This translation is by Pocketrobbin at S h a n g h a i f a n t a s y . c o m

Meng Zhen tidied up the apartment while pondering. This place was provided by Yunlai Entertainment. If she had a falling out with Yu Jing, she would inevitably have to move out from there.

The other Meng Zhen grew up in an orphanage and never had much money to buy personal belongings. Meng Zhen packed up and, all in all had just a few clothes and pairs of shoes. The expensive watches and jewelry seen on screen were all borrowed from the company. Her personal belongings couldn’t even fill a 24-inch suitcase.

Even though she didn’t have much money on hand, Meng Zhen still chose to take a taxi when she went out to meet Yu Jing.

She was still a public figure, albeit not a hugely famous one. There was still a considerable chance of being recognized, especially by obsessed haters. The consequences could be unimaginable if she encountered them on the street.

Throughout the journey, Meng Zhen wore a mask. When she arrived at the café’s door, she peered through the clean, bright glass window and saw Yu Jing sitting at a table with a middle-aged man.

He was slightly overweight, around thirty-seven or thirty-eight years old, with a mole the size of a grain of rice near his right eye. He was likely the Director Ou that Yu Jing had mentioned.

Meng Zhen walked inside and looked at the manager sitting on the sofa. She took off her mask and stated, “Sister Yu, as you know, slapping Ji Xiaoling is part of the script and arranged by the director. I did nothing wrong.”

Yu Jing leisurely took a sip of coffee. For newcomers like Meng Zhen, Yunlai Entertainment recruited countless of them every year. And with such a large number of people, their value naturally diminished.

“Meng Zhen, I understand your difficulties. But the most important thing for a celebrity is moral character. Your reputation is already tarnished, and without good scripts looking for you, there are no roles to play. Keeping your contract is useless. But I know you really want to act, which is why I brought Director Ou here. He’s looking for an actress open for the role of the second female lead, which required full nudity on screen……”

The young woman wore a loose-fitting black coat, her shoulder-length hair cascading loosely, framing her small and delicate face, and making her look exceptionally beautiful.

Director Ou squinted his eyes, scrutinizing Meng Zhen from head to toe. A lecherous gleam flickered in his eyes, making one feel disgusted.

“Xiao Meng, right? I understand your situation very well. In your current state and with all the negative publicity online, unless you have a standout work, whitewashing your image is just a fantasy. It would be better to focus on acting in a film with me.” As he spoke, Director Ou’s hand under the table reached towards Meng Zhen’s thigh.

She clamped his wrist tightly.

“Director Ou, if you want to talk, just talk. But if you start getting handsy, be careful or I’ll call the police.” Meng Zhen said, propping her chin with her other hand and giving a sarcastic smile.

Yu Jing couldn’t believe Meng Zhen would be so disrespectful. She looked at the man’s pained expression and said fiercely, “Release Director Ou immediately. Don’t forget, you signed that contract yourself and agreed to follow all of the company’s arrangements.”

“Are your ‘arrangements’ supposed to include selling myself?”

“What nonsense are you talking about?” Yu Jing retorted sharply, pulling out a printed contract from her bag and slamming it down in front of Meng Zhen.

“Meng Zhen, it’s all because of your own uselessness that you can’t get any work. If you don’t take on these films with special requirements, no one will hire you. You’re still young. If you’re hidden away right now, you’ll waste the best years of your life. In the future, you’ll only be able to play other actresses’ mothers. Are you willing to accept that?”

Upon hearing those self-serving remarks, Meng Zhen couldn’t help but chuckle cynically. However, she also understood that as a disgraced small star, confronting Yunlai Entertainment would yield no benefits. After all, she hadn’t terminated her contract yet, and couldn’t let matters escalate to a life-and-death struggle.

She flipped open the contract and carefully examined the clauses written on it.

Suddenly, Meng Zhen lifted her head and asked, “Sister Yu, normally, all my job opportunities should be overseen by Yunlai Entertainment. If I take on private jobs, the company will take ninety percent of the profits, right?”

Yu Jing tapped the table with a hint of disdain and asked, “What’s this? Feeling emboldened and want to take on private jobs now? Let me make it clear today. Regardless of where you get job opportunities from, as long as you can earn enough to compensate the company’s loss with five million, you can terminate the contract. But, do you have that capability?”

“Whether I have the capability or not is my own business. You don’t need to worry about it, Sister Yu.”

After saying that, Meng Zhen carefully put away the contract and left the coffee shop without even glancing at Director Ou.

Seeing this, Yu Jing’s eyes flashed with anger, but she quickly forced a smile and apologized, “Director Ou, it’s my fault for not considering everything. Meng Zhen is just like a stubborn rock in a latrine— stinky and hard-headed. I’m sorry for the disrespect.”

Director Ou casually took a sip of coffee and maintained a friendly smile. “Xiao Yu, Meng Zhen is a young girl who still thinks she can change reality. After she bumps into a few walls in society, she’ll understand your painstaking efforts.”

“You’re right.”

Yu Jing smiled and nodded repeatedly, but inwardly, she was cursing Meng Zhen. She considered Meng Zhen a useless waste. Being able to act in Director Ou’s film was already a stroke of luck for her, but she didn’t expect Meng Zhen to be unwilling.

After leaving the place, Meng Zhen sat on a bench in the park and clumsily logged into the online banking app on her phone, checking her account balance.

The contract Yunlai signed with the other Meng Zhen was very unfair. The company took a big cut from every job she undertook.

Therefore, after being in the industry for half a year, she only had less than thirty thousand yuan in her bank account.

From then to now, Meng Zhen’s greatest passion was acting. It was what had rescued her from that dark and oppressive place, providing her with the only redemption in the endless darkness. Therefore, despite the difficult circumstances, she would never give up on her career as an actress.

Meng Zhen was well aware of her strengths. She raised her hand to touch her cheek, recalling several skincare concoctions that floated through her mind.

In her previous life, she was the most renowned actress in the country. Her assistant’s mother had been a palace maid serving a concubine in the former dynasty, and she had shared skincare secrets with Meng Zhen.

One of them was the Qibai Gao, made from a mixture of angelica dahurica root, ampelopsis japonica root, atractylodes macrocephala, poria cocos fungus, tribulus terrestris fruit, typhonium tuber, and egg white, blended in specific proportions with wild ginger. It was applied to the face and body each night after washing, and within less than half a year, the skin would become evenly fair, smooth, and radiant.

However, the most important thing right now was to find a place to stay. The formulation of the Qibai Gao can wait.

As Meng Zhen expected, less than half an hour after leaving the café, the dormitory administrator called her to urge her to move out.

Meng Zhen also didn’t want to live under Yu Jing’s surveillance, so she immediately agreed. She returned to the dormitory to fetch her suitcase, downloaded a rental app, and chose a moderately priced apartment near the film and television city. After inspecting the apartment herself, she decided to move in right away.

Meng Zhen wasn’t very accustomed to using smartphones, but having witnessed the life experiences of the other Meng Zhen, she had a basic understanding of the functions of these electronic devices and managed to use the phone without making mistakes.

Although the newly rented house came fully furnished, Meng Zhen still needed to buy some daily necessities. She found a nearby supermarket, grabbed a shopping basket, and placed toothpaste, shampoo, and other items inside.

As she was standing in line to pay, Meng Zhen noticed a thin man across from her discreetly taking upskirt photos of the girl in front of him. His movements were skilled and covert, and his expression appeared normal, indicating he was experienced in such actions.

Meng Zhen was shocked to witness such a disgusting act right before her eyes. Pressing her churning stomach, she frowned and walked up behind the man. She tapped his shoulder and, catching him off guard, slapped him hard across the face before snatching his phone away.

The man was stunned, holding his swollen and red left cheek. He stared at Meng Zhen with disbelief for a while before gritting his teeth and asking, “You b*tch, why did you hit me?! Are you crazy?!”

The sharp and rude outburst attracted the attention of people around them. They glanced first at the menacing man and then at the masked young woman with half her face covered, unsure of what had transpired.

However, people tend to love joining in on the excitement. At that moment, someone had already opened their phone’s camera and secretly started recording a video, intending to upload it online.

Meng Zhen grabbed the man’s hand and forced his fingers to unlock the phone.

Sensing the young woman’s intention, the thin man’s eyes betrayed a hint of guilt. He attempted to push Meng Zhen away but couldn’t break free from her grip.

What’s going on?

Meng Zhen was prepared for this kind of situation. Since childhood, as the strongest child in the orphanage, even though she had not formally learned martial arts, several boys were no match for her. Now, restraining a physically weak man like him took little effort at all.

After unlocking the phone and seeing the photos on the screen, Meng Zhen gestured towards the petite girl in front of her. Concerned about potentially damaging the girl’s reputation, she explained in a whisper, “He was just standing next to you and taking sneaky shots.”

Upon hearing that, the petite girl’s face instantly turned bright red. She glanced at the phone screen in anger, stomped her foot, and after a moment, called the mall security over. When she regained her composure and wanted to thank the young woman who helped her, she realized that the other party had already left.

The petite girl rubbed her nose before going to the police station to make a statement. Afterward, she recounted that day’s events to her best friend. Both were indignant for quite some time before the girl, began typing, 【That sister is so beautiful! Her looks were off the charts, absolutely stunning!】

【Didn’t you say she’s wearing a mask?】

【Her eyes and eyebrows are beautiful. With those eyes, she’s definitely a fairy. She’s prettier than a lot of celebrities, and her voice is also nice to listen to. She’s perfect!】

Meng Zhen didn’t take the little episode in the supermarket to heart at all. The girl was just about fifteen or sixteen years old. Taking sneaky shots of people was really disgusting.

She wiped her hands with a wet tissue as she left the supermarket, then went to the pharmacy to buy the medicinal herbs needed to make Qibai Gao.

Before Meng Zhen even returned to her apartment, a big v with hundreds of thousands of followers posted four short clips along with the caption, 【Isn’t female violence still violence?】

This big v identifies as a ‘public intellectual’, and his followers, who also support his views, reposted and liked the post without hesitation. It quickly trended, sparking discussions among many people and even being reposted by several marketing accounts.