SHOWBIZ

chapter1

During a break in filming, Hu Yue sat in a chair, scrolling through her phone.

Opening Xiaohongshu, all the recommendations she received were related to the entertainment industry. The precision of big data recommendations was impressive.

At the top was a post by Li Dayan, a well-known figure in the entertainment industry who specialized in fortune-telling. He had a peculiar personality, only offering his services to those who didn't ask, and charging a considerable fee, rumored to be almost seven figures.

Hu Yue couldn't help but think, "People are silly and have too much money."This account posted content related to his fortune-telling. Last time, he predicted that a certain A-list male star would be involved in a scandal, and soon after, the prediction came true—the star's career plummeted.

The latest post had a neat image with white text on a black background: "Current popular actress will face a love crisis." The post was made by Li Dayan.The caption read: "In the entertainment industry, a certain child star who became a current popular actress is facing a crisis in her long-standing relationship. The actress is emotional and may not handle it well, leading to madness."

Among the 6,000-plus likes, a comment caught Hu Yue's attention: "Is it Hu Yue?"

Hu Yue, a former child star, had been the sweetheart of the audience since childhood. Instead of participating in performing arts exams, she chose to enter F University to study philosophy.

In her sophomore year, the handsome and wealthy Gu Jiaxuan from the School of Economics pursued her vigorously. Fans and those around them believed they were a perfect match. When their relationship was revealed, netizens not only didn't oppose Gu Jiaxuan but also shipped them, urging them to share more sweet moments.Unable to resist Gu Jiaxuan's intense pursuit, they officially became a couple. Gu Jiaxuan, influenced by her, even entered the entertainment industry.

The handsome and wealthy student coupled with the academic achiever, they filmed a youth idol drama together. Gu Jiaxuan's popularity rose after portraying the rich son in the drama.

They thought marriage and having children were just around the corner. However, when their parents met, Gu Jiaxuan's mother expressed dissatisfaction. She claimed Hu Yue's parents had a low social status and a rustic appearance, not matching their social circle. Gu Jiaxuan suggested Hu Yue bring her parents to Jiangcheng, arguing that with her income, they could live a comfortable life and there was no need for them to suffer in a remote mountainous area.Hu Yue explained that her father was an agricultural technical officer, and her mother was a high school teacher in the town. They both had things to do in their hometown, and if they came to Jiangcheng at their age, they would be idle every day, which wouldn't make them happy.

Gu Jiaxuan didn't accept her explanation. From his perspective, he suggested she prioritize her future with him. In her view, this was forcing her parents for the sake of his family's face.

With both sets of parents having opinions, their relationship began to stagnate like a program stuck at 80% installation progress.

Gu Jiaxuan believed the main issue was that she refused to commit fully to him.

There was still 20% of the problem left unresolved, but he only mentioned the final 1%, as if everything would be solved once they got into bed and had a child.

Over the past year, Gu Jiaxuan's career had soared with a historical drama, and both of them focused on their individual paths, occasionally appearing together. Regardless of the good start, their interactions usually ended with disagreement.

The "current popular actress born from a child star" label was clearly pointing at her, but she wasn't obsessive; her mind wasn't twisted to the point of going mad for Gu Jiaxuan.

Hu Yue left a comment under the post: "Squatting here, together."

As if on cue, Gu Jiaxuan sent her a WeChat message: "Xiaoyue, let's have dinner together and talk."

Hu Yue responded: "Sure! Are you choosing the place, or should I ask Minmin to pick a spot?"

Gu Jiaxuan suggested: "Tonight at 6 PM, Songfang Building near the school. Okay?"

"Okay," Hu Yue replied indifferently. Over the past year, no matter how well they started, their dinners always ended with them parting ways.

After sending the message, she checked her notifications. OMG! Did she forget to switch to her alternate account? In the notifications, over 99 likes and 99 replies appeared under that comment.Under that comment, the discussion was escalating. The first one read: "Are you here to clarify?"

"Xiaoyue, you definitely won't, right? You and Gu Jiaxuan have such deep feelings for each other."

"Clearly, Xiaoyue is denying it. Otherwise, why would she say 'eating melon'? Isn't that eating other people's melon?"

"Yeah! Yeah! Gu Jiaxuan treats Xiaoyue so well. How could their relationship be in trouble?"

The comments numbered in the thousands. Deleting them would make her seem guilty, but she didn't care much. "Whatever!"

she thought.In WeChat, her manager Wu Li sent her a message: "Why did you randomly reply like that?"

Hu Yue responded: "Forgot to switch to my alternate account."

After thinking for a moment, she added: "Sis, Gu Jiaxuan invited me for dinner tonight."

Wu Li: "Finally, you two want to have dinner. Have a good meal together, take a picture, dispel the rumors. As a child star with many years of a relationship, you're practically unique in the entertainment industry. Should I contact Li Dayan to have him calculate for you?"

Seeing this, Hu Yue was shocked: "Sis, we didn't do any tax evasion, right?"

Wu Li: "???"

Hu Yue: "If we haven't done anything wrong, we're not afraid of ghosts knocking on our door. Why spend this unjust money?"

"Hu Yue, it's time to film!"

Hearing the call, Hu Yue replied to Wu Li: "Sis, I'm going to film."

After finishing a scene, she drove to the restaurant.

When she had agreed to have dinner with Gu Jiaxuan, why didn't she consider the traffic in Jiangcheng? From the southwest corner through the entire city to the northeast corner, with constant stops and starts, it was driving her crazy.

To relieve her boredom, she turned on the radio. The entertainment channel reported: "Li Dayan warns of a love crisis for the current popular actress born from a child star.

Hu Yue appeared to deny the rumors."Hu Yue immediately changed the channel and listened to financial news: "Starry Constellation is about to launch. Jiang Hao, the market director of Starry Constellation, says there will be multiple breakthroughs..."

After listening to a bunch of news, the car finally got off the elevated road. She had been driving for an hour and twenty minutes. Only ten minutes remained until six o'clock. She thought, "Call Gu Jiaxuan."

Bluetooth started dialing, and Gu Jiaxuan's voice came through: "Xiaoyue, have you arrived?"

"I might be a little late. There's traffic, but I've just gotten off the elevated road," Hu Yue greeted him.

The so-called "do unto others as you would have them do unto you." She didn't like others being late, and she had always been punctual.

Gu Jiaxuan said, "I might be a bit late too. Take your time."

"Alright! I'm driving. I'll hang up,"

Hu Yue said.After hanging up, she checked the notifications.

Hu Yue hung up the phone, and ten minutes later, she finally arrived at the Song Fang Building near their university.

It was in this Song Fang Building that she and Gu Jiaxuan had their first dinner date. Stepping inside, she inexplicably felt a sense of things having changed.

Hu Yue climbed the stairs, passing by people. Some lingered on her for a second or two, while others hurriedly went down. In the vicinity of the school, this celebrity alumna seemed to have no presence at all.

Reaching the second floor, Hu Yue saw Gu Jiaxuan entering with six bodyguards surrounding him. Under the protection of the bodyguards, normal pedestrians had to stop or take a detour. Among these people were school teachers and students.

Hu Yue let out a soft sigh.

"Hu Yue!"

Hu Yue heard her name being called and turned to see her sociology teacher, whose hair was becoming sparser. She quickly walked over, "Teacher Zhang!"

This was her sociology teacher. Teacher Zhang, looking at Gu Jiaxuan going upstairs, said with a hint of meaning, "You two... seem to be getting along well."

What was this tone? Hu Yue humbly replied to the teacher, "So-so."

"If you have time, come back to school. The teachers at the college often talk about you!"

Hu Yue nodded, "Sure, I will."

Teacher Zhang didn't engage in conversation with Gu Jiaxuan, nodded, and went downstairs.

Gu Jiaxuan quickly went upstairs, "I was stuck in traffic too."

"Let's go!"

At the entrance of the small private room, six tall and burly bodyguards stood guard.

Despite numerous attempts to advise him, Gu Jiaxuan wouldn't listen. Hu Yue learned to hold back her words, but in her heart, she couldn't help but complain. With the public security in the country, it really wasn't necessary.

Gu Jiaxuan took out a PAD to order dishes. As both of them were celebrities, they controlled their diet at night. Gu Jiaxuan ordered a large mixed salad, blanched shrimp, steamed fish, and blanched kai-lan.

After the waiter poured tea, Gu Jiaxuan asked the person to leave, sighed, and asked, "Do you know where this is?"

Hu Yue looked at the LED big screen diagonally across the mall outside the window. On their first date, Gu Jiaxuan had projected on the screen across the street, "Hu Yue, I love you!" creating a sensation throughout the whole school.

"I know." Unfortunately, with time, her feelings had become as stable as an old dog.

Gu Jiaxuan focused on her and said, "Xiao Yue, it's been five years. How about giving our relationship a conclusion today?"

Hu Yue agreed. Dragging it out wasn't a solution. She said, "I also think it's time."

"Xiao Yue, how should I put it?" Gu Jiaxuan's eyes carried a plea, "If you can agree to my request, we can get married immediately."

However, Hu Yue felt like this was absurd. She wasn't begging him to get married, so why should she agree to his request? Hu Yue shook her head, "I can't agree."

Gu Jiaxuan's face turned red, "You don't even want to ask what it is?"

"Isn't it the same old tune? Your mother's requirements, which one have you dropped?" Hu Yue asked him.

Gu Jiaxuan's complexion became even more unpleasant, with a tone of frustration, "Can't you make a concession for our future? Must you be so stubborn? If you can't compromise, then we can only..."

"Isn't this the same old story? What requirement did your mother make, and which one did you remove?" Hu Yue asked him.

Gu Jiaxuan's face grew increasingly unpleasant, his tone carrying a sense of frustration. "Can't you compromise a bit for our future? Do you have to be so stubborn? If you can't compromise, then we can only...""Let's break up," Hu Yue interrupted.

"Is this your choice?" Gu Jiaxuan asked in a near growl.

Hu Yue checked her watch. "It's still early. I'll go to your place at eight. I'll return the things you gave me, and you can organize the things I gave you."

"Don't you have any feelings?" Gu Jiaxuan asked her.

Hu Yue stood up, exhaling. "You have nothing but demands, apart from feelings."

Previously, when Hu Yue's best friend got married, she needed to be a bridesmaid, which had been planned for a while. Gu Jiaxuan had something urgent and had to go out of town. Gu's mother decided to celebrate her birthday early, so Gu Jiaxuan dragged her to celebrate with his mother. Hu Yue was in a dilemma. After thinking it over, she decided not to go this time. She would accompany his mother on her birthday. Gu Jiaxuan immediately lost his temper, asking her if a best friend was more important than family. He told her that her future was with her family, not her best friend."What have I asked of you? Haven't I been working for our future..."

Gu Jiaxuan was justifying himself, but Hu Yue was tired of hearing these words. He always asked her to consider him, and it annoyed her. "Enough, enough! There's no future. Don't say these things to me. Let's part ways amicably. Pack up your things, and I'll come to pick them up later."

Hu Yue drove home. She could accurately pick out the clothes on the hanger, the bags on the shelf, the accessories in the drawer, the figures on the table, and the dolls on the sofa. If she didn't have feelings, she would have broken up with him long ago, instead of dragging it on.

After packing, Hu Yue drove to Gu's house. Gu Jiaxuan and his parents lived in a villa in Jiangdong.

Arriving at the entrance of their community, the security didn't raise the barrier. The security guard came out to register her information. Hu Yue sneered inwardly. Gu Jiaxuan was quick; he had already deleted her license plate. That was fine!

She called Gu Jiaxuan: "Since you've deleted my license plate, I won't come in. Bring my things out, and I'll hand them to you at the gate."

"Wait a moment..." Gu Jiaxuan was about to speak.

Then came Gu's mother's voice: "It's over; just return her things. Don't let her in again!"

Gu Jiaxuan fell silent for a moment. "Wait for me to come out."

Hu Yue waited for Gu Jiaxuan to come out, and they exchanged the things they had bought for each other.

With red eyes, Gu Jiaxuan asked her, "Hu Yue, did you ever have me in your heart?"

Looking at the car trunk full of things, Hu Yue remained silent. Could he really deny 80% and affirm only 20%?

She said, "Even if that's the case!"