[On the night "Calming the Waves" broke box office records, you received countless congratulatory messages. Even cats and dogs you didn't know at all expressed their joy to you.]
[The seniors who had previously looked down on you with their seniority began proactively sending you messages to cozy up to you, eagerly probing whether you had any interest in collaborating on their next films.]
[The entire crew of "Calming the Waves" rose in status collectively because of you. The moment any hint of the director and screenwriter's next project leaked out, fans of other celebrities in the entertainment industry would desperately fawn over it, repeatedly pushing it onto the hot search. But Director Cao directly stated that you would be the only first choice for the next collaboration—as long as you wanted to act, no one else would have any chance.]
[When this news came out, the female idol fans were deeply disappointed, but the male idol fans didn't give up. They started creating hashtags and hyping up CP chemistry with you, hoping their oppas could land the role of your second-billed male lead. But in the end, they were all slaughtered by the furious Orange Fans and sent running for their lives.]
[Because your real achievements were too impressive, your fans' combat power skyrocketed. They've all transformed into inflated little crabs, starting to walk sideways, vertically, flying, walking backward, and hopping around the entertainment industry.]
[You have unlocked a new achievement: "The Idol's Beauty, The Orange Fans' Glory." Your fans' combat power increased by 10,000 points, and your Mood Value increased by 10,000 points.]
Seeing the fans happy made the player happy too.
She felt that she had done a pretty good job as the simulated superstar this playthrough—beautiful, professionally skilled, giving fans full emotional value, and even finding her own resources and courting backers. She never abused her fans' devotion or forced them to spend money. She was a quality idol who gave her fans zero worries.
Hmph, let her casually shade those trashy celebrities who collapsed from scandals while being spoiled by their fans.
[A globally explosive film with the highest box office in film history brought you a meteoric rise in status. Collaboration invitations from famous directors worldwide flew to you like snowflakes.]
[Hollywood's renowned director Rafael Marques sends you a collaboration invitation. Do you accept?]
"Rafael Marques: 'My dear muse, your beauty captivates all beings, and your acting is unparalleled in this world. Unfortunately, the directors you've encountered before were all mediocrities, insufficient to fully capture your beauty. Come under my lens, and I will preserve your most beautiful appearance in this lifetime. I swear, the entire world will go wild because of you.'"
[Eastern Continent's renowned director Qin Yuesheng sends you a second collaboration invitation. Do you accept?]
"Qin Yuesheng: 'I rarely collaborate with the same actor twice in a short period, but you are different. In all my years in this industry, I have never met such a gifted actor. Once you've witnessed your talent, no one can dare claim they know how to act. Even the most outstanding Best Actors and Best Actresses become insignificant beside you.'"
[Northern Continent's renowned director Nikolai Volkov sends you a collaboration invitation. Do you accept?]
"Nikolai Volkov: 'I had already traveled the world for my new project, yet I couldn't find an actor who fit the role. I was so lost and tormented that I wanted to go mad, wanted to kill myself. But just then, I saw you. I am absolutely certain—my leading lady can only be you. You are the angel God sent to save me. You are the fire of my soul. You are the abyss of desire I will charge toward even unto death.'"
[Southern Continent's renowned director Sophia Costa sends you a collaboration invitation. Do you accept?]
"Sophia Costa: 'A crazy role will drain everything from an actor, and a crazy actor will devour everything from a role, then bring it back to life under the lens. To make audiences forget everything with beauty, and to immerse them in the story with acting—this is something only you can do in the entire world.'"
…
The player received far too many invitations from renowned directors—so many she couldn't even read them all. Surrounded by a barrage of flattery, the player nodded in satisfaction: "That's right, that's right! Praise me like this! I'm exactly this kind of genius!"
That said, the player didn't accept anyone's invitation, because awards season was approaching.
The most mainstream international awards in the "Entertainment Undying" expansion pack were mainly the Western Continent's Hundred Images Award, the Northern Continent's Golden Palm Award, the Southern Continent's Starlight Award, and the Eastern Continent's Golden Flower Award.
If she could win all the awards, she would achieve the "Grand Slam" achievement in the film industry.
[In May 20XX, you defeated numerous competitors with your portrayal of "Xie Kulan" in "Calming the Waves" and won the Western Continent's Hundred Images Award for "Best Actress." Will you attend the ceremony?]
[You have unlocked a new title: "Hundred Images Best Actress." Reputation +1000.]
[In June 20XX, you defeated numerous competitors with your portrayal of "Xie Kulan" in "Calming the Waves" and won the Northern Continent's Golden Palm Award for "Best Actress." Will you attend the ceremony?]
[You have unlocked a new title: "Golden Palm Best Actress." Reputation +1000.]
[In July 20XX, you defeated numerous competitors with your portrayal of "Xie Kulan" in Calming the Waves and won the "Best Actress" award at the Nanzhou Starlight Awards. Will you attend the ceremony to accept the award?]
[You have unlocked a new title: "Starlight Best Actress," Reputation +1000.]
A player would never pass up a venue that could trigger a brand-new CG, of course. But after collecting her awards and looking at the Best Actress trophies in her room, amid the joy, she felt a slight twinge of boredom.
Although the Dongzhou Golden Flower Awards had yet to be announced, she had already swept every other regional award. In Dongzhou, her home turf, there was no suspense whatsoever about who would take home the Best Actress crown.
The Golden Flower Best Actress was destined to be hers. If it weren't, the public outcry would probably be so intense that the next Golden Flower Awards couldn't even be held.
Sigh, how to put it—while this effortlessly easy life was certainly satisfying, perhaps because the talent traits she'd drawn this playthrough were too good, combined with latching onto a sugar daddy early on, her path afterward had been so smooth that there wasn't a single twist or challenge. Xia Cheng felt she wasn't really getting much of a gaming experience.
A life this smooth-sailing? This player doesn't want it!
That said, she was still planning to go claim her first "Best Actress Grand Slam" achievement.
But after grinding her career for so long, it was time to take a break and get some action.
So the melancholic player decided to send UR #2 a message, telling him to come over so she could have some fun with him. But just as she sent the message, a special public opinion event suddenly popped up—
[Recent Public Opinion: "A battle over billing position causing a rift between top-tier stars?"]
[Recently, rumors of discord between Xia Cheng and Gu Xingye have been spreading widely online. The reason is that at the three major international film festivals that the Calming the Waves cast attended consecutively, only Xia Cheng showed up—Gu Xingye never appeared. As a result, gossip has been running rampant, with wild speculation that the top-tier male and female stars are on bad terms, to the point where they refuse to appear at the same events.]
[According to an insider, the two had already clashed over billing position during the filming of Calming the Waves, and now they've apparently completely burned bridges. The male lead supposedly didn't want to see the female lead at all, which is why he refused to attend the film festivals. However, as of now, neither party has responded to these claims.]
[Is the discord between the male and female leads of Calming the Waves really due to a billing dispute? Only the parties involved truly know what's going on.]
After reading this [Special Event], the player pondered for a moment, a bit confused. "Wait… at the previous award ceremonies… UR didn't show up?"
Did he or didn't he… Ugh, she couldn't remember. After all, her attention had been focused entirely on unlocking her Best Actress achievement—she hadn't paid any attention to whether the NPC was present or not.
But it didn't matter whether he went or not, right? With his acting stats that barely scraped by at "passing," he wouldn't have won Best Actor anyway.
The player thought this with complete confidence.
Still, she was a bit curious about what Gu Xingye had been up to. She clicked open his profile and found that his Mood Value had already dropped into the negatives, evolving from "Dark Crawling" into "Dark and Twisted Writhing."
His Blackening Value had risen considerably too.
How could this have happened?
The kind and gentle player was utterly baffled. She felt this had nothing to do with her—after all, aside from summoning him at her beck and call, making him obediently play the role of her toy, telling him he wasn't allowed to let anyone discover their relationship, and instructing him to act like a stranger in front of the media… she hadn't done anything else that was truly heinous, had she?
This kind of thing happened often when playing the Simulator before. The player hadn't done anything, yet the NPC would just blacken for no reason. It was so unreasonable.
But Xia Cheng was, after all, a kind and gentle player. Since the NPC's Blackening Value was already this high, she'd better not disturb him—let him rest well.
Besides, her sugar daddy UR would be back soon anyway.
So the melancholic player recalled the message she'd sent and re-edited a new one to send to him, thoughtfully telling him he didn't need to come over.
[Xingye, don't call me anymore from now on. I'm afraid Ming Xuan might misunderstand.]