Chapter Sixty-Nine: Being a Pretty Face Is the Greatest Talent

This immediately made Bai Ling, who had just been about to fall asleep, much more alert. The system’s “dad” had come to hand out rewards—how could anyone sleep now?

However, after seeing the three rewards, a great confusion arose in her small head. Now, she could basically be sure: the system was up to something. It was definitely because it had learned about Ouyang inviting her to act that it deliberately gave her these kinds of rewards. Out of the three, two were related to acting. The last one was a mystery box. Clearly, yesterday after she rebuked Wen Yan, she had felt satisfied, the audience had been delighted, and justice had prevailed. So why was it, according to the system, that just because she hadn’t gotten along with others, she only got a mystery box?

“System, are you trying to make me one of those ingratiating people?”
“You’re being awfully suspicious!”

As usual, the system ignored Bai Ling’s teasing. So she could only focus her attention back on the rewards the system had given her.

Improved command of lines.
That was a minor reward, so she set it aside for now.

The script of any hit film or television work from her previous life, free to choose!
Now, that was a good reward. The success or failure of a production generally boiled down to a few factors: the script, the actors and director, and then the dedication of the crew—costumes, props, set design, and so on. Among these, the script was paramount. A good script could make even clumsy acting or shoddy production design seem less important. An outstanding story was always the heart of any film or TV work.

And now, Bai Ling could choose any script from the excellent works of her previous life. This reward was truly formidable. One great work could set her up for life.

However...

“I’m not a screenwriter or a director. Even if I have the script, it’s hard for me to make the most of it.”

Bai Ling felt a little troubled. In fact, she found it rather odd. Why did the system keep giving her these sorts of rewards? Previously, it had also given her “literary brilliance” as an ability. Was it trying to get her to abandon performing for writing, to become a copycat author?

Though she was puzzled, at least for her current situation, having a reward was better than nothing. Who knows when it might come in handy?

As for the last mystery box, Bai Ling began to rub her hands together in excitement. Open the box, then go to sleep!

In a flash, a golden light appeared.

“Congratulations, host, you have received a special acting skill—Allure!”

At that moment, Bai Ling lost all desire to sleep. She wanted to go downstairs and find a knife. This damn system—tonight, only one of them could survive. Another acting-related reward, fine. But what was this? Allure? Did she, Bai Ling, look like someone who could be seductive? System, do you even look at the rewards you’re handing out?

After a while, Bai Ling fell asleep, sulking. In her dream, she seemed to become a master chef, using eighteen different techniques to cook up the damned system.

At dawn, because it was their last morning, no one slept in. They all got up early, thanked the Zhou couple for preparing breakfast, and then helped out with household chores as best they could. They even went to the fields to lend a hand, hoping to bring some benefit to the guests who would come for the next episode.

Just as the show’s original intent was to create a slow-paced lifestyle, the last stretch was wrapped up in a peaceful and heartwarming manner. Apart from the incident with Wen Yan, the entire episode was nearly perfect.

Finally, with the Zhou couple and the villagers seeing them off, everyone picked up their luggage and left the filming location. Of course, before leaving, Bai Ling exchanged contact information with several seniors so they could keep in touch. As for Lin Yubai and the others, Bai Ling had no such intention. But Ouyang Ruofeng came bouncing over to ask for her contact, and Bai Ling, not wanting to refuse in public, gave it to him. She could only hope he really just wanted it for work purposes.

After bidding everyone farewell, Bai Ling returned to the nanny van with Xiangzi and Miao Miao, ready to head to the airport and then back to the company. During the ride, Miao Miao and Xiangzi were almost beside themselves with excitement. Understandably so—before joining this episode, they had been on edge. After all, it was Bai Ling’s first time on such a major program. If anything went wrong under the scrutiny of a live broadcast, it could have been disastrous. Many entertainers had ruined their reputations on live reality shows; filters shattered everywhere.

Fortunately, Bai Ling had done them proud. Not only did she avoid any missteps, she even won a round of applause. As her assistant and driver, Miao Miao and Xiangzi were, of course, thrilled. Still, excitement aside, the important matters had to come first.

Miao Miao turned to Bai Ling and said, “Sister Bai, Sister Ge is probably in a meeting right now—it might take a while, so she asked me to pass on some things to you.”

Bai Ling leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes for a rest. “A meeting only takes an hour or so. Why did she need you to pass on something? What’s so urgent?”

Miao Miao replied, “Hehe, Sister Bai, there’s good news, but I’ll save that for later. Let me tell you Sister Ge’s suggestion first.”

“Not telling me the good news, but giving me advice first?”
“You’re something else.”
“Go on, what is it?”

Miao Miao said, “It’s actually nothing major. Sister Ge wanted me to tell you that you might want to consider Ouyang’s suggestion.”
“That is, you could try acting.”

Bai Ling raised an eyebrow. “Why does the company want me to act?”

She didn’t quite understand. Logically, now should be the time to play it safe and solidify her foundation. Why urge her to make a move into acting?

Miao Miao explained, “Sister Bai, the company has its reasons. Please don’t get upset after you hear them, okay?”

Bai Ling replied, “I won’t. Just tell me.”

“The company feels that, although you’re talented at singing and your recent performance has been great, market analysis shows that most of your fans are actually drawn by your looks. Before you became well-known, people even called you a ‘pretty face.’ So the company thinks you shouldn’t let that talent go to waste.”

“What’s more, nowadays most artists pursue diversified careers. Even those who started as pure singers have begun appearing on variety shows. So the company thinks... Sister Bai, you’re not mad, are you? We’re not saying you’re all looks and no substance, it’s just—”

Bai Ling cut her off with a wave.

“Don’t worry, I’m really not upset. Being called a pretty face isn’t a bad thing—at least there are people who appreciate my looks. Why would I be angry about that? And as for whether I’m just a pretty face without real talent, I don’t need to prove anything.”

Setting that aside, Bai Ling began to ponder the company’s views and true intentions. Capital always chases profit; that much would never change. Chunqiu had treated her well, but in the end, they were counting on Bai Ling to bring in revenue. Perhaps that was the real reason they wanted her to act.