Chapter 16: Accident

Seeing Ji Linhao in person, Ruan Yu was overwhelmed with joy—then quickly swallowed by a crushing sadness.

Her eyes turned red. She was honestly about to cry.

“No crying,” she grumbled to herself hoarsely. “If my makeup smears and they notice, I’ll have to go haul bricks tonight.”

Since this is the life she’s living now, she might as well live it well. At the very least, she had to treasure every second of being near her idol!

Ruan Yu collected herself quickly and emerged from the bathroom.

Xiao Quan had returned with a pile of breakfast items. After a few shrimp dumplings, Ruan Yu started helping Shen Fangfei prepare.

Tonight, Ji Linhao would not only walk the red carpet but also receive an award, so his makeup and styling needed to be more formal than a typical performance look. The styling team and Shen Fangfei handled everything—Ruan Yu’s job was simply to pass along tools like makeup brushes or setting powder.

On the surface, she was silent as a prop in the background.

But inside, Ruan Yu was a screaming chicken on steroids.

How is his skin this good?! Those eyelashes, that nose bridge, that jawline—are they even real?!

Is this the peak of human evolution in looks?!

Those eyes—oh god, those eyes!!
Now I understand what it means to outshine thousands of male celebrities—Ji Linhao is THE standard!!!

Ji Linhao noticed Ruan Yu, who was holding a reflector in one hand and passing makeup tools with the other. “Holding that must be tiring, isn’t it?”

Ruan Yu was caught off guard. “Me?”

“Yeah,” he chuckled lightly. “We’ve already got the lighting set up. Whether you hold the reflector or not doesn’t really matter. Makeup is going to take a while—you’ll get worn out standing like that.”

Xiao Quan chimed in, “It is tiring. I’ll take over.”

Ruan Yu quickly shook her head, eyes shining. “It’s really not! I’m not tired at all. You all go ahead—I’m fine, really!”

Ji Linhao responded with a soft “Mm” and turned back to what he was doing.

Ruan Yu’s heart was practically bursting. She wanted to cry tears of joy. She had picked the right person to stan. Her precious Haohao was truly the gentlest man in the universe!

Hair and makeup took nearly five hours. Ruan Yu stood quietly by the whole time. Ji Linhao’s outfit for the night was sponsored by a high-end blue-blood luxury brand: a fitted white tuxedo with a black bow tie, paired with tousled waves in his hair. He looked like a prince straight out of a fairytale.

To preserve his look, Ji Linhao didn’t eat or drink much all afternoon. Ruan Yu felt a pang of guilt. While the crew was eating takeout, she slipped over and asked quietly, “I have a few pieces of chocolate… want to have a bite to keep you going?”

Ji Linhao looked surprised but smiled and accepted it. “Sure. Thanks.”

“No problem at all!” Ruan Yu internally screamed like a fangirl as she handed him the chocolate and practically bolted away.

Oh my god, she thought, I almost blurted out a confession!

By late afternoon, everyone took the elevator down to the underground parking garage to head to the event venue.

The red carpet for the Star Motion Awards had already started. The area around the Water Cube was cordoned off, and behind the barricades, a sea of fans had gathered. Media outlets and semi-professional photographers lined the carpet. Ruan Yu and Ji Linhao took separate cars, but from afar she saw his car stop at the entrance. The moment he stepped out, fans erupted in deafening screams, shaking the venue with their enthusiasm.

Ruan Yu’s heart surged with emotion. Her star was born to shine, meant to stand tall at the pinnacle, radiant and dazzling.

But today was different—today, she felt just a little closer to that star.

Shen Fangfei tugged her sleeve. “Let’s go. We need to head backstage.”

“Okay,” Ruan Yu replied, and the two of them walked toward the staff entrance.

Suddenly, a new wave of even louder screams broke out behind them, building and crashing in intensity. Ruan Yu couldn’t help but glance back.

A long black Porsche Panamera pulled up to the red carpet entrance. Duan Lin stepped out in a sleek black suit. At nearly 1.9 meters tall, his presence dominated the scene—he was impossible to ignore.

Ruan Yu had a feeling it would be him. Who else could rival Ji Linhao in sheer fan frenzy?

Tch. Her expression instantly turned into a funeral mask.

Shen Fangfei clicked her tongue in admiration. “Wow, Duan Lin really is handsome. Even someone like me, who’s seen countless male celebrities, thinks he’s stunning. No wonder he has so many fans.”

Ruan Yu blinked. “Huh?”

Shen Fangfei continued, “Don’t you think so? With that kind of build and aura, he’s not just popular with women—guys like him too. Here’s a little gossip for you: I’ve actually met a few male celebs in the industry who secretly have a crush on him.”

As she chatted, she noticed Ruan Yu with her hands pressed together, eyes closed in solemn concentration.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m praying,” Ruan Yu replied gravely.

Because good taste is a blessing. She sincerely prayed that everyone would be gifted with it.

Every year, the Star Motion Awards hosted more A-listers than one could count, attracting celebrities and industry elites from every field. From the moment it began, the event dominated trending topics across major platforms. Even people in the entertainment industry couldn’t help but gossip about it, let alone fans.

The group chat for the Undercover Profession show crew was buzzing. Lu Han forwarded a batch of red carpet photos.

Lu Han: [I should be there—not stuck at a construction site.]

Qiu Xi and Jiang Xingchun chimed in, cracking jokes and piling on.

While taking a quick break backstage, Ruan Yu checked the chat and then hopped over to Weibo forums.

Events like this were prime time for fandoms. And with Ji Linhao and Duan Lin clashing at the same venue, the fan wars were intense. Ruan Yu’s feed was full of Sijis reposting and managing trending tags, while Linjiaos were no less aggressive. The official event account’s program post had already amassed over 100,000 likes on the top comment alone.

Since she and Shen Fangfei couldn’t get into the main venue, they waited backstage. The only chance to see Ji Linhao was when he passed through before going on stage for an award or performance—at which point they could touch up his makeup.

Thankfully, there was a large screen in the backstage lounge streaming footage from the red carpet and inside the venue. As Ruan Yu kept an eye on the feed, she sneakily scrolled through the real-time fan pictures posted by Ji Linhao’s top fansites, trying her best to suppress her smile.

She couldn’t be too obvious—the show’s crew was filming, and a camera was pointed right at her.

At 7 PM, the ceremony officially began.

The audience seats lit up with glowing banners in waves—ice blue for Duan Lin, and warm apricot yellow for Ji Linhao. The ocean of support signs for the two stars practically covered the entire arena.

Backstage was even busier than the audience area, with sections for makeup touch-ups, press interviews, and, further in, the post-event banquet hall, all buzzing with activity.

Shen Fangfei gave Ruan Yu a pat. “Linhao is going onstage soon. We’ll need to touch up his makeup. Let’s go meet him.”

“Coming,” Ruan Yu stood up instantly.

Inside, an award segment was underway. Next up was Ji Linhao’s mid-show performance. Just the thought of seeing her idol sing and dance onstage again filled Ruan Yu with a giddy pink haze.

She spotted him from afar, walking down the backstage hallway.

Shen Fangfei quickly assessed him. “Linhao, your makeup’s holding up well. We’ll just do a light touch-up. Come on, let’s head to the lounge.”

Ji Linhao smiled, “Alright.”

Then, suddenly—

“What did you mean by that?!”

As the group passed a hallway, a sharp voice rang out from an interview room nearby.

Inside, a female celebrity glared furiously at one of the reporters interviewing her. Something must have struck a nerve. Even her assistant couldn’t stop her—she hurled her clutch at the reporter and shouted, “What exactly did you mean by that question?!”

The crowd was suddenly in disarray. The reporter was shoved back two steps, stumbling into others behind him, which caused someone to be jostled right out the door—colliding directly into a staff member walking past in the corridor.

That staff member, who was en route to set up for the banquet, was pushing a cart full of champagne. With the impact, both the person and the cart were violently knocked off balance—tumbling straight toward Shen Fangfei and the others!

It all happened in an instant.

Just as the towering champagne tower was about to crash down on Ji Linhao, Ruan Yu reacted without thinking—she shoved him aside.

In the next moment, she was doused head-to-toe in ice-cold champagne. She instinctively raised her arms to shield her face—sharp pain suddenly tore through her forearm.

The shattering of glass exploded around her.

For a split second, the searing pain turned her mind completely blank.

It hurt. It really hurt.

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Author’s Note:

Ruan Yu: I think I can still be saved… T.T