Everyone in the Entertainment Industry Thinks I’m a Flirty Diva [Entertainment Circle] - Chapter 21

The interior of the Phantom was exceptionally spacious. The middle-aged driver, well-trained, kept his hands firmly on the steering wheel and his eyes fixed straight ahead. No matter what sounds or movements came from the back seat, he never once glanced in the rearview mirror.

Gu Mingjing’s grip was unyielding. Chu Xi, her nape held firmly, struggled in vain, her muffled protests punctuated by fists pounding against his chest—each blow as ineffective as striking cotton. The man showed no reaction whatsoever.

In desperation, Chu Xi finally bit down on Gu Mingjing’s lip. The sharp pain made him release her immediately.

Then—smack—a crisp sound rang out.

Gu Mingjing’s head tilted slightly from the impact, while Chu Xi’s palm throbbed faintly.

The previously unflinching driver stiffened visibly at the sound.

The car fell into dead silence, broken only by Chu Xi’s ragged breathing. It wasn’t until the sting in her right palm registered that she fully realized what she had just done. She immediately turned to yank the car door open, only to find it inexplicably locked.

“Open the door,” Chu Xi demanded, leaning toward the driver.

The driver ignored her completely, sitting rigidly as if he hadn’t heard a thing.

She tugged at the lock a couple more times, futilely, then flexed her fingers before cautiously turning back.

Gu Mingjing was watching her. His brows were slightly furrowed, his narrow eyes dark and unfathomable, his presence so overpowering it seemed to freeze the very air around them.

Only then did real fear set in. Chu Xi shrank away, pressing herself against the car door, one hand still fumbling with the lock as if praying it would miraculously release and let her escape.

What happened at the hotel last time was one thing—just words, after all. But this time, she had actually struck Gu Mingjing.

She had hit her former patron.

Her former patron, the kind who commanded the wind and rain, the kind with obscene amounts of wealth.

Her former patron, in front of whom she had once hardly dared to raise her voice.

Gu Mingjing shifted slightly.

Chu Xi tensed instantly, her body rigid, her gaze that of a cornered animal—filled with terror yet refusing to back down.

He was the one in the wrong. What right did he have to kiss her like that?

Gu Mingjing leaned slightly toward her.

Chu Xi let out an involuntary whimper, fingers digging into the seat beneath her as she fought to suppress her fear.

She expected him to close the distance, but instead, he settled back into his seat as if nothing had happened and calmly instructed the driver, “Drive.”

The car remained silent, neither speaking a word. Chu Xi sat on pins and needles the entire ride until the car finally stopped outside a private dining establishment.

The place was familiar to her.

She had been here with Gu Mingjing a few times before. Unassuming from the outside, the restaurant didn’t accept walk-ins—reservations were mandatory, with only a handful of tables served each day. No amount of money could buy a seat without prior booking. Of course, even a glass of lemon water here was priced so outrageously it made Chu Xi want to curse the audacity.

She hadn’t expected Gu Mingjing to bring her here. Feeling like a duck forced onto a perch, she had no choice but to steel herself and follow him inside.

They sat across from each other. A server placed the final dish, a pot of fish bone soup, on the table. “Enjoy your meal.”

Chu Xi remained seated without moving, while Gu Mingjing had already picked up his chopsticks: “Let’s eat.”

Chu Xi was completely baffled.

Gu Mingjing had waited outside her neighborhood like a kidnapper, forcibly brought her into his car, didn’t react even after being slapped, and remained silent the entire way, scaring her into a racing heartbeat—only for his ultimate goal to be bringing her here to eat?

Gu Mingjing had already taken a bite of the food. Noticing that Chu Xi across from him was still sitting there dumbfounded, not even lifting her hands to the table, he set down his chopsticks, frowned, and asked, “Not to your taste?”

Chu Xi shook her head. After a moment’s thought, she picked up her chopsticks and took a bite of the same dish Gu Mingjing had just eaten.

The meal proceeded in an eerie atmosphere. Chu Xi waited for Gu Mingjing to take the first bite of every dish before daring to eat any herself.

She was afraid Gu Mingjing had poisoned the food to kill her.

It wasn’t until after the meal, when they were about to leave, that Assistant Gao pulled Chu Xi aside to talk.

“Miss Chu,” Assistant Gao said with a friendly smile, “I’m sure you’ve seen Mr. Gu’s attitude by now. And I’m sure you understand his intentions.”

As he spoke, he pulled out a sheet of paper from behind him as if performing a magic trick. It was densely covered in text, which he placed in front of Chu Xi. “This is the revised contract Mr. Gu has prepared for you. The terms are even more generous than what you signed before. Please take a careful look, and if there are no issues, sign it.”

“Mr. Gu truly cares about you. Look at this clause—‘does not rule out the possibility of becoming his girlfriend in the future.’ That was specifically added at Mr. Gu’s request.”

Chu Xi was first stunned, but when she heard the line “does not rule out the possibility of becoming his girlfriend in the future,” she suddenly burst into laughter.

So, taking her out to eat wasn’t Gu Mingjing’s ultimate goal after all. This contract was.

“Does not rule out the possibility of becoming his girlfriend in the future”—what a grand concession! Was she supposed to kneel and thank Mr. Gu for his magnanimity?

Suppressing the urge to flip the table, Chu Xi took a deep breath and looked at Assistant Gao. “Assistant Gao, do you think I look like a mistress to you?”

Assistant Gao: “?”

Chu Xi: “Does Gu Mingjing also think I look like a mistress? Born to be a kept woman?”

Understanding her implication, Assistant Gao hurriedly tried to persuade her. “Miss Chu, this is a good thing! If you just—”

“Is it such a good thing? Would you take it if it were offered to you?” Chu Xi cut him off.

Assistant Gao was momentarily speechless.

Chu Xi stood up angrily. “Whoever wants to sign it can sign it. Go shout outside—I guarantee countless people would be willing.”

Chu Xi walked out without looking back. Assistant Gao chased after her for a few steps, calling out, “Hey, Miss Chu, Miss Chu, Chu—”

“Ah!” Assistant Gao clutched the contract, watching Chu Xi’s retreating figure, and stomped her foot in frustration.

Chu Xi took a taxi home by herself.

The first thing she did upon arriving home was pull out her phone and call Grandma Chu—the same Grandma Chu who never failed to nag her about her grandson-in-law every time she visited.

With a numb expression, Chu Xi finally uttered the words that would set her free:

“Grandma, Gu Mingjing and I have broken up.”

——

Two days later, on Monday, the variety show We Are Classmates began filming as scheduled.

The recording took place at a public school in the city. On Monday morning, the school gate was crowded with private cars and electric scooters, and students in uniforms streamed in, chattering noisily, creating a lively atmosphere.

Chu Xi, dressed in the middle school uniform provided by the production team and carrying a backpack, stood at the school gate and looked up at the signboard.

Since she was in uniform, the students rushing to class barely noticed her. A security guard at the gate was checking student IDs, and Chu Xi saw a student with dyed hair being stopped ahead of her. When it was her turn, she obediently handed over the student ID issued by the production team.

To her surprise, the guard barely glanced at it and waved her in. “Go ahead.”

At 8 a.m., the first class bell rang, and We Are Classmates officially began broadcasting.

Compared to the bustling debut of Brave Hearts, the premiere of We Are Classmates barely drew ten thousand viewers online—even fewer than some small-time influencers’ livestreams. It was downright pitiful.

The comments were sparse, with only a handful drifting across the screen, most of them from Chu Xi’s fans. The upside, however, was that unlike the toxic barrage of other shows, We Are Classmates was mostly watched by fans, so the comments were unexpectedly harmonious. Out of every five viewers, roughly three were Chu Xi’s fans, one was a casual viewer, and the last was a fan of another guest.

The Brick fan group had sent out a notice beforehand, urging everyone to tune in and cheer for their beloved “Xi Bao.”

[Brick here to support Xi Bao!]

[Looking forward to Chu Xi!]

[High schooler Chu Xi is here!]

…

As the livestream began, the four guests stood side by side on the podium while the homeroom teacher addressed the class.

Someone in the comments asked:

[What’s going on? Weren’t there supposed to be five guests?]

[Apparently, since the show is obviously doomed, one backed out last minute.]

[…Well, that’s that.]

On set, the homeroom teacher, Mr. Zhao, clapped his hands to quiet the murmurs from the students who were stirred by the newcomers on stage. “Settle down.”

The moment he spoke, the students immediately hushed like little quails.

Mr. Zhao continued, “As I mentioned last week, these are four new transfer students who will be joining our Class 3 of Grade 10. From now on, they will study and live alongside us as part of our class. Let’s welcome them to introduce themselves.”

The students burst into applause.

Among the four transfer students—two boys and two girls—one was a little-known actor named Du Chao, another was a Douyin influencer named Han Shaowen, one girl was an internet celebrity named Hu Xiaoxing, and the last one was…

Most of the classmates’ gazes were fixed on Chu Xi, the most famous and prominent among the four. In truth, even if she weren’t the most prominent, everyone’s attention would still naturally gravitate toward her.

Their school’s beauty queen wasn’t even this stunning.

What’s more, the key difference was that while the other three guests either had dyed hair or wore heavy makeup, making their school uniforms look out of place, Chu Xi stood out with her student-like short, delicate bob. Her face was fresh and barely touched by makeup, her youthful collagen still abundant. No wonder the security guard barely checked her student ID when she entered the school earlier. With that look, she blended in seamlessly among the high school students.

Bullet comments:

[Xi Bao looks so young!]

[Her bare face is as flawless as ever]

[Class Flower of Grade 1, Class 3—Chu Xi, hehehe]

[Totally fits right in, but then again, Chu Xi’s age isn’t that far off from the students below]

[First-year high schoolers are around sixteen, and Chu Xi is twenty this year—only a four-year difference!]

[That’s because she never went to college, hahaha]

This last comment, likely from some anti-fan, about her not attending college made Chu Xi’s fans uncomfortable.

But the statement was true, and there was no way to refute it—Chu Xi had indeed debuted at eighteen and never continued her education.

These days, fan culture heavily emphasizes academic pursuits, and the industry increasingly values formal training. Fans love comparing their idols’ educational backgrounds, and younger idols or child stars are often encouraged to apply to acting schools. In that context, Chu Xi’s high school diploma wasn’t particularly impressive.

At twenty, she wasn’t too old, and now that she no longer had a sugar daddy or resources, she had plenty of free time. It would be great if she could go back and take the college entrance exams.

But her fans quickly dismissed the thought. Chu Xi had been out of school for two or three years, and there were even rumors about her being a delinquent with poor grades in high school. There was no way she could go back to take the exams now.

The four guests introduced themselves one by one and took their assigned seats arranged by the homeroom teacher. Chu Xi’s seat was in the middle-right row, and her deskmate was a bespectacled girl.

The first period was the homeroom teacher’s class. Teacher Zhao taught math. She watched as the four transfer students settled into their seats, then pulled out a stack of test papers from the podium.

The moment the students saw the papers, unease rippled through the classroom, and whispers broke out.

“Holy crap, a test in the first period?”

“Didn’t we just have one last week?”

“Teacher, please no!”

Teacher Zhao shook her head at the students’ anxious reactions. “Relax, there’s no test today.”

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire class collectively let out a sigh of relief.

Chu Xi, following the local customs, saw her classmates relax and also exhaled in relief.

Unexpectedly, Teacher Zhao added another sentence: “This is a diagnostic test for the four new students. The rest of the class should take out their workbooks and do the exercises. The four new students, please come here to collect your test papers.”

Chu Xi: “………………”

She took the test paper, returned to her seat, and spread it out on the desk.

It was a comprehensive diagnostic test. Since they hadn’t yet divided into arts and sciences in the first year of high school, the test included questions from Chinese, Math, English, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Politics, History, and Geography—basically two or three questions from each subject.

The other students had already opened their workbooks and started scribbling away diligently. The four new students’ reactions upon receiving the diagnostic test were quite entertaining.

The low-profile actor Du Chao wrote his name on the test paper and then began chewing on his pen while staring at the questions. Male internet celebrity Han Shaowen, who came to school without even bringing a pen, was now borrowing one from his classmates. Female internet celebrity Hu Xiaoxing flipped the test paper back and forth before slumping into her chair in defeat.

The barrage of comments had already begun: [Hahahahahaha]

Chu Xi took a gel pen from her pencil case and first wrote her name.

The camera zoomed in, clearly capturing every word on the test paper.

Finally, the focus landed on the name and class Chu Xi had just written.

It wasn’t the flamboyant signature of a celebrity—her handwriting was neat and elegant, written in small regular script.

The few viewers in the live stream had laughed enough at the first three, but now, their eyes suddenly lit up.

Wow—

Chu Xi’s handwriting is so beautiful!