The email came at 6:01 AM.
Subject: Scarlet Line – Lead Role Confirmation
Body: Congratulations, Jiang Yue. You are our Lin Wan. Contract and schedule enclosed.
She didn't scream.
Didn't cry.
She just sat still, staring at her name in the header like it wasn't hers.
Zeyan stepped into the studio lounge holding two takeaway coffees.
He placed one beside her, then leaned against the wall.
"Let it sink in," he said.
"It hasn't," she replied.
He smiled faintly. "Then we'll wait together."
[System Alert: Major Role Acquisition Complete]
FL Tier: Mainstream Rising Actress
Fan Index Rank: #64 (↑ from #83)
Global Popularity Surge: +0.017128931
Bonus Unlock:
– Fame Momentum Buff (+2.1% to all public events)
– Access to "Image Pressure Module"
But before Jiang Yue could open her celebration bonus…
A second alert came in.
[Contract Review Protocol Triggered]
Detected Clause: Performance Clause 7-B
Risk Level: Red
Language: "Any failure to meet designated media expectations or trigger PR controversy will result in role forfeiture + 40% damages penalty, payable within 45 business days."
Hidden Party: Inserted by External Legal Firm, linked to Yan Ruiqing Holdings
Zeyan was already reading the clause on his own device.
"They hid it in the seventh appendix," he muttered. "Under a vague ethics compliance clause."
"It's a landmine," Jiang Yue said softly. "If I even sneeze wrong in public…"
"You're out," he finished grimly. "And bankrupted."
[System Alert: Negotiation Path Available – Risky Legal Challenge OR Reputation Preemptive Strike]
Suggested Option: Use Role to Build Impossibly High Public Favor, forcing clause into irrelevance by public demand
Cost: 8.5 PP + 2.0 BP
Timeframe: 30 Days
Objective: Push Jiang Yue's favorability rating past 93.5% before first official press event
Reward: Unlock "Contract Immunity Shield – Public Demand Override"
Zeyan met her eyes.
"We don't pull out," he said. "We pull up."
Jiang Yue nodded.
"Then let's make them regret giving me the stage."
Phase One: Image Rebuild
1. Photoshoot Campaign:
Jiang Yue's first editorial shoot goes viral—not for glamour, but raw honesty.
Theme: "The Bruise Wears Off, The Work Stays."
Photographer: Underground visual artist who once shot Mu Shengzhi's award-winning stills.
Engagement: 3.1 million views in 36 hours.
2. Silent Interview:
A no-words video piece. Jiang Yue reacts silently to rumors, memes, and moments from her rise.
Final frame: She stares directly into the lens.
Caption: "You already wrote the story. I just showed up anyway."
Engagement: 5.6 million shares.
3. Fan Meet Surprise:
Jiang Yue appears at a disabled youth arts event—unpublicized. Footage leaks from a parent.
No PR stunt. No manager. Just Jiang Yue helping paint set props with kids for a school play.
Public nickname coined: "Red Thread Sister"
Reference: "The one who ties stories together without speaking."
[System Update:
Public Favorability: 90.8%
Contract Trap Relevance: Weakening
Su Cheng Support Online: Declining
Yan Ruiqing Influence Rating: Under Strain]
Backstage, Jiang Yue stared into the dressing mirror.
One day to go.
Tomorrow was the official press reveal.
If her favorability didn't pass 93.5%, the clause would activate.
Zeyan appeared beside her, holding a small box.
"Open it."
Inside: a ring—not for romance, but technology.
A sleek black sapphire, glowing faintly.
"What is it?"
"It holds a micro-recorder, full high-res lens, and a pulse stabilizer. In case someone tries to trigger a scene. If they want drama—let's give them surveillance-quality receipts."
Jiang Yue laughed. Then wore it.
"You always plan ten steps ahead."
"That's because last time," he said softly, "I died after step nine."
[System Notification:
Jiang Yue Public Favorability: 93.62%
Contract Clause Deactivated – Legal Trigger Neutralized by Public Support
Skill Gained:
"Bulletproof Grace" – Public Narrative Control (Minor)
– Effect: +3.4% Resistance to Tabloid Attacks
– Buff: Public Perception bends toward Benefit of the Doubt]
Zeyan watched her walk onto the press stage the next morning.
Not hidden.
Not whispered.
But invited.
As the cameras flashed, one reporter asked:
"You've become the face of a film people haven't even seen. Don't you think that's unfair to other actresses?"
Jiang Yue answered, calm and bright:
"Maybe. But unfair is how I got here. So I might as well make it count."
And just like that—
She wasn't rising anymore.
She was undeniable.