Chapter 28: Trampling the Harem Protagonist (2)

Yu Liuxue’s face lit up with joy, and she immediately called out loudly, “Thank you, Daddy! You’ll always be my daddy for life!”

The system nearly blacked out and almost shut down.

It’s over. The host is about to go seduce someone else’s wife again.

After hanging up, Yu Liuxue grinned foolishly for a while. Suddenly, her expression became serious as she rested her chin on her hand, deep in thought. “But why would Yan Yi agree to act in such a silly, sweet drama?”

In the original story, Yan Yi was the epitome of high prestige. From the moment she debuted, every drama she starred in was a major production by top directors. Whether it was grand and majestic historical dramas, intricate and suspenseful palace intrigue dramas, or intense and gripping spy thrillers, all her works followed a high-end route. Her movies were even more exceptional—though she had only acted in three, each one was a masterpiece, if not a classic.

Yan Yi’s home was filled with countless trophies.

Yu Liuxue couldn’t help but feel uneasy and nervously asked the system, “Do you think… the female lead has fallen for me again?”

The system: “……”

Do you think you’re a walking pile of cash? Why does everyone you meet have to be utterly bewitched by you?

The system shot her a disdainful look. Yu Liuxue seriously pondered for a moment and realized that it was unlikely. She had never even met Yan Yi before. Could it be that Yan Yi had seen her in a dream? That didn’t make sense. It must be because her rich dad was devoted to his daughter and had spent a fortune hiring half of the entertainment industry’s biggest names to support her.

Such a great fatherly love.

I like it!

The sweet romance drama that the Xia family had invested heavily in was an xianxia series with a simple plot, mainly centered around the sweet romance between the male and female leads. With CEO Xia personally overseeing the project, no one in the company dared to take it lightly. Other than the CEO’s own daughter and Yan Yi, all the other actors—whether main or supporting—were professionally trained. Some were even national-level theater actors, and even the guest stars were heavyweight veteran actors, film kings, and queens.

Among the younger actors who weren’t professionally trained, Yan Yi was a stunning beauty with an unconventional approach. She had switched careers midway and carved out a name for herself through sheer talent and effort. Meanwhile, Xia Xiaoshi was a different story—she had never even taken professional acting classes and probably couldn’t even find the right camera angle.

So, when news broke that Xia Xiaoshi would be playing the female lead opposite Yan Yi, the entire internet erupted in mockery.

Shen Yu’s fans were the loudest.

“She couldn’t cling to our brother anymore, so now she’s clinging to Yan Yi? Why would Yan Yi agree to act with such a shameless clout-chaser? This might be the downfall of Yan Yi’s career.”

“Please, marketing accounts, stop associating our brother with this woman. Our SY-ge has nothing to do with her. We’re taking our brother and leaving.”

“Please support our brother’s new drama instead…”

Yan Yi’s fans had the most complicated feelings. Hadn’t they all pooled money together to pay Yu Liuxue to go torment Shen Yu? Why had this woman suddenly switched targets?

With everything prepared, all that was left was to join the cast.

Yan Yi’s manager was extremely unhappy with her decision. “Yan Yi, you’ve already reached the top of the pyramid. Why lower yourself to accept such an unremarkable script just to please the Xia family? If this goes wrong, this drama could become an irreversible stain on your career.”

Some rival teams had already hired online trolls to smear Yan Yi, claiming she was desperate for money and accepting trashy projects. The manager nearly laughed in anger. If anyone in the world wasn’t short of money, it was Yan Yi!

Yan Yi calmly handed her suitcase to her assistant. “Have you read the script?”

The manager was briefly stunned. “Why?”

“I think it’s pretty well-written,” Yan Yi said, elegantly putting on her sunglasses. The lenses rested on her high nose bridge, and her sharp, smiling eyes, paired with her bright red lips, made her look as striking as a blooming rose. She chuckled. “The market trend has already shifted towards lighthearted romance dramas, hasn’t it?”

The manager was left speechless.

Yan Yi lazily walked past her, her relaxed voice drifting back as if she were talking to herself, murmuring softly, “Drunken one-night stands, forced kisses, runaway wives with secret pregnancies…”

“This kind of storyline is thrilling. I like it.”

The manager: “…………”

So you just want to film bed scenes, is that it?!!!

Afraid that his daughter would be bullied on set, CEO Xia immediately assigned ten assistants to Yu Liuxue. Yu Liuxue stared expressionlessly at the ten neatly lined-up assistants in front of her, “……”

Are you choosing imperial concubines?

In the end, Yu Liuxue only kept two—one for her daily needs and one for her work. Once everything was settled, she took them along, her heart brimming with excitement as they headed to the Xia family’s self-built film studio.

While the xianxia romance drama Pampered Wife on Top was gearing up for production, Shen Yu and Li Nuolin’s historical drama Emperor Wu of Han was also about to start filming. Shen Yu was playing the male lead, while Li Nuolin was the female lead. The two most CP(couple pairing)-compatible stars of the year were joining forces with the renowned director Xu Ye to create an unprecedented historical intrigue drama.

Shen Yu and Li Nuolin’s fans were thrilled and flooded Xu Ye’s Weibo with support for their idols.

Compared to the grand Emperor Wu of Han production, Pampered Wife on Top seemed pitifully modest. Its official account had fewer than 50,000 followers, and there were hardly any comments. In fact, 99% of the comments were from Yan Yi’s fans.

Yu Liuxue tearfully held her phone. “I’m so miserable. I don’t even have a single fan.”

“This doesn’t make sense.”

Immediately, she jumped onto Weibo.

“I’m about to join the cast and film with my future wife. Let’s get the hype going! We may lose in other aspects, but we can’t lose in momentum! In three days, I’ll randomly pick ten followers who liked, shared, and commented on this post to win a MacBook Pro. (Dog head emoji)”

The system: “……”

Sure, but was that really necessary?

Shen Yu’s fans hesitated slightly. Those who had come over from Yan Yi’s side to spy on Yu Liuxue froze, their hands and feet suddenly disobedient—

“System auto-forward.”

“System auto-forward +1.”

System: I’m not taking the blame for this.

Xia Xiaoshi’s million tech-savvy fans had no such concerns and happily reposted—

“Xiaoshi’s makeup skills are so good, does the crew even need a makeup artist anymore?!”

“I love Xiaoshi’s ancient-style makeup the most!”

Yu Liuxue stared regretfully at her right hand. “Do you think it’s too late to delete my post now?”

System: “You can still cut off your hand in time.”

Although Li Nuolin didn’t take Xia Xiaoshi seriously, Xia Zhengtian was a well-known doting father. If he decided to take revenge for his daughter, the Li family would have to tread carefully—because Xia Xiaoshi’s mother was a formidable figure.

She was the most senior and resourceful gold-tier manager in the industry, having guided countless top-tier celebrities to stardom while maintaining deep and harmonious relationships with nearly all her artists. Moreover, her maternal family was powerful—an influential medical family. Her older brothers were all prestigious deans and professors, with students spread across the country.

If Xia Xiaoshi’s mother made a move, while she couldn’t shake the Li family’s foundations, she could still make things very unpleasant for them in the short term.

However, after half a month of waiting, Li Nuolin saw no reaction from Yu Liuxue. Instead, she watched as Yu Liuxue became completely engrossed in acting.

Li Nuolin chuckled and leaned bonelessly against Shen Yu’s arm, her voice tinged with disdain. “I heard your ex-girlfriend is going to be the female lead?”

Shen Yu dismissed it, “Her? She’s never even taken a proper acting class. I bet she won’t last half a day before the director scolds her to tears.”

Hearing Shen Yu belittle Xia Xiaoshi, Li Nuolin was satisfied and kissed him. “Perfect. Let’s use this opportunity to completely stomp her down, so she never dares to bother you again.”

Then, she casually remarked, “Wasn’t she supposed to have severe depression? Why hasn’t she taken her meds and jumped off a building yet?”

Shen Yu frowned. Yeah, why hadn’t Xia Xiaoshi just killed herself already?

Otherwise, every time she had a meltdown and went online to expose things, it always affected his popularity.

Lin Jingye, the director of Pampered Wife on Top , had just been poached by the Xia family with a hefty sum. He had spent his entire career directing historical dramas. Now, the big boss suddenly wanted him to promote his precious daughter. Though Lin Jingye kept quiet, he was inwardly displeased.

Everyone knew that Xia Xiaoshi had previously failed to latch onto Shen Yu and was instead labeled as an opportunist by his fans, giving her a terrible reputation.

But President Xia doted on his daughter excessively. Not only did he angrily terminate Shen Yu’s contract, but he also spent a fortune hiring top-tier actors—to play supporting roles for a total newbie like Xia Xiaoshi.

If not for Yan Yi playing the male lead, Lin Jingye would have already quit.

Yan Yi was known for his strict standards—on himself and his co-stars alike. With him around, Lin Jingye figured he wouldn’t have to worry about Xia Xiaoshi’s acting. After all, this was just a simple, fluffy romance drama. He could just film it however.

Lin Jingye comforted himself.

There was no way he’d win any awards with this. As long as he didn’t ruin his reputation, it was fine.

As he was thinking this, a nanny van stopped in front of him. A lively and adorable young girl stepped out.

Her skin was fair as snow, her features delicate and exquisite, and her smile was warm and unthreatening—like a gentle little rabbit, particularly soft and likable.

Lin Jingye’s eyes lit up, and he quickly assessed Yu Liuxue’s physique. Her neck was slender, her shoulders were straight—not too narrow, not too wide—her waist was slim, her legs were long, and her figure was perfectly balanced.

She was an ideal canvas for historical costumes.

Which role was this actress playing?

Seeing Lin Jingye, Yu Liuxue eagerly extended her hand. “Hello, Uncle Lin! I’m Xia Xiaoshi.”

Lin Jingye: “……” I let my guard down.

“Hello.” He shook her hand stiffly. “On set, just call me ‘Director’.”

Yu Liuxue beamed. “Alright, Director Lin!”

The system was so shocked by her sweet smile that it couldn’t help but think—My host is truly a master of deception.

Leaving her acting skills aside, Lin Jingye was extremely satisfied with Yu Liuxue’s looks.

This was a romance drama. If the female lead looked too plain or clunky, who would watch?

Since the target audience was young people, as long as the female lead was pretty, the plot could be garbage, and it would still have viewers.

Just as Yu Liuxue arrived, Yan Yi also showed up.

Seated in the car, she adjusted her sunglasses and quietly watched Yu Liuxue’s bright smile for a long moment. Then, she suddenly turned to her assistant and asked, “She’s the one who said she’s my future wife?”

The assistant corrected him, “No, she said you’re her future wife.”

…Not much of a difference.

Yan Yi suddenly understood. “She looks… alright, I guess.”

The assistant glanced at Yu Liuxue. With looks like that, you only think she’s alright?

Meanwhile, Yu Liuxue was talking with Lin Jingye.

Inside the car, a fair-skinned leg stretched out. The glittering high heel looked like Cinderella’s glass slipper, highlighting the wearer’s elegant foot and ankle.

Yu Liuxue’s gaze followed the leg upward—past the form-fitting skirt, the crisp white blouse, the elegant swan-like neck, the beautifully defined jawline, the full, rosy lips, the refined and high-bridged nose…

And finally—

A pair of eyes that held a teasing, unreadable smile.

Yan Yi held her sunglasses in one hand, towering over Yu Liuxue as she looked down at the much smaller girl.

“Xia Xiaoshi?”

Yu Liuxue had no idea why, but she instinctively shook her head and pointed behind Lin Jingye. “Xia Xiaoshi already went inside.”

Not my business, staying out of it.jpg

Lin Jingye’s face twitched, and he mercilessly exposed her poor acting. “Xiaoshi, go get changed.”

Yu Liuxue: “……”

Yan Yi’s cool brows arched slightly. Liar.

Afraid that Yan Yi would cause trouble for her, Yuliuxue quickly hurried toward the dressing room with her assistant. The costumes for the female lead were already displayed on mannequin stands. At a glance, the fabric was soft, the embroidery exquisite, and running her fingers over them, she could feel their silky smoothness.

The personal assistant carefully took the outfit down. “Miss Xia, please try it on.”

Yuliuxue glanced at the other outfits as well—without exception, they were all beautifully crafted and dazzlingly gorgeous. Especially the black robe in the center. She suddenly sighed, “If I were 1.78 meters tall, maybe I’d be playing the male lead in this drama.”

The outfit fit perfectly. When Yuliuxue stepped out of the changing room, her long, sleek black hair in her hands, she noticed that Yan Yi was also there. Yan Yi had her back to Yuliuxue while Lin Jingye was explaining the details of that black robe Yuliuxue had been eyeing. Hearing movement behind them, both Yan Yi and Lin Jingye turned to look.

A glimmer of satisfaction flashed through Lin Jingye’s eyes.

Yan Yi raised her brows slightly, her gaze settling on the rumpled collar of Yuliuxue’s outfit.

That area revealed straight collarbones, fair and delicate skin, and a graceful swan-like neck complementing a petite face. The overall impression was dignified and elegant, yet inexplicably soft and delicate.

Yuliuxue warily took two steps back and quickly asked the system, “Is it just my imagination, or does the female lead seem to be looking at me kind of weirdly?”

System: “It’s not your imagination.”

Not only was it weird—it was extremely weird.