Chapter Two: An Outstanding Beauty with a Promising Future!
Chapter Two: An Outstanding Vase, with a Promising Future!
She now fully understood how this world worked, and realized she was destined to become the targeted villainess.
The best course of action, then, was to make a swift escape.
Weighing the off-white counterfeit donkey-brand bag in her hand, Bai Ling muttered to herself, “It’s got some heft—should pack a punch if I swing it at someone.”
“Enough for me to break through the encirclement!”
Armed with her weapon, Bai Ling strode out of the room without hesitation.
Along the way, she caught glimpses of her reflection in the glass.
Her black hair cascaded like a waterfall, her brows arched gracefully above her forehead.
Her eyebrows, elegant as distant hills, revealed a touch of refined grandeur.
Her eyes, clear as autumn waters, were marred only by faint traces of bloodshot veins.
Evidently, the original Bai Ling had worked tirelessly to stand out.
But what good was hard work, after all?
As for her features and makeup, they were nearly flawless.
Gazing at her reflection in the glass, even Bai Lin found himself momentarily entranced.
“This girl truly is stunning—her beauty is extraordinary, and she has a remarkable potential for transformation…”
She pulled a few different expressions—sweet, aloof.
Bai Ling found them all quite satisfactory.
After all, strength is fleeting, but charm and beauty last a lifetime.
Of course, seductive was not her style.
She felt an aversion to that.
Still, she didn’t forget her main objective; after admiring her beauty for a moment, she was about to leave the company building.
But just then, a mechanical voice echoed in her mind.
“Congratulations, Host! You have bound the Entertainment Industry’s Heaven Rewards Diligence System!”
“A system?”
Bai Ling was not particularly surprised by this voice.
She had already transmigrated into a novel—what was one more system?
But the name caught her attention.
“Entertainment Industry Heaven Rewards Diligence System?”
“Just from the name, I can tell it’s one of those systems that wants me to work hard.”
Bai Ling stepped out the front doors, standing boldly at the entrance and attracting countless stares.
She said inwardly, “System, I’m glad you’ve arrived, but I don’t like your name!”
“How about changing it? Something like Wealth Tycoon System, or Big Winner System?”
“Or maybe a system where just breathing makes me stronger? I’d like to shatter this world’s fourth wall and return home…”
System: ……
Like a tortoise reciting scripture, the system ignored her.
“This system is dedicated to helping the host become a top mogul in the entertainment industry. As long as you put in the effort, you will reap rewards!”
“Every action you take will be counted toward your value. Once you reach the target, the system will grant you an exceptional reward. If you fail, you will receive a mystery box reward!”
At that moment, two options appeared before Bai Ling’s eyes.
Current reward: Divine-Level Makeup Skills!
Failure reward: Unknown (determined by luck)
“Makeup?”
Bai Lin, being a man, wouldn’t care for such a thing.
But Bai Ling was, after all, a woman, so mastering some makeup skills was necessary.
Even if Bai Ling’s heart remained masculine, she didn’t dislike or reject it.
Even men should take care of themselves.
Not necessarily to the extent of makeup, but tidying up was essential.
Besides, the prefix ‘Divine-Level’ suggested that this makeup skill was no ordinary reward.
But perhaps it wouldn’t be so easily obtained!
“Forget it, I’ll leave it for now!”
Without further delay, Bai Ling hailed a taxi and left.
The driver, a man in his forties, wore a cold expression before she got in, but once she was seated, he was all smiles.
Calling her “beauty” with every sentence, thoroughly enjoying himself.
In that moment, Bai Ling understood.
This world is obsessed with appearances.
However, the place where Bai Ling lived was rather shabby.
Her agency was one of the leading second-tier entertainment companies in the country, called Starlight.
The implication was to provide every artist with a brilliant, dazzling path to stardom!
But clearly, that was just a façade; behind the scenes, it was rife with filth and chaos.
Bai Ling wasn’t a fully contracted artist—the contract didn’t bind her much.
There was no binding clause.
Therefore, her income wasn’t high.
For now, she could only afford to live in this humble little room, which looked particularly shabby.
Still, Bai Ling was quite grateful.
Luckily, the original Bai Ling had held to her principles and avoided signing a restrictive contract.
Otherwise, she’d be in real trouble now.
Once inside the tiny, rundown room, Bai Ling didn’t hesitate to fall into a deep sleep.
She needed time to digest everything.
System: ……
“Based on the host’s actions, the system is granting a mystery box reward!”
“Please check and accept!”
When Bai Ling finally woke up, feeling all the exhaustion drained from her body, she let out a long, contented sigh.
“Ah, finally at ease!”
Bai Ling was an idol—not an actress or a singer, but an idol.
She needed to master singing and dancing…
Which meant spending endless hours in the company’s dance studio, practicing until her body inevitably developed some aches and pains.
But Bai Ling wasn’t one to complain.
No matter how hard this was, it was nothing compared to those working on construction sites.
By comparison, she had it pretty good.
No matter the fatigue, a good sleep would fix it.
It was only then that she noticed the system notification before her eyes.
“Mystery box reward?”
“Open it!”
“Congratulations, host! You have received: Vocal Quality +15! Singing Skill +3! Choose one song from your past life’s online hits (upon selection, you will receive both lyrics and sheet music)!”
Four rewards at once—Bai Ling was delighted.
“This mystery box isn’t so bad, after all.”
At that moment, she became resolute in her thinking.
“In the original story, Bai Ling’s tragedy stemmed from her relentless pursuit, which led to greater and greater misfortune!”
“Or perhaps her upbringing instilled in her a peculiar sense of duty—but I’m different!”
“As long as I lack a sense of morality, my family of origin cannot hold me hostage. I only need to worry about feeding myself—why should I care about them?”
Bai Ling felt no affection for that family described in the original work, which made her all the more free-spirited now.
She then started to examine her rewards in detail.
A stat panel appeared before her eyes.
[Host: Bai Ling]
[Age: 25]
[Figure: 84, 61, 90]
[Appearance Rating: 96]
[Acting Career: Overall Acting Skill 5 points, Overall Potential 30 points (Lines: 10 points, Micro-expressions: 5 points, Character Creation: 6 points, Character Appearance Suitability: 68 points, Emotional Resonance: 0 points) Recommended Role Types (Sweet Airhead, Green Tea Girl, High-Beauty Roles such as The Most Beautiful Woman in Three Realms, Princess, etc.)]
[Singing Career: Overall Singing Skill 17 points, Overall Potential 47 points (Vocal Quality: 24 points, Pitch: 16 points, Intonation: 7 points, Creative Ability: 0 points, Emotional Expression: 3 points) Recommended Song Types (Simple Pop Songs, Love Songs)]
[Idol Career: Overall Strength 54 points, Overall Potential 69 points (Appearance: 99 points, Personality: 87 points, Singing and Dancing Skills: 67 points, Variety Sense: 18 points) Recommended Type—Stage Beauty!]
[Director Career: Not Yet Unlocked]
[Special Skills: Useless Talentless Slacker]
[Wealth: 888 (Huabei Credit Debt 3300)]
[System Inventory Pending Reward: Choose one past life online song (upon selection, you will receive both lyrics and sheet music)]