Chapter 20: Small Money

Since they were going to the film festival, Gu Pan and Su Shiyi both wanted to dress up properly. Gu Pan favored sweet, high-end designs, while Su Shiyi was more casual and usually followed the stylist’s advice.

This was the first time the two sisters appeared together in public, and the stylist put a lot of effort into picking out dresses for them. Gu Pan was arranged with a Moschino embroidered floral tulle dress, and Su Shiyi, looking at the pink that would definitely make a normal person look darker, couldn’t help but sigh. Only the female lead, with her beauty, could pull off such a color.

Su Shiyi had a face that teachers and elders particularly liked. To put it in today’s popular words, she had a “light face” look. Gu Pan’s sweetness could melt anyone’s heart at first sight, while Su Shiyi was more of a “grow-on-you” type—she wasn’t the first kind of beauty, but the more you looked at her, the more comfortable she became.

The Dior dress the stylist chose for her also had flowers on it, with a white base and yellow accents, making her look lively and spirited. The two sisters’ dresses were different in style, yet still echoed each other.

Su Shiyi, who had dyed her hair black to meet her father Gu Lang at home, felt a bit regretful. If her hair were still the “^[1]“Sea King Red” (海王红) refers to a vibrant, eye-catching shade of red hair, often associated with confidence, boldness, and a bit of a flirtatious or charismatic personality. The term … Continue readingsea king red,” she would definitely be slaying the scene tonight in a sexy black camisole dress.

When she mentioned this idea to Gu Pan, Gu Pan didn’t reply. She just slightly shifted her gaze from her face downward…

Hmm, everything was unspoken, and Su Shiyi didn’t have that kind of sexy condition.

Su Shiyi: TAT

After all, they weren’t the main characters of the film festival. Besides choosing a suitable dress, neither of the sisters had made any special efforts to dress up. They let the stylist casually style their hair.

But experienced Gu Pan emphasized one thing: they had to do their makeup seriously.

“At events with so many celebrities, there are always people with professional cameras around, and the lighting set by the organizers might be terrible. Any small flaw in your skin will be magnified… If it’s just reporters, it’s fine. They won’t dare to publish bad photos. But if a celebrity’s fan takes a picture… sigh…”

When they saw Gu Pan, people would casually snap a picture. After all, it was just about pressing the shutter. With so many people at the scene, the Gu family couldn’t check every camera, and she felt too embarrassed to do so.

But after one embarrassing incident when she went out bare-faced in a rush, Gu Pan firmly remembered this lesson.

Being criticized by netizens wasn’t a big deal, but if certain people in the high society of the capital saved the image, that was social death.

While her hair was being styled, Gu Pan introduced some of their circle’s friends to Su Shiyi. Most of them were easy to get along with, but there was one girl named Meng Yiyao who loved to target her with her little clique. Every time they met, she would stir up trouble, buzzing around like a fly that wouldn’t leave.

Su Shiyi: This name screams “villainous supporting character”… My radar is buzzing!

Sure enough, with her seemingly casual inquiry, she got the information out: Meng Yiyao had liked Gu Chen since childhood. No matter how cold he was towards her, she was hopelessly infatuated. The Meng and Gu families had been friends for generations, and when Gu Chen’s grandfather was still alive, he had joked about making the Meng family’s daughter his granddaughter-in-law.

Relying on this, Meng Yiyao always believed she was Gu Chen’s legitimate wife and that Gu Pan was the third party.

Su Shiyi: …

Ah, this damn familiar sense of melodrama. The Qing Dynasty has been gone for so many years, and Meng Yiyao still believes in arranged marriages? If she had Meng Yiyao’s background, she would be crazy to abandon her dignity and cling to a man who didn’t love her.

After her hair was done, it was time for makeup. The tables were covered with a dazzling array of makeup products—three tables full. Su Shiyi glanced over briefly, and her OCD was greatly satisfied. In the crystal boxes, there were Mac bullet lipsticks, TOM FORD black tubes, YSL small gold bars, Dior Rouge Dior, Givenchy lambskin, and a full range of colors.

Perfect. Gu Pan, just like her, was also a person with “choice anxiety,” so the easiest option was to go ALL IN on all the lipsticks.

Su Shiyi, in a sudden burst of inspiration, closed her eyes and randomly picked a lipstick from the numerous options, handing it to the stylist. The lipsticks seemed quite considerate, as the shade she drew was a soft, dusty rose that matched the outfit’s style for the day.

After half a month of using SK-II and La Mer, Su Shiyi’s skin condition was excellent. Her base makeup could be completed easily, almost matching the natural “flawless skin, soft as cream” effect that the female lead Gu Pan effortlessly achieved.

This showed that, even without the female lead halo, it wasn’t a problem. With the right mindset, she could totally walk the “buying your way” path.

Although her hands weren’t as soft as Gu Pan’s, it didn’t matter. Su Shiyi decided that from tomorrow onwards, she would start washing her hands with Estée Lauder’s Advanced Night Repair serum.

The two sisters were heading to the film festival, and Gu Lang didn’t have any objections. However, Gu Chen displayed some “conservative” behavior typical of male leads in idol dramas—Gu Pan’s dress exposed her shoulders, and he insisted on wrapping her in his suit jacket.

Su Shiyi: …

She had an epiphany—this Mary Sue world wasn’t only inhabited by Meng Yiyao still living in the Qing Dynasty.

“I don’t think it’s necessary.”

With Gu Lang supporting her, Su Shiyi spoke more confidently in front of Gu Chen, “Panpan looks great in this dress, there’s no need for unnecessary actions.”

Gu Chen was about to say, “What does it have to do with you?” when Gu Pan stepped back a little. “That’s right, it’ll cover the embroidery on my dress. I purposely wore the same element as Shiyi.”

Gu Chen: ?

You’ve changed. You weren’t like this before.

He opened his mouth to explain, realizing that he was simply acting out of… uh… possessiveness? But Su Shiyi looked at him as though he were a feudal old-fashioned person, which made Gu Chen start doubting himself. Was he really overreacting?

Upon reflection, it did seem a little over the top. He had attended so many important events, and this outfit of Gu Pan’s was really nothing. Why did he…

It was all a bit baffling.

Not knowing that he had just ruined a sweet, beloved scene from the original story, Su Shiyi and Gu Pan held hands and got into the car.

“What do you think he’s thinking?” Su Shiyi continued to complain about Gu Chen in the car. “Pretty girls should wear whatever they want. Why does he have to control it? You’re just dating him, not his accessory.”

Gu Pan nodded thoughtfully, “You’re right. Sometimes I do feel like he doesn’t respect me enough. This can’t go on. I need to find a chance to talk to him about it.”

Su Shiyi and Gu Pan continued chatting about other things, while the system in Su Shiyi’s mind, which had been muted, was screaming uselessly.

What is this woman trying to do??!

Not only did she refuse to play the supporting character well, not only did she become friends with the female lead, but she even prematurely turned Gu Pan into cannon fodder, which the system could tolerate—but now she was leading the female lead astray?!

The sweet and affectionate core of this book is a CEO and his delicate wife romance. She’s making the CEO less domineering, and teaching the delicate wife to think for herself. Doesn’t this deviate the world’s development from its set track?!

The problem is, she hasn’t followed any of the storyline, and the system hasn’t gained any energy. It hasn’t even had a chance to send a distress signal to the Small World Administration!

The system was in despair. Was it really going to watch this woman wreak havoc in the Small World, completely messing up everyone’s fate line?

The Rolls-Royce Phantom stopped at the entrance, and a well-dressed man jogged forward, wearing white gloves as he opened the car door for the two Gu sisters. A crowd was bustling beside the red carpet, but there was no one in front.

Su Shiyi quietly asked, “Isn’t this the time for the celebrities to enter? Why is no one here?”

Gu Pan pointed in a direction with her eyes. Su Shiyi followed her gaze—well, it wasn’t that there were no celebrities, they were all squeezed in the back, waiting in line.

Knowing they were coming, the red carpet had been cleared five minutes before their arrival.

Turns out you can cut the line on the red carpet, how fun!

Gu Pan was already well-versed in handling such occasions. Su Shiyi was a bit nervous at first, but soon relaxed. There really wasn’t much to worry about.

Unlike other celebrities who had to pose for photos with the media, the two of them walked as if they were gliding. If someone could snap a good photo, that was impressive. As for stopping to wait for you, that depended on their mood.

Today, they were attending the opening party. After asking Gu Pan’s opinion, Su Shiyi politely declined to take photos at the signature wall and participate in media interviews. She planned to find a quiet corner to sit, waiting for the event to officially start so they could enjoy looking at handsome men and beautiful women.

However, though they wanted to keep a low profile, their fame didn’t allow it. Less than fifteen minutes after they sat down, six groups of people came to greet them. Su Shiyi’s green message list had gained 28 new friends, and she didn’t even know who had slipped a note into her hand.

Muttering to herself that they had already exchanged contact info, she unfolded the note, which read: 【iraglub 808】.

Su Shiyi: ?

What kind of nonsense is this? She couldn’t understand it.

Gu Pan glanced over and quickly understood. “You need to spell the English backwards.”

Su Shiyi read the letters from back to front, then pieced them together… Um…

Damn, those young men looked so polished. Who was thinking of taking the rich woman shortcut? Too bad, none of the people who came to greet her were her type. She didn’t even care to guess who it was anymore.

After this somewhat awkward moment, Su Shiyi had her bodyguard stand nearby and politely refused the crowd that still wanted to greet her. She and Gu Pan leisurely sipped their drinks, discussing which celebrity’s outfit looked good tonight, who had good resources recently, who was getting promoted, and who had faded and could only wear last season’s dresses.

The perspective of a financial backer is really different. The Gu family owned several entertainment and film industries. While Gu Pan didn’t handle them directly, she knew more than the average person. Su Shiyi, like a mouse that had fallen into a melon patch, excitedly darted around.

Wow, it turns out these celebrities have so many little secrets behind the scenes. This is so thrilling!

After the gossip session, the party was about to formally begin. Su Shiyi asked, “So, we just need to watch the movie, or is there anything else fun we can do?”

Gu Pan thought for a moment. “Well, there will be some directors, screenwriters, and producers trying to get investments. We can listen to their projects, and if we find anything interesting, we can invest a little to support them.”

Hey, this sounds fun. Su Shiyi loved doing things like throwing money around and sharing the joy.

She eagerly asked, “How much do you usually invest?” A little money, maybe hundreds of thousands, or millions?

Gu Pan thought for a while, then replied, “Hmm, not much. I think it’s usually around four or five billion.”

Su Shiyi: …

She knew it! You can’t trust what you guys call “a little money”!