Chapter 1

—#Shock! Wen Tang and You Yang in an Intimate Embrace#

—#The Queen of Hearts, Wen Tang#

—#A Look Back at Wen Tang’s Previous Partners#

—#The Joys of My Sister, We Can’t Understand#

…

After the New Year, Wen Tang once again topped the trending searches, thanks to some photos taken before the year ended. In the photos, she was seen in a sweet and lingering embrace with the current heartthrob, You Yang, outside a restaurant.

The camera angle was far, indicating it was a candid shot. At night, on the street, under the streetlights, the overall ambiance was quite beautiful. Despite the distance, both figures were exceptionally striking and unmistakable.

Compared to Wen Tang’s previously exposed rumored boyfriends, this one was nothing special. After all, Lu Zhilin, Liu Yan, He Xingyi, and Xiao Ran were all top-tier celebrities with huge fan followings. They came in all types: cold and handsome, gentle and considerate, pure and cute—every type imaginable.

【Ahhhhh, my Yang Yang, really!!!!!!】

【When the show was announced, I guessed who would end up with Wen Tang, but I never expected it to be You Yang! How could this be? He’s only just turned twenty!!】

【Twenty isn’t that young. Look at Xiao Ran, who was only nineteen when he was with Wen Tang, and Lu Zhilin, who was only eighteen! Aren’t they all younger than You Yang?】

【Wen Tang is known for her ever-changing flings. The title of ‘Queen of Hearts’ is well-deserved.】

【Here it comes again, the annual must-see post!】

【Is this what my sister’s joy looks like? I want to experience it too. I’m not greedy, I don’t want too much, just one! Just give me one!!】

【What’s so proud about this? It’s just being fickle and unfaithful. Such immoral and unsophisticated people should be kicked out of the entertainment industry!】

【Exactly, I’ve long disliked her. Multiple rumors each year, always with a different man. How can such a woman still be a national idol? She should leave quickly!】

【What’s wrong with the public these days? They actually like such a female celebrity, how pathetic!】

【Wen Tang’s acting skills are great, so why isn’t she worth liking? She dates young actors based on her abilities and breaks up amicably. Has any of her exes ever spoken ill of her? What moral high ground are you standing on to lament public standards?】

【Isn’t your dislike just jealousy?】

【It’s well-known that Wen Tang’s fans are a bunch of rabid dogs, attacking anyone who crosses their path. I’m not dealing with this, I’m out.】

【Fans follow their idol. With Wen Tang’s character, what kind of normal fans could she have?】

【No matter how good her acting is, her character is too poor!】

【Wen Tang is forever blacklisted!】

…

At 9:27 AM, in a luxurious apartment on the sixteenth floor of Linjiang Mansion, a woman was half-buried in the soft bed, sleeping. Her seaweed-like long hair was spread over the pillow. One hand was draped over her face, obscuring most of her delicate features, only revealing her curled lashes and prominent nose, with a small mole at the corner of her eye faintly visible. Her other hand was tucked under the pillow, the blanket loosely draped over her waist, and her long, straight, fair legs extended out.

She seemed to be having a nightmare, as her brows were slightly furrowed, and her curled lashes fluttered. 

Linjiang Mansion was a luxury home that Wen Tang had bought just two years ago. Standing by the floor-to-ceiling windows, one could see the entire river view—it was very beautiful. She had only moved in alone at the end of last year, leaving her previous villa to her mother, Liu Meifen.

Since moving into Linjiang Mansion, Wen Tang finally had the chance to sleep in, but Liu Meifen, with her controlling nature, wasn’t about to let Wen Tang slip out of her control so easily.

Armed with the electronic lock code to Linjiang Mansion, Liu Meifen stood at the door and swiftly punched in the numbers. Liu Meifen, who had given birth to Wen Tang when she was twenty-two and was now forty-eight, was just as striking as her daughter. She spent six figures on her appearance each month, which made her look no older than thirty-five or thirty-six. Although age had left its mark, it was not deeply etched.

As Liu Meifen opened the door, she saw Wen Tang’s two assistants, Yang Yang and Kexin, anxiously pacing in the living room, none daring to knock on Wen Tang’s door.

Today was the opening ceremony for Wen Tang’s new drama, Hear Your Heart. By now, Wen Tang should have been on set.

“Where is Wen Tang?”

Liu Meifen asked.

Her oval face had a gentle appearance, but her personality was anything but. Anyone who had dealt with her knew her sharpness.

“She’s, she’s in her room,” Kexin, who was twenty-four and had worked with Wen Tang for three years, said nervously, having experienced Liu Meifen’s various tactics and being intimidated by her. “We’ve called Sister Tang several times, but she ignored us and threw things…”

“How could you be so useless?”

With a sharp glare, Liu Meifen silenced the two assistants instantly. She then ignored them, striding across the living room tiles with the click-clack of her high heels.

Wen Tang’s bedroom door wasn’t locked, so Liu Meifen pushed it open. As Kexin had said, there was indeed a pillow thrown in the middle of the room. With Wen Tang’s strength, she couldn’t have thrown it against the door.

“…Wen Tang!”

The room was somewhat large, and Liu Meifen quickly walked to the bed and pulled back the covers.

“Get up!” Urging Wen Tang to get up was something Liu Meifen had done countless times from Wen Tang’s childhood to now, and she was quite adept at it. After pulling back the covers, she proceeded to draw open the curtains, flooding the room with light with a whoosh. Liu Meifen turned back to see Wen Tang instinctively shielding her eyes from the sudden brightness.

Liu Meifen scolded, “Do you even know what time it is? The opening ceremony is today. Are you still planning to skip it? Do you think you can just cancel on Director Zhou Sheng? Wen Tang, you’re getting bolder and bolder!”

Wen Tang lay in bed, her eyes stung by the sunlight.

Liu Meifen had a tendency to overreact. This approach might have intimidated Wen Tang when she was younger, but it was no longer effective now.

Wen Tang shielded her eyes and, after adjusting to the light, slowly propped herself up. Her silk nightgown accentuated her curvaceous figure as she turned to Liu Meifen with a lazy look and a tone of indifference. “What are you afraid of? Isn’t it Zhou Sheng who asked me to act? If I don’t go, they’ll wait for me.”

Liu Meifen was taken aback by Wen Tang’s nonchalant response. She wasn’t one to dwell on minor issues like being late or absent. With Wen Tang’s current fame and status in the entertainment industry, being late once or twice was not a big deal.

She was merely using this as an excuse to vent her frustration. What truly irritated Liu Meifen was her daughter’s increasing rebelliousness. Sometimes, Wen Tang would go against whatever she said, making Liu Meifen feel a sense of helplessness she hadn’t experienced before.

Liu Meifen pulled out her phone, which was still on the Weibo trending page, and thrust it in front of Wen Tang.

Liu Meifen: “Look! Look! You and You Yang are trending! I’ve always warned you to be more cautious, to avoid being photographed by the media. But look at you, this is your idea of caution? Time after time, you manage to get on trending searches. You’re really something! And do you see how people are commenting about you? Do you still want to stay in this industry? How many times have I told you to take care of your reputation? Do you still care about your reputation or not?”

Liu Meifen could no longer maintain her composure in front of Wen Tang. Thinking back on all the trouble she had to clean up over the years made her furious. Despite her outburst, Wen Tang merely glanced at the phone screen for a moment before quickly looking away.

“Reputation?” Wen Tang chuckled lightly, swinging her legs to the floor and standing up. Her silk nightgown clung to her, showcasing her perfectly proportioned figure. Turning to Liu Meifen, she asked with a tone full of mockery, “Does that even exist in the entertainment industry?”

Her sarcasm left Liu Meifen speechless.

Ignoring Liu Meifen’s presence in the room, Wen Tang walked into the bathroom and shut the door behind her. Soon, the sound of running water indicated that Wen Tang had started her shower.

But Liu Meifen was not one to give up easily. Under her repeated warnings, Wen Tang had, like many of the men who had briefly appeared in her life, broken up with You Yang earlier in the year. Breakups meant endings, and Wen Tang was clear about that, which was the only aspect of her relationships that satisfied Liu Meifen.

Emotions, such transient things, were utterly useless. They were just part of the show.

As Wen Tang prepared to join a new drama crew, Liu Meifen’s concern was always about the next man.

Although it seemed like a futile effort, Liu Meifen seized the time Wen Tang spent showering, just as she had before every new drama, to sternly advise her: “Wen Tang, don’t cause trouble in the new crew. Those second- and third-tier actors have nothing to offer you. After all these years, don’t you understand? There’s no real emotion in this industry. It’s all about using you to climb up. You’re young and at the peak of your career. You should focus all your energy on your work, not waste time on useless relationships. They’re just a waste of time and energy.”

“Just focus on winning more awards now. In a few years, when I’m older and can’t control you anymore, you can play however you like.”

Liu Meifen stood at the bathroom door, her mouth running non stop as she spoke. After Wen Tang finished her shower, she emerged from the bathroom wrapped only in a towel and walked past Liu Meifen toward the walk-in closet without saying a word.

Liu Meifen followed her, calling out, “Wen Tang, did you hear what I just said?”

“Listen to your mother. I only have you as a daughter. Everything I say and do is for you. After all these years, don’t you understand? I would never harm you!”

In response, Wen Tang slammed the door shut behind her.