Shift! The Side-Character Heroine

“Beautiful April” was not destined to be some great movie. Yet, prior to its release, so many have discussed it that even those who did not know of it became drawn to the crowd.

Admittedly, there were some great scenes. Lady Zhao was at least responsible for 80% of it…

“Beautiful April” was probably one of the least anticipated movies, among all the upcoming releases. The icon of the movie would be acted out by some internet singer celebrity. These were telltale signs of a disaster!

“They’re just in it for the money. Greedy bastards. No sense of integrity whatsoever. I’ve never seen such hate for a movie, even prior to release. At least, I am glad to know that our viewers still have standards and tastes. We will not be deceived by trash productions.”

“I pity the star of his generation – Liu Xingxing. This is his first ever feature film role, and his career is going to be ruined. This was never his fault. The powers that will be have been misused…”

“People can buy their way into just about anything. This time, we have absolutely no idea what’s going on behind the scenes. I’m saddened to see that money could be misused to such an extent!”

“I originally thought that “Zhao” was purely coincidental. Now, all evidence points to the reality of the matter. She doesn’t just share that name. She IS a genuine Zhao. If you don’t know what the “Zhao family” is, go ask. But even the internet seems to have censored anything about them.”

“Hehe, look at you cowards, not even daring to mention her name. I’ll just directly say this. Zhao Youyue, get out of the film circle. You may have power and wealth, but you can’t just turn this sacred realm into your playground! Wait… Why is there someone knocking on my door? … express delivery…?”

“The all and mighty Lady Zhao doesn’t need your support. She doesn’t even care about your protests. She has already shown great mercy, by allowing you to reign freely on the internet. When she finally ties you down, you’ll realize what power truly is!”

…

Of course, the promotional department was fanning the flames. They molded Zhao Youyue into an evil force within the entertainment circle, inciting more public anger. Under such stimulation, more would be eager to see how horrible the movie turns out. All the more reason to criticize her!

They knew very well that it would be impossible to even rattle Lady Zhao’s supreme position, but at least, they could vent their anger…

The end of winter vacation was nearing. It also meant the beginning of a new semester. Specifically, it was early March. “Beautiful April” was finally released, officially!

As it was meant to be a small, low-budget production. Its release went rather uneventfully. The original author, Han Leng was fortunate enough to be invited. However, Lady Zhao was too addicted to the “source world” to participate in the premiere.

This brought even more hisses. Zhao Youyue the outsider. You do not even have respect for the movie. It was the most basic of ettiquettes for the main cast members to work with the promotional team. She might be even worse than Nie Zisu!

However, Lady Zhao seemed too genuine to be doing this for attention. Nie Zisu’s antics could always be taken as attention-seeking acts. But Lady Zhao seemed to be in her zone, her state of nature. Was this how all elites acted…

Obviously, no one knew what Zhao Youyue’s true purpose was.

The other actors had chosen to give their full cooperation. Firstly, it was was their job. They still valued their pay very much. Secondly, if the movie ended up popular, they would benefit in terms of both fame and fortune. No celebrity disliked fame and fortune.

It was laughable to measure Lady Zhao like this. Pay? Probably few hundreds of thousands at most. It was pocket change. Also, her cousin Zhao Hao was the main investor of the movie.

Zhao Hao truly pampered his little sister. If he profitted from this, he would share half of it with his sister. As for the other half, he would just throw it into another one of his investments.

But if the movie ended up losing profit, he would never let her sister take the responsibility. After all, he was only doing this to win his sister’s favor.

Therefore, the pay did not concern Lady Zhao at all. In a sense, she had also invested in this work…

As for fame? She did not need that. She was already almost as famous as Ding Yuncong, the son of the wealthiest family. On top of that, he had gained norierity as a playboy, but she was a pure, clean musician.

Let’s not forget about her reputation as an “elite scholar.” When she becomes the student president of Jiangnan University, that reputation would only grow.

However you looked at it, Zhao Youyue had no clear reasons of participating in “Beautiful April.” Everything seemed to have been done on a whim…

Han Leng had long been wracked with guilt. Lady Zhao had put her reputation on the line, with nothing to gain from it. Just because he had said something on a whim, she had accepted the role without hesitation!

Had she truly fallen in love with him? He had been staying away from her. Was him shunning her actually hurting her heart, instead?

Han Leng certainly did not know that Lady Zhao had been spending intimate, lovely moments with Cirilla. She had no time to consider for him…

Zhao Youyue’s purpose was far simpler. She merely wanted to protect the perfect image of the character “Chu Luoxun.” She did not want any other actresses ruining her image, thus affecting her character card.

Chu Luoxun’s ability had turned out very useful in the source world. The chamber of commerce that Zhao Youyue created also involved the selling of the “Northland Pearl” Olivia’s magic LP – music that had been originally composed by Chu Luoxun.

Han Leng finally made up his mind and decisively invited Lady Zhao to watch the movie together…

Then, he sat like a criminal waiting for his judgment, waiting for Lady Zhao’s reply.