Truth be told, Meng Zhen, though confident in her acting skills, never expected to win the Best Supporting Actress award for 《Investiture》. At this moment, she still felt a surreal feeling as she gazed at the trophy resting on the table.

Lei Yin made a glass of juice and stuffed it into Meng Zhen’s hand, laughing heartily, “Sister, you’re so great. You won Best Supporting Actress this time, and if we continue to work hard, we’ll surely achieve even greater results in the future!”

Meng Zhen took a small sip of watermelon juice and calmly responded, “You’re right. I’m striving towards the goal of becoming a movie queen. As my younger sister, you should also set a small goal for yourself. How about aiming for the top three in your class? Finals are coming up soon. I believe in you.”

The smile gradually faded from the girl’s face. Being pushed by her idol to study was anything but pleasant, but she knew Meng Zhen was doing it for her own good, so she reluctantly agreed.

Meng Zhen winning the Best Supporting Actress award proved that the mainstream industry was beginning to recognize her acting skills. Therefore, since the Tuberose Awards ceremony, several film and television companies have sent scripts to Anmei Entertainment for Meng Zhen to consider.

That day, Fei Yun paced the living room of the apartment, holding several sheets of A4 paper. Out of the corner of her eye, she glimpsed Meng Zhen, who was stretching her legs. Unable to resist, Fei Yun asked, “Which of these three scripts do you like? 《Return of the Phoenix Empress》 is a large-scale period drama with a strong female lead, although the production quality isn’t top-notch, the pay is substantial. 《Wind Rises》 is a low-budget detective drama with an above-average script, and they plan to cast you and Lin Yu as leads.”

“The last one is 《Water People》. It has the best script, but unfortunately, it’s an art film with very little investment, so the production can’t pay much. Plus, they haven’t finalized the male lead yet, so this project might not be reliable.”

Since her reincarnation, Meng Zhen had indeed experienced a period of financial hardship, but she didn’t care much about material wealth. Instead, she placed greater importance on the quality of the script.

《Wind Rises》 was actually a good script, but unfortunately, Lin Yu had already been cast as the male lead. Whenever Meng Zhen thought of Lin Yu’s meddling attitude, she felt impatient. To minimize trouble, the script titled 《Water People》 was the most suitable one.

Meng Zhen had no intention of hiding it and directly told Fei Yun her thoughts.

The manager sighed. She seemed to have expected Meng Zhen’s choice. “I knew you would choose that one. However, I have to be clear upfront. It’s okay to want to film 《Water People》, but you have to be patient when on the set. There should be absolutely no conflicts.”

Fei Yun knew that Meng Zhen aimed to pursue an acting career. With her talent, as long as she steadily progressed step by step, her future development would surely be promising. There was no need to jeopardize long-term prospects for short-term gains.

“Sister Fei, rest assured, I will definitely act well.”

Unable to convince Meng Zhen otherwise, Fei Yun discussed with the company’s senior management and then replied to the production team of 《Water People》.

Meng Zhen also knew the director of this film. It was Cao Lei, who had previously directed the comedy film 《The Icon’s New Clothes》 which was set to be released on National Day and seemed somewhat promising at the box office. However, 《Water People》, being an art film, didn’t seem likely to perform well financially, so despite Cao Lei’s efforts, he hadn’t found suitable artists for it for a long time.

Finally, cornered and with no other choice, he resorted to a desperate measure, gritting his teeth as he sent the script to Meng Zhen.

When Cao Lei received the email from Anmei Entertainment, he could hardly believe his eyes. He was so thrilled that he immediately messaged his friend Gu Ting to boast about it.

【Didn’t you say 《Water People》 won’t be able to start? Meng Zhen took the female lead role, and once the male lead is confirmed, my movie can start shooting.】

Gu Ting didn’t finish work until midnight. He looked at Cao Lei’s excited message, his dark eyes flickered slightly, and he typed in response, 【I’d like to try a different style this time. Leave the male lead role to me.】

At that moment, Cao Lei, still awake and pondering over the script on the sofa, jumped up when he read that message. He immediately called Gu Ting, his voice filled with excitement, “Old Gu, are you sure you weren’t hacked? You’re going to play the male lead in my film? Didn’t you say you wanted to retire from the industry?”

Gu Ting casually scrolled through the company documents and replied nonchalantly,

“Retiring from the industry shouldn’t be rushed. It’s something to take slowly. This year, I only plan to shoot one film. I haven’t decided on a project before, but now I think 《Water People》 can be a good choice.”

Gu Ting wasn’t lying. Although he had taken on this role for unclear reasons, the script for the movie was indeed of good quality.

It revolves around a family where both the husband and wife live by the water, making a living solely through fishing. Initially, their marriage was loving, but as their financial situation worsened, the husband’s abusive tendencies began to surface. Every day on their fishing boat, he would physically abuse his wife.

Unable to endure endless torment, the wife waited until her husband was heavily intoxicated and then dragged his body to throw him into the sea.

This scene happened to be witnessed by the crippled mother-in-law. She didn’t say a word but reported the incident to the police as soon as the fishing boat docked. The wife was charged with intentional homicide and was sent to prison. Surprisingly, the husband didn’t die after falling into the sea as he managed to swim ashore. Soon, the whole neighborhood learned about their family’s ugly situation and started mocking them daily.

Filled with rage, the husband dared not vent outside, so he returned home to abuse his disabled mother until five years later when his wife was released from prison. The target of his torment then shifted back from his mother to his wife.

In the end, the wife once again threw her husband into the sea in the same manner. Afterward, she voluntarily went to the police station to surrender.

Cao Lei had once conducted research on domestic violence. He found that thirty percent of married women in the country had experienced domestic abuse. They were powerless to resist, with nowhere to escape, leading to tragic outcomes time and again.

Gu Ting taking on this role also brought another piece of good news to Cao Lei. He secured an additional fifty million in investment.

Currently, 《The Icon’s New Clothes》 hasn’t been released yet, and Cao Lei hasn’t recouped his investment. This additional fifty million investment came as a timely boost for him, allowing 《Water People》 to progress sooner.

———pr

When Meng Zhen had joined the filming for nearly half a month, the official announcement of the college entrance exam results finally came out.

Xu Xuero stared at the numbers on the computer screen, hardly believing her eyes. She had only scored 528 points, while this year’s cutoff for admission to first-tier universities in the capital was 532. She couldn’t believe she didn’t even qualify for a single one.

Zhao Rong, sitting beside her, was also stunned. She shook her head repeatedly, muttering, “They must have added the scores incorrectly. We should apply to the Education Bureau for a re-evaluation. We can’t just accept this!”

Xu Xuero’s ears buzzed incessantly, unable to comprehend what Zhao Rong was saying. When she snapped out of it, Zhao Rong had already pulled her into a car heading towards the Education Bureau.

Every year, there were quite a few students and parents trying to verify their college entrance exam scores. Some genuinely find mistakes in their scores, while others simply can’t accept the reality. Xu Xuero belonged to the latter category.

Watching Zhao Rong add up her scores again and again, all showing 528 points, Xu Xuero completely broke down. She covered her face, silently crying, exuding an aura of utter despair.

The staff, seeing Xu Xuero’s distress, couldn’t help but offer some consolation, “The college entrance exam score depends on how you perform on that day. Some students who usually perform well may make mistakes at critical moments. With a score of 528, you can still get into a good second-tier university……”

Xu Xuero left the Education Bureau in a daze. Just as they got into the car, Zhao Rong’s phone started ringing.

“I heard the college entrance exam results are out. How did Xu Xuero do? Does she have a chance at Tsinghua University?”

Upon hearing Xu Youheng’s voice, Xu Xuero felt a chill run through her body, unable to utter a single word. It was Zhao Rong who remained calm and gently said, “Old Xu, exam scores don’t define everything. Don’t put too much pressure on the child.”

If at this moment Xu Youheng still couldn’t guess that Xu Xuero had failed to get a high score in the college entrance exam, he wouldn’t deserve to be the CEO of the Xu Group. He furrowed his brow and pressed, “So, what’s the score?”

“528.” Zhao Rong hesitantly replied.

“What? Affiliated High School is also considered one of the top schools in the capital. Xu Xuero usually ranks in the top ten of her year so she should have had a good chance to get into Tsinghua. How come she didn’t even pass the cutoff for a first-tier university? Has the teaching quality at Affiliated High School deteriorated to this extent?”

Xu Youheng was a thorough businessman, prioritizing profit and prestige over so-called family ties. Initially, he hadn’t invested much thought in this adopted daughter. However, as Xu Xuero grew more impressive by the day, consistently excelling in every exam since childhood, she became a source of pride and a bragging right for Xu Youheng.

Now that Xu Xuero had stumbled in the most crucial college entrance exam, those business partners would surely laugh at him behind his back.

Xu Youheng couldn’t contain his anger and started scolding, “She’s grown up, but she can’t even do well in exams? What’s the use of raising her? She better not dare say she’s from the Xu family in the future. I can’t afford to lose face like this!”

Upon hearing those words, Xu Xuero cried even harder, her resentment towards Meng Zhen reaching its peak.

If Meng Zhen hadn’t come back to the Xu family, if her drama didn’t air just before the college entrance exam, and if she hadn’t won the Best Supporting Actress award, how could Xu Xuero have fallen into this situation?

Xu Xueruo bit her lower lip tightly and tears flowed down from her bloodshot eyes, looking particularly frightening.

After hanging up the phone, Zhao Rong saw this scene and hurriedly took out tissues to wipe her adopted daughter’s face, murmuring, “Why do you have to torment yourself like this? Failing the exam is just because your preparation wasn’t sufficient. If you’re not satisfied, you can retake the year. Your foundation is good so you’ll definitely achieve better results next time.”

Until the car entered the residential area, Xu Xuero remained silent. She walked back to her room without a word, opened her computer, and a news notification popped up on her desktop.

【A well-known movie star and a popular young actress are filming a new drama in Beihai, revealing the life of families living by the water.】

Xu Xuero quickly scanned the news, and when she saw that the cast of the movie was staying at a hotel near the reef, her eyes flickered. Without hesitating further, she immediately opened a certain app and booked a flight ticket to Beihai.