A Generous Reward

After paying, Cao Shiyu didn't leave right away. She remembered the two women at the fruit scales.

"Could you hold onto my things for me? I need to go back inside," Cao Shiyu asked the cashier.

"Of course! No problem!" the cashier replied with a busy smile.

Cao Shiyu went straight to the fruit scales as soon as she reentered the supermarket. A few customers who had recognized her, along with several employees, gathered behind her.

Seeing a crowd marching toward them without any fruit or vegetables to weigh, the two women at the scales were bewildered. When they realized the girl leading the group was the one who'd just been there, they were even more surprised.

"Isn't that the young woman who was just here weighing fruit? She had cherries, big thorny cucumbers, and tomatoes. She even chatted with us about a celebrity visiting the supermarket. Why has she come back with a crowd? Did she leave something behind? And why is everyone around her taking pictures?"

Cao Shiyu walked right up to the two women and said with a smile, "Aunties, that celebrity we were talking about just now... I think it was me, so..."

She turned to the woman surnamed Zhang and smiled. "You said your daughter wanted a signed photo with me, right?"

The woman surnamed Zhang took out her phone and opened her chat history with her daughter. She looked at the picture, then at the girl in front of her, repeating the process three times before finally confirming that the young woman standing there was the celebrity her daughter had mentioned.

"That's right! And she wanted a photo with you, too. She asked me to take one with you and send it to her. Would that be all right?"

"Of course! Why wouldn't it be?" Cao Shiyu replied with a smile.

Cao Shiyu took a photo with Auntie Zhang and signed an autograph. Beside them, Auntie Liu secretly curled her lip.

What's so special about her? It's not like I care!

After taking a photo with Auntie Zhang, Cao Shiyu turned and smiled at Auntie Liu. "Auntie, would you take a photo with me, too?"

"Sure! Why wouldn't I?"

The woman surnamed Liu immediately agreed, beaming.

Before Cao Shiyu had even left the supermarket, she got a call from her agent, Sister Lan.

"Are you at Wanjia Denghuo Supermarket?" Sister Lan asked the moment Cao Shiyu answered.

"Yeah, I came to buy some fruit and vegetables," Cao Shiyu replied.

"From now on, try to wear a mask and sunglasses whenever you go out. And don't go somewhere crowded unless you have to. If you do, talk to me first whenever possible."

"Okay, okay!" Cao Shiyu answered quickly.

"Also, a group of reporters is already heading to the supermarket, and I'm on my way there, too. Until I get to you, try not to answer their questions. If you really have to, think carefully before you say anything. Understand?"

"Got it, Sister Lan!" Cao Shiyu paused, then asked, "Did I cause you some trouble?"

There was a laugh from the other end of the line. "You didn't cause me trouble. This is my job, after all. If this counts as trouble, I hope you'll give me plenty more in the future. But, Shiyu, you need to understand that you're no longer some unknown extra whom nobody recognizes. Lots of people have their eyes on you now. From here on, think twice before you speak or act. Don't say anything unless you've thought it through, and never give anyone a chance to twist your words. Understood?"

"Got it, Sister Lan!"

After hanging up, Cao Shiyu lifted her head slightly and looked at the supermarket ceiling.

She smiled. "I can't live as freely as I used to anymore!"

Sister Lan was very experienced at dealing with the media. As long as Cao Shiyu carefully followed her instructions, she was unlikely to make any serious mistakes.

After giving brief interviews to a few entertainment reporters, Cao Shiyu finally made it home.

What she'd experienced today had made her feel, more than ever, that her life had changed beyond recognition.

The things she'd once dreamed of but could never attain suddenly seemed much closer.

But what had caused this change?

She'd clearly failed her audition, so why had everything suddenly taken such a turn?

On closer inspection, the source of it all was screenwriter Li Xun!

To be honest, she still couldn't figure out why Li Xun had suddenly decided to replace Xia Qing with her—a nobody whose acting was hardly dazzling.

At first, she'd thought the screenwriter must have seen a photo or video of her somewhere and developed some ulterior motive. She couldn't think of any other reason why someone who'd never met her would insist on replacing a singer who might even have been a better actor.

So, on set, she'd deliberately kept her distance from Li Xun.

But gradually, she realized things weren't at all as she'd imagined. The screenwriter looked at her no differently than he looked at anyone else on set.

She'd just been overthinking it all along!

She'd already added screenwriter Li Xun on WeChat, but they'd never chatted. That night, Cao Shiyu couldn't resist sending him a message.

"Are you there?"

A moment later, he replied, "I am. What's up?"

"Nothing, I just... really wanted to thank you. I know I'd already been cut after the initial audition. It was only because you recommended me to the director that I eventually got the role of Chang Yu."

A moment later, he replied, "It turns out you were an excellent choice. Audiences have widely praised your performance as Chang Yu."

Cao Shiyu replied, "Actually, the director told me he still thought Xia Qing might be better suited to the role. He only agreed to cast me because he trusted you so much, Screenwriter Li. I've always wanted to ask—what made you recommend me in the first place?"

He replied, "Because you were right for it! The moment I saw your résumé, I knew you were the top choice for Chang Yu. And it turns out my judgment was spot-on!"

At the self-produced drama center in the Penguin Innovation Building, Vice President Dai Ying sat in her office.

Li Xun was there, too. Dai Ying had called him in to discuss the company's rewards.

Young Bao Qingtian had become a raging wildfire. If the series hadn't been released while it was still being filmed, and if each story arc hadn't lasted just six episodes, then without a doubt, this costume suspense drama could have reached the astonishing milestone of over a hundred million views in a single day.

The four VIP episodes had brought the company 1.8 million new subscribers in one fell swoop.

The results were so impressive that the data center staff initially suspected an error. They even brought in technicians to audit the figures, only to discover the data was correct—and that the actual numbers might even be higher.

The data center staff were left dumbfounded!

While the data center was questioning reality, the website's executives were equally stunned by Young Bao Qingtian's performance.

"Give them a generous reward! Everyone who contributed to Young Bao Qingtian deserves a substantial bonus!"

As the heart and soul of the project, Li Xun was naturally among those receiving the company's reward.

After the first arc aired, the company had already paid him 1.2 million in screenwriting fees and a 1 million bonus. After the second arc aired, the executives decided to give him another 5 million on top of his 1.2 million screenwriting fee.

Young Bao Qingtian had now released two arcs, twelve episodes in all. Li Xun had already earned a total of 8.4 million from the project.

And the series still had at least twenty-eight more episodes to go.

Li Xun had always thought Young Bao Qingtian was a good series, but were its results really a bit too outrageous?

Then he took another look at the so-called classics of this world, and everything made sense again.

"Young Bao Qingtian absolutely deserves its success!"

As Dai Ying discussed the details of the reward with Li Xun, she stole glances at him.

Dai Ying was exceptionally capable, and she'd rarely admired anyone in her life. But today, she found herself beginning to admire the man in front of her.

He'd been at the company for less than two months and had earned over eight million net. He'd only finished high school, and had even spent several years delivering takeout.

How had he managed to accomplish all this?

His very first drama had already caught the entire industry's attention. What would he do next? What heights would he reach in the future?

I can't wait to find out just how far he'll go!

The continuous WeChat notification sounds from Li Xun's phone interrupted Dai Ying's thoughts. She came back to herself.

Who's he chatting with? A woman? Look at him grinning—like a lotus in bloom!