What's Wrong with Spoiling You? [Entertainment Industry] - Chapter 4

Cheng Xiaoai leaned over for a glance and asked, “What are you writing?”

Tan Yun pressed the plain letter against her chest, closing her eyes as she pictured the beautiful girl next door in her mind. “There’s a stunning beauty living next to me now—truly breathtaking, like she stepped right out of a painting.”

“That beautiful?” Cheng Xiaoai couldn’t quite imagine the level of beauty from Tan Yun’s exaggerated expression.

“Even more beautiful than Yun Duan.” Though she’d only seen the girl once, it felt like they’d known each other for ages—a rare reunion that left her utterly smitten.

“Never mind the beauty for now—have you finished your design draft?” Seeing Tan Yun shake her head, Cheng Xiaoai sighed and picked up her coffee to leave. “The boss mentioned celebrating for you tonight. Are you coming?”

Tan Yun’s thoughts were entirely occupied by the girl next door. How could she spare any attention for a gathering? “My mom asked me to come home early today. Maybe next time.”

“Are you sure it’s your mom?” Cheng Xiaoai saw right through her, eyeing the lipstick-marked letter in her hand with curiosity. “Darling, what are you writing?”

Tan Yun smirked mysteriously and hid it behind her back. “Not telling…”

“Fine, don’t tell me.” Cheng Xiaoai exhaled and shrugged. “Then I’m off!”

“Go on, go on!” Tan Yun waved her off. The moment Cheng Xiaoai took a step, Tan Yun seized the chance—her arm shot out, snatching the letter right from her grasp.

“At dawn, your face lingers in my mind, unforgettable, leaving me longing and yearning…” Cheng Xiaoai barely got through the opening line before Tan Yun snatched it back. Her eyes widened in disbelief. “Holy—a love letter?! You sneak! Who’s it for?!”

“It’s—it’s not a love letter! It’s a self-introduction!” Tan Yun corrected her firmly, her face flushing red as she hid the letter behind her again.

Cheng Xiaoai clicked her tongue. “Right, a self-introduction. Anyway, I’ll ask the boss to reschedule. The fashion design competition submissions are due soon—I heard Gu Yuan’s already halfway done with her draft.”

At the mention of this, Tan Yun finally snapped back to reality, tucking the letter into a drawer and pulling out her sketchpad and pencil.

The city finals next month would only send two entries to the national competition.

She and Gu Yuan had once been designers at the same company, even close friends—until Gu Yuan stole her designs, jumped to a rival firm, and sailed straight into the finals last season.

Tan Yun had considered her a true friend. The betrayal left her not just frustrated but creatively blocked.

Staring at the blank paper, she sighed repeatedly. In two weeks, Gu Yuan would probably have her sample garments ready, while Tan Yun hadn’t even finished half her draft.

Her gaze fixed on the paper, she traced the outline of a huadan (flower-dan opera role)—eerily resembling the beauty next door.

“Ugh.” She sighed, none of her earlier excitement remaining. Her pencil traced the imagined curve of the girl’s brows as she propped her chin on her hand, lost in thought. If only you could be my model—I’d design the most perfect qipao in the world for you.

After work, she stepped out of the office, hands on her hips, and shouted, “Beauty, I’m home!” Then she pedaled her bike at full speed—only to be stopped and scolded by a traffic officer.

When she arrived at the residential complex, she tilted her head up and stared at the beauty’s apartment for a long time. The absence of lights indicated that the beauty hadn’t returned home yet—the perfect opportunity to make her move.

After climbing eight flights of stairs in one go, Tan Yun leaned against the wall, panting heavily. She raised her wrist with a grin, kissed the plain letter in her hand, and once her breathing steadied, crouched in front of the beauty’s door to examine it.

She could only blame the high-quality security door—there wasn’t the slightest gap to be found. Slapping her forehead, she scratched her head in frustration before finally coming up with a solution.

Smoothing her long hair, she pulled out a tissue to wipe her face, took a deep breath, and practiced her lines: “Hello, miss, I’m your neighbor next door. I came to deliver… a letter of introduction?”

She immediately shook her head, gave herself a pep talk, and knocked—only to remember that the beauty wasn’t home yet.

Mentally berating her own stupidity several times, she crouched back down to inspect the door again. Eventually, she spotted a tiny gap. Without hesitation, she lay flat on the ground and started pushing the letter through.

Her persistence paid off—she managed to wedge it in slightly. Just as she lifted her head to take a break, wiping her face, her peripheral vision caught something. Her eyes flew open.

“Oh no!” she wailed. The beauty had suddenly appeared, tilting her head with amused interest as she watched. Tan Yun grabbed her hair, leaped up, and bolted toward her own door, slamming into it with a grunt before fumbling with the knob and rushing inside.

“Done for, done for! She definitely thinks I’m a thief!” Tan Yun lamented, pressing her face against the peephole to watch the beauty across the hall. The woman’s eyes curved slightly, a fleeting smile gracing her lips.

To Tan Yun, it was like witnessing a tree bursting into bloom—every subtle expression felt like a long-lost treasure. She stared, mesmerized, her gaze fixed on the beauty mark between the woman’s brows. As the beauty’s lashes fluttered, Tan Yun’s heart raced as if a thousand ants were crawling inside.

A moment later, the beauty across the hall pulled a key from her knit bag and inserted it into the lock. Pausing mid-step, she gracefully bent down to pick up the plain letter that Tan Yun hadn’t fully pushed through.

Tan Yun’s breath hitched, her heart pounding wildly like a lovestruck teenager.

Unbeknownst to her, in that unseen moment, the beauty’s brows furrowed slightly, and a few transparent pearls rolled from her eyes. Pressing the letter to her chest, she whispered softly, “Yun Qing.”