Everyone in the Entertainment Industry Thinks I’m a Flirty Diva [Entertainment Circle] - Chapter 18

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The entire team, poised for their final charge, turned around in unison.

There stood the hostage they had been about to rescue—completely unharmed, not a scratch on her, even wearing a friendly smile. Her presence seemed to silently convey one message to everyone:

Surprise! Bet you didn’t see this coming!

The group: “………………”

An awkward silence fell.

Live comments:

[Hahahahaha Queen Xi is amazing!]

[The hostage escaped on her own, LOL!]

[Chu Xi is incredible! The first hostage to ever break free by herself!]

Many viewers who hadn’t been watching the small screen in the corner were stunned:

[WTF?! How did Chu Xi get out by herself?!]

Chu Xi’s loyal fans, the “Bricks,” proudly explained: [She escaped on her own! Chu Xi is super badass!]

[Our baby Xi is the best! Mom is so proud of you, mom loves you!]

Meanwhile, anti-fans sneered at Chu Xi’s sudden reappearance:

[No way Chu Xi escaped by herself. What a joke.]

[The soldiers playing terrorists must’ve gone easy on her.]

[Definitely went easy. Who doesn’t know what kind of person Chu Xi really is?]

A heated argument erupted between anti-fans and fans until a Brick supporter posted a recording from the small screen: [Chu Xi worked hard to outmaneuver the terrorists—she escaped fair and square! You might ignore the small screen, but don’t dismiss her effort!]

The clip showed Chu Xi cleverly engaging the terrorists, dropping witty one-liners while secretly fraying her ropes. After biding her time, she seized the perfect moment to lower herself from the second floor using the rope and made her escape.

As for why there was only one person guarding him, the battle had reached its final stage at that point. All the terrorists had been deployed outside to resist the soldiers’ attack, leaving only one guard for Chu Xi. No one could have imagined that a seemingly defenseless female hostage would ultimately manage to escape.

Everyone soon realized that while the soldiers’ combat outside was intense and thrilling, Chu Xi’s hostage ordeal—previously overlooked in the bottom-right corner—was an equally gripping spectacle. The witty back-and-forth with the terrorists at the beginning was full of charm, and the tension of her eventual escape was just as exhilarating. In terms of excitement, it even rivaled the battle outside.

The anti-fans finally quieted down, and the barrage of comments cleared up.

[Chu Xi is really amazing.]

[Not just amazing, but also brave.]

[Yeah, she just rappelled down from the second floor by herself with just a rope and no safety measures. That takes real courage.]

[Her interactions with the terrorist guarding her today were hilarious too—getting scolded, trying to steal his cola, and staring at him while he peed until he ran off LOLOLOL.]

[Some people still say she’s faking a persona. Is it so hard to admit she’s just naturally this adorable?]

[Damn… I might be getting a little fangirled here…]

……

At the program site, the hostage rescue mission had taken an unexpected turn—the hostage had escaped on her own before the team could save her. So, what now?

Everyone turned their eyes to Squad Leader Liu.

With his wealth of experience, Squad Leader Liu quickly adapted the battle plan. Though the hostage had returned, the terrorists at the mountaintop still needed to be eliminated. Now that the fear of the hostage being executed was gone, strategizing became much smoother, and victory seemed assured.

Chu Xi, after being tied up all day and finally escaping to rejoin her team, was eager to join the fight.

Squad Leader Liu smiled at the self-rescued hostage and assigned Chu Xi to a squad of soldiers.

Before long, the final battle commenced.

The terrorists held the high ground, including an exceptionally skilled sniper. Squad Leader Liu warned everyone to proceed with caution—previous failed assaults were largely due to this sniper taking out multiple soldiers in rapid succession. The key to this battle was pinpointing the sniper’s location.

At Squad Leader Liu’s low command of “Go,” the team advanced from multiple directions according to plan.

Enemy gunfire rained down like a storm.

Chu Xi, following Squad Leader Liu and two other soldiers, was on edge. Their flank seemed to face lighter fire, and the infamous sniper had yet to appear. The four moved cautiously, nearing the terrorists’ factory. Chu Xi was ready to prove herself—when suddenly, a gunshot rang out.

A sharp pain struck her chest.

Before she could process what had happened, Squad Leader Liu pinpointed the shot’s origin and fired back, taking out the enemy’s ace sniper in one hit.

The elimination of the sniper boosted everyone’s morale. Chu Xi was about to cheer—until a staff member informed her she’d been hit and was out of the game.

Looking down, she saw the mark of a bullet impact where the pain had struck.

As a “dead person,” she could only watch as Squad Leader Liu led the remaining soldiers into the factory, cutting down enemies left and right, unstoppable.

The facts proved that the chosen one was indeed the chosen one. Out of several people, the sniper happened to pick her to shoot at, revealing his position and getting taken out by the squad leader in one shot.

Bullet comments: [“The chosen one’s reputation stands strong! Chu Xi slays!”]

Chu Xi: “………………”

She was done.

——

The live combat training ended with the hostage escaping on her own and the soldiers completely annihilating the terrorists, securing final victory.

Company Commander Wang gave a concluding summary of the day’s training and announced the three outstanding soldiers who would join the flag guard team.

First place went to Yan Zhun, second to Dong Wei—both had performed exceptionally well in combat today. As for third place, Company Commander Wang glanced at the remaining four candidates before declaring, “Third place—Chu Xi!”

“Comrade Chu Xi, as the hostage, skillfully engaged with the terrorists, overcame hardships, and ultimately escaped successfully, making a tremendous contribution to our later victory!”

Hearing Company Commander Wang’s praise, Chu Xi smiled shyly. Just as she was about to say thank you, Squad Leader Liu suddenly shouted, “Congratulations, Chu Xi!” Before she could react, Squad Leader Liu and the other five male guests rushed over, lifted her up, and tossed her into the air.

The show was nearing its end, and this was the surprise they had prepared for Chu Xi.

Chu Xi was the only female guest. The other male guests, being industry insiders, were mostly aware that she had a powerful backer—a spoiled, pretentious little mistress kept by a sugar daddy. Initially, everyone had worried she might throw tantrums, act difficult, or drag the team down during training. Worst of all, they feared she might call her sugar daddy and quit filming if things didn’t go her way. Yet, as time passed, Chu Xi’s performance had completely defied expectations. She never threw tantrums, acted difficult, or dragged the team down. Despite being chosen by fate time and again, enduring endless misfortunes, she kept up with the male guests’ training intensity, pushing through exhaustion without complaint—even when her hands swelled from breaking bricks.

The little canary everyone had secretly looked down on at the start had now become the team’s darling.

“Ah!” Chu Xi shrieked. After the initial shock came delight as the six men tossed her high into the air and caught her securely. Though thrilled, she didn’t forget to yell when they threw her up again, “Y-you better catch me!”

Bullet comments:

[“HAHAHAHAHAHA”]

[“So adorable hahaha”]

[“If they miss, she’s gonna fall 233333”]

[“Chu Xi really is the team’s favorite!”]

[Who would have thought that this adorable female star, now looking disheveled and distressed, has fans who call themselves “Bricks”?]

[This show really changed my view of Chu Xi. She’s actually quite nice.]

…

During the final review, Chu Xi, as an outstanding soldier, took off her usual camouflage training uniform and marched at the forefront of the team in full military ceremonial dress, head held high and chest out.

The delicate, tear-prone little white lotus was gone. Now, Chu Xi carried her gun with firm, resolute steps and determined eyes.

For some reason, this scene moved many to tears.

Chu Xi’s performance on the show was skillfully edited by her “Brick” fans into various fan-attracting videos, categorized into sections like “Stunning Beauty,” “Resilient Training,” and “Goofy Mishaps,” which garnered impressive views. Many expressed becoming new fans.

After the show ended, Chu Xi retrieved her phone and saw the newly added “Brick Fan Group,” suddenly realizing that she actually had fans now.

She had fans…

It was true. Last time, fans even held up bricks to greet her at the airport.

Ahhh!!!

Chu Xi lay on her bed, kicking the air in excitement.

She had moved out of the apartment Gu Mingjing kept for his mistress, returned home briefly, and then asked Fu Bai to rent her a new place.

The payment for “Brave Hearts” had also been fully deposited after the show ended. Fu Bai transferred the money to Chu Xi’s account, and as she kicked her legs, she received the bank notification confirming the deposit.

Chu Xi quieted down, staring at the numbers on her bank statement, her nose tingling with emotion.

It still wasn’t enough. She wanted to save as much as possible for her grandmother.

But after leaving Gu Mingjing, Fu Bai’s resources were limited. Apart from this serendipitous opportunity with “Brave Hearts,” there were very few film or variety show offers—mostly small, obscure online variety shows with little impact and low-budget web dramas with unknown crews that seemed unreliable. Chu Xi fell silent. Fu Bai said her popularity had noticeably risen after “Brave Hearts” and advised her not to rush, to wait for a good opportunity.

But she couldn’t afford to wait…

Chu Xi didn’t tell Fu Bai.

She had less than half a year left. How could she possibly wait?

The thought of that dwindling time made her eyes well up again.

Forget it. She sniffled and decided to tell Fu Bai tomorrow that she wasn’t picky—small web dramas or online variety shows were fine. She just wanted to earn more money.

Nothing else mattered anymore.

Chu Xi took a shower, then came out with her hair tied up and put on a sheet mask.

A ten-yuan drugstore mask. Now focused on saving money and no longer having access to luxury brands after leaving Gu Mingjing, she had returned to using affordable products like she did two years ago.

After removing the mask and washing her face, Chu Xi was surprised to find the ten-yuan mask felt quite nice.

She looked in the mirror. The reflection showed a face with a fluffy bun, skin taut and fair, without a single blemish or acne scar, glowing with youthful radiance like fine porcelain.

In truth, the quality of one’s skin depends mostly on genetics. Some people can casually apply cheap moisturizer and still have enviably flawless skin, while others meticulously apply expensive skincare every night yet remain plagued by various skin issues.

Expensive cosmetics often resemble a beautiful temptation, luring women to burn through their money for the sake of beauty.

Chu Xi took a photo of a face mask and posted it on her alt Weibo account, “I Don’t Feel Like Wearing Makeup Today,” with the caption: “Feels nice to use.”

She hadn’t logged into her alt account in a long time, so when she suddenly posted, her fans exclaimed:

[“Er Gou, you’re back from the dead!”]

[“Grandma, look! The blogger you followed finally posted again!”]

After the initial excitement, fans were surprised that the notoriously “extravagant and ruthless” Er Gou had actually recommended a ten-yuan face mask.

Chu Xi then added in the comments: “Not sponsored. Actually, a lot of affordable products work really well. Feel free to share your favorites.”

Fans replied:

[“As if Er Gou would ever take sponsorships, lol.”]

[“I think XXXX is really good!”]

[“XXXXX is also cheap and effective—Er Gou, wanna try it and review it for us?”]

Chu Xi noted down the affordable products recommended by her fans, planning to test a few. Then she spotted one comment:

[“Er Gou, did you know? Le Shan recently posted about her custom-made French skincare products on Weibo? Apparently, they’re super expensive, tailored uniquely to each customer’s skin after testing. Er Gou, wanna try and review them for us?”]

The blogger behind “I Don’t Feel Like Wearing Makeup Today” was clearly not short on money, so fans sometimes asked her to try pricier items—which Chu Xi often did.

Under this comment, fans started discussing:

[“Yeah, yeah! I heard it’s insanely expensive—like, hundreds of thousands for a set. If it were bags or something, fine, at least they might hold value. But skincare? It’s a consumable you replace every two months! Are female celebs really this rich?”]

[“No way! Other actresses’ vanity rooms don’t have stuff this pricey.”]

[“Er Gou, don’t bother. We can scrape together money for other things, but this? We’ll never afford it in our lives.”]

[“Le Shan isn’t even that famous—how is she this loaded?”]

[“I heard from gossip forums that Le Shan recently hooked up with a new sugar daddy—super rich. She’s just flaunting it.”]

[“How rich are we talking? ‘Small goal of 100 million’ rich?”]

[“Exactly! Some say her new sugar daddy is the CEO of Yuanjing Group—the Gu family!” ]

[“Yuanjing Group just got a new CEO, and he’s super young! Not even thirty, I heard!”]

[“Holy shit, is he hot? What kind of Mary Sue fantasy is this guy?”]

[“No idea, but with that kind of wealth and youth, looks don’t even matter!”]

[“No wonder Le Shan’s showing off. Young and filthy rich—I’d flaunt it too!”]

The fans were chatting away enthusiastically.

The young new CEO of Yuanjing Group.

Chu Xi quickly figured it out—it must be Gu Mingjing.

Chu Xi then thought of Le Shan.

At the last Golden Feather Awards red carpet, her 200-yuan dress had been mocked by marketing accounts, and it was later discovered that Le Shan’s team was behind it. Unexpectedly, the plan backfired, and Chu Xi ended up winning the Best Dressed award, turning it into a brilliant victory.

Chu Xi imagined Gu Mingjing and Le Shan standing together in her mind and found the image surprisingly harmonious.

Chu Xi yawned.

Well… may they have a happy union for a hundred years.