As the first minor climax of the original novel, the author of “Star Path” devoted extensive space to depicting the extravagance of the Fu Group’s banquet.
The attendees were all high-society elites, the cream of the industry, with glasses clinking and elegant figures mingling everywhere.
This only made the female lead, Shen Hui, who had stumbled into the banquet, seem like an innocent rabbit, easily swept into the vortex between the male lead and the antagonist.
After this banquet, Shen Hui’s life would never know peace again.
Regarding this, Shang Wan’s comment was: How utterly absurd.
It’s the 21st century, for goodness’ sake! Where do these so-called high-society elites get off thinking they’re superior? She herself was part of the great masses of the people—had she ever boasted about it?
Six o’clock in the evening, dusk settled.
Shang Wan, a member of the masses, stood in the lounge area of the Fu Group’s banquet hall, listening to the soothing, elegant music while asking the System, “Tongtong, can you use your big data to check for me which of these wines in front of me is the most expensive?”
The System: “…”
If it remembered correctly, Shang Wan had just declared she would treat money like dirt!
After waiting half a day for a response, Shang Wan said, “Don’t tell me this is also against the rules?”
The System: Speechless.
The System: “The glass of Pétrus on your right has a moderate alcohol content. You can drink that.”
Shang Wan: For some reason, she actually sensed a hint of perfunctoriness in the System’s flat, unemotional voice.
The sweet red wine swirled gently in the glass as Shang Wan took a small sip. Just as she was about to ask the System if it could locate Fu Chen’s whereabouts, someone suddenly called her name from beside her.
Shang Wan turned to look and was surprised to see Fang Xinghe, who had argued with Shen Hui on set just two days earlier.
Shang Wan: “…”
Oh no. The presence of the male lead, female lead, and antagonist was so overwhelming that she had completely forgotten about this third male lead.
The Fu Group’s banquet to celebrate its 60th anniversary was a grand affair, with invitations extended to prominent figures from all walks of society. Moreover, Fang Xinghe’s grandfather was on close personal terms with one of the Fu family elders, which earned him a spot on the guest list.
In the original novel, by this point, Fang Xinghe had already developed inexplicable feelings for Shen Hui.
Thus, as if possessed, he had invited Shen Hui to be his date.
The stirrings of a young heart were just that simple.
Fang Xinghe had invited Shen Hui with great delight, hoping to ask her for a dance during the ball at the end of the banquet.
Little did he expect that Shen Hui, who had stumbled into the banquet, would catch the eye of that pervert, Gu Xun.
Later, as Shen Hui found herself trapped in a dark-room scenario involving eye-gouging and imprisonment, Fang Xinghe, who had been silently watching over her from the shadows, became the target of the jealous antagonist and male lead. In the end, he met a gloomy fate, forced to withdraw from the industry.
The music in the lounge area flowed softly.
Shang Wan couldn’t help but look at Fang Xinghe with a hint of sympathy.
She set down her wine glass and said earnestly, “Well, how about you and Shen Hui leave first?”
Fang Xinghe’s gaze toward Shang Wan turned puzzled. “Huh? Is Shen Hui here too? Wait, even if she were, why would I leave with her?”
Shang Wan: “?”
This time, Shang Wan was genuinely confused. She asked, “Didn’t you invite Shen Hui?”
Fang Xinghe looked even more bewildered than she did. “Am I insane? Why would I go out of my way to invite your die-hard fan to attend a banquet with me?”
Shang Wan: “…”
See? The plot had already gone off the rails!
Not only had the devoted male supporting character failed to fall in love with the female lead, but his resentment toward her was even stronger than his reaction to her, the villainess!
Shang Wan fell into a deep silence.
In Shang Wan’s original plan, if no matter what she did, Shen Hui would inevitably fall in love at first sight with both the male lead and the antagonist due to the irresistible force of the plot—
She was prepared to be the true villainess who kicked the male lead and punched the antagonist.
After all, the System had said that as long as she left an indelible mark in the other person’s life, the Bond Points would deepen.
How could “stealing their one true love” not count as an indelible mark?
Moreover, Gu Xun resorted to physical harm, and Fu Chen was no better.
Fu Chen rescued Shen Hui, who had temporarily lost her sight due to drug use, from Gu Xun’s clutches, only to despairingly discover that Shen Hui had truly fallen in love with Gu Xun.
So he deliberately delayed, refusing to cure Shen Hui’s eyes, allowing her scandals to spread everywhere and her reputation in the entertainment industry to be ruined.
He wanted Shen Hui to have nowhere to go, to have no choice but to stay by his side.
While reading the book Star Path, Shang Wan had complained more than once that there wasn’t a single normal male character in it, and the fact that the male and female leads could still achieve a happy ending was utterly absurd.
But there was no helping it—the female lead persistently pursued her career from beginning to end, and the ending where she ultimately stepped onto a dazzling Star Path was just too satisfying.
It was hard for Shang Wan not to love it.
Thinking of this, Shang Wan looked at Fang Xinghe and suddenly revealed a gratified smile.
She thought to herself that this kid not bringing Shen Hui along might not be such a bad thing after all.
Fang Xinghe felt a chill run down his spine under her gaze and stammered, “Wh-wh-what are you looking at me like that for!”
Shang Wan smiled even more affectionately, patted Fang Xinghe on the shoulder, and said, “It’s nothing. Have fun.”
With that, Shang Wan picked up her wine glass again and walked toward the center of the crowd.
Just moments ago, the System had announced Fu Chen’s location in her mind.
“Hello, Host. It has been detected that the male lead, Fu Chen, is now online. He is currently at your nine o’clock direction.”
Shang Wan smiled faintly and, using the cover of a towering champagne tower beside her, discreetly cast her gaze toward the nine o’clock direction.
It had to be said, the male lead truly lived up to his title.
Even though the banquet hall was bustling with people, and even though the lively venue was far from lacking in handsome men and beautiful women, Shang Wan’s attention was completely captured by Fu Chen at first glance.
He was simply too striking.
The impeccably tailored dark gray suit perfectly accentuated his tall and straight figure. Even the lighting in the venue seemed to favor him, casting a soft glow over his features, tempering his usual cold and stern expression by three parts, leaving only a vague sense of ambiguity and gentleness.
Shang Wan stared at Fu Chen, momentarily captivated by his face.
…Alright then.
Shang Nanzhi’s infatuation with Fu Chen wasn’t entirely incomprehensible.
Fu Chen was too strikingly handsome, and Shang Wan was clearly not the only one mesmerized by his looks.
He was already surrounded by a crowd of young men and women, among whom were many naive girls gazing at him with admiration.
However, Fu Chen’s gaze remained unwavering, fixed solely on the girl in the light purple evening gown beside him.
To outsiders, they clearly appeared to be enjoying a pleasant conversation—
The girl tilted her head slightly, leaning closer to Fu Chen, her eyes smiling.
As for Fu Chen, though he spoke little, whenever the girl spoke, he would listen patiently, embodying the image of a gentle gentleman.
Many girls in the crowd had already begun to show faint signs of disappointment.
But in that fleeting glance as she looked up, Shang Wan clearly saw the impatience in Fu Chen’s eyes.
She was no stranger to the hidden impatience in Fu Chen’s gaze.
In Shang Nanzhi’s memories, when she frequently appeared before Fu Chen under the guise of cooperating with the Fu Group to make her presence known, this expression in Fu Chen’s eyes—clearly quite impatient but restrained by personal upbringing, making it inconvenient to lash out—had already appeared many times.
Later, as Shang Nanzhi escalated her actions, Fu Chen’s impatience slowly turned into murderous intent.
Shang Wan sometimes couldn’t help but wonder: How could Shang Nanzhi be so oblivious?
Even as an observer, Shang Wan could see the rising hostility in Fu Chen from the few remaining fragments of Shang Nanzhi’s memories.
Yet Shang Nanzhi, as the person directly involved, had the audacity to drug a domineering CEO who wanted to kill her. It was truly baffling!
Shang Wan took a deep breath, unable to resist doubting Shang Nanzhi’s intelligence.
Could it be that inhabiting this body was affecting her own brain too?
Just as Shang Wan was lost in her thoughts, Fu Chen, not far away, suddenly looked up as if he had finally found a way to escape the current trouble.
Across the champagne tower, he accurately and wordlessly fixed his gaze on Shang Wan, who was trying to avoid him.
Shang Wan: “…”
For some reason, she suddenly felt a chill down her spine.
As it turned out, Shang Wan’s premonition was not wrong.
Because the next second, Fu Chen had already walked toward her.
The male lead, surrounded by admirers, effortlessly drew everyone’s attention to Shang Wan’s side.
With a slight curve at the corner of his lips and in a rather pleasant mood, he stopped just a step away from Shang Wan, leaned down slowly, and whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear:
“Back at the Fu residence, Miss Shang personally said you would compensate for my losses. Now is the time.”
As he spoke, Fu Chen reached out and gently tucked a strand of Shang Wan’s hair behind her ear.
Intimate and ambiguous.
Shang Wan: “!!”
She remembered.
She remembered everything!
One of the many dramatic plotlines in the original novel: the century-old rivalry between the family-arranged marriage partner and the innocent, unsuspecting female lead!
That’s right. In the original novel, Fu Chen had a fiancée.
She was the marriage partner arranged for Fu Chen by his father, Fu Jiayan.
The relationship between Fu Chen and his fiancée was so significant that it was to be announced by both families at the Fu Group’s 60th-anniversary banquet.
None of this had anything to do with the female lead, Shen Hui.
But Fu Chen fell in love with Shen Hui without telling her that he was still bound by the arranged marriage. As a result, Shen Hui, unaware of the situation, was marked as the number one rival in life by Fu Chen’s fiancée.
Spreading rumors, creating scandals, and using money to snatch resources were just the tip of the iceberg.
The worst incident occurred when Fu Chen’s fiancée, Miss Dong, tampered with Shen Hui’s wire harness, nearly causing her death on the film set.
This incident also led to one of the most satisfying moments in the original story.
Standing by Shen Hui’s hospital bed, Fu Chen gazed at her pale face and said, “The weather has turned cold. It’s time for the Dong family to go bankrupt.”
Shang Wan: “…”
What a dramatic mess.
But could someone please explain to her why Shen Hui’s storyline was the classic idol drama trope: “The weather has turned cold, time for the Dong family to go bankrupt”?
When it was her turn, the plot had suddenly advanced so much without any warning. Not only was there no heads-up, but Fu Chen had actually pushed her directly into the spotlight, leaving her alone to draw all the fire?
Was this the treatment reserved for the villainess?
How utterly unfair!!
Shang Wan looked at Fu Chen, took two steps back, and tried to pretend she hadn’t understood: “Good evening, Mr. Fu. What are you talking about?”
Just kidding—she didn’t have the protagonist’s halo, and with the original body’s limited abilities—
If Shang Wan really dared to openly offend the Dong family tonight, Miss Dong would probably snuff out this second life she’d stumbled upon before she could even finish collecting Bond Points from these key characters and secure her chance at revival.
The more Shang Wan retreated, the closer Fu Chen advanced.
He didn’t believe her excuse of not understanding in the slightest and said calmly, “Is Miss Shang planning to go back on her word?”
Shang Wan continued her stubborn resistance: “How could that be? I really don’t understand what you mean. Um, Mr. Fu, why don’t you look around first? I need to use the restroom.”
Surprisingly, Fu Chen didn’t get angry at this back-and-forth. Instead, he smiled faintly.
He said, “Help me cancel tonight’s engagement ceremony, and I promise they won’t retaliate against you.”
Shang Wan hesitated: “Well…”
Fu Chen sweetened the deal: “Once it’s done, I’ll owe you a favor.”
Shang Wan instantly changed her expression: “Deal!”
Fu Chen: “…”
Her change of heart was so swift that he had a feeling—
He’d been shortchanged.
As soon as the words were spoken, the System’s congratulatory announcement rang out on the spot: “Congratulations, Host. Fu Chen’s Bond Points have increased to 13.6.”
Shang Wan: You owe me, I owe you—and just like that, the Bond Points come rolling in!
Fortune favors the bold!
Shang Wan smiled at Fu Chen, leaned close to his ear, and whispered softly, “Then you’d better remember to protect me, Mr. Fu.”