The most painful thing about winter was getting up early. You wished you could stay wrapped up with the blankets until the end of time. But it was clearly the increasingly scorching summer. Qin Ze silently finished his bread, bacon, and fried egg, then waited another ten minutes before she finally emerged after much calling. She wore loose little-bear pajamas and shuffled out in slippers with a slap-slap sound, her eyes half-closed.
"I was the one your gaggle of female besties drank into having half a life left last night. Why do you look like you overindulged yourself?" Qin Ze asked in confusion.
"You're the one who overindulged." His sister shot him a listless glare and languidly sat down. Her moist, thin lips pouted. "After you passed out yesterday, they were pretty much done too. Didn't I have to clean up the mess? I called the boyfriends of the ones who had them to come collect the bodies. As for the unwanted Single Dogs, I put them in cabs one by one and sent them home. I didn't get to sleep until three-thirty in the morning, okay? I woke up hungry this morning."
"Serves you right!" Qin Ze took a sip of milk and slapped away the hand she reached toward the bacon. "Go wash your face and brush your teeth."
His sister gave an "oh," rose bonelessly from her chair, then snatched up a slice of bacon and stuffed it into her mouth at lightning speed. She clattered into the bathroom in her slippers, poked her head out, and made a face at him.
Qin Ze made as if to hit her, and she immediately pulled her head back. His sister had never acted like an older sister, but he was used to it. After all, he did not act much like a younger brother either.
Maybe it was because of how they had been raised. Their parents had been strict and demanding with Qin Ze since childhood, terrified that their little sapling would grow into a crooked tree. Yet they indulged his sister in everything and doted on her endlessly. The siblings received utterly different treatment. If his sister was their biological child, then the younger brother had clearly come free with a phone recharge. The old man's explanation was: Poor Man, Rich Woman.
But no matter how strict his parents had been or how desperately they had hoped he would become successful, Qin Ze had grown up to be an ordinary, unremarkable twenty-two-year-old, like an Adou who could not be propped up. His sister, who had been raised far more freely, had always been a top student. Even after growing up, she remained as intelligent and quick-witted as ever, getting into Fudan University as easily as if she were playing around.
"If only you were half as smart as Bao Bao, I'd wake up laughing from my dreams."
His father always lectured Qin Ze like that.
That was right. Bao Bao was his sister's name. Her full name was Qin Baobao, and she was twenty-five years old.
Every family had its own difficult book to read. This family of four had its own secret as well. Qin Ze knew it. When he was little, he had secretly overheard his mother on the phone. From her words, he had gathered that the siblings' backgrounds were not as simple as they appeared. The "he" his mother referred to might have been him, or it might have been her. He buried that secret deep in his heart and never dared reveal it, afraid it would shatter their warm family into pieces.
He had been too young then to understand what "it has nothing to do with your family anymore" meant. He had only felt that either his sister or younger brother was his mother's child with another man.
Qin Baobao emerged from the bathroom looking fresh and clean, as though she had instantly become a different person. Her face was fair and delicate. Apparently, girls had often privately called her fox-faced in college.
"You spent ten minutes washing your face and brushing your teeth. It's 8:25 now. Even if you finish breakfast in five minutes, go back to your room to change, put on makeup, and then take the subway... Forget it, don't take the subway. Drive instead. Let's do the math. You'll be late today. One late day means your perfect-attendance bonus is gone. You'll lose three hundred yuan, the equivalent of a week's food expenses." Qin Ze calculated the financial losses caused by his sister sleeping in.
"I never wear makeup." Qin Baobao wrinkled her nose, looking adorably petulant like a little girl.
"Shouldn't the main point be that you're going to be late for work?" Qin Ze nearly lost his mind.
"I'm not going to work. I quit." Qin Baobao swallowed her fried egg and took a sip of milk.
Qin Ze was startled. "When did that happen?"
"I quit yesterday. Didn't I tell you?"
"I have absolutely no memory of that."
"Oh, there was too much going on. I forgot to tell you."
"Why quit such a good job? Did your boss harass you?"
Qin Baobao's phoenix eyes suddenly lit up. Delighted, she said, "Great idea. That's what I'll say when old dad asks."
"How ridiculous. You think I'll keep it secret for you? That job was great. You were making five thousand during your internship, over ten thousand a month after becoming permanent, plus a hefty year-end bonus. You just packed up and left? Are you planning to live on the wind?"
Qin Baobao blinked and cutely said, "Your sister will depend on you from now on."
"Get lost, get lost. I haven't even graduated yet." Qin Ze snorted. "Old dad was showing off to the relatives just last year. He was obviously so pleased with himself, but he pretended not to care: 'Oh, it's nothing special. Just one of the Global Fortune 500 companies...'"
Qin Baobao lowered her head and carefully spread peanut butter over her toast. Her words were muffled as she said, "Yesterday was my birthday. Time really is a butcher's knife. Before I knew it, I was heading toward thirty. I thought I couldn't go on like this. I couldn't waste my youth at some Global Fortune 500 company. I want to break free of my restraints, cast off feudalism, and become a brave girl chasing her dreams."
"You mean a dream-chasing woman," Qin Ze mocked.
"Want to die?" Qin Baobao glared at him.
"What do you want to do?" A bad feeling rose in Qin Ze's heart.
"My goal is to get on screen, become a huge star, and be the nation's goddess! Hahaha!" Qin Baobao struck a pose like a serf rising to become its own master.
Just as expected!
Qin Ze silently covered his face.
Qin Baobao had one huge stain and one huge regret in her life.
The so-called stain was her name. Back in middle school, unable to endure her classmates' mockery, she had secretly taken the household registration booklet and tried to change her name. But because she could not provide a sufficient reason—having an ugly name was not considered a reason—and her parents were not there to sign the agreement, the Public Security Bureau staff called home to ask about it. Old dad immediately stormed to the Police Station, dragged her home by the ear, and gave her a thorough beating. As Qin Ze remembered it, that was the first time their parents had worked together to beat her.
The second time was in high school. Because she was beautiful and had an extraordinary presence, Qin Baobao caught the eye of a talent scout. Who knew what kind of grand promises that guy had fed her, but he made becoming a huge star her lifelong dream. Their father was old-fashioned and did not want his daughter mixing in the Entertainment industry. Their mother worried that the so-called talent scout was a con artist who would trick her daughter into prostitution. So Qin Baobao received another beating, which she regarded as the greatest regret of her life.
What their parents did not know was that after the college entrance exams, Qin Baobao had wanted to list Shanghai Theatre Academy as her first choice. Fortunately, Qin Ze had stopped her with all his might. Otherwise, the third beating of her life would have been waiting for her.
After all these years, he had not expected her to still refuse to give up.
"Enough. What's so great about being a star? They look glamorous on the surface, but there's nothing but hardship behind the scenes. Society is dark. If you rush blindly into that world, within two years you'll be used goods, and you still might not make anything of yourself," Qin Ze said sternly.
"I don't care, I don't care." Qin Baobao twisted her body, looking ready to start acting unruly.
"Acting cute with me won't work. Cut it out. This is too serious. I'm reporting this to old dad." Qin Ze reached into his pocket for his phone.
Qin Baobao lunged at him and tightly pressed down on his hand. Looking pitifully at him, she said, "Don't! If old dad finds out, he'll beat me to death."
"Can you stop causing trouble? I don't know whether he'll beat you to death, but if I know and fail to report it, he'll definitely beat me to death." Qin Ze pressed a hand against her forehead and pushed her away with all his strength as he pulled out his phone.
Just then, a mechanical voice sounded in his mind:
Main Mission: Assist Qin Baobao in signing with "Star Arts Entertainment Co., Ltd." Success rewards 300 points. Failure deducts 100 points.
What was that?
Qin Ze froze. While he was distracted, Qin Baobao snatched the phone from his hand and hid it behind her back protectively.
Was he hallucinating? Had he not sobered up from the alcohol yet?
"Give me my phone."
Qin Ze was furious. There was something far more urgent before him: he had to find a way to make this woman give up her unrealistic idea... Though that did not seem likely. He knew how stubborn Qin Baobao was. But she was even more afraid of getting beaten. Their parents had kept her in line when she lived at home, but now that she had moved out, she was like a wild horse freed from its reins. Old dad had asked him to live with his sister, perhaps partly so he could keep an eye on her in his father's place. At the very least, he had to watch her and stop her from doing anything reckless, such as quitting her job to join the Entertainment industry.
When something like this happened, he should call headquarters and report it. Otherwise, it would be a dereliction of duty on his part. He could not take the blame for this.
Qin Baobao stuffed the phone into her 36D cleavage, puffed out her chest, and said, "Come on, then. Come on. If you dare touch me, I'll tell old dad you groped my chest."
Enough already!
Qin Ze's mind was full of snark.
"Sis, let's talk this over properly." Qin Ze decided to use a gentler approach. "It's not that I, your younger brother, want to stop you from chasing your dreams. But you didn't choose the right path at the best age. It's already too late now. You're twenty-five. The innocent young-girl image definitely won't work anymore. At your age, how can you survive in the Entertainment industry without talent? You can only rely on taking your clothes off. Do you want to be subjected to every kind of casting couch and sleep with all kinds of men every day? Everyone wants to enter a place as profitable and glamorous as the Entertainment industry. Everyone wants fame. You can imagine how fierce the competition is. Please, you went to Fudan University, not Shanghai Theater Academy. Can you compete with fresh graduates from professional programs? Can you act? Do you have a solid foundation in acting? You're twenty-five already. Can you stop being childish?"
"I have a face." Qin Baobao raised that fox-like face of hers.
"You have a face, my ass. Have you been drinking too much toxic chicken soup? You think the Entertainment industry runs on looks alone? There are as many handsome men and beautiful women on Earth as you could ever want," Qin Ze said.
"Host, you're wrong. I once visited a Parallel Space where entertainers had no acting skills whatsoever. They dominated the Entertainment industry with nothing but their faces," the strange voice sounded again.
"Who's there?!" Qin Ze jumped up in fright, looking wildly around him like a startled cat with its fur standing on end.
Before you continue