Chapter 10: The Flopped Fish

Ruan Yu had cried so much that most of her makeup was ruined. She had no intention of returning to that smoke-filled room. After calming down, she called Guan Baonian to apologize, giving the excuse of a stomachache. Then she had Lin Qing go back and retrieve her coat.

Back in the private room, Guan Baonian hung up and said, “Ruan Yu said she had a stomachache and returned to the hotel.”

Duan Lin paused mid-motion, setting his phone down slowly.

A male actor flicked the ash off his cigarette and commented, “Newcomers these days look great, but they’re so delicate. Can’t handle the grind—doubt she’ll go far.”

Xie Ziyu interjected, “She’s a nice girl. Don’t be too quick to judge.”

“Wow, rare to hear you defending a newcomer.” The male actor raised a brow. “Duan Lin, what do you think?”

He knew Duan Lin was famously impatient with clingy actresses. Even a certain top actress who threw herself at him got the cold shoulder—let alone some newcomer. He was trying to get Duan Lin to back him up.

Duan Lin’s brows furrowed slightly as he glanced at him. “What do I think?”

He might not be interested in Ruan Yu, but that didn’t mean he’d let others use him as a mouthpiece.

Leaning back slightly, Duan Lin chuckled. “I think she’s not bad.”

—

The next morning, Ruan Yu and Lin Qing took the earliest flight back to Beijing.

After wrapping up her scenes in The Hopeless Pursuit of Fame, she took a day off. Then An Zhuoqian called and asked Lin Qing to bring her back to the office.

“You’re new in the industry. If your resources are too weak, you won’t gain traction. But if they’re too good, you won’t be able to carry them. I’ve filtered a few options for you. Take a look.”

An Zhuoqian handed her a few files. “There’s a youth romance web drama—the director’s still casting the female lead, and the production team is decent. Then there’s a comedy film directed by Huang Shunqiu, known for reliable work—you could fight for the fourth female lead. Finally, there are two variety shows—one’s an outdoor challenge, the other is music-based and filmed indoors.”

Ruan Yu quickly skimmed through. “I’m interested in all of them. The movie seems like the best option.”

An Zhuoqian responded, “Movies are great, but filming takes three months, post-production at least another six, and then you wait for a theatrical release. That’s not going to help build your popularity in the short term. What you need right now is exposure. In this industry, traffic gets you resources. Honestly, I don’t recommend jumping into a film just yet.”

“So, what do you think, An-jie?”

“I personally recommend either the web drama or the variety show,” An Zhuoqian replied. “Actually, I’m most optimistic about this outdoor variety show. If you can establish a strong on-screen persona, it’ll help you attract fans quickly. But it might be challenging—the ratings after it airs are still uncertain.” She tapped her finger on the outdoor show option.

It was challenging.

Ruan Yu had just read the program outline. It was a brand-new outdoor challenge reality show hosted by Huangtao TV in collaboration with three major online platforms, titled “Undercover Profession.”

The concept was simple: five celebrity guests would draw lots to determine a profession, then go undercover to work in that job for two weeks—without being recognized as celebrities.

How was that even possible???

The rules weren’t explained in much detail, but when Ruan Yu took a closer look at the program proposal, her eyes landed on a very familiar name among the confirmed cast.

Jiang Xingchun, a dance-vocal idol and the youngest member of the trending boy group WindWin. He was only eighteen this year.

One of her many celebrity crushes.

Mom’s precious candy baby!!!

Ruan Yu’s eyes sparkled like laser beams. She pointed at the name and asked, “Is this the finalized cast list?”

“Yes. Originally all five spots were filled—the show starts filming next week. But one of the female celebrities backed out last minute, so the producers reached out to me in a hurry,” said An Zhuoqian.

“The show’s chief director is an old friend of mine, so I happened to have an opening. But I’ll warn you—he doesn’t like using scripts for his shows. So if you think it’s too difficult…”

“It’s not difficult at all!”

“…Huh?”

Ruan Yu straightened up, her expression serious. “An-jie, I’ve thought it through. I’m not afraid of hardships. One must endure the toughest trials to rise above the rest. I want to give Undercover Profession a try. Thank you for giving me this chance.”

An Zhuoqian chuckled. “You’ve got guts. Alright, I’ll take you to sign the contract tomorrow.”

…

After meeting with the show’s director and finalizing the schedule, Ruan Yu rested for a week at her apartment to recharge.

During her absence, Ye Mengmeng had been taking care of her cat, whose fur was now sleek and shiny—and significantly rounder.

Ruan Yu spent her days playing with the cat, fangirling, and gaming. At one point, the chubby cat leaped onto her desk and plopped its butt down on her keyboard, accidentally launching her character into battle, resulting in a spectacular in-game death. Ruan Yu tearfully groaned, “You know what? Forget calling you Puff, I should rename you Chunk Puff!”

The cat seemed to understand. It let out a sharp, insulted meow, glared at her like a grumpy uncle, and walked off with its tail high in disdain.

After a couple of days, Ruan Yu visited the Cardiac Surgery Hospital to meet with Dr. Chen.

Dr. Chen and two of her primary care doctors sat with her in a conference room for a long consultation. “You’ve seen the treatment plan. If you’re set on surgery, the sooner you reserve a spot, the better. Even if we fast-track your case, the earliest we could schedule it is six months from now.”

“Also… given your condition, it’s best to talk to your family. They should be mentally prepared.”

Ruan Yu agreed to everything, signed the medical consent forms, and left the hospital with a stack of prescriptions.

But she wasn’t ready to tell Ruan Zhengping just yet.

First, he was always swamped with work and rarely home. Second, knowing how much he doted on her, if he found out she only had two years left to live, he’d probably drop everything to stay by her side—and in the end, he’d be the one burying his child.

The thought filled Ruan Yu with sorrow.

Better to cut ties now. She didn’t want to experience the pain of losing familial love a second time.

This time, she just wanted to bring her second life to a carefree and graceful close.

Back at her apartment, Ruan Yu browsed Weibo. Lin Qing had already updated her profile with a new post—a wrap photo from “The Hopeless Pursuit of Fame”, with Ruan Yu holding a bouquet of flowers. Light makeup, radiant smile, expertly edited—so stunning that even she spent ten minutes zooming in and admiring her own face.

[@RuanYu: Wrapped filming! Gonna miss everyone [shy emoji]]

Since that trending topic with Duan Lin, Ruan Yu had gained over two million followers on Weibo. Aside from the bots from Sina, most were passersby or new fans attracted by the gossip and her visuals.

But the entertainment industry was fickle. Heat comes fast and fades even faster. And with no real work out yet, she had no loyal fans. Once the rumors cleared up, the curious crowd quickly lost interest and moved on.

Her wrap post had only around 400 comments, most from ad accounts.

[OMG, I literally stopped breathing when I saw this pic. That face!! How can anyone not love such a gorgeous girl?! You’re destined to be a star!!!]

[Congrats on wrapping~ Check my Weibo → Office romance steamy drama, live tonight~]

[So beautiful! I just won a thousand bucks on [web link], lottery betting, Texas poker, sexy live dealers↑]

Ruan Yu: “…”

There were also a few bitter comments from trolls who’d wandered in during the last rumor storm.

[Yeah yeah, don’t miss them. Goodbye, and never come back.]

[Ugh, how did I forget to unfollow?? Good, stay away from my gege!!]

Even the familiar scolding from Duan Lin’s fans had faded.

She was—

Totally, thoroughly irrelevant now!!

Ah, the struggles of a flop. The washed-up fish sighs.

Only her beloved idol could heal the wounds in her heart.

That night, Ji Linhao had just wrapped his final concert of the tour in Sanya, marking a perfect end to his season. He posted a selfie on Weibo, and a fancam of his on-stage singing and dancing soared to #1 on the trending charts. Fierce and charismatic, fans—known as the Siji—went wild with screams and praise.

Ruan Yu immediately switched to her fangirl alt account, caught up on every update, and cried as she voted and reposted like her life depended on it.

“Sweetheart, which gospel did you descend from?! You’re the Archangel Raphael sent from heaven—oh my god I can’t live anymore—”

“I have heart problems, babe!! My heartbeat’s irregular and you’re responsible for it now, waaaaah—”

After binge-watching content from her ultimate bias, then her secondary favorites, the entire apartment echoed with Ruan Yu’s tearful praises of her beloved idols.

Puff, the cat, watched coldly for two minutes. Then, without warning, it gracefully jumped onto the table, raised a regal paw, and slapped Ruan Yu’s tablet flat against the table.

It let out a lazy “meow” and sauntered off.

Ruan Yu froze mid-fangirl squeal. “…”

This cat’s arrogant attitude looked so damn familiar.

…

After a week of rest, Lin Qing and Ye Mengmeng knocked on the door of Ruan Yu’s apartment to escort her to the pre-recording for Undercover Profession.

The business van pulled into the underground garage of Huangtao Broadcasting Center. A staff member led them into the elevator and up to one of the floors, where Undercover Profession posters lined the hallway.

As soon as they stepped in, two cameras immediately zoomed in on Ruan Yu—no warning at all.

“We’ll take you to makeup first,” the staff said.

“Thank you,” Ruan Yu replied calmly.

In reality, she was a bundle of nerves.

Wait—this is already starting?!!

She had watched plenty of variety shows, but this was her first time actually filming one. And Undercover Profession was brand-new—there were no prior episodes to study. Honestly, she was so nervous she could puke!

All the guests were assigned to the same makeup room. The program logo was taped to the door. When the staff pushed it open, three of the guests were already there.

A handsome boy who had been listening to music looked up. He was wearing a white hoodie and took off his headphones. His innocent puppy-like eyes crinkled as he smiled, dimples deepening, his teeth bright and perfect.

“Another one’s here? Hi, I’m Jiang Xingchun, member of WW.”

All of Ruan Yu’s nerves disappeared in an instant.

Her secondary bias was just so! freaking! cute!

Even more boyish and milky than in the photos and videos—like ten whole boxes of premium milk!

“Whoa, that’s Jiang Xingchun! One of my friends is absolutely obsessed with him,” Ye Mengmeng whispered to Ruan Yu.

After Jiang Xingchun introduced himself, the two other men followed suit, smiling warmly. Ruan Yu recognized them instantly—one was He Changyuan, Huangtao TV’s top male host, wearing glasses and looking every bit the gentleman. The other, stockier and cheerful, was Lu Han, a well-known figure in the cross-talk scene. Both were confirmed guests for the show.

No one here was familiar with Ruan Yu, and since she was a last-minute replacement, that made things even more awkward.

Still, Ruan Yu wasn’t fazed. She politely bowed. “Hello everyone, I’m Ruan Yu, a new artist signed under Shangying Media. I played a minor role in The Hopeless Pursuit of Fame, and… I was the one who trended a while back because of that fake dating rumor.”

Lin Qing, drinking water nearby, almost choked.

Dear sweet heavens—could she be any more blunt?!

Lu Han burst out laughing. “You’re a riot! Did the camera guy catch that? We have to keep that in—best self-intro ever!”

After Ruan Yu’s intro, He Changyuan nodded. “That makes four of us. The last one… I think it’s Qiu Xi?”

Right on cue, a soft voice came from the door: “Sorry, I’m late.”

Qiu Xi walked in with her assistant.

She didn’t even need to introduce herself. One of the most popular rising stars, Qiu Xi had first gone viral as a college student because of her “first love” innocent looks in a graduation photo. Since entering the entertainment industry, she’d starred in a few idol dramas, always playing serene, girl-next-door roles.

With all five guests present, the staff brought them to the recording studio.

The set was built like an ancient Greek coliseum. With dramatic lighting, the scene looked downright majestic. Ruan Yu was mic’d up and walked to the center of the stage with the others.

Cameras and lights locked into position.

Standing before them was a mysterious figure clad in black gladiator-style armor, wielding a longsword and shield.

“I am Guan Hai, the chief director of Undercover Profession. Since you’ve all had a chance to meet, I’ll now announce the rules of the show.”

This is… a little over-the-top.

But Ruan Yu’s sarcasm was quickly silenced.

Guan Hai continued: “Before me are five torch statues, each containing a scroll with the name and profession of a fictional character. Each guest will draw a scroll and assume that identity.”

“After the draw, you’ll undergo one week of professional training. Then, you’ll enter a completely new work and living environment, acting out your character. Aside from three starter items, all personal belongings are forbidden.”

“The starter items are: a phone provided by the production team, a set of essential clothing, and 500 yuan in cash. As for lodging, meals, and anything else—you’re on your own.”

Whispers broke out among the guests.

Lu Han murmured, “No one told me we’d be roughing it like this! Changyuan, you’re with the network—did you know?”

He Changyuan just smiled wryly and shook his head.

Even the network’s golden host had been blindsided.

Guan Hai went on: “Your mission is to stay undercover in your assigned job for two weeks. If anyone around you discovers your true identity during this time, you will be eliminated.”

Most of the guests were recognizable celebrities—spotted instantly on the street. How were they supposed to stay hidden for two weeks?!

Lu Han raised a hand. “What happens if we get exposed on day one?”

“Any guest eliminated early will receive a ‘Brick Card,’ and be sent to a designated construction site,” Guan Hai said with a pause, “to move bricks—for the rest of the two-week period.”

In December. Outdoors. In freezing cold weather. Actual brick moving.

Jiang Xingchun raised a hand, curious. “Brother Hai, will we be followed by camera crews during the shoot? Won’t that attract attention?”

“Don’t worry,” said Guan Hai. “Our cameramen will remain hidden, and each of you will be wearing a micro-mic. It won’t interfere with the show’s integrity.”

Who’s worried about the show’s effects??

“If the cameraman gets spotted, does that mean we’re out?” Qiu Xi asked.

“Don’t worry,” Guan Hai said calmly. “Our cameramen are professionally trained and use compact equipment. They’ll maintain an appropriate distance depending on the environment. They won’t be discovered.”

Everyone’s face looked tense and uneasy—except for Ruan Yu, who still hadn’t lost her cool.

Just a few days ago she’d been lamenting her obscurity. Who would’ve thought that being unknown would be an advantage? At this rate, she was probably the most likely to make it to the end.

Sure, it’d be tough. But if it meant spending time with her celebrity crush, she could bear it.

He Changyuan asked, “What if we can’t find a place to stay—can we crash with another guest?”

“No,” Guan Hai said without a shred of mercy. “Guests may not share accommodations. You’re competitors.”

He continued, “During the mission, you’ll be able to see each other’s location on your phones. Each of you gets one chance to find and expose another guest. But if you do it in public, and you’re wrong—or if the other person turns the tables—you risk being exposed yourself. So make your moves wisely.”

“If, by the end of the two weeks, more than one person remains undetected, all guests will be penalized with a one-week extension.”

“To do what?” someone asked warily.

“To carry bricks.”

In other words, either only one person survives to the end—or no one wins, and everyone spends an extra week doing hard labor.

Ruan Yu: “……”

Wasn’t this show basically forcing her to go head-to-head with her idol before they could even fall in love?!

Yep. She was panicking now.

---

Author’s Note:

Stay strong, little Ruan Yu! You’ve got this! You’ve already met your celebrity crush—can your true idol be far behind?

Duan Lin: …