on par with Ning Qing? No, she looked way more delicate than her.

To put it simply, it was like comparing apples to oranges. They were both different types of girls.

She was looking down at the white dog in her arms as she walked forwards slowly. It was until she arrived at the filming set when she slowly raised her head. The 11 am November sunlight was relatively bright and yet she seemed colorless underneath it. Her hair was jet black and her clothes were of plain colors. The sun had dyed her skin a pale shade of golden yellow. Her eyes seemed like it was straight out of a painting and her beauty was hard to describe using words.

1 (cultural translation) politicians in China are highly regarded whereas politicians in the West are usually seen as crooks, liars and thieves.