In the private consultation room, the plastic-surgery sisterhood assembled.
They had first bonded while filming a melodramatic ancient costume web drama. Gu Shengsheng played the third female lead; Xi Xue’er and An He were her maid A and maid B.
It had been winter during filming. None of them had assistants or managers with them. They shivered in thin gauze costumes, sharing heat packs and milk tea while daydreaming about the day they would become the female lead.
That was how their friendship formed. Gu Shengsheng had originally thought it was just superficial plastic-sisterhood. Yet when she became the laughingstock of the internet and everyone abandoned her, the only ones who stayed by her side were these two.
When the original owner’s soul reviewed the entire book, she saw their endings:
Xi Xue’er helped her curse out Gu Yunyan → her family company was crushed by Shen Tingchen → bankrupt. She died on the operating table from a plastic surgery accident at only twenty-five — the best years of her life.
An He spoke up for Gu Shengsheng → was blacklisted by Gu Yunyan and Shen Tingchen → no roles. To pay her father’s medical bills, she went to banquets, drank, slept around… still couldn’t save enough money. She watched her father die right in front of her.
Right now, both girls were still young. Their eyes were clear and full of hope. Xi Xue’er was strikingly beautiful; An He was gentle and refined. The traces of surgery on their faces weren’t yet exaggerated — nothing like the later versions, where they looked like aliens abandoned on Earth.
Xi Xue’er raised her voice:
“Shengsheng! Did you hear me? What are you spacing out for?!”
Gu Shengsheng snapped back:
“What did you say?”
Xi Xue’er fumed:
“Do you even know how badly they’re trashing you on Weibo hot search right now?! Open your phone and look!”
Gu Shengsheng pulled out her phone, fumbled a bit (still not used to it), and opened Weibo.
Instantly, endless notifications nearly drowned her.
[When is Sheng-bitch gonna die]
[You dare hit my Ruoyu’s face? Your mom’s dead]
[Slut]
Vicious insults flooded in — as though they had a blood feud with the original owner.
Such heavy verbal karma — aren’t they afraid of backlash?
Gu Shengsheng frowned, closed the notifications, and opened hot search.
“Gu Shengsheng slaps Gu Yunyan on set”
“Gu Shengsheng get out of showbiz”
“Gu Shengsheng plastic face”
They stared back at her.
Gu Shengsheng was an eighteenth-tier small-time actress. During filming, she had turned fake slaps into real ones and hit the second female lead, Gu Yunyan, several times. Somehow the video leaked and was reposted wildly by marketing accounts.
The viral clip was shot on set. Even from a sneaky angle, Gu Shengsheng’s face was clearly visible. She wore a bold, fiery red costume — which only made Gu Yunyan in white look more delicate and innocent. A classic white lotus swaying in the wind.
In the original book, after this incident Gu Shengsheng’s reputation was ruined. Several crews dropped her, she had to pay huge breach-of-contract penalties, and after marrying Shen Wang she gave up completely — vanishing from the entertainment circle.
Meanwhile Gu Yunyan milked the sympathy: posted a tearful Weibo saying she didn’t blame Gu Shengsheng and hoped everyone else wouldn’t either. Netizens were moved by her “beautiful heart and face.” Her little-fairy image solidified, and her career soared smoothly.
Gu Shengsheng had already learned all this from the original owner’s memories. It didn’t stir much emotion in her.
But when she looked up, she saw Xi Xue’er furiously typing on her phone:
“Damn it, that bitch Gu Yunyan stepping on you to climb up — I’m gonna rip her face off!”
“No!”
Gu Shengsheng snatched the phone away. On the screen was a brand-new Weibo post:
Xi Xue’er: Some white lotuses should learn gratitude. Don’t always think you can step on others to climb up with dirty tricks. Climb so high — when your sugar daddy stops holding you, see if you don’t crash and die!
Gu Shengsheng panicked and frantically tapped:
“Delete it! Delete it! Don’t do this!”
Xi Xue’er put her hands on her hips:
“I’m not afraid of her! Worst case I stop acting and go home to inherit the family business!”
Gu Shengsheng finally found the delete button and removed the post — but screenshots had already spread like wildfire. She urged:
“I appreciate the thought, but please, please don’t attack Gu Yunyan online anymore.”
Xi Xue’er was extremely dissatisfied:
“Shengsheng, being a coward isn’t your style! Where’s the usual fire you had when you roasted people?”
This wasn’t about surviving in showbiz!
Gu Shengsheng sighed. Xi Xue’er’s tragedy in the book all stemmed from offending Gu Yunyan. She couldn’t let her repeat the same mistake.
An He spoke up:
“I agree with Shengsheng. Gu Yunyan has some big backer now — her resources are insane. Don’t confront her head-on.”
Gu Shengsheng nodded deeply in agreement.
Then An He shook her phone and continued:
“If you want to curse her out, just use a burner account.”
Gu Shengsheng: “…”
An He spoke seriously:
“Okay, okay, stop messing around. Seriously, Shengsheng — where exactly have you been these past few months?”
“Right!” Xi Xue’er finally remembered the main issue.
“Shengsheng, you even endured Gu Yunyan publicly stepping on you with that announcement. What on earth happened? Don’t tell me I was right — you got trafficked to the mountains and only just got rescued?”
“Pretty much,” Gu Shengsheng said calmly. “I got married.”
“Pfft—” An He spat out her coffee.
Xi Xue’er let out a piercing scream:
“When?! You finally won over Second Young Master Shen and married into a wealthy family?! Haha! That little bitch Gu Yunyan was bragging all over the set that Second Young Master Shen was picking her up after work — her face must be swollen now!”
Gu Shengsheng was sprayed with coffee. She said helplessly:
“An He, put the coffee down. Xue’er, calm down and listen — the person I married wasn’t Shen Tingchen. It was his older brother.”
Xi Xue’er shot to her feet:
“Shen Tingchen’s older brother? Shen Wang?! Oh my god — didn’t he get into a car accident? Isn’t he paralyzed and completely bedridden?!”
Gu Shengsheng wasn’t happy:
“That’s not true at all. He’s fine — he just can’t see, and his legs don’t work.”
Xi Xue’er collapsed dramatically:
“‘Just’?! You call that ‘just’?! Why on earth would you marry him?! He’s disabled! And more importantly — wasn’t your fiancé Shen Tingchen?!”
An He tapped her fingers on the table, analyzing:
“Could it be that his family tricked you into a marriage? Used you for a good-luck ritual?”
Xi Xue’er’s eyes lit up:
“Yes! It must have been Shen Tingchen’s mom! She’s always hated you — she shoved you onto Shen Wang to kill two birds with one stone.”
As expected from actresses — they guessed the plot in one go.
Gu Shengsheng and Shen Tingchen’s grandfathers had been old friends and arranged a childhood betrothal for them. But after Gu Shengsheng’s grandfather passed away, the Gu family business declined sharply and quickly fell far behind the rising Shen family. Her parents didn’t want to mention the engagement anymore — afraid people would say they were trying to cling to a powerful family.
Unfortunately, the original Gu Shengsheng was deeply in love with Shen Tingchen. She chased after him every day and even introduced herself as his fiancée. With her stunning beauty and one-sided devotion, how could the naturally flirtatious Shen Tingchen resist?
Shen Tingchen’s mother, Liu Ping, saw Gu Shengsheng as a thorn in her eye. In her view, Gu Shengsheng was just the daughter of a fallen family — and looked like a vixen. How could she be worthy of her son?
After Shen Wang’s accident, the old master — worried sick — came up with the old-fashioned idea of a good-luck marriage. Liu Ping seized the chance and arranged for Gu Shengsheng to marry Shen Wang instead. She thought it through perfectly: if Gu Shengsheng married someone else, Shen Tingchen might eventually move on. But if Gu Shengsheng became his sister-in-law, any possibility between them would be completely cut off.
As for why the original owner was so easily fooled — don’t ask. Dog-blood stories don’t need logic.
After getting confirmation from Gu Shengsheng, An He sucked in a cold breath:
“The Shen family has gone mad! We should report this! It’s fraud — illegal confinement! Do they really think they can cover the sky with one hand in A City?”
But she saw Gu Shengsheng and Xi Xue’er looking at her with pity:
“They really can.”
The Shen family had been rooted in A City for generations. Their businesses spanned jewelry, real estate, investment, entertainment — whatever made money, they did it. After Shen Wang returned to the country and took over, he multiplied the family assets several times over.
In A City, they truly could cover the sky with one hand.
That was exactly why, when the original Gu Shengsheng discovered she had been deceived, she cried and screamed and tried to run to Shen Tingchen — only to have all her communication devices confiscated by his mother and be locked up.
The original owner had joyfully thought she was marrying the man she loved — only to find out it was all a scam. Trapped in the villa with nothing to do, she naturally lost her mind and took out all her resentment on the seriously ill Shen Wang.
An He suddenly asked:
“Do your parents know about this? Does Shen Tingchen know?”
“My parents still think I’m traveling abroad. As for Shen Tingchen…” Gu Shengsheng gave a cold laugh. “Even if he didn’t know before, he probably knows now.”
Xi Xue’er and An He both fell silent. Any words of comfort felt empty in the face of such a melodramatic reality — something that had actually happened to their friend.
Gu Shengsheng stood up briskly:
“Almost forgot the main thing. Come on — let’s go to the second floor, plastic surgery department.”
At the mention of plastic surgery, Xi Xue’er instantly perked up:
“Yes! Shengsheng, I think if you make your double eyelids a bit deeper, it could change your luck…”
======
Mingzhu Plastic Surgery Club advertised Korean experts and specialized in exaggerated styles: big European double eyelids, high nose bridges, Barbie electric-eye smiles.
Real female celebrities and socialites disdained this place. They preferred high-end, tasteful surgeons who made subtle, gradual improvements — invisible enhancements.
Mingzhu’s main clients were wealthy older women desperate for facelifts and hydrating injections to stay youthful, and eighteenth-tier small artists like Gu Shengsheng — easy to fool into thinking that copying some top actress’s look would make them famous too.
The Orange Lemon Sisters were undoubtedly the latter.
The moment the nurses saw the three of them, their smiles bloomed like they had seen a cash cow:
“Miss Gu, what would you like to do this time…”
Gu Shengsheng went straight to the point:
“I want to remove my implants.”
Xi Xue’er, who had been excitedly discussing smile lips with An He, jumped up in shock:
“Shengsheng, are you crazy?! Even if you… don’t give up on yourself like this!”
An He added quickly:
“Shengsheng, your last nose job cost a fortune — don’t be impulsive!”
Gu Shengsheng turned back, expressionless:
“You two need to remove yours too.”
Xi Xue’er clutched her chin:
“No no no! I’m not removing mine! I got this new chin specially for Director Zhou’s new drama!”
Gu Shengsheng narrowed her eyes:
“Director Zhou hates plastic-surgery faces. Last time someone got kicked off set after only a few days when they found out she’d had double-eyelid surgery. You didn’t know?”
Xi Xue’er: “…”
Gu Shengsheng looked at An He. An He shook her head like a rattle:
“Shengsheng, I’m joining a crew next week. I can’t have work done on my face right now.”
Gu Shengsheng said:
“That drama isn’t happening — they parachuted in a resource girl. Don’t wait.”
An He: “…”
They had already reached the door of the consultation room. Gu Shengsheng whispered like a little devil:
“You’re already here. Might as well remove the fillers before you leave.”