Chapter One

The agent’s face was ashen. With a sharp crack, he slammed the tablet onto the desk, its screen instantly shattering. Shu Yao didn’t need to guess what had been displayed on it.

The agent snarled, “Shu Yao! What the hell is this?! Explain!”

Shu Yao sat hunched in her chair, her expression grim, at a loss for how to explain.

The agent was so furious he almost cursed at her, but he knew this wasn’t the time for blame—it was time to solve the problem!

Yes, a problem. A very serious public relations crisis.

—Shu Yao! The top-tier rising star, exposed in the early hours of the previous night for being pregnant before marriage, complete with photos taken at the hospital’s obstetrics and gynecology department!

At midnight, most netizens across the country were already asleep, when a Weibo post from a marketing account suddenly went viral across the internet. In less than an hour, it had topped Weibo’s trending list and spread to every corner of the web!

The headline read: “The Pure Goddess Is Already Pregnant—Countless Fans’ Dreams Shattered!”

Clicking into the post revealed photos of Shu Yao standing at the hospital entrance wearing a mask, followed by a series of images taken inside the facility. Even with low resolution, her signature peach blossom eyes were unmistakable, the outer corners of her eyes slightly upturned. Zooming in, one could even make out a small mole on her neck!

The agent was seething with rage. The company had scrambled for emergency PR in the middle of the night, but the situation was far from what they’d anticipated. Within just an hour, the photos of Shu Yao at the hospital had exploded across the entire internet. Professional examination confirmed the images were authentic—not Photoshopped, but real photographs! The company was instantly put on the defensive. With marketing accounts reposting like crazy and possibly other unseen hands fanning the flames behind the scenes, the photos spread at breakneck speed. By one or two in the morning, comments on the most popular Weibo post had already surpassed one hundred thousand! Shu Yao’s personal account, her staff’s accounts, and the company’s official accounts were all completely overrun—fans and clueless passersby had already started trading insults in the comment sections.

The company moved as quickly as possible to control public opinion and remove the trending topic, but it was useless. Spending money didn’t help either! It wasn’t until three hours later, when the agent brought Shu Yao to the company, that she finally understood what had happened.

Her face went pale in an instant, her expression tinged with confusion and panic. The agent took in every flicker of emotion on her face. Suppressing his fury, he tried to speak calmly: “Shu Yao, explain to me. What exactly is going on?”

Shu Yao glanced at the tablet with its cracked screen, pressed her lips together, and said nothing.

The agent exploded, so angry he nearly cursed at her. He got up and paced rapidly around the room twice, then turned back, slammed both hands on the desk, and shot a sharp glare at Shu Yao. “Shu Yao! Do you have any idea what’s happening right now?!”

Shu Yao remained silent. The agent’s voice turned icy: “Pregnant before marriage, father unknown. Even for an ordinary girl, something like this would invite gossip and ridicule! Where do you stand right now? How did you climb step by step to where you are today? Are you going to destroy everything you’ve worked so hard for in the blink of an eye?”

Shu Yao’s expression grew extremely strained. Her lips moved, but still, no words came out.

The agent was nearly at the end of his patience. Yet Shu Yao was someone he had nurtured with his own hands—he had stayed up late selecting scripts for her, accompanied her to film sets. From the tips of her hair to the soles of her feet, everything about her had been personally packaged by him. Even if Shu Yao was ready to give up on years of effort, he couldn’t let that happen!

Chen Bing let out a slow breath, pulled out a cigarette, and lit it. He took a drag, then suddenly remembered the scandal on Weibo. His gaze swept over Shu Yao’s abdomen before he finally stubbed the cigarette out in the ashtray with a grim face.

Shu Yao looked away from the ashtray. When she spoke, her voice was hoarse: “I’m sorry, Brother Chen.”

Chen Bing sat down across from her. “You don’t need to apologize to me.”

Shu Yao shook her head and said nothing.

Chen Bing stared at her. “Shu Yao, do you remember what you said when you first joined the company?”

Shu Yao looked up. Even with her face pale and her eyes panicked, there was a stunning, captivating beauty to her features.

She had the face of a natural-born star, the kind the heavens had blessed.

After a few seconds of silence, Shu Yao said slowly, “I said I wanted to be famous. I wanted to make money.”

Chen Bing nodded, tapping his fingers on the table. His voice was cold: “Right. You said you wanted to be red-hot, you wanted to make bank! You wanted to escape a life of desperation, to become the biggest female star, to rise above everyone else.”

Shu Yao’s gaze grew still, but it was impossible to tell what she was thinking.

Chen Bing had always known that this young woman possessed a certain toughness inside—one that didn’t match her dazzling exterior. Her heart was not so easy to read.

Even over the years, Shu Yao had always been obedient and hardworking. Apart from choosing her own scripts, she followed the company’s arrangements in everything else without a single objection. In those early years after her debut, this newly-adult girl spent all three hundred and sixty-five days a year shuttling between various production crews. As long as there was a role to play, she never rested.

From that time, Chen Bing knew Shu Yao would become famous—if not now, then in the next few years.

From a complete nobody to the audience-voted number one most pure and beautiful actress, with the highest commercial value, striking looks, solid work ethic, decent acting skills, immense popularity, and great audience rapport—she was practically one of the hottest female stars in the industry right now.

Chen Bing, as her agent, knew exactly how much effort Shu Yao had put in along the way. According to the career plan he had laid out for her, within five years, her market value would double. As long as she followed the carefully crafted blueprint the company had designed, Shu Yao’s future would be dazzling and unreachable!

As a popular actress, scandals and smear campaigns were inevitable. Fortunately, even before her debut, there was nothing shady to dig up about Shu Yao. She truly was born to be a star. That was why, over the years, her fame had remained high and her resources kept improving. This time, Chen Bing had assumed it was just another underhanded tactic from a rival—same old petty tricks. He never imagined—it was actually true!

While Chen Bing found it unbelievable, a flood of mixed emotions surged through him in that instant.

He had made countless plans and precautions for Shu Yao’s acting career, yet he had never considered something like this happening.

Chen Bing’s nicotine craving kicked in, and he could barely contain his temper. His fingers drummed rapidly on the table. When a celebrity was caught in a scandal, there was a golden window for PR. Before the rumors spread too far, you struck swiftly—clarify, hold accountable, and deliver a fatal blow that killed all gossip and slander while winning back the trust of fans and audiences.

Now, clearly, they had passed that optimal PR window. But Chen Bing hadn’t spent all these years in the entertainment industry for nothing. Apart from the shock of Shu Yao actually being pregnant, his mind was still racing, staying cool and objective.

The most urgent task now was to get to the bottom of the whole affair and verify whether the reports were true.

After a long standoff, Shu Yao said hoarsely, “It’s true… Brother Chen. I’m pregnant.”

Chen Bing froze, his expression shifting.

Shu Yao sat there without moving. After a few seconds, Chen Bing said, “Shu Yao, you’ve lost your mind.”

Shu Yao couldn’t argue. Yes, she had lost her mind. Eight years in the entertainment industry—she had clawed her way to this position through sheer willpower and effort. How much blood and sweat had she poured in? Rushing to the ER in the middle of the night for an appendicitis attack, then returning to the set right after her IV drip to keep filming. Diving again and again into freezing water while on her period… Countless times, she’d swallowed tears and blood in silence. Unlike those actresses with formal training, she had no acting foundation and knew nothing about performing. She understood all too well just how grueling and difficult her journey had been.

She understood what Chen Bing meant.

She had worked so hard for so many years and now stood at the top of the entertainment industry pyramid—yet her footing was still unsteady. One wrong move, and she could still be pulled down and sent back to square one.

And she—who had stayed so calm and disciplined all these years—how could she have been so muddled as to stir up a scandal like this?

On the way from home to the company, Shu Yao kept asking herself: Why did I make such a mistake?

The answer, of course, was beyond reach. Shu Yao leaned back in her chair wearily, exhaustion showing on her face. She was already three months pregnant. Before she knew, she’d been working day and night nonstop, and the strain hadn’t felt any different. But now that she knew there was a fetus inside her, she felt tired and sluggish all the time.

Whether it was psychological or real, she couldn’t tell.

Having been in this industry so long, sometimes she couldn’t distinguish whether the pain was genuine or not.

From her debut until now, her public image, every move, every word, every expression—all had been strictly in accordance with company demands. Fans adored her, audiences loved her, but they didn’t know that aside from her acting, the person in front of the camera wasn’t her—it was another persona crafted by the company.

Self-disciplined to a terrifying degree, young and unafraid of exhaustion, working nonstop as if she never knew how to rest. Her body and mind reached their absolute limit, and one day, they finally hit a breaking point. Exploded.

One night three months ago, she put on a mask and sunglasses, drove to a bar owned by a friend in the industry. The privacy was good, and most of the clientele were wealthy tycoons.

Shu Yao had never been drunk before—her alcohol tolerance was forged in the early days of her career at dinner tables with producers and directors. In recent years, as she’d skyrocketed to fame, she rarely needed to drink with directors and producers anymore.

That night, Shu Yao wore a black slip dress, topped with a long black coat that reached her ankles, and black high heels. From head to toe, everything was black. When she stepped out of the car, she seemed to melt into the pitch-black night.

Entering the bar, she took off her coat, revealing the form-fitting, waist-cinching slip dress beneath. Her neck was slender and graceful as a swan’s, her collarbones exquisite, her arms pale as jade. Her long, slim calves peeked out from under the black hem, and the black heels made her delicate feet look even more refined and beautiful.

With the coat off, Shu Yao seemed to shed her outer facade and reveal her true self. The men in the bar cast subtle glances her way. Shu Yao drank glass after glass. Her tolerance was high, and even after drinking for a long time, she showed no sign of intoxication. As the alcohol entered her system, her body relaxed like never before. Her calves swung lazily from the high stool, her heels occasionally knocking against the stool’s rungs. With her long legs, a slight stretch and her feet touched the floor, the curve of her calves strikingly beautiful.

As she drank, she bobbed her head to the music and hummed along. Her mood gradually lifted, as if she weren’t that top-tier star constantly mindful of her image, nor the penniless girl from a remote mountain village eight years ago. She had money, she had fame—she could enjoy life as she pleased: drinking, having fun.

Shu Yao was a little tipsy, but still clear-headed enough. She felt she had relaxed enough; the gloom and frustration in her heart had eased considerably. She swayed slightly as she stood up, grabbed her clutch, and was about to leave—when she stumbled backward into a man’s arms.