Your Aloof Persona Has Crumbled - Chapter 1

“I’m telling you, based on my three years of experience following survival shows, this Wen Shike is definitely a ‘Royal.’ How long is the promotional video anyway? She hogs eight whole seconds to herself.”

The girl gripped her cup. Although she tried to keep her voice down, she couldn’t suppress her excitement, eventually emphasizing again, “Eight seconds!”

“Exactly.” Another girl nodded in agreement, slapping the table. “I feel so bad for our Jiujiu. Only one second, can you believe it? She just turned her head and it was over. I had to watch it three times to find where she was.”

“What’s Wen Shike’s background anyway?” The girl took a huge gulp of milk tea.

“Do you know the Yin family?” a girl who hadn’t spoken yet chimed in. “She’s the youngest daughter of Chairman Yin.”

The group looked at each other and sighed in unison.

“A total Royal then. Someone online leaked that Wen Shike studied philosophy. Remember that influencer last year who joined the competition and just wiggled twice on stage? I wonder how this heiress will perform.”

“Since she’s from high society, she must know ballroom dancing. Surely she won’t just wiggle.”

“Ugh…” The girl sighed with a complicated expression. “I just hope the production team acts like decent human beings.”

Wen Shike sat behind the girls, took a sip of her milk tea, and squinted her eyes happily. Once they finished chatting and left, she glanced back at the empty table.

She pulled out her phone and searched for the meaning of “Royal Family” (Huangzu).

“A contestant who isn’t popular but is heavily pushed by the show… buying a debut spot with money…” Wen Shike rubbed her chin, chuckled, stuffed the phone into her pocket, pulled her hat lower, and walked out of the milk tea shop.

She had no idea she was some kind of “Royal.”

Besides, the collective filming didn’t even start until the day after tomorrow. Calling her a Royal now was a bit premature.

Wen Shike looked up at the round sun. Even though no clouds were blocking its light, it emitted no warmth. It was as cold as her heart felt right now. She wrapped her clothes tighter and walked quickly toward the car that had been waiting for a long time.

“You snuck out for milk tea again. If Sister Qiu finds out, you’re in trouble,” Shu Shu said, glancing at her.

Wen Shike placed the unopened milk tea on the cup holder. Shu Shu coughed twice.

“Are you sure you haven’t gained weight recently?” Shu Shu eyed the milk tea, continuing the topic. “When you gain weight, it shows in your face first. If you’ve gotten fat, Sister Qiu will see it even without me snitching, so don’t bother bribing me.”

“I only had a few sips,” Wen Shike said helplessly. “Don’t worry, I won’t get that fat. Besides, filming starts the day after tomorrow, there won’t be time to gain weight anyway. Take me to the company. I want to practice dancing for a bit.”

“Alright,” Shu Shu replied.

Wen Shike leaned her chin on her hand, looking out the window. “Why did my screen time in the promo take up eight seconds?”

“It seems the Wen family sponsored the show this time. But we didn’t say anything, that was the production team’s own initiative.”

Shu Shu paused. “Have you been online?”

“Not really. You know I have a ‘glass heart.’ I deleted Weibo ages ago. I just happened to hear people talking about me in the milk tea shop.”

Wen Shike took a deep breath. Although she tried hard to suppress her unhappiness, her pout grew deeper. “Maybe you should tell them to cut some of my footage from the promo.”

“That’s impossible. It’s already been released. Cutting it now would only make people speculate that you have some kind of ‘black material’ to hide,” Shu Shu said crossly. “No wonder you insisted on resting yesterday but want to practice today.”

Wen Shike went silent, staring out the window.

At a red light, she noticed a girl on the sidewalk making a phone call. Her eyes fell on the girl’s bare calves, straight and fair, like a ray of light in the bleak winter. Doesn’t she feel the cold?

The girl happened to look toward the car. She adjusted her hat in the reflection of the car window, revealing curls peeking out from underneath.

Wen Shike unexpectedly locked eyes with her for a second. It wasn’t until the girl looked away that Wen Shike realized the person outside couldn’t see in.

She rubbed her temples and sat up straight. As the car started moving, she couldn’t help but glance back; the girl had hurriedly hailed a taxi and left.

Wen Shike blinked and withdrew her gaze.

Upon arriving at the company, Wen Shike went straight to the dance studio and practiced until 2:30 AM. Due to the late hour, she didn’t bother going home, showering at the company instead and sleeping in Sister Qiu’s office.

As expected, cold skepticism was a better motivator than gentle encouragement.

Wen Shike opened her eyes at exactly 8:00 AM. As she sat up, she heard a woman’s slightly exasperated voice nearby: “I bought breakfast. Go heat it up yourself.”

“Oh.” Wen Shike rubbed her hair and yawned. “Why are you here so early? Don’t you start at nine?”

“I have an appointment with a trainee from your batch. We met briefly yesterday but didn’t talk much. We’re talking more today, if it works out, we’ll sign the contract immediately,” Qiu Yu said.

“Oh,” Wen Shike responded with little interest, swaying toward the bathroom. “I have to say, your office is great with the private bathroom, but it lacks a lounge. Sleeping on the couch is really uncomfortable.”

“Why don’t you, the Young Miss, arrange one for me?” Qiu Yu teased.

Wen Shike fell silent. Qiu Yu’s phone screen lit up with a message. “Go down and pick someone up?”

“Who is it? Such a big shot that I have to go pick them up,” Wen Shike drawled.

Qiu Yu snapped, “Forget it if you don’t want to. I’ll let her come up herself.”

“Tsk, I’m going.” Wen Shike splashed her face with water. “I need to go home later anyway. It’s too uncomfortable not taking a proper shower.”

“Just rest well today. You can practice after you move in tomorrow.”

Qiu Yu watched Wen Shike pick up the porridge and buns from the coffee table. She was a beautiful girl, yet she dragged her feet with such a lack of energy that she looked like an old man.

Qiu Yu rubbed her temples. Luckily the company was empty otherwise, the “cool and aloof” persona they had decided on in the meeting would have crumbled within a week.

When Wen Shike reached the first floor, she saw a girl waiting in the lobby. She paused. She couldn’t tell what the girl’s style was wool curls, a deep yellow sweater paired with a leather jacket, and a black miniskirt exposing her calves. Her face looked familiar. Wen Shike realized this was the girl she had seen at the traffic light yesterday.

The girl was beautiful enough to pull it off otherwise, that strange outfit would have been a fashion disaster on anyone else.

“Follow me,” Wen Shike said.

“Mm, thank you.” The girl’s gaze lingered on Wen Shike’s face for two seconds.

Wen Shike had many questions, but remembering her persona, she forced herself to stay quiet. This newcomer didn’t seem like the outgoing type either, after those three words, she didn’t speak again.

They rode the elevator in silence.

“Sister Qiu’s office is at the end of this hallway,” Wen Shike said, gesturing.

“Thank you,” the other girl replied with a bow.

“If you feel awkward…”

Wen Shike’s sentence was cut short as the girl had already started walking. However, hearing her voice, the girl turned back to look at her, waiting for her to finish.

“Never mind, it’s nothing.” Wen Shike turned toward the breakroom with a blank expression.

Wen Shike: That was seriously awkward.

After heating her food, she returned to the office.

Qiu Yu paused her conversation then continued: “We will handle the contract termination fees for your previous company. Here is the contract, take a look. Filming starts tomorrow, so your styling… I’ll find a stylist to redesign it for you later.”

“Mm…”

“The one behind you is Wen Shike. Wen Shike, this is Lu Jingwei. You two should get to know each other, since you’re the only two from our company participating in this show.”

Lu Jingwei stood up and turned to greet her. Her voice was quiet. “Hello.”

“Hello.” Wen Shike nodded. Lu Jingwei’s head was slightly lowered, hiding her eyes. She had a gentle, obedient aura. Wen Shike looked away and asked, puzzled, “Why are we signing the contract today if filming is tomorrow?”

“Her previous company went bankrupt and was going to transfer her contract to Qing Entertainment. I thought she had potential, so I decided to negotiate,” Qiu Yu explained.

“Qing Entertainment?” Wen Shike made a disgusted face. “They haven’t gone under yet?”

Qing Entertainment had a terrible reputation. Signing with them was like a life sentence; breaking a contract with them could cost someone half their life. They only survived because of the powerful backing behind them.

“I wanted to ask… the current base salary is 100,000. Can I get an advance?” Lu Jingwei clenched her hands, looking at Qiu Yu.

“Yes.” Qiu Yu nodded, then glanced at Wen Shike. “You can leave once you’re done eating.”

“Oh.” Wen Shike knew she shouldn’t overhear the rest. Grabbing her bag, she said, “I’m heading out then.”

Once the door closed, Qiu Yu looked at Lu Jingwei. “I am your manager. This is a three year contract. If all goes well, we will work together for three years or even longer. So… I hope you can be honest with me about your personal situation.”

Lu Jingwei remained silent for a few seconds, her hands clasped. A cold light flickered in her eyes behind her bangs, but she quickly lowered her head again. That sharp aura seemed like a mere hallucination. “I can. There’s nothing that can’t be said.”

Wen Shike tossed her trash into the bin, walked downstairs slowly, and hailed a taxi. She didn’t forget to take a screenshot and send it to Shu Shu.

[Wen Shike]: I’m such a good boss. I’d rather take a taxi than make you come pick me up.

[Shu Shu]: Thank you so much. I’d be even more grateful if you could send me messages two hours later next time.