It was a clear, blue sky with no clouds.
Song Qingli looked at the signboard of 'Taiyang Entertainment' and happily strode in. She hoped that this was the place where her dreams began.
The appearance of the young girl was like an unripe fruit in the early spring. She was surrounded with a sense of hope and expectation for the future and the broken stars in her eyes exuded a charming brilliance. Most newcomers would look exactly like this.
"Hello, I'm here for an interview. This is the email the interviewer sent me. Which floor should I go to?" Song Qingli opened her phone and showed it to the receptionist.
The receptionist was a young lady with heavy makeup on her face. From the moment she saw Song Qingli, a mocking smile appeared in her eyes. She merely glanced at the message on her phone and thought to herself, 'another sasaeng* fan, using fake information to pass off the real one.'
"You can't go up without an appointment. Even if you had an email, I still can't allow you to.."
Song Qingli frowned slightly. She could tell that the front desk lady was not friendly but no matter how angry she was, she could only suppress her anger.
"I'll make a call first." The girl took a few steps and sat down on the sofa in the service area.
The receptionist rolled her eyes and put on a fake smile as she muttered to herself, "These sasaeng fans these days are getting really arrogant. They would get into Taiyang Entertainment by any means possible but they didn't even take a look at where they are. Did they really think that they would be able to enter just because they look pretty?"
When the young girl heard what she said, she turned around and looked at the receptionist. A sasaeng fan? Did she look like one?
The front desk lady felt the stare on her and her anger suddenly rose like there was oil being poured into an open fire. She walked over arrogantly, swaying her waist, and said to Song Qingli, "If you can't get through, please leave Taiyang Entertainment immediately. Our rest area is not for sasaeng fans."
From what she said, this woman just assumed that she was a sasaeng fan?
It was really unreasonable. Although she really wanted to come to Taiyang Entertainment for an interview, she would not allow anyone to look down on her like that.
Song Qingli looked at the phone that didn't go through and simply hung up. She stood up slowly and tucked her long hair behind her ears. She was 170cm tall, with a good figure and a straight back. Whether it was her temperament or height, she was definitely superior to the other woman.
"Slander is legally binding. Miss, are you really going to slander others every time you open your mouth?"
"What did you just say?"
"I said you're just a dog taking advantage of your master's power. Can't you understand?" The young girl lowered her voice and slowly said the words one by one to her.
"You….!!!"
Then, a black nanny van arrived at the door of the building. There was also a group of fans holding up light signs and screams filled the air.
The front desk lady and Song Qingli's gazes were attracted by the man who got out of the nanny van.
"Brother Xiao Yi! You have to take care of yourself when you're filming. Don't ever get injured."
"Brother Xiao Yi! This is a letter from us, you must accept it."
"Brother Xiao Yi, we love you! We will love you forever!"
"The great Xiao! You shall rule the world!"
Song Qingli's eyes turned teary and the hot air that she exhaled from her lungs burned her trachea. The blood in her entire body started boiling.
Then, she saw a slender man with silver-white hair squeeze out of the crowd. His eyebrows were long and slender and his eyes seemed to contain thousands of stars; those eyes would look affectionate even if he was just looking at a dog.
Xiao Yi!!!
The young girl unconsciously took a few steps closer and her pace was slowly getting faster. She felt as if something had exploded in her heart. The fans at the door were all stopped by the security guards. Xiao Yi was dressed in the latest Bulgari suit. He looked like the son of a wealthy family, looking beautiful and astonishing.
Her idol was standing right there.
There were dimples at the corners of the man's mouth and his smile was very charming. He waved his hand to say goodbye to his fans. When he turned around, he saw a young girl with hearts in her eyes. She was in a daze as if she was confused.
The front desk lady knew that she made the right assumptions when she saw her expression. In the past, there would always be sasaeng fans or even haters who would deliberately disguise themselves as interviewees and sneaked into Taiyang Entertainment just to get close to these celebrities and big shots.
"I knew it! You are indeed a sasaeng fan and you were still pretending that you're auditioning for a role. Where are the security guards? Throw her out."
"Get this sasaeng fan out of here now!"
Xiao Yi saw her the moment he entered the company.
After being in the entertainment industry for a long time, where there were many beautiful women, he had long developed resistance toward good-looking people.
However, when he saw the young girl in front of him, he couldn't help but look at her a few more times. Her clear eyes made it irresistible to look at and she had a huge pair of gorgeous fox eyes.
The girl's passionate and pure look in her eyes made him feel as if it was a lifetime ago.
Unlike the eyes of fans that were filled with admiration, the look in her eyes was like the purest lake water in the Tibetan region; so clear that you could see the bottom of the lake even with the ripples present.
The man noticed that the receptionist had called for the security guard but the girl was still acting indifferent. He didn't have to care about all these. Perhaps this girl was indeed a sasaeng fan like what the receptionist said.
However, the man still subconsciously reached out to stop the security guard. "You said that you're here for an interview?"
Song Qingli stared blankly for a while before she retracted her infatuated look. She nodded and only managed to stiffly say one word, "Yes."
"Teacher Xiao, there have been a lot of sasaeng fans who have infiltrated the company under the name of the interviewees. We have already caught many of them. For the safety of the artists, we can't allow her to go in so easily. If something happens, I can't bear the responsibilities of it." The receptionist was unyielding. She just didn't want Song Qingli to enter the building.
"You shouldn't be the one to determine if she is a sasaeng fan or not."
Xiao Yi hinted at his assistant, Sister Xia; who reacted immediately and pulled the receptionist to the side, explaining the situation in detail. Song Qingli stared at her idol as if she was a poisoned little peacock. She was pursing her lips and smiling the entire time. Her eyes were floating around but they eventually landed on Xiao Yi's face.
Xiao Yi noticed her gaze and smiled in relief. "Let's go. I'll bring you along."
The young girl's pupils trembled slightly and she subconsciously said, "Sure."
Xiao Yi led the group out of the artist's exclusive elevator. From his peripheral vision, he could see the blushing young girl following behind him with small steps, like a baby duck following its mother.
"Are you still studying?"
"Yes, second year."
"Why do you want to be an actor?"
"Because ..."
"Don't say it's because of me, that's too fake."
The young girl blinked her eyes with her clear pupils filled with doubt. She hesitated for a long time before asking him, "Fake?"
The elevator made a 'ding' sound. When they reached their designated floors, Xiao Yi saw a sincere look in her eyes and his heart skipped a beat. He had been in this hypocritical world for too long. Whenever he sees something real, his first reaction would be to wonder if it was an illusion.
He felt that this young girl was lively as if she had limitless energy in her.
"The truth can be a lie and the lie can also be the truth. The end result is not that important."
"I will prove it to you." The young girl's eyes glowed with hope. She looked at Xiao Yi with her bright eyes. "It is the truth."
*TL note: In South Korean culture, a sasaeng, or sasaeng fan is an obsessive fan who stalks or engages in other behaviour constituting an invasion of the privacy of Korean idols, drama actors or other public figures