Chapter 91

No Way Out

"Why is everyone walking toward the entrance?" Curly Hair noticed several elegantly dressed young men and women heading for the front gate, their smiles so radiant they hurt to look at.

"Someone important must have arrived." The talkative staff member had adopted Curly Hair as a preferred work partner ever since she'd looked at him with that expression of admiration the day before.

He didn't need anything from her except the emotional validation.

"Someone important?" Curly Hair frowned. "Weren't you saying earlier that basically all the big names had already arrived?"

"The truly important people in this industry aren't the artists." The talker nodded toward a hurrying artist. "Artists get a small flame from being promoted, a big flame from luck. Powerful figures can't necessarily make them famous — but they can decide whether they stay famous."

"All the film resources, all the fashion resources that artists want — every bit of it sits in the hands of those powerful figures." He laughed. "Though of course there are more powerful figures above them. If the person arriving today weren't the Kunlun entertainment division but a headquarters representative, even those powerful figures would come out personally to receive them."

At the word Kunlun, Curly Hair's eyelid twitched. She looked around nervously.

Good. Good — Xiao Chao hadn't appeared.

People can't always be embarrassing themselves, after all.

Another staff member walked over. "Your news is a little behind — the 时光 editor-in-chief already went to the gates herself to receive whoever's arrived."

"The 时光 editor-in-chief?" Curly Hair's voice jumped. "She's here too?!"

Wasn't that essentially the same as saying Chao-ayi was in this compound?

She pulled her cap lower and put on her face mask, covering every strand of her distinctive curls.

The desire to destroy the Main God had intensified somewhat today.

"时光 is one of the co-organizers — of course the editor-in-chief is here." The talker turned to the second staff member. "Who's arrived?"

"No idea. Security has cleared the surrounding area. Even most of the artist teams can't get close — forget about insignificant people like us."

As he finished speaking, several senior industry figures came hurrying down from upstairs, one of them smoothing his hair as he walked.

"Aren't those some of the best-known entertainment company heads — all of them coming out together?"

*

"Mr. Chao!" A middle-aged man strode out through the villa's main entrance. Seeing the Kunlun representative standing alongside the 时光 editor-in-chief, he broke into a smile and addressed Chao Yin. "Editor-in-chief Chao — I was dealing with company matters this morning and missed the chance to catch up properly. You look as brilliant as ever."

"Not as notable as recent developments at Mr. Qian's company." Chao Yin's smile was impeccably courteous.

"Mr. Chao — it's a pleasure." The man turned to Chao Musheng with eager warmth. "My name is Qian Youfu. I'm the head of Duofu Entertainment. The Brave Vanguard currently in cinemas — that's our lead production."

"Mr. Qian." Chao Musheng extended his hand. "I'll make a point of buying a ticket."

Qian Youfu immediately clasped the offered hand with both of his. "Mr. Chao, your support for the cultural arts industry is most appreciated — please, you mustn't buy a ticket. I'll have my assistant send some over immediately."

The other company heads, seeing this, pressed forward to greet Chao Musheng — and particularly when they noticed that regardless of who he spoke with, he never moved from Chao Yin's side, they understood: Mr. Chao's presence at this event was entirely on account of her.

When had Chao Yin established a connection with Kunlun headquarters?

Everyone had their private theories, but whatever the reason, all of them were quietly reviewing recent interactions with 时光 and searching their memories for anything that had gone badly.

"Didn't 时光 have some unpleasantness with one of the Kunlun entertainment artists last month?" A top-tier celebrity hanging back asked her manager. "So how is the relationship suddenly this warm?"

"The 时光 editor-in-chief and Mr. Chao share the same surname. They may be relatives." The manager kept her voice low. "The way 时光 is about to take off — I want to try to get you the front cover for next month or October."

September and October were the golden months. With 时光's current standing, the September cover would likely be a group shot rather than a solo feature.

"For the next few days — please cooperate perfectly with the organizers' arrangements. Do not cause any trouble. The last thing you need is to miss the cover and give your rival's fans ammunition."

"I know." The celebrity said, before adding: "The boss and I share a surname too. I wonder whether he'd be willing to acknowledge me as a relative."

"You make a fair point, actually — though I've heard Editor-in-chief Chao came from a rural county, passed the city gaokao with top marks, and got where she is entirely through her own effort. If she had connections this powerful, why would she have waited until now to use them?"

"A shame that the Kunlun representative has so many people around him." She sighed. "If you could get his attention, all the best resources in the industry would be yours to choose from."

"You're not the only one with that dream." The manager glanced around.

The smarter artist teams were already calculating how to get their client onto a 时光 cover. The less well-connected teams were still puzzling over why so many powerful industry figures were busy ingratiating themselves with a young man they didn't recognize.

It took Chao Musheng a full ten minutes to make it through the villa's entrance gate.

*

The compound was built at the ocean's edge. The main structures were predominantly white; in the distance, a crew was setting up a stage on the beach.

"Mr. Chao — the full event runs three days and two nights. Today's primary programme is a session on charitable values and partnership." The organizer's staff member ran through the day's schedule, which was by conventional standards largely dull — most invited guests typically sent an assistant in their place.

Chao Musheng took the programme booklet, saw his mother listed as the keynote speaker, and nodded. "Understood."

The crowd walked him to his assigned building before taking their leave.

They wanted to make a good impression on Chao Musheng — not make him find them irritating.

Chao Yin and her assistant walked at the back. There were several pairs of eyes on her right now, so she did no more than reach out and poke Chao Musheng on the forehead. "I need to go to the main conference room in half an hour. Rest up."

"Yes, Mom." He said it quietly. "You rest too."

"I will." Chao Yin in a professional setting was entirely in her element. She checked her phone — artist teams were already messaging her in numbers. "We'll talk properly about your work situation when we're back."

He responded with his most winning smile.

"This building is one our organizing team has arranged for your exclusive use." Chao Yin continued. "Aside from the suite you're staying in, the other rooms are reserved for your team and bodyguards. Your position is rather unique right now and you'll have no shortage of people trying to get close — keep a bodyguard with you at all times."

He nodded obediently.

"These bodyguards and the assistant — all arranged by the company?" She studied the figures posted at intervals along the corridor and felt something about them that differed from ordinary security personnel — a quality of controlled readiness.

"Well..."

Chao Musheng's eyes slid sideways. He avoided meeting her gaze.

Xu Chenzhu had lent him his own personal bodyguards. That was near enough to a company arrangement, if you rounded generously.

"They look extremely professional. Knowing they're protecting you, I feel easier." She left promptly for the conference room.

*

A display of charitable values was a mandatory programme item regardless of what the invited guests wanted. Whatever assistants or stand-ins anyone sent, the organizers were required to follow the schedule submitted to the relevant authorities, to the letter.

When Chao Yin arrived at the conference room, it was sparsely populated — a scattering of assistant-level personnel. She opened the projector, pulled up her materials, and prepared to deliver the kind of session where both sides pretended to engage.

Ten minutes before it was due to start, attendees trickled in intermittently, until the room had just managed to reach over half full.

She opened the microphone, ready to begin — and Chao Musheng walked in with one of his assistants, a notebook in hand.

That wretched boy—

Chao Yin looked at the conference room occupants, whose expressions had visibly shifted, pretended not to notice the frantic flurry of messages being sent under the table, and produced a perfectly composed professional smile before beginning the session.

*

In a separate lounge, several of the senior figures sat over tea discussing investments and partnerships.

Human nature being what it is, the conversation inevitably drifted to the Kunlun headquarters representative.

"What exactly is the background of this representative, and why are you all falling over yourselves in front of him?" A company head who had just returned from abroad looked around. "I remember Xu Chenzhu's most trusted person being Liu Mingjin. This Mr. Chao looks very young — when did he emerge?"

"You were only abroad for about two weeks, not completely cut off from the world — how do you not know about Kunlun's personnel changes?" The person responding had attended the Chen Garden banquet. "Mr. Chao looks young but is very highly trusted by Xu Chenzhu. The last time Xu Chenzhu attended anything at Chen Garden, Mr. Chao was beside him the whole time. Xu Chenzhu trusts him completely."

"Wasn't the old Chen patriarch arrested?" The returned boss had heard about the Chen family business. "Chen always had 'compassion' on his lips — couldn't bear to harm even a passing hedgehog, apparently — and it turns out he was into ritual sacrifice of all things."

People in this circle did enjoy the occasional feng shui consultation or astrology session, but using human lives in ritual practices was considerably less common.

"Someone who is truly kind doesn't go around announcing it every chance they get." The other boss scoffed. "The man was willing to use his own grandson as a ritual offering. How does that connect with kindness?"

"So who's the new head of the Chen family?"

"Chen's youngest daughter."

Everyone was surprised. They knew Chen had had two sons and a daughter, but his daughter had had very little visible presence — their only strong impression of her was a car accident some years back that had left her permanently dependent on a wheelchair.

Nobody had expected she would be the one to pick up the pieces.

"I heard the life of that young Chen grandson was actually saved by Mr. Chao. Apparently the boy had already been placed on the ritual altar. Mr. Chao had sensed something wrong with the Chen estate, so regardless of how the old patriarch tried to block him, he forced his way into the chamber where the altar was."

"I heard it differently — that Mr. Chao has knowledge of feng shui. He saw the anomaly at Chen Garden at a glance."

"Hold on — isn't Mr. Chao Kunlun's highly-paid technical consultant?" A boss in the corner was finding the picture increasingly inconsistent. "Exceptionally capable, invited to join by Xu Chenzhu and Secretary Liu in person during a visit to Jinghua."

"So what you're all saying is — not only is he extraordinarily capable at his work, he also reads feng shui?" The recently returned boss put it together. "No wonder Xu Chenzhu values him so highly. He must be quite something."

Low laughter moved through the room.

One of the company heads checked his phone. The amusement left his face.

"What's happened?"

"My assistant says Mr. Chao personally went to the conference room to listen to the organizers' presentation on charitable values."

" What? "

The company heads had no further interest in spreading gossip. They stood up immediately and headed for the conference room.

If the Kunlun headquarters representative was sitting there in good faith listening to a charity lecture — how could they sit comfortably in a lounge?

*

Half an hour later, the conference room was packed. Every company head and every artist had appeared.

Several of the organizing team's representatives looked at Chao Yin with barely concealed admiration. The last time they'd managed to get this many people to sit in the same room had been at an event hosted by an official government body.

This time, fortunately, Editor-in-chief Chao had called in the Kunlun headquarters representative to lend weight, and they'd gotten to experience the treatment of an official state meeting.

"An entire day. A whole entire day."

A top-tier celebrity in full ascendancy thumped her aching back and complained to her manager after the door was closed: "Every single event that editor-in-chief Chao appears at — Chao Musheng hasn't missed one. Is the 时光 editor-in-chief his mother or something?"

"According to the activity guidelines, invited guests were always required to attend today's programme. It's just that in the past, no one paid attention to anything except the red carpet, so everything else became perfunctory." The manager tried to soothe her. "Please don't cause any incidents. You're at peak visibility right now — don't give your career problems."

"I know." The celebrity understood, but her emotions weren't cooperating. "We'd already agreed with 时光's side that I'd only attend the red carpet segment — and then our company unilaterally revised my schedule."

What was even the point of attending a charitable values seminar — not even a live stream, no engagement metrics at all.

Fans and general public alike only cared about how much money artists donated, or what resources they received. Entertainment media cared about red carpet looks, about who stood where in the group photos, about whose presence overshadowed whose.

Hardly anyone cared what the charitable event was actually about.

"You should take notes from your rival. During the whole session, his notebook looked like he was studying for the gaokao." The manager said. "Your public image is what you build it to be."

"You mean Luo Yixuan?" The celebrity's face showed distaste. "He's the most performative person in the industry. Fake."

She thought about Chao Musheng's face — genuinely fine-looking — and an absurd notion surfaced. "I heard Chao Musheng's a Jinghua student. Find someone to look into it — does he like men or women?"

"What are you thinking?" The manager was immediately on alert.

"Chao Musheng is that attractive and that well-placed. A romantic entanglement with him wouldn't be a loss for me."

"Wouldn't be a loss for you." The manager glanced at her surgically constructed nose. "What if Mr. Chao feels it's a loss for him?"

*

[Dawn to Dusk: My mother, brilliant and radiant as always!]

Chao Musheng had been photographing Chao Yin all day. He sent the pictures to the family chat, prompting an enthusiastic response from his grandparents.

[Grandma: Sheng-sheng's photos are wonderful! Your grandfather and I posted some local specialties to you this afternoon — when they arrive, remember to share some with Xiao Xu.]

[Dawn to Dusk: Understood, thank you, Grandma.]

[Sheng-sheng's Dad: How did you end up over at your mother's?]

[Dawn to Dusk: I'm here representing the company @Mom Chao Yin — how was my performance today?]

Chao Yin saw the message tagging her and laughed despite herself.

When the session had ended, several of those senior figures had been visibly pained — expressions somewhere between green and grey. Out of the entire room, probably only Sheng-sheng had actually listened to a word she said. Everyone else had been mentally elsewhere.

The entertainment industry was always this way — realistic to the point of bleakness, the hierarchies crisp and clear beneath the glitter.

When you were at the top, everyone around you was decent.

When you fell, the same people became anonymous sources feeding scandal to the press.

She understood the dark side behind the surface glamour too well — it was why she had never once brought Zhaozhao to these circles. Yet somehow she hadn't anticipated a day when Zhaozhao would become one of her most significant connections.

*

"Something's off," the intern entertainment journalist whispered, finding Curly Hair. "The boss said the first two days wouldn't yield much — that everything would happen on the last day. So why am I running into so many major artists today?"

The three of them had regrouped near a flower bed below the VIP building. Others assumed paparazzi would be skulking in shadows; nobody would have guessed they'd be openly conferring directly below the VIP quarters.

"No idea — apparently some big figure has arrived." The other intern looked at Curly Hair. "You seemed to get quite friendly with one of the inside staff. Did you pick up anything useful?"

"I've been doing odd jobs all day. What useful information could I possibly have picked up?" Two days into this instance and Curly Hair still hadn't encountered any other players — she had no idea what roles they were playing.

"Not even a little?" The other two were skeptical. They suspected she was keeping valuable information to herself, intending to claim the credit alone.

"Nothing." She pulled her cap down lower. These two interns weren't particularly sensible, she'd concluded — insisting that the most dangerous place was the safest, refusing to chat over their phones in case it left a record, then choosing this particular spot.

How exactly was this place safe?

She spotted a bodyguard walking in their direction, couldn't be bothered with the other two, folded herself over the flower bed, and slipped quickly into the buildings behind.

She had already established that Chao-ayi was staying in the VIP building. As long as she kept a wide perimeter around it and moved away whenever Chao-ayi's path might cross hers, she wouldn't embarrass herself.

"There are paparazzi in the compound."

"Security — go catch them."

"Someone's running east."

"Move, move!"

Curly Hair ducked past camera angles, saw a small white building ahead, jumped and climbed through a second-floor window, and pressed herself flat in the shadows of a corner.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

She heard the low sound of a device. In the dark, she raised her head — and found herself looking directly into the eyes of a large, suited man.

Silence. Dead silence.

Just as Curly Hair resigned herself to being finished, the bodyguard abruptly turned and made a signal to the side.

Four or five more bodyguards converged. Curly Hair noticed two of them looked vaguely familiar.

A sense of dread gathered in her chest.

This couldn't be—

"Could you be — Ms. Xiao Juan?" A bodyguard looked at the hat pulled low and the face mask, not entirely certain. "If you don't take off the mask, we'll need to notify the organizers' security team."

Curly Hair closed her eyes. With the resignation of someone prepared to face death, she removed the mask.

"It really is you." The bodyguard smiled. "Right before we left, Mr. Chao joked that we might run into you at this event. He wasn't wrong — here you are. What a coincidence."

Curly Hair: "..."

Not a coincidence. Just a very bleak life.

Thinking about her entry just now, Curly Hair sank deeper into despair.

Had she ever, in her entire life, done anything at all for the sake of her own dignity?

She straightened up from the shadows. Without waiting for the bodyguard to prompt her: "Is Xiao Chao asleep?"

"Mr. Chao is on a video call with his family. Did you want to—"

"Wang-ge — organizers' security team lead is here." Another bodyguard said quietly. "Apparently several paparazzi got into the compound. One seems to have made it into our building."

"Paparazzi?" The lead bodyguard glanced at Curly Hair. "Tell them everything here is as it should be. Nothing unusual has come in."

Curly Hair tugged her cap down further over her face.

She had no face left.

[Ding! One player detected with anomalous status — eliminated.]

[Ding! Two players detected with anomalous status — eliminated.]

Within half an hour, four players had been eliminated. The system neither stated the total player count nor mentioned how many remained.

Curly Hair had a strong suspicion all of them, like her, had been infiltrated in as paparazzi from various studios.

Useless Main God. It couldn't give the players even a slightly presentable identity?

She'd originally thought the Kunlun customer service role was a terrible assignment. Now it looked like that was the peak of her standing in this world.

After a little longer, the lead bodyguard returned. "Wang-ge — the organizers' security team won't leave. They're saying they're responsible for the safety of every guest."

"Is the security team 时光's?"

"This event is co-organized by 时光, Nangua Video, and two charitable foundations — security is under Nangua Video." He asked, "Should we notify Mr. Chao?"

"Notify me of what?" Chao Musheng had heard the commotion outside and opened the door. He immediately spotted Curly Hair standing there radiating defeat.

"Xiao Chao." She pushed back her hat and produced a numb, exhausted smile.

"Security is out catching paparazzi." The lead bodyguard gave Curly Hair a sideways glance. "The organizers want to check inside for your safety."

"Catching paparazzi?" Chao Musheng turned to Curly Hair. "Xiao Juan, are you—"

Curly Hair smiled bitterly and looked away.

There was nothing to say that wouldn't sound feeble. She was completely out of options.

Go ahead and collapse, universe.

The security team was quickly informed that Mr. Chao had invited them in.

"How did paparazzi get in here?"

As they entered, Chao Musheng said with a grave expression: "Please have a thorough sweep of the area. We can't have anyone slipping through."

"Please be assured, Mr. Chao. Your safety is our full priority."

The security team leader glanced behind Chao Musheng — six bodyguards, two assistants, and a curly-haired individual who might be... a household help?

Mr. Chao hadn't had this person with him when he arrived this morning.

"This is a temporary staff member from your compound. I noticed she was strong and efficient, so I asked her to join my cleaning team this afternoon." Chao Musheng said. "Any objections?"

"None whatsoever — it's her good fortune to be recognized by you, Mr. Chao."

The security team leader felt a pang of envy. What extraordinary luck for a temp.

One security team member raised their head, looked at Curly Hair, and the look they gave her was full of deep and concentrated resentment.