The Security Guard Who Won the Heart of the Unattainable Actress - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

“Ding.”

“3 yuan spent. Your bank card balance is 2.04 yuan.”

Li Guang held the steamed bun in her hand and, upon seeing the notification on her phone, stood frozen in place for two seconds, speechless.

No money left.

She was probably the most miserable person in the entertainment industry, right?

Just as she took her first bite of the bun, a notification from her agent came through.

“Xiao Li, if you have time today, come to the dorm and move your things out. Your contract ends in three days… I’m sorry, I know your situation is difficult, but I’ve done my best.”

Li Guang nodded, indicating that she understood.

“Brother Xie, I get it. I’ll be back to move my stuff later.”

Three years ago, Li Guang signed with Xie Yunfei, who was an intern agent at the time.

Three years passed, and all the artists from Li Guang’s batch under Xie Yunfei’s management had achieved success, but only Li Guang was still spinning her wheels, contributing nothing to the company. She received the lowest guaranteed salary, just enough to keep her from starving.

She couldn’t get any gigs except for being an extra in various small film crews.

Xie Yunfei said, “With your looks, if you just put in a little effort and were a bit sweeter, you might have already become a little famous… Sigh, the variety show three months ago was a great opportunity for you, why didn’t you seize it?”

Li Guang was silent for a while, took a bite of her bun, and the warm sunlight shimmered in her hair. Li Guang looked at her shadow under the sun and said unclearly, “Brother Xie, the persona the company set for me doesn’t suit me.”

She hung up the phone, quickly finished her bun, and prepared to take the subway back to the company dorm to pack. Although her bank card balance was a heavy reality, her steps were still light after having a full stomach.

A side road near the subway entrance led out to an elderly woman pushing a tricycle full of collected junk. The pile of cardboard boxes on the tricycle was as high as a small mountain and was clearly leaning to one side. As she turned a corner, it was about to fall over.

Li Guang was right behind her. Seeing the situation, she rushed up in three strides.

The elderly woman exclaimed, “Never mind! Never mind! Young lady, this is very heavy. If it falls on you…”

The next second, her words stopped when Li Guang easily propped up the tricycle and casually shifted its direction.

The tricycle was loaded with at least a hundred or so pounds of stuff, but to Li Guang, it felt like molding a ball of cotton. She was tall and, while she was at it, tidied up the leaning part of the load. With her round eyes curved, she grinned at the elderly woman and said, “It’s too dangerous. Be careful.”

The elderly woman and the passersby were dumbfounded. They forgot to say thank you. By the time they remembered, the young lady had already entered the subway and disappeared.

Sitting on the subway, Li Guang spread out her hands and looked at them.

To match her doll-like face, the persona the company had set for her at the beginning was: delicate, pretty, powerless, and a pure, little white flower.

The real Li Guang: could easily carry two bags of rice and, when feeling spirited, could perform the feat of uprooting a willow. She had the face of Lin Daiyu, but the strength of Lu Zhishen. She was a modern-day “Lu Daiyu.”

She didn’t want to break character, but she couldn’t help it.

Li Guang smiled and began to think about her next step.

Back then, Li Guang just wanted to have a job, so she signed up for an acting training class at a film and television university.

After graduation, all her classmates signed with a company, and she was no exception.

Others signed with a company to enter the entertainment industry and become stars and actors. But not Li Guang. She just treated it as a job.

Obviously, this career was not very successful for her.

Xie Yunfei had told her more than once, with a heavy heart, that it was a waste of her excellent qualities to be in such a situation.

Sometimes, he would grit his teeth and, with a look of disappointment, talk about who had become famous.

The most classic line was still: “You at least came out of the same classroom as Ran Mingyue. Look at Ran Mingyue now? She’s an award-winning actress. You, you…”

Li Guang just lowered her eyes and smiled, good-naturedly saying, “That’s different.”

Now that her contract was over, she was about to become unemployed. No other company was trying to poach her, and she didn’t know where to go.

She also had no place to live.

Even eating was becoming a problem.

How about she stays at home for a while and then moves out as soon as she finds a new job?

Li Guang opened her phone to text her mother, but her mother happened to be typing as well.

Mom: [Image]

Mom: Xiao Guang, Yang Yang is grown up now and needs a study. You haven’t come back to live with us, so we’ve converted your room into Yang Yang’s study. What do you think?

Li Guang opened the image and looked at it for a long time.

The small bed was gone, replaced by a spacious desk by the window, from which she could see the lush greenery.

She slowly blinked twice, as if seeing, through the image, the childhood years of looking out the window by herself drifting away from her.

With her thick, long eyelashes lowered, Li Guang sent a message: “It looks so good! Yang Yang will definitely love it.”

After thinking for a moment, she added a cute clapping cat emoji.

The subway had arrived at the station.

Now she had to find a place to live on her own.

It was already noon when Li Guang finished clearing out all of her belongings.

She ate the last half-box of crackers she had taken from the dorm to satisfy her hunger. She had a lot of things, a total of three large boxes. Each one was incredibly heavy, and Li Guang had to put in a little effort.

After all, she had lived there for three years.

The company’s dorms were located in a villa complex. The company rented them for the newly signed young artists, with each person getting a single room. After they had achieved some success, they either moved out on their own, or the company would make better arrangements. Only Li Guang had stayed in the original dorm for three years, until now.

She was leaving.

Leaving after her contract was terminated. It was quite embarrassing to talk about.

Li Guang had a good mindset. Even if she was about to become homeless the next second, she remained optimistic. She dragged the boxes, which were far heavier than her own weight, out of the company’s villa gate and walked along the street.

A flyer was blown up by the wind from a distance and flew directly towards Li Guang’s face. She squinted her eyes against the wind but still accurately caught the thin piece of paper.

When she unfolded it, a few large words caught her attention:

“Hiring security guards. Food and housing provided!”

Li Guang’s eyes lit up: Oh?

This entire area was made up of four villa complexes, and the one marked on the flyer was in the best location.

It wasn’t far, just a little over ten minutes away.

Li Guang, filled with anticipation, walked with light steps. When she saw her future colleague in the security booth, listlessly crossing his legs, looking up at the sky and down at the ground while playing on his phone, Li Guang had an epiphany.

That’s right! This was her path!

She ran over and knocked on the clean glass window: “Hello, are you hiring security guards?”

Chai Ning, seeing the young girl with a doll-like face standing outside, immediately said, “We don’t accept interviews on behalf of parents.”

“It’s me,” Li Guang said with a smile. “Where do I interview?”

“We don’t hire high school students,” Chai Ning said with a laugh. “Young lady, don’t mess around here.”

Li Guang then showed him her prepared ID.

After comparing the person to the ID, Chai Ning stared at Li Guang for a long time. With her fair skin, her oval face, and her round, bright eyes, there was a childish, baby-like plumpness on her cheeks when she smiled. She wasn’t wearing any makeup, so she looked immature. That’s why he thought she was a high school student just now.

He couldn’t help but ask, “Are you sure you can handle this?”

“Are you looking down on me?” Li Guang placed her suitcase in front of Chai Ning. “Brother, lift it up.”

“What’s so hard about… Hiss!” Chai Ning, seeing how easily Li Guang was carrying it, confidently prepared to lift the two large boxes with one hand. As a result, his face turned red, and he almost dropped one on his foot. It was Li Guang who kindly helped him lift it.

Lift. She lifted it with a particularly relaxed ease.

Chai Ning’s respect was immediately apparent: “I’ll call Captain Liu to interview you right away.”

…

Li Guang’s interview went very smoothly. All she had to do was show about 30% of her strength, and the security captain, Liu Limin, immediately declared that Li Guang was the rare talent he had been searching for.

Liu Limin said with a heavy heart, “Food and housing are provided, and it’s four thousand yuan a month. But the first three months are a probation period, so it’s three thousand two hundred yuan a month. Is that okay with you?”

Li Guang asked, “And my place to live?”

Liu Limin said, “You’re the only female comrade. You’ll live in a single room. It’s a little small, but it’s nearby. Is that okay?”

Okay! That was more than okay!

—Why didn’t I come here earlier?

After living the dream life of being so idle she picked at her feet, Li Guang couldn’t help but think this.

The security guards in the villa complex were paid well and had little to do. They didn’t even see the residents come back very often. Even when they did, they just drove in and out.

With Chai Ning’s help, Li Guang had become familiar with her duties and quickly got the hang of them.

She also ate a full meal in the employee cafeteria at noon. Li Guang happily burped and, under the curious gazes of her colleagues, went to the meeting point with Chai Ning.

“You really came at a good time. Usually, there’s nothing going on, but the moment you arrive, there’s work to be done,” Chai Ning led Li Guang to the meeting point in the center of the complex and lowered his voice mysteriously. “Our property manager got some inside information. He said a director of a variety show is thinking about filming in our complex!”

Li Guang raised her eyelids: “Huh?”

“Awesome, right? You don’t know this, but a lot of celebrities actually live in our complex,” Chai Ning turned his head and made a zipping motion over his mouth. “Today is just for show. If they really decide to film here, we’ll get a bonus.”

So, Property Manager Li, who had received the inside information, had already arranged for his subordinates to print out cardboard cutouts of the guests who would be participating in the filming.

Li Guang acknowledged and took the cardboard cutout that another colleague handed her.

When she looked up, Ran Mingyue’s cold yet aggressive, peach-blossom eyes powerfully entered her view.

Li Guang was caught off guard and froze.

This person, even as just a cardboard cutout, had such a strong presence…

She placed Ran Mingyue’s cardboard cutout down, then reached out to gesture and couldn’t help but murmur, “Is this a bit too tall?”

“Too tall? Property Manager Li said it was a one-to-one replica. Look at Xiang Que and Jiang Qiaoye’s cutouts, aren’t they both a full 185 cm tall, handsome guys?”

Another colleague also came over and said, “Ran Mingyue is really popular now. So many people want to mooch off her fame. Wasn’t there a small show before, where a little artist said she knew Ran Mingyue and got so much flak for it? Just because you’ve seen an award-winning actress’s poster, does that mean you can say you know her?”

Li Guang’s heart skipped a beat with a nervous flutter. She worked even harder to organize the other posters.

“Don’t you think that little artist looks a bit like our Xiao Li? Xiao Li, didn’t you say during your interview that you used to be a worker in the entertainment industry? Have you ever met the award-winning actress Ran?”

“Never,” Li Guang denied directly. She smiled and said, “I was just a small staff member trying to make a living. How could I have ever met an award-winning actress?”

“So Xiao Li has a celebrity face. And your strength… Hiss…” Chai Ning watched as Li Guang held her breath, moved a stone pillar with one hand, and lifted a bucket of paper pulp with the other. He gasped and said, “You really are a security guard prodigy.”

After Li Guang successfully completed her tasks, Chai Ning was on duty with her in the afternoon.

The overnight shift was a tradition for all new security guards, and it was Li Guang’s turn tonight.

Before getting off work, Chai Ning specifically reminded Li Guang, “Recently, some obsessive fans like to sneak in. Pay attention. At night, only registered cars usually come in. You can rest in the inner room if you get tired after midnight.”

Li Guang excitedly clenched her fist: “Okay!”

She was the only girl to apply, so her work uniform wouldn’t be issued to her until two days later.

Li Guang watched the community surveillance cameras intently until 11:30 PM. Then she patrolled for half an hour. After confirming that everything was okay, she went into the inner room and lay down with her clothes on to rest.

The moment her eyes closed, she fell into a deep sleep. Li Guang had a good mindset and good quality sleep.

“Beep—”

“Beep beep beep—”

The gradually impatient and sharp honking of a car woke Li Guang from her sleep. She rubbed her eyes blankly and floated out of the inner room like a ghost.

She wasn’t fully awake. The digital clock showed the time was 3:30 AM.

Outside the transparent window, a low-profile Audi business car was blocked outside the road barrier.

This was an unregistered external vehicle. Li Guang’s mind was not clear, but she still mumbled into the microphone, “The car owner needs to get out and register to enter.”

The car window rolled down, and the person in the driver’s seat was wearing a mask. “You don’t recognize us?”

Li Guang slowly blinked twice, but she actually couldn’t see what the person talking looked like.

“Unregistered vehicles are not allowed to enter,” she repeated. Her not-fully-awake voice was not only soft but also filled with a strong sense of exhaustion.

“Wait! You don’t have to go down yourself…”

The passenger door opened, and a woman in high heels got out. Her large shawl was wrapped around her tall body. Even in the middle of the night, she still exuded a sense of refinement that was hard for ordinary people to approach.

“Li Guang?”

Ran Mingyue’s skin under the light was as fair as cool moonlight. As she took off her large sunglasses, Li Guang’s eyes met hers.

“Ran Mingyue?” Li Guang exclaimed in an instant. She looked at the cardboard cutout that she had set up well this afternoon standing in front of her. But after blinking twice, she spoke with a hint of annoyance, “Who? Who is it!”

Ran Mingyue frowned, looking at the red marks from her sleep on Li Guang’s face. She had just opened her mouth to speak: “Li Guang, you… what are you doing!”

Before she could finish, she was picked up and carried over Li Guang’s shoulder.

“What terrible obsessive fan is this, even trying to steal the cutout!” Li Guang’s hair was messy, but she was nimbly carrying Ran Mingyue out of the security office. She was muttering to herself as she ran madly under the moonlight. “It’s a good thing I found it. Otherwise, Property Manager Li would be furious tomorrow…”

For Li Guang, the weight of a female celebrity was a piece of cake. She wasn’t fully awake, but a string was tense in her mind, telling her that she had to perfectly complete her overnight shift today.

“Li Guang! Put me down!”

“What are you even mumbling about…”

Ran Mingyue’s voice was choppy from the bouncing.

The woman in the driver’s seat behind them also jumped out and shouted from behind, “Hey! You! Put Mingyue down or I’ll call the police!!”

But Li Guang was single-minded and moved as fast as a flying arrow. She didn’t hear any other sounds. It was only when she rushed to the area where the cardboard cutouts were placed in the community and put Ran Mingyue down that she found the Ran Mingyue cardboard cutout standing perfectly under the light.

And the beauty in front of her had a pale green face. Her shawl had fallen off, and her meticulously styled hair had some frizzy strands.

Li Guang rubbed her eyes blankly again: “…”

Had the cardboard cutout come to life, or had she died?

Why was the cardboard cutout talking?

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