Gu Chao, a busy man, agreed without hesitation when An Ruo proposed the idea of holding a talent selection, as if he was just letting her play around with it. In the past, the endorsers were always male, so the market response wasn't great. This time, An Ruo wanted to switch to a female celebrity—after all, sparkling jewelry paired with a radiant woman better highlights its beauty.
The jewelry department launched a call for endorser auditions, causing quite a stir, and many artists had already signed up to compete. The main draw was the prize Gu Chao offered: if selected as the endorser, the female lead in the next film invested in by Lanzhen would go to that person. So many were gunning for that guaranteed leading role...
An Ruo crammed through the contestants' profiles and their reputations in the entertainment industry, but after picking through them, none impressed her. Chen Keqiao slapped the table in annoyance. "Hey, I finally got you out for coffee, and you've been spacing out the whole time. What are you thinking about?"
An Ruo snapped back to reality, stirring her latte. "Thinking about work."
"Come on, we haven't hung out in ages, and you don't even miss me?"
An Ruo smiled, her dimples deepening. "Who says that? I miss you so much—see, I made time to treat you to coffee as soon as I could."
They were best friends who shared everything. Chen Keqiao giggled at her coaxing. "By the way, how's it going at Lanzhen? Anyone bullying you?"
In her memory, An Ruo's striking looks and her aloof, unsociable personality had made her a target at school. When Chen Keqiao was around, she'd always rush in to help her out. Now that An Ruo had started her internship early, she worried a bit without her there.
"I'm not a three-year-old. Why would so many people want to bully me?"
Chen Keqiao didn't buy it. "Really? No one?"
"Well... at first, there were a few gossiping employees, but it wasn't really bullying—just office politics." An Ruo thought of Zhou Mingyue and smiled as she told her, "But I met a big shot at the company, and she's been looking out for me."
Chen Keqiao raised an eyebrow. "More reassuring than me?"
An Ruo nodded with a laugh.
"Who is it? Spill it—let's see what kind of crowd she runs with."
"Zhou Mingyue, the young lady from one of the four major families in Shencheng."
Chen Keqiao choked on her drink, and An Ruo quickly grabbed her a napkin. "Is it that shocking?"
"You're not joking, are you? Zhou Mingyue? Do you know how arrogant she is? She's famous in Shencheng for being hard to get along with—a total princess!" Chen Keqiao couldn't believe it. "You actually became friends with her?"
"She's not as bad as you say. She's a decent person—loyal and genuine, just a bit sharp-tongued."
"Ha, she probably thinks you're easy to push around." Chen Keqiao had some history with Zhou Mingyue; in the socialite circle, she was notorious for being rude and haughty.
An Ruo looked at her curiously. "Do you have a personal grudge against her?"
"With that kind of heiress, I'd never get the chance to cross paths." Chen Keqiao didn't want to bring up old memories.
An Ruo smiled, then thought of a question to ask her. "You know more about the entertainment industry than I do. Can you recommend some beautiful, long-legged actresses?"
"What, switching careers?"
An Ruo waved her hand. "No. Lanzhen's jewelry brand is launching a new product, but we can't find a suitable endorser... I've been racking my brain these days."
"I nominate my goddess!" Chen Keqiao, always into gossip, pulled out her phone to show An Ruo a poster of her idol. "Mao Xinyu—she just won the Palme d'Or at Cannes."
An Ruo glanced at it. "A colleague already recommended her. The jewelry department head personally invited her, but her schedule's full, and she doesn't want to endorse new products."
Mao Xinyu was one of the top four rising stars, with a brilliant and smooth career path—she wouldn't bother with a small endorsement like this.
An Ruo figured it out: she couldn't go for A-list actresses or has-beens. Back home, she scrolled through posts and gossip, finally finding a few that satisfied her.
After her shower, An Ruo watched a movie that had been trending on Weibo. With rave reviews online, she wanted to check out some quality actresses. Bored, the man sat beside her to watch. Though he couldn't see, he said seriously, "Blind doesn't mean deaf."
"..."
Halfway through, An Ruo regretted picking this film...
It was a suspense thriller. When the lights dimmed, the female lead crouched to look under the bed, and a bloody, dead face stared back at her—An Ruo quickly covered her eyes. Seriously, who installs a 3D theater at home? In the empty room with just her and the man, every sudden horror scene made her face go pale.
Whenever that happened, the man found it amusing to see her covering her eyes like a scared little rabbit. So she was afraid of ghosts?
"Scared?"
An Ruo froze, then nodded. "Yeah..."
"Come here."
He reached out, as if asking her to sit closer. They weren't used to being too intimate yet, sitting on the same couch with a modest gap between them.
An Ruo bit her lip. "No need—there probably won't be any more scares..."
Her voice cut off as a sudden ghostly face appeared, making her lunge into the man's arms, prompting a low chuckle from him.