Having thoroughly enjoyed the gossip, the player continued to focus on her career.
【One month after Ode to Great Yan aired, you became widely famous, gained countless fans, and rose to become a new top-tier rising star. Due to your popularity and beauty, you received invitations from major film crews. After careful consideration, you decided to join a production——】
【A. Horror-thriller "Doll Livestream": The protagonist, Little A, is a popular doll-maker streamer who loves collecting famous dolls from around the world. One day, she brings home an exquisite, beautiful smiling doll. She adores this doll so much that she even places it beside her camera to accompany her during livestreams. However, the viewers in the livestream room gradually notice that the smiling doll's expression seems to be turning increasingly terrified, while Little A's smile becomes more and more stiff, more and more frozen…】
「This film has a 60% probability of box office success and a 50% probability of winning awards. Requires the "Acting" attribute to reach "Refined" or above.」
【B. Period wuxia "Calming the Storm": In the final years of the Great Sheng Dynasty, the imperial court is in decline, and the martial world is fraught with turmoil. To compete for the legendary treasure map said to contain clues to the previous dynasty's imperial seal, the major martial arts sects publicly hold a martial arts conference for fair competition, but behind the scenes, they scheme and plot against each other with endless conspiracies. Just as the central plains martial world is fighting to the death over the treasure, Great Sheng is already on the brink of collapse—a hundred thousand foreign troops are pressing at the border. In the face of national duty, the martial heroes ultimately decide to set aside their grudges to support the court and join forces to repel the invaders…】
「This film has a 90% probability of box office success and a 90% probability of winning awards. Requires the "Acting" attribute to reach "Perfect" or above.」
【C. Romantic comedy "Ex-Boyfriend Zoo": The protagonist, Little A, is an ordinary girl with a string of bizarre ex-boyfriends. She always gets dumped for inexplicable reasons in her relationships. One day, she wakes up to discover that all her ex-boyfriends have turned into various small animals—like princes in a fairy tale. If they cannot win her love, they cannot transform back into humans. To regain their right to be human, the ex-boyfriends begin to pull out all the stops…】
「This film has a 70% probability of box office success and a 40% probability of winning awards. Requires the "Acting" attribute to reach "Passing" or above.」
These options had requirements for the player's "Acting" stat—options that didn't meet the threshold couldn't be selected. Fortunately, thanks to the buff from her "Natural-born Actor" trait, her "Acting" had long since reached the "Perfect" rating, so she chose Option B without hesitation.
She chose this mainly because she wanted to experience being a martial arts heroine, of course—absolutely not because she wanted both box office success and awards. The player was definitely not that kind of utilitarian person!
【The male lead of Calming the Storm is Gu Xingye, the current top star of Dongzhou. After marketing accounts released the news, your fans tore into each other over billing order, hurling insults and calling each other's idols illiterate.】
【Because you had previously unlocked the achievement "Birth of an Illiterate," with solid evidence, your fans couldn't refute the other side's claims and could only retreat in frustration. However, because you were extraordinarily beautiful and unmatched by anyone, your fans managed to win back a round in the domain of looks.】
【You have unlocked a new achievement: "Beautiful Illiterate."】
Xia Cheng: Hey! Why is it still "illiterate"?! Can't the player be someone with both beauty and brains?!
「Through the billing war, your status has risen. Fame +50.」
【Some shippers, drawn by your visuals, eagerly latched onto this new pairing and named you the "Xing-Cheng CP." Your fan base, which previously consisted of "looks fans," "solo fans," and "toxic fans," has now gained a new category: "CP fans."】
「The "CP Super Topic" module has been unlocked.」
「The "new leeks" available for harvesting have increased.」
"Awesome! CP fans already!" Xia Cheng was delighted at first, then puzzled. "But the two leads haven't even met yet. Can they really ship this? The fans in the Simulator are pretty realistic."
But then she thought of the crack ships she herself had shipped in the past, and the player instantly felt at peace. If people could ship Teletubbies with the Seven Fairies, then what did it matter if the two leads hadn't met? At least they were the same species—that was already pretty good.
【After careful consideration, you ultimately signed on to Calming the Storm, playing the female lead role of "Xie Kulan," about to begin a three-month life on set.】
「The crew lineup and script content for Calming the Storm have been unlocked and can be viewed in the system.」
The crew lineup for Calming the Storm was formidable. The director was the SSR-Rank Card 【Cao Helu】, and the male lead was the UR 【Gu Xingye】. Unexpectedly, the player discovered that the female supporting role was actually 【Yan Zhu】—the one who had the special tag "True and False Heiress."
"Huh? She's joining this production too?" Xia Cheng was curious. "Does that mean I'll get to watch the drama up close?"
But she quickly cast this trivial matter aside.
[In June 20XX, the production team of "Calming the Storm" officially began filming. As the female lead, you arrive at the set and officially begin shooting your first film.]
[You have unlocked the new title "Movie Star," and your Fame has increased by 10 points.]
"Your status has risen."
Xia Cheng arrived at the "Calming the Storm" filming set and, as usual, passed over the crowd of mediocre NPCs, locking onto that gleaming UR-Rank Card at first glance.
Gu Xingye's character model did justice to his rank. He had soft golden hair, clear light brown eyes, and the corners of his eyes slanted slightly downward, making him look gentle and smiling even without a smile.
A black-striped sports headband pushed all the stray hair from his forehead back, revealing his delicate, bright features. He was incredibly handsome, radiating the spirited vigor of youth.
This UR is so handsome too!
The player was overjoyed.
I'll find a chance to have a little nap with him later.
Out of curiosity, she also checked his "Acting" attribute and discovered it was barely at "Passing" level!
Xia Cheng: Oh… his acting is that bad? That's a bit of a turn-off.
But that was fine—Xia Cheng quickly soothed herself. Considering how handsome his model was, she'd indulge him a little, as long as he didn't get in the way of her path to becoming a Best Actress.
The player's attention seemed to catch the NPC's notice. Gu Xingye, who had been looking down at his game, suddenly raised his head and looked toward her—
Although Yan Yao told him not to act in "Calming the Storm," Gu Xingye had no intention of listening.
Come on, if he backed out just because someone told him to, wouldn't that make him look spineless?
Besides, he didn't believe a word Yan Yao said.
That whole "he'll insist on joining out of stubbornness to prove himself, then gradually fall for the female lead during their scenes together, eventually becoming a pawn in their little game" plot—that kind of thing only happens in cheap melodramatic novels. The probability of it happening in real life was zero.
She wasn't a succubus reincarnated, and the world didn't revolve around her. How could everyone possibly fall for her?
Sure, plenty of people judged by appearances, but Gu Xingye himself had a handsome, refined face—he wouldn't be easily swayed by beauty.
He had prepared himself mentally for this meeting. He'd seen Xia Cheng's face, hailed as "the flower of the world," on social media before. But the moment he saw her in person, he still felt like he'd been deceived.
She was already unrealistically beautiful in videos—how was she even more stunning in real life?
She wore a pale pink strapless dress, her skin fairer than snow, her black hair cascading like a waterfall. Her brows were like distant green mountains, her eyes like autumn waters rippling. Her lips were a soft pink, like spring peach blossoms, carrying a particularly romantic, innocent charm.
For a moment, he was dazed.
[Your entrance stunned Gu Xingye. His Favorability toward you has increased by 10 points.]
[You have obtained the avatar accessory "Spring Peach Blossom." When equipped, the player emits a peach fragrance and gains the "Innocence" attribute in their aura.]
Xia Cheng equipped the avatar accessory, thinking that this UR was actually a sucker for looks—how realistic.
She stepped forward, extended a hand, and greeted the NPC with the standard procedure: "Hello, I'm Xia Cheng."
"Gu Xingye."
His tone was cold.
Gu Xingye only lightly brushed his hand against hers before turning his head away, no longer looking at her, leaving only a refined, aloof profile.
[Gu Xingye's Favorability toward you has increased by 10 points.]
[Gu Xingye is displeased with himself for gaining Favorability toward you. His Favorability toward you has decreased by 10 points.]
The player was stunned, then laughed in exasperation.
He gains Favorability and then immediately subtracts it—is he fighting with himself?
As she walked over, a faint peach fragrance drifted with the wind—sweet and refreshing, not cloying at all.
Gu Xingye had never smelled anything like it before, but he was certain it wasn't a processed perfume scent.
Did she just eat a peach?
He wondered.
Her dress was pink, her skin so fair, and when she spoke to him, her voice was soft and her smile sweet. She looked like a walking peach.
An irritating fragrance.
An irritating smile.
An irritating innocence.
Was she like this with Duan Mingxuan too?
The player didn't know what the NPC was thinking. She could only hear the system's notifications.
[Your seduction left Gu Xingye dazed for a few seconds. His Favorability toward you has increased by 10 points.]
[Your seduction stirred resentment in Gu Xingye. His Favorability toward you has decreased by 1 point.]
Player: What?! I haven't even started seducing him yet—system, don't slander me!