[Host, when you bound yourself to the system, we reached an agreement. As the host of the Superstar System, you must strive to complete tasks and move towards becoming a superstar. Therefore, you will receive rewards each time you complete a task or increase your popularity, and you can choose between beauty or skills. Similarly, if your popularity declines or you fail to complete tasks, you will be punished. This time, your popularity has declined too drastically. Beauty is directly proportional to popularity; if your popularity continues to decline, your appearance will become even uglier.]
The system's calm and steady voice was as it always had. In the past, Xia Shuangshuang had found this voice reassuring, but now it sounded like a devil—so cold and ruthless. She remembered! When she was on the verge of death, the system had asked her if she wanted to bind herself to the Superstar System. If she did, she would have to do her best to become an international superstar, and whether she would receive rewards or punishments would be determined by her popularity.
She was practically dead then, so of course she agreed without hesitation! But aren't systems supposed to be a cheat code to help their hosts? Why is the punishment so utterly shameless? Right now, her skin is just getting worse, but if her popularity continues to decline, will she get wrinkles? Will her hair turn white? Will her skin sag and she gradually become an old woman?!
Xia Shuangshuang was furious. She grabbed the cosmetics and smashed them against the mirror, shattering it into pieces!
She grabbed the sink and yelled, "You can't treat me like this! We're bound together for life. If I'm not doing well, how well can you be? You have to help me so I can become a superstar. Otherwise, what's the point of your existence?"
[Host, every reward from the system is meant to help you, but the system cannot make you a superstar. Please calm down and keep working hard.]
"Try harder," "Try harder," and it's always "Try harder." The system just keeps saying the same thing; how can that help her?
Xia Shuangshuang sneered: "I really don't know what use you are! You call me 'host,' doesn't that mean you acknowledge me as your master? If there were a way to get rid of the system, I would throw you out right now!"
[Host, it is my energy that has given you the chance to be reborn. If you wish to voluntarily unbind, that is possible. I will then find a new host, and you will die immediately; death was your original destiny. Do you wish to unbind?]
Xia Shuangshuang felt as if she were being choked; her face flushed red, and she couldn't utter a single word. To make matters worse, the system asked again, as if it absolutely needed an answer. Frustrated and angry, she replied, "I don't understand!" She never wanted to face the system again!
Xia Shuangshuang found her tablet and went online to check the current public opinion. She discovered that netizens were praising "Xia Yi's Story," praising Shi Xueman and Yao Kexin's acting, praising Xu Zifan's good judgment, and praising the director and screenwriter for making the right decision to expose her. The drama was truly a hit; the main actors and even all the supporting actors became famous. Even a palace maid beside the female lead received a lot of attention. Only she, the female lead of the drama, was extremely embarrassed and relentlessly attacked online.
What embarrassed her the most was not the fans or the haters, but the real audience of "The Story of Xia Yi".
[This is the first time I've liked a post by Xu Zifan. He's absolutely right in the video; they should really swap Xia Shuangshuang's head and Photoshop her picture. Maybe that would even make me like Xia Yi a little more.]
[Yes, yes, this is the first time I've agreed with head-swapping and photo editing. Using a body double would have been much better; otherwise, the Imperial Concubine would have been bullied and drowned for so long. My heart aches for my Imperial Concubine!]
[Give this a thumbs up so other directors can see it. I hope they'll use a body double for Xia Shuangshuang in the future. She's the biggest flaw in this drama. How could someone of her caliber be the lead in "Xia Yi's Story"? And to have Shi Xueman and Yao Kexin as supporting actresses—how dare she!]
[Both Shi Xueman and Yao Kexin would have been better as the female lead. Xia Shuangshuang ruined a classic, turning a super classic into an ordinary one. My heart aches. Please, directors, let her continue playing supporting roles. Please don't let her play the female lead again. She's ruined it!]
[It's too late. She just finished filming a movie; she's the lead actress, and she even got the role with a powerful backer. I've decided not to watch it.]
[Don't watch +1]
[Don't watch +2]
[Don't watch +10086]
Xia Shuangshuang's new drama is still in post-production, but netizens have directly boycotted it because of her performance in this drama. Although this is unfair to the director and other actors, netizens are sometimes just so willful, boycotting whenever they want, which has a very bad impact on the film.
Her agent, Brother Li, called her and said coldly, "Your scenes in the new drama have been cut. The director said he got the investors' approval, and there's no going back. You'd better behave yourself. The company's higher-ups are already unhappy with you. Don't cause any more trouble, understand?"
Before Xia Shuangshuang could reply, Brother Li hung up the phone, clearly just informing her and offering no comfort or advice. Brother Li had only been her manager for a short time, and the two weren't close to begin with. She'd been busy filming on set and hadn't had much contact with him, so now that she was in trouble, he wasn't genuinely trying to help her. Otherwise, given his status as a top-tier manager, how could he ignore the online backlash? Brother Li had clearly given up on her and didn't want to get involved in this mess!
Xia Shuangshuang gripped her phone, pursed her lips, and called Xu Hao. Xu Hao's assistant answered. Without further ado, Xia Shuangshuang got straight to the point: "When I said I wanted to be the lead in a movie, Brother Hao agreed. Now the director wants to cut my scenes. Does Brother Hao know? I worked for Brother Hao for a while, are you just going to watch me get bullied like this?"
Xu Hao's assistant said politely but distantly, "Ms. Xia, the chairman is a businessman. Since he invested in that film, he won't let the box office go to waste. Given your reputation, cutting your scenes is the most appropriate decision. Also, regarding the Xu family..."
Regarding the new product endorsement contract, we may have to apologize. The chairman has decided to change the spokesperson, and I will send you a generous compensation payment later; you won't lose out.
Xia Shuangshuang believed that the "generous" compensation Xu Hao offered was truly "generous." After all, Xu Zifan had offered a house plus a 30 million yuan breakup fee, so Xu Hao had to offer much more than his nephew to avoid feeling ashamed. Xu Hao's previous breakup fee was 50 million yuan; this time, compensating her with a movie and a spokesperson role, it would have to be at least 100 million yuan to be considered "generous."
Xia Shuangshuang desperately needed fame! Money alone couldn't save her face; only popularity could! She said anxiously, "I want to see Brother Hao one last time. Please pass on my message: please, Brother Hao, for the sake of our past relationship, give me some guidance. I really love my career and don't want to be ruined by Xu Zifan like this."
Xu Hao's assistant agreed and relayed the message when Xu Hao was less busy. Xu Hao pondered for a moment and asked his assistant, "Do you think Xu Zifan was behind this? Does he still care about Xia Shuangshuang?"
"Chairman, judging from the results, it was indeed because Young Master Xu invested in this film that Miss Xia lost public favor. However, the main reason for Miss Xia's rapid decline in popularity is that her alternate account was exposed, which made people disgusted by her hypocrisy."
Xu Hao pondered for a moment, then murmured, "Yes, it's because of the exposure of the alternate account. So... who exposed it? Could it be... Xu Zifan?"
Xu Hao pondered for a long time before instructing, "Go and pick up Xia Shuangshuang to see me. Be careful not to get followed by paparazzi."
Xu Zifan's actions prompted Xu Hao to decide to test Xia Shuangshuang again to see if she was of any use and if she could provoke Xu Zifan. Besides, he had been very busy lately and hadn't been with a woman for many days; meeting a beautiful woman could provide a relaxing evening.
When Xia Shuangshuang learned that Xu Hao was willing to see her, she happily put on a meticulous makeup look to cover her dull skin, let her hair down, and curled her bangs to cover her acne. She looked only slightly heavier than usual, but still the beautiful female celebrity. She looked in the mirror for a long time before finally smiling confidently as she went out to keep her appointment.
As soon as their car drove away, an inconspicuous minivan slowly followed behind. The driver was dressed casually and made a phone call while driving, "Hello? A car has picked up Xia Shuangshuang. She's probably going to meet her sugar daddy. I'm following her now."
Xu Zifan casually replied, "Then you should stick close to her, but not too close. Just make sure you can take a picture and see who her sugar daddy is. You won't be shortchanged on the money."
"Okay! Wait for my good news."
Xu Zifan put away his phone, chuckled, and went back into the lab to continue his research. He had guessed that Xia Shuangshuang would definitely go to see Xu Hao after the incident, so he hired a private investigator to keep an eye on her. Now, the results were finally coming in. This private investigator was an expert at catching people having affairs; many people investigating their husbands' or wives' infidelity hired him. He was highly capable. Xu Zifan paid a high price and felt very reassured. Moreover, he was anonymous; he would receive the evidence immediately after payment, and no one else would know it was him.
Several assistants in the lab noticed that Xu Zifan was in a good mood and couldn't help but ask, "Brother Fan, have you made some new discovery? You seem to be in a good mood."
Xu Zifan stared at the experimental data, carefully recording it down, and said with a smile, "The first project is almost finished, of course I'm happy."
"Really? There's been a major breakthrough? How come I didn't notice?"
"I didn't notice either, Brother Fan, could you explain it to us?"
"Brother Fan, what new theory have you come up with? Have we mentioned it before?"
Several highly educated individuals who initially had serious doubts about Xu Zifan's abilities now stared at him with bright eyes, eagerly awaiting his explanation of the project's latest developments. After so many days of research, they were completely in awe of Xu Zifan; he was no fool, but a genius in this field! Now that the first project was nearing completion, and only Xu Zifan had discovered it, they couldn't wait to know the details. They would gladly spend their entire lives working on research with a genius like Xu Zifan in this small lab!
Xu Zifan smiled at them, took out his notebook, and explained the latest research direction of the project. Sometimes, when a research project wants to move to the next step, countless possibilities await exploration and verification. Xu Zifan had already seen the finished product, and he knew best the direction of each step, which naturally made him a genius in the eyes of others. For the first project, he only researched something slightly beyond the level of this world; this was just the beginning.