What to Do if You’re Being Targeted by the Superstar? [Entertainment] - Chapter 5

She asked, “Sheng Xiaonuan, how old are you?”

Sheng Zhinuan almost thought her eyes were playing tricks on her. Given the weather, how could Yu Zi possibly be here all alone? As the car drew closer, Zhinuan confirmed that the figure huddled under the storefront sign was indeed Yu Zi. She was wearing her casual clothes, but her hair was still styled in an elaborate period updo, making her stand out sharply against the gray street corner.

“Stop the car!” Zhinuan called out, signaling the driver to pull over immediately.

Yu Zi had been standing there for some time, unable to hail a cab in the torrential rain. When a taxi finally stopped in front of her, she moved forward to inquire, only to shrink back when she noticed a passenger in the rear. However, the door opened, and a girl emerged with an umbrella, hurrying toward her through the downpour.

“Yu Zi!” Zhinuan called.

Yu Zi looked puzzled, but as she studied the girl, a sense of familiarity took hold. Those eyes were the same ones she had seen on the fan who gave her the pocket tissues the night before.

“I’m the fan who gave you that… uh, gift last night,” Zhinuan explained. She reached the steps and looked up at the actress. “Where are you heading? I’ll give you a lift.”

Rainwater splashed everywhere, drenching Zhinuan’s hair and eyelashes until she resembled a bedraggled puppy. The foundation she had used to dull her complexion was beginning to smudge, leaving her face a mottled mess of black and white, which only added to her pathetic, canine charm.

Yu Zi had intended to refuse, but she was soaked to the bone and shivering in the cold wind. Looking into Zhinuan’s bright, earnest eyes, her resolve began to waver. “I’m trying to get back to the hotel,” Yu Zi admitted. “But I don’t want to take you out of your way.”

Zhinuan was here specifically for her, so the route was entirely irrelevant. “It’s on the way! Completely on the way!” she insisted, thrusting the umbrella forward to shield the actress.

Yu Zi gathered her skirts and stepped under the canopy. It was only a single-person umbrella, and the two were forced to stand shoulder-to-shoulder to stay dry. It was the closest Zhinuan had ever been to her idol, and the scent of the woman beside her, a fragrance that mixed with the humid air, made Zhinuan’s ears turn a private shade of crimson.

They hurried into the car, and Yu Zi provided the hotel name to the driver. In the cramped backseat, they sat so close that their knees were nearly touching. Zhinuan didn’t dare look to her side; she sat perfectly still with her hands on her thighs, staring straight ahead like a disciplined soldier.

Yu Zi, however, was studying Zhinuan out of the corner of her eye. She suffered from a mild case of face blindness and typically struggled to recognize people she had only met twice. Yet, even though this girl had been masked during their previous encounter, Yu Zi felt a strange sense of recognition.

Noticing the uniform Zhinuan was wearing, which belonged to the neighboring food plant, Yu Zi felt a spark of curiosity. “Do you work at the factory?”

Zhinuan was momentarily stunned. She hadn’t expected that after several meetings, Yu Zi still hadn’t realized who she actually was. Feeling a bit defeated but unable to reveal her true profession, she played along. “Ah, yes. I do.”

Yu Zi glanced at the ID badge pinned to Zhinuan’s chest. “Sheng Xiaonuan,” she read softly. Even though it wasn’t her real name, hearing it spoken in Yu Zi’s gentle, melodic voice sent a shiver through Zhinuan’s entire body.

“How old are you?” Yu Zi asked.

Zhinuan realized then that Yu Zi had no memory of the photographer who had taken her pictures back in A-City. This was a difficult position to be in; Zhinuan hated the idea of lying to her, but with a taxi driver listening in, she couldn’t exactly explain her undercover mission. She decided to provide the age listed on her fake credentials.

“Seventeen.”

Zhinuan felt a wave of guilt. She was twenty-four, and she wasn’t sure if she could truly pull off being a teenager. However, Yu Zi didn’t doubt her for a second. Zhinuan still had a bit of “baby fat” in her cheeks, and her current state made her look like a struggling high schooler.

The look in Yu Zi’s eyes shifted. To be working in a factory at seventeen implied a difficult life filled with hardship. It explained why her gift had been a simple pack of tissues; the poor girl was clearly struggling just to get by. Yu Zi, having dropped out of school herself due to family circumstances, understood that struggle all too well.

When they reached the hotel, Zhinuan hopped out first to hold the umbrella. Yu Zi stepped out and stood beside her. She was nearly half a head taller than Zhinuan, which made the “seventeen-year-old” look particularly small and frail.

“Wait a moment, let me pay for the fare,” Yu Zi said.

Zhinuan waved her off. “No, no! It’s nothing. I have to get going!” She shoved the umbrella into Yu Zi’s hand and dove back into the taxi. Through the window, she watched Yu Zi standing safely under the umbrella, feeling immensely proud of her small act of heroism. Outside, Yu Zi watched the taxi pull away, seeing the “seventeen-year-old” waving back with a goofy, wide-toothed grin.

******

When Zhinuan returned to the rental, Mr. Huang was already there. “You left an hour before me. Why are you just getting back?” he asked, noting her soaked clothes. “And didn’t you take my umbrella? How did you get this wet?”

Zhinuan scratched her head, trying to invent an excuse, but Mr. Huang beat her to the punch. “Where is my umbrella?”

“Um… well… I lost it,” Zhinuan lied. “I’ll buy you a new one.”

“With what?” Mr. Huang cried out in mock agony. “That was a limited-edition support umbrella for my goddess, Song Yixiao!” He lunged forward as if to strangle her, but Zhinuan dodged into her room and slammed the door, finally finding a moment of peace.

At the hotel, Yu Zi’s assistant, Yirui, was frantic. She had returned early and was about to head back out to find Yu Zi when the actress appeared in the elevator lobby. “Sister, how did you get back?” Yirui asked, relieved to see that Yu Zi was relatively dry despite the storm.

Seeing the umbrella in Yu Zi’s hand, Yirui’s eyes widened. “Oh, that’s Ms. Song’s umbrella. Did she give you a ride?”

Yu Zi looked at the logo on the umbrella and raised an eyebrow. “Is that what this is?”

“Yes! It’s Ms. Song’s official merchandise,” Yirui confirmed.

Yu Zi didn’t explain. She looked at the umbrella with newfound amusement. It seemed the little girl had more than one idol; she had assumed the girl only followed her.

The following day continued to be rainy, necessitating a halt in production for the film crew. However, Zhinuan and Mr. Huang were still obligated to report for their factory shift, regardless of the weather.

Sheng Zhinuan, wearing a raincoat,  sat on the back of the electric scooter, her face numb from the constant lashing of the icy rain against her skin. It was another day for the undercover duo, and Mr. Huang was busy reminding her of their stakes. “Work hard and make sure you don’t get fired,” he urged over the sound of the wind. “They’ve laid off several people on the assembly line recently, so we need to try and move up into those spots.”

Zhinuan stared ahead, her expression blank. “Oh, so you mean we aren’t actually factory girls?” she replied dryly. “For a moment there, I thought I was going to be doing this for the rest of my life.”

Ignoring her sarcasm, Mr. Huang pulled a digital voice recorder from his pocket and slipped it into her trouser pocket. “Keep this on you. Record anything suspicious; you never know when it might come in handy.”

******

Back at the plant, Zhinuan spent the morning in the same clothes, sitting in the same seat, and performing the same mind-numbing tasks. The repetition was so absolute that she felt as though she were still living through the previous day, yet she found a small mercy at lunch when the canteen menu finally changed to stir-fried tomatoes and eggs.

“I could make this dish when I was ten years old,” Zhinuan whispered to Mr. Huang as they ate. “It is honestly impressive to find someone who can make something so simple taste this terrible.”

As they were murmuring to each other, the middle-aged man who had interviewed Zhinuan, the one with the protruding belly, marched into the canteen. His eyes scanned the room with a cold, calculating gaze. “I need a few of you to come with me to welcome some investors,” he announced, his eyes lingering on the crowd. “You, you, and you… and you. Move it.”

He pointed to four girls, all of whom were young and conventionally attractive, and Zhinuan was among the chosen group. Mr. Huang leaned in, his voice barely a breath. “Keep the recorder running. Protect yourself at all costs, and if things go south, call the police.”

Zhinuan swallowed her last bite of food, gave a sharp nod, and stood up. The man led the four of them out of the canteen. Zhinuan lagged at the very back of the line, watching with a growing sense of nausea as the supervisor draped a heavy arm over the girl at the front, his thick, fleshy hand lingering far too close to her chest. She wanted to intervene, but the fear of exposing her mission forced her to endure the sight in silence.

The supervisor led them to a dressing room where four sets of tight, bright red cheongsams had been laid out. “Put these on,” he barked. “You’re going to help me host the raw material suppliers.”

Zhinuan looked at the cheap, poorly made garment and felt a surge of disgust. She glanced at the man, whose puffy, bloodshot eyes were already wandering over the girls. He showed absolutely no intention of leaving the room while they changed.

Left with no choice, Zhinuan retreated behind a row of lockers. Fortunately, she was wearing a base layer beneath her uniform, so she wasn’t entirely exposed as she stripped off her work clothes. She moved quickly, pulling the cheongsam over her head and surreptitiously reaching into her discarded uniform to retrieve the recorder. She tucked it securely into her undergarments and activated the recording function, fearing she wouldn’t have another chance.

Just as she finished hiding the device, a heavy palm landed squarely on her shoulder. “Why are you hiding from me? Hmm?” The man had crept up behind her, and his thick hand was now dangling right beside her face.

A wave of stale cigarette smoke wafted from his skin, making Zhinuan’s stomach churn. “Supervisor,” she said, stepping back to shake off his grip. She lowered her head in her “meek” persona and bowed slightly. “I… I’m just here to work.”

The man raised his hand to his nose and took a deep, lingering sniff. “You certainly smell sweet,” he remarked with a lecherous grin.

Zhinuan experienced a sudden surge of disgust, but before the situation could escalate, the older girl who had previously faced harassment intervened. “Brother Li, this girl’s cousin works here in the plant too. It’s better not to cause trouble.”

The supervisor huffed, though he ultimately backed off. He gave a dismissive wave of his hand. “Fine. Once you’re changed, get moving. They’re waiting for us outside.”

Zhinuan let out a long, shaky breath and looked at the girl who had defended her. The other woman offered a quick wink before leading the way out of the dressing room.

Support What to Do if You’re Being Targeted by the Superstar? [Entertainment]