Chapter 1

In the late autumn evening, the dark red sky was covered with clouds, and the dull thunder was mixed in the wind, urging the accumulated water vapor in the air to fall.

In the open square outside the Rhodes Museum of Art, the fans support signs were soaked by the heavy rain, but the museum was not affected by the weather at all. The lights were on and the award ceremony of the film festival was held as scheduled.

Yu Yao stood at the award ceremony, holding up her skirt and stepped onto the steps, walking towards the most inconspicuous corner at the end of the guest seats, where her name was posted.

However, everyone else had a handwritten name tag with a red background and gold border, but hers was printed with two black Song fonts on white paper.

It was perfunctory.

When Yu Yao passed by, many eyes glanced at her, the atmosphere froze subtly, and then whispers were heard.

The old actors and traffic stars present were all well-known and would not easily discuss, but the media and staff were not so cautious.

"Yu Yao? Why is she here?"

"She hasnt produced any work in the whole year, and shes full of scandals. Her only two endorsements were cancelled last month. She still has the nerve to show up. What does the award ceremony have to do with her?"

"Of course," another person laughed softly, "Confessions" was nominated for four awards this time. Yu Yao was the original heroine of the movie. How could she be content? I heard that her agent spent a lot of money to buy this seat tonight. Its obvious that she came here to take advantage of the popularity."

"Yu Yao deserves it. Why did she offend the Rong family? She got into such a bad situation. Now shes trying to be humble and obedient. Its too late--"

Yu Yao pretended not to hear anything and walked to her seat and sat down. The seat next to her also had a brand name. It was a fourth- or fifth-tier actor. At this moment, he stayed away from her as if he was avoiding a virus. He would rather stand in the aisle than next to her.

In such a large and splendid world of fame and fortune, she became the target of public criticism in a corner where even the light could not reach.

As soon as Yu Yao lowered her eyelashes, she heard a low male voice in her ear, with an extremely nervous tone.

"Yu Yao, you have to hold on for me, dont be affected, I finally got this opportunity!"

Yu Yao looked sideways, and saw a young man with glasses squatting behind the chair, half of his phoenix eyes showing through the gap between the backrests, staring at her fiercely.

Other peoples agents are all well-dressed, but hers is like a crab.

Yu Yao said, "Ill try my best."

No matter how low the two spoke, someone could hear them, and they were all laughing at Yu Yaos pity. If she had known this result, why would she come over to humiliate herself? If "Confession" really won the award later, she would only be more embarrassed than now.

Ten minutes later, the award ceremony began.

Yu Yao quietly watched the excitement on the stage. The best film, best director and best screenwriter and other heavyweight awards were not awarded to "Confessions". The best actor also went to someone else. Only the last best actress announced was Jiang Yuan, the current heroine of "Confessions".

Yu Yao breathed a sigh of relief. Her agent Bai Xiao, who had been squatting behind her, immediately tensed up and reiterated: "Hold on!"

Jiang Yuan sat in the first row and wiped her tears to receive the award. She looked pitiful. She trembled and skillfully said the award speech, but her eyes glanced at Yu Yaos seat from time to time.

Bai Xiaos brain alarm jumped several levels, and he hurriedly poked Yu Yaos arm through the gap: "Calm down, ignore her, dont say anything, we are just here to show our faces today!"

The people around were also looking at Yu Yao openly and secretly, wanting to see if she would cry on the spot because she couldnt stand the stimulation.

Yu Yao still didnt react. She sat at the darkest edge of the entire guest seat, and her expression couldnt be seen clearly.

Jiang Yuan held the microphone tightly on the stage with pride. Since Yu Yao had the guts to take the initiative to run into the gun, she must make her regret it.

She deliberately kept silent for a few seconds, and when she attracted enough attention, she choked up and said: "In fact, I can get such a big award, in addition to thanking the creators and fans, but also thanks to... Sister Yu Yaos humility to me."

The scene was suddenly quiet, Bai Xiao froze in place, and even the director secretly thought that this new actress was a bit unkind.

Perhaps the outside world is not clear, but everyone present today knows that Yu Yao was forcibly replaced by the crew of "Confession" at the end of the filming.

Yu Yaos starting point is almost the ceiling in the circle. She entered the Central Academy of Drama with the first place, graduated with the first place, and won the Best Supporting Actress in the first movie she participated in while in school. The next year, she directly won the Best Actress. She is the youngest actress in the history of domestic films.

But since she offended Rong Ye and lost the female lead in "Confession", she seemed to be blocked by the entire film industry. She could not get any roles and rarely had the opportunity to show up. Negative information emerged one after another. Her acting skills, which were once regarded as a god, were also questioned. Her popularity plummeted and she was almost unknown.

She appeared today and would have been ridiculed, but Jiang Yuan mentioned her name so loudly, which was equivalent to publicly lingering her.

The director complained in his heart, but his hands were not idle. He quickly caught the explosive point and cut the camera to the close-up of the guest seats. After searching back and forth twice, he finally fixed on Yu Yao in the corner.

The spotlight followed closely, first illuminating a section of the snow-white wrist, and then advancing to the cherry-red cheongsam. The rich and bright color wrapped the slender neck properly and outlined the delicate and small chin.

The brightness expanded upwards inch by inch, flowing over the black hair and full red lips that fell on the side of her face, and fell into a pair of half-closed cold black pupils, drawing two cold arcs of light.

The impactful picture was not only broadcast live on the network platform, but also simultaneously projected on the huge high-definition screens on both sides of the stage.

No one had looked at Yu Yaos appearance carefully before, but now the camera was facing her facial features, and all the details were magnified. A face that was more eye-catching than at her peak made the scene slightly agitated.

Jiang Yuans expression changed a little, and it was too late to regret that sentence and grab back the attention.

The host asked in a panic: "As the former heroine of "Confession", does Yu Yao have anything to say to Jiang Yuan?"

The camera in front of Yu Yao was connected to a microphone, ready to receive the sound at any time.

Bai Xiao squatted behind the chair and hugged his head in despair.

Others waited to watch the show.

Any young person would lose their composure in such an insulting scene, and the live broadcast platform was quickly flooded with comments: "Its what you deserve. Hurry up and cry. You can get some sympathy."

A brief silence.

Yu Yao slowly raised her eyes in the center of the storm and curled the corners of her lips calmly.

The embarrassment, panic, and weakness that everyone likes to see were not on her face.

She leaned forward slightly, stared straight at the camera, and asked slowly: "What? Miss Jiangs acting skills dragged down the entire crew, so she only got the least valuable award?"

—

At nine oclock in the evening, it was pouring rain. Outside the exit of the Rhodes Art Museum, an old Volkswagen was parked, which was out of place among a group of nanny cars worth millions.

Bai Xiao held a big black umbrella in one hand and protected Yu Yaos head with a scarf in the other hand. He pushed her to the back seat and quickly squeezed into the drivers seat.

"If I hadnt covered your face, Im afraid we wouldnt be able to get out alive!"

Yu Yaos words set off the award ceremony. Bai Xiao couldnt remember how it ended. He only knew that it was a chaotic scene. He finally managed to break through the siege. Before leaving, he saw Jiang Yuan crying and throwing things backstage.

Bai Xiao didnt dare to stay any longer. He changed gears and rushed into the rain, panting and shouting: "I should have known long ago that you couldnt keep calm! Now your true nature is revealed! Yu Yao, you are so harsh, do you really want to quit!"

"Well, I dont want to quit," Yu Yao leaned against the car window, her tone calm, "Why are you reacting so strongly? Im already at the bottom of the valley. How can it be worse than now?"

Bai Xiao was stunned and pursed his lips.

Yu Yao looked at the water marks on the glass and said calmly: "My situation is already like this, whats so scary? She stepped on me in public, so of course I have to fight back. Its just telling the truth, whats the problem? Besides-"

Her voice was very light: "You got the opportunity to show your face, and I can get the biggest return by doing this. You can go to the company to report tomorrow without worry, and your job will be safe."

After hearing this, Bai Xiao felt even worse.

In his opinion, Yu Yao was born to act. Not to mention being a god among the young generation of actors, she is just as good as the veteran actors.

Who would have thought that a disaster would come from the sky. A few years ago, Yu Yaos family had an accident, which interrupted her career. Before she could recover, she was targeted by the ancestor of the Rong family.

Because she refused a private dinner party hosted by the second young master Rong, she was jointly banned by capital and directors, and marketing accounts threw all kinds of dirty water on her, wishing to remove her from this circle.

The companys style was to follow the trend and simply put Yu Yao on ice. As an agent, he was unwilling to give up, so he was naturally implicated.

Bai Xiao could see that Yu Yao was extremely disappointed with this circle and might change careers.

But he was not convinced, so he tried his best to get a place in this award ceremony. He didnt believe it. Even if she didnt act, how could Yu Yao not be popular just based on her face.

The company told him clearly in advance that this was the last chance. If Yu Yao still couldnt make a splash, he, a stubborn agent, would have to pack up and leave immediately.

He originally planned to let Yu Yao show her presence and create a topic with her beauty, but he really didnt expect her to play so big.

But Yu Yaos high profile was also for his future.

There was a traffic jam ahead, Bai Xiao frowned and slowed down, taking the opportunity to check Weibo.

Wow, it dominated the screen. The homepage was full of scolding Yu Yao for being distressed about Jiang Yuan. Several hot search terms were linked together, and it really made a splash.

Bai Xiao hurriedly made a few phone calls, relying on his limited connections to keep the topic going, and couldnt help but feel sad.

Yu Yao is both professional and pretty, but she can only be on the black search and is facing the possibility of quitting the circle and changing careers. Damn it, why? !

In the final analysis, its all the fault of that devil who treats people as toys and people in the circle dont even dare to mention his real name.

Bai Xiao took a deep breath and cursed Rong Ye by name: "Rong Ye is really a dog!"

Yu Yao nodded in agreement: "You are brave, Rong Ye is indeed a dog."

Bai Xiao advised her: "Its been a while since you offended Rong Ye, dont think about quitting the circle yet, now that you are popular, maybe you can get a good script."

"Ill deal with the media. If you are really in a bad mood, why not have some fun? Have a short-term underground boyfriend, or chase a star or something. Look at the brothers on the scene today, each one is more tender than the other."

Yu Yao closed her eyes: "Im not interested in tender ones."

Bai Xiao "tsk"ed: "You have a nice face and beautiful eyes."

"I dont like pretty ones."

Bai Xiao emphasized: "She has a cute personality, sweet mouth and cuteness."

Yu Yao sneered without mercy: "I hate cute and cute ones the most, childish."

Bai Xiao was so angry that he stepped on the accelerator, and the wheels stirred up waves on the road. He rushed to a dimly lit residential area on the outskirts of the city and stopped abruptly.

The only lane at the gate was seriously flooded and could not be passed.

Yu Yao pushed the door and got out of the car: "You turn around, Ill go in by myself."

On a rainy night in the old neighborhood, she was wrapped in a long black coat, her face hidden under an umbrella. Except for her slender and white calves that were too eye-catching, no one could tell that she was a female star with a lot of black words on her.

After driving Bai Xiao away, Yu Yao turned around and stepped on the bricks that were temporarily built in the water, and walked towards the No. 9 building she rented.

The rent of No. 9 building was cheap, and it was the innermost one.

The road to the building is not short. The surroundings are unusually quiet, with only the crackling sound of rain hitting the umbrella.

Yu Yao gathered her clothes and unconsciously quickened her pace. Seeing that the unit door was just a dozen meters away, a breathing sound suddenly sounded in the gray shadow in front of her left.

Slight, trembling, mixed with a little helpless low gasp, it was soon drowned in the heavy rain.

Yu Yao stopped for a few seconds without moving. The hand holding the umbrella handle turned slightly pale, and she looked at the source of the sound intently.

In the thin light, there was a tall silhouette standing there. It should be a charity donation box for storing clothes.

She waited for a while, but nothing unusual happened. Even the breathing just now disappeared, as if it was just an auditory hallucination.

Now the ground was covered with rain that almost covered her ankles. She had only this way to go. If she wanted to go home, she had to go there.

Yu Yao stabilized her heartbeat, dialed Bai Xiaos number just in case, and then started again.

She lowered her umbrella to block the side that might be dangerous, intending to pass quickly. However, just as she was about to walk out of the range of the donation box, the breathing sound rang again.

Yu Yao could hear it very clearly at such a close distance, as if it was a homeless injured young animal, huddled in the rain and moaning for help.

Yu Yao was stunned.

Just as she paused, something trembled in the shadows.

A cold white hand emerged from the dirt, reaching forward with all its strength, and touched her hem wetly.

Its not a small animal!

Yu Yaos nerves were tense, her lips were tightly pursed, she held the umbrella tightly, and suddenly lifted it up.

The dark night sky suddenly brightened, and a sharp flash of light came down with a loud bang, lighting up the voice-controlled light outside the unit door and illuminating the gray shadow.

Its a person.

In the field of vision under the edge of the umbrella, Yu Yao happened to meet his eyes.

A pair of amber colored glass washed countless times by clear water, hidden under the wet dark long eyelashes, was shone by the light, flowing with transparent pure ripples, like tears.

Yu Yaos blood almost coagulated.

The boy was dying, curled up beside the donation box, hugging his knees and trembling, his clothes were torn in several pieces, and his shoulders and calves were exposed. White skin was covered with scars, like a dying stray puppy.

The puppy was struggling to raise his head, staring at her with his glass-like eyes, his lips were particularly beautiful, slightly open, and making a broken little whimper.