Is This How the Entertainment Industry Works? (GL) - Chapter 2

After giving the delivery to a young girl, Yan Zhen collected her daily wages from the restaurant and returned home. After feeding the chickens, she quickly went inside. Her mother, seeing this, asked, “Where did you go?”

Yan Zhen thought for a moment and replied, “I went to the library in town to read.”

Her mother asked, “What book were you reading?”

Yan Zhen said, “…Tui Bei Tu?”

The air was silent for half a second before her mother grabbed a broom and rushed at Yan Zhen, “What Tui Bei Tu?! Why aren’t you reading your textbooks? Don’t you know you’re taking your college entrance exams soon?!”

Yan Zhen ran around, dodging the blows. “Ow, ow, ow, I misspoke! It was my math book! I was reading my math book!”

Her mother stopped, looking at Yan Zhen, who was now crying. She felt a pang in her heart. “Our village is poor, but we can’t be poor when it comes to education, understand?”

Yan Zhen nodded.

Her mother sighed. “You don’t need to worry about anything else. Just study hard and get into a good university, and your father and I will figure out the rest.”

Yan Zhen’s heart ached, and she said softly, “Mom.”

The original owner of this body had a very difficult family life, which was why she died on the small bed in her room from a lack of money for treatment. Before the original owner’s soul dissipated, she left Yan Zhen with one last wish: to ensure her parents live healthy, happy lives and no longer suffer.

Yan Zhen, determined to fulfill the wish, did a divination for herself and chose to deliver food to earn money. The village she lived in was small and had poor educational facilities. Her mother was desperate for Yan Zhen to go to a big city, but it wasn’t easy to get there.

Yan Zhen held a yellow charm she had drawn and felt a little lost. As the night breeze began to blow, she saw the shadows of the trees swaying. She ran up the hill and stood, watching the stars. The Great Feng Dynasty revered the art of astrology, and in her past life, Yan Zhen was the head of the Hall of Heavenly Secrets. She only needed to look up at the stars to see the will of the heavens. Unfortunately, after her reincarnation, the stars were dim, and the great cosmic destiny from thousands of years ago was no longer clear.

Yan Zhen dejectedly walked down the mountain. Halfway down, she heard a few people speaking with a clear, city accent from the small woods.

“Is it okay to leave her here? She’s a big celebrity, after all. What if someone recognizes her?”

“Even better if she’s recognized! We want to ruin her reputation!”

“Stop talking and just drop her off. Let’s get out of here quickly.”

The rustling sounds faded away, and Yan Zhen jumped down from a mound of dirt, seeing a few people’s backs as they left. She looked down and saw a person lying in the mud, their clothes torn and covered in dirt and dry straw, looking very disheveled.

Yan Zhen took a few steps closer and gently shook the person. “Are you awake?”

The person didn’t respond. Yan Zhen pinched the person’s philtrum and checked for breathing. She discovered that the person had been drugged into a deep sleep and wouldn’t wake up anytime soon. Yan Zhen carefully moved the person into a better position. As she did, the person’s hair fell away from their face, and Yan Zhen was stunned by what she saw.

Due to the effects of the drug, the person’s skin was flushed with a vibrant crimson from the neck up. Although their eyes were closed, the shape of their eyes was elegant and captivating. What shocked Yan Zhen the most was that the person looked exactly like the Eldest Princess of Great Feng. Could the Eldest Princess have been reincarnated as well?

Yan Zhen’s heart pounded. She thought that after a thousand years, she had lost all connection to her past life. But now, seeing this face that so resembled the Eldest Princess, she remembered the glorious past and the devastation of war. She suddenly felt the urge to kneel.

The unconscious person remained unresponsive, and their pathetic state made Yan Zhen feel a pang of sympathy. She shook her head, quickly picked up the woman, and carried her to a small clinic on the west side of the village.

The clinic’s night light was on. The doctor, sitting on a stool, took the woman’s pulse and said, “This person is unconscious!”

Yan Zhen said, “…I can see that.”

“It’s from a drug!” the doctor added.

“I know that, too!” Yan Zhen urged. “Hurry, give me some medicine.”

The doctor looked confused and shook his head. “I don’t know what to prescribe. When someone’s been drugged like this, you can’t just give them medicine without knowing the source.”

Yan Zhen thought for a moment and said, “Give me half an ounce of Polygala Root and some mint.”

The doctor, who had clearly been bossed around by Yan Zhen before, immediately went to the medicine cabinet and got the two herbs. He then said, “Don’t blame me if this is wrong.”

Yan Zhen replied, “Don’t worry.”

She took the woman who looked like the Eldest Princess to a small motel. She brewed the two herbs into a tea and gave it to the woman to drink. About half an hour later, the person on the bed woke up.

Yan Zhen sat cross-legged on the floor, looking up at the woman on the bed. “You’re awake?”

Zhao Baoshang opened her eyes,愣 was stunned for a moment, then hesitated and asked, “Sister Xu?”

“No,” Yan Zhen said. “My surname is Yan.”

Zhao Baoshang slowly sat up. Seeing Yan Zhen, she said, “Why are you sitting on the floor?”

“It’s comfortable,” Yan Zhen explained.

Zhao Baoshang, however, was disgusted. “It’s dirty.” She looked at the murky floor and the yellowed bedsheets and nearly gagged. “Where is this?”

“The Zhongzhong Motel,” Yan Zhen said, taking Zhao Baoshang’s wrist to check her pulse. “Your blood flow is normal. It seems you’re okay.”

Zhao Baoshang rubbed her forehead.

Yan Zhen explained, “You were knocked out by bad people. I carried you here.”

“Thank you.” Even as Zhao Baoshang said this, she felt an extreme sense of disgust. If she had to be carried, she wished it was to a better place. This one was so messy and poor; it made her uncomfortable all over. Furthermore, Yan Zhen just looked like an undernourished girl in her eyes, and the way she smiled with her eyes was unsettling.

Zhao Baoshang stood up to use the restroom. She walked to a dilapidated wooden door, and her face darkened. Yan Zhen pushed the door open and explained, “The Zhongzhong Motel is a bit old, but most things still work.”

Just as she said this, the faucet in the restroom suddenly malfunctioned, sputtering out a stream of reddish-brown water. The water splashed Yan Zhen’s arm, and she let out a shriek. It was disgusting.

Zhao Baoshang’s face was cold as she walked back to the bed. After the water settled, Yan Zhen washed her hands and brewed a cup of invigorating tea for Zhao Baoshang. Zhao Baoshang looked at the tea with yellow stains and refused to drink it.

Yan Zhen pleaded, “Just take one sip. The drug residue needs to be cleared.”

Zhao Baoshang turned her face away.

“Just a small sip. I promise it’s not poisonous.”

Zhao Baoshang frowned and refused, “No.”

This demeanor was exactly like the Eldest Princess. Yan Zhen recalled a time when the Princess was afraid of bitter medicine. She wouldn’t drink it no matter how much she was persuaded, even if she was promised candy afterward. Only Yan Zhen had a way.

“Do you have any coins?” Yan Zhen asked.

“How many?”

“Six.”

“What are you going to do?” Zhao Baoshang asked.

“You can make six wishes, and I’ll tell you how they can come true,” Yan Zhen said with a smile.

Zhao Baoshang was a little curious. She patted her pocket and found she had exactly six coins. She tossed them to Yan Zhen.

Yan Zhen asked, “Have you made your wishes?”

Zhao Baoshang nodded, then said, “None of your business.”

Yan Zhen knew Zhao Baoshang had already thought of her wishes. She tossed the six coins into the air. When they landed, they showed a pattern of three heads and three tails.

Yan Zhen looked at them and smiled at Zhao Baoshang. “Congratulations. You have a prosperous fate. You just need to get through this deadly tribulation, and after that, most of your wishes will come true. You have nothing to worry about.”

Doubt flickered in Zhao Baoshang’s almond-shaped eyes, then she scoffed. “Is that all you have to say? Everyone knows my family is rich, so of course, my wishes will come true. I don’t need you to tell me that.”

Author’s Note:

Zhao the Moneybags: “That’s right, my family is rich. I’m very rich. I’m so poor that all I have is money.” Subtext: Did you get it?

Yan the Little Dog: “All under heaven belongs to the King. Of course, the Eldest Princess is rich. That’s only natural.”

Zhao the Moneybags: “I… have a Buddha’s heart.”