Rodilant Grand Hotel.
Inside a small lounge, a makeup artist was preparing to apply Lin Zhiqiao’s foundation.
The window hadn’t been shut. A faint breeze lifted a stray lock of hair, and the slightly curled tip brushed the skin at the corner of his eye, tickling him.
Lin Zhiqiao narrowed his eyes and raised a hand to sweep the strand aside.
The makeup artist seemed startled and shrank her neck as she dodged to the side.
Lin Zhiqiao gave her a puzzled look. “What’s wrong?”
The makeup artist hurriedly shook her head. “Nothing, nothing.”
Only after Lin Zhiqiao looked away did the young makeup artist quietly breathe a sigh of relief.
For one split second just now, she had thought Lin Zhiqiao was about to hit her, scaring her badly.
It wasn’t strange for the makeup artist to think that way.
After all, in all the years since Lin Zhiqiao debuted, he didn’t have that many works to his name, but scandals kept popping up in piles.
Throwing his weight around on set, insulting his co-stars, deliberately making life difficult for staff…
Search his name online and you’d find pages upon pages of it. You couldn’t pick out one good story in a hundred.
As his antis liked to say, Lin Zhiqiao was a nobody with no fame to speak of, and the few topics about him that ever broke out of his little circle were nothing but the seemingly endless “black marks” attached to his name.
Still shaken, the makeup artist became even more careful with her movements, terrified that the smallest thing might dissatisfy him and make her the target of his anger.
Lin Zhiqiao closed his eyes, then suddenly spoke. “Oh, right.”
The makeup artist’s hand jerked. The beauty sponge smeared with foundation moved with it, leaving a glaring streak of white on the young man’s dark chestnut bangs.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I’ll wipe it off right away!”
The makeup artist panicked, only to see the young man open his eyes. His pale lips moved as he said, “It’s fine. You don’t need to apologize over something this small.”
The makeup artist froze.
“You’re new, right? You’ve never done someone’s makeup by yourself before?” Lin Zhiqiao asked casually.
The makeup artist nodded, her youthful face tense.
Lin Zhiqiao smiled at her, a faint dimple appearing at the corner of his mouth. “Everyone’s like this at the start. Practice a few more times and you’ll be fine. No need to be so nervous.”
The young man’s smile was gentle, his almond-shaped eyes curving slightly. The overhead light made his amber irises gleam, and the reassurance in his expression felt like a warm spring breeze.
The makeup artist stared blankly for a moment, and the tension that had been wound tight inside her instantly relaxed.
…Lin Zhiqiao didn’t seem nearly as scary as the rumors made him out to be.
Sure enough, you couldn’t trust entertainment-industry gossip. Truth and lies were mixed together so thoroughly that there was no way to tell them apart.
The makeup artist muttered to herself inwardly.
If she hadn’t interacted with him personally, she probably really would have believed the one-sided stories from those marketing accounts.
【Beep—30 Favorability obtained from Chen Xiaolin! Automatically converted into Mystery Box Energy!】
Lin Zhiqiao’s eyes lit up as he looked at the System panel in his mind.
After saving up for so many days, the energy for the “Gossip Mystery Box” had already reached a very respectable level.
【Host, everything rides on this one attempt!】
The voice in his head said, 【Whether you can win your very first battle and make your first pot of gold depends on today!】
【Exactly!】 Lin Zhiqiao rubbed his hands nervously. 【God of Wealth, bless me! Buddha, bless me! Guanyin Bodhisattva, bless me! Let me pull some huge gossip and make a fortune!】
He chanted silently in his heart—
Money, come to me! Money, come from every direction!
The voice in his mind came from the “Eat Gossip and Get Rich” System, serial number 888.
System 888 had bonded with Lin Zhiqiao three days ago. It came with the starter skill “Gossip Mystery Box.” As long as Lin Zhiqiao kept opening Mystery Boxes and eating gossip, he could earn generous cash rewards!
He could eat gossip and make money at the same time. Who knew such a wonderful thing existed in this world!
The only imperfection was that Mystery Box Energy recovered extremely slowly, and there was only one way to speed it up—
Raise other people’s Favorability.
Favorability could be converted into Mystery Box Energy at the same rate.
Different pieces of gossip required different amounts of Mystery Box Energy. Small gossip consumed little energy, but the reward was also small.
Big gossip consumed a large amount of energy, but the reward would naturally be much more generous.
Before opening a box, Lin Zhiqiao had no idea whether the gossip inside would be big or small. The uncertainty was the whole thrill!
Lin Zhiqiao suppressed his excitement and suddenly remembered what he had been about to say earlier.
“I’ve been having some allergies lately,” he told the makeup artist. “Could you keep the foundation a little thinner?”
“Ah, sure!” the makeup artist replied. “Teacher Lin, your skin is good, and you’re very fair, so a thin layer is no problem. I’ve seen your previous makeup looks. When the foundation is too thick, it actually—”
She abruptly fell silent and cautiously raised her eyes to check Lin Zhiqiao’s expression, still uncertain.
But the young man’s pale lips curved slightly, and his voice remained soft. “Mm, okay. I understand.”
“You don’t have to call me Teacher Lin. We should be about the same age, so you can call me Zhiqiao or Xiao Lin,” Lin Zhiqiao said, then added, “But you can’t call me Xiao Qiao. Da Qiao isn’t allowed either.”
The makeup artist suddenly felt playful and boldly said, “Okay, Xiao Qiao.”
Lin Zhiqiao glared at her, but his round, bright almond eyes had absolutely no intimidating force. He still looked soft and harmless.
He pouted and grumbled with puffed cheeks, “Forget it. Call me whatever you want.”
The makeup artist’s breath caught under his glare.
Not because she was frightened.
Too cute!
How could there be such a cute boy in this world!
She screamed wildly in her heart while also taking the opportunity to curse those marketing accounts.
Bullshit marketing accounts twisting black into white!
Drop dead already!!!
888: 【Chen Xiaolin Favorability +50! Host is the best!】
The Mystery Box Energy was already close to full.
There were several other artists in the lounge, all managed by the same manager as Lin Zhiqiao, and the room was noisy with chatter.
The two of them had been speaking quietly, so they hadn’t drawn anyone else’s attention.
The makeup artists left one after another. The others gathered together to chat, and Lin Zhiqiao knew he had no way to join their conversation, so he simply stayed out of the bustle.
Not long after, their manager Wu Yuan pushed open the door and came in.
“Is everyone ready?” He swept his gaze around the room. Whether intentionally or not, he didn’t look at Lin Zhiqiao.
“Do your best and be proactive,” Wu Yuan instructed. “This may be a Galaxy gathering, but the company invited not only internal staff. Quite a few major names we’ve worked with before are coming too.”
He paused. Amid a chorus of “Brother Yuan, who else is coming?” he answered, “Lin Mubai will be there.”
The lounge went silent, then suddenly erupted in cheers.
Lin Mubai, the entertainment industry’s hottest rising star, unquestionably ranked first among all artists his age. Every film and drama he had appeared in since entering the industry had gone explosively viral online. Major variety shows fought to book him, and the appearance fee for a single guest episode had already risen into the millions.
It could be said that more than ninety percent of the younger generation of artists regarded Lin Mubai as the standard they dreamed of reaching.
At the sound of that name, however, Lin Zhiqiao lowered his eyes, his expression so calm it was almost cold.
Wu Yuan coughed lightly. “I also heard another piece of news.”
Someone shouted, “Brother Yuan, quit keeping us in suspense!”
Wu Yuan said mysteriously, “I heard President Song is coming too.”
“President Song? Which President Song? Young President Song, or…”
Wu Yuan: “Young President Song is obviously coming. I mean President Song of the Song Group.”
Sharp inhales rose and fell throughout the lounge.
If Lin Mubai was a rising star in show business, then the Song Group was a commercial titan known to everyone in the country, the undisputed overlord no one dared challenge for first place.
The current head of the Song Group was Song Fengshi, only twenty-seven years old.
Although he was still very young, no one dared underestimate Song Fengshi’s abilities.
Discussion continued throughout the lounge. Wu Yuan checked the time and called out, “All right, it’s about time. We can go in now.”
The venue was exquisitely arranged, magnificent without being excessively lavish.
Lin Zhiqiao spotted plenty of familiar faces in the crowd, all of them people who had appeared on screen many times.
Within Galaxy Entertainment, Wu Yuan was a lower-middle-ranking manager. He had quite a few artists under him, but not a single one truly stood out.
A large gathering like this was rare, so Wu Yuan deliberately brought everyone along to meet people and build connections.
Lin Zhiqiao followed behind the others, doing his best to minimize his presence, while all his attention stayed fixed on the Gossip Mystery Box.
—Just a few more minutes at most, and the energy would be full. Then he could open a box and eat gossip!
Everyone stopped walking.
“President Song! A pleasure, a pleasure!” Wu Yuan’s voice interrupted Lin Zhiqiao’s thoughts.
Lin Zhiqiao looked up. This President Song wore a navy suit, his hair slicked with a layer of pomade, and the scent of his cologne could be smelled from far away.
It wasn’t President Song of the Song Group. It was Young President Song of Mountain River Entertainment, named Song Chuan.
Incidentally, Young President Song, Song Chuan, was President Song Fengshi’s cousin. However, Song Chuan hadn’t entered the Song family business. Instead, he had founded Mountain River Entertainment himself and had already made something of a name for the company in the industry.
Lin Zhiqiao immediately lost interest. He was about to lower his head when another voice sounded nearby—familiar, and thoroughly unpleasant.
“Long time no see, President Song.”
A small gasp sounded beside him, followed by a squeal strangled in someone’s throat. “Lin Mubai!”
The newcomer wore a custom-tailored white formal suit. His black hair was soft and wispy, his features handsome and refined, and his elegant bearing was like pine and bamboo—unforgettable at first glance.
Song Chuan’s gaze was immediately drawn to Lin Mubai, his eyes filling with astonishment and infatuation as if he could no longer look away.
Lin Zhiqiao quietly shifted his feet, trying to hide behind the others, but he was still a step too late.
Lin Mubai looked in his direction, mild surprise crossing his face. “Brother Zhiqiao? You came too?”