She is a Cold Firework

Zhong Jia’s biological mother was a double award-winning actress in the public eye, but a deeply closeted simp behind closed doors. Zhong Jia herself wasn’t much better. She dove straight into steamy bed scenes right upon her debut, starring opposite none other than Xie Yingnian—the very same simp mom. Zhong Jia’s take on it? Thanks for the invite. Dreams really do come true, and she couldn’t be more thrilled.

But on the day of the movie’s press conference, standing too close to Xie Yingnian sent her heart into arrhythmia. Overnight, she became a viral meme for her “same hand, same foot” clumsiness, fast-tracking her into comedian-in-training status.

Once filming began, Zhong Jia accidentally overheard a few conversations and finally learned the truth.

“The person who secretly funded my schooling… was you?”

Xie Yingnian, who had just cleared up suspicions of being a stepmom, smiled. “So what if it was? You gonna sign an IOU note, or pledge yourself to me instead?”

The latter didn’t sound half bad…

In the very next scene, Zhong Jia filmed an intimate moment with her brand-new creditor. Even with that creditor sporting a deadpan expression—like a corpse half-buried in dirt up to its neck—Zhong Jia still felt her heart shamefully flutter.

~~~

Xie Yingnian’s background was shrouded in mystery and scandals. She was the top-tier star of the acting world, the powerhouse among top stars.

Sadly, her love life was an utter mess. Her messy entanglement with the late double award-winning actress Qiao Yingqiu was bad enough, but her second dive into bed—with Qiao’s daughter, no less—sparked wild rumors. Stand-in lover tropes had apparently leaped from fiction into reality, complete with all the “substitute soulmate” drama.

Xie Yingnian scoffed. “A stand-in? At most, it’s just the face. Those two don’t look anything alike. If Qiao Yingqiu were still alive, she’d haul Zhong Jia off for a DNA test.”

No stand-in. No substitute lover. To Xie Yingnian, Zhong Jia was an unexpected gust of wind, coaxing a long-buried seed in her heart to finally sprout.

When her doctor asked about her condition, Xie Yingnian replied calmly, “I’ve been doing much better lately. Though I do get these occasional… unfamiliar thoughts.”

“Unfamiliar?” The doctor prompted her to elaborate.

Xie Yingnian let out a low chuckle. “Or you could call them wicked.”