Summer had arrived in the blink of an eye. Over the past few months, Liang Sheng’s life had been relatively peaceful. Well, aside from the frequent Shura Fields and harem flare-ups, plus the tragic run-ins where Hana would corner her in some dingy alley for a bit of sexual harassment.
Bai Zhen had successfully joined the cast of Eerie and had been shooting for over two months now. Since it was Sunday, she and Cha Susu invited Liang Sheng to drop by the set and watch them film.
When Liang Sheng reached the location, a middle-aged man was standing at the entrance, puffing on a cigarette. Spotting her approach, he blocked the way. “Hey, kiddo, we’re in the middle of shooting. Don’t mess around here.”
Liang Sheng scratched her head. “Uncle, could you pass a message to Bai Zhen and Cha Susu for me? Just tell them Liang Sheng is here.”
“Who’re you?” The man’s eyes lit up. He flicked his cigarette butt onto the ground and stamped it out.
Liang Sheng glanced down at the litter instinctively and frowned.
The man gave a sheepish grin, crouched down, and picked it up.
“I’m Liang Sheng.” She felt a little uneasy—this uncle was acting kind of odd.
“Oh, right! Oh!” He slapped his forehead with a booming laugh and tossed the butt into a nearby trash can. “You’re that Liang Sheng my daughter keeps talking about! Pleased to meet you, pleased to meet you.”
Daughter? Liang Sheng eyed the scruffy man from head to toe. He didn’t have a trace of Cha Susu’s refined poise.
Unfazed by her stare, he turned and led the way inside, beckoning her along. “Little Comrade Liang, didn’t expect you to look this good—like a seventeen- or eighteen-year-old girl. You must be in your twenties, right?”
Liang Sheng blinked. “……??? Uncle, I am seventeen or eighteen.”
He looked even more astonished, clapping his hands. “Well, I’ll be! Young and full of promise! Young and full of promise!”
Lost for words, Liang Sheng mustered a smile.
He kept chattering as they walked. “It’s lunchtime now. Everyone’s eaten and taking a short break. I was just having a quick smoke out front, and we’ll start rolling again soon.”
Uh… I didn’t ask. Liang Sheng found the man both noisy and oddly endearing. She half-wanted to play him “Silence is Golden.”
They reached the set, and Liang Sheng looked up—nearly spinning on her heel to flee.
Oh, great. A snow-white gown, face-hiding curtain of black hair.
Under the dim lights, a black-haired ghost came floating her way, “whoosh whoosh whoosh.”
“Oh my god! Mom!” Tears sprang to Liang Sheng’s eyes from sheer fright. The man’s laughter boomed like thunder as he grabbed her arm. Her legs had turned to jelly; she couldn’t run even if she tried.
“Shengsheng, it’s me!” Cha Susu beamed, sweeping back the long bangs of her black wig.
Liang Sheng pulled herself together. That scared the hell out of me—for a split second, she thought she’d transmigrated into a horror novel again.
Bai Zhen, dressed in a blue police uniform, leaned against the wall and chuckled softly.
“Shengsheng, this is my dad!” Cha Susu latched onto the scruffy man’s arm. “His name’s a riot—Cha Su.”
She knew that name. Back when she’d read the book, she’d nearly cracked up and griped at the author for it.
“Haha!” Cha Su let out another hearty guffaw and patted his daughter’s head. “That’s right. I named you Cha Susu. One peak higher than the last—you’ve gotta outdo me, so I tacked on that extra ‘Su.'”
Liang Sheng laughed along. The cozy family vibe made her zone out for a moment. Could this kindly, approachable old uncle really end up harassing pretty actresses, beating his wife, and doing drugs down the line?
No chance… Su Ze’s handiwork, no doubt. This reeked of that scumbag’s playbook. Liang Sheng ducked her head, more convinced than ever.
Cherish life—stay far away from Su Ze. Scumbag Su Ze, Su Ze the scumbag, top gun of scumbags. Hell yeah!
Once she took him down and his ugly true colors came out, legions of girls would heave a sigh: There was once a true love right at my feet, but I didn’t cherish it. It wasn’t until I kicked it to the curb that I realized… damn, that feels amazing.
Anyway, back to it.
“Thanks a ton, Miss Liang, for throwing me that lifeline. My last few films were total directing disasters.” Cha Su grinned sheepishly. “But this web drama? You can count on it—we’ll make back every penny.”
Liang Sheng shot him a thumbs-up and nodded hard. She trusted him. After all, she was the one holding the script.
“Shengsheng~” Cha Susu sidled up close, her sweet smile inches from Liang Sheng’s face. “After wrap, wanna grab dinner together?”
“Sure!” What a golden opportunity—delivered right to her door. No way was she passing it up. Liang Sheng agreed without hesitation.
“Right,” the green-curly-haired little lass said with a sly glint, “where’s Su Ze? Isn’t he your assistant?”
Predictably, Cha Susu’s face went rigid, her expression deeply awkward. “Him? His parents dragged him back to the Lu Family. But… he’ll swing by later to see me.”
No sooner had she spoken than Su Ze—that human sticky plaster—strolled in with a long-haired woman.
Huh? Ou Lu? Liang Sheng clicked her tongue. What was she doing here?
“Oh!” Cha Susu and Cha Su rushed forward to greet them. Cha Susu turned to Liang Sheng. “This is Ou Lu—one of the investors.”
Wait, that wasn’t in the novel. Liang Sheng squinted at Ou Lu and got it instantly, thanks to:
“Ou Lu’s Favorability toward Su Ze: 78”
Tch, one-upped again. Liang Sheng plastered on a smile and stepped up. “Ah, sister, that perfume of yours… smells incredible.”
“Ding~” Favorability up.
“Ou Lu’s Favorability toward Liang Sheng: 6”
Looks like she doesn’t remember me. Oh well, makes sense—just picked up her bag once; who’d hold onto that?
“Of course!” Talk of perfume lit Ou Lu up. “I blended it myself. One of a kind in the whole world.”
Tsk tsk. Liang Sheng snickered to herself. Praise you fat and you’re huffing up a storm?
“Wow, sister’s amazing! Do you remember me?” Liang Sheng fired back, all tea-sweet charm.
No clue how Su Ze had roped in Ou Lu.
The story went like this: After Liang Sheng and Bai Zhen left that day, Su Ze watched Cha Susu giggling at her phone, ignoring him flat-out. Sour lemony jealousy flooded his heart, leaving him deeply mopey. So he took a walk.
He happened past Ou Lu’s perfume shop. Inspiration struck—he pushed through the door and activated his Heartthrob Value Law Twelve. In any spot a female lead had visited, he could fire off a signal drawing her straight there.
