Chapter 20 Opportunity

Chapter 20: Opportunity

Pei Yun's expression froze for a moment before he let go and backed away two steps.

If it were anyone else saying this, he might not have taken it to heart. But having witnessed Su Mi's performance at the engagement banquet, he knew she wasn't joking.

But what he really wondered was how, after just a few months of fitness training, she had suddenly become so skilled. Even he felt inferior in comparison. She was completely different from the person described in the files.

Seeing that he was sensible enough, Su Mi didn't press the issue. After walking a few steps, she suddenly turned back and slapped him across the face with a sharp "smack." "If you ever lay hands on me again, I'll make sure you leave here on a stretcher."

A sharp, stinging pain shot through his nerves. Pei Yun raised a hand to touch his left cheek, his gaze fixed maniacally on her retreating figure.

Stepping out of the hotel, a cool breeze greeted them. The two actresses stared at Su Mi with disbelief. If they hadn't heard the sound, they could have convinced themselves that Su Mi and this President Pei had simply had a disagreement.

But they had clearly heard Su Mi's warning. It was obvious the two weren't very familiar, and this was merely President Pei pursuing Su Mi unilaterally. Yet, she had slapped him.

This... this was completely different from the Su Mi they remembered.

Although she wasn't very sociable, she was always polite and courteous to them, and even patient with the crew. But ever since the incident with Teacher Zhao, they had gained a new understanding of Su Mi.

It seemed... her temper was a bit straightforward. Fortunately, she had strong self-control and usually didn't lose her temper with them. Otherwise...

"Do you have a car? If not, you can ride back with me," Su Mi glanced at the two behind her.

Shi Xue and the other actress immediately shook their heads. "Thank you, sis. You go ahead. We still want to look around the area. Would you like to join us?"

Usually, the filming schedule was hectic, with intense action scenes every day. By the time they finished, there was no time to go out. Now that they finally had some free time, it was nice to take a stroll. More importantly, at their level of fame, there were no paparazzi following them.

Su Mi declined. "You go ahead. I have to go back for class."

Hearing this, the two nodded immediately and turned to leave. Their understanding of her deepened another level. No wonder her acting was so natural; she was this diligent in private. This must be why she didn't join the gatherings. It seemed they should work harder too.

Just as Su Mi was about to get in the car, she noticed a black sedan parked by the roadside. Someone got out of it, standing quite far away, as if afraid she would punch him in the face.

Not wanting to deal with this scoundrel, she pulled open the car door and got in.

As the car sped through the city streets, the black sedan followed closely behind, yet always maintaining a safe distance.

Fifteen minutes later, the car stopped at the hotel entrance. Before Su Mi could push the door open, someone was already standing outside. His sharply defined features carried a clear look of apology, completely devoid of his usual casual, pretentious air.

Su Mi didn't get out. She just rolled down the window and looked at him calmly. "I don't recall ordering Mr. Lin's door-to-door service."

Lin Yue didn't speak. Instead, he pulled out a large bouquet of fried and grilled skewers, tied together with a golden ribbon. They were still sizzling and dripping with oil, looking incredibly appetizing.

"I'm sorry. I went against the education I received since childhood. The environment around me made me arrogant. While demanding things from others, I forgot to demand them from myself." His expression was sincere.

He had been reflecting during this time. Why had he also developed a habit of treating people differently? Basic courtesy and respect for everyone were fundamental qualities. Although the world was inherently hierarchical, with the strong preying on the weak, he shouldn't have become part of that just because it was the unspoken rule.

This completely contradicted the education he had received since childhood. It was indeed Su Mi who had made him realize this.

"How touching. Mr. Lin actually had such an epiphany?"

Su Mi pushed the car door open and walked towards the hotel. This scoundrel was indeed cunning, knowing to go against expectations and send such down-to-earth things. He was a bit smarter than that creep.

Did he think a few nice words could fool her? He should go try to fool ghosts instead.

"Deceiving you was my mistake. I'm sorry." For a moment, he didn't know how to explain the reason.

Initially, he hadn't had any particular thoughts. It was Su Mi's determination that piqued his curiosity. He didn't think Su Mi could hold out for long, but reality had been slapping him in the face day after day.

It wasn't that Su Mi was crazy; it was that the world inherently tended to exploit the weak. So, she had been protecting herself all along.

Ignoring him, Su Mi walked out of the elevator and headed straight to her room. She opened the door, went in, and slammed it shut with a "bang."

Picking up her phone, she immediately ordered some takeout herself. So what if it was grilled skewers? She could order them herself.

As if remembering something, she called the butler. "Switch my previous batch of bodyguards back. I want to see them tomorrow!"

After hanging up, she asked her acting coach to come over. After all, she couldn't miss her lessons.

Upon reflection, the previous batch of bodyguards was more pleasing to the eye. The ones the old man found were all spies, and they weren't even good-looking. Unlike the ones the butler found, with their broad shoulders, narrow waists, and good judgment.

What's the big deal about men? As long as she had money, what kind of man couldn't she have?

Did that scoundrel really think he was so charming? It was only because she was gracious enough to spend money on him. She could spend money on plenty of others.

After finishing her acting class, she spent a full ten minutes eating the grilled skewers, recited her lines for a while, and then went to the gym.

Training couldn't be interrupted. Otherwise, she wouldn't have the strength to go crazy in the future.

As expected, another person had magically appeared in the gym.

She maintained a smile, then typed out a line of text and walked over. "Since Mr. Lin is so eager to apologize, of course I won't be petty. We'll still have to see each other in the future."

"Here, read this sentence out loud." She held up her phone.

Looking at the sentence on the phone, Lin Yue's sharply defined face froze for a moment, his expression slightly strange. He glanced at her, not wanting to ask too much, and followed along, saying, "With such a malicious heart, how can you compare to Su Ruanruan?"

"Ding! Key plot triggered!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, a dark shadow suddenly loomed in his vision. His right cheek was struck with a heavy blow, followed immediately by another powerful impact on his left cheek. The force was noticeably stronger than before.

Her talent was truly baffling.

"I was just spending money to have a good time with you. Guys with your physique are a dime a dozen out there. They're obedient and skilled. What do you have? Mr. Lin's confidence is just like you are—tough on the outside but soft and weak on the inside!"

Another punch landed on his nose bridge. Su Mi took two steps back, decisively withdrawing her hand. Then, she picked up her phone and transferred a sum of money for medical expenses.

"Alright, it was wrong of me to hit you without reason. You can report me for provocation and disturbance if you want. I've already paid you the compensation. Go to the hospital and get yourself checked."

With that, ignoring the man behind her whose left cheek was now heavily bruised, she walked straight out of the gym.

"Ding! Host's luck value +30!"

Hearing the mechanical voice in her head, Su Mi felt much more comfortable. Even a mosquito's worth of meat is still meat. Since he had delivered himself to her doorstep, of course she couldn't miss the opportunity.

These guys, instead of pursuing the female lead, insisted on targeting her. And they call themselves strategic CEOs? Couldn't they see that the female lead was the old man's favorite? What use was getting close to her?

"P-President... should I call an ambulance for you?"

The assistant at the entrance stared in shock at Su Mi's departing figure, then hurried into the gym. When he saw the man's split lip and the large bruise on his left cheek, he wondered how he would attend the board meeting tomorrow.

Wait, did the president have a masochistic streak? Knowing full well that Miss Su was furious, he still came here to get beaten up. Since when did the president have this hobby?

"She gave me money to go to the hospital, which means she still has a conscience. Otherwise, why didn't she tell Qi Yun to go to the hospital after hitting him?" Lin Yue raised a hand to touch his split lip.

The assistant stared blankly at his boss. The world had gone mad in a way he couldn't comprehend.

Or was Miss Su's illness just that contagious?

After returning to her room, Su Mi had no choice but to take an early bath. Although she hadn’t trained, beating up that bastard was still quite satisfying. If the male lead hadn’t bumbled into exposing his identity, who knows what that bastard's intentions were in getting close to her.

Even if he wasn’t targeting the Su Group, he definitely had no good intentions brewing. Otherwise, why would he deceive her? If it was love at first sight or lust, wouldn’t it be faster to pursue her with his own identity? Why sneak around pretending to be a coach, huh? Was he afraid someone was after his money? Then pretending to be a front desk receptionist would be even more down-to-earth.

But fortunately, the bastard didn’t show up the next day. However, she discovered a loophole: if she hired someone to recite lines to trigger key plot points, couldn’t she also farm luck points?

"System data was under maintenance yesterday. Host behavior unacceptable. Luck points -30!"

Su Mi, who was reading the script, suddenly looked up. "If I insult the system, does that count as me acting crazy?"

She was met with silence, along with a trembling makeup artist who seemed confused by the sudden shift in her demeanor.

Su Mi took a deep breath and told the makeup artist to carry on. She had long known this system wasn’t reliable, so she needed to leave herself a backup plan.

Even if the plot couldn’t be changed, she wouldn’t be unable to find work after getting out of jail.

So, she still needed to make a name for herself. With enough traffic and buzz, she could come out with even higher topic engagement, and platforms would naturally invite her to do live-streaming sales. Doing it for a year would be enough to buy a luxury penthouse or villa. So, she still needed to boost her popularity first.

After some thought, she contacted Sister Zhou again, asking her to check if there were any good variety show scripts.

Better safe than sorry. What if she ended up in jail before the drama aired? It was better to join a variety show first to get her name out there. Plus, having popularity would also benefit the drama’s promotion later.

Coincidentally, Sister Zhou returned from abroad today and brought several scripts to the set in the afternoon, clearly having already mapped out a roadmap for her.

The scripts she brought were all for hugely popular variety shows, which came with built-in traffic. Just participating would guarantee exposure, and with a good public persona, she could definitely attract fans.

Su Mi did have a persona in mind. Given her identity, she would inevitably be exposed for joining the cast with investment and other scandals later. So, having public favor in advance would be useless—it might even backfire later. Better to fight fire with fire.

"Let’s go with this one," she handed over a script.

Only the two of them were in the trailer. Sister Zhou took the script and glanced at it. She wasn’t surprised that Su Mi chose this travel reality show, as it was already popular.

But when she saw the persona Su Mi had chosen, she frowned, unable to understand why she would pick this.

"Are you sure you don’t want to reconsider?" she asked seriously.

Every show had a persona script set by the production team to create enough conflict and appeal. Yet, Su Mi had chosen a mean-spirited and sarcastic persona, which Sister Zhou couldn’t comprehend. Was this young lady determined to take the "infamous-to-famous" route?

But given her psychological issues, what if she ended up bullied online until she became depressed? How would Sister Zhou explain that to the chairman?

"I think this is perfect. Arrange the schedule, and try to find difficult, hot-tempered guests for the other spots," Su Mi instructed seriously.

This would make it easier for her to perform. She'd feel restricted around too normal people. With this persona, she could act as herself without a script. Nothing was more effective than getting popular through controversy for building fame.

Moreover, with so many haters attacking her, some would inevitably hit the original host's emotional wounds. Then, she could have a public meltdown online, and her luck points might skyrocket even more than at the engagement banquet.

She couldn’t just sit back and wait. If there were no opportunities, she’d create them. Where there's a will, there's a way. The sooner she accumulated enough luck points, the sooner she wouldn’t have to deal with those oily, pretentious male leads and villains.

"This… well… you…" Sister Zhou seemed to be hearing such a request for the first time. Others always chose easygoing guests, but this young lady was taking an unconventional path.

"Alright, I’ll arrange it," she nodded, deciding to report this to the chairman later to avoid being blamed if anything went wrong.

"By the way, did you know your grandfather’s condition isn’t looking good lately?" she asked, mainly because Su Mi didn’t seem concerned, but rumors had already spread throughout the company.

Hearing this, Su Mi looked up, was taken aback for a second, then picked up the cup on the table and took a sip of water.

"Whether I know or not makes no difference."

According to the plot, the old man should still have about half a year left. Right now, he was just hospitalized. The main reason was that the female supporting role wanted to eliminate the female lead’s backing, so she leaked the affair between the female lead and Qi Yun to the old man.

The old man was already fragile, and a few words from her could raise his blood pressure, let alone learning about the affair between the female lead and Qi Yun. Remember, the female lead was engaged to the second male lead. In the old man’s feudal mindset, the female lead’s actions were a scandal akin to incest, so he was so angry he passed out.

No wonder it had been so quiet lately—he was hospitalized. Her father probably hadn’t mentioned it to avoid making things worse, especially since seeing her might spike the old man’s blood pressure even more.

One granddaughter was having an affair with her fiancé’s brother, who also had a fiancée, while the other granddaughter had psychological issues. The old man was probably questioning what sin he had committed.

But who could sympathize with him? He had perfectly good granddaughters but chose to insult and suppress them, even using his own granddaughter as a shield. For that alone, she couldn’t feel sorry for him.

Still, she had to go through the motions. Since Sister Zhou had told her, visiting him wouldn’t hurt. The main thing was to see how the old man was doing. If he was really on his last legs, it meant the plot was already changing.

She had to control all uncertain factors.

"Alright, I’ll visit him three days after the wrap-up," she said calmly.

"Then I’ll book your flight," Sister Zhou immediately picked up her bag and stood up.

Su Mi didn’t say anything else. In fact, most of the cast had already wrapped up, but because her role was significant, she still had a few more days.

Sometimes, scenes might not even make it to the final cut. But with Sister Zhou overseeing everything, the production team probably wouldn’t dare to cut her scenes arbitrarily. The real concern was uncontrollable factors, like those two idiots, the male lead and the second male lead.

What if they were so humiliated they sought revenge and used their capital to secretly contact the production team to cut her scenes? That was entirely possible, given how those two wouldn’t just take a loss without retaliating.

The best approach was to strike first and keep these people busy so they wouldn’t have time to plot against her. In fact, she already had a plan: in a month, at the Qi family patriarch’s birthday celebration, she would expose the relationship between the male and female leads and cause a scene. That would definitely skyrocket her luck points.

As for whether the Su family would lose face, it didn’t matter. She was mentally ill anyway, and she wasn’t afraid of being affected by the female lead’s reputation. Besides, the family’s reputation was bound to suffer eventually unless the male and female leads cut ties completely, which was clearly impossible. So, she might as well use it to boost her luck points.

Only by leveraging all available information and resources could she seize greater opportunities. Otherwise, she’d end up in jail.

She had already seen the influence of the plot. Otherwise, why would the villain, after being slapped by her, still cling to her like a piece of sticky plaster trying to offer warmth? That had to be the plot’s influence.

The last few days involved night shoots, often lasting until 1 a.m. before returning to the hotel. Since the crew kept a low profile during filming, the wrap-up was also discreet, with no news released. The production team just bought a wrap-up cake and took a group photo.

"Aren’t you going to dinner?" Cheng Yu asked casually.

Right after the wrap-up group photo, Su Mi handed her flowers to her assistant and took out her phone. "I still have to catch a flight."

"Let’s take a photo together. It might come in handy later," she handed her phone to her assistant.

Hearing this, Cheng Yu nodded and leaned in, careful not to touch her shoulder, so he just raised his hand and made a peace sign.

He actually disliked promoting CPs, but Su Mi’s professionalism and hard work had truly changed his perception and made him aware of his own shortcomings. However, he wasn’t sure about Su Mi’s true identity. What if she had a boyfriend? Getting too close might seem inappropriate.

"Alright, I’m off. Let’s have a meal together next time," Su Mi glanced at the others.

"Sure!" Shi Xue was the first to wave goodbye with a smile.

Her flight was at 3 p.m. After changing clothes, Su Mi took a car to the airport. She had to record that reality show the day after tomorrow, so time was tight. Some things definitely needed to be prepared in advance, and relying solely on her assistant’s research wouldn’t be enough.

Some guests had past conflicts or relationships. If she didn’t understand these dynamics, she might come across as deliberately provocative for attention. Some tourist spots also had taboos, and details like routes and weather needed to be researched in advance. She couldn’t rely entirely on others to highlight the important points.

The flight arrived in Shanghai at 5 p.m. After having her assistant take her luggage home, she took a car to the hospital. Although her mother hadn’t told her about the old man’s hospitalization, she called every few days. Seeing that Su Mi’s mental state was stable, she probably avoided mentioning the old man’s condition even more, believing that staying away from unhappy people and situations would help her recover.

When she arrived at the hospital, she didn’t even need to ask which floor—she went straight to the eighth floor. The old man had a VIP ward there, given the Su family’s investment in the hospital.

But as she approached the eighth floor, before even turning into the corridor, she heard complaints from nearby. "I’m just saying, the old man has been hospitalized for so long, and that crazy girl hasn’t even come to visit. Maybe the old man’s prolonged illness is because he wants to see his granddaughter."

"Stop it, stop it. She’s like that—what do you expect? If she came and the old man passed away right then, what would we do?"

As Su Mi entered the corridor, she saw a group of people whispering outside. When one sharp-eyed person noticed her approaching, the corridor filled with coughing sounds, and everyone broke out in a cold sweat.

"I always said that wretched girl Ruan Ruan is an ungrateful brat. Grandpa has been sick for so long, and she only came to visit yesterday. Our Su family has truly wasted all these years raising her!" The Third Branch of the Su Family immediately stiffened her posture in fear.

Su Ruanruan, who had just emerged from the hospital room, was also taken aback, then quickly explained, "I'm sorry, Grandpa didn't let Dad tell me. I don't know why Grandpa did that."

"Who are you trying to fool? If you really cared about Grandpa, wouldn't you call to check on him every day? The fact that you didn't notice for so long proves you never called at all. After all Grandpa's kindness, treating you like his own granddaughter, and look at you—not even married into the Qi family yet, and you're already nowhere to be seen!"

"Exactly! Without the Su family name, do you think the Qi family would want you? Grandpa isn't even gone yet, and you're already in such a hurry to be ungrateful. You don't have an ounce of your sister's kindness and generosity!"

The Third Branch of the Su Family quickly glanced at Su Mi. "Unlike Mimi, who manages to visit Grandpa despite her busy work schedule. If you had even half your sister's filial piety, Grandpa wouldn't have been bedridden for so long."

"That's right! Last time, when Qi Xi spoke ill of your sister like that, you didn't even defend her. If I were Grandpa, I'd be furious enough to get high blood pressure too!"

Amidst the barrage of criticism, Su Ruanruan couldn't help but lower her head, her eyes reddening. It was indeed her fault. She had been busy recording the show recently and hadn't had time to use her phone to contact the outside world. She hadn't known Grandpa was bedridden for so long, and she came as soon as she found out.

But after Grandpa woke up, he still refused to speak to her. She didn't know what she had done wrong.

"Enough! What does this have to do with Ruan Ruan?"

Qi Xi suddenly walked out of the hospital room, looking displeased at those who were criticizing Su Ruanruan.

Seeing him, Su Mi's eyes lit up. She was finding the second male lead more and more agreeable lately. Without him, her luck points would probably be cut in half.

Perhaps noticing her gaze, Qi Xi couldn't help but frown, as if remembering something. His face turned pale, then flushed, but he said nothing more. Instead, he reached out and patted Su Ruanruan's head. "I have to go now. If anything happens with Grandpa Su, remember to tell me immediately. Don't be afraid, I'll always be by your side."

After speaking, he glared at the others as if warning them not to bully Su Ruanruan anymore, then headed straight for the elevator.

Su Mi paused her steps, a look of disdain on her face. "You're an outsider. What right do you have to act so high and mighty here?"

Despite telling himself he must endure it, Qi Xi couldn't help but turn around and glare at her angrily. "I'm Ruan Ruan's fiancé, soon to be her husband. What do you think I am?"

"The wedding hasn't even happened yet. Besides, Su Ruanruan isn't even a member of our Su family," the Third Branch of the Su Family said snidely.

She had known for a while. The old man had revised his will several times, and rumor had it he left ten percent of the shares to Su Ruanruan. Leaving some to Su Mi was one thing—after all, even if she's a nutcase, she's still Su family blood. But what right does Su Ruanruan, an outsider, have? Letting her marry Qi Xi with the status of a Su family heiress was already generous enough. Now she even wants shares?!

Perhaps worried about having just spoken ill of Su Mi and afraid she might lash out, the others quickly chimed in. "Exactly! Not to be rude, but you didn't even greet Mimi when you saw her. That's just too impolite. Do you think our Su family hasn't been embarrassed enough already?"

Hearing this, Qi Xi's expression immediately changed. "Last time, it was clearly this madwoman who went crazy! What does that have to do with me?"

To this day, he still hasn't gotten that tooth fixed!

"What 'went crazy'? Who are you calling crazy?!" Someone immediately stepped forward, shielding Su Mi, and said sternly, "Our Mimi is such a well-behaved and polite girl. It was clearly you who was insulting. If you hadn't spouted nonsense, would she have hit you?!"