When Lin Xiqian left the office, her mind was still in a daze. As she walked, her legs suddenly gave way, and she nearly collapsed to the floor.

A teen reacted swiftly and caught her just in time.

He had short, light wisteria-colored hair, and his handsome face bore a somewhat androgynous beauty.

“Thank you.” Lin Xiqian said softly. She had never seen this teen before, but judging from his outfit, he was likely a trainee idol.

“No need.” The teen replied. “Sister, the road ahead is still long. Be more careful when walking.”

Lin Xiqian paused, staring at him blankly. His features seemed vaguely familiar, but the hallway lighting was dim, and she couldn’t recall who he resembled.

She didn’t quite understand what he meant and simply stared at him in confusion.

The teen grinned. “Even though the road is full of bumps and scrapes, as long as you keep moving forward, you’re bound to run into something good.”

Warmth suddenly welled up in Lin Xiqian’s heart. She pulled out a faint smile. “Thank you.”

She left, and as she walked away, her palm was still tightly clutching the slip of paper.

Xia Chengcheng and the system watched Lin Xiqian’s retreating figure and let out a soft sigh.

〖Host, I just did a quick search!〗 The system eagerly showed off its investigative skills. 〖Lin Xiqian is an artist under Tiancheng. When she first entered the industry, she caught the eye of a big shot. She refused to sleep her way to the top and got blacklisted by him. Things haven’t been going well for her these past two years, and she’s only been doing background roles or stand-in work!

As for Chen Mingjie, he’s Ye Shiwen’s simp. Later on, he couldn’t win her over and ended up becoming an obstacle in her relationship with Han Jialin. Eventually, he got exposed and canceled for molesting a young actress!

Host, Chen Mingjie’s your target this time, right? I’ve done a thorough job, haven’t I?〗 The system looked proud, as if waiting for praise.

Xia Chengcheng raised a brow. “It is thorough, but most of it is probably just from the novel.”

The system was indignant and protested confidently, 〖How can it all be from the novel? Lin Xiqian’s not even a character in the original plot. I hacked into Tiancheng’s network to dig up her info!〗

Xia Chengcheng crossed her arms and leaned lazily against the wall. “Then tell me, what’s the scoop I’m about to expose today? You’ve been following me all this time. You should’ve figured it out by now.”

〖System: ???〗

〖…..Isn’t it the molestation?〗 The system was completely lost. 〖In the novel, Chen Mingjie clearly gets canceled because of molesting a young actress!〗

“System, you still have a lot to learn.”

Xia Chengcheng straightened up and walked toward the elevator. “At this point in the novel, Chen Mingjie has only just made his appearance. He’s still in his pure-hearted mode, with only Ye Shiwen in his heart. How could he possibly molest someone?”

The system faltered. 〖But he just handed Lin Xiqian a note! Doesn’t that note have a hotel address on it?〗

Xia Chengcheng suddenly halted, her expression gradually turning cold. Her peach blossom eyes seemed to frost over.

“Yes, that is a hotel address. But who said the other person going to the hotel is Chen Mingjie?”

〖If it’s not Chen Mingjie, then who?〗

“His client, of course.” Xia Chengcheng let out a cold laugh. “That whole molestation scandal later is just a cover story he used to cut ties and save face.”

Realization dawned on the system. 〖So you’re saying that Chen Mingjie’s biggest scandal isn’t the molestation, it’s—〗

“Pimping.”

Xia Chengcheng’s tone was like ice, each word clear and deliberate.

────ρя


A crescent moon hung high in the sky, and the night was silent.

However, the lights of Boli Hotel blazed brightly.

It was one of the top hotels in Jiang City, located by the Jinjiang River. Facing south, it offered an endless view of the river, where water and sky met in misty blue. Cargo ships and tourist boats came and went, and small pleasure boats occasionally floated by.

Lin Xiqian arrived at the hotel.

She opened the slip of paper in her palm, which had been soaked through with sweat. The words ‘Boli Hotel’ were nearly illegible.

She had never been there before.

She knew the Boli was expensive. As she walked into the luxurious lobby, she overheard a conversation between the lobby manager and a guest. Just one night there costs over 10,000. That was several days’ worth of her acting pay.

Lin Xiqian said nothing. She glanced at the front desk, quickly put on sunglasses and a baseball cap, and followed the ushering staff member into the elevator.

The transparent elevator rose steadily toward the upper floors. The night view of Jiang City was fully on display, then gradually shrank in her eyes, as if the entire world was slowly receding from her.

Unconsciously, she tightened her grip on the note in her hand.

She passed by several trash cans and considered throwing the paper away each time, but Chen Mingjie’s warning echoed in her ears. In the end, she didn’t do it.

The two metal elevator doors parted like a pair of slow-moving sickles, revealing a brightly lit hallway.

The sudden brightness stung her eyes, and everything in front of her became blurry. She didn’t even know how she ended up in Room 2219.

It wasn’t until she saw the man with the protruding beer belly and slightly bloated figure that Lin Xiqian finally snapped out of it.

The man’s surname was Zhao, and he was known as CEO Zhao.

Lin Xiqian had seen him before. During an earlier audition, she had seen Lin Qin— who had originally been cast as the third female lead in 《Immortal Vow》— getting into a Bentley.

CEO Zhao had also been sitting in that Bentley.

When he saw Lin Xiqian, CEO Zhao’s eyes narrowed with a hint of surprise and delight.

Lin Xiqian’s looks were on par with Lin Qin’s, but her eyes carried a timid, deer-like expression. CEO Zhao had a taste for such fresh-faced girls. They lacked the skills of seasoned women but had a certain novelty.

Who wouldn’t like fresh flesh?

CEO Zhao swirled the wine in his goblet and sat down beside Lin Xiqian.

She instinctively jumped to her feet, flustered by the smile on his face.

“It’s okay.” CEO Zhao said in a surprisingly gentle voice. “I’m very tender. If it hurts, you can tell me to stop anytime.”

Instead of easing her fears, his words sent a chill down her body.

She quivered uncontrollably. In that moment, regret overwhelmed her.

“I’m sorry!” She bowed repeatedly. “I-I’d like to leave. I think I should go!”

She turned to leave, but CEO Zhao quickly grabbed her wrist. “Wait a minute!”

Lin Xiqian’s body stiffened. She looked at him nervously, wishing she could shrink into herself.

“Am I that scary?” CEO Zhao gave a bitter smile. “I won’t force you. These things require mutual consent. If you’re not willing, then forget it.”

He released her hand. “But just now, my assistant told me that some big celebrity just checked in. Fans and reporters are crowding outside the hotel. You should wait a bit before leaving.”

A big celebrity staying at the hotel wasn’t surprising. Boli was one of the best hotels in Jiang City, and out-of-town celebrities often stayed there for events.

Lin Xiqian stole a glance at CEO Zhao. Despite his beer belly, the middle-aged man still carried a certain scholarly elegance. After letting go of her, he calmly sat down in front of the coffee table and began brewing a pot of tea with practiced ease. Judging from the rich, mellow aroma, Lin Xiqian guessed it was Da Hong Pao.

The taut string in her heart loosened ever so slightly.

“Have some tea. You’ll probably have to wait another hour or two before you can leave.” CEO Zhao said, pouring her a cup after completing the entire tea-making process with skillful familiarity.

Lin Xiqian felt her throat was a little dry.

Ever since leaving the studio, she’d been tense and hadn’t taken a single sip of water.

Inhaling the faint fragrance of the tea, Lin Xiqian sat across from him and took small sips.

The tea had a hint of bitterness and astringency, but its warmth spread from her throat to her stomach.

She couldn’t help but take a few more sips.

By the time she drank the third cup, her head started swaying a little, and CEO Zhao’s figure before her split into several overlapping images. She tried to raise a hand to rub her eyes, but found her arms heavy, as if weighed down by a thousand pounds.

Something felt very wrong, but before she could think more about it, the world spun and she collapsed onto the sofa.

Beside her, CEO Zhao took another leisurely sip of tea, then casually scooped her up and carried her into the bedroom.

Lin Xiqian was tossed onto the bed like a toy. Strange objects had been placed beside the bed.

She struggled to open her eyes, dread swelling inside her.

CEO Zhao’s expression had completely changed. Gone was the refined demeanor. He now radiated the aura of a beast. He lunged at her impatiently.

Lin Xiqian screamed inwardly, but no sound escaped. She wanted to fight back, to run, but her limbs were limp and powerless.

Suddenly, the fire alarm blared throughout the room.

Startled, CEO Zhao rushed to open the door. In the hallway, guests were fleeing in panic, their faces filled with the same fear as his.

It looked like a real fire!

He had no time for Lin Xiqian. He threw on a coat and joined the crowd fleeing the building.

Guests surged like a wave, disappearing into the tide of chaos.

In the crowd, a teenager wearing a baseball cap moved against the current, heading toward Room 2219.

No one noticed him. After all, in an emergency, survival came first.

The teen easily reached Room 2219 and found Lin Xiqian unconscious on the bed. After a quick glance around, he grabbed a bottle of water from the nightstand and poured it directly over Lin Xiqian without hesitation.

The cold shock jolted Lin Xiqian awake, though her mind was still hazy and her head heavy.

The teen raised an eyebrow, tore open a brand-new toothbrush, and shoved it into Lin Xiqian’s mouth. The sudden intrusion triggered a gag reflex, and she began to vomit uncontrollably. Tea spilled onto the floor.

Lin Xiqian’s awareness began to return, and she stared at the teen in front of her, dazed for two seconds.

“You’re…… the trainee from the studio today?” She asked, recognizing the face. But her mind was still foggy, and when she blinked again, the teen looked more like the person she had seen even earlier— Xia Chengcheng, the executive producer of 《Immortal Vow》.

“Stop spacing out. Get out of here!” Xia Chengcheng ordered, yanking her up.

The fire alarm continued to shriek throughout Boli Hotel.

Lin Xiqian stumbled outside, her thoughts gradually clearing. She faltered a few steps and turned back to glance at the teen.

He was still wearing a cap and now holding a camera, seemingly taking photos in the room.

Lin Xiqian couldn’t spare time to think about it. She joined the crowd and left the hotel.

She ran all the way to the plaza in front of Boli Hotel, where a mass of people had gathered.

There, she overheard the hotel manager barking at his assistant, “Which room is on fire? Have you figured it out?”

The assistant cowered. “I-it might’ve been a false alarm……”

“False alarm?!” The manager’s eyes went wide. He grabbed the assistant’s head and growled, “Do you know who our guests are? Can we afford a mistake like this?”

The rest of the conversation was too hushed for Lin Xiqian to hear.

She crouched beside a flowerbed, rubbing the red marks on her skin and sobbing softly.

Everything CEO Zhao had done just now replayed clearly in her mind. The nausea, the humiliation, the grievance…… all the pain and shame surged up in that moment.

She felt like a broken, soiled toy, and no amount of scrubbing could remove the stains.

Meanwhile, the manager finally confirmed the fire had been a false alarm.

The guests gradually returned to the hotel, but Lin Xiqian stood up with new resolve and walked in the opposite direction.

Just then, a BMW sped to a stop in front of the hotel.

Chen Mingjie jumped out, scanned the crowd, and spotted Lin Xiqian walking away. He rushed over and exploded in rage.

“Lin Xiqian, get back to the hotel! CEO Zhao is still waiting for you in the room!”

“Assistant Director Chen……” Lin Xiqian murmured, voice trembling, “I don’t want to go back……”

“Don’t want to go back?”

Chen Mingjie frowned, scanning her from head to toe. His eyes landed on the red marks around her neck, and realization dawned. He sneered. “You think you have a choice? CEO Zhao has already paid! Do you still want that third female lead role or not?”

Lin Xiqian clutched his sleeve desperately. “Assistant Director Chen…… I can’t lose this role! Please, if you want a cut, I can give it to you! I’m begging you!”

“Begging me is useless!” Chen Mingjie grabbed Lin Xiqian’s wrist. “Come back to the hotel with me right now. Maybe there’s still room to negotiate!”

“No! I don’t want to!” Lin Xiqian screamed in terror, struggling with all her might. But she was no match for him, and he dragged her toward the brightly lit Boli Hotel.

That glittering, luxurious hotel looked like a bloody hell to her now.

But just before they reached the entrance, a water bottle came flying out of nowhere and struck Chen Mingjie hard on the back of his head!

He staggered, startled. Seizing the moment, Lin Xiqian kicked him viciously in the groin!

Chen Mingjie froze in agony, clutching himself and gritting his teeth.

He watched her run away and roared, “Lin Xiqian! If you dare run tonight, I swear you’ll never survive in this industry!”

But Lin Xiqian no longer cared. She ran as fast as she could in the opposite direction.

Chen Mingjie’s pain finally eased, but Lin Xiqian was already out of sight. Fuming, he kicked the BMW and stomped into the hotel.

Lin Xiqian could throw away CEO Zhao, but he couldn’t. He had to find another girl and apologize to CEO Zhao.

Once he was gone, Xia Chengcheng finally poked her head out from behind a bush, a few bottles of mineral water at her side.

She glanced at her camera. The confrontation between Chen Mingjie and Lin Xiqian had been recorded in full detail.

Then she put on her headphones. The recorder hidden in Lin Xiqian’s pocket had clearly captured their entire conversation.

Finally, Xia Chengcheng sat down on a bench and opened the hidden camera she had planted in Room 2219. The footage now showed CEO Zhao berating Chen Mingjie.

A rare smile curved across her otherwise expressionless face.

〖Host, all the evidence has been collected! I triggered the fire alarm by hacking the hotel network. They’ll never trace it!〗 The system declared confidently. It may not match Xia Chengcheng in wit, but when it came to computers, it had never lost.

“Let’s go.”  Xia Chengcheng said with satisfaction, adjusting her baseball cap. “The weather’s getting cold. Someone’s about to fall from grace~”