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Cheng Mi watched Jiang Mingzhou’s fingertips pressing on the contract, pushing it towards her.
An artist signing contract, several pages of dense text.
Coffee was served. Jiang Mingzhou took a small sip of her latte: “This contract was drafted according to your specific situation. Please read it thoroughly from beginning to end. If you find anything unsuitable or unclear, I can contact my lawyer to explain it to you.”
Having been in the workplace for a long time, Jiang Mingzhou possessed a strong, assertive aura born from experience and years of refinement. However, she wasn’t controlled by it, constantly pressuring others, but rather wielded it effortlessly, with graceful control.
Such a person could often make others feel under immense pressure.
Yet, sitting opposite Jiang Mingzhou, the eighteen-year-old Cheng Mi showed no sign of timidity.
The contract lay before her; she opened it.
The clauses on the paper were strict and formal. After reviewing it, Cheng Mi finally understood what Jiang Mingzhou meant by “a contract drafted according to your situation.”
Under normal circumstances, when artists sign contracts with companies, whether for acting or singing, these fall under the management of that agency.
Jiang Mingzhou’s contract was naturally the same.
However, this contract didn’t solely focus on her identity as an actress; the singer portion wasn’t glossed over.
The extensive writing meant that it was a priority for development.
Cheng Mi remained silent throughout, and after reading the last clause, she closed the contract.
Jiang Mingzhou patiently waited across from her: “No problems?”
Cheng Mi said: “Why do you want to sign me?”
Jiang Mingzhou smiled slightly: “I think you’re smart enough to know, Cheng Mi, you know you’re very beautiful.”
She continued: “And not the kind you can find everywhere now. To put it this way, you’re much more beautiful than the average pretty girl. In a crowd, you’re the most striking.”
Indeed, Cheng Mi herself was well aware of what she was saying.
Jiang Mingzhou said: “Although Li Shen is not a good person, his eye for talent has always been very accurate, as you can tell from the people he’s brought up. Our industry also constantly needs fresh blood, and every company recruits a batch of new talents each year.”
Cheng Mi: “Mhm, your company’s newly signed artists always attract a lot of attention.”
Qiming was one of the top companies in the industry, with strict standards for selecting talent, making it extremely difficult to get in.
Every time a new artist was signed, posts and photos of the artist flooded the internet.
After Cheng Mi finished speaking, Jiang Mingzhou looked at her.
She was watching, and Cheng Mi returned her gaze.
Jiang Mingzhou smiled: “Signing artists is also an investment. For an artist management company to succeed, the ability to select talent is crucial.”
“I want to sign you because I believe you have great potential, and I’m confident I can make you famous.”
Cheng Mi’s fingertips tapped lightly on her cup, gently rubbing it, and she smiled politely: “Thank you for your appreciation, President Jiang.”
No need to explicitly say it; this meant it was settled.
Jiang Mingzhou smiled, took out a pen, and handed it to her.
Cheng Mi took it and signed her name in the “Party B” section.
After signing, she handed one copy and the fountain pen back to Jiang Mingzhou.
Jiang Mingzhou’s lips curved slightly, and she raised her hand above the contract: “Happy cooperation.”
Cheng Mi reciprocated: “Smooth cooperation.”
After letting go, Jiang Mingzhou glanced at the time, then looked up at Cheng Mi.
“Where are you going next? I can give you a ride.”
Cheng Mi knew Jiang Mingzhou was busy: “No need, it’s just nearby.”
“Then we’ll be going now; we still need to go to the airport. See you next time.”
After Jiang Mingzhou spoke, her assistant, who had been waiting nearby, came up and took her coat and bag.
Cheng Mi watched their figures disappear into the coffee shop but didn’t leave immediately.
After sitting for a while, she finally got up and left with the contract.
________________________________________
The very day Cheng Mi signed to become an artist under Qiming Pictures, news somehow leaked the next day, and the information instantly spread like wildfire online.
Suddenly, everyone, those who knew Cheng Mi and those who didn’t, were buzzing in various online forums and communities.
Shock, joy, doubt, and curiosity—no emotion was unrepresented.
Cheng Mi had gained popularity online for a period due to a set of avatar photos, accumulating quite a few ‘face fans’. Even after her account stopped posting anything and seemingly vanished, with no trace of her information found anywhere, some fans were still firmly rooted by her face.
When the news of Cheng Mi signing as an artist suddenly broke, this silent group exploded, as if crying tears of joy.
Those who frequently frequented the internet, even though online celebrities came and went, some still recognized Cheng Mi.
Amidst the chaotic chatter, Cheng Mi instantly became well-known. That set of rooftop sunset photos circulated online once again.
Some said it was the first time they had seen a small internet celebrity sign with Qiming Pictures, clearly expressing doubt, with many voices in agreement below.
However, just as many people were attracted by Cheng Mi’s face. Overnight, Cheng Mi’s account, which was in Li Chu’s hands, gained many followers.
As for the Fenggao forum, usually, news of internet celebrities signing as artists might not even make it to the forum, or if it did, it would only stay hot for a few hours.
But because Cheng Mi attended Fengxun High School, she was a person living among these people, and the intense public opinion effect was instantly magnified a hundredfold. Posts on the Fenggao forum hadn’t stopped since the news broke.
From the day she enrolled, Cheng Mi had always been a popular figure on the school forum, appearing there every single day. These people were already skilled at discussing her.
Additionally, Cheng Mi’s private life was exposed under their noses. The scandal involving her and the Si Tingyan and Li Zhiyu brothers hadn’t even subsided when another big wave hit. Most of the comments in the forum were not objective, carrying subjective emotions.
Yet, in this situation, Cheng Mi slept soundly all night.
Even when she went to school the next day, she wasn’t affected in the slightest by those prejudiced glances.
And at school, only one person genuinely congratulated her without any gossipy intentions: Meng Yin.
For those two days, Cheng Mi lived amidst whispers.
Only during the brief evening at home could she escape those stares and voices.
This weekend, Si Huiru went out to run errands, leaving just Cheng Mi and Si Tingyan at home.
After spending time with Si Tingyan, Cheng Mi had become much more diligent and studious. In the past, when she first arrived in Fengxun, she usually wasn’t home on weekends. Now, she would grab her exam papers early in the morning and head to Si Tingyan’s room.
She wasn’t there to talk to Si Tingyan; she was genuinely there to study.
When Si Tingyan was studying, Cheng Mi usually didn’t disturb him, doing her own thing.
She marked the questions she didn’t understand and asked Si Tingyan after finishing her homework.
Once, the two of them didn’t say a word to each other for an entire morning. By the time they put down their pens, it was already noon. Just then, Si Huiru called them from outside for lunch. Cheng Mi immediately leaned over, kissed Si Tingyan’s face, and then left his room with a smile.
It was the same this weekend. Cheng Mi went to Si Tingyan’s room first thing in the morning.
High school assignments piled up like a small mountain. By the afternoon, Cheng Mi had finished several exam papers.
She put down her pen to rest for a while, propping her chin and tilting her head slightly to look at Si Tingyan.
Si Tingyan had some study habits that were different from Cheng Mi’s.
Cheng Mi sometimes instinctively furrowed her brow when she encountered a difficult problem, but Si Tingyan was different; he showed no expression when doing problems.
He looked the same as usual when doing problems.
Cheng Mi suspected it wasn’t that he didn’t frown when he encountered difficult problems, but simply because his IQ was too high.
Ordinary homework problems simply couldn’t stump him.
Cheng Mi knew Si Tingyan definitely knew she was watching him.
Si Tingyan could even pay attention to his surroundings when he was focused.
Cheng Mi reached out and stroked his cheek, drawing his attention to her.
She leaned in, her lips touching his.
A brief taste and then she pulled away, not going deeper. She knew she wouldn’t get much from Si Tingyan in this situation.
Especially since Si Tingyan was still doing his homework.
Si Tingyan lowered his eyelashes to look at her, about to bite her lip.
After the kiss, Cheng Mi released her hand, intentionally, gesturing to the problem book on his desk: “Teacher Si, your homework isn’t finished yet. Why are you kissing girls? Be a good example and finish your homework first.”
Si Tingyan looked at her with cold eyes.
Cheng Mi was actually just teasing him, smiling as she thought about leaning in to kiss him again.
Just as their lips were about to touch, Si Tingyan looked into her eyes and coldly turned back.
Cheng Mi’s kiss landed on air.
She heard him say: “I need to do my homework.”
Cheng Mi’s nose was very close to his face, staring at his slender eyelashes.
He held a grudge, deliberately messing with her.
She smiled.
But who was afraid of whom? He had to endure too.
Cheng Mi sat back down.
As dusk approached, Si Huiru was still out on errands, and the house was quiet.
Si Tingyan’s room door was ajar. The setting sun, filtered through the window in the hallway, cast an oblique light on the floor, coloring half the white wall red.
For some reason, this scene reminded Cheng Mi of a certain year in junior high.
The school she and Li Chu attended in junior high was not close to home. One year, because they didn’t want to waste time commuting between school and home every day, and that year Cheng Mi’s mother, Cheng Zi, was still alive, Cheng Mi and Li Chu, with the permission of their parents Cheng Zi and Li Yeheng, rented a house near the school.
At that time, that house also had a window on a white wall, and every day after school, the sunset filled the living room.
Li Chu had also moved her home computer there, and Cheng Mi and Li Chu would often drop their backpacks after school, then sit together and play games, taking turns.
So, a significant part of Cheng Mi’s junior high memories was tied to that house.
The sunset on the white wall, games on the computer, the hawkers’ cries and the aroma of food from the stalls downstairs.
Cheng Mi suddenly realized she hadn’t touched a computer in a long time, or rather, hadn’t played that game in a long time.
Li Chu loved spending money on games; her old account had a bunch of things Li Chu had gifted her.
Humans are such creatures; once an object tainted with memories has been separated for a long time, one wants to go back and see what it’s like.
Cheng Mi was also not immune to this common phenomenon.
It wasn’t a feeling of melancholic sentimentality, just a desire to go online and see.
Si Tingyan’s house had a computer, and it was in his room.
Cheng Mi didn’t bother Si Tingyan; she got up from her chair.
The desktop computer, like the desk, was against the wall, a little further in from the desk. Cheng Mi passed behind Si Tingyan’s chair.
Si Tingyan didn’t notice her at first.
Cheng Mi walked to the computer, her hand resting on the chair back to pull it back slightly, then bent down to turn on the host.
The host flashed with small red lights.
It was then that Si Tingyan got up and came over.
Realizing what he was about to do, Cheng Mi leaned her abdomen against the edge of the desk and reached out to stop him.
Thankfully, she was close. Her hand and Si Tingyan’s hand simultaneously touched the power cord plug.
Their hands were stacked together.
Si Tingyan was about to pull out the power cord. Cheng Mi held it, not letting him: “What are you doing? I’ve finished my homework.”
“Who said you finished,” Si Tingyan said without changing his expression, “Those two practice books I asked you to buy last time aren’t finished yet.”
Cheng Mi watched him say this without batting an eyelid, as if it were true.
She chuckled softly: “You’re being unreasonable, Si Tingyan.”
“I only asked you to recommend two practice books,” Cheng Mi said, “You just bought them for me. That’s not my homework.”
Si Tingyan said: “It is your homework.”
Then, with a slight pull, Cheng Mi’s hand was caught in his, and he pulled out the power cord along with her hand.
The desktop computer, in mid-operation, instantly fell silent.
Cheng Mi wasn’t annoyed, though; she realized something was off.
She usually played games on her phone next to Si Tingyan, and he had never disagreed.
Something unusual means something fishy. Si Tingyan had a problem.
And this problem might not be small. Si Tingyan was best at subtly luring people into traps.
But this time, he clearly overreacted in a hurry, exposing his emotions.
Cheng Mi was a little surprised. Her mind worked quickly, and she immediately knew where the problem was.
She feigned reaching for the power cord plug again, and as expected, Si Tingyan caught her hand.
The outlet was on Si Tingyan’s side. As she reached for the cord, her whole body leaned towards him, almost resting against him.
Si Tingyan, meanwhile, leaned against the edge of the computer desk.
Cheng Mi tilted her eyes slightly to look at him: “What, is there something in the computer you don’t want me to see?”
Si Tingyan didn’t know if she had hit the mark. The room lights weren’t on, only a faint orange-red glow from the open room door.
Cheng Mi couldn’t quite discern the meaning in Si Tingyan’s eyes.
But she still stared intently at his eyes: “Power grabs, love affairs, porn—what is there that I haven’t seen?”
Cheng Mi said: “Which kind is in here, and why can’t I see it?”
Her tone was teasing.
Si Tingyan had been staring at her face the whole time.
Cheng Mi then heard him say, calmly and somewhat indifferently: “Cheng Mi, if you keep talking, do you believe I’ll show you.”
Every word, delivered in his tone, drilled into her hot blood, finely biting every part of her body.
The daylight gradually faded, and the surroundings began to grow dim.
But Si Tingyan’s eyes remained clear in this dimness. The darkness that could briefly obscure one’s thoughts seemed nonexistent when meeting his gaze.
All of it was pierced by his arrow-like eyes; no thought could hide from him.
Yet, precisely such eyes were Cheng Mi’s favorite.
She wasn’t stared at so intensely that she couldn’t meet his gaze, nor did she avert her eyes in the slightest.
Si Tingyan’s words were devoid of color, yet every word he spoke felt like a hand touching her heart.
Cheng Mi looked into his eyes: “Alright.”
“Didn’t you say you wouldn’t let me see?” she said, “Then I’ll look at you.”
Looking at you on me.
After speaking, she naturally leaned towards his lips.
Cheng Mi loved kissing Si Tingyan. Ever since their kiss on the sofa last time, there hadn’t been a day her lips hadn’t touched his.
Like a poison.
Si Tingyan was very dominant when kissing, this top student who, in the eyes of countless girls, was abstinent and untouchable, incapable of such sensual acts.
In reality, he could often sweep her into a wave of desire with just a few moves.
Just like now, Cheng Mi’s chin was tightly held by Si Tingyan, their bodies entwined.
Actually, Cheng Mi knew there was nothing like that on Si Tingyan’s computer. If there were, Si Tingyan wouldn’t keep her from seeing it.
Si Tingyan was never a true gentleman; he never bothered to hide the things lurking beneath his soul.
Si Huiru returned at this moment, the sound of keys turning, footsteps.
Si Huiru didn’t come over, presumably thinking they were studying and not wanting to disturb them. She went straight to the kitchen with a bag of vegetables.
The room door was open. Cheng Mi chuckled: “Bad timing, Si Tingyan.”
Si Tingyan looked at her, then bit her lip hard: “Who says?”
Cheng Mi was still very interested in what was on his computer: “So what’s on your computer?”
Si Tingyan was impenetrable: “I don’t know.”
Cheng Mi smiled: “Is it really that unspeakable?”
Si Tingyan ignored her this time, not even giving her a chance to ask, and returned to his desk.
________________________________________
On Monday, at school, the online buzz about Cheng Mi had gradually subsided, but not at Fenggao.
After all, Cheng Mi lived among them; they didn’t need to learn about her every move online; one look was enough.
However, these gazes carried no malice and had no effect on her.
Cheng Mi had been accustomed to being looked at this way since childhood; she was long used to it and could handle it with composure.
So, the news of her signing with Qiming Pictures and becoming an artist under their company, which exploded online, had no impact on her life or mental state.
During the last class in the afternoon, a boy from another class suddenly came to Class 4 looking for Cheng Mi.
The boy wore glasses, his bangs almost covering his eyes, appearing meek and gentle.
Cheng Mi walked out of the classroom, guided by the classmate who had called her in, and approached him.
She asked: “Are you looking for me?”
The boy glanced at Cheng Mi, then quickly lowered his head: “Um, someone told me to tell you to go to the alley behind the school.”
Cheng Mi could only see the top of his head: “Who told you?”
The boy said: “My friend.”
“Your friend?” Cheng Mi said, “What do they want me to do?”
The boy squeezed out a few words: “Conf-confess.”
Why did his friend’s confession make it sound like he was confessing?
Though she knew he couldn’t see it, Cheng Mi still smiled slightly: “Then I won’t go. Please tell your friend for me that I’m pursuing Si Tingyan.”
She had just been asking Meng Yin a question, only heard half of it, and wanted to go back and continue listening, so she didn’t think much about what the boy said.
But just as she turned to re-enter the classroom, her forearm was grabbed by the boy.
The boy’s face was pale: “You-you have to go.”
Cheng Mi’s attention finally truly focused on the boy, sensing something suspicious.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
The boy seemed extremely terrified of her not going. He no longer kept his head down, his eyes filled with painful fear, pleadingly looking at her: “Please, I’m begging you, you-you go. If you don’t, I’ll die. They’ll really kill me.”
His words were chaotic and exaggerated, but Cheng Mi knew he was telling the truth this time.
People passing in the hallway glanced at them strangely.
The boy dragged her forearm, as if clutching a lifeline: “They-they told me to come and call you. If you don’t go, they’ll beat me to death. They’ll really beat me to death.”
Cheng Mi’s heart was slowly chilling.
This kind of threatening tactic was not new to her.
And it was already familiar to the bone.
Suddenly, her mind flashed back to the smiling figure that briefly appeared on the second floor of the clear bar last time.
She asked the boy with glasses in front of her: “What’s his name?”
The boy immediately shook his head, clearly afraid that if he said it, she wouldn’t go: “I-I don’t know.”
Cheng Mi suddenly said: “A scar from his forehead to his right eye.”
The boy froze.
Even though she had already confirmed it in her heart, in that moment of confirmation, something in Cheng Mi’s heart still felt like it was being pulled down.
She was suddenly very certain that the figure who appeared at the clear bar last time was 100% that person.
However, Cheng Mi was calmer than she had expected.
Rather than asking, she was telling the boy: “His name is Chen Zhaochi.”
“You really know him?!” the boy said.
“What do you mean?”
“He told me that you know him, and that if I told you, you’d know.”
But he didn’t dare say it that way, just like him, if someone else told him Chen Zhaochi wanted him to go to the alley behind the school, he wouldn’t dare go.
Cheng Mi said nothing more.
The boy quietly asked her: “Will you-will you go?”
Cheng Mi was silent for a moment, then looked at him: “The alley behind the school, right?”
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