“Huanhuan, you went with a third of the net profit?” Yi Ling put up three fingers for emphasis. Her brain was still struggling to keep up; if she had understood Yan Huan correctly, that meant they had pretty much won the jackpot, right when they needed it most.
“Yup,” Yan Huan replied with a deadpan expression. There was, however, a twinkle in her eyes.
She had already known that Divorced would be a box office hit before signing the contract, but her little butterfly wings had caused a chain reaction that went beyond her expectations this time around. In this life, Divorced was still the dark horse that had pulled off an upset, but the Butterfly Effect from Yan Huan’s participation in the movie had caused it to make an even bigger killing at the box office.
It had collected 600 million yuan at the box office; there was no way any other movie would be able to top it this year, which meant that Divorced had already earned its spot as the box office king of the year. And Yan Huan had gotten 100 million yuan out of it. 100 million yuan! She was rolling in money now.
She would never be short of money again.
“Money isn’t everything”—that was what everyone said, but the saying “money makes the world go round” was equally true. Life was inconvenient and full of hardships without money.
“I need some time to digest this.” Yi Ling was still plastered firmly against the door, looking for all the world like a house gecko. She was too agitated and shell-shocked to do anything else.
Her Huanhuan suddenly had more than 100 million yuan in the bank. Holy moly! That meant she was a millionaire! On top of that, she would be flooded with movie offers and endorsement deals after the success of Divorce.
I have to be calm, she told herself, yes, stay calm. She removed herself from the door, straightened herself, and wiped the sweat from her face. She reminded herself that there was nothing surprising about the sudden windfall; she had known, from Yan Huan’s first day in showbiz, that Yan Huan would be rich once she became famous. Her dear Huanhuan had worked hard, and the day had finally come for them to reap the fruits of their labor.
She spun her car keys. “I’m going to take my car for a spin now.” The knowledge that Yan Huan was now a millionaire made her feel much more at ease about driving the expensive sports car. She could now drive without being constantly afraid of accidentally scratching the car.
Once Yi Ling had left, Yan Huan seated herself on the sofa. She lifted a glass of water and began to drink it in small sips. The light filtering in from the window entered her eyes, turning them into a melancholic blue. But it was only the color of the sky, reflected in her eyes.
The light blue of the sky was also the color of faint sorrow.
After Divorced, Yan Huan’s popularity had skyrocketed. In the domestic film festival that year, three of her roles received nominations: Hong Yao from Love and Tribulations, Qing Yao from Journey to Fairyland, and Xiang Ke from Divorced.
She was nominated for Best Newcomer, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Actress. Yan Huan did not expect to win Best Actress; there were just too many veteran actresses competing for the same award, and many of them were a lot more famous and had better acting skills. She knew it would be a huge disruption if she won Best Actress, but the odds were much more even for Best Newcomer and Best Supporting Actress.
It was a domestic awards ceremony that did not include international stars, but the awards given out were still worth their weight in gold. In her previous life, she had won Best Newcomer at the very same ceremony, and the award had practically launched her career into the stratosphere overnight. This time around, she had started on even higher ground, without any embarrassing, scandalous roles in porno movies attached to her name.
She drank from her glass again. Her lips curved into a small smile, to match the merry twinkle in her eyes.
Outside, the sun shone bright in the clear sky. It was still winter, but it felt like a lovely spring day.
Yi Ling was in high spirits as she drove around town in her new sports car. Before this, she did not dare to dream about driving the car, for fear of being disappointed, and she could hardly believe that she was actually sitting in it now. With this car, she would be able to take Yan Huan out on a relaxing drive every single day, if she wanted.
Many of the motorists and pedestrians who had good taste in cars did a double-take when they saw Yi Ling’s sports car. Her ego swelled at the sight of the open jealousy and envy on their faces. There was only one way to describe how she was feeling right now:
On top of the world.
Yi Ling could finally walk with her head held high.
“That’s right, I’ll go pick you up in a minute. Huanhuan’s treating us to dinner today to celebrate Divorced’s 600 million yuan box office earnings. What do you feel like eating? Feel free to make requests, don’t be shy now. Yan Huan will be able to afford it, don’t worry,” said Yi Ling over the phone. She thumped her chest, feeling rich and generous.
“Okay,” said Luo Lin on the other end of the line. She was in a good mood; she knew now that she had made the right decision in choosing to work with Yan Huan. Yan Huan was so much better than Xiao Rongrong in every way, and it was clear now that the new actress was set for stardom. Xiao Rongrong had only achieved fame because of the man backing her, and now the disgraced actress had vanished entirely from showbiz. Yan Huan, on the other hand, had become famous overnight because of Divorced. The young actress was not yet 22 years old, but she was already a much better actress than many veteran actors in the industry. Unlike most newcomers, she had shown a profound understanding of all her roles so far.
Luo Lin sighed. It was such a pity that Yan Huan did not have someone backing her. Her journey in showbiz would be full of perilous pitfalls without someone to look out for her.
Luo Lin did not know about Lu Yi; she had assumed that Xiao Rongrong’s downfall had come about because of the actress’s bad luck, that her immoral behavior and shady dealings had only been exposed because Zuo Fanrui had been unfortunate enough to be investigated by government prosecutors. If it had not been for that, Xiao Rongrong would probably still be in showbiz, throwing her weight around like a diva.
A thought suddenly occurred to her. She asked Yi Ling over the phone, “Hey, what about Ding Ming? Should we invite him to dinner too?”
“No.” Yi Ling almost spat in disgust. “I’ll be informing Manager Chen in a few days that that eunuch is too much trouble for me. I refuse to work with disobedient actors.”
Yi Ling would not have dared to make such demands before this, but she had earned the right to assert herself now. She was feeling confident; if the agency was not happy with her request, well, she would take Yan Huan to a different agency. They would have to pay a termination fee to Yuelun Entertainment for ending their contract early, but that was only about a few million yuan—pocket change for her Huanhuan. But Yi Ling did not actually think that would happen; Yan Huan was a rapidly rising star, and it was only natural for the agency to make special accommodations for their actors, in accordance to their net worth.
Besides, it was true that Yi Ling already had her hands full with Yan Huan and her explosive fame. She did not have the time to look after another actor, much less one that was as difficult to work with as Ding Ming.
Luo Lin made no comment. Ding Ming had deserved it; Yi Ling was his manager, which meant that he should have listened to her and accepted whatever arrangements she made for him. He would have reaped the benefits by now had he chosen to stick with Yan Huan on her projects; he really should have known better, especially since Yan Huan had been slowly but surely gaining popularity even before taking on Divorced. But no, the idiot had chosen to, as the saying went, throw away the watermelon in his arms just to pick up a sesame seed on the ground.
Yan Huan had reserved a table at a private kitchen; she had chosen the restaurant mainly because it was quiet and secluded, and also because the food on its menu was delicious. She had eaten there once before, and had been impressed by the dishes served. It was an expensive restaurant, but it was worth it because of the high quality of the food.
Yi Ling sat in her car, listening to music. It felt wonderful to have her own car; it made everything so much more convenient. She could now pick up anyone she wanted with her own car, if she felt like it.
She saw Luo Lin in the distance, walking towards her, and rolled down her car window to wave and yell: “Over here!”
Luo Lin stood beside the road, looking in vain for Yi Ling. She had not thought to look at the cars; she was still under the assumption that Yan Huan had to get around in the company van because the actress was not rich enough to get a car of her own.
She looked around for several minutes, but did not see Yi Ling.
