Chapter 1: Gossip Queen (1)
#Entertainment Headline News: Jiang Nian Starts Acting Whenever Displeased#
Pa!
As soon as Ming Shu opened her eyes, she was greatly frightened by that sound. She unconsciously looked at the place where the sound came from; what she saw was an antiquated scene and two men wearing ancient costumes standing in the midst of it.
Outside of the scene, several machines were filming them.
Acting!
For no reason, this thought entered Ming Shu’s mind.
“Sorry, director. Can I try again?” said a woman in red clothes with a delicately pretty voice. She gazed complacently at the woman she’d slapped just now.
“Again,” the director called patiently.
The staff had no say in these matters. All they could do was shoot again.
Ming Shu looked around to find herself sitting and wearing the same sort of heavy costume.
She was a little confused.
Who am I?
Where am I?
What am I doing?
“Sister Jiang Nian, it seems they’ll take a while. How about going back to rest and I’ll call you when it’s your turn?” All of a sudden, a person approached her and quietly offered this advice.
It was a girl with a pretty face and a sweet voice. She had on a sports suit and held a script, a cup of water, and a cell phone in her hands.
Ming Shu rubbed her forehead and nodded slightly.
The situation is unclear. Stay calm.
Following the girl, Ming Shu arrived at an empty break room. Then the girl soon left and shut the door. Ming Shu studied the room and recalled what had happened before—
While she was being chased by a group of goblins, she was suddenly dragged into a space full of white clouds by a so-called Harmony System. The system shared many inexplicable things and asked her to complete a particular task.
The task was to increase the Hatred Points of fake protagonist from different worlds. When the Hatred Points reached a certain threshold, the protagonists would lose their halos and become normal people with no influence on the world’s development.
[Do you understand what I explained?] the Harmony System asked.
“…” Understand what? Ming Shu thought. Who agreed to work for you? The salary hasn’t been discussed yet.
An illegal workshop!
Ming Shu coughed and asked with a smile on her face, “You mean about helping you defeat those protagonist?”
The enemy hide themselves and I was exposed. Stay calm.
The Harmony System remained silent for a while before replying. [It could be understood that way. But you are an outsider, so you can’t kill villains outright.]
“Those villains are outsiders too, so how could they kill people?” Ming Shu asked. She was certainly not stupid. Otherwise, she would already have been caught by those goblins and become their meal.
[… According to common people, they are beloved by Heaven, so they can kill others. In my opinion, because they stole the power of Heaven when they crossed worlds and were reborn, they’re able to commit such atrocities.]
[You’re going to accumulate the Hatred Points of villains who shouldn’t have been beloved by Heaven, isn’t it exciting?] The system’s “voice” was peaceful, quite unlike ordinary electronic voices. It also contained no human emotions, so one was unable to tell whether it was male or female. It sounded strange.
Ming Shu deliberated for a long time and still felt there must be a trap.
The weather today was bad, so I met sicko only.
“I’m going back.” She’d also stewed a pot of meat for herself.
The system said nothing. Ming Shu tried to walk out, but she returned to the unearthly room full of white clouds no matter how many attempts at escape she made.
“…” My meat! Ming Shu thought.
[Those people out there are always chasing you around the world. Haven’t you said they’re annoying and you want find a quiet place to stay for a while? This is your best option. This two-dimensional space is different from others. Ordinary people cannot enter and you can also experience many different lives.] The system continued trying to persuade her.
Ming Shu furrowed her brow. Those goblins outside want to eat me.
I am not a Calabash Brother.
“Can I do anything I want in that world?”
[Yes. But there are still some rules you cannot break. I’ll remind you when it happens.]
Tap-tap . Someone was knocking on the door to the break room.
“Come in.” Ming Shu put on her coat, the corners of her lips turned up in a slight smile. Her face became more three-dimensional and as bright and beautiful as peach blossoms in March, dazzling and attractive.
Ming Shu’s eyes unfocused again and it seemed she was thinking. After a while, she said, “Okay, I’m bored anyway.”
Above was the conversation between her and the Harmony System discussing why she came here.
In conclusion, for some reason villains who crossed worlds were reborn and tried to stir trouble in fictional worlds where they didn’t belong.
Her task was to go to different worlds to shore up on villains’ Hatred points. When their Hatred Points reached a certain level, the villains who sported the protagonist’s halo would become ordinary people. Therefore, the world’s intended operation would be maintained.
[Guest, do you accept this task?] the system’s voice suddenly sounded again, peaceful and somewhat androgynous.
Ming Shu looked around and realized the voice was in her mind. Maybe she’d gotten an amazing cheat.
She found a place to sit down and said, “Start, start.”
This new exciting life was about to start.
This particular story revolved around showbiz.
The fake female protagonist was called Ning Keqing, reborn. In her previous life, when she entered the showbiz, she was kept by someone who had a powerful background and was extremely generous to her.
But Ning Keqing became infatuated with a young star, Jiang Si, instead of the rich and powerful big-shot; she even offended her Money Boss for Jiang Si. However, Jiang Si fell in love with another in the end.
After her rebirth, Ning Keqing rode on her Money Boss’s coattails to counterattack.
The body Ming Shu occupied now was called Jiang Nian, the showbiz’s famous Gossip Queen.
Yes, Gossip Queen!
Minor gossip about Jiang Nian would circulate every three days while major gossip about Jiang Nian would circulate every five days. Most of the male stars in show biz had been gossiped about alongside her. But that kind of gossip could reach no definite conclusion.
The Host entered showbiz at fifteen and knew where to draw the line, so even though she had been gossiped about with so many male stars, she had never done anything improper. Therefore, others could only make an issue of the rumors surrounding her.
There were so many rumors about her that others were confused about what they should believe. In the end, everything was just fodder for news.
The Host was tactful and slick in every relation, so she had a lot of resources at her disposal.
Ning Keqing had no relations with the Host in her previous life. But after her rebirth, she seemed to hate the showbiz very much. When she discovered the Host had taken a photo with her Money Boss, she thought the Host was going to nab him.
The Host was subject to various forms of bashing from Ning Keqing.
Whatever event the Host attended, Ning Keqing would attend as well. She would dress up beautifully to outdo the other and attract everyone’s attention.
Ning Keqing acted one way in front of her Money Boss and another behind the Money Boss’s back. Therefore, the Host had been bullied many times. Additionally, Ning Keqing could count on journalists and spectators to arrive at exactly the right time.
In the end, she became the victim and the Host became the target of others’ abuse.
In this life, Ning Keqing benefited from the Money Boss’s protection and support. The Host couldn’t defeat her and became a shameless actress referred to as Gossip Queen.
The Host couldn’t receive any scripts or other offers of work. More than that, she was bad-mouthed by countless people and met crazy haters whenever she went out. She gradually became a recluse, suffered from depression, and finally died by suicide.
The showbiz was full of different kinds of attractions and information flowed rapidly, so no one remembered the Host. However, Ning Keqing succeeded easily in her life and became the ultimate winner both in terms of career and romance, which made others envious.
Meanwhile, because of her, the course of the story had changed, deviating from its original plot.
Ming Shu, who had received many memories, kneaded her head to alleviate the headache brought on by information overload. She glanced around the break room quickly.
Another person’s life…
It’s just started.
It really is exciting.
At this time, Ning Keqing had just been reborn. The relationship between her and the Host began here.
The two people outside just now were not Ning Keqing. She joined because of her Money Boss—in other words, through the backdoor. Her acting skills weren’t good enough and only improved well after her rebirth. She might be rehearsing elsewhere at the moment.
According to the plot, she was going to play opposite Ning Keqing in the next scene.
Ming Shu turned around and faced the woman in the mirror. She had an extremely beautiful face. All she had to do was stand there and others would be unable to tear their eyes away. She was beloved by the spotlight, and her smile was absolutely enchanting.
This was Jiang Nian.
Gossip Queen of showbiz and also the goddess of showbiz.
Who would not be enthralled by such a beauty?
Ming Shu touched her own face and admired herself for a while. Then she stood up to remove her heavy costume.
“Sister Jiang Nian, hey… Why did you take off your costume?” the girl who went out just now returned and asked. She was the Host’s assistant, Tian Yuan.
The Host’s agent couldn’t follow her everywhere all the time, so usually Tian Yuan accompanied her.
“I’m hungry.” Ming Shu styled her hair randomly and took the bag on the table, saying, “Let’s go out to eat.”
“Eh…” Tian Yuan felt awkward and said, “Sister Jiang Nian, it’ll be your turn to shoot in a moment. Is it okay to go out now? How about I go buy something for you? What do you want to eat?
“Oh, and Sister Aileen said you can’t eat too much right now. You need to stay fit to prepare for the Ethereal Heights audition next month,” Tian Yuan reminded her quietly.
But Ming Shu didn’t care for her words and swept out of the room. Laughing, she said, “Today’s shoot can’t be completed, so don’t worry.”
“Eh? Why?” Tian Yuan’s train of thought was interrupted. “I was there the whole time and I didn’t hear about that. Sister Jiang Nian, slow down…”