That three-hour makeup session back then had been for a role where her character had burn scars on her face.
To make it look realistic, the makeup had to be done meticulously, which naturally took more time.
This time, when Huang Yun said it would take a long time to apply makeup, Chi Yan was actually looking forward to it.
“Your silver hair is just right—no need to dye it or do anything else. We’ll just straighten it for now,” Huang Yun said.
After securing her hair, Huang Yun began applying the makeup.
Chi Yan felt as though layers upon layers of foundation were being applied to her face, along with some glitter.
Huang Yun also put on long, dramatic false eyelashes, and the eye makeup was quite elaborate.
Nearly two hours later, Chi Yan was finally told that the makeup was finished.
Wang Hui handed her a mirror. “Sis, take a look.”
The reflection in the mirror looked almost robotic—cold, pale skin that seemed to lack warmth, contrasted by the mysterious blue glitter on her face.
With her straightened hair and that makeup, she gave off a distinctly futuristic, sci-fi vibe.
“I feel like something’s missing,” Huang Yun muttered. When she saw Chi Yan looking up at her, inspiration struck. “Let’s add a pair of blue contact lenses.”
She rummaged through her makeup kit and pulled out a pair of high-quality lenses she had been saving, opened the packaging, and handed them to Chi Yan. “Have you worn these before? These are non-prescription.”
“I have,” Chi Yan replied. She put them in successfully within a few minutes.
“Alright. Director Zhao said there’s no need to change outfits. You’ll shoot in front of a green screen, and in post-production, your body will be edited to look like a robot’s.”
“Okay,” Chi Yan responded without issue.
When Director Zhao saw her finished look, he was clearly pleased. “This is exactly the vibe I was going for. Since this is a series of commercials, we’ll shoot all the scenes that require this futuristic look first, and then we’ll do the more standard ones.”
“Sounds good,” Chi Yan said.
Director Zhao gave her a quick overview of the script, and she confirmed she understood.
Then, they officially began shooting.
Everything went smoothly. Director Zhao was in high spirits and only allowed her one 15-minute break during the shoot.
“Great job!” he said. “We’ve finished all the scenes with this makeup look. After lunch, we’ll continue filming.”
Chi Yan nodded. She knew they had to film three commercials that day, so finishing this much in such a short time was already impressive.
“It’s already 1:30,” Director Zhao said in surprise after checking the time. “Chi, you should go eat.”
Actually, back at noon, Chi Yan had taken a brief break and eaten a little something.
At the time, Wang Ying had asked her if she wanted to pause for lunch, but she replied, “No need, this is part of my job.”
Now, hearing the word “lunch” again, Chi Yan realized she actually was hungry.
Meanwhile, in Shen Chen’s office.
Just waking up from his lunch nap, Shen Chen asked Secretary Fang, “Did Chi Yan eat at our company cafeteria? What did she think of it?”
“President Shen, the cafeteria staff said they didn’t see Miss Chi. I just checked—Director Zhao’s team is still shooting.”
“What?” President Shen glanced at his watch to confirm the time. “It’s already 1:30—why are they still filming? Skipping meals is dangerous!”
“Is there any food left in the cafeteria?”
“Probably not.”
Shen Chen said, “Find a nearby restaurant and order delivery for them. I’ll cover the cost.”
As he spoke, he remembered he had a meeting and started walking out the door.
“Oh, and I’m going to check on the shoot later. Pick up some desserts for them as afternoon snacks.”
“Got it, President Shen.”
After placing the order, Secretary Fang went downstairs and happened to arrive just as filming wrapped up.
After informing Director Zhao about President Shen’s lunch treat, the director gathered the staff to line up and head to the second-floor cafeteria.
“It’s rare to see President Shen this generous—eat as much as you want, everyone!”
“Miss Chi, I’m not sure what you like, but President Shen asked me to get some desserts for you all,” Secretary Fang said, silently adding in his head, especially for you.
Chi Yan waved him off. “Thanks, but no need. I’m trying to control my weight lately.”
Huo Yixuan had told her he hoped she could lose a bit more weight before the filming started. Although that was still far away, she figured every day of control helped.
“Would you like a drink? Maybe milk tea?” Secretary Fang asked.
“If possible, I’d like an oolong tea, please. Thanks.”
Secretary Fang nodded. “Alright.”
Maybe it was because she had been too hungry earlier, but Chi Yan ate very little this meal. When she put her chopsticks down, more than half of her food was still left.
“Why aren’t you eating?” Wang Ying noticed and asked.
“I’m full.”
Wang Ying looked at her a few times, but seeing nothing unusual, went back to eating her own lunch.
That afternoon, work resumed. After watching for a while, Wang Ying had other matters to attend to. She took out her laptop and worked a little farther away.
Suddenly, a fellow agent from the industry forwarded her a Weibo post, urging her to deal with it immediately.
Wang Ying saw the headline: “Arrogant After Winning the Championship”—her heart sank.
Clicking it with dread, she found, as expected, a smear piece targeting Chi Yan, complete with a linked video.
Her friend had warned her: no one knew how the article had gone viral, but it had already racked up hundreds of thousands of likes and shares. She was urged to coordinate with the public relations department quickly.
Wang Ying skimmed the article and forwarded it to the PR department, asking them how best to handle it.
“Wang Ying, I think we need to ask Chi Yan about the situation first. Chi Yan’s popularity with the general public is high, but she still can’t match someone like Duan Jing, who’s been beloved for over a decade. A lot of viewers grew up watching her. We need the full story before we make a move.”
“Alright,” Wang Ying took a deep breath. “She’s still filming, and it won’t wrap up anytime soon. As soon as she’s done, I’ll ask her. In the meantime, please help remove the post from trending.”
“Alright, the trending topic can be taken down — it’s in Chi Yan’s contract. As for the rest, wait until you’ve talked to her.”
Wang Ying couldn’t keep working. She moved closer to Huang Yun and asked, “How much longer will this take?”
“What’s wrong? Got something else to do? You can leave first, Chi Yan seems to be doing fine. Bringing two newcomers at once must be hard on you.”
Wang Ying forced a smile and said, “It’s not too bad. They’re both obedient, not too much trouble.”
About half an hour later, Director Zhao announced that filming for the day was finished.
“It really is great working with you — done by four o’clock,” he said. “Once the footage is edited, we’ll send it to your manager and President Shen. Once they approve, it’ll be released on TV.”
Chi Yan listened attentively and responded with the occasional “mm” to show she understood.
Before she could continue talking with Director Zhao, Wang Ying called her over.
“Chi Yan, come with me. I need to ask you something.”
“Director Zhao, I’ll go talk to my manager for a bit.”
“You should watch this video first.” Wang Ying handed her the phone.
Chi Yan took it in confusion and immediately recognized the footage — it was of her and Duan Jing.
After watching it through, she more or less understood the situation. “Someone’s trying to smear me. This isn’t the full story.”
Then she checked the comment section. Sure enough, the top comments were all horrible.
“Damn, she really bullied Duan Jing? Duan’s been in the industry ten years longer. She’s clearly the senior.”
“Poor Duan! It’s bad enough to lose the contest, now she’s being crushed by this woman too? So unfair!”
“I’ve been a fan of Chi Yan since The Actor’s Journey, and this is who she really is?”
Here we go again, Chi Yan thought, distracted. But it made sense. Last time it was just a single image and a made-up story. This time there was video, plus inciting text that rallied public opinion against her.
Still, she wasn’t completely hopeless. There were fans still defending her in the comments.
Wang Ying’s voice snapped her out of it.
“Well? What happened?” she asked seriously.
“It started with Duan Jing holding me down and not letting me get up. Then I flipped her over and pinned her. This video only shows the second half.”
Wang Ying nodded. “Got it. I’ll talk to Duan Jing’s agent and see if they’ll help clarify things.”
“Sis, your phone’s been buzzing nonstop,” Wang Cong said, bringing her phone over. “I didn’t check, but maybe you should respond.”
Chi Yan took her phone, read the messages, and quickly said to Wang Ying, “Sis Ying, don’t bother contacting them. Duan Jing already apologized to me. She said her company won’t let her speak out.”
Wang Ying closed her eyes for a moment and said, “Then I’ll call Xiyou TV and the director of Happy Mondays, see if they can give us surveillance footage.”
Xiyou and the show’s team were happy to help, but they found nothing.
Xiyou said the surveillance footage from the room where Duan and Chi Yan had their tussle had been deleted. Happy Mondays said their cameras didn’t catch Chi Yan leaving the dressing room at all.
“Looks like someone’s seriously trying to ruin me,” Chi Yan said. “That time I slipped on stage — someone must’ve sabotaged me.”
Wang Ying groaned. “Oh, god. What do we do? If this PR issue isn’t handled right, your whole career could be over.”
“Wait — Qiu Sisi spoke up for me?” Chi Yan had refreshed her feed and saw that Qiu Sisi was telling her fans not to interfere in her friendships.
Qiu Sisi (not a verified account): I know what kind of person she is. You might think you’re doing it for me, but please don’t use that excuse to tell me who I can or can’t be friends with. Chi Yan has always been a very, very good person.
Wang Ying saw it too. “You two are pretty close, huh?”
Chi Yan thought: I just used my second chance at life to flatter her a bit. Back then, she was a fresh-faced newbie and easy to win over.
But she genuinely considered Qiu Sisi a friend now.
Chi Yan messaged Sisi, telling her off for acting impulsively and reminding her to stay calm.
Sisi replied with a crying emoji and said it wouldn’t happen again — her agent had confiscated her account.
Chi Yan comforted her, and Sisi ended up comforting her back.
After going through so many ups and downs, Chi Yan wasn’t scared anymore.
She said to Wang Ying, “Sis Ying, the video shows Ye Jiawen and He Min too. If they’re willing to speak up, maybe…”
“Yes!” Wang Ying’s eyes lit up. “Jiawen might not help — people will say you’re from the same agency. But if He Min speaks up, that’s gold!”
She immediately stepped aside to try to get He Min’s number.
Chi Yan didn’t just sit around. She noticed someone from the PR department had added her. After accepting the request, she asked whether she should post something to explain.
“You can post if you want — or not. Up to you.”
Chi Yan replied: I’m mostly worried about my fans. I’ve had a lot of issues lately. If I don’t say anything, I feel like I’m letting them down.
After a while, the reply came back: Go ahead. If your fans can’t control the comments, the company will send in some help.
Chi Yan thanked them.
Then she logged into Weibo and drafted a post.
“To the fans who support me, I’m sorry. Once again, I’ve shown up in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. I really let you down. As for everyone else: yes, the video is real. But if a clip with no beginning, no ending, and no context is all it takes for you to accuse, insult, and condemn me — I don’t know what else to say.”
Chi Yan skimmed the comments. Some questioned her, some believed her, and some of Duan Jing’s fans were still cursing her out.
She sighed. It was all so exhausting.
If she found out who was behind this sabotage, she wouldn’t let them off easy.
And in her heart, she already had a clear suspect — Yang Yueyi.
