Return of the Goddess

Shi Pang had been in a bad mood recently. As the golden supporting actor of the industry, even though he didn’t have that many young male and female admirers that those idols had, he had quite a lot of passerby fans. This time, he was faced with a male lead who was pulled in by the investors. The male lead’s expressions were so stiff, it was as though he was wearing a mask, and he didn’t even have any sense of the cameras. Every time Shi Pang filmed with him, he felt as though he was suffering. Yet, the other party had relied on his rich and powerful background to put on airs in the production set. He would even criticise others at times, as though it was entirely the fault of others that the filming outcome wasn’t ideal, and it had nothing to do with him at all. When this situation persisted for more than half a month, regardless of how good-tempered Shi Pang was, he looked gloomier with each passing day.

The crew on set knew that he wasn’t in a good mood, hence they privately sought him out and spoke nicely to him, and even requested for him to help the new guy along. Shi Pang almost exploded in rage. He could certainly help regular rookies, but this particular one, no one could help.

However, he couldn’t make the situation look too ugly. He wasn’t good looking, so there was a limit to the roles he could play. In the past few years, there was a surge of variety show stars who weren’t good looking, but were very comedic. After these stars became popular, they ventured into acting. To him, this was a real threat, because their acting trajectories were too similar, and when directors were casting actors, they now had more choices.

Just as Shi Pang thought that he was supposed to continue tolerating this, the production suddenly changed the male lead. That overbearing rookie disappeared without a trace overnight, and the crew also didn’t like to mention him. The new male lead was an idol that his company was promoting recently. Even though his acting skills were not outstanding, he was humble and personable, hence the filming proceeded smoothly.

It was only when filming concluded and he returned to his company that he discovered why that rookie was replaced. It turned out that this rookie was slated to participate in a programme at the television station, but he was throwing a tantrum in the make-up room, and even threw his coffee onto the ground. Unexpectedly, that boiling hot coffee spilled onto Ning Xi’s leg as she happened to walk past, causing Ning Xi to have to urgently halt her filming so that she could go to the hospital for treatment.

To an actor, a burn could be something extremely serious. Fortunately, the amount spilled on Ning Xi wasn’t much, so after treatment, there wasn’t a scar on Ning Xi’s leg. However, Chang Shi Gui was reportedly accompanying Ning Xi that day, and when the incident happened, Mr. Chang didn’t say a word. He simply carried Ning Xi up in his arms, quickly cleaned her wound and sent her to the hospital.

As for the rookie who caused trouble, Mr. Chang didn’t even spare him a glance.

However, the next day, all related news about this rookie disappeared, and the entire entertainment industry didn’t have any news about him anymore.

After listening to his manager’s narration of the events, Shi Pang shook his head and said, “He deserved it. These people with character flaws would only be hated regardless of the industry they're in. However, for the fact that he could injure Mrs. Chang, he was probably out of luck.” He wasn’t exaggerating when he said this. The entire country knew that Goddess Ning’s husband came from a prestigious family, and pampered her to the bone. The couple seldom had public displays of affection, but whenever people witnessed the couple together, they would certainly be slapped with a bowl of dog food.

During Ning Xi and Chang Shi Gui’s wedding, Shi Pang had received an invitation because he was an artist under Jiuji. He was still filming then, and if others were getting married, he probably would have simply sent a gift and skipped the event. However, for Ning Xi’s wedding, he had worked overnight, then took leave from work and rushed over specially.

Ning Xi and him were good friends in the industry anyway, and together with Chang Shi Gui’s identity, who in Jiuji wouldn’t make the effort for her?

When he rushed to the wedding venue, he didn’t know how to describe the scene before him. It was probably “beautiful”, “extravagant”, “lavish”, “graceful”, “impressive”, and… it was fortunate that he wasn’t attached. If his girlfriend saw such a wedding venue and requested for their wedding to meet these standards, he would probably cry.

A wedding gown that was so glamorous that most women couldn’t turn their eyes away from, a crown embellished with jewels of unthinkable prices, and when the couple exchanged their rings, it was a pair of limited edition couple rings, the only pair in the world. Every single item would make people feel depressed over how poor they were.

The guests who arrived at the banquet were also a feast for the eyes. There were faces that one would only be able to watch on the news, but now, all of them were grinning widely as they offered their best wishes to the newlyweds. An actor like him didn’t even dare to go up to speak to them.

This was what true aristocracy looked like. Even those whose families were worth hundreds of millions of dollars were reduced to nothing in front of the Chang family.

He thought that after the wedding, what Ning Xi might face were reduced acting projects, or she might even retire, and be forced by her mother-in-law to give birth. Yet, it has been three years since Ning Xi married, but every year, she would still participate in a blockbuster. Her popularity only got higher, and her value and position were at its peak. It was a position that many celebrities couldn’t even wish for even if they worked hard their entire lives.

Back then, the impeccable acting that she showed in “A Father’s Selfless Love” gave her the Best Actress award at the Thousand Flowers Awards. Later on, she was nominated at the Oscars for her performance in “The Unrivalled 3”. She didn’t win in the end, but given her age, to be able to receive a nomination was already a feat that the local media could boast about.

Just like how one credible media news outlet said, “She’s still young, so her possibilities are endless.”

Shi Pang believed these words.

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It was a snowy night. There were still quite a number of couples walking in the plaza of the cinema. Two figures who were wrapped tightly from top to toe, with only their eyes uncovered, were carrying a large popcorn bucket and walking out of the cinema.

Probably because the snowy ground was too slippery, the young lady stumbled after a few steps, but her boyfriend reacted quickly, and quickly supported her at her waist.

“The Daily Collection” was the most popular live streaming programme on Feiteng Media’s internet site. Even though it was a live stream, the production crew was extremely serious about their work. Not only did they prepare professional microphones, they had also prepared the best handheld cameras. They would frequently appear at crowded venues and interview random passersby, asking them interesting questions, rewarding them with vouchers, and use the opportunity to promote positive things or some security know-hows.

Today is Christmas Day. After this festival spread to China, it became a festival for locals to feast and have fun. Hence, when this season arrived, things would be very lively.

The host swept her gaze across the plaza, and interviewed a few couples. In the end, he noticed a couple who were wearing matching winter wear. The couple was well-protected, hence she brought her cameraman over to them.

“Excuse me, do you have a minute?”

When Ning Xi saw a microphone appear in front of her, she stepped back immediately, then unwittingly tightened her scarf over her face.

When the host saw her reaction, she thought that she had scared the other person, hence she explained, “I’m the host of Feiteng Media’s ‘The Daily Collection’. We have a few questions to ask your companion and you, could we take up two minutes of your time?”

Because the host didn’t know what their relationship was, hence she used the term “companion”.

“Ah?” Ning Xi had never expected this. She was simply coming out discreetly to celebrate Christmas with Chang Shi Gui, yet she encountered this live stream. When she looked at the young host’s expectant gaze, she could only nod her head.

“Thank you.” The host signalled for the cameraman behind her to raise his camera, which was still just filming the snowy ground, to film them.

This was also another reason why their live show was so well-received. The host respected the privacy of the passersby. Before the passersby agreed to an interview, the camera would always focus intentionally on the sights around, or on the roads, and only when the other party agreed would they would film the people.

“May I ask, are the two of you a couple?”

Ning Xi nodded, while Chang Shi Gui placed his hand on Ning Xi’s shoulder. Even though they didn’t speak, his actions showed it all. The cameraman used his phone and intentionally zoomed in on the hand he placed on Ning Xi’s shoulder.

“Pardon me, but how long have you been together?”

Ning Xi said, “Five years.”

“Five years, two months and twenty-eight days” was Chang Shi Gui’s response.

The host chuckled, “This handsome man has a really good memory. It looks like he loves you very much.” To calculate the time they spent together so precisely showed that he placed a lot of emphasis on their days together. Perhaps, to him, that day might be extremely important, hence he would calculate it so clearly.

Ning Xi turned to look at Chang Shi Gui, her eyes curling up into smiles as she looked at him.

“I’m going to ask you another question. Normally when you are together, who cooks more often?”

Ning Xi continued to look happily at Chang Shi Gui, while the latter replied in a cheery voice, “That’s me. Oil and smoke affects the skin too much, so I can’t bear to let her into the kitchen.” In reality, after the couple got married, Chang Shi Gui didn’t really cook much. Most of the time, their meals would be prepared by the helpers at home. However, when both of them were free, Chang Shi Gu would never forget to prepare a table of dishes for Ning Xi.

The host asked them a few more questions. “Here’s the final question. Do you think that sixty years from now, the two of you will remain as loving?”

"Yes," Chang Shi Gui nodded, “We will for this lifetime.”

Ning Xi nodded, “Definitely.”

In reality, it was so difficult to find a man who suited her, so the only way to maintain this relationship was to cherish him.

It was only after Ning Xi and Chang Shi Gui had left that the host realised that the vehicle they boarded was actually close to ten million dollars. The cameraman even filmed the car, but because of the distance and angle, the car plate number was blurry, so the netizens watching the stream couldn’t take a good look.

At this moment, the bullet screen [1] on the live platform was covered by so much comments that it almost filled out the entire image.

Netizen 1: The uploader’s random pick was a rich couple. Asking about the psychological impact on the uploader now.

Netizen 11: Even though I don’t want to say this, I think that the young woman that the uploader interviewed looks very familiar. And the couple has been together for five years, two months and twenty eight days, doesn’t that feel somewhat familiar to you?

Unfortunately, the comment from this netizen didn’t get anyone’s attention.

Perhaps some time later, someone would eventually discover that the couple who had randomly appeared on the stream was actually Ning Xi and her husband.

After all… With the invincible onlookers around, nothing was impossible.

No one would ever know, but perhaps one day, someone who brushed past your shoulder might be a celebrity that you previously liked.

This was the beauty of the world - fate was something that was so unpredictable.

[1] Bullet screen: a function on video sites that allows for comments to be shown live on top of the video being played.