Shen Yue signed the contract with Director Liu, the ink hadn't even dried when she felt Zhao Jian's gaze lingering on her.
"You've made a good choice, Shen Yue," he said, smiling. "I look forward to working with you."
She returned a polite nod, she didn't know why Zhao Jian was acting friendly, was it because of the person in the capital or did Zhao Jian suspect something about her as he had been watching her too closely.
Either way she wasn't too concerned about him, if they were watching her then let them. They would only see her climb higher.
The next morning, Shen Yue woke up to the Yinyin's voice calling for her.
[Shen Yue, you've made it onto the trending page.]
She sat up lazily. "Already?"
A translucent screen popped up
------Trending #34: Who is Shen Yue? -------
@EntertainmentInsider: Upcoming drama "The Pride of Youth" announces its main cast! While the female lead is industry darling Xiao Yiyi, the second female lead role unexpectedly goes to a complete newcomer- Shen Yue. Who is she?
There were blurry photos attached of her from the audition.
The comments under the post were anything but nice.
@JustaLoner: Who is this? She is pretty.
@Wongmian: Person above she's a newcomer with no background that got the second female lead for the pride of youth drama and seeing as she is pretty must be some hidden connection at work
@XoXo: This better not be another case of producer's girlfriend situation
@GossipQueen: A total nobody getting a high-profile villainess role? I smell a scandal brewing.
@MovieCritic99: If she got the role through talent, fine. But if it's another producer favorite, I'll boycott the show.
Shen Yue scrolled through the comments, her expression a mixture of mirth and giving up.
"These netizens have way too much of a creative mind, but it's understandable since this a highly anticipated drama, there's bound to be critics."
[Shen Yue, aren't you upset?] Yinyin asked cautiously.
She laughed. "Now why would I be? This is free publicity."
A heated conversation about her meant one thing, people were curious about her. The more they doubted her, the more satisfying the face slap would be.
[Ding! Host has gained attention. Unlocking new system function: Faith Points.]
A notification appeared.
------New System Function: Faith Points---------
Faith points increases when:
- Followers, likes and shares go up
- Public Interest in you rises
- Your name trends.
Faith points can be converted to regular point with a ratio of 1:2.
Current Faith Points: 10
Shen Yue arched a brow. "So, my popularity fuels the system?"
[Yes! The more people believe in you, admire you, or are captivated by you, the stronger your influence grows. Once you accumulate enough faith points, you'll unlock new abilities or perks.]
Shen Yue though the concept was interesting, the more people paid attention to her, the faster she and the system would grow.
[Shen Yue, we should create a Weibo account to increase your exposure!]
Yinyin moved quickly, and without waiting for her confirmation created a Weibo account for her.
@ShenYueOfficial
New actress. Here to challenge myself.
A moment later, she received a notification.
@DirectorLiuOfficial: Welcome @ShenYueOfficial to the cast of 'The Pride of Youth.' looking forward to seeing what you bring to the role of Ning Yan.
Director Liu had created a post specifically for her, so netizens could see her account and also so she could gain popularity.
Shen Yue smiled and immediately reposted it, then she commented.
@ShenYueOfficial: Thank you, Director Liu. I'll do my best.
Instantly reactions flooded in.
@CDramaFan: I still don't trust unknown actresses, but I'll trust Director Liu.
@CuriousNetizen: Following just to see if she proves the haters wrong.
[Ding! +50 Faith Points.]
Elsewhere, in a high-profile cafe, Meng Xi scrolled through Weibo, her face dark.
If Shen Yue was here, she would have recognized her as the actress who got the role in her past life.
Meng Xi was reeling with anger; she had auditioned for Ning Yan, and she had been perfect for Ning Yan. Yet, Director Liu had chosen an unknown actress instead.
"You look upset."
Meng Xi turned to face the woman sitting across from her. Xiao Yiyi.
The top actress wore a delicate smile, but her eyes betrayed her amusement.
"Don't take it personally," Xiao Yiyi continued, sipping her coffee. "Director Liu is unpredictable and besides you got the role for third female lead, don't bother with the newcomer there's plenty opportunity to crush her."
Meng Xi scoffed. "You're right. Newcomers like her come and go."
Still her pride was wounded. She wouldn't let some no-name actress walk away with what should have been hers, and she didn't want to act as the female lead best friend in the drama.
Later that evening, Shen Yue sat cross-legged on her bed, studying her script.
[Ding! Host has accepted her first major role. System functions updated.]
A new notification popped up:
-------Daily Mission Unlocked-------
Task: Memorize script by sunrise.
Reward: +0.5 stars in acting skills
Shen Yue arched a brow. "Yinyin, are you bribing me to work hard?"
[Of course not! This is just efficient talent cultivation!]
Amused, she continued to read her script. Though her body lacked her past-life training, her mind still held the experience of an actress who had conquered the industry once before.
She would reclaim everything, step by step.
Meanwhile at a school dorm, two girls were on a bed discussing something, on the phone the photo of Shen Yue could be seen except it wasn't blurry.
"Should we post it?" Pei Xue asked her best friend.
"I don't know, but let's try and see, we should also tag her, maybe she won't take offence to it that way."
"We should post it; I just think she has an interesting vibe" Pei Xue continued.
Soon the photo of Shen Yue was on the internet, the photo was of Shen Yue sitting lazily on the chair at Silver Moon Cafe, she exuded pride and laziness both at the same time, Shen Yue was also tagged.
Immediately the post blew up as the girls were somewhat famous bloggers on the internet.
@RandomNetizen: Dang is this Shen Yue, she's very beautiful.
@CuriousCat: Momma, I've seen a goddess [Jpg. Catlickingscreen.]
@Hater123: Who even is this? Never heard of her. Seeing as she is pretty, she's probably someone's kept woman.
@FansofVillains: @Hater123 what is a bot account doing here? Wait she's playing Ning Yan? I love Villainesses! If she acts well, I would definitely stan.
Meanwhile Shen Yue who was reading her script, kept hearing notifications of her faith point increasing.
"Yinyin, what's going on?"
[I think you should check your Weibo account.]
Shen Yue logged into her account to see that she had gained a lot of followers from her previous 300k.
Now she had 1.3 million followers, some which were haters and others were fans of her good look.
"What happened? How did I suddenly go from 300k to 1.3million?"
Shen Yue looked at the post she was tagged in before she laughed.
"So they ended up posting it in the end?"
Shen Yue liked the post and then reposted it, she even commented.
@ShenYueOfficial: So, it was you girls that took my photo the other day, haha thank you.
After she commented, her comment got a lot of likes and replies.
Shen Yue followed the account, making it three people she followed. The director, Jiang Li and Pei Xue's blog.
The girls in the dorm were excited that they could not fall asleep making them sleep in class the next day.
Meanwhile on the rooftop of a high-rise building, Zhao Jian's phone buzzed.
"She passed," he reported.
A low hum came from the other end. "Good."
Zhao Jian hesitated. "What now?"
There was a pause before the voice answered, "Continue watching her."
The call ended.
Zhao Jian exhaled, glancing down at his phone. Just who was Shen Yan, really?
Three days later, Shen Yue arrived at the filming set.
A mix of excitement and nervous energy filled the air as the cast and crew bustled about.
She took a deep breath, stepping forward.
This time, she wasn't a struggling newcomer.
She wasn't a victim of fate.
This time, she Shen Yue would carve her own path.