At Tang Shi’s words, Yi Chun’s face turned shades of green and white, a colorful and spectacular sight.
When she looked at Tang Shi, her expression was one of shocked uncertainty, her gaze flickering and evasive. She could hardly believe that the person who had said this was Tang Shi, who had always been the quietest one in their entire group.
“What are you talking about?” Yi Chun could only deny it subconsciously.
Tang Shi, on the other hand, had calmed down.
Confronting someone head-on like this was a rare experience in her life.
Even as she walked up to Yi Chun, her hands were trembling, her fingertips ice-cold. When she pressed them into her own scorching palms, the temperature contrast was even more vivid.
Tang Shi clenched her hands into fists.
She said, “What do I mean? Wasn’t I clear enough? If you still don’t understand plain language, I don’t mind translating it into something even simpler for you.”
Duan Nong’s gaze shifted back and forth between Tang Shi and Yi Chun. The scene left her a bit stunned as well.
At that moment, she suddenly thought of Rong Guang.
The four girls lived together, ate together, and spent all their time together. Over time, friction was inevitable. Most of the time, minor conflicts were buried in their hearts, only to accumulate and erupt later.
But whenever Rong Guang was around, they could always unite into a group that outsiders wouldn’t dare to underestimate. As long as she was there, the other three felt like they had a backbone, feeling that no matter what happened, someone would be there to support them.
Even when real conflicts arose, it was as if they could find a parent figure to take charge, smoothing things over so there were no lingering grudges.
Just like now, with this internal conflict and argument, which had happened often before.
In the past, when Rong Guang was here… what would she have done?
Duan Nong was a little lost.
However, the conversation between Tang Shi and Yi Chun had already spiraled out of control, heading straight for a full-blown fight.
Yi Chun was also angered by what was said.
She wasn’t one to always endure things silently. Being young, she threw the towel in her hand to the ground with a dull thud. At the same time, Yi Chun said, “Are people not allowed to talk about the things she’s done?”
“What has she done?” Tang Shi asked calmly in return.
Yi Chun gritted her teeth and, with her neck stiff, said, “She didn’t participate in a single performance for the last six months. Not only did she not get on stage, she didn’t even visit the set. She treated the final Farewell Stage so perfunctorily, leaving whenever she wanted. She only started practicing a month before. And over there, she took on the TV series The Eldest Princess by herself and secretly signed with Big Dipper…”
Towards the end, she faltered a bit.
Tang Shi asked coolly, “Is there more?”
Yi Chun’s lips trembled with anger, making her speech less fluent.
Duan Nong suddenly interjected, “With all that, isn’t it enough? What more does she want to do?”
Tang Shi let out a cold laugh, glanced down at the towel in her hand, then draped it over a nearby bar. She said, “Fine. Since you’ve brought it up, it’s clear this matter has been festering in your hearts. Rong Guang didn’t want to bring up those dirty matters with you, so I will.”
“You know my health was poor four years ago, and I had to go to the hospital constantly. You two accompanied me for the first few check-ups, and I was very grateful. But later, you got busy, and running to the hospital all the time, waiting for hours, was exhausting. I didn’t think it was wrong for you not to come. Back then, it was only the Captain who, in the middle of summer, had to be fully disguised with a hat and mask, waiting with me in the hospital corridor for hours on end, just waiting for those results.” Tang Shi glanced at the two of them and said, “Do you know why I’m suddenly bringing this up?”
Duan Nong and Yi Chun exchanged a look, remaining silent.
The corners of Tang Shi’s lips curled into a mocking smile. “Because I was driven to depression by Chen Changping and Cai Xiang.”
Duan Nong and Yi Chun instantly turned their gazes to her, their faces filled with disbelief.
“Back then, they forced me to give up the rights to all my works. I wanted to terminate my contract, so Chen Changping and Cai Xiang colluded, planning to drug me in my sleep to get leverage on me and make me sell myself for them. What kind of person Chen Changping is, I don’t think I need to explain to you, right? Duan Nong, you always thought your connections were protecting you, but none of you knew it was Rong Guang who was protecting me all along. After that, my condition completely erupted, and I attempted suicide several times—weren’t you always wondering why I never showered with you and always wore kinesiology tape on my wrist? I’ll show you this time.”
Tang Shi tore off the white kinesiology tape from her wrist, and the other two girls’ eyes widened instantly.
The color drained from Duan Nong’s face in an instant, leaving her completely pale.
On her wrist were uneven scars, stretching from the base of her palm all the way up her forearm to where the veins disappeared.
Crisscrossing, a gruesome sight.
“Because it’s all scars. They can’t be erased, can’t be removed. Too bad for them, they didn’t succeed. The Captain forced them to back off. After that, you two filled the void left by the Captain and me, standing at the very front in the center position. Weren’t you asking why she didn’t participate in any activities or performances for the last six months? Because her contract was up, and the company wouldn’t let her perform, wanting to drag things out until she had no value left, then sell her off to Universe Entertainment.” Tang Shi gave a mocking smile.
After showing her arm to Duan Nong and Yi Chun, she re-wrapped the bandage around her wrist.
Unfortunately, kinesiology tape is mostly a single-use item. Once torn off, it couldn’t be re-stuck, hanging loosely on her arm and threatening to fall off from time to time.
Tang Shi habitually tucked the other end in. In the past, kinesiology tape was a precious item. She had to wear it year-round and couldn’t afford much. Rong Guang gave her some money, but she couldn’t spare much to buy a lot, so she had to be frugal.
As she adjusted it, Tang Shi said, “She was pushed to a dead end, so she had to find The Eldest Princess production team herself, struggling to carve out a path on her own. You two knew about her audition process, didn’t you? Competing with a crowd of extras for a spot, you even mocked her for overestimating her abilities, saying she’d come back after hitting a wall… Have you forgotten all that?”
She hadn’t forgotten.
Duan Nong’s lips moved, but she was speechless.
At that time, when Rong Guang left Star Cluster, they had listened to Cai Xiang and Chen Changping and all thought Rong Guang wanted to betray the group, to test the waters in the film and television industry, even abandoning their stage to compete with others for that opportunity.
But no one had imagined she had been forced to that extent step by step.
Tang Shi noticed their expressions and found it a bit amusing, yet also a bit bewildering.
Her ability to recognize and process emotions had been steadily declining.
Most of the medication she took were drugs that controlled the central nervous system, which could cause irreversible nerve damage and also affect her memory. Therefore, she couldn’t quite understand why Yi Chun and Duan Nong now looked so full of regret.
This confusion made her expression appear very puzzled, her head tilted slightly to the side.
Tang Shi continued, “You know what kind of person she is. Is it not normal for The Eldest Princess production team to like her? The news that the entire crew celebrated Rong Guang’s wrap-up was on the hot search for days, it’s not like you didn’t see it. Why was it on the hot search? I know you want to ask. It’s because the hot search was bought.”
“Why buy it? Of course, it was to help Rong Guang. The one who bought the hot search was Big Dipper.” Tang Shi finally broke into a smile. “When she was cyberbullied by fans who said she was oppressing the other actresses in the group, what did you do? You posted on Weibo, looking all impressive. And then what? Did you consider that it would turn public opinion to ‘NO.1 ganging up to cyberbully a minor celebrity’? No. You only cared about feeling happy, about feeling you did the right thing. Duan Nong, you’ve always been like this, never considering others’ feelings.”
Duan Nong stood there, stunned, like a rigid wooden doll, unable to say a word.
“Were you waiting for her to come back, wronged and dejected, to be exploited by Star Cluster again? Then do you know what Chu Feiliang did at that time, what Tang Yuan did at that time, what Big Dipper did at that time, and what Star Cluster did at that time?”
They didn’t know what the former had done, but they saw the result.
Public opinion turned around, and Rong Guang once again became active in the public eye. Even now, much of NO.1’s activity and hot search terms were brought on by Rong Guang.
Tang Shi finally finished re-wrapping the bandage with trembling hands.
Then she took a deep breath, blinked away the moisture in her eyes, and said, “The higher-ups at Star Cluster are still planning to use our internal strife to package us up and sell us for a good price. What do you say, Yi Chun? For doing so much, what did they promise you that made you work so hard for them, to trample Rong Guang into the ground?”
Yi Chun’s face instantly turned deathly pale.
Duan Nong finally snapped back to her senses, her mind clearing for a moment. She caught the information Tang Shi had revealed and turned her gaze to Yi Chun, anger filling her mind. “Yi Chun? You—?!”
Ignoring the two behind her, Tang Shi picked up her things and slowly left the dance studio.
Only after she got out did she finally realize that her hands and feet had been trembling uncontrollably.
Tears streamed down her face, quickly soaking a patch of her clothes.
She didn’t want to cry, but she couldn’t control the physiological reaction.
At this moment, she couldn’t help but think again: back then, Rong Guang was only fourteen or fifteen. How much effort and willpower did it take for her to stand up to two adults, Chen Changping and Cai Xiang, and snatch her back from the tiger’s den?
Was she also trembling with fear herself?
But Rong Guang still did it, without a hint of hesitation.
Even in the moment when Rong Guang held up the video on her phone, grabbed a kitchen knife and pointed it at Chen Changping and Cai Xiang, telling them to leave, Tang Shi’s mind had been a complete blank.
If it weren’t for Rong Guang back then, where would she be now?
Long gone, right?
Wiping away her tears, Tang Shi clutched the note Rong Guang had given her in her pocket, licked her dry lips, and decided to check out the company Rong Guang mentioned after the stage performance was over.
She didn’t care about resources, or whether she could become famous.
She just wanted to try to make herself a little happier, to try to live a little longer.
Rong Guang was right. The only thing she needed to do now, the only thing she needed to strive for, was to make herself happy. She didn’t need to worry about all those other things. Being happy was the most important thing, and so was being alive.
When Rong Guang received Tang Shi’s WeChat message, she was strolling around Big Dipper with Chu Feiliang.
She was already familiar with Big Dipper, but she still had to try her best to pretend it was her first time here. Everywhere she went, she said she didn’t recognize it, and everywhere she went, she had to have a background music of: “Wow.”
Then she would be rewarded with Chu Feiliang’s particularly proud, lip-pursing smile.
Rong Guang absolutely adored this side of Chu Feiliang.
Her phone was ringing and buzzing incessantly.
Chu Feiliang had someone go buy them two cups of milk tea. As she sat back down in her chair, she glanced at Rong Guang and said, “Go on, look at it.”
Only then did Rong Guang sheepishly take out her phone. She looked at Chu Feiliang and said in a small voice, “I didn’t mean to. I’ll definitely put my phone on silent next time. I promise I won’t disturb you while you’re working.”
Chu Feiliang seemed to be looking at a script, likely for arrangements after the new year.
However, there was nothing printed on the cover, just a blank sheet of paper. It was clear the script itself was still confidential, probably just a concept draft.
So Rong Guang didn’t ask any more questions and sat obediently by her side.
Hearing her, Chu Feiliang smiled and said, “Why put it on silent? You can’t just revolve around me all day. Do what you need to do. If you have work, go do it.”
Rong Guang’s eyes curved into a smile.
Then she tilted her head in confusion and subconsciously let out a “Huh?”
Chu Feiliang’s gaze shifted from the script again. “What’s wrong?”
Rong Guang’s eyes were particularly innocent and bright. She held up her phone and said, “Shishi just suddenly sent me…”
A giant heart made of smaller hearts.
A huge heart that took up the entire screen.
Unfortunately, she probably hadn’t tested it on anyone, because it was a bit messed up when it arrived. Several of the small hearts had strayed from the formation, causing the large heart to look a bit chaotic.
The screen full of hearts stung Chu Feiliang’s eyes. The corner of her lip twitched as she said, “Shishi? That Tang Shi from your group?”
“Yeah, that’s her. A super shy, super cute, and super reserved little girl.” Rong Guang had always been full of praise for Tang Shi. Plus, the next few years were a good time for Tang Shi’s development, so she praised her to almost everyone she met, bringing up Tang Shi in every conversation.
This time was no different. She subconsciously said, “And she’s incredibly talented. Many of her songs are national hits, the kind that are widely sung.”
Chu Feiliang was silent for a long moment before slowly drawing out a long, “Oh…”
Then she paused and said, “Why did she suddenly send you a heart?”
“I don’t know either.” Rong Guang scrolled up and down, trying to find a chat history, to see if she had missed anything.
But after looking for a long time, she couldn’t find any message she had missed.
Completely baffled, Rong Guang sent Tang Shi a question mark.
Rong Guang: ?
Tang Shi: Grinning emoji.
Rong Guang was silent: “…”
She put down her phone and said, “I think Shishi might be having an episode.”
Tang Shi had bipolar disorder.
She was either extremely euphoric or extremely sad.
When she was euphoric, a shy little girl like her could have a dance-off with street performers from dawn till dusk, and after leaving, she could go home and have a solo rave with a DJ set.
When she was sad… seeing a single falling leaf would remind her of Lin Daiyu’s sorrow while burying flowers. She would even go to the backyard of their residential complex, dig a hole herself, collect fallen leaves and petals, and actually bury them.
She even said she was letting them return to their roots.
Chu Feiliang paused. “Should we go over?”
Rong Guang shook her head, saying with a helpless smile, “No need. In her current euphoric state, it wouldn’t help to go. Besides, the doctor told her not to take medication to control it, because she’s been having more euphoric episodes lately, but they’re far from manic. It’s actually helpful for treating her depression, so they hope she can remember the feeling of happiness and try psychotherapy. It might be good for her condition.”
Tang Shi used to have very obvious depressive tendencies and a very clear self-destructive streak, so the medication prescribed was particularly strong. After taking it, Tang Shi would be left completely limp on the bed, finding it difficult to even turn over, let alone feel any emotion like happiness.
But recently… she was indeed much better.
The source of her illness was Star Cluster.
As long as she left Star Cluster, Tang Shi would feel much better just from the psychological pressure being lifted.
As Rong Guang thought about this, she suddenly looked at Chu Feiliang again.
She said thoughtfully, “Shishi has been getting better recently. The source of her stress and unhappiness was mainly the company. As long as she’s away from the company, she’s very happy…”
Then what was the source of Chu Feiliang’s stress?
Although there wasn’t always a clear cause for depression, there was usually one factor that weighed particularly heavily.
What was Chu Feiliang’s?
Rong Guang couldn’t figure it out.
She pursed her lips, not daring to ask.
She had only guessed that Chu Feiliang was sick.
If she guessed wrong, she would truly have to dig a hole on the spot and bury herself in it.
“That’s simple too.” Chu Feiliang thought for a moment and said, “If you’re worried about her, after you guys are done, just have Big Dipper sign her as well.”
Rong Guang was stunned.
After coming to her senses, she said with a helpless smile, “Why do you make signing us sound like signing cabbages…”
Was a girl group so worthless?
Her market value was very high.
Of course… that was in the future.
But even now, she definitely couldn’t be considered cheap.
What’s more, she had The Eldest Princess waiting to be broadcast. After it aired, the buzz around her would definitely rise again, and her price would go up with it.
“Not cabbages, jade cabbages. Very expensive.” Chu Feiliang smiled and said, “The thing is, no matter how expensive, I can afford it. I have plenty of money.”
Rong Guang was suddenly at a loss for words.
After a moment, she said with a slight sigh, “That’s a bit of a gut punch, Sister…”
“It is quite a gut punch.” A very familiar voice came from outside the door. Zhang Nanchuan pushed the door open and walked in. Seeing Rong Guang, he smiled cheerfully and said, “Good evening, Xiao Rong. We meet again.”
“Director Zhang?” Rong Guang was pleasantly surprised to see Zhang Nanchuan. She stood up from her chair, walked halfway around the table to give him a hug, and said, “What are you doing here?”
Zhang Nanchuan was even more puzzled than she was. He said in an exaggeratedly surprised tone, “You’re asking me what I’m doing here?”
Rong Guang’s first reaction was that she had messed up a scene and needed to reshoot it.
And it was a big problem, one that made Zhang Nanchuan have to make a special trip from the film base.
Then she heard Zhang Nanchuan say with his hands on his hips, “You invited me to the concert yourself, and you’ve already forgotten?”
Rong Guang slapped her forehead in realization. “Oh, that…”
If Zhang Nanchuan hadn’t mentioned it, she probably would have really forgotten about it.
She had given Chu Feiliang several tickets earlier, and she had mentioned it to Zhang Nanchuan as well, giving quite a few tickets to other departments too.
However, the number of tickets she could get herself was limited, and she was too embarrassed to keep asking the company for more, so she hadn’t given out too many from her end. Most of them came from Tang Shi. Zhang Nanchuan looked at her with amusement, then sat down to one side.
The main seat was left empty. Rong Guang glanced at Chu Feiliang and Zhang Nanchuan’s expressions and asked cautiously, “Is there… some kind of meeting today?”
“There is.” Zhang Nanchuan was surprised. “You don’t know?”
After speaking, he looked at Chu Feiliang. “You haven’t told Xiao Rong yet? But how come I heard that the project has already been decided? Aren’t the two of you confirmed as the leads? How come she doesn’t know anything?”
Rong Guang was completely confused.
Chu Feiliang was also a bit stunned. She looked at Rong Guang and said, “You don’t know?”
Rong Guang’s face was full of confusion. “What… am I supposed to know?”
Chu Siyue entered just as everyone in the room was looking at each other in confusion.
She was followed by Wang Lujie.
Wang Lujie was holding what looked like a heavy briefcase. When she placed it on the table, Rong Guang even heard the thud it made.
Good heavens, it was solid.
She hadn’t realized Wang Lujie was such a powerhouse.
Wang Lujie took out a pile of things from inside and distributed them to the people present.
After a while, a few more people came in.
Some faces were unfamiliar, some were familiar.
What surprised Rong Guang was that, besides Zhang Nanchuan, Li Yan and Sun Yuzhi had also arrived.
…Had they invited half the key figures of The Eldest Princess?
What were they here for?
The chief director, chief screenwriter, and chief producer—all three titans were gathered.
Rong Guang looked eagerly at Chu Feiliang, her eyes filled with a thirst for knowledge.
Chu Feiliang frowned and looked at the expressionless Chu Siyue, who was sipping her coffee. “Sister, aren’t you going to explain?”
Chu Siyue put down her cup, looked up at her, and said, “Explain what?”
Chu Feiliang gestured with the script in her hand. “Didn’t you say Rong Guang’s contract was already signed? From the looks of it, she still doesn’t know anything.”
“Does it matter if she knows or not?” Chu Siyue asked back, surprised. “The point is, she’s the one who signed it.”
Rong Guang finally raised her hand weakly and asked in a state of collapse, “So what exactly did I sign?”
“Oh, if you hadn’t mentioned it, I would have forgotten to bring it up.” Chu Siyue used her coffee cup to hide her rising smile. She glanced at Chu Feiliang and said with a light laugh, “When you were signed to Big Dipper, besides your signing contract, there was another contract, for your next drama.”
Rong Guang was taken aback.
“Too bad. The moment I mentioned Tiantian, you didn’t ask a single question, didn’t even look, and just pressed your thumbprint down. I barely had a chance to speak, so I forgot to tell you that one of the documents wasn’t your contract with the company, but a script contract.” Chu Siyue said it as if she was quite regretful.
Rong Guang paused and subconsciously looked at the script that had been placed in front of her.
A familiar script, a familiar schedule, even the folder was familiar to her.
But she didn’t know what the content was.
She looked at Chu Feiliang in a daze, just in time to meet Chu Feiliang’s thoughtful gaze.
Then she scratched her head and said in a small voice, “Don’t blame me, I really didn’t have time to look carefully back then…”
Chu Feiliang smiled.
She placed one hand on the script, her index finger tapping lightly on the tabletop, the curve of her lips deepening.
Finally, she leaned close to Rong Guang and asked in an extremely low voice, “I’m not blaming you for not paying attention to the contract. I was just wondering… if my sister used some extraordinary means to force you to agree to sign… Turns out you were just that impatient to join Big Dipper, to enter my family’s door?”
Rong Guang’s face turned bright red.
She covered her face, not daring to even look at Chu Feiliang—impatient to enter Chu Feiliang’s family door…
She… she was very impatient.
But she hadn’t actually managed to get in yet.
She had only just accomplished the first half of that sentence!
Then Rong Guang looked at Chu Feiliang.
After a long moment, she nodded her little head lightly.
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