The Female Lead's Mental State Collapses

Just thinking about the impassioned, full-body performance she’d put on a moment ago made even Xu Chun, thick-skinned as she was, blush. It was a rare sight. She pressed her water-red lips together, mortified, all ten toes practically digging out an entire luxury Barbie Dreamhouse on the spot.

She sat frozen, her dark eyes darting around the darkness in utter bewilderment.

Who am I? Where am I? What am I supposed to be doing?

Fortunately, she wasn’t helpless for long. Her agent came click-clacking over in high heels, face like thunder, and yanked her out of camera range. “Xu Chun, what the hell were you doing just now?! You know full well that the whole mess with your breakup with Yu Sui’an has been blowing up. So why would you bring it up yourself during a livestream?”

“Do you think you’re not flopping fast enough?” The agent was about to lose her mind. She glared at Xu Chun, her fox-like eyes fierce without needing to try, her tailored suit lending her a sharp, no-nonsense air.

Xu Chun still hadn’t figured out this book’s situation yet, but she knew she’d just caused trouble. She lowered her head with excellent manners, the picture of contrition. Seeing her silent and meek, the agent had anger with nowhere to go; she could only grit her teeth. “Xu Chun, let me remind you one last time. Yu Sui’an is no good for you.”

“She’s a thousand times smarter than you. You can’t possibly outplay her. You’d better put that lovesick brain of yours away, or even the boss himself won’t be able to save you!”

Yu Sui’an had shot to fame with her pitiful, pure-as-a-white-lotus image. She was clever and calculating, an expert at exploiting every resource around her; combined with an agent team that habitually twisted right and wrong, as long as Yu Sui’an wanted it, Xu Chun would never be able to turn her career around in this industry.

The agent didn’t know the full truth of their relationship, but Yu Sui’an currently held the moral high ground, and the evidence of Xu Chun’s cheating circulating online was ironclad. She couldn’t even hire a troll army to refute it and clear her name.

Right now, everyone online was cursing Xu Chun. Yu Sui’an’s fans were even howling for Xu Chun to get out of the entertainment industry. The agent had fought tooth and nail to keep a few of Xu Chun’s resources. So seeing Xu Chun like this, stubborn and unrepentant, how could she not be furious?

Xu Chun was a young lady who’d never known hardship, her life smooth sailing from birth. Her ancestors had been in politics; her parents were in business. By all logic, a child from a family like that entering showbiz should’ve been doing it just for fun, but Xu Chun was different. She always treated every drama seriously. She’d sacrifice anything for a role, including her precious appearance.

Unlike Yu Sui’an’s fixed casting range, Xu Chun was delicate and alluring, with a seductive aura; if her looks were to claim second place in the industry, almost no one would dare claim first. Perhaps precisely because her appearance was so outstanding, Xu Chun took on every challenging, image-subverting role she could to prove she wasn’t just a pretty, empty vase.

The agent still remembered Xu Chun’s debut year, when she’d cut off her own long, silken hair to play a female thug.

If not for that, the agent wouldn’t have poured almost all her focus into Xu Chun. But who could’ve guessed that such an outstanding actress would trip and fall over a woman?

The agent couldn’t help but sigh.

But Xu Chun’s attention was entirely fixed on the three words “Yu Sui’an.” She pointed incredulously in the direction the white lotus had left, then at herself. “You’re saying my ex-girlfriend is named Yu Sui’an?!” Her voice nearly cracked. The agent stared at her, baffled. “What else would she be?”

Xu Chun felt suddenly parched. How could this one be named Yu Sui’an too? Was she destined to clash with this name in every life? Otherwise, how could she run into this person no matter where she went?

She stood there ashen-faced for a long while, then abruptly looked up, startling the agent so badly she flinched. The agent immediately went on guard. “What are you planning? I’m warning you, Xu Chun. Don’t you dare do anything reckless.”

What Xu Chun was actually thinking just then: This book’s male lead... no, wait. She remembered that when she’d touched that black book, it had politely prompted, “This is a yuri novel with collapsed order,” and then she’d lost patience and cut it off before it could finish. So... this is a yuri world?

But even if it’s a yuri novel, it should still have a female lead, like a straight romance, right? So who’s the female lead of this yuri novel?

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, carefully recalling the book’s character relationships and finally sorting them out. Female lead one, Jiang Zhaolie, was her fiancée. Female lead two, Yu Sui’an, was her ex-girlfriend. The female supporting character, He Qingli, was her little fangirl. And there was a villain, Qin Yao, a backup option who didn’t even make it into her harem.

None of that was the problem. The problem was that she was an honest-to-God straight romance female lead!

Her mood was... subtle.

Mental state: collapsing.

Xu Chun squeezed out a smile uglier than crying. The agent’s heart softened despite herself; she sighed in resignation. “It’s fine, Chunchun. It’s not a big deal. You just tough it out and it’ll pass.”

Not a big deal? This was a huge deal!

She gave the agent another look of utter bereavement. The agent’s eye twitched, unable to bear looking. “You rest here for now. I’ll go handle the livestream situation.” She turned, took two steps, then turned back. “Also, from now on, you are not to approach Yu Sui’an on your own initiative or speak to her. Understood?”

Only after getting Xu Chun’s affirmative reply did the agent leave, not entirely reassured.

The stir Xu Chun had caused in the livestream was huge. Back when Yu Sui’an had suddenly posted on Weibo announcing the breakup, every line between the lines was blaming Xu Chun, so naturally, Yu Sui’an’s fans assumed Xu Chun was the guilty party in the split.

Just as everyone was speculating, a well-known media outlet dropped a set of photos of Xu Chun secretly meeting another woman in intimate poses at the highest-traffic time right after work hours. It instantly triggered public fury, and Xu Chun became public enemy number one.

But the truth was: Xu Chun had been wrongly accused from the start.

The one who’d first announced the breakup was Yu Sui’an; the one who’d exposed Xu Chun’s dates with other women was also Yu Sui’an—all because Yu Sui’an had a change of heart and had secretly gotten together with Xu Chun’s fiancée, Jiang Zhaolie. To shake Xu Chun off, Yu Sui’an didn’t hesitate to destroy her reputation with her own hands, ruin her career, and make sure she could never turn things around for the rest of her life.

Except Xu Chun was utterly devoted to Yu Sui’an; no matter how viciously Yu Sui’an treated her, she refused to leave.

Yu Sui’an was truly fed up with Xu Chun’s pestering, so she’d deliberately set a trap during the livestream to destroy her reputation completely and sink her into eternal ruin.

In the original book, Yu Sui’an stole Xu Chun’s fiancée, stole many of the scripts she had that would’ve gone on to explode in popularity, and joined forces with Jiang Zhaolie to drive the Xu family’s business into losses and bankruptcy. Her parents committed suicide. In the end, Xu Chun, devastated by her family’s downfall, went mad and wandered the streets, and only three days after her death was her body found.

After fully grasping her future ending, Xu Chun: “...”

Couldn’t she just get a good ending for once?

Fortunately, Xu Chun had always lived by the principle that man can conquer nature. Never mind that she would never cling to Yu Sui’an out of lingering love. She didn’t want her nominal fiancée, Jiang Zhaolie, either. Those two had best stay far, far away from her.

But that was clearly unrealistic. Because of what Xu Chun had just said to Yu Sui’an, the internet had already blown up.

【How does Xu Chun even have the nerve to show up in front of Suisui, and even say that kind of thing to her? Belated devotion is cheaper than grass. Before the show has even fully started, Xu Chun should hurry up and quit!】

【If Xu Chun doesn’t quit, I’m not watching this show!】 Comments like these were beyond counting. The show’s Weibo comment section was nearly overrun. Because of Xu Chun and Yu Sui’an’s breakup, the show’s popularity had never dropped since the guest list was announced. The director was grinning so hard his face looked about to split.

Free publicity and buzz. Why not take it? Any director with a working brain wouldn’t kick Xu Chun off the show at a time like this. Not only could he not kick her, he had to coax her nicely so she wouldn’t get depressed from the cyberbullying and quit on her own.

As soon as the thought occurred to him—the director was already on his feet and heading for Xu Chun’s dressing room. The door was ajar; he’d just raised his hand to knock when he heard a slow, lilting voice drift out from inside. “This cursed skin of mine really is cursed beautiful!”

The director halted mid-step. “?”

...Was that Xu Chun’s voice just now?

Xu Chun had already put her phone down and was studying herself in the mirror. This body was a ninety-percent match for her original appearance. But probably because in this book she was the vicious supporting character who recklessly meddled in the leads’ relationship, the author had cranked her looks to unprecedented heights. Standing next to anyone else, she looked like she had a beauty filter on, making her look noble, cold, and unattainably gorgeous.

Charming eyes and peach-blossom cheeks, a slender waist and long legs; her jade-like, elegant beauty made even Xu Chun’s own heart flutter.

After admiring herself contentedly for a while, Xu Chun finally noticed the person hovering at the door, unsure whether to come in. She thought for a moment, then recognized him. “Director?”

The director snapped back to himself and smiled obsequiously. “The livestream’s about to start. You and Suisui...”

Guessing what he was about to say, Xu Chun’s brow furrowed slightly. “Director, during filming I won’t let my personal matters affect the recording. But at the same time, I don’t want to hear anyone discussing my private love life.”

The director caught her meaning, and his smile grew even brighter. “Sure, sure. I understand. I understand completely.”

This was a brand-new type of program billing itself as “the most authentic dating reality show in history.” The production had invited six single celebrity guests and would track each guest’s romantic situation via a full twenty-four-hour livestream. With that kind of near-surveillance coverage, the show could hardly be anything but real.

The gimmick of a brand-new variety format plus the gossip of Xu Chun and Yu Sui’an’s breakup meant the show had drawn enormous attention before it even officially began. And Xu Chun’s earlier remarks in the preview livestream, made before she’d grasped the situation, had single-handedly sent the show straight onto the trending list.

Two top-tier celebrity exes on the same dating show. Was there any more riveting dog-blood drama than that?

No.

The entertainment industry had been bland as boiled water lately, so netizens were like wolves scenting blood, fixated on the show’s every move.

Xu Chun entered the studio with the director. The other guests were all already present, Yu Sui’an included. When Xu Chun came in, Yu Sui’an lifted her eyes and looked at her quietly for a moment, then quickly averted her gaze, her slightly lowered face showing just the right amount of discomfort.

Xu Chun saw through the little trick and ignored it, casually taking a nearby seat. Beside her, a young woman with the obedient good-student look was visibly thrilled; if the livestream hadn’t already started, Xu Chun guessed she’d have pounced on her. She glanced at the nameplate. It read He Qingli.

So she was Xu Chun’s little fangirl. No wonder.

Aside from Yu Sui’an and Xu Chun, the other guests didn’t know each other well, so the director guided the flow and signaled everyone to introduce themselves, starting with Xu Chun. The director knew what the audience wanted to see, so he added, specifically, “Everyone’s self-introduction must include your past romantic history.”

Xu Chun glanced at the director, then at the camera, cleared her throat, and with everyone watching, said: “I’m Xu Chun. No exes online or anywhere else. I’ve never been in a relationship.”

Director: “?”

Yu Sui’an: “??”

He Qingli: “???”

He Qingli couldn’t help but widen her eyes in disbelief. Good grief, you really dare spout total nonsense in front of millions of viewers! Your ex-girlfriend is literally right here on set, and you still dare claim you have no exes anywhere?

After a deathly silence, everyone present gradually came back to their senses, and subtle looks landed on Yu Sui’an one after another. For real?

Yu Sui’an’s face went white. She instinctively clenched her fingers, feeling as if needles were pricking her back.

Ignoring everyone’s incredulous scrutiny, Xu Chun thought with perfect self-righteousness: What does the love life of Xu Chun, the supporting character in a yuri novel, have to do with me, Xu Chun, the female lead of a straight romance? I’m not taking that blame.