This green man reminded Su Ci of Lu Zhe’s deskmate—that little pink one.

Tsk, if the two walked together, they would be little pink and little green.

“You’re here.” Xu Duo wiped the sweat from his forehead. When he saw the boy beside Su Ci, his eyes lit up. “Is this your friend?”

Having mixed in the entertainment industry for so many years, Xu Duo had long cultivated sharp, discerning eyes.

Su Ci’s friend wasn’t just tall with a model’s frame, but also had outstanding features, well-shaped brows, and, most importantly, a unique cool temperament. If he entered the entertainment industry, he would absolutely be a fatal-level idol.

“Don’t even think about it.” Su Ci immediately saw through Xu Duo’s intentions and directly cut off his fantasies. “He’s not entering the entertainment industry.”

She would earn money to support Lu Zhe.

Xu Duo felt a little regret, but when his gaze fell on Su Ci’s face again, his spirits lifted. He wasn’t greedy—picking up one big treasure was enough. Picking up too many treasures would diminish his blessings.

Xu Duo wiped the sweat on his forehead again. “I’ll take you in. They’ll take photos first. Just follow the photographer’s instructions.” Although this was called an audition, for Su Ci it was merely a formality. She was definitely the chosen one; they could start filming soon after.

After introducing Su Ci to the director and photographer, Su Ci prepared to go to makeup.

“Lu Zhe, wait for me here. It won’t take long.” Su Ci pulled Lu Zhe to sit aside. It was just a short commercial with a few shots, so it wouldn’t take much time.

“You might get very bored while waiting.” Su Ci released the fabric of his clothes. “But you have to endure it.”

Lu Zhe was already used to boredom. “Mm.”

Su Ci’s red lips curved. She leaned close to the boy’s ear and whispered, “I’m going to earn money to support you.”

The girl’s warm breath brushed the tip of his ear, a little ticklish.

By the time Lu Zhe came back to his senses, the girl had already gone into the makeup room.

Support him?

Lu Zhe’s stiff, cold face remained expressionless. He lowered his eyes, the hand hanging at his side slowly tightening.

Inside the makeup room, the makeup artist felt she had encountered the most awkward moment of her career.

Facing this flawless face before her, she simply had nowhere to start.

Her makeup skills were excellent—she could turn someone ugly into a celestial beauty. But she had no ability to turn a celestial beauty into a god.

“Your base is the best among all the artists I’ve worked with.” The makeup artist couldn’t help praising Su Ci.

Su Ci nodded in agreement. If nothing else, she had always been very confident about her looks.

Because the commercial was for a yogurt drink, mainly sweet in style, Su Ci had to change into the pink dress prepared by the stylist.

The advertisement was very simple: Su Ci sat in a tree picking fruit, then put the fruit into milk, and finally, they filmed her expression while drinking the beverage.

Lu Zhe watched the girl under the lights and lenses, as if she were glowing. She had no discomfort or fear in front of the camera at all, as if she was born for it—born to receive everyone’s gaze, praise, and adoration.

After finishing the scene of picking fruit in the tree, Su Ci walked over to rest beside Lu Zhe while the props team prepared the next setup.

“Lu Zhe, how did I do?” Su Ci asked, leaning toward him without any restraint.

Lu Zhe’s expression was faint. “Very good.”

“Really?”

Hearing the praise, the corners of Su Ci’s eyes lifted slightly, a bit proud. After all, in her previous life, she didn’t enter the entertainment industry through acting—only through her face. Because of that, she was scolded as a vase every day.

Insulting her looks was something she would never tolerate, but being called talentless—she could accept that. She wasn’t professionally trained and wasn’t naturally gifted at acting. The haters calling her unskilled were simply stating the truth.

Now, being praised by Lu Zhe for acting well, Su Ci’s mood lifted.

She bent down, untied the red string from her ankle, and stuffed it into Lu Zhe’s hand. “Later they’re filming full-body shots. Hold this for me. Don’t lose it.” After saying that, she went to continue filming the remaining scenes.

Lu Zhe looked at the red string in his hand.

A thin cord with a small jade-colored gourd attached—something he had casually bought for the little rabbit at a street stall. It wasn’t valuable, yet the girl wore it every day.

He looked toward the camera, at the stunningly beautiful Su Ci. The girl seemed to sense his gaze; she looked over and smiled, her curved eyes sparkling like starlight.

Lu Zhe tightened his grip on the red string.

The commercial shoot went smoothly. The director was very satisfied with Su Ci’s performance. Xu Duo could see it clearly now—Su Ci had an incredible sense for the camera. She was naturally suited for the entertainment industry.

He paid Su Ci and attempted to persuade her to sign. “I’ll send you an electronic contract when you get back. If you think there are no issues, we can find a time to sign.”

Su Ci wasn’t anxious at all. “Sure. I’ll look at the contract first, then give you an answer.”

Xu Duo was genuinely sincere about signing her. “Don’t worry. When I get back, I’ll fight for it. The contract you get will definitely be top-tier.” If a talent like Su Ci got snatched by another company, he’d cough up blood.

Su Ci smiled. It wasn’t like she’d never signed a contract before. Anyway, she would decide after reading it.

Xu Duo walked her to the door and chatted a bit more before finally leaving.

At that moment, a car drove in from outside.

Inside the car, seeing the familiar face outside the window, Qin Shiyan’s eyes filled with shock.

“Shiyan, what’s wrong?” Her agent beside her received no response and patted Qin Shiyan’s hand.

The blood in Qin Shiyan’s body almost froze; she could clearly hear the sound of her own heartbeat, one heavy thump after another.

It was her.

It was Su Ci.

No—she should be dead. It was impossible for her to appear here.

Qin Shiyan forced down the shock in her heart and turned again to look at the girl.

The familiar little tear mole made her heart pound. She instinctively touched the identical tear mole on her own face.

After getting out of the car, Qin Shiyan had already arranged her expression. She told the assistant to find out what the girl outside the door was doing here.

Soon, the assistant came back after asking around. “Sister Shiyan, I checked. She’s here to film an advertisement. The studio next door was shooting a small-brand beverage commercial just now.”

Qin Shiyan instinctively frowned.

She was certain the girl at the entrance was Su Ci—even if she didn’t want to admit it. There could never be a second Su Ci in this world. There was only one princess raised with indulgent love by the Su family.

Since Su Ci wasn’t dead, why hadn’t she returned to the Su family? Why was she shooting such a small, low-budget advertisement?

A dark light flickered in Qin Shiyan’s eyes as she thought of a dramatic possibility.

Could it be… Su Ci had lost her memory?

“Sister Fang, I want to take that advertisement next door.” Qin Shiyan told her agent.

“That ad is already finished,” the agent frowned. “And a small ad like that doesn’t match your current status.”

“Sister Fang, help me get the director to replace the girl. I don’t care about the payment.”

She couldn’t allow Su Ci to appear in front of the Su family again. It would be best if Su Ci disappeared forever.

Su family.

Su Zhiyuan returned from the company. His brows, usually clouded with heaviness and melancholy, were unusually relaxed today.

“Young Master, you’re back.” The servant greeted quickly when she saw him return.

“Where’s my mother?” Su Zhiyuan’s features were exquisite and handsome, yet without any trace of softness. His temperament leaned cold—an elegant, aloof young master.

“Madam is in the young miss’s room.” Aunt Hua’s expression showed a hint of sorrow.

She was an old servant of the Su family. She had watched the young miss grow up. To say something disrespectful, she had treated the young miss like half a daughter. That beautifully raised girl was suddenly gone, and the entire Su family had been grieving for a long time.

“I’ll go take a look.” Su Zhiyuan went upstairs. He had not stepped into his sister’s room for a long time. Everything inside remained exactly as it had been, every decoration something his sister loved.

He saw Madam Su sitting dazed on the edge of the bed. He walked over quickly. “Mom.”

“You’re back.” Madam Su looked at her eldest son kneeling beside her, and her eyes instantly turned red. “I miss Cici.” Her daughter was her heart and lungs. Now that she was gone, living—breathing—hurt.

Su Zhiyuan took out a stack of photos from the file envelope. “Mom, look. It’s Cici.”

The photos were screenshots taken from surveillance footage.

Madam Su’s hands trembled as she held the pictures. She wanted to look closely, but her eyes were clouded by tears, making the images grow blurrier the more she stared.

Su Zhiyuan handed her a tissue. “Mom, Cici didn’t die.”

“You found her?” Madam Su’s voice shook uncontrollably. Her well-maintained face was wet with tears, and she didn’t care at all about losing composure. “Where is Cici? Take me to her, quickly.”

Su Zhiyuan’s expression darkened. “The surveillance only shows part of it. After she left the monitored area, my people still haven’t found where she went. But we can now confirm that Cici isn’t dead—that’s already good news. I’ll find her as soon as possible.”

Madam Su wept from joy. “Does your father know?”

Su Zhiyuan shook his head. “I haven’t told him yet.”

“I’ll call your father.” Ever since their daughter was gone, she had heard her husband crying in the middle of the night more than once.

– – – ˗ˋˏ♡ˎˊ˗ – – –

Su Ci received a call from her agent, Xu Duo, the next day. He informed her that her advertisement had been snatched by a newly popular young starlet and replaced.

Su Ci was a little surprised. Were resources this tight now? Even small ads like this could be stolen?

But she didn’t care much. She was still getting paid. Xu Duo didn’t take much commission either. She would receive thirty thousand—quite a reasonable amount for a newcomer who hadn’t even shown her face publicly.

After hanging up, Su Ci leaned toward Lu Zhe.

“Lu Zhe, what’s your bank card number?” she asked.

Lu Zhe was packing both their luggage. Hearing her voice, he reported the number to her.

A few minutes later, he received a message: thirty thousand had been transferred into his card.

Su Ci moved closer and glanced at the text message. “It came in. Pretty fast.”

Lu Zhe frowned. “Why did you transfer the money to me?”

“I’m going to support you,” Su Ci blinked at him. “And I don’t have a card. All the money I earn goes to you.”

Lu Zhe’s thin lips tightened. His dark eyes looked deeply at Su Ci. “I don’t need you to support me.”

Su Ci remembered that men had pride and didn’t like eating soft rice. She glanced at Lu Zhe knowingly and said casually, “Then just think of it as me storing it with you for now.”

“Mm.” Lu Zhe didn’t refuse further.

Su Ci sat on the edge of the bed, watching him pack.

Something came to mind, and her eyes lit up. “Lu Zhe, let’s eat hotpot tonight. I want spicy.”

Lu Zhe nodded. He didn’t have any particular preference for food.

The corners of Su Ci’s eyes curved as she shamelessly added, “After we eat spicy food, you can kiss me again. I want a hot and spicy kiss.”