Chapter 22: The Vase Actress Who Is a Fake Heiress in Modern Society (22)

Today is New Year's Eve.

After Xiandu finished filming *Mountain Tracks*, Huo Ying arranged for her to take a break while also suggesting that she look for her next project. Thus, even on New Year's Eve, Xiandu was busy picking out a script that suited her.

[New random task issued: Accept and play the role of Guo Xiao in "Justice" (10 points) (Deadline: one month)]

*Justice* is an art-house film, but its title carries a tinge of irony:

Guo Xiao is a high school student who, being new to the class and unfamiliar with her surroundings, inadvertently offends Zhen Zhen, the class’s well-known "goody-two-shoes." Zhen Zhen complains to her little clique, and eventually, word spreads until the entire school believes Guo Xiao is a lazy student with loose morals. Because Guo Xiao has no friends, she is unaware of this and only feels that no matter what she does, her classmates avoid her.

Later, this gossip spreads among the parents. They demand that the school expel Guo Xiao to "clean up the school atmosphere," threatening to transfer their children or boycott the school if the administration does not comply. Bowing to public pressure, the school suspends Guo Xiao.

Guo Xiao comes from a single-parent family; her mother works out of town, and she lives only with her deaf grandmother. Her mother, who cares deeply about appearances, rushes back from out of town and slaps Guo Xiao across the face. That slap completely shatters Guo Xiao’s hope for life.

The story ends with an open conclusion: Guo Xiao sits in her favorite garden reading a book, the sunlight so blinding that the entire scene feels illusory.

The final line of the script reads: "A hundred people or a thousand people doing it is called bullying, but what do you call ten thousand? You call it justice."

Satisfied with the script, Xiandu takes out her phone and messages Huo Ying:
[X: Sister Ying, I want to take the script for *Justice*.]
[Huo Ying: *Puppy holding an OK sign.jpg*]
[Huo Ying: Get some good rest. *Patting head.jpg*]
[Huo Ying: Happy New Year!]

Only then does it occur to Xiandu that the New Year is about to arrive.

"Boom—"

Fireworks are going off outside. The colorful light filters through the window glass, casting a dreamlike glow on Xiandu as she looks up. Lowering her head, she sends a "Happy New Year" back to Huo Ying and opens her social media feed, preparing to draft a post.

It is already 11:57 PM.

Wangcai, startled by the sound of the firecrackers, stretches, crawls out of its bed, and slowly walks to Xiandu's feet. Xiandu sits on the lounge chair by the window and pulls Wangcai onto her lap to lie down.

[May the sun bring warmth, the moon bring light, may there be wealth and prosperity, longevity and health; may the new spring be peaceful and joy everlasting.]

Xiandu hits send just as the clock strikes midnight.

At that same moment, she receives two private messages. She opens the first one; it is from Gu Qianxi.

[G: Happy New Year.]

Xiandu raises an eyebrow. She doesn't know what has gotten into the head of the Gu family. He used to never discuss anything outside of work, and his speech was always concise, never wasting a single punctuation mark. But for the past two months, he has consistently reported the progress of their projects to her and always sends greetings on holidays.

His messages are unusually frequent.

*He couldn't possibly like me, could he?*

Xiandu shakes her head, feeling she is being too narcissistic, and dismisses the unrealistic thought. They have met fewer than a dozen times, and every meeting was for the purpose of her treating him. Most of his WeChat messages are about the Jiang family's project failing, the Bo family's product receiving complaints, or fluctuations in stock prices...

What could he possibly see in her? Her poverty? Or her fat cat?

Xiandu looks down at Wangcai, who has fallen asleep on her lap again, drool almost spilling out because it eats too much. She pulls a tissue from the table and wipes the cat’s mouth.

Besides, whenever Gu Qianxi sits somewhere, countless people rush to curry favor with him. Unlike her, a thousand-year-old ghost who has lost all such worldly desires, he probably already has a partner.

*Perhaps Gu Qianxi is just worried that if I finish these tasks too quickly, I’ll take the inner core and leave...*

After all this time, they haven't even built up that much trust; the Chairman of the Gu Group is truly suspicious. Xiandu shakes her head, lamenting how fragile trust between people can be.

[X: Happy New Year, Mr. Gu.]

Thinking about modern chat culture, Xiandu decides to keep up with the times and adds another message:
[X: *Kitten setting off fireworks.jpg*]

Gu Qianxi replies quickly:
[G: Do you have time to meet after the Spring Festival?]

Xiandu thinks about her upcoming schedule:
[X: Sorry, Mr. Gu. Tomorrow I have to take my cat for a check-up and then go visiting. The day after, I start filming commercials and doing promotional work. I won't have much time.]
[X: *Kitten bowing "Sumimasen".jpg*]
[G: When will you finish work?]
[X: Probably mid-February.]
[G: Good. I will send a car to pick you up then.]

Xiandu is stunned. *Wait, when did I agree to meet him?* She scrolls up through the chat history, feeling that her words didn't convey that meaning at all. Has the internet evolved to the point where "finishing work" equals "having time to meet"?

However, Gu Qianxi sends another message immediately:
[G: Get some rest.]

Xiandu decides to let it go. What if he has something related to Task One that must be discussed in person? She sighs, lamenting how far away her vacation feels.

[X: Take care of your health too, Mr. Gu.]

Xiandu closes the chat window and sees a red dot on her list, remembering she was so busy talking to Gu Qianxi that she forgot about another message. She clicks in; it is a New Year's greeting sent by Su Jinnian at midnight. The message arrived half an hour ago, so she quickly sends a greeting back.

Last time, after Su Jinnian clarified his relationship with Jin Li, Xiandu had dragged Huo Ying and Wangcai into an intense "interrogation" of Jin Li. That was when Xiandu learned that Jin Li was not only a wealthy woman with extensive connections but had only become an assistant because she found life without work boring.

*Just listen to that—is that even something a human would say?*

Even a ghost like Xiandu felt like weeping, wishing she could offload some of her own debts onto her. Xiandu had originally thought the stories on social media about "interrogating your best friend until she admits she's a millionaire" were all fake, just for laughs. But seeing it happen in real life, she had no choice but to believe it. Indeed, every joke has a grain of truth.

Later, Jin Li introduced her cousin, Su Jinnian, to Xiandu, while Huo Ying watched from the side, snickering. At first, after adding Su Jinnian on WeChat, the two often exchanged notes on acting, and Xiandu was happy to have a free, high-level teacher. Gradually, as they grew closer, Xiandu learned the reason for Su Jinnian’s previous illness. He was a pitiful child, too.

Su Jinnian is usually very careful about his health. It was so late that Xiandu thought he was already asleep, but the next second, she received a "goodnight" message from him.

After replying, Xiandu puts her phone on the table, feeling exhausted. *Human social interactions are truly complicated; they'll kill a ghost.*

Xiandu picks up the soundly sleeping Wangcai and heads to bed.

...

Today, Xiandu is heading to the *Justice* set to film. She needs to hand the signed contract to Huo Ying on the way, but before leaving, she cannot find the document anywhere.

"Wangcai, you didn't destroy my contract, did you? Why else can't I find it?"

Wangcai cries foul, standing up on its hind legs:
[Host, doesn't your conscience hurt? Look at me, I can't even reach the edge of the table when I stand up. How could I possibly touch your contract?]

"Well, that's strange. Does the contract have legs and run away?"

Xiandu clears everything out of the drawers, searching one by one.

"Found it!" Xiandu finally locates the contract and lets out a sigh of relief. If she hadn't found it, Huo Ying would surely have come after her with a forty-meter-long blade and shredded her to pieces.

Xiandu turns to pack the contract away, but accidentally knocks over a box she had just emptied.

"Bang—"

Something falls out—a clump of hair. Xiandu is about to toss it into the trash when she remembers it is Jiang Youan's hair. But there were only a few strands before; how did it become a clump?

Xiandu makes Wangcai step on one end of the hair while she pulls the other. She discovers, to her horror, that the strand is seven or eight meters long!

How could a normal person's hair continue to grow after falling out?