Chapter 1

The cicadas chirped incessantly. Summers in North City were always this scorching, the heat so intense it made it hard to keep one’s eyes open. Fortunately, the shade from the trees along the road offered a patch of green that gave people a moment to breathe.

Outside a high-end restaurant in the CBD district, the comings and goings were all elegant gentlemen in suits and sophisticated women in high heels—every one of them impeccably dressed and flawlessly made up.

Inside a stretched luxury Maybach, a man closed a folder and tossed it aside. He rubbed his tightly furrowed brows and let out a breath of impatience.

His assistant, Wen Hao, nervously turned around and took the folder. The man before him had a cold, chiseled face with sharply defined features, yet a trace of weariness lingered on his expression. His eyes were half-closed, his nose tall and straight with a heroic air, and his thin lips pressed lightly together, giving him an air of nobility. His appearance carried a sharpness that made him seem unapproachable.

This was Cheng Zhou, who had just won the Golden Phoenix Award for Best Actor last month, becoming the youngest film emperor in the entertainment industry. His popularity was unmatched, and he came from a well-off family. Wen Hao couldn’t imagine what someone like him could possibly be troubled about—until yesterday.

The chairman of the Cui Group had given him an ultimatum: if he didn’t bring home a girlfriend soon, he shouldn’t blame the old man for forgetting their many years of grandfather-grandson affection. The reason? The chairman’s beloved daughter—Cheng Zhou’s mother, Madam Cui Xiulan—had lost a bet with her close friends and now needed to bring her daughter-in-law along to save face.

Madam Cui had raised a ruckus at home for days. The chairman, unable to take it any longer, demanded Cheng Zhou bring a girl home.

They weren’t asking for beauty, weren’t asking for a wealthy background—just someone decent. What mattered most was that Cheng Zhou liked her.

The chairman looked at his indifferent grandson. Though old, he wasn’t unreasonable.
“If you really don’t want to… Grandpa understands you young people these days. If… you bring a boy home, that’s fine too.”

Cheng Zhou’s temple throbbed. Even with all the mental preparation in the world for his family’s unpredictable antics, he hadn’t expected this. But under Madam Cui Xiulan’s hopeful gaze, he could only make a firm promise to bring her a daughter-in-law.

“President Cheng, Miss Yuan has arrived,” Wen Hao said, spotting a familiar figure and reminding him.

Cheng Zhou pulled himself out of his thoughts and responded with a neutral “Mm,” neither too light nor too heavy, then opened his eyes and looked out the car window.

A girl was riding a bicycle, her high ponytail swaying behind her. She wore a clean, fresh white T-shirt and shorts, with a pair of simple white sneakers on her feet. Cheng Zhou was slightly nearsighted—though he couldn’t clearly make out her features from a distance, he could still feel the youthful energy radiating from her.

Seeing that Cheng Zhou had no intention of getting out of the car, Wen Hao cautiously spoke up.
“President Cheng…”

“She’s late,” Cheng Zhou said succinctly.

Wen Hao silently lit a candle for the unlucky girl in his heart. Such a good opportunity—why hadn’t she seized it? A minor actress like her—no, not even a D-lister—had already beaten the odds just by receiving that email. What a pity. This little sparrow would never become a phoenix.

He was just about to tell the driver to leave when he noticed Cheng Zhou staring out the window, his gaze filled with an unreadable emotion. Following his line of sight, he saw the girl standing by the roadside, looking lost. Her hand clutched her canvas bag nervously as she hovered uncertainly at the entrance of the grand, opulent restaurant, too intimidated to go in.

Her awkward appearance drew curious glances from passersby. After all, someone dressed in such cheap street-market clothes rarely showed up at a place like this—one look and it was obvious she was a bumpkin who hadn’t seen much of the world. Fortunately, she was wearing a mask, so her face was hard to make out.

Cheng Zhou lowered his eyes, as if deep in thought. Wen Hao watched him anxiously. After a long pause, the usually terse boss finally opened his mouth.

“Go.”

Wen Hao let out a quiet sigh of relief and stepped out of the car. That single word meant it was decided—she was the one.

Over the past few days, Cheng Zhou had reviewed countless profiles, including those of top-tier actresses and heiresses from major corporations. But in the end, he chose this girl with no background and no credentials.

Yuan Ning. Wen Hao silently mouthed the name, then dialed Cheng Zhou’s number and slipped the phone into his pocket.

Yuan Ning had already spotted the Maybach. She knew Cheng Zhou was inside, but even though the agreed time had passed, no one came out. While hesitating, she saw a fair-skinned man in a suit carrying a briefcase walking toward her, wearing a refined smile.

She took off her mask, lifted her face with a smile, trying her best to look her most beautiful. When the man approached, she greeted him respectfully, “Mr. Cheng, it’s an honor to meet you. Sorry for the wait.”

Wen Hao: “…”

Inside the car, Cheng Zhou listened to the sincere female voice through his earphones—it sounded earnest, not at all like she was joking. His heart felt complicated as he flipped through the folder he had just tossed aside.

“I’m Wen Hao, Mr. Cheng’s assistant. You can just call me Xiao Wen. It’s hot outside, let’s go inside to talk,” Wen Hao said, trying hard to keep his smile from faltering. How could someone in the entertainment industry not know Cheng Zhou?! He really didn’t understand how this woman was specially chosen by Mr. Cheng.

Yuan Ning almost froze, her smile nearly slipping off her face. She took a deep breath and followed him, cursing the system in her mind: “You said originally Cheng Zhou would come himself, and that I should dress like the heroine. Why is it someone else now?!”

System: “Hahaha, I told you to take a taxi, but you insisted on riding a bike and ended up late… Cheng, the Film Emperor, hates people who are late. Probably doesn’t want to meet you. Good luck!”

“Calling him ‘Film Emperor’ all the time—doesn’t he have a name?” Yuan Ning complained mentally.

Before today, she wouldn’t have believed such a bizarre thing could happen. But after waking up and realizing she’d transmigrated into an entertainment-industry romance novel as the vicious female supporting character, with the plot already halfway through and the leads’ relationship exposed, the outside world kept doubting her was just riding on the male lead’s coattails.

The couple’s reality show was just the author’s way to unmask the heroine’s secret identity, making the vicious supporting character act like a clown, only to be severely humiliated by the heroine’s background in the end.

The system was being mischievous—reminding her to leave only one hour before the agreed time. With the usual heavy traffic jams in North City, she had no choice but to rush over on a bicycle, but in the end, she was still late.

The two entered the private room. Wen Hao wasted no time and straightforwardly handed Yuan Ning the folder.

“Miss Yuan, I believe you understand the purpose of today’s meeting. Please review this contract carefully, let’s not waste each other’s time,” Wen Hao said politely, but his words were anything but pleasant. Yuan Ning didn’t bother with his tone—who would quarrel over money?

Though she was mentally prepared, she was still stunned by the amount. She set the contract down and looked at the confident Wen Hao.

“Mr. Cheng is after all a film emperor. This amount… probably doesn’t match his wealth, does it?” Her eyes were exceptionally expressive, the corners slightly upturned, almost as if they could speak. When she looked at someone seriously, her gaze was irresistibly charming, and few could meet it without flinching.

System: “…Weren’t you just stunned?”

Yuan Ning smiled: “Shut up.”

Wen Hao averted his eyes slightly and said, “One million per month. This money is just for Miss Yuan’s pocket expenses. Food, clothing, housing, and transportation will be arranged by us. For a one-year marriage duration, twelve million is already very generous.”

She refused to concede. The system had clearly said one and a half million per month. How could a few minutes’ tardiness cause such a steep price drop?

“Thirty million, paid in a lump sum,” Yuan Ning said, closing the contract and pushing it back to Wen Hao. “That number better suits Mr. Cheng.”

Just as Wen Hao was about to speak, he heard a low male voice come through his earpiece. He listened intently, then responded with a quiet “Yes,” and turned to Yuan Ning.

“Mr. Cheng wants you to give a reason. Thirty million is not a small amount.”

“Three reasons,” Yuan Ning said, holding up three slender, fair fingers.

“First, once I sign the contract, I become Mr. Cheng’s future wife. I need ten million to terminate my current contract with my company. I’m sure Mr. Cheng wouldn’t want his future ‘wife’s’ agency holding her back, would he?” she said calmly.

Although she had just transmigrated that morning, the system had fully briefed her. The original host’s company was a small operation, yet it had locked her into a ten-year slave contract with an absurdly high termination fee. They were also exploiting the marriage agreement to manipulate her into generating publicity for them, forcing her into countless humiliating situations.

Since she had taken over, she wouldn’t allow any loose ends. Everyone at the agency knew her well, and any drastic change in personality would surely raise suspicion. Besides, who knew how many people were already waiting to leech off “Mrs. Cheng”?

“Second,” Yuan Ning smiled, “if I’m not mistaken, Mr. Cheng will need me to participate in a couples reality show in half a month, correct?”

“How did you kn—” Wen Hao stopped himself in time. But there was no reaction from the other end of the earpiece, so he had no choice but to patiently wait for Yuan Ning to continue.

“Filming a reality show as a couple requires acting skills. And that’s acting, isn’t it? I’m an actress. Mr. Cheng can consider it one million as my acting fee—how’s that sound?”

Perhaps it was Yuan Ning’s confident, matter-of-fact tone, but Wen Hao found himself unable to argue back. He could only ask, “…And the third?”

“Third,” Yuan Ning said, “a year from now, when we divorce, it may not affect Mr. Cheng much. But I’ll be branded a divorcée. The public will surely blame the breakup on me, and I might even be blacklisted online. One million as compensation for emotional damage—isn’t that fair?”

Her voice was pleasant without being cloying, soft yet convincing. Even Wen Hao couldn’t help but soften a little.

After all, thirty million wasn’t a small sum. Wen Hao stood up and spoke a few words quietly to the man on the other end of the earpiece, then turned to Yuan Ning and said, “Mr. Cheng has agreed. Miss Yuan, please be sure to carefully review the other terms and conditions. The new contract will be delivered to your home tonight.”

Yuan Ning hadn’t expected Cheng Zhou to agree so readily. She clicked her tongue inwardly—so this was the difference with a rich CEO, thirty million just like that, no hesitation. Truly a fictional character—utterly illogical.

System: “……”

Wen Hao put on a professional smile and said politely, “Miss Yuan, we ask that you keep your promise and abide by the contract.”

“Of course,” Yuan Ning replied cooperatively. After all, they would be working together for the next year, and following the rules was the foundation of any partnership.

“However,” Wen Hao added politely, “Mr. Cheng says he’ll give Miss Yuan fifteen million upfront. The remaining half will be transferred to your account once the one-year contract is fulfilled. Tomorrow is a working day—please go to the Civil Affairs Bureau in the morning to register the marriage.”

That was within her expectations. After all, she had boldly asked for thirty million. Besides, she had only been chosen because of Cheng Zhou’s faint, hidden feelings for the original female lead in the novel. Otherwise, who knew where she’d be stuck doing background roles.

“Deal,” Yuan Ning held out her hand, flashing her cute little tiger teeth in a smile as she said to Wen Hao, “Since tomorrow is a workday, I’ll also trouble Mr. Wen to find me a reliable lawyer to handle the prenuptial agreement. And please also help with the contract termination procedures with the agency.”

She really wasn’t holding back. Cheng Zhou listened to the calm yet amused female voice coming through his earpiece and was momentarily distracted. He closed his eyes and mentally went over her appearance in detail.

She wasn’t stupid after all.

Well, that made sense—when it comes to a partner, it’s best to choose someone smart.