After officially establishing the studio, Lin Zixi also mapped out Ye Can’s future path.
Among today’s newcomers, Ye Can’s qualifications across the board were quite impressive. Plus, she wasn’t short on money, and as her manager, Lin Zixi had no major material demands either. This allowed Lin Zixi to pick scripts for Ye Can rather indulgently on her behalf.
Unfortunately, most of the scripts Lin Zixi had come across lately fell short, so she hadn’t found anything suitable for Ye Can yet.
After Lin Zixi’s studio was registered, Ye Shen—who had always wanted to invest—knocked on her door once again at this perfect timing.
The three of them had dinner together, and afterward, Ye Shen spoke up, asking Lin Zixi, “What are your plans with Can Can next?”
Ye Can glanced lightly at her and said, “Act in dramas, gain more fans—what else?”
Ye Shen smiled, her gaze exceptionally gentle. “So what kind of drama does Can Can want to act in next?”
Ye Can replied indifferently, “Whatever I feel like—doesn’t matter.”
But Lin Zixi had a different opinion. “The three main roles Ye Can has taken so far are all too similar in type. That could lead audiences to form a stereotypical impression of her.”
“If she wants to go far in this industry, her next roles need to differ from the previous ones.”
Lin Zixi spoke earnestly. “I want Ye Can to take on some modern films or campus youth movies.”
Ye Shen nodded and asked, “For these genres, do you have a script you’ve written yourself?”
Lin Zixi paused for a moment, then joked, “I did write one before. What’s this? Does Director Ye want to buy my script and greenlight it for Ye Can?”
Ye Shen smiled. “We’re all family, and I’ve seen your previous works—they’re all quite commercially successful. Buying it wouldn’t be a loss.”
Lin Zixi turned to Ye Can. “What do you think?”
Ye Can had already accepted Ye Shen as her blood-related sister. In this world, aside from Lin Zixi, this fake sister was the only other person close to her.
Ye Can thought for a moment and asked, “Will you pay Lin Zixi royalties?”
Ye Shen smiled and said, “Of course.”
Ye Can pressed, “And you’ll pay us acting fees, right?”
Ye Shen’s smile grew even warmer. “Naturally. This is a commercial collaboration—everything follows commercial procedures.”
As the saying goes, even blood brothers keep clear accounts. Once Ye Can reached an agreement with Ye Shen, she said happily, “Great then. As long as there’s money involved, everything’s negotiable.”
Ye Shen smiled. “I’ll draft the contract tomorrow and come find you.”
Ye Can waved at her. “Thanks for the generosity. Bye-bye.”
Lin Zixi nodded. “I’ll finish polishing the one from before first. Once it’s done, I’ll send the script to Director Ye. You can decide after your team reviews it.”
In this industry, connections sometimes mattered more than raw talent. Ye Can being Ye Shen’s sister was an unchangeable fact. For this sister-obsessed Ye Shen, buying a script to promote her little sister was a simple matter.
Lin Zixi felt that if she didn’t let Ye Shen appropriately indulge her overprotective big sister instincts and rejected her offer, Ye Shen might do something even more extravagant.
So, reaching a consensus with Ye Shen on Ye Can’s matters left Lin Zixi quite pleased.
That very night, Lin Zixi dug out the script she’d written long ago from her documents. After reading it through word by word, she chuckled softly and decided to revise it once more.
This revision took a full week. After tweaking the draft three times back and forth, Lin Zixi printed the finalized version and handed it to Ye Can. With curved brows and smiling eyes, she said, “Take a look at the script first. See which role you want to play.”
Ye Can glanced at the untitled script, let out an “oh,” and sprawled on the sofa to flip it open.
With spring’s arrival, the sunlight grew even brighter. Around three in the afternoon, rays poured straight through the large floor-to-ceiling windows. Ye Can lazed in the sun, flipping through the script at a glance per ten lines.
As she read on, Ye Can sat up from the sofa, clutching the script with furrowed brows, continuing to turn the pages.
It was a campus fantasy youth script.
The girl named Xiao Shi was the story’s female protagonist.
Seventeen-year-old Xiao Shi had lost her mother early. After her father remarried, her stepmother gave birth to a little brother. The boy was five this year—the bratty age that even dogs steered clear of—and, spoiled by his parents, he bullied Xiao Shi relentlessly at home.
Living in such a family, the girl felt stifled every single day. She pinned her hopes on finishing high school, getting into university, and finally escaping this environment.
But that winter of her senior year, disaster struck at home. Her father got tangled in a high-interest loan scam and fled in a hurry with his wife and son, leaving the girl to face the vicious debt collectors alone.
Just then, Xiao Shi encountered a miracle…
After carefully finishing the script, Ye Can set it down and sat primly on the sofa, silent for a long while.
She stood, walking toward Lin Zixi, who sat reading by the bookshelf not far away.
Ye Can approached from behind, leaned down to hug her waist, and buried her face in the crook of Lin Zixi’s neck. Lin Zixi reached back, patted her arm with a smile, and said, “Finished with the script?”
Ye Can nodded. “Yeah.”
Lin Zixi looked up, seeing flecks of light in her eyes. “So which one do you want to play?”
Ye Can nuzzled her hair and said, “I want to play the one who protects Xiao Shi.”
Lin Zixi laughed. “I knew it. But that’s a ghost—you’re okay with that?”
Ye Can nodded. “Because I want to be Xiao Shi’s hero.”
Lin Zixi turned to face her. “Xiao Shi doesn’t have a hero. Xiao Shi is her own hero. Ye Can, I think you could play both roles. What do you say?”
Ye Can’s eyes widened. “Me playing both? Aren’t you Xiao Shi?”
The script was clearly adapted from Lin Zixi’s own youth in this world. The girl in it was young Lin Zixi through and through.
Lin Zixi paused, a flicker of emotion in her heart. “Why do you think Xiao Shi is me?”
Ye Can leaned down to gaze at her. “Because she’s like you—someone who makes people ache for her.”
Lin Zixi looked up at Ye Can before her and smiled faintly. “Xiao Shi isn’t me. She’s just a dream from my youth.” She hugged Ye Can and continued, “But a long time ago, I did wish I could meet someone like you.”
“Some people go their whole lives without meeting someone like you.”
“Ye Can, someone like you feels like a dream.”
Lin Zixi tilted her head up, smiling at her. “So let’s make it a movie—to fulfill the dreams of countless girls.”
I’m not here to fulfill dreams for countless girls, Ye Can thought. I’ll only fulfill Lin Zixi’s dreams.
Ye Can nodded and said to her, “If you want me to play both, then I will.”
With those words from Ye Can, the script was officially finalized. Afterward, Lin Zixi sent it to Ye Shen. Ye Shen’s team appraised the script’s value. Lin Zixi made just one request: convert the copyright fees into an investment from their studio in the film—essentially supporting Ye Can with her own resources, just like Ye Shen.
Of course, true to form, Ye Can made some odd demands during contract signing: she wanted a supporting role contract.
Though Ye Shen’s team found it strange, knowing she was the boss’s family, they agreed without question and even reduced the corresponding pay.
Once the contracts were signed, the Ye Corporation’s project team swiftly entered pre-production.
Ye Can, who had never experienced a normal student life in this world, followed Lin Zixi’s instructions: studying with an acting coach while binge-watching this world’s campus films.
While preparing for the new movie, as Limbo Inn officially entered Yu Yuan’s arc, Ye Can won over countless fans with her villain’s stunning contrast in looks and mesmerizing performance.
The cold, heart-manipulating villain—even the pitiable Faint Lord—proved oddly likable.
As Yu Yuan’s scenes shone brighter, some netizens even cut clips of Calamity Nation and Yu Yuan together, forming a grand love triangle.
But no matter the ship, Lin Zixi remained Ye Can’s eternal official queen. Not even Ye Can x Ye Can herself could shake Lin Zixi’s status as the canon pairing.
With Ye Can’s popularity steadily rising, short-video platforms flooded the studio with interview requests.
After weighing options, Lin Zixi—much like Jiang Yue—opted to join the Limbo Inn cast for an interview on Beiji TV.
Lin Zixi hadn’t wanted to attend but considered Ye Can’s exposure needs and her tendency to go off-script, so she decided to accompany her.
Before the interview, Lin Zixi dressed Ye Can in a pure white little suit, let her long hair down, applied light makeup, making her look soft and obedient.
For herself, she chose a crisp light blue retro blouse paired with light-toned suit pants, hair pulled up to project a strong, commanding vibe.
On interview day, Ye Can eyed Lin Zixi’s outfit with a subtle expression. “Why no skirt? In that getup, it feels like you’re about to go beat someone up.”
Lin Zixi smiled faintly. “For an artist and her manager, every moment in the public eye is a battlefield.”
She pinched Ye Can’s cheek. “Be good—keep a professional smile when not speaking, and try not to clash with anyone, okay?”
Ye Can said “oh.”
But Lin Zixi was too optimistic. Ye Can did behave and caused no trouble, but she had her moments. By evening, when the interview aired, shipping fans had propelled her straight to trending topics again.
Lin Zixi, who had worked hard to position them as pure sisters, was utterly defeated by the CP fans’ sugar-obsessed frenzy.
