...
South Sea, Jin Hailong Hotel, private room.
The women of Class 3, Year 4 of the flight attendant program at South Sea University of Technology were having a get-together. It was a farewell dinner.
The room was filled with cheerful chatter and clinking glasses, the atmosphere warm and lively.
The class monitor said with a wide smile:
"So, what’s everyone planning to do after this?"
With graduation season upon them, the topic everyone was most interested in was the job hunt.
The women put down their glasses and began to chat excitedly amongst themselves.
"I haven’t gotten any offers. I’m getting ready to go work as a clerk at Holiland."
"I got hired by Sichuan Airlines. I fly to Chongzhou for training the day after tomorrow."
"What about you, Class Monitor? I remember you were taking the civil service exams."
The class monitor said humbly:
"I passed the exam for the Public Security Bureau. I should be reporting for duty right after I get my diploma."
Everyone looked at the class monitor with admiration.
To get into the Public Security Bureau from their major was a testament to her capabilities.
As Cui Xinyue listened to her classmates, she sneered inwardly.
’None of them have any real prospects. Looks like I’m the only one in our graduating class who’s truly going to make it big.’
The class monitor looked at Cui Xinyue.
"What about you, Xiaoyue?"
Cui Xinyue immediately perked up, her voice turning saccharine and affected.
"Me? I was discovered by Director Zhang Baiwei. I’m going to be in a movie."
Everyone was stunned.
Zhang Baiwei! A titan of the Xia Kingdom’s film industry!
Just a few days ago, Director Zhang had been holding open auditions in South Sea for an unknown female lead. Plenty of beauties from their department had gone.
Everyone turned to look at Cui Xinyue with envy.
’She’s going to be a big star!’
Cui Xinyue continued smugly:
"Director Zhang is coming to pick me up and take me to the set in person tonight. He might be here any minute.
You’ll all get to see a real VIP then."
Most of the girls were about to congratulate her when a short-haired girl muttered under her breath at an inopportune moment:
"It must be because Jin Meiting didn’t go. Otherwise, how would it have been your turn??"
Resentment flared in Cui Xinyue’s eyes.
Having come from a rural village, she had followed Jin Meiting around, learning how to dress and take care of her skin, all in an effort to be prettier than her.
Even though Jin Meiting had been very good to her, that bitch was just more popular.
Thankfully, that bitch was disfigured now. It was a viciously satisfying feeling.
Cui Xinyue stared at the short-haired girl and sneered.
"Jin Meiting is disfigured. She’s history.
Are you expecting someone whose face is covered in burns to be in a movie? A horror film, maybe?"
The short-haired girl retorted defiantly:
"There’s no way she’s disfigured! I just saw her yesterday, and she was as beautiful as ever!
Can you stop spreading malicious rumors and slandering people? The photo you sent to the group chat a few days ago looked photoshopped."
Cui Xinyue waved her phone mockingly.
"Stop talking nonsense. If she wasn’t disfigured, why wouldn’t she dare to come to the party?"
The short-haired girl also picked up her phone.
"She must have been held up by something. You just wait, I’ll message her right now."
The short-haired girl’s hand suddenly paused.
"Huh? Meiting says she’s almost here."
The smile on Cui Xinyue’s lips froze slightly.
She had already spread the news of Jin Meiting’s disfigurement all over South Sea University of Technology.
However, she hadn’t said *how* Jin Meiting had been disfigured.
A month ago, Cui Xinyue and Jin Meiting had been out shopping.
An explosion occurred in a shop, and Jin Meiting had shielded her with her own body, which resulted in her face getting burned.
Cui Xinyue felt that without her face, Jin Meiting was useless, so she had spent the past month unscrupulously mocking her.
’Now that Jin Meiting is coming, could she be planning to reveal the truth and get revenge on me?’
Cui Xinyue felt a pang of guilt.
’I thought she wouldn’t dare to come. I was wrong.’
Cui Xinyue quickly pushed those thoughts from her mind.
’In this day and age, money and power make you king.’
’As long as I’m Director Zhang Baiwei’s leading lady, so what if I’m an ungrateful wretch?’
As she was thinking, the door was pushed open.
Cui Xinyue jumped, thinking Jin Meiting had arrived.
It wasn’t Jin Meiting, but a slender, middle-aged man with an arrogant expression.
All the girls’ eyes widened in astonishment.
They had often seen this middle-aged man on television.
The great director who had won multiple Golden Bear Awards at international film festivals, Zhang Baiwei!
Seeing the stunned expressions on the other girls’ faces, Cui Xinyue felt a secret thrill of satisfaction.
She stood up, sashayed over to Zhang Baiwei with a sway of her slender waist, and linked her arm with his, cooing:
"Director Zhang~ Why did you come to pick me up so early~"
Zhang Baiwei frowned, annoyed.
"I told you, it’s going to rain tonight, and we have to hold the opening ceremony.
All cast and crew must pay respects to the Deities the moment the rain starts.
What’s wrong with you? Instead of leaving with me early, you want to fool around with them all night?
I was worried you’d cause trouble, otherwise I really wouldn’t have bothered picking you up.
Get your things. We’re leaving."
His words were arrogant, completely dismissive of all the other girls present.
The girls knew their place.
In front of such a big shot, they were indeed insignificant.
Directors were, to some extent, a superstitious bunch.
It was widely rumored in the industry that Director Zhang didn’t believe in the god of acting, didn’t respect Bodhisattvas, and paid no mind to the Three Pure Ones. He only worshipped a rain god.
He always chose a rainy day for his opening ceremonies. The moment the first drops hit the ground was the moment the ceremony began.
All the girls gave Cui Xinyue a meaningful look.
’We all thought Director Zhang Baiwei held Cui Xinyue in high regard. But judging by his attitude, he clearly doesn’t think much of her at all!’
And they weren’t wrong.
Zhang Baiwei really wasn’t fond of Cui Xinyue.
He was a film fanatic; he even personally vetted extras to see if they had the right ’look’.
A few days ago, he’d been casting the female lead for his upcoming film, *Fox Demon Antiques Shop*.
He’d been searching for about a month without finding anyone truly satisfactory.
*Fox Demon Antiques Shop* tells the story of a thousand-year-old Fox Demon who opens an antiques shop.
The female lead, the Fox Demon, not only needed to be beautiful but also possess the bewitching allure of a demon, as well as the world-weariness that comes from a thousand years of existence.
Unfortunately, the women who came to the open auditions were all deliberately trying to act slutty. None of them had the kind of heart-stopping allure he was looking for.
In the end, he had to pick the best of a bad bunch and chose Cui Xinyue. She was the most provocative and the most two-faced.
If he couldn’t find the thousand-year-old Fox Immortal of his imagination, he would have to settle for a vulgar Fox Spirit.
Just then, the door suddenly opened, and a voice like silver bells drifted in:
"I’m so sorry, I’m late."
Everyone turned toward the voice and saw South Sea University of Technology’s campus belle, Jin Meiting.
A stunned brilliance flashed in all the girls’ eyes.
’How did Jin Meiting get so beautiful?’
’I almost don’t recognize her!’
It was still the same face, but now it was exquisitely, unreasonably perfect!
Her every move was filled with Charm, and her gaze could steal a person’s soul.
Jin Meiting had always been quite flirtatious.
She would boldly gather her roommates to watch racy films every night, leaving them all blushing and flustered.
But she was by no means promiscuous.
She had high standards and looked down on ordinary guys.
She used to say that no man was worthy of taming her.
It wasn’t just the guys who liked her; even the girls adored her!
The class monitor, Li Mingyue, frowned imperceptibly.
’Jin Meiting seems... different somehow.’
’It’s not just her appearance. There’s something else, something indescribable.’
A hint of worry entered Li Mingyue’s eyes as she looked at Jin Meiting.
The two of them were very close friends.
Jin Meiting tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and said apologetically:
"I’m terribly sorry. The traffic was bad, so I’m late."
That simple gesture seemed to steal the souls of the other girls, who all rushed to reassure her with cries of "You’re not late!" and "We just started!"
Cui Xinyue stared at Jin Meiting in disbelief.
’We went to the hospital together. I saw her get disfigured with my own eyes.’
’How could this be! How did she become so beautiful!’
’Plastic surgery? But how could it turn out this good in just one month?’
’And where did that bewitching aura come from?!’
Terrified that Jin Meiting might say something she shouldn’t at the dinner table, Cui Xinyue quickly tugged on Zhang Baiwei’s arm.
"Director Zhang, let’s go. Don’t we have an opening ceremony to get to?"
Zhang Baiwei didn’t move.
Cui Xinyue looked up, only to find Zhang Baiwei staring at Jin Meiting, his eyes blazing with passion.
Her heart sank. When she looked at Jin Meiting again, her eyes were filled with hatred.
Only then did Jin Meiting notice Zhang Baiwei. A flicker of surprise crossed her beautiful eyes.
"Director Zhang?"
’The Director Zhang from TV... just appeared right in front of me?’
’As an ordinary person, when would I ever get the chance to meet such a big shot?’
Zhang Baiwei asked eagerly:
"Miss, may I ask if you have a job?"