Whistleblower King, I've got some big tea for you. I went to Z High School in X City and was in the same class as a now very popular female celebrity. Pretty easy to guess who, right? Honestly, she wasn't pretty at all in high school. Well, maybe not exactly unattractive, but way worse than now—probably had some work done. Anyway, the class belle and school belle back then definitely weren't her; it was another beautiful genius student. Let's just call the female celebrity Q. She was super vain, always acting like she came from money. Later, we found out her dad was just a plumber/electrician, and the whole class laughed their heads off. Basically, all the girls disliked her. Our class was the top class in the school (rumor has it Q got in by paying her way—her grades were terrible), and we had this genius student who was undoubtedly the top in the whole school. He was a real standout—aced all kinds of competitions, super handsome, good at basketball and soccer. You know, the kind of male lead you always see in idol dramas now, but honestly, I think even the hottest male celebs on TV can't compare to him. Actors just don't have the same educational background, and their vibe is miles behind—how could they stack up against the real deal? So Q confessed to him, and it was so awkward because someone caught them. And then, haha, the genius shot her down mercilessly, saying he had standards for intelligence too. The genius and the beautiful top student ended up getting into Tsinghua University together and are a couple now. Now that's what I call a power couple. Q is super famous now, who knows how she made it, lol. It's not like she has any real talent. Wonder if you've got the guts to post this, Whistleblower King.
Qiao Jingjing attended a Cake-Sharing Award ceremony in full glamour. Right after getting into her van, her manager shoved a piece of "black material" in her face.
Look at this—a revelation from your high school classmate. 'Qiao Jingjing's Humiliating High School Crush Rejection'—Jingjing, how do you even have haters among your high school classmates?"
Qiao Jingjing handed her trophy to her assistant, who had followed her into the van, kicked off her high heels, took the phone, and curled up in her usual seat. She skimmed just three lines before losing interest, closed the page, and switched to searching for reviews of her red carpet look on Weibo.
Seeing that most major marketing accounts were positive this time, and her fans were praising her like she was a fairy, Qiao Jingjing finally let out a sigh of relief, her mood instantly lifting.
All those grueling three months in the gym hadn't been for nothing!
Earlier this year, she filmed a food-themed drama and gained three or four pounds from eating too many props, which led to a vicious fashion blogger claiming she was "about to burst through the screen." The blogger, of course, got torn apart by her fans, while Qiao Jingjing—though mentally cheering her fans on—had to gracefully post on Weibo about hitting the gym and shedding the weight.
"Time to post some workout photos soon," she thought. No way all that sweat and effort was going to waste—she had to show off her hard-earned figure.
"Sure, but have you read that revelation yet?"" Ling Jie leaned forward from the back seat, curiosity written all over her face.
Qiao Jingjing shot her a glare, then turned back to skim through the exposure post. Scrolling down, the comments section was already dominated by her fans.
Daqiao, I'm Zhou Yu: If this is true, then thanks for letting everyone know our Qiao was in a top high school class. BTW, our Qiao went to a 211 university—terrible grades? Yeah, right. (10,260 likes)
Qiao Family Estate: Here's a photo of our Qiao as a bridesmaid at her high school bestie's wedding—posted by the bestie herself on Weibo. Saying our Qiao had no friends in high school? LOL, in your face. (Photo)Daqiao Team: OP hates my idol to death, but can't dig up any Black Material. My idol really is a good kid. (8876 likes)
Xiaocao: Came for the drama, OP do you have some misunderstanding about what "big scoop" means??? (7689 likes)
Fengyao One Me: Came for the drama too, but ended up feeling my favorite actor also got caught in the crossfire. OP, did actors eat your family's rice for you to talk this much nonsense? Think you're the only educated and cultured one who went to school? (5870 likes)
Ling Jie maintained her neck-craning posture and nudged Qiao Jingjing, "Is what she said true or false?"
"Some true, some false."
Now everyone in the car pricked up their ears.
"The false part is saying I wasn't pretty before - I've always been incredibly beautiful. Also, the person who rejected me wasn't that harsh about it, they were quite polite."
Ling Jie was shocked: "You actually confessed to someone and got rejected?"
"Of course. That boy was really handsome." Qiao Jingjing savored the memory of her youth for three seconds. "This is your alt account, right?"
"Yeah. So was that top female student really prettier than you?"
Ling Jie thought it over and found it illogical. Not to boast about her own artist, but Qiao Jingjing's looks and figure were top-tier even among female celebrities in the entertainment industry - flawless from head to toe. How could there be two people with such qualities in one class?
"Of course not!" Qiao Jingjing answered firmly while typing rapidly.
"What are you doing?" Ling Jie had a bad feeling. She looked closely just in time to see Qiao Jingjing post a comment - "This jealousy spanning through time and space! Hope you don't get too mad."
Assistant Xiao Zhu burst out laughing. Ling Jie sighed helplessly, "Stop fooling around and post on Weibo to thank everyone properly."
"I already posted it on our way out, didn't you see?"
Ling Jie was speechless, embarrassed to admit she had been so focused on the gossip that she missed her own artist's update. She quickly picked up another phone to repost through the studio account, muttering worriedly, "You didn't even show me before posting.Qiao Jingjing ignored her, took a screenshot of the exposure post and sent it to her phone, then forwarded it to Peipei - her deskmate for all three years of high school, the same one who had been her bridesmaid.
As soon as Peipei saw her message, she responded with a string of exclamation marks - !!! Jingjing, Annual Popular Actress! I just saw you on TV, congratulations!
Jingjing: Look at the screenshot I just sent you.
A moment later.
Peipei: Holy shit, which bitch is spreading such nonsense? You've always been this beautiful!
Qiao Jingjing felt gratified that her friend knew exactly what was important.
Peipei: At most you were a bit rustic back then.
Jingjing: ...
Peipei: But now everyone's copying Qiao Jingjing's hairstyles and outfits!
Qiao Jingjing ignored her: Who do you think leaked this?
Peipei: No idea. People have been talking about you a lot in the high school group chat recently - your drama's too popular and you're too famous, probably made someone extremely jealous?
Qiao Jingjing didn't expect Peipei to guess who it was anyway. After casually discussing it for a bit, she put the matter aside.
When she changed out of her gown and was getting ready to rest, Peipei sent another message.
Peipei: By the way, I heard from Li Ming recently that Yu Tu and Xia Qing broke up several years ago during their senior year of college - they were only together for just over a year. Remember Li Ming? His family lives in the same neighborhood as Yu Tu's, their parents know each other. I heard Yu Tu is in Shanghai now too.
Qiao Jingjing raised her eyebrows, looking at that long-unseen name on her phone.They actually broke up? Back when she was in college in another city and heard the news of them getting together, she had been...
Forget it!
No need to revisit such dark history.
Peipei: Hehe, do you think Yu Tu regrets it when he thinks of you?
Jingjing: Don’t be so childish.
The van smoothly drove onto the North-South Elevated Road. The very mature Qiao Jingjing rolled down the window, faced the gentle breeze, and happily fantasized for a long time about Yu Tu regretting his choices.
She recalled that confession in her second year of high school. At first, he had just said, "I’m sorry." Persistent and confident, she had insisted on knowing the reason. She remembered him saying, "I’m sorry, I want to find someone who can strive alongside me."
She didn’t understand why he thought she couldn’t work hard with him, but in the end, the person he ended up with didn’t stick it out with him either.
Qiao Jingjing felt a bit smug, but there was still a trace of regret and bitterness in her heart.
...Was her youthful heart just too enduring?
She wondered what he was doing now.
But...
She looked out the window at the streets flashing by, filled with the bustling prosperity of the city, and she had already become the most dazzling part of this vibrant world.
Tilting her chin up slightly, she thought, no matter what he was doing now, she had surely left him far behind.
"It’s almost ten o’clock. Let’s stay in Shanghai tonight," Ling Jie said. "We’ll set off tomorrow morning and arrive in Hengdian in the afternoon. I’ll have them reschedule your scenes for the afternoon."
Qiao Jingjing snapped out of her thoughts. "No, I have ten scenes tomorrow. Let’s head to Hengdian now. I’ll catch some sleep in the van. Just ask the driver to keep it steady, I—"
"Stop right there!" Ling Jie cut her off warily.
Ever since a certain director once praised Qiao Jingjing for her dedication and hard work, and Ling Jie took the opportunity to help her build a reputation for being dedicated, Qiao Jingjing had become an actress who wore her "Dedicated Persona" like a badge of honor. Her catchphrase had become...
"My dedicated persona must not crumble," Qiao Jingjing declared resolutely.
"Alright, alright, get some sleep now," Ling Jie said helplessly, lowering the partition and telling the driver to head to Hengdian after all.
Qiao Jingjing reclined her seat and tried to sleep. Over the years, with all the traveling she’d done, she had mastered the skill of sleeping soundly on any mode of transport. But today, for some reason, she couldn’t rest well. In a hazy, half-awake state, she seemed to find herself in a classroom. Soon, she realized in her dream—it was her high school classroom. In the blink of an eye, she was taking an exam, but when she looked at the test questions, they were about how many calories were in a strawberry.
This question was way too hard. Even a genius student probably wouldn’t know the answer. Unable to answer, Qiao Jingjing was gripped by the fear of failing. Just then, the classroom began to shake violently, and a voice called out.
"Jingjing, Jingjing, have you been playing Honor of Kings?"
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