Chapter 1: Please begin your mischievous journey.
The night was deep and still.
Within the imperial city of the Great Jing Dynasty, the sky was a vast expanse of white, almost blending into the deep winter snow. Before the solemn and majestic Kunning Palace, young concubines, court officials, and palace maids and eunuchs knelt in a dense mass. A high-pitched, sorrowful voice pierced the polar night, followed by endless cries of grief.
"Empress Dowager Zhaoning has passed away."
Yu Shuling is dead.
She died the day after she outmaneuvered the corrupt emperor, defeated all the concubines, and ascended to the throne as Empress Dowager. As her soul left her body, she saw her adopted son weeping bitterly in heaven, and she couldn't help but feel strange.
Which link in the chain went wrong?
Could it be that the emperor had a backup plan before she poisoned him?
Yu Shuling died without anyone noticing. She simply fell asleep and never woke up, and the official report stated that she had fallen seriously ill. Everyone assumed that she had died of grief along with the emperor. Even Consort Liang, who had always been at odds with her, tearfully remarked to her confidants on Yu Shuling's deep affection and loyalty.
Yu Shuling wished she could spit "Pah!" at the corpse of that dog emperor at his burial.
In the 48th year of the Dajing reign, a bandit plague broke out along the southeastern coast. At that time, she was still the Crown Princess. She changed out of her red dress from the Eastern Palace, picked up a gun, and went into battle. She personally quelled the bandits for three years and pacified the southeast. When she returned in triumph, the emperor had three or four toddlers by his side.
Yu Shuling and the dog emperor were a family-arranged marriage, and there was no real affection between them. However, while she was fighting bandits on the front lines, he was enjoying himself in the rear, which was already unsettling. What's worse, the dog emperor was wary of her military achievements and repeatedly tested her, even using the excuse of demoting her maternal clan to a desolate area. Yu Shuling could no longer tolerate it. After years of planning and feigning deep affection, she finally outlasted the dog emperor until he passed away.
But fate seemed to have played a cruel joke on her!
Yu Shuling was unwilling to accept her fate, her soul lingering, yet her consciousness inevitably began to fade. Before she completely fell into unconsciousness, a strange voice called her name.
**
"Yu Shuling, don't be ungrateful. Brother Cheng didn't mean any harm. He just got carried away and didn't control himself. Let's not hold a grudge anymore. Go apologize to Brother Cheng later, okay?"
The dizziness gradually subsided, and when Yu Shuling opened her eyes, she looked down and saw the strange object that had lit up on her lap; the first thing that caught her eye was a constantly flashing red dot. The deep voice of the strange man beside her was filled with anger:
"I'm talking to you, are you fucking deaf or pretending to be mute?"
Yu Shuling's head was already throbbing, and the man's incessant chatter only made her more irritated. She subconsciously glanced at him. His cold, sharp gaze swept over her like an ice blade, momentarily diminishing his momentum, but he quickly regained his composure. The man kicked the small stool next to the sofa.
"Are you ignoring what I say now? I didn't ask you to sleep with him. What's wrong with Cheng Ge touching you a couple of times? Your whole team are just kept women, and you're still pretending to be virtuous and chaste women?"
Yu Shuling still couldn't understand what he was saying, but she felt a vague sense of familiarity with the man's voice. However, she had never seen that face before.
But the unfamiliar setting did not diminish her anger at the man's offensive words; Yu Shuling responded decisively:
"Yeah, what's wrong with Cheng-ge touching you a couple of times? If you want to touch me, go let him touch me. What are you pretending to be, this chaste and virtuous man for?"
"Damn it," the man snapped, cursing, "did you think I couldn't handle you, you little bitch!"
"Anyway, you have no choice now. The dating reality show has already started filming. You're drowning in debt, where are you going to get the money to break the contract? We originally wanted Li Song to come, but she's not in the right mental state right now. Brother Cheng is the second-in-command of Lifeng Group. If you take the initiative to show your support, it'll be a piece of cake for him to promote you later."
The unfamiliar term made Yu Shuling pause, and at the same time, as if to prove her conjecture, an androgynous electronic voice suddenly appeared in her mind:
Welcome to the novel "The Entertainment Industry's Beloved Little Lucky Koi." Transmigrated readers, please play your role well. After completing the mission, you can return to the real world to live out your remaining years in peace.
Suddenly, a flood of memories came over Yu Shuling, allowing her to finally understand the current situation.
Before she completely lost consciousness, a magical thing called "System" bound her and brought her to a world a thousand years in the future, a world modeled after a casual book.
She has now transmigrated into the body of "Yu Shuling," a cannon fodder character with a name that sounds the same but has different characters in this popular but unpopular entertainment industry novel, and has become the visual center of a mediocre girl group.
The original owner was a pretty face in writing but a useless person in reading. He was no good at singing, dancing, or rapping. He was only promoted by fans in a talent show because of his looks. His teammates later in the story were involved in everything from stabbing people to drinking with clients to fighting. The whole group was a veritable concentration camp of oddballs.
The original owner was merely a character created to highlight satisfying moments. "Yu Shuling" is the contrast to the female lead Qi Xiuxiu. She loves to cause trouble, enjoys putting others down, debuts by scheming to grab attention, and even tries to use variety shows to create hype with the male lead, only to be repeatedly humiliated.
Their group is called "Lyra". In recent years, the idol industry has been in a slump, with only large-scale talent shows having some appeal. Lyra is a limited-time group that lasts for a year and a half.
Unfortunately, after a year since her debut, she has faded into obscurity. The company had no choice but to try to get Yu Shuling to be a guest on a popular dating reality show, as a last resort.
This dating reality show adopts a live broadcast format. The official account deliberately waited until just before the start of the show to officially release the news that Yu Shuling would participate in the filming. As expected, it caused a huge stir, sparking the biggest discussion besides the debut night and attracting a lot of attention.
In a previous variety show appearance with the team, the original owner's public image had already deteriorated to the point of being extremely picky and demanding. After the official announcement of her joining a dating reality show, she attracted even more people to join the ranks of those who insulted her, taking advantage of the situation.
According to the original plot, the original owner of the show argued with people and got entangled with several male guests in order to gain popularity, which led to a group of viewers and guests' fans attacking her and subjecting her to a long period of cyberbullying.
Adding to the scandal, his teammates were exposed for a series of misdeeds involving working as escorts, and the group disbanded before their contracts expired. The original owner's low point coincided with the female lead Qi Xiuxiu's rise to fame. In a moment of despair, the original owner decided to take action against Qi Xiuxiu, destroying all avenues for retreat before retiring from the entertainment industry in despair.
[Some minor mishaps have occurred in this book; the female lead's awakening is delayed. Please continue to cause trouble within the Romance World. The higher your "trouble-causing value," the faster the female lead will awaken. Please follow the original plot to complete your route. Afterward, you can receive a reward of millions and rest safely in this book's world. After resting, you will return to your original world.]
The system's voice rang in her mind again, repeatedly apologizing for absorbing her into the book. After receiving the system's message, Yu Shuling also absorbed the original owner's memories. She rubbed her throbbing temples, silently looking at the unfamiliar scenery in the room, and fell into a rare silence.
When she awakened to the reality show, the romance had already begun, and it was impossible for her to quit.
In a recent episode, a rich second-generation heir participating in a dating reality show got a little drunk and tried to hug and cuddle the original owner of the body when there were no cameras around. The original owner threw a tantrum but couldn't explain what he had done, leaving her embarrassed and unable to save face.
However, the other guests, the production team, and the audience, who were unaware of what was going on, only saw "her" inexplicably going crazy, and her words were full of rejection towards the other person.
The rich second-generation is good-looking, and after two days here, he has accumulated some fans. In addition, Yu Shuling's public image in this novel is already extremely poor, so she was directly criticized by the audience.
Even the production team made an excuse to let the guests go back to their rooms to rest for fifteen minutes so they could prepare new props for the games, and took the opportunity to have the manager remind Yu Shuling. Now, the fifteen minutes have almost passed, and it's time to go downstairs to gather, which is why the manager is in such a hurry.
[The female lead's awakening is currently delayed. Please continue to cause trouble within the romance simulation. The higher your "death stat," the faster the female lead will awaken. Please follow the original storyline to complete your route.]
After the system gave her a patient reminder, Yu Shuling composed herself and, in front of her agent, sighed helplessly, seemingly giving in.
Noticing her change in mood, her manager slightly calmed down. Thinking of the reward the rich second-generation heir, Cheng, would give him after the deal was done, he softened his tone and offered words of comfort, his words carrying a hidden meaning:
"Okay, okay, I was too hasty just now. It's a dating reality show. What the audience wants to see is your sweet interactions, not arguments and fights. Get to know the male guests more. Who knows, you might find your life partner here?"
"Brother Jiang is right. I was reckless before."
Yu Shuling was too lazy to argue with him, so she replied in a soft voice and said that she needed to go to the restroom to fix her makeup first.
She was wearing a French country-style beige long dress, and her long, dark brown hair was styled into loose waves that cascaded down her back. She had a slender waist and long legs. In the book, she was only 20 years old, and there was a hint of youthful innocence in her eyes, which added a touch of girlish sweetness to her gentle and beautiful face.
Yu Shuling, who had spent a long time plotting to outlive the emperor, was nearly forty years old. Now, she felt youthful again, radiant with health. The person in the mirror looked almost exactly like her, with a small face, long eyebrows, captivating eyes that could express both joy and anger, fair and luminous skin, and thin, naturally upturned lips. Her natural friendliness made people feel good.
When she was outwitting and outmaneuvering the concubines and the treacherous emperor in the palace, she could play the innocent and virtuous woman with an air of authority, largely thanks to the versatility of her face.
In modern terms, it's a face perfectly suited for the big screen. Whether it's a natural, bare face or heavy makeup, there's nothing wrong with it.
Yu Shuling composed herself, quickly searched through the original owner's memories, found the instructions on how to use modern cosmetics, touched up her makeup, and walked out of the room with a smile, heading straight downstairs.
When the girl appeared in the camera's field of view, the previously empty live stream chat room filled with comments again.
Was Yu Shuling scolded by her manager just now? Jiang Zhou, you son of a bitch, shoving her here is disgusting.
Why can't someone who debuted based on their looks just be a pretty face and behave like a vase? Why come to dating reality shows and cause trouble? Is there no stage for you to perform on? I'm disgusted.
[Hilarious! The person above really doesn't have many stages, and they'll probably disband as soon as their contract expires. The dancers in the group are definitely good, but it seems like they've never dared to sing live since their debut, hahaha. Looking forward to seeing them at their concert!]
[But to be fair, Yu Shuling's looks are truly versatile and stunning, and she has a great figure. She should leave the entertainment industry and become a print model; I'd take a second look just for her face.]
[Excuse me, Yu Shuling is considered pretty? Haven't you seen any beautiful women before? She's so young and already had plastic surgery, either acting cute or showing off, and she's even playing hard to get with Zhao Cheng. My poor little Qi is so close to her, waaaah, little Qi is so cute, I really want to date him.]
Yu Shuling couldn't see the comments, but she knew who the guests were from the original owner's memories.
She recalled there were five couples, three of whom initially "liked her" but later saw through their true colors. The female guests competed and ostracized each other, creating an unpleasant atmosphere of open and covert rivalry, but it also generated plenty of buzz.
The other guests had all arrived, and when Yu Shuling came down last, the heated discussion gradually subsided, and everyone looked at Yu Shuling, who had just thrown a tantrum, with some embarrassment.
Everyone knew that the director had arranged a fifteen-minute break so that she could adjust her emotions. Zhao Cheng, the rich second-generation who had been scolded earlier but remained down-to-earth, looked away the moment their eyes met, like an inexperienced lovelorn man who had been hurt by his sweetheart and was eager to find a way to win her back.
"Shu...Shuling".
A young man in a suit stood up from the sofa and awkwardly walked to her, offering her a cup of steaming jujube tea. The jujubes, cut in half, were rolled into beautiful petal shapes. The man's shy and apprehensive demeanor, combined with his handsome face, was endearing.
Zhao Cheng slowly handed over the jujube tea, while seemingly deliberately concealing his cut finger:
"I was too clueless before, I'm sorry. I made you a cup of tea especially for you, please don't be angry, okay?"
A note from the author:
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Next book: "Let's Learn About Tea Ceremony Classes [Quick Transmigration]"
Try out a female-centric story set in the entertainment industry. There's a romance subplot, but it comes later in the story. The female lead can pretend to be innocent and pure, but she can also fight. She wants to be a good person in modern times, but it seems her wish can't be fulfilled (not really). The male lead is a top producer, a pure and loyal lover. The whole story is under 250,000 words. The idol career lasts for a long time, and the female lead focuses on her career during her rising period.
Completed romance novels: "Cannon Fodder Becomes the Beloved of the Team in an E-sports Novel" and "A Lazy Streamer Carries the Whole Team to Victory" (both are original e-sports novels; see the author's page below).
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