Chapter 144: Awakening
Chenghe Film Productions, the largest film company in the country, launched numerous stars every year, adept at creating household names. Nangong Ying, whose film had broken box office records at the end of last year, was one of their success stories.
Despite their dominance, they weren’t satisfied. They aspired to become a world-class film production company, a goal that wouldn’t be easily achieved.
“Manager, the meeting materials are ready.”
“Good, let’s go.”
Another busy day at Chenghe. To outsiders, the company glittered with stardom, a place where actors’ dreams came true. But those within the industry knew the reality was far more complex.
Incidents like the recent Yu Linna affair were known only to a select few, the true details hidden from the public.
Rumors of the company’s connections to organized crime circulated, though unconfirmed.
Yu Tianchen, Chenghe’s most renowned talent scout and star manager, known for his refined demeanor, had launched the careers of numerous A-list celebrities. Though outwardly gentle, those close to him knew him to be a shrewd and calculating man.
“Mr. Yu, Nangong Ying declined our offer, saying she has to prepare for her exams.”
“As expected. Don’t bother her anymore. Let her focus on her studies. She’s still a student.”
“Speaking of which, shouldn’t we start scouting for new talent?”
“I’ve been thinking about that. I recently tried to recruit Tang Yumeng, a third- or fourth-tier actress, but she refused to sign with Chenghe. Besides Nangong Ying, she’s the second one to refuse us so directly.”
“No matter how headstrong they are, they’ll eventually come crawling back.”
“Let’s not talk about that. I have a meeting to attend. Please prepare my materials.”
Chenghe, the undisputed leader in the industry, seemed to have new plans.
Meanwhile, back at the restaurant, only Tang Yumeng and Yu Linna remained. Though Yu Linna, in her men’s clothing, attracted the most attention, Tang Yumeng’s alluring figure drew envious glances from other women.
“So, I thought you were playing with that girl’s feelings. Sorry, I misunderstood.”
“It’s okay, Senior Yumeng… but… I feel a strange sense of familiarity…”
The feeling Yu Linna had experienced when she saw Huo Ningning’s back intensified, a feeling she hadn’t had before.
What was this feeling…?
“Let’s not worry about that for now. You two know each other; you can explain everything when you go back to school.”
Tang Yumeng pulled out a cigarette, placing it between her lips, about to light it, when Yu Linna stopped her, pointing to a “No Smoking” sign on the wall.
“Sorry.”
She put the cigarette away, frustrated. A nicotine craving at this time was inconvenient. She needed to cut back on smoking.
“Senior Yumeng, you smoke a lot?”
“Just sometimes. Don’t follow my example. Smoking isn’t good for girls.”
Though it sounded hypocritical coming from her, she didn’t encourage smoking, especially after being repeatedly lectured by her father and receiving disapproving looks from her brother. She hadn’t smoked before.
“Can’t you quit?”
“If only it were that easy. Once you start, you always want another one, and then another, and before you know it, the whole pack is gone.”
“Haha…”
Yu Linna, a non-smoker, couldn’t understand.
“I didn’t smoke before. In the past two years, with so many things on my mind, smoking helped me relax, and I couldn’t stop. I’ve tried to quit, but… I guess it’s just who I am now.”
“Senior Yumeng, you’re an actress, right? How’s work?”
“Not good. I haven’t had any acting gigs in a while. I’m almost broke, can’t even afford cigarettes. I’m thinking about getting a part-time job. You were an actress too, weren’t you? You understand what it’s like to have no work.”
“I can relate…”
Yu Linna hadn’t even landed a single role, a true nobody compared to Tang Yumeng. But she had left that world behind. She was now Shion, the Gold Award winner, her status vastly different.
“Actually, Chenghe contacted me a while ago.”
Tang Yumeng’s casual remark made Yu Linna’s hand tremble, her eyes widening, her expression stiffening.
Chenghe… that name was all too familiar. It was where her dream had begun, and where it had ended. Because of Chenghe, she had almost been exploited, and because of Chenghe, her friendship with Nangong Ying had been irrevocably broken.
That name was a nightmare.
“And…?” she asked, trying to sound casual, her hand clenching into a fist.
She didn’t want Tang Yumeng to follow in her footsteps. That place wasn’t a paradise; it was hell.
“I refused. I didn’t think it was the right place for me.”
Yu Linna’s hand relaxed.
“Why refuse? Do you know how many people would kill for that opportunity?”
“I’ve been in the industry for a few years now. Everyone says Chenghe isn’t a good place for actresses, not a good environment. I didn’t want to… compromise myself, so I refused.”
To refuse such a coveted opportunity… it took incredible resolve. Yu Linna herself had been tempted, having considered it for a while, only to be swayed by Nangong Ying and almost exploited.
Tang Yumeng’s refusal meant she either knew something or had better prospects. Yu Linna hoped it was the former.
“What if… one day, someone from your company told you that if you betrayed a friend, offered them up to the company, they would make you a star. What would you do?”
“…What’s wrong?”
Tang Yumeng noticed a change in Yu Linna’s demeanor, her usual cheerful facade replaced by a seriousness, her eyes pleading for an answer.
“Tell me. What would you do?”
If smoking were allowed, Tang Yumeng would have lit a cigarette.
She considered Yu Linna’s question carefully.
“I wouldn’t do it.”
Yu Linna’s heart relaxed slightly, but her hands remained clenched.
“Why?”
“To sacrifice a friend for fame and fortune… it’s not worth it.”
Tang Yumeng’s answer was genuine, the result of careful consideration.
Yu Linna’s hands finally relaxed.
It seemed Tang Yumeng valued relationships over her career. She wouldn’t betray a friend; she wasn’t that kind of person.
Perhaps that was why she hadn’t become famous, remaining a third- or fourth-tier actress.
“You’re asking me this because you’ve experienced something similar, haven’t you? It’s not surprising. This industry is complex; it’s impossible to avoid such situations.”
“Senior Yumeng, I…”
“It’s okay. I won’t ask about your past. I don’t need to know.”
Yu Linna finally felt at ease.
Sometimes, not knowing was best.
After chatting for a while longer, they left the restaurant. Tang Yumeng immediately lit a cigarette, exhaling a plume of smoke that dissipated in the wind, like a bittersweet memory.
They walked in silence.
“Hmm?”
Yu Linna noticed a figure standing on the bridge by the park lake, a girl with glasses, a melancholic expression on her delicate face. She stood there, hands in her pockets, lost in thought.
“Isn’t that Huo Ningning?”
Yu Linna, recognizing her, walked towards the bridge. Tang Yumeng, cigarette still in her mouth, followed slowly. These high school girls, so young, so full of youthful energy.
“Huo Ningning…”
As she called out her name, she saw Huo Ningning’s lips moving, muttering something, words like “I’m sorry” and “Na…” barely audible.
“What are you doing here?!”
Huo Ningning, startled by Yu Linna’s sudden appearance, panicked. Had she been overheard?
“I should be asking you that. Why are you here? And why did you run away like that? You didn’t answer my question.”
“…”
Huo Ningning didn’t want to answer, not at all. That memory… it wasn’t a pleasant one.
It was a painful part of her past.
“Linna, do you really not remember?”
“That’s why I’m asking! Who are you? If you don’t tell me, I won’t know!”
Had she really forgotten…?
Huo Ningning, without a word, took off her glasses, her face, even without them, still attractive, perhaps even more so. Yu Linna’s image in her mind blurred, becoming less distinct.
“You might have forgotten, but I remember. You lived at my house for a month. Don’t you remember? My mother brought you home.”
She finally confessed.
She hadn’t expected this day to come so soon. She had thought it would be much later, since Yu Linna had forgotten.
Yu Linna, looking at the girl, initially thought she was from one of her former foster families. She searched her memory, but none of them matched Huo Ningning’s appearance. Until…
She recalled her first foster family…
Huo Ningning had said her mother had brought her home. Of all her foster families, only one mother had brought her home.
“You’re… Aunt Wu’s daughter?”
Even Yu Linna was surprised by her own realization.
Huo Ningning’s face, as it was now, overlapped perfectly with the face from her childhood memory. In the setting sun, their shadows stretched long, and a dormant memory began to awaken…
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