After Binding the Face-Slapping System, I Rose to Fame [Entertainment Industry] - Chapter 5

Before the official announcement of the latest replacement guest for Celebrity Wilderness Survival, word had already leaked through the industry grapevine.

Rival artists who had been clawing for a piece of the action were gnashing their teeth in frustration. They couldn’t wrap their heads around how a washed-up has-been, blacklisted by Young Master Wang, had managed to snag such a prime opportunity.

Was the recent viral “self-destruct” drama where she seemingly embraced a “villainess” persona actually a calculated, self-directed play to land this specific resource from the start?

If so, the person behind this plan is terrifyingly brilliant!

But what if it truly was just a fluke? A “right place, right time” excuse? Who are they trying to kid? Not even a three-year-old would buy that! The competitors immediately spiraled into complex conspiracy theories.

Meanwhile, in a private box at the Brilliant Club, Young Master Wang received the news. The realization that this woman had secured such a high-tier resource because of his accidental “assistance” sent him into a localized frenzy; he smashed a bottle of wine right then and there.

As shattered glass carpeted the floor, Wang sat on the sofa, fuming. The more he thought about it, the more suffocated he felt, his chest tightening until he could barely breathe.

Having already chased out the hostesses in a fit of rage, he called Zhang Jun and delivered a blistering verbal assault. Wang paced the room with his arms crossed, the image of that “vixen” mocking him in her Weibo GIF replaying in his mind like a cursed loop. His eyes reddened with fury. He grabbed his phone and activated every connection he had, eventually going behind his old man’s back to use the Wang family name to contact the head producer of Celebrity

Wilderness Survival.

Truthfully, Wang was incensed that the show had ignored his blacklist and signed Chu Jinzhi. While he was a hedonistic playboy, he wasn’t entirely brainless. He acted like a tyrant in the entertainment circle, but he only targeted women without significant backing.

If the primary backer of Celebrity Wilderness Survival wasn’t Sea Princess Audio-Visual Entertainment—a direct subsidiary of the massive Sensen Group, Wang would have tried to tank the whole show.

At the end of the day, Wang knew he was a nobody in the Wang family hierarchy, and he was even less compared to the direct heirs of the Lin family. Even if that heir was “just a woman,” her prestige and influence in the industry were leagues beyond his.

Wang usually loathed dealing with that “respectable” inner circle, but he was too livid to let this go. He tried to exert pressure, but to his shock, the other side didn’t give a damn about his “Wang Family” credentials. They dealt with him with cold, bureaucratic efficiency, informing him that the contract was signed and filming was set to begin immediately.

Young Master Wang: “F***!”

On the other side, Lin Shuyu’s manager, Yao Tong, was deeply dissatisfied upon learning that the newcomer was the same scandal-ridden starlet who had recently been clout-chasing at Lin Shuyu’s expense. She immediately began making calls to have Chu Jinzhi ousted.

For the first time in a month, Lin Shuyu took a serious look at Chu Jinzhi’s information, if only to understand her future co-stars.

Staring at the woman on the screen with her arrogant smile and deep, piercing eyes, Lin Shuyu felt a strange, inexplicable jolt in her heart. Driven by a sudden impulse, she stopped her manager from making the call.

Frowning slightly, she took another look at Chu Jinzhi’s breakout photo and whispered, “Let it be. Life isn’t easy for anyone.”

Lin Shuyu was indifferent to fame, traffic, and industry status. She had only entered the circle because a director insisted she was the only one fit for a specific role. The script had moved her, and with the internal power struggles within the Lin family reaching a fever pitch, she had stepped into acting as a whim to stay out of the fray.

She chose to be soft-hearted toward a stranger for two reasons: first, she didn’t take the “clout-chasing” behavior seriously; and second, from her privileged position, she felt that a girl who could smile with such abandon must have been pushed to a desperate edge to resort to such antics.

Lin Shuyu appeared cold and detached on the outside, but she was a softie at heart, especially toward women in difficult circumstances.

Yao Tong, who didn’t fully grasp the depth of Lin Shuyu’s background, only cared about elevating her artist to the top. She had zero tolerance for anyone clinging to her star. To Yao Tong, Chu Jinzhi was a speck of mud on Lin Shuyu’s magnificent silk gown. It didn’t ruin the dress, but it was an eyesore.

“Don’t be fooled by her looks,” Yao Tong said dismissively. “She’s covered in scandals. She acts like a diva because she’s someone’s ‘kept woman,’ and she never even shows up to sets, she uses body doubles and green-screen composites for everything.”

Hearing that last part, Lin Shuyu’s brow furrowed, but she pointed out logically: “If she were truly a ‘kept woman,’ with a face like that, she wouldn’t be struggling this much.”

Yao Tong was silenced.

Actually, she had heard rumors that Chu Jinzhi had offended Young Master Wang—a notorious mad dog. He usually chased beauties like a mutt in heat, but if someone crossed him, he’d hunt them down relentlessly. Every woman in the industry with an ounce of beauty feared him; even those looking for a shortcut avoided him. He was volatile, heartless, and played “dirty” in private.

Chu Jinzhi’s easy blacklisting was entirely because she’d provoked Wang. Everyone knew what that meant, especially since she lacked a powerful patron.

However, the producers of Celebrity Wilderness Survival were now determined to use her, even if it meant slapping Young Master Wang in the face.

Did she finally find a powerful backer? Is that why she’s bold enough to challenge him directly?

Regardless of the industry’s internal gossip, Celebrity Wilderness Survival went all-out with its promotion, branding itself as the most authentic survival show in the country.

To maximize the thrill, the producers had spent a fortune to secure hunting rights on an island belonging to a small foreign nation. This meant that once they arrived, the guests could actually hunt.

In a domestic climate where cutting down a tree in your own yard could lead to a fine or detention, the idea of free hunting in the wild was a massive draw for the audience. Watching pampered celebrities struggle and fail at hunting was guaranteed comedy gold.

Safety was also considered. The show would use a “Live-Stream + Edited Episode” format. Each season consisted of four locations, split into twelve episodes.

The first stop was a genuine deserted island in Europe. The production team had gone ahead to cage and remove large predators, leaving only relatively docile herbivores. Additionally, guests were equipped with a “Rescue Button” for emergencies, though pressing it meant immediate disqualification from the recording.

Chu Jinzhi had been itching for this kind of adventure since she first read the show’s profile. Even if Lin Shuyu wasn’t involved, she would have gone.

Currently, she was “cramming” survival books as if her life depended on it which, in a way, it did. She looked so focused that even Sister Lin felt a twinge of guilt, as if interrupting a student before a final exam was a sin.

Of course, the guilt was fleeting. Chu Jinzhi’s sudden “rebellion phase” had already exhausted Sister Lin’s patience. But since the chaos had resulted in a win, Sister Lin could only swallow her complaints and take comfort in the outcome.

Sister Lin, pinching the bridge of her nose in exhaustion, seized the moment to deliver one last lecture. “Since you’ve managed to stumble into this stroke of insane luck and landed this opportunity, you better grasp it with both hands.

Perform well on the show, and for heaven’s sake, stop looking for trouble every five minutes.”

Chu Jinzhi spent the entire time nodding like a mindless bobblehead.

Sister Lin: “…”

Fine. Just let the world end.

Knowing this girl’s stubborn temperament, always quick to admit fault but even quicker to repeat the mistake, Sister Lin gave up on the nagging. She cut straight to the chase: “Tell me, who exactly is helping you crack these passwords?

Chu Jinzhi, don’t think I’m joking. There are no tech experts in your social circle. Did you find someone online? Is it that ‘anti-fan’ strategist who told you to act like a piece of sticky lint?”

The System, suddenly called out, shrank back in a fit of inexplicable guilt.

Chu Jinzhi finally looked up. She didn’t say a word.

But Sister Lin had managed Chu Jinzhi since her debut; she knew exactly what that silence meant. Seeing that Chu Jinzhi was dead-set on trusting some shadowy “military advisor” who was likely an anti-fan in disguise, Sister Lin was at a loss for words.

Normally, the girl was just a bit of an academic underachiever; she wasn’t actually stupid. Why did she have to be so pig-headed about this?

Left with no choice, Sister Lin issued yet another “final ultimatum.” “Your Weibo account is confiscated. You won’t have access to your phone during filming, either. I’ll settle the score with you when you get back!”

She gave Chu Jinzhi one last look. Her eyes flickered with a hidden thought, but she chose not to mention “that matter” just yet. This girl looks like a delicate rose, but her temper is as foul and hard as a rock. She needs to be sanded down if she’s going to go the distance.

Three days later, Chu Jinzhi packed a simple travel bag and flew to Hainan, accompanied by her junior assistant, Xiao Deng. From there, they boarded the production team’s private cruise ship.

Before the official survival began, they had to film their “Survival Declarations” on the ship for the pilot episode. The “Deserted Island Survival” segment featured five guests. To allow everyone to break the ice, the production team arranged a small banquet that evening.

The sea breeze was biting at night, and Chu Jinzhi had zero interest in competing for the “best dressed” title. She opted for a classic black backless dress with a plunging V-neck and ribbon ties, layering a wide shawl over it. She didn’t have to show an inch of skin and stayed perfectly warm.

Besides the five guests, the banquet was attended by managers and members of the production crew.

Among the five, almost everyone was an A-lister, even the newcomer Lin Shuyu was already a star with over 3 billion yuan in box office credits to her name. For various reasons, most of them weren’t particularly warm toward Chu Jinzhi.

When she went around to introduce herself, only Lin Shuyu looked her in the eye and exchanged names with genuine politeness. The others offered either a casual smile or a perfunctory word. One even turned their face away the moment she approached, looking like they were trying to avoid a scandal.

Against such a backdrop, Chu Jinzhi couldn’t help but feel a surge of genuine localized affection for Lin Shuyu.

After doing the rounds and finishing her segment for the pilot, Chu Jinzhi lost interest in the party. She grabbed a glass of orange juice and headed out to the deck to watch the night sea.

Though Chu Jinzhi had experienced a “peak at debut” moment of fame, the money she’d earned back then was only enough to buy a modest apartment in Peiping. This was her first time on a luxury cruise, and she intended to savor the novelty.

Tonight had given her a preliminary read on her four co-stars.

Aside from her “beloved benefactor” Lin Shuyu, the other three included:

• Hou Mi: A veteran action star in his forties. He was a classic muscle man with bronze skin and bulging sinews. Having endured the hardships of a different era, he wasn’t particularly tall, standing nearly half a head shorter than Chu Jinzhi.

• Cao Xu: A wildly popular comedian who had hosted a hit variety show for nearly a decade and starred in several blockbuster comedies. He had short eyebrows, small eyes, and a face built for humor—one smile from him was enough to trigger a laugh.

• Tong Zixuan: A trendy rock singer and fashionista known for her perpetual smoky eye makeup and a rotating palette of neon hair colors. Today, she sported a “smog purple” cut that looked both cold and melancholic.

Originally, there was supposed to be a “Visual King” male idol, but after his early marriage and subsequent scandals blew up, Chu Jinzhi had stepped in. This left the group with three women, all of whom were younger and more attractive than the two men.

Among the four, Tong Zixuan had turned her head and ignored her. Cao Xu had given a cheerful, surface-level response. Hou Mi had been overtly cold, barely offering a stiff nod.

As Chu Jinzhi moped about these social dynamics, she took a sip of her sweet-and-sour juice. She was just wondering if she should buy a “No-Weight-Gain” pill from the System so she could go back inside and gorge on more food when she heard footsteps behind her.

Chu Jinzhi turned around. It was Lin Shuyu.