Ah Sha was pulled into a long kiss which left her panting and heaving at the end. Finally having regained her strength, Ah Sha pushed the man aside. “Who says I didn’t acknowledge our relationship? I mean, it’s true that we aren’t just dating, isn’t it? You’re already my betrothed!”
Xunxun’s expression softened instantly. “You’re thinking that I’m getting in your way, aren’t you?” He carried Ah Sha over to the couch and sat down.
“As if!” Ah Sha planted two wheedling kisses on his cheek. “Isn’t it more fun to let those reporters slowly uncover the truth? It’ll be a much bigger hit once the truth finally comes out!”
“Ah. Now I get it. You’re using me.” Xunxun pinched her tiny derriere.
Ah Sha chuckled mischieviously. “That’s why you need to play along. Let me step on your shoulders and climb my way to fame!”
“You know, that year, I left Tang Yue alone just so you could see me destroy her once you’re all grown up. But now it seems like I don’t even have to do anything. My girl could kick that woman’s ass all on her own.” All of a sudden, Xunxun felt like a proud parent whose daughter had finally grown up.
Ah Sha leaned into his chest. “Weren’t you the one who taught me that in order to completely break someone’s spirit, you have to first give her hope. After that, just watch the way she falls to her death from the very top.”
During the year of Ah Sha’s fifth grade, a moderate earthquake hit S City. The quake hadn’t been strong enough to affect the tall buildings in the city, though it was powerful enough to cause all single-storey houses in the city’s farming area to collapse. The quake had also triggered a lot of landslides.
Ah Sha had been hanging around at the hill behind Caesar Academy when the earthquake hit. There was a private area which was reserved for rock climbing practice. Other than Ah Sha herself, Xunxun, as well as Xiao Rui, no one else at the academy knew that the place existed. Inside the academy’s student manual, the place had been specially listed as prohibited.
At the time, Tang Yue was already harboring feelings of jealousy towards Ah Sha. One time, Tang Yue had followed Ah Sha and had thus found out about the place by accident. On the day of the earthquake, Tang Yue was once again given the cold shoulder by Xunxun. But right after that, she saw with her own eyes the affectionate and loving way in which Xunxun had fed Ah Sha a piece of fruit.
Overwhelmed with jealous rage, Tang Yue snuck to the secret place while Ah Sha was in the middle of practicing rock climbing and then locked the door from the outside. The earthquake hit while Ah Sha was still trapped inside; Ah Sha ended up being buried alive. By the time Xunxun got there, the entire mountainside had collapsed.
At the time, Ying Qingcang hadn’t returned yet, and in fear of distressing Xin Qing even further, everyone had decided to keep the incident from her. After an entire day and night spent digging through the debris, they managed to rescue Ah Sha. She was in terrible shape when they finally pulled her out; all her limbs were broken and her body was covered in scrapes and gashes of various sizes. She had spent a few months recuperating in a hospital before she got better enough to be discharged.
Xin Qing found out about the incident only after Ah Sha had been hospitalized; the shock of the discovery caused Xin Qing to pass out right then and there. Afterwards, at the hospital, Xin Qing held on to Ah Sha and cried for a long time.
“Your daddy hasn’t returned yet, how is mommy ever going to live if anything happens to you…” Those were the words that Xin Qing had repeated over and over again back then. Even now, Ah Sha still remembered the look of sheer panic in her mommy’s eyes.
The surveillance footage unmistakably showed that it was Tang Yue who had locked the exit of the place from the outside. Boss Wan—Xunxun’s father—had wanted to eliminate the girl right then and there, but Xunxun held him back.
“How can we let her die so easily? That’s like the lightest punishment of all. Keep her around. Wait until our girl grows up, and then she can seek her own revenge!”
Meanwhile, Tang Yue had no idea at all that her fate had long since been decided; she was bound to fall into nothingness no matter how high she climbed. Now, she was inside a private booth, enjoying a meal with President Song.
“Boss Song, your company has always been in charge of handling Xin Enterprises’ commercials, right? Well, you see, I…”
Song Tiancheng narrowed his eyes. “Miss Tang,” he said, “The choice of the endorser isn’t my call. But I can let you star in one of the commercials.”
“Then you have my deepest gratitude, Boss Song!” Tang Yue raised her wine glass. She never planned to become the endorser anyway. Most celebrities would kill for an opportunity to star in one of Xin Enterprises’ commercials. She had set up this meeting with a let’s-give-it-a-try-and-see-how-it-goes attitude. She never expected Song Tiancheng to actually agree.
Tang Yue dared not use sex to trade for an opportunity to advance her career; her chances with Young Master Wen would be doomed if it ever got back to the Wen family. So, tonight, the most she would do was accompanying President Song for a few drinks, perhaps letting him hold her hand or something. Even now, Tang Yue was still a virgin.
To her, her virginity had to be sold for a worthy price!
The sky grew several shades darker as the night crept on. Outside the restaurant’s front entrance, Song Tiancheng slapped Tang Yue’s ass lasciviously. “Don’t worry about anything. Just go home and wait for further notification!” he said.
He waited until Tang Yue had left the restaurant before he pulled out his phone. “President Ying, it’s done.”
Song Tiancheng listened to something over the phone. Moments later, he said, “Yes, yes. I understand. Thank you!”
Song Tiancheng hung up the phone and climbed into his car with a look of satisfaction on his face. At this rate, he wouldn’t have to worry about his company for the next three years at least. For the life of him, Song Tiancheng couldn’t see how Tang Yue had ended up on Xin Enterprises’ sh*t list. Then again, that was none of his concern…
Very soon, Stars Entertainment received the documents detailing Xin Enterprises’ latest commercial campaign.
Both Tang Yue and Ah Sha were sitting in the conference room, waiting to be briefed. Right now, they were the only two rookies in Stars Entertainment; Tian Yiyi’s contract had already been terminated.
“Xiao Mei, I’m so happy we can work together in this commercial campaign!” Tang Yue said, smiling from ear to ear as she held her coffee cup. Tang Yue was very aware that it didn’t matter whether or not Wan Qingsi’s feelings for Mei Jing were real. Right now, it was undeniable that Wan Qingsi was treating Mei Jing differently compared to others.
After the TV show was aired, not only did Wan Qingsi fail to rebuke Mei Jing for the things she had said during the show’s recording, but he even came to the movie set everyday to pick her up. The reporters had already captured tons of photos of the two of them. There were now even rumors about the two of them cohabitating.
“But I’m just a rookie. It’s likely that they won’t use me!” Ah Sha’s demeanor right then was just like a little bunny as she cowered timidly in the couch.
Tang Yue’s eyes darted to Mei Jing briefly. “What a useless girl,” she thought. “I have no idea what Wan Qingsi even sees in her.”
“Aww. Stop joking around. Considering your current relationship with Senior Wan, you’ll get to star in a commercial for sure.” Tang Yue set down her coffee cup. “Xin Enterprises has about ten commercials every year. Eight of those will be handled by their endorser.”
Incidentally, that was also the reason for Tang Yue’s lack of panic when she had seen Mei Jing waiting here just now. Discarding the eight commercials to be assigned to the endorser, there would be two commercials left, which made sense; she and Mei Jing would each be assigned to one.
“Well. It’s probably impossible for you to be chosen as the endorser. But you’ll definitely get to star in a commercial.” Tang Yue stared at Ah Sha. “Did Senior Wan tell you whom Xin Enterprises’ had chosen to be their endorser?”
Ah Sha returned Tang Yue’s stare with blinking eyes. “Sister Tang Yue, you and the boss were once classmates, right?”
“That’s right!” Tang Yue laughed. “We’re both graduates of Caesar Academy. You must’ve heard of the academy, right? Even if you grew up overseas.”
Ah Sha nodded enthusiastically. “Of course. It’s a prestigious school!”
All of a sudden, Tang Yue’s eyes shone brightly. She cleared her throat and said, “Yeah. Senior Wan is like a legend back at the academy. He was the student council president for three terms in a row! A lot of girls would’ve pursued him if it weren’t for his childhood sweetheart who had always stayed by his side.”
“A childhood sweetheart?” Ah Sha chuckled. “How come we never saw her?”
“Do you still remember what I said while we were recording the TV show? I said that if she hadn’t left, the title of Commercial Queen would never have been given to me. Well, I was referring to Senior Wan’s lover.” Tang Yue stared into Ah Sha’s eyes. “The girl had starred in various commercials since she was just a kid. Even now, Caesar Academy still keeps some of the posters featuring her. After that, she went overseas to further her studies. But I heard that she’s coming back next year. And when she does return…”
All of a sudden, Tang Yue reached out and patted Ah Sha’s hand. “You don’t have to worry. If Senior Wan truly likes you, your position won’t change even after Ah Sha returns.”
“Ah Sha?”
“Oh, that’s the girl’s nickname,” Tang Yue clarified. Then, she injected a tone of pride into her next words. “Her full name is Ying Xin. She’s the only daughter of the president of Xin Enterprises!” From Tang Yue’s tone, one would think that she was actually related to Ying Xin or something.
Mei Jing covered her mouth the moment Tang Yue stopped speaking. “But my nickname is Ah Sha, too!”
“What? You’re Ah Sha too?” Tang Yue looked at her in shock. A moment later, Tang Yue looked as if she just had a realization. She gave Ah Sha a pursed lip smile. “I didn’t know how important it is to have a good name until now!”
“No wonder Wan Qingsi even gave you a second glance,” Tang Yue thought. “Your name just reminded him of the girl he loves and he’s just looking for a subject to project his feelings onto.” At the thought, Tang Yue was once again hit by a wave of jealousy. “Do you really love her so much that you would look at a woman just because she has the same name?”
Ah Sha just sat there with a befuddled look on her face. She even nodded and said, “Mmhm, no wonder President Wan comes to pick me up every day and treats me to meals! So it’s because I have the same nickname as his lover!”
“What lover? Don’t talk nonsense. She’s just…” Tang Yue blurted out before she trailed off, suddenly realizing that she had lost her cool. Tang Yue quickly schooled her features and said, “Let’s not talk about the senior. It won’t be nice for others to overhear us.”
Ah Sha nodded her head repeatedly. A devious glint flashed inside her eyes. “Oh, you’ll be crying in a while.”
When Zhou Na entered the room with a huge grin on her face, she was met with two faces: Tang Yue’s, which was filled with smugness; and Mei Jing’s, which was filled with ignorance. Then again, Zhou Na was already used to Mei Jing’s play-the-weak-girl-until-I-swallow-you-whole ruse by now. Moments later, Li Pingping walked in from behind Zhou Na, though her face did not seem happy at all.
“Ah Sha!” Zhou Na handed a folder to Ah Sha happily. “Xin Enterprises had chosen you to become their endorser! These documents contain the details of the commercials as well as other specific requirements. Please go through them as soon as possible. The filming will start next week!”
Tang Yue’s face changed instantly, and she quickly looked towards Li Pingping. Li Pingping nodded and revealed a stiff smile on her face. “You’ll be starring in two commercials!” Li Pingping told Tang Yue. “That’s pretty good!”
“Ah! Weren’t you supposed to star in only one, Sister Tang Yue? Now you’ll be starring in two!” Ah Sha clapped her hands and beamed at Tang Yue. “What I got isn’t too bad either! I can’t believe they actually picked me as the endorser!”
Tang Yue’s rage had nearly twisted her mouth out of shape. Now, she was d*mn sure that Mei Jing had made that comment on purpose. How dare she feign that harmless look in order to fool everyone?
“Sister Ping, I’m not feeling too well. I’m heading home first.” Tang Yue stood up. Li Pingping quickly handed a stack of folders to Tang Yue. “Remember to go through them,” Li Pingping said. A moment later, something else occurred to Li Pingping and she added, “By the way, one of the commercials seems pretty nice. You’ll be doing it with Chu Yi!”
Tang Yue’s face showed no reaction to that revelation. So what if she starred in a commercial with the king of acting himself. Mei Jing was the frigging endorser. The endorser!
Once Tang Yue and Li Pingping had left, Zhou Na shut the door and gave Ah Sha several reminders. “There’s another sheet of paper inside the folder,” Zhou Na said. “It contains a list of things that you shouldn’t do during your time as Xin Enterprises’ endorser. I’ve already written down everything clearly. Please remember to read through them. Also, please don’t run around for the time being and please don’t start any negative scandals.”
“Thank you. I appreciate you effort, and I’ll definitely go through them,” Ah Sha said, standing up. “Also, I only have one scandal at the moment, the one involving our boss. Does that count as a negative scandal too?”
“Oh, no. Not at all,” Zhou Na said, not knowing whether to laugh or to cry at Ah Sha’s reaction.
Xunxun had a work-related dinner that night, so Ah Sha went back to Ying’s residence. Plus, Xiao Rui would bring Wangwang home tonight, oh, and Chengcheng as well. She hadn’t seen any of them despite having been back for so long!
“Sis!” The four-year-old Chengcheng was the first one to pounce on her. “You’re terrible, sis! You never came home even when you’ve been back in China for so long!”
Ah Sha picked up her youngest brother and planted a kiss on his face. “Didn’t daddy often order you to stay at the academy? It’s not like I can keep showing up here to play the third wheel, right?”
“Ugh. Daddy is the worst.” Despite his youth, Chengcheng already understood his daddy’s strong aversion to their monopolizing their mommy’s time.
A teenager walked over. He was tall and skinny, with a face which looked colder than even Xunxun’s and profound eyes that were capable of piercing through infinite depths.
“Xiao Rui!” Ah Sha yelled.