After Binding the Face-Slapping System, I Rose to Fame [Entertainment Industry] - Chapter 6

Tonight, two of the three female guests chose long dresses, showing absolutely no intention of seizing the opportunity to flaunt their legs.

As it happened, those two were Chu Jinzhi and Lin Shuyu.

Even more coincidental was that both dresses carried a touch of ancient Greek flair. Chu Jinzhi’s original piece was a somewhat sultry, backless V-neck with lace-up detailing, but aside from the actual filming of the teaser, she kept her large shawl wrapped around her. With only the lower half of the skirts visible—one black and one white—it looked as though they had intentionally coordinated their outfits.

The production crew assumed Chu Jinzhi was dead-set on “clinging” to Lin Shuyu’s spotlight at every turn. Only Chu Jinzhi knew it was a genuine coincidence. Watching Lin Shuyu step onto the deck alone to catch some air, she teased her system: “Hey System, look at that. My ‘gold thigh’ and I are wearing matching couple outfits.”

She had barely finished her cheeky remark when Lin Shuyu, standing profile to her, seemed to sense the gaze. She turned her head, her eyes meeting Chu Jinzhi’s smiling ones.

After a brief moment of silent eye contact, Chu Jinzhi raised her glass of orange juice with a grin, offering an olive branch. There wasn’t a trace of the arrogant provocateur who had just called Lin Shuyu out in the recording studio.

The Face-Slapping System: [?]

So, the reason the host succeeded in her first battle was purely due to this thick skin of hers.

Lesson learned.

Lin Shuyu straightened up, slightly surprised, and then returned a faint, curving smile.

Truthfully, if she didn’t need to fleece the woman for points, Chu Jinzhi would have genuinely liked to be friends with Lin Shuyu. For better or worse, Chu Jinzhi had survived in this industry for nearly three years, and she had never met anyone quite as special as Lin Shuyu.

She couldn’t put her finger on exactly what it was. It was just that, at first glance, the woman seemed to glow. Everyone else simply faded into a dull, grey background.

Chu Jinzhi wondered if Lin Shuyu secretly carried a soft-focus filter around with her.

Picturing a literal lighting board following Lin Shuyu everywhere, Chu Jinzhi managed to amuse herself so much that she let out a sudden, audible snort of laughter.

In the distance, Lin Shuyu looked confused: “???”

Chu Jinzhi had a notoriously low threshold for humor and a vivid imagination usually in “manga style”—likely a remnant of her days spent sneaking comics under her desk in class. Once she started laughing, she couldn’t stop.

By the time a curious Lin Shuyu walked over, Chu Jinzhi coughed twice, trying to reel in her “village idiot” energy.

“Sorry,” she apologized with a smile. “I just well, I suddenly thought of a joke.” She had laughed so hard her voice was husky and slightly breathless—a sound that, for some reason, sent a strange itch through Lin Shuyu’s ears.

Lin Shuyu unobtrusively rubbed her earlobe, tilting her head. Her amber eyes were filled with curiosity. “Would you mind sharing it with me?”

She looked so genuinely happy; it was the kind of smile that made anyone who saw it feel an involuntary lift in their mood. In that moment, Lin Shuyu strangely recalled the very first metaphor she learned in primary school: Little Red laughed like a flower.

Lin Shuyu thought to herself: No wonder her title is the ‘National Red Rose.’ She is as gorgeous as a rose, and her smile is just as radiant.

Chu Jinzhi didn’t panic. After a moment of thought, she put on a melancholic expression. “I’m a second-generation rich kid, yet I go to work to earn my own money. I could drive luxury cars, yet I squeeze onto the bus every day. I could live off my face, yet I insist on relying on my own hard work.”

She paused, looking up at the intently listening Lin Shuyu. “That is the difference between me and Mingming*.”

Lin Shuyu: “???”

(Note: ‘Mingming’ is a common name but also means ‘clearly’ in Chinese.)

Lin Shuyu: “Pfft! Sorry, cough, haha! I didn’t see that twist coming!”

She had been bewildered at first, wondering why Chu Jinzhi was suddenly reciting “wealth-flexing” lines to her. It was just a pun! Lin Shuyu covered her face as she laughed, her eyes shimmering like ripples on water.

Chu Jinzhi found her fascinating. This joke was as old and corny as they come, yet Lin Shuyu had listened so seriously and laughed so sincerely.

Her interest piqued, Chu Jinzhi decided to stop half-assing it. She took a sip of orange juice to moisten her lips. Once Lin Shuyu’s laughter subsided, she said playfully, “Xiao Ming wanted a new job. During the interview, the recruiter looked at his resume with suspicion and asked: ‘You graduated two years ago. Why does your resume show five years of work experience?'”

Chu Jinzhi stopped and asked, “Why do you think?”

Lin Shuyu adopted a look of serious contemplation. “Was it because he had a part-time job for three years before graduating?”

Chu Jinzhi wagged a long, elegant index finger. “No, no, no. Xiao Ming just reached up, patted his balding head, and said: ‘Overtime.'”

“Pfft!” Lin Shuyu burst out laughing again, this time literally tearing up.

Chu Jinzhi thought this woman was a delight. She looked so cold and ethereal, yet she was so easy to tease.

Suddenly, the System’s voice asked gloomily: [Ten minutes ago, you were calling her out and dissing her in front of the cameras.]

Chu Jinzhi rubbed the tip of her nose nonchalantly: “Eh, she doesn’t know that yet.”

As for things she would find out sooner or later? Well, a person has to enjoy the present.

The teaser filming wrapped. In the editing room, the director stood before the monitor, reviewing the final cut.

“I’m quite happy. I’ve always been interested in hunting, though I’ve only been able to go abroad with friends occasionally. This time, in the show.”

“Haha, I’m just here for the ride. My plan is to cling to Brother Mi’s legs. If there’s a chance to eat and drink well, I’ll happily be a ‘carried’ slacker.”

“I’ve hit a bit of a wall with my songwriting lately. When I got the invite for this wilderness survival show, I thought it sounded exciting. It’s been a while since I returned to nature to really feel.”

“I’m very interested in the island we’re heading to tomorrow. I’m not sure what the journey will be like. Chu Jinzhi? No, I think she’s quite nice. She’s beautiful—the moment you see her, you can’t help but think of a red rose. But I think she’s likely a very tough, resilient girl with a lot of perseverance.”

“Everyone here is trash. I’m calling out Lin Shuyu specifically, I bet she’ll be crying and begging to quit within three minutes!”

Even though the staff had been shocked by Chu Jinzhi’s wild remarks during the actual filming, seeing it post-edit was another level of jarring. The contrast was stark: one moment, you had Lin Shuyu’s warm, kind-hearted praise, and the next, Chu Jinzhi’s arrogant, dismissive diss.

The crew on-site couldn’t help but feel a wave of dislike toward Chu Jinzhi, replaced by a growing sense of pity for Lin Shuyu.

Do you have any idea that the beautiful girl you praised so sincerely is stabbing you in the back? they thought. It felt like something precious was being trampled on.

The assistant director hesitated. “Director Chen, are we really going with this cut?”

Releasing this would likely trigger a bloodbath on social media before the show even officially aired.

Director Chen stroked his small mustache and chuckled. “Isn’t this great? While our show focuses on wilderness adventure, there’s always room for a study in human nature. Think about it: Chu Jinzhi is hell-bent on stepping all over Lin Shuyu, while Lin Shuyu has a great first impression of her. Won’t their ‘collision’ on the show be fascinating to watch?”

Almost every variety show needs a “villain” to stir the pot, create controversy, and make the other contestants look better by comparison.

Celebrity Wilderness Survival had originally claimed to have no script, and they truly hadn’t prepared a designated “clown” role. But since Chu Jinzhi had proactively seized that persona and was working so hard to cause trouble, wasn’t she just handing them free publicity and discussion?

It would be a waste not to use it.

“From now on, give those two more screen time,” Director Chen decided, his interest thoroughly piqued.

Though she hadn’t accompanied the team, Yao Tong was well-informed. When she heard the news, she was fuming. She immediately called Lin Shuyu to tell her to stay far away from Chu Jinzhi.

Lin Shuyu was genuinely stunned. “How can that be?”

They had just been chatting and laughing together. Those bright, smiling eyes didn’t seem like they could belong to someone so two-faced.

Had her judgment really failed her this time?

That night, the edited teasers were posted to the Celebrity Wilderness Survival official website every ten minutes. The production team poured money into promotion, ensuring the clips appeared across all major platforms.

Under the other guests’ videos, the comment sections remained peaceful and harmonious. But when it was Chu Jinzhi’s turn, the internet exploded. Because her teaser was released almost immediately after Lin Shuyu’s, netizens were constantly jumping back and forth between the two. Their engagement numbers skyrocketed, quickly eclipsing the other three guests and taking a commanding lead in the rankings.

The contrast between Lin Shuyu’s sincere compliments and Chu Jinzhi’s immediate call-out was too sharp. Netizens who were already unhappy that someone like Chu Jinzhi had snagged a spot on the show were now livid. They dug up every unflattering photo of her they’d been saving to “trash” her, while simultaneously developing a massive soft spot for the “victim,” Lin Shuyu.

To have such a kind and beautiful person targeted by a “rotten rose” like Chu Jinzhi was practically a sacrilege!

“Lin Shuyu, if you can just slap her face hard on this show, I’m your fan for life!”

Comments like this popped up like mushrooms after a rain, and Lin Shuyu’s Weibo follower count began to climb.

Even Yao Tong, who was so angry she couldn’t sleep, wondered if she was sleepwalking and had accidentally bought a bot army. Lin Shuyu was gaining fans at an incredible rate from a single teaser.

Back in her room, Chu Jinzhi received a call from her manager, Sister Lin.

Sister Lin’s tone was dripping with sarcasm. “Are you really planning to follow that ‘anti-fan expert’s’ plan to the bitter end? Celebrity Wilderness Survival is your chance to turn your image around. Do your job well and stop with the nonsense.”

Chu Jinzhi agreed verbally, as usual. But as soon as she hung up, she logged into her main Weibo account. She reposted the show’s teaser and added a single emoji: a smirking face wearing sunglasses.

It immediately drew a barrage of mockery from netizens.

A minute later, the post was deleted.

A minute later, it was posted again.

Deleted.

Posted again.

Onlooking netizens: “…”

The technical experts soon confirmed via IP logs that one side of this tug-of-war was Chu Jinzhi’s manager, and the other was Chu Jinzhi herself.

So, the manager is deleting it and Chu Jinzhi is reposting it?

This woman is so stubbornly defiant that I almost don’t want to curse her anymore.