A few days before the magazine cover shoot, Meng Zhen and Shanlan’s staff headed to Australia, not forgetting to bring along the haute couture dress personally designed by Benjamin.

The photographer from Shanlan had worked in the entertainment industry for many years, with skills and aesthetics that were top-notch. He captured Meng Zhen standing barefoot on the dry leaves, making her look as beautiful as an angel, stirring the hearts of many.

After Shanlan’s team returned to the country, they worked tirelessly to process the photos and videos. Only then did they post an update on their official account.

【Like a fleeting mirage, a pure and beautiful elf, Meng Zhen kept moving along the trail of her dreams, chasing hope and the faint light, continuously pursuing and growing. Shanlan wishes to join hands with Meng Zhen, witnessing the flow of clouds and water together [Image]】

When Meng Zhen’s fans saw on the cover of Shanlan’s May issue, they couldn’t even form a complete sentence and could only scream. The reason was simple. The photo was stunningly beautiful. No one could, in good conscience, say it was anything less. Not only did the fans hurriedly download the photo, but even many passersby succumbed to its beauty and pressed the save button.

【@Shanlan, if you have the guts to post the photo, you should have the guts to sell the magazine! I have a friend who wants to see the inside pages of the magazine. Does it feature our sister?】

【Hurry up and start selling, my wallet is waiting to be emptied!】

【Wuuwuuwuu, every time Zhenzhen appears, her beauty slays me. I’m in tears.】

Within less than half an hour of making the post, the number of comments it got exceeded ten thousand. It even got pushed onto the trending list by Meng Zhen’s fans, generating significant publicity.

The staff left the sale time and link in the comment section, announcing that the magazine would go on sale at 8 PM. In less than a day, 30,000 copies were snapped up, a very high sales figure for a celebrity.

Xu Xuero saw the magazine cover from Shanlan and was so infuriated that she slammed her phone hard onto the ground. However, she dared not show her anger in front of the Xu family, especially after Xu Ruixi’s words had genuinely scared her. She had no blood ties with the Xu couple, despite spending many years together. Weren’t there still numerous conflicts because of Meng Zhen?

If they were to discover her deep-seated resentment towards Meng Zhen, they would surely cast her out of their home.

Just the thought of losing the status of being the Xu family’s beloved daughter caused Xu Xuero to feel a throbbing pain in her heart.

She deleted everything related to Meng Zhen from her phone and unfollowed all topics related to her online. Yet, Meng Zhen’s name continued to haunt her relentlessly, echoing in her ears.

At the dinner table, the Xu couple often mentioned Meng Zhen, but Xu Xuero dared not speak much, pretending not to hear. At school, her classmates obsessed over the latest episode of 《Investiture》, and many had set Shanlan’s May issue cover as their phone wallpaper. No matter where she went, reminders of Meng Zhen were everywhere.

With only a month left until the college entrance examination, Xu Xuero found it impossible to concentrate on studying under these circumstances. Despite sitting quietly in the classroom, her thoughts wandered aimlessly, and there were times were she found it difficult to complete a practice test attentively after class.

The teacher in charge of the graduating class was observant and noticed Xu Xuero’s unusual state. Unwilling to see a promising student falter, she took the initiative to have a conversation with her.

It’s a pity that Xu Xuero completely misunderstood the teacher’s good intentions and felt that the other party was meddling unnecessarily. Xu Xuero even privately complained to her best friend several times about it.

Fortunately, her foundation was still solid and despite a slight decline in her mock exam scores, she managed to rank within the top fifty in her grade. However, she knew it wasn’t meeting Xu Youheng’s expectations.

Seeing her current behavior, the homeroom teacher felt perplexed. If Xu Xuero didn’t want to take the college entrance exam, she should have joined the international class from the beginning. Yet, she hadn’t applied to any foreign schools. Judging by her parents’ intentions, it seemed they wanted her to apply to top universities like Tsinghua or Peking University.

However, with Xu Xuero’s current performance, it’s unlikely she could even make it into other first-tier universities, let alone Tsinghua or Peking University.

But regardless, Xu Xuero was still the daughter of the Xu Group. Even if she failed the college entrance exam, it wouldn’t affect her life. The worst-case scenario would be studying abroad. If the teacher insists too much, it might not end well.

Based on this thinking, the homeroom teacher didn’t impose too many restrictions on Xu Xuero. Her attitude towards the student remained the same as usual.

In the final month before the exams, all senior students at the affiliated high school were intensively revising, wishing they could split themselves in two just to squeeze in more practice tests and score an extra point in the college entrance exam. Unfortunately, Xu Xuero’s mind was completely elsewhere. She couldn’t stop thinking about Meng Zhen.

Recently, the drama 《Investiture》 has finished airing. Xu Xuero heard that Meng Zhen was nominated for the Best Supporting Actress award for her role as Daji, competing against the highly prestigious Tuberose TV Drama Award. If Meng Zhen indeed won it, her future in the entertainment industry was bound to be smooth sailing.

With all these thoughts in her head, it would be strange if Xu Xueruo could be in a good state.

While classmates diligently reviewed key exam points during the day, Xu Xuero often found herself distracted. After returning home from evening self-study sessions, instead of opening her schoolbag, she would immediately grab her phone to catch up on the latest entertainment news.

Many people started polls online to see if Meng Zhen would win the award. Xu Xuero chose ‘no’ directly. She checked the award ceremony date and realized it coincided exactly with the first day of the college entrance exam.

In her heart, Xu Xuero cursed the organizing committee, feeling that Meng Zhen was her nemesis. Since Meng Zhen appeared, her life has become exceptionally difficult. Her grades slipped, and even her parents’ affection towards her waned. Thinking about the recent indifferent atmosphere in the Xu family, Xu Xuero’s eyes welled up with tears, feeling aggrieved and on the verge of crying.

———pr

Time flew by quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was the day of the college entrance exam.

Early in the morning, the Xu family driver drove Xu Xuero to the exam hall. It was only when the invigilator checked her ID that she realized she had forgotten it at home. Panicking, she hurriedly asked the invigilator to help her call the driver. After a bit of a hassle, only then did she finally manage to enter the exam room.

However, due to this slight delay, Xu Xuero couldn’t calm her nerves for a long time. Fortunately, she still had the foundation laid down during her three years of high school. After catching her breath, she hastily started working on the exam. But having not practiced diligently for over a month, she inevitably felt a bit rusty. She managed well in the language exam, but when it came to mathematics, her calculations kept going wrong, causing her to break out in a nervous sweat.

On the first day, Xu Xuero only had the Language and Mathematics exams. As she walked out of the exam hall, she felt a heavy weight pressing down on her heart. She hadn’t anticipated that the exam questions would be so challenging this time. Could it be that the difficulty had been increased?

Xu Xuero, with a long face, found the Xu family driver and headed straight back to the villa.

At this moment, with Xu Youheng at the company and Xu Ruixi still at school, only Zhao Rong was in the living room. Seeing her pale and thin adopted daughter, Zhao Rong couldn’t help but feel deeply distressed. She reached out and gently wrapped her arms around Xu Xuero’s shoulders, asking in a gentle tone, “Xuero, how did it go today? Do you feel confident about getting into Tsinghua University?”

Upon hearing her words, Xu Xuero felt even more restless in her heart. She forced a smile and softly replied, “Tomorrow I have English and Science exams. The questions this time are quite difficult, so I can’t say for sure how it will turn out.”

“Mom is just anxious. After dinner, go back and review the key points again. I don’t know what your dad is thinking, stubbornly insisting that you take the college entrance exam……”

———pr

After the Xu family finished dinner, the Tuberose Awards ceremony began. Xu Xuero saw Meng Zhen on TV, and the color drained from her lips. Fearful of showing any hint of resentment in front of her parents, she quickly lowered her head and hurried back upstairs to her bedroom.

Taking in her appearance, Xu Ruixi sneered inwardly. He recalled how blind he had been before. He had been deceived by Xu Xuero for so many years, treating her insincere words as imperial decree. Fortunately, he had seen through Xu Xuero’s true nature in time. Otherwise, she might still be playing him around like a fool.

Back in her room, Xu Xuero didn’t follow Zhao Rong’s advice to continue reviewing. Instead, with red eyes, she opened the live broadcast of the Tuberose Awards ceremony.

Meng Zhen was dressed in a burgundy strapless gown by Phoebe, her entire presence radiant and dazzling. Even among many celebrities, she was the most eye-catching one.

This realization made Xu Xuero even more uncomfortable. At this moment, she had long forgotten that she still had to take the college entrance exam tomorrow. Her jealousy towards Meng Zhen overwhelmed her rationality, compelling her to watch the entire awards ceremony from start to finish. When the host announced the winner of the Best Supporting Actress award, Xu Xuero’s vision blurred, and she nearly blacked out.

On the screen, scenes from 《Investiture》 played out, featuring Meng Zhen as the maiden from Jizhou offering a dance and the seductive and ruthless Nine-tailed Fox. Regardless of the storyline or character roles, Meng Zhen could master them all. She seemed born to be an actress.

Xu Xuero exited the live broadcast and opened Weibo, where she discovered that the entry #Meng Zhen Best Supporting Actress was trending. Many netizens genuinely praised Meng Zhen’s performance, and numerous fans flooded the comment section with compliments, continuously sharing Meng Zhen’s photos.

These things weren’t anything new to Xu Xuero, after all, she had spent some time on Meng Zhen’s super topic before, so she was already used to the behavior of those fans.

However, both Gu Ting and Luo Yang liked the post, and their fans flooded the official account of the Tuberose Award, praising Meng Zhen endlessly.

Xu Xuero stared fixedly at the continuously refreshing comments on the screen, feeling overwhelmed by jealousy. Her fingertips trembled as she swiftly closed her phone. She got up and walked to the bathroom, splashing cold water on her face. She repeated to herself that she needed to stay calm. This was a crucial moment, and she couldn’t let that b*tch Meng Zhen ruin her life.

But Xu Xuero’s current state of mind was indeed not good. Because of the awards ceremony, she spent the whole night unable to sleep, tossing and turning on the bed.

The next morning, Zhao Rong was shocked to see her adopted daughter looking worn out. Unable to hold back, she asked, “Xuero, did you not get enough rest?”

Xu Xuero nodded reluctantly, then replied with a few perfunctory words before heading to the exam hall. Due to lack of sleep, her condition today was even worse than yesterday. She originally had the potential to score eight out of ten, but she only managed to demonstrate about three, perhaps not even enough to meet the passing line.