Can’t Trash-Talk You to Death, So I’ll Kiss You to Death - Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Yun Duoduo really wanted to snap back, but she knew her limits—she currently lacked the clout to invite any big A-listers. The best she could offer was someone like “Anna,” a top-tier agent.

But agents were only powerful behind the scenes; they didn’t bring in the massive fan traffic the show craved.

“Fine,” she muttered, “go with your arrangement.”

After the staff left, Duoduo’s mood plummeted. After washing up, she crawled into bed and hugged Li Qinglian’s arm. “Mom, I’m not very happy. Honestly, I never cared about being a superstar; I just wanted to earn enough to live.”

Li Qinglian stroked her head. She had overheard the staff’s words and wanted to help, but realized she had no power in this world. “Duoduo, let me ask you: Why did you enter the entertainment industry in the first place?”

“At the start, I was just fueled by spite,” Duoduo admitted. “I wanted to prove to everyone that I, Yun Duoduo, would never resort to drugging someone for a job!”

“And have you proven it?”

Duoduo’s voice grew quiet. “No. And I feel like I’m liking this industry less and less. I’m afraid that if I stay, I’ll end up hating singing too.”

“If I told you to quit now, you wouldn’t want to, right? So let’s set a deadline. If you haven’t achieved what you want by then, don’t force yourself anymore, okay?”

Duoduo was the type to charge into a brick wall and refuse to turn back until she was bleeding. Real life, however, always finds a way to force a compromise.

“Mhm,” Duoduo hummed, closing her eyes as she snuggled against her mother.

Several times she reached for her phone to message Huai Jian—to ask her if she’d consider coming—but her vulnerability caught her off guard. She was afraid her words would be too negative, afraid that Huai Jian would find her annoying if she complained.

…

Duoduo tossed and turned until the early morning hours before finally drifting off. She woke up looking a bit haggard, so she splashed cold water on her face to wake herself up for the cameras.

After breakfast, she pulled out her phone and checked WeChat to see if the “Sister” had messaged her or seen her photos.

Huai Jian: “The photos are very cute. The scenery is beautiful.”

Duoduo’s eyes lit up instantly. Her fatigue vanished, replaced by a surge of energy. She quickly replied: “I had some stuff to deal with last night, so I wasn’t online.”

She was about to put her phone away when she saw that Huai Jian was actually online and replied almost immediately.

Huai Jian: “Do you have to film at night too?”

“No, no, no filming last night. Just other arrangements. I have a new mission to do soon,” Duoduo typed while walking, looking like a typical “smartphone zombie.” “What are you doing?”

Huai Jian: “Just woke up. Getting ready to get out of bed.”

Duoduo stopped in her tracks. She hallucinated a sleepy beauty leaning against a headboard, wearing thin silk pajamas with a low neckline, a hint of pale skin peeking through.

She took a sharp breath, her face flushing. “Get a grip… how can you think of her like that?” she muttered to herself. But… but she’d look so good!

In reality, Huai Jian’s current state wasn’t far off from that imagination—in fact, she was even more alluring than Duoduo pictured.

Arriving at the gathering spot, Duoduo turned her back to the cameras to send one last message: “Going to do the mission now. I’ll message you later.”

Huai Jian, who was taking a few days off at home, simply replied: “Okay.”

…

Duoduo was in such a good mood that her smile wouldn’t fade, even giving the Heiress a friendly grin when they stood together.

The Heiress huffed loudly. What’s she so smug about? So what if she harvested more grain? I have money; I can just buy what I need.

Duoduo wasn’t thinking about grain at all. Once the director announced the task, she grabbed her tools and set off. The moment she had a spare second, she snuck a message to Huai Jian: “Sister, guess what the mission is today?” She followed it up with a photo.

Huai Jian, now downstairs in loungewear for breakfast, replied: “Going up the mountain to pick fruit?”

“Ah! Sister, how did you know?!” Duoduo’s task was to pick apples—some for tomorrow’s guests and some to sell at the market to buy groceries. It was a heavy workload.

Huai Jian: “Just a guess. Good luck.”

Though Huai Jian didn’t do variety shows, she owned an entertainment company and kept an eye on industry trends.

With the “Sister’s” encouragement, Duoduo was a powerhouse. She picked a massive crate of apples and sent a photo. “Want to eat one? If you do, I’ll courier some to you after filming.”

Huai Jian: “I’d like that.”

She was curious to see what a “courier apple” would taste like.

As Duoduo hiked back down the mountain, the staff’s words from the night before echoed in her head. She bit her lip and typed tentatively: “Sister, if… if I invited you to come here as a guest, would you come?”

Huai Jian’s spoon paused mid-air. She leaned back. The scenery in the photos was tempting, but were she and Duoduo really that close? They’d been talking for half a month, but had only truly “connected” for three days.

Huai Jian was usually cold and kept people in clear categories. If she had to categorize Duoduo, she was… an “Internet friend.” A very pleasant one.

Duoduo’s heart raced as she waited. Fearing she had been too forward, she quickly backtracked: “It’s okay if you can’t! I’ll still send the fruit. The director has already arranged guests anyway.”

Huai Jian thought about what her investigators had found. Duoduo had talent, but she was constantly being suppressed behind the scenes.

Huai Jian: “Is the production crew being fair?”

She could guess the answer. If the Heiress was there, pressure was being applied.

Duoduo replied with a small, “Mhm.” Then followed up: “I have to go sell apples on the street now. Might not be able to chat until later.”

…

Duoduo put her phone away. She couldn’t be seen playing with it too much, or the “evil editing” would make her look lazy.

The rule for selling was: the price couldn’t be lower than market value, and she couldn’t sell them all to one person.

But Duoduo was resourceful. She went to a wholesale shop and bought a roll of colorful wrapping paper. She wrapped ten premium apples beautifully and set up a sign: “Yun Duoduo’s Lucky Fruits. Buy a pound of apples, get a free wrapped one! Limit: First 10 customers!”

The apples were fresh and the deal was sweet. A crowd gathered, and her basket was empty in no time.

Duoduo shared her method with Ji Zhen and the others, then sat in a corner to check her phone. The Heiress kept sneering at her, saying loudly to the camera: “So unprofessional. Just because she’s finished doesn’t mean she should play on her phone all day.”

Duoduo glanced at her, then suddenly bolted toward a nearby supermarket. When she emerged, she was surrounded by local aunties, carrying heavy bags. She laughed at the camera: “I was checking for local supermarket deals! Snagging ‘Buy One Get One’ deals is just like Double 11—you have to be fast, accurate, and run like the wind!”

The crew gave her a thumbs up for her street-smarts. The Heiress, meanwhile, looked like she’d swallowed a piece of coal.

“Keep acting,” the Heiress hissed. “Buying all those groceries is useless. No one is coming to visit you anyway. Just wait until tomorrow—you’ll be the one crying.”