The barrage scrolled rapidly across the screen for this flawless face—
“I can’t handle these eyelashes. Is the little fairy the reincarnation of the Eyelash Spirit?”
“What godly beauty! Is she too stunning? I’m about to cry.”
“Ah—Zhao Zijin, will you marry me?”
“Marrying is impossible, and I’m not a fairy reincarnate.” It had to be said; the feeling of being showered with compliments was truly delightful. Zhao Xiaokui could now understand why Zhao Zijin chose to be an entertainer. The sensation of being adored by countless people made one feel light to the bone. A smile unconsciously appeared at the corner of her lips, her eyes curved, as if holding a lake of amber inside.
Li Songya released her phone and covered her face, feeling the skin under her palm could fry an egg.
“Hey… shouldn’t female celebrities turn on the beauty filter when live streaming?” Suddenly, she heard someone in the phone saying this.
She opened her fingers, only to see that face, seemingly beautified a hundred times, suddenly covered in a layer of hazy gloss.
Looking at the presented image of herself on the phone, Zhao Xiaokui stayed silent for a moment. “…I guess everyone still thinks I look better without the beauty filter, right?”
Suddenly seeing an image of herself with enlarged eyes and a sharply pointed chin, Zhao Xiaokui thought she had encountered an alien.
The barrage area suddenly went silent for a moment.
Then, like a volcanic eruption, it burst forth.
“Ah ah ah—【Groundhog screeches!】”
“I’ve never seen someone lower their looks without using a beauty filter for the first time!”
“Oh my god, is this face so good-looking in reality?!”
Zhao Xiaokui, praised for her looks, laughed joyfully.
If Zhao Zijin’s laughter was cold and reserved, with a hint of charm and restraint, then Zhao Xiaokui’s laughter was naive and innocent, like a child who had never experienced hardships.
It was very easy to distinguish between Zhao Xiaokui and Zhao Zijin, even with just a single smile. Just a smile made fans familiar with Zhao Zijin feel that something was off from the bottom of their hearts.
“I’ve never seen Zijin smile like this before!”
“Although Zijin seems different from before, to be honest, I prefer her now.”
Fans exchanged thoughts on this matter in the barrage.
Zhao Xiaokui wasn’t surprised at all; people could easily recognize the differences between herself and Zhao Zijin.
If no one noticed any doubts, she would find it strange.
Current fans scrutinize their idols with magnifying glasses, understanding every bit of change better than the idols themselves.
“Cough cough—” Zhao Xiaokui cleared her throat, not intending to drag things out any longer. She decided to settle the main issue first.
With the news of Zhao Xiaokui’s disappearance, there was also information about her terminating the contract with her manager. Rumors of her preparing to leave the entertainment industry had even circulated online.
The audience before the live stream quickly realized what she was about to talk about, and they became quiet. The speed of the barrage scrolling dramatically slowed down.
Li Songya couldn’t help but sit up straight.
“Firstly, I want to express my gratitude for everyone’s concern and worry. I’ve read the messages on Weibo, and I’m very thankful,” Zhao Xiaokui placed her phone in a fixed position, stepped back a bit, and then bowed to the camera. “Thank you very much for liking me.”
It wasn’t thanking them for liking Zhao Zijin, but for liking Zhao Xiaokui’s songs.
No one knew how complex Zhao Xiaokui’s emotions were when she saw countless praises and admiration in the comment sections of those familiar songs. It was as if she had never left in these five years, just living differently in this world, establishing connections with countless people.
After the bow, she sat back down and started talking about the recent events.
“Next, I want to explain some recent events to everyone.”
“Let’s start with my disappearance. I don’t know if you all remember the news from before, the one where I jumped into the water to save someone.” She covered her face, acting shy. Li Songya heard her say, “I’ve seen that video. Thanks to the lady who filmed it, making me look handsome and cool.”
Li Songya blushed again.
Barrage flew with praises for her, but of course, many didn’t understand why Zhao Xiaokui suddenly brought this up.
This was, of course, an excuse Zhao Xiaokui came up with after days of contemplation.
“To be honest, I don’t really remember what happened that day because after saving someone by diving into the water, I fainted on my way home due to low blood sugar. I even accidentally hit my head. The video of the rescue was sent to me by a friend, and that’s how I found out I did such a brave thing.” Previously shy Zhao Xiaokui, now proudly boasting, didn’t even blink an eye when a sea of question marks filled the barrage. She continued, “I know this sounds absurd, like a plot from a drama, but after waking up, I did lose some memories due to the fall.”
Amnesia?!
Regardless of whether they were Zhao Xiaokui’s fans or not, everyone’s hearts skipped a beat at this moment.
Li Songya quickly sent a message, asking, “Are you okay physically?”
“No problem, no problem, everyone, don’t worry.” Zhao Xiaokui hurriedly reassured the anxious fans. Then, she shrugged, looking helpless, and said, “In fact, besides a mild concussion, I didn’t suffer severe injuries. Not even a drop of blood. But when I woke up, all memories from the time between eighteen and twenty-three vanished.”
“The doctor said this amnesia could be temporary or permanent. The human brain is complex, and many things are not completely understood at the current scientific level.”
The Zhao Xiaokui speaking these words wasn’t afraid of verification from others.
After deciding with Shen Zhifei to use amnesia to cover up the differences between her and Zhao Zijin, Shen Zhifei prepared a complete set of examination records for her in a private hospital.
From her disappearance to today’s live broadcast, everything was arranged and traceable.
In the barrage, Zhao Xiaokui answered interesting questions.
“Ask me what it’s like to experience amnesia?” After thinking for a moment, she said, “Honestly, there’s not much of an experience. It’s like waking up one day, realizing you’ve traveled from the past to the future, a bit thrilling.”
“You know, yesterday, you were singing at KTV with classmates, celebrating the end of the college entrance exam. Today, you wake up in the hospital, and as soon as you open your eyes, someone says, ‘Miss Zhao, you’re awake. I’ll go inform the doctor.’ Wouldn’t it feel like you’ve traveled? What’s even scarier is discovering you’ve become a celebrity, and all those overly sentimental songs you wrote in the past are now released in albums, with a bunch of people listening…” She covered her face, sighed deeply, and said, “The shame level is really off the charts.”
Laughter erupted in the barrage.
Li Songya also burst into laughter.
Her roommate had just returned to the dorm, found her watching the livestream, stood behind her for a while, then pulled a chair and sat down excitedly, saying, “Wow, is Zhao Zijin really this cute?”
The last exclamation from Zhao Xiaokui was definitely heartfelt and sincere.
In the days of youthful recklessness, who hadn’t dreamed of becoming a famous star? But when one grew up and looked back at the naive period, and all those overly sentimental things written back then became known to everyone, Zhao Xiaokui truly felt like she was being publicly executed.
This sentiment perfectly encapsulated all her love and hate for Zhao Zijin.
She thanked the person for showcasing her work and couldn’t help but complain. If she wanted to be an artist, why didn’t she use her original creations? Why publish her works?
Wouldn’t it be awkward for the person involved to look back on this?
After sorting out her emotions, suppressing the embarrassment in her heart, Zhao Xiaokui looked back at the camera and continued to talk about the experience of “amnesia.”
“But honestly, although it’s embarrassing, it’s also kind of cool. I don’t know if you guys ever fantasized about your ordinary self suddenly being told you’re the heir of a certain conglomerate or a prince or princess of some country. I feel like that now. Honestly, even until I started the live stream, I still felt a bit unreal, doubting if what I saw was an illusion and if the so-called fans were dreams I fantasized about.” As she spoke, she furrowed her attractive brows and playfully said, “If it’s a dream, I hope it can continue forever.”
Perhaps it was hard for anyone not to love eighteen-year-old Zhao Xiaokui.
She was beautiful, cute, and when those amber eyes looked at you, it was like honey melting in your heart.
A bunch of mom fans and sister fans emerged.
“Ah—baby, mommy loves you. This is definitely not a dream!”
Li Songya’s roommate also covered her chest, looking like she had been struck.
Li Songya heard her usually referred to as the aloof goddess roommate, holding her little heart, looking excited and unable to contain herself, saying, “Ah—baby, don’t cry, mommy loves you!”
Li Songya: “…”
Almost no one doubted that Zhao Xiaokui was lying.
Facial expressions can be disguised, appearances can be imitated, but the eyes can’t deceive.
The Zhao Xiaokui in the camera had a pair of eyes completely different from Zhao Zijin’s.
Clear, transparent, as if all the beauty in the world was reflected in her eyes.
Even Shen Zhifei, sitting in the car watching the livestream, had that brief moment of belief in what Zhao Xiaokui was saying.
“As for terminating the contract…” Zhao Xiaokui answered fans’ questions one by one, “I haven’t been kidnapped, so everyone, don’t overthink it. Terminating the contract with the manager was indeed my decision.”
“The reason… the reason… Can I count not really liking this manager as a reason?” Zhao Xiaokui furrowed her brows, looking very distressed, “Because when I looked at our chat records, it seemed like he really wanted me to please a wealthy man. I feel like he’s a bit like a pimp.”
Zhao Xiaokui didn’t hold back in throwing dirty water at Qian Wenyi.
While Zhao Zijin’s style wasn’t admirable, Qian Wenyi wasn’t a good guy either.
When he signed with Zhao Zijin, she was just a freshman. Because he wasn’t optimistic about Zhao Zijin’s future and Zhao Zijin refused to lower her status to participate in those so-called social gatherings, the two initially signed the lowest-paying contract. If it weren’t for Zhao Zijin’s own means, she would have cooled off to the North Pole a long time ago.
He is still Rong Zhen’s lackey. After discovering Rong Zhen’s interest in Zhao Zijin, he went crazy creating coincidences between Rong Zhen and Zhao Zijin, hoping to make Zhao Zijin climb the big tree of the Rong family. At one point, Rong Zhen even thought that Zhao Zijin was intentionally creating these encounters, trying to seduce him—although Zhao Zijin did indeed flirt with him, intentionally or unintentionally.
However, Zhao Zijin’s tactics were evidently many times higher than Qian Wenyi’s pimping. She effortlessly revealed the “truth” behind the encounters to Rong Zhen, making him realize how innocent he was to misinterpret her intentions. This led Rong Zhen to genuinely become interested in her, even believing at one point that he truly, from the bottom of his heart, fell in love with this woman.
Facing Zhao Zijin’s top-notch manipulation skills, onlooker Zhao Xiaokui could only applaud in amazement, then shout loudly, “Awesome—”
Beyond reach, beyond reach.
