When Li Linlin arrived home, Chen Xi and Wu Hui were sitting on the sofa in the living room watching TV. Seeing her coming in with a bunch of stuff toys, both of them excitedly surrounded her. “Linlin, why did you buy so many stuff toys?”

Li Linlin held the things in her arms and walked to her room while saying, “I didn’t buy these, Brother Yiran got them for me.”

“Huh?” Chen Xi was stunned for a moment. “You went out with Brother Yiran today? Why didn’t he even call me?”

Was she still his dearest sister or not?!

Li Linlin said, “No, we just happened to meet by chance.”

She returned to the room and first placed the stuff toys on the fluffy rug beside the bed. Chen Xi and Wu Hui followed her in, each taking one. “Since we’ve seen them, share us some. There’re so many so give the two of us one each.”

“No, no.” Li Linlin snatched the stuff toys back from their hands. “These are given to me by Brother Yiran. I want to keep them myself!”

“……” Chen Xi silently picked up another one and Li Linlin snatched it back again.

“Ha!” Chen Xi pulled Wu Hui and headed out. “Let’s go get stuff toys ourselves, Wu Hui! We won’t give one to Linlin either!”

When Li Linlin saw them walked out, she ran forward and locked the door to her room. Returning to the bedside, Li Linlin hummed happily as she arranged the stuff toys one by one on the shelf. Marshmallow, on the other hand, was placed next to her pillow to accompany her to sleep.

After placing all the stuff toys, Li Linlin took her pajamas and went to the bathroom to take a shower. After blow-drying her hair, she placed everything back into place and walked back to her room. After admiring the line of stuff toys for a while, she picked up her phone and took a photo, then carefully added a few filters before sending it to Chen Yiran.

———

The phone next to Chen Yiran’s pillow vibrated slightly. He glanced down, put down the photo in his hand, and picked up the phone.

【Linlin: Brother Yiran, watch me launch a stuff toy formation! Biubiu~!】

Chen Yiran let out a laugh and sent her a reply, 【Why isn’t Marshmallow there?】

Li Linlin sent him another photo. 【Marshmallow’s here, it’s responsible for serving me in the bed!】

“……” The corners of Chen Yiran’s mouth twitched. Finally, he replied to her with one sentence, 【Rest early and stop thinking nonsense.】

【Linlin: Alright! Brother Yiran, go to bed early too. Good night!】

Chen Yiran’s gloomy mood just now inadvertently improved a lot.  The corners of his lips rose up and he replied 【Good night】 to Li Linlin. After putting down his phone, he looked down at the old photo and put it back in its original place.

———

The next day, Li Linlin found that Chen Xi and Wu Hui had indeed return with a bunch of stuff toys. She walked up curiously and looked around. “Xixi, is getting prizes from claw machines an ancestral skill of your family?”

“Heh.” Chen Xi crossed her arms together and held her head high proudly. “It’s just stuff toys, who don’t know how to get them?”

“That’s not right, Xixi, why are these stuff toys of yours have price tags?” Li Linlin picked up a small turtle and asked slowly.

“……” Chen Xi snatched the turtle back from Li Linlin’s hand and stuffed it into her bag. “They must’ve forgotten to remove it when they put them in the claw machines. Let me tell you, Li Linlin, you’ve no share with these stuff toys, they’re all mine and Wu Hui!”

“Oh…… I don’t want any either. I think the ones Brother Yiran got me are much cuter, bleh!”

“……” Chen Xi grabbed a pillow on the sofa and threw it at the fleeing Li Linlin. “If you have the ability, don’t run away!”

“……” Wu Hui picked her ears wordlessly, walked to the sofa and sat down. 《Fatal Heartbeat》 was due to finish after half a month, and the latest two episodes would be airing that day, so she turned on the TV on time.

Since the start of the drama, the ratings have been steadily rising, especially after Ou Jiaxu turned bad, the popularity and the number of views were the best among recent TV dramas, and basically no one could compete with it. However, after that day’s two episodes aired, the audience’s evaluation was obviously lower than before. Many people reacted that the quality of these two episodes had declined, and many scenes were inexplicable.

Whenever 《Fatal Heartbeat》 airs, there would always be plot-related trending searches on Weibo, and this week was the same, however, they were basically negative. Many netizens took to Weibo to question Screenwriter Wang Xin, suspecting that the last few episodes were written by someone else and asked her to come out to give an explanation.

Netizens were very vocal, however, Wang Xin’s Weibo remained silent. Others from the crew were also asked to come out. Li Linlin’s Weibo received private messages from fans asking if her scenes had been deleted as her role had noticeably decreased in these two episodes.

Wu Hui looked at the situation on the Internet and couldn’t help but worry. “It’s over, it’s over, it’s all over. Won’t everything end up in a mess at this rate?”

Chen Xi sat next to her, surrounded by a circle of stuff toys she had brought back. “Didn’t you guys say that everyone brought a screenwriter with them at the last stages of filming? Then this quality is easy to understand. It’s already good if there are no inconsistencies.”

“I’m afraid that the reputation of the drama will collapse and affect Linlin.” Wu Hui, the manager, was really worried. “Linlin’s career is rising right now, she can’t afford to be exposed to the wind and rain!”

Li Linlin herself was extremely optimistic. “Wu Hui’er, don’t worry about it. Anyway, I always acted according to the script. They can’t blame me, can they?”

Ou Jiaxu was outside her expectation and now Lin Zhen single-handedly brought the script back on track, wasn’t that just right? Although the process was different from what she expected, it’s fine as long as the result was the same!

Brother Yiran’s confession was just around the corner!

“……” Wu Hui, who was watching her from the side, couldn’t help but put the back of her hand against Li Linlin’s forehead. “Are you okay? Public opinion is a disaster, why are you happy instead?”

“I’m not.” Li Linlin lied brazenly. “Look, my acting is fine. They can’t dump the blame on me.”

“That’s true, but after all, you’re also the second female lead. The reputation of the drama collapsing will impact you to some extent.”

“Ow, don’t worry about it.” Li Linlin yawned and headed back to her room to sleep. “I’m going to bed first. You guys should go rest early too.”

Wu Hui: “……”

She’s afraid Li Linlin was the only one who could sleep in the whole crew right now.

As Wu Hui expected, after public opinion online boiled the whole night, not only did the views declined, the ratings on the platform also dropped. Many netizens were beginning to worry whether the remaining two episodes were of the same quality. If it really sucks, not only would Wang Xin’s reputation be affected, even Huanyu and the Weekly Theater of ABA wouldn’t be able to escape.

Wu Hui really didn’t want Li Linlin’s first drama to be dubbed as ‘high-beginning-low-ending disappointing drama’. She was worried all day long, but the party involved, Li Linlin, didn’t have a care in the world and was having a good time.

Sometimes she really envied Li Linlin’s mentality. 🙂

———

After Li Linlin finished shooting the two advertisements, she didn’t work for several days. Wu Hui still had a few scripts handed over by some production crews, saying that they wanted Li Linlin to play the female lead. Wu Hui screened and sorted them out, but Li Linlin never looked at them and appeared to be slacking off.

Wu Hui felt like she was going to die of anger ten thousand times every day.

“Since you don’t want to work for the time being, let’s take this time to expand the studio’s manpower.” Wu Hui handed a document to Li Linlin. “These are the positions I’ve compiled that the studio urgently needs to recruit and their tentative salaries, take a look.”

Li Linlin scanned the printed document in her hand and hesitantly told Wu Hui, “I think since I don’t have a job, we shouldn’t hire people for the time being.”

Wu Hui said, “It’s not like you’re never going to work again. Sooner or later, we’ll have to recruit people so let’s get it done while you’re free.”

“Uh……” Li Linlin glanced at the document again and crossed out some positions. “Then let’s recruit half of them first and the rest later.”

Wu Hui narrowed her eyes and scrutinized Li Linlin. “Why?”

Li Linlin said, “Because I haven’t been working, I only have expenses but no income. We have to consider balancing the studio’s income and expenditure.”

“Don’t you have the money from your previous advertisements? Why are you afraid that you won’t be able to pay their salaries?”

“Well……” Li Linlin smiled at Wu Hui. “To tell you the truth, I invested the money.”

“……” Wu Hui seemed to be struck by lightning and her hair almost stood on end. “What did you invest in?!”

“A web drama.” Li Linlin said, “It’s sure to be a hit.”

While speaking, she also gave Wu Hui a thumbs up.

Wu Hui: “……”

Why didn’t she know anything about such an important matter?

“What online drama? Who’s the director? Who’s the screenwriter? Who’re the lead actors?” Wu Hui felt that sooner or later she would be driven crazy by Li Linlin. “Show me the investment contract.”

“I think it’s better if you don’t look at it.” After all, Wu Hui’s endurance appeared not to be so good. “You can rest assured, my vision won’t be wrong!”

Wu Hui: “……”

Who can be rest assured?!

She was about to rush over and force Li Linlin to bring out the contract, but Li Linlin excused herself to answer the phone and walked out. The caller was the young woman who was previously in charge of the amusement park project. Li Linlin placed the phone beside her ear while reaching for the door. “Hello.”

“Hello, Little Sister Linlin, this is Xiao Pan. Do you still remember me?”

“Yes, yes, what’s the matter, Sister Xiao Pan?”

“It’s like this, ABA is preparing a variety show called 《A Meal in the Woods》, which invites celebrities to run a restaurant in the mountains. Our company is collaborating with the program group and the location chosen is Youxian Mountain. The place is a project jointly developed by us and the Yu family. Simply put, it includes accommodation, dining and tour. This sponsored program is also part of the promotion. The crew is now selecting guests and we’d like to invite you to join us. I wonder if it’s convenient for you?”

“Ah, participating in a variety show?” Li Linlin froze for a moment. Sister Xiao Pan’s company was Huachuang Group so this was also a project of Brother Yiran.

How many projects had he developed?! No wonder he could buy houses everywhere!

“Yes, many artists have received the news and want to participate. ABA has also given us permission to invite guests and I would like to recommend you.” Xiao Pan said on the other end of the phone, “Don’t worry, the pay will definitely be higher than the last time you shot the promotional video for our amusement park.”

Li Linlin: “……”

If you put it that way, it’s even more reason not to participate.

“Can I think about it?”

“Of course.” Xiao Pan added, “I’m in charge of this project right now. Once you’ve decided, just contact me directly.”

“Okay, troubling Sister Xiao Pan.”

“No worries, we’re the ones troubling you. That’s it for now then, I have to go to a meeting.”

“Okay, okay.” Li Linlin put down the phone when she heard the call was hung up. Wu Hui, who was outside the door, took the opportunity to push the door open and squeeze in. She looked at Li Linlin with shining eyes. “I just heard you say something about participating in a variety show? Is there a show that invited you?”

“……I haven’t decided to participate yet.”

“Why?” Wu Hui said, “I heard you calling Xiao Pan. Isn’t she the lady from the last amusement park project? She’s from your Brother Yiran’s company, so is this also a project of Huachuang?”

“Yeah.”

“Then what else are you thinking about?” This isn’t in line with your love obsessed persona. “It’s a great time to participate in a variety show. After the drama is over, you will have another show to continue your popularity!”

Li Linlin: “……”

When you analyze it like that, it makes it even more impossible for me to participate!

If it was an invitation from any other group, Li Linlin would definitely refuse without even thinking about it. But this time, it’s a project under Huachuang. If she refused, would Brother Yiran know about it as well? Would Brother Yiran think that she had something against their company?

Because she was worried about this, Li Linlin was torn throughout the day. Before going to bed that night, she held Marshmallow and stared at it, asking if she should go or not. It was when Chen Yiran called.

As soon as Li Linlin saw that it was him calling, she quickly picked up. “Brother Yiran!”

“Hmm.” Chen Yiran gave out a low, inaudible laugh. “Still up?”

“Yes, I’m discussing life with Marshmallow. “

This time, Chen Yiran’s laughter clearly reached Li Linlin’s ears through the receiver. “Oh? What have you discussed?”

“It’s nothing…… Brother Yiran, did you call me for something?”

Chen Yiran said, “I heard that Manager Pan invited you to participate in the show?”

“Yes.” Li Linlin’s heart tightened. Brother Yiran had indeed received the news! “She said it’s a joint development project between you guys and Yu family?”

“Yes, Youxian Mountain is in the same area as the amusement park, both of which are part of our efforts to build the place.”

“Oh, that’s right, I checked Youxian Mountain today. Although there are only promotional pictures, it looks very nice. The scenery is so beautiful.”

“En, the scenery on the mountain is very good. Our main selling point this time is accommodation and dining, so we teamed up with the Yu family to develop the land.” Chen Yiran briefly summarized. “I just found out that Manager Pan invited you to the variety show. You don’t have to be embarrassed. If you don’t want to join, just reject her. She will arrange for other artists to go.”

“No! I’d love to go!”