Shift! The Side-Character Heroine

When reviews were this good, a blockbuster, record-breaking appearance would quickly follow!

It was not the most expensive, nor the most ambitious of productions, but it had been passionately, lovingly molded. On top of that, there was the Queen Actress-level acting skills of Zhao Youyue, coupled with the reputation of its source material. It was all too much!

Be it Weibo, WeChat Moments, or whatever, everyone had been caught up in a whirlwind about “Chu Luoxun.” Quotes, inspirational life stories, you name it!

Many quickly capitalized on this trend with posts like “18 Details About “Beautiful April” That You Don’t Know,” “Six Of Chu Luoxun’s Original Classics,” “Shocking, The One Who Chu Luoxun Truly Loved Was Actually Lin Meiyue”…

That was just the tip of the iceberg.

WeChat Moments started featuring more and more iconic lines from the book. Han Leng’s popularity soared to the heavens. “Beautiful April” was reprinted so many times that it soon became the stuff of legends. In the future, generations of readers might even follow!

Han Leng had not expected this to happen. He had been initially worried about damaging Lady Zhao’s reputation and causing her more trouble. People could spit on him for all he cared, but her? It would have been a fatal blow…

If people hated her, she would most definitely hate him, right?

However, after watching the movie, he was completely dazed. Lady Zhao’s acting was simply godly!

Is it true that she was untrained? Even with raw talent, she could not possibly be that good, right?

After he recovered from the shock, Han Leng’s heart was filled with admiration. Zhao Youyue was a world-breaking all-rounder. She could not only do anything, she was a master of it all. She had activated some cheat mode. All this while, she had steered clear of those fields, only to give allowance for others to shine. It had been an act of mercy on her part. For if she ever decided to partake in everything, there would be no path left for anyone to walk on…

Han Leng was not alone in his awe. The celebrities and BigVs, including Zhao Youyue’s cousin brother Zhao Hao, and her godbrother Ding Yuncong were all equally terrified. The two of them doted on their younger sister very much, but they had waved her passion aside as naive enthusiasm. Anyone reasonable enough would think that way.

It was not that the world was lacking of brilliant actresses. However, these actresses had had to work their way up. Nobody just popped up in a leading role like that to blow everyone’s minds. Who the heck even thought of putting Zhao Youyue in that role? Who even knew that she could act?

In essence, “Beautiful April” was a gift that Zhao Hao had invested in his younger sister, or, rather, something to occupy her active mind with. He only wanted his younger sister enjoyed such a filming process, not the final results.

It would never even be rated as a B-movie. What did you expect, putting a total amateur in the shoes of such a complex, iconic character?

You’re only asking for trouble!

Even though they expected nothing from this little project, the two besties had immediately dragged a bunch of people to watch the movie as soon as it was released. They did not go to a public theater, but a more luxurious private theater. They could show off their luxurious lives to the whole internet while watching a movie. Wasn’t that great?

They were just there for fun, supporting their little sister. However, while watching the movie, they inadvertently became more and more fascinated by it. When the movie ended, they could not help but remain lost in a surge of emotions. This movie was brilliant!

Of course, they began to strongly recommend it. BigVs like them were the ones who first started praising the movie on Weibo, which built the momentum…

They surprised themselves by actually forgetting that Zhao Youyue was in the movie. They did not even praise her acting – they praised the movie itself. Only when someone mentioned Zhao Youyue, were these guys roused from their stupor.

Then, of course, they felt very sorry and quickly expressed their admiration for her acting on Weibo, also remembering to mention their younger sister. They admired her so much that they were almost going to prostrate themselves before her feet!

Ding Yuncong had also stepped on a certain “red carpet moocher”[1] who had no acting skills but loved to walk the red carpets of film festivals to boost Zhao Youyue’s position. With just a little time, Zhao Youyue would definitely be able to overtake all the current Hua Dan[2] stars!

However, Zhao Youyue’s most significant disadvantage was that she did not enter the entertainment industry. Anyway, she did not envy the fame of a celebrity…

She had also revealed why her reasons for stepping into the role. It was simple. She loved this character from the bottom of her heart, and she was confident that she could act her out well enough.

This explanation was not at all unexpected, because she was already a “loyal fan” when the book “Beautiful April” picked off. She had even written songs and melodies for this virtual character and constantly promoted her. This was true love!

Some netizens who were into 2D could not help but point out that Lady Zhao was their spirit animal. She loved 2D and virtual characters. She liked Chu Luoxun so much that she had considered Goddess Chu to be her wife!

It all matched up. It made perfect sense. Hardcore otakus who often took 2D characters as their wife, only to change their wives after three months even said that Zhao Youyue was simply the most foolish lover in the world. She could actually like a 2D character to such an extent!

Not only did she write songs for Chu Luoxun some time ago, but now, she was playing that role. How much did she care about this virtual character?

However, her passion had also attracted even more fans. This naturally made “Beautiful April” even more popular!

After her work was done, Zhao Youyue did not stick around for the fame and fortune. She did not care if this small production teenage movie made it to the top of the New Year film list. She did not care about the various invitations that came in, asking her to star in upcoming movies from all around the world, which included those from internationally well-known directors. She would never play any other role. She would only act as “herselves.”

After the filming of the live action movie “Beautiful April” was wrapped up, Zhao Youyue reverted her attention back to the “Two Dimensional Gate.” Due to her excellent performance in the “Witcher” source world, where she had completed many system quests, the “Two Dimensional Gate” had once again cooled down.

Zhao Youyue could once again test her luck by drawing a card, to see what world of works she would get at random, and whether there would be any places for her to cause trouble. If she earns herself another character card, then she could probably get another useful ability in the source world…

All in all, Lady Zhao was most enthusiastic about the random “Two Dimensional Gate,” or rather, the drawing of cards. Everything she did in the source world was for the sake of recharging the “Two Dimensional Gate.”

Translation note :

[1] “Red carpet moochers” (毯星) refers to the actresses that dress glamorously and walk on the red carpet of international film festivals, even though they usually do not appear in any of the films. This term became famous in 2015 when Wang Sicong, a Chinese businessman posted on his Weibo and indirectly referred to Fan Bingbing and Zhang Xinyu as “red carpet moochers.”

[2] Hua Dan (花旦, “flowery role”) is a lively, vivacious young female role. They normally wear short blouses with pants or skirts. Hua Dan focuses more on movements and speech. They must be able to speak quickly and clearly. They also need to project an image of cuteness and innocence as Hua Dan always represent girls of around 12–16 years old.