╔═══ Author's note ════╗

Edited by Psycho S.

╚═════════════════╝

Xuan Mu sent Bing Shi to practice her acting, "You can go. I'll do the dishes."

"Hurray!" Bing Shi sprinted to the living room to turn on a TV, uninterested in listening to their conversation. Putting on a pair of headphones, she began to research a sci-fi movie that would help her with a new role: an alien warrior. It was just another 'cool' character, similar to the 'evolved' Aisha.

Unfortunately, nobody wanted to stage Bing Shi in anything else besides these characters who did dangerous stunts. As the main villain's sidekick with stunning visuals, only a bare minimum of emotions and conversation was required. Her duty would consist of chasing and hunting humans. Simple as that.

· · ──────── · ⊱❈⊰· ──────── · ·

The next day, Li Jie woke up in an unfamiliar place. He stood up unsteadily after getting used to his massive hangover and looked out of the window. The streets looked like the ones he had visited yesterday...

Rubbing his forehead, Li Jie tried to remember what happened. After last night's chat, Silika's husband carried his wasted body to one of the unoccupied apartments, going as far as helping him change his clothes. He looked down at his black sweatpants and bare chest. What an uncool thing to do before the very man he planned to expose during a drinking session.

"..." Li Jie ruffled his brown hair in frustration and went to the bathroom to clean up. Even though Lu Kai was younger, that man-made him feel like a teenage boy, "So embarrassing."

· · ──────── · ⊱❈⊰· ──────── · ·

A few months later...

Inside Silika Lin's bedroom:

"Bing Shi...darling...sweetie...wifey, wake up," Xuan Mu traced his lips alongside her neck, "Today is your big day. The makeup crew will arrive any second."

"Nuuu, I don't want to see myself on a huge cinema screen. I'm going to fail my fans. Everyone is going to hate my acting," Bing Shi hooked her arms around his body and tried to continue sleeping. Just because she worked on a film didn't mean she knew what the finished product would be like, "Go in my stead as Silika, please. I'll lend you my beautiful gown."

"Nobody can pull off that beautiful gown like you. Not even I, with all my powers, can match your synergy with the gown, my dear," he patted her back, coaxing her to attend her first movie premiere.

Both were nervous as they could not predict the public reaction to the movie.

Bing Shi especially cautioned others not to set their expectations too high, but would this be enough?

· · ──────── · ⊱❈⊰· ──────── · ·

For this highly-anticipated movie, fans started lining up days before the event.

The higher-ups saw no problem staging a no-name actress as long as she met the requirements. They didn't have a budget to hire only A-class actors. The best actors and actresses, weren't they all beginners in the beginning? Everyone loved A-List stars, but there were a few things as exciting, like catching a rising star at the beginning of his or her career: a hidden gem.

Li Jie and Ziekel should be enough to ensure the box office. What they didn't expect was for the director to pick up complete newbies with no real experience. One was blessed with a talent for acting, while the other got the role through a whole chain of accidents...

Because this Silika was everywhere, it was difficult to ignore her. Wherever she passed, drama followed. Most of the drama that followed her was positive, which was... sort of a good thing. Of course, there were some malicious scandals, like the one that whispered about her having plastic surgery, but those were quickly swept under the rug.

Despite all the slanderous rumors around her, nobody dared suggest that the sensations came to be because of the ex-CEO Mo Luwei. This was because everyone knew of his notorious enmity with her. It came as a surprise when he decided to give her the role just so he could take control of her.

· · ──────── · ⊱❈⊰· ──────── · ·

On Xuan Mu's side...

A red carpet premiere involved everyone dressing up. Xuan Mu was no exception. One didn't realize that blue could be such a hot fire until one saw those irises; this caused most to drop their gaze upon eye contact. Other than the brilliant blue of his eyes, he was a perfect blend of white and black, from his skin to his suit.

Xuan Mu touched his neck. His long fingers stumbled upon the retro brooch. No matter how loose Bing Shi tied a tie for him, it still felt like a collar for slaves to him, so she opted for a multilayered ribbon that could be pinned under his collar.

Searching for the guest entrance, he passed by the themed back walls and custom design accents that linked into the overall theme of the movie. There were two entrances, one for car arrivals that only a-listers with a special permit could use, and one for guests like him.

Once he found the guest entrance, he cursed at the long queue of people. Competition winners, journalists, production crew, sponsors, PR people, friends of the cast and crew, etc., were all held back by security.

"Sorry, madam. You can't get in without a ticket," the security man said, holding back the beautifully aged woman.

"How is that possible?" Dressed in a glamorous red gown, Silika's mother smiled at the security man like a proud peacock. Many of her friends were envious that her daughter became a popular celebrity overnight. Silika's connection with influential men also raised her marriage aspects, "I'm Silika Lin's mother."

"Sorry," the guard began to get irritated, repeating his words, "Nobody is allowed to pass through without a ticket."

"You! How dare you speak to me like that? Don't think I won't get you fired!" Silika's mother threatened in a fierce tone, "My daughter is the female lead of the movie 'The Last Spark'! And her future husband is Li Jie, the CEO of Li Corp and ML's entertainment!"

Noticing the commotion, Silika's Lin father almost couldn't recognize his ex-wife, "What are you doing here?"

Silika's mother ran to him in tears, pouring out her grievances, "D-dear! You're finally here! They won't let me see our daughter!!!" Noticing that he was with another woman, she exclaimed in shock while tearing the woman's hands off her ex-husband's arm with disdain, "Who do you think you are?! Let go of my husband!"

Before a bigger conflict could occur, Xuan Mu clenched his fingers as if squeezing onto a ball and at the same time, Silika's mother began to ooze out an unbearable smell. Now that damn woman should stop slowing the traffic...

Gasping for air, everyone stepped away from Silika's mother, covering their noses. They ran out to get some fresh air. Silika's mother couldn't utter any more words as she ran away in humiliation. Of all the times she had to... erm, go, it had to be now?!

Xuan Mu stopped the running security. After he gave the confused security guard his ticket, he was immediately given access inside.

This slightly surprised Xuan Mu; the process was faster than he thought. After he reached his seat, he examined the gift bags placed on each seat. Opening his own gift bag (it was silver and, though not big, it was elegant), he found a bottle of water, some snacks, and photos with the main cast's autographs inside. Keeping Silika's photo for himself, he put everything else back inside the gift bag and placed it under his seat.

Sitting in the cinema, he watched the red carpet live feed on the big screen. As he was waiting, he wondered if he should run to the toilet and give Bing Shi a small hug while he still could.

· · ──────── · ⊱❈⊰· ──────── · ·

On Bing Shi's side...

Bing Shi looked through the limousine window that just reached the gala, lining up behind the other car, she waited for her turn. When she first began to stream, she strived to show her great enthusiasm to become an actress, her proficiency in various skills, and whatever would help her to pass an audition and her fans. Just simply stating in her resume that she got a black belt or knew how to play the piano would never compare to seeing her perform things herself.

╔════Author's note═════╗

Usually, in the rebirth novel, or any contemporary novel with a FL as an actress, the FL usually gets the role similar to Aoi Hong's. A role of a second female lead/villain that is more popular and more difficult to act than the actual movie's female lead. Later, there are scenes where the FL embarrasses the other actress with many retakes. Imagine if Bing Shi didn't snatch Su Luqin's spot; you would get an oddly familiar face-slap moment. 😂

╚═══════════════════╝