Jiang Ya is currently the hottest star in Huaxia, having just captured both the Best Actress and Best Television Actress crowns to achieve a grand slam, her momentum peerless and unmatched.
Yet even though she has already climbed to the peak, there remains one fiercely strong rival, Song Wanyi, closely trailing right behind her.
Song Wanyi has just harvested achievements in other major awards, forming a state of rivaling supremacy and evenly matched opposition with her.
Speaking of this rival, she has practically followed like a shadow ever since Jiang Ya’s debut. No matter what Jiang Ya does, the other party never falls behind and steps closely right after, living up to the appearance of a professional paparazzi tail that leaves people tongue-tied and astounded.
Jiang Ya has made up her mind; she decides to participate in a romance reality show.
She simply does not believe that Song Wanyi will follow her there as well.
When the manager receives this news, she is particularly surprised.
For no other reason.
Jiang Ya is neither an idol nor a traffic star, and she fundamentally does not need to constantly maintain a single-person persona. Yet throughout her more than ten years in the entertainment industry, Jiang Ya has continuously conveyed to the outside world the attitude of do not love me; loving me yields no results.
Turning her thoughts around, the manager reflects that Jiang Ya is thirty years old, an age when ordinary people would also be settling down to build a family.
Even Jiang Ya’s fans hope that their older sister can form a family.
However, most of the time, Jiang Ya is accustomed to doing things her own way and would never listen to her fans’ suggestions.
Fine, the manager replies to the person on the other end of the phone. Then I will take on this variety show first.
Wait.
Jiang Ya interrupts her once again.
Help me check who the participants of the variety show are first, so I can make some preparations.
The last time she participated in a survival reality show, she accepted it without conducting any prior investigation.
As a result, midway through the filming, her rival suddenly joined as a guest performer, angering her so much that she could not sleep well for those few days.
With a fake smile plastered across her face and her mind completely preoccupied with how exorbitantly expensive the massive breach-of-contract penalty would be, she honestly and peacefully finished filming the show without losing her temper at all.
Jiang Ya is firmly determined not to repeat the same mistake; before broadcasting begins, she must check everything thoroughly to avoid running into her again.
The manager, however, does not think this way. Song Wanyi hasn’t started a family all these years either; presumably, she isn’t interested in this matter either. Even if she targets you, she wouldn’t go so far as to participate in a romance reality show, would she?
Jiang Ya raises an eyebrow. What if she does? After all, that person is like a ghost; I can run into her even when I go on vacation to some place to travel! In a foreign land, I thought I had encountered a ghost!
O-Okay. Fine, let’s leave it at that for now. Rest well; I have other things to attend to. The manager quickly agreed, afraid that if the phone call continued any longer, Jiang Ya would drag her into complaining about Song Wanyi for three days and three nights.
There was a previous cautionary example of that, after all.
Jiang Ya still wants to say something else, but the woman on the other end of the phone hangs up as if avoiding a plague god.
She curls her lips, logs a black mark against the manager in her heart, and decides not to call her the next time they eat hot pot.
Or she will secretly add a heavy dose of cilantro to her bowl—this bad woman who refuses to eat cilantro!
Jiang Ya puts down her phone and lets her gaze drift through the floor-to-ceiling window to appreciate the seaside scenery.
The boundless blue and the verdant green of the seaside suddenly rush into her field of vision.
Fortunately, I still have scenery to look at.
Jiang Ya thinks to herself with self-satisfied pleasure, temporarily forgiving the manager.
Jiang Ya sits on a chair to rest for a short while. When the alarm she set beforehand for mealtime rings, she leisurely stands up and walks toward the outside of the room.
She is currently staying alone abroad, without bringing an assistant or hiring a housekeeper, so for meals she either cooks by herself or goes out to eat.
However, she is not accustomed to foreign food, and after much thought, she can only visit the supermarket to buy ingredients and cook for herself.
The nearest supermarket is a bit far away, so Jiang Ya drives there.
Upon returning, Jiang Ya discovers a little girl standing outside her private villa.
The little girl has her back turned to her, standing approximately up to her shoulder in height. Judging from her jet-black hair color, the probability of her being of Asian descent is even higher.
Jiang Ya has not chosen to break into the European and American markets, so very few people across these continents know that she is an actress and celebrity.
However, it is also possible that this is some obsessive sasaeng fan who has tracked her all the way here.
Hello. Because she does not yet know the identity of the other party, Jiang Ya’s tone is still relatively polite. Who are you looking for, may I ask?
Hearing her voice, the little girl turns around.
Jiang Ya’s casual gaze stops moving the moment it shifts onto the little girl’s face.
She experiences a system crash for three full seconds, but being a rational adult after all, she quickly pulls herself together and asks, You…
This child is carved out of the same mold as Song Wanyi!
Jiang Ya turns her head to look around her surroundings.
It is empty, with no one in sight, and certainly no hiding spots for paparazzi.
Relaxing herself, she first takes the girl’s hand and leads her inside the villa.
After placing the items she was carrying in order, Jiang Ya stares sternly at the little girl, examining her face, and finally cannot help but mutter to herself, Did Song Wanyi give birth to a child behind the back of the entire entertainment industry? If this news gets out, it’s going to be massive!
Jiang Ya has already thought up the trending search keywords for her rival.
Phrases like Song Wanyi’s child is big enough to go buy soy sauce or Song Wanyi’s enigmatic other half…
The more Jiang Ya thinks about it, the more she feels this is explosive news. She then looks at the little girl quietly drinking her beverage, feeling that she could completely utilize this point to blackmail Song Wanyi.
Before that, however, Jiang Ya has another doubt: How did you know I live here?
Even her manager does not know that.
Could it be that Song Wanyi is also somewhere nearby?!
The girl moistens her throat and replies, It was you, Mommy, who brought me here before; how could even you forget?
Jiang Ya temporarily ignores that word also and seizes upon the more crucial word: Who is your mommy?!
She is a big, formidable Alpha who has not married to this day and has not even touched the hand of an Omega; how could she possibly give birth to a child this large!
Startled by her roar, the little girl’s pair of wide, charming eyes instantly turned red.
Jiang Ya has no wish to frighten this little girl either; she presses her temples, restrains her emotions, and says, I’m sorry, Auntie was a bit too fierce. But you really recognized the wrong person; I am not your mommy.
But…
The little girl opens her mouth to speak, but Jiang Ya interrupts her. You rest here for a bit first; I need to calm down properly.
Jiang Ya busies herself settling the little girl down, walks a distance away, and takes out her phone.
She is hesitating over who to tell about this matter.
As for the manager, given the water-and-fire irreconcilable stance between her and Song Wanyi, she would probably be more than happy to leak the explosive news of Song Wanyi having a child.
Looking at the little girl’s appearance, she does not seem to have reached adulthood yet, and Jiang Ya feels uneasy leaving her alone abroad.
She might as well just contact Song Wanyi directly.
The problem is that she does not have Song Wanyi’s contact information.
Jiang Ya feels rather conflicted.
She certainly cannot swallow her pride and ask someone else for it.
Even though she and Song Wanyi have engaged in PK for over ten years, their disputes are hardly worth dragging an innocent little girl into.
Touching her face, Jiang Ya thinks to herself that she truly is a wonderful person, able to care about others even at a time like this.
A few minutes later.
Trading a personal favor, Jiang Ya manages to acquire Song Wanyi’s WeChat account from a mischievous friend.
Staring at her rival’s WeChat namecard displayed on the screen, Jiang Ya hesitates once more.
What phrasing should she use to make the other party agree to add her WeChat?
The next second, Jiang Ya slaps her own head and calls herself stupid.
The child’s own birth mother—naturally, she cannot possibly not care about her daughter.
Having figured it out, Jiang Ya presses the Request to Add Friend button, biting her fingernails as she waits for the other party to accept the friend request.
After waiting for a moment, Jiang Ya remembers that she forgot to write a note, meaning Song Wanyi might not know who she is.
Just as she prepares to try again, the namecard refreshes automatically, shifting the interface straight into the chat window and popping up a message: Friend request accepted successfully; you may now start communicating.
Accepted this quickly?
So fast it looks as though the other party was simply waiting for her to add them.
Jiang Ya grows nervous, unsure how to approach the conversation.
Having known Song Wanyi for so many years, all she knows how to do is exchange sharp retorts with her.
Ten minutes pass, and Jiang Ya is still hesitating.
Ding.
A message notification chimes on her phone.
Seeing that it is sent by her rival, Jiang Ya is forced to raise her guard.
Who are you? Song Wanyi asks.
No, you didn’t even know who I was, yet you accepted it anyway?
Jiang Ya is dumbfounded.
Whenever anyone adds her, she has to investigate for a few hours before accepting.
Could the child’s other parent have been acquired the same way?
Without speaking, Jiang Ya sends over the photo of the little girl that she had taken in advance.
What do you mean?
The other party replies in seconds once again.
So you kidnapped her?
You’re the one who kidnapped her!
Jiang Ya fires back instinctively.
Do you want your daughter or not?
Isn’t she yours?
The other side replies instantly.
Ass! How could she possibly be mine!
Jiang Ya gets ready to send the line: She looks identical to you; if she isn’t yours, whose is she?
A freshly edited image arrives from the other end of the phone.
Red ink traces several circles across the photo, drawing prominent emphasis to the little girl’s facial features.
Strangely enough, when looking at the little girl with the naked eye, she appears to be the spitting image of Song Wanyi, but looking at the photo instead, she actually bears a closer resemblance to Jiang Ya.
Especially in the areas circled by Song Wanyi.
Jiang Ya refuses to believe it at all. She certainly didn’t look closely when taking the photo, but perhaps Song Wanyi photoshopped it.
For the time being, Jiang Ya does not reply to this message, her slippers slapping against the floor with grand and imposing momentum.
She walks briskly over to the little girl. Little one, Auntie is going to disturb you for a moment, okay? I just need to take a few photos.
The little girl nods and poses quite cooperatively for the pictures.
After taking them, Jiang Ya checks her photo album.
A few seconds later, Jiang Ya collapses in defeat onto the sofa.
The little girl approaches with a furrowed brow. Mommy, are you feeling unwell?
Unwell? Jiang Ya gives a bitter laugh. I yield completely!
Which kind soul gave birth to a child who looks like one person to the naked eye, yet looks like another person entirely in photographs?
She is simply prime material to be a celebrity!
Not afraid of paparazzi tracking her in the slightest.
With no other choice, Jiang Ya reopens her phone and taps into her manager’s WeChat chat: It’s over!
This child has to be hidden away!
Should anyone manage to snap a picture of her, she wouldn’t be able to wash away the suspicion even if she jumped into the Yellow River. Everyone would assume the child belongs to her and someone else.
Even though she is over thirty years old, she is still an unmarried maiden who hasn’t even held someone’s little hand!
She receives no response from her manager, but Song Wanyi sends a message instead: What should we do?
What should we do?!
You still have the nerve to ask me what we should do!
Before Jiang Ya can figure out how to retort, Song Wanyi sends a new message: I did a paternity test with her; she is my child.
Jiang Ya is shocked.
You’re an Omega who gave birth yourself, and you have no impression of it? You even needed a paternity test?
At the same time, another possibility crosses Jiang Ya’s mind.
Could it be that Song Wanyi has harbored a secret crush on her all this time, and because she could never obtain her love, she went and found someone who looks strikingly like her as a substitute, and then gave birth to a child this big?
The other party sends another message: Put away your overactive imagination. This is the first time I’m seeing this little girl, too.
Jiang Ya purses her lips. How is she like a tapeworm inside her stomach, not even allowing her to imagine?
If the child wasn’t borne by Song Wanyi and wasn’t borne by her, did she just materialize out of thin air?
Another message arrives on her phone, still from her rival: This matter is very complicated; let’s talk about it in detail.
Isn’t it already detailed enough right now? They are already chatting on WeChat.
Jiang Ya feels puzzled.
Right at that moment, however, the doorbell rings.