Chapter 5
Today, being photographed at the airport was just a minor incident. For an experienced manager like Ji Huan, handling such matters was a breeze.
Ji Huan had just communicated with Yin Actress, Yin Zhizhi's mother.
Yin Actress is now fifty years old. She had Yin Zhizhi when she was in her early thirties, and Yin Actress has now retired from the entertainment industry.
Yin Actress is a senior in the industry, and Ji Huan respects her greatly.
Yin Actress instructed him not to go easy on Yin Zhizhi and to be strict with her.
After their conversation, Ji Huan received a photo from Yin Zhizhi, along with the question: "Do I look good?"
Ji Huan opened the photo and glanced at it. Yin Zhizhi's skin was already very fair, and her new hair color made her look even fairer, making her resemble a delicate porcelain doll, beautiful yet fragile.
Ji Huan did not hesitate in his reply: "Beautiful."
The response came instantly from the other side.
"What's beautiful about it? Can you give a more detailed review?"
Ji Huan glanced at it and then turned off his phone. He needed to plan her overall style and image direction moving forward.
Ever since she was a child star, the public has always seen Yin Zhizhi as a well-behaved girl.
The "good girl" image is appealing, but it definitely won't suit her true personality and will eventually backfire.
It was well past 10 PM when Yin Zhizhi finally arrived at the original owner's apartment.
Although it was just an apartment, it was a spacious 150 square meters, bright and located in the city center, where every inch of space was worth its weight in gold.
Yin Zhizhi was incredibly hungry. The original owner found the airplane food unappetizing, so she didn't eat on the flight. During the hair dyeing session at the studio earlier, an assistant was watching her, so she only had half a salad.
Despite having a wealth of information about delicious food in her mind, all unfamiliar to the real Yin Zhizhi, she couldn't actually eat any of it.
"Sigh."
"Isn't everything going smoothly? Why the sigh?" A faint voice of a young man suddenly appeared in her mind.
Yin Zhizhi was startled, then opened her eyes wide with delight: "System?"
"Yes."
"You finally woke up. You slept the whole day."
"Hmm..."
"System, can you remove all the food information from my mind? Right now, all I can think about is fried chicken, barbecue, and night market snacks, but I can't eat any of it. It's too distressing."
"Quite dedicated, aren't you?" Baili Xiaosan commented.
Yin Zhizhi lay on the bed: "I have no choice. To make the male lead fall for me, I have to become the type of person he likes. He definitely won't be attracted to a celebrity who orders late-night food deliveries."
In the red space, a young man in a white robe lounged on a chaise longue, observing the floating screen in front of him that projected the image of Yin Zhizhi outside.
Baili Xiaosan found this host quite acceptable after hearing her words. She seemed dedicated and sensible, and her performance today was decent.
"Take a shower, do your skincare routine, and go to sleep. You have more tasks to complete tomorrow."
Baili Xiaosan said those words and then fell silent.
"System, your way of speaking is really similar to my manager's," Yin Zhizhi commented as she got up and went to the bathroom to wash up and do her skincare routine.
As a female celebrity, daily skincare was crucial.
Yin Zhizhi wanted to chat with the system because its voice was pleasant, but after she spoke a few lines without a response, the system seemed to have gone to sleep again.
"Must have been a god of sleep in a past life," Yin Zhizhi muttered in complaint.
It was quite uncomfortable to sleep on an empty stomach, and she tossed and turned for a long time before finally drifting off.
The next morning, her assistant arrived at the apartment bright and early, bringing tasks assigned by Ji Huan.
"Miss Yin, we'll be going to the gym downstairs for a workout first. After the workout, we'll come back and have a black coffee, and then for lunch..."
Since she had just returned to the country, she hadn't received any work assignments yet, so her main task for the next few days was to lose some weight quickly.
Yin Zhizhi had gone to bed hungry the night before, and now she had to work out first thing in the morning without having eaten anything.
"This is tough."
Yin Zhizhi was reluctant, but she still got up.
The new assistant was hired by Ji Huan and followed his instructions closely, reporting back to him every task Yin Zhizhi completed that morning.
Ji Huan had mapped out Yin Zhizhi's upcoming work schedule and was also in the process of securing some business opportunities for her.
Yin Zhizhi wore workout clothes that accentuated her curves, with her long hair tied up in a bun on top of her head, giving her a youthful and energetic look.
Assistant: "Miss Yin, the workout session is over. We can head back now."
"Wait, let me take a photo first."
Yin Zhizhi posed for a few selfies in front of the mirror, then sent them to Ji Huan.
At the Starlight Entertainment Tower office, Ji Huan's phone vibrated.
He picked it up, glanced at it, and saved the photos without any expression.
Ji Huan opened Weibo and logged into Yin Zhizhi's account, posting the photos with the caption: "The consequences of eating fried chicken [Persevere]"
As soon as the Weibo post went live, comments started pouring in.
[Hahaha, is Zhizhi trying to lose weight after eating fried chicken? Having it once in a while won't make you gain weight, sweetie.]
[Zhizhi actually dared to eat fried chicken? I thought female celebrities wouldn't touch such food. But then again, who can resist the crispy, delicious fried chicken?]
[Sweetheart, you're already so slim, no need to lose more weight! Your figure is perfect, with those curves in all the right places.]
[Passerby... I feel like this photo is a bit staged, deliberately sticking out her butt. Suspicious that she didn't actually work out and just went to take photos.]
[...The one above is delusional. Can't you see her damp bangs sticking to her forehead? Clear signs of physical activity.]
[...]
Yin Zhizhi only saw the Weibo post Ji Huan had made for her when she checked her phone during breakfast.
He was quite skilled at managing her public image.
If she didn't know the truth, no casual observer would guess that this Weibo post was made by her manager.
Since someone accused her of staging the photos, Yin Zhizhi's account posted gym surveillance footage an hour later.
The forty-minute footage was fast-forwarded, but it clearly showed Yin Zhizhi diligently working out from the moment she entered the gym until she left, only taking a few photos at the end.
She really did go to the gym to exercise and lose weight; it wasn't staged.
The surveillance footage debunked those naysaying netizens.
Yin Zhizhi carried on like this for a few days and lost two pounds.
It was right after she finished her morning workout when she received a call from Ji Huan.
"There's a horror-themed escape room reality show that has invited you to be a guest star. Are you interested in participating?"
The show was quite popular recently, and Ji Huan thought it would be a good opportunity, but he didn't sign the contract directly. Instead, he asked for Yin Zhizhi's opinion first.
After all, it was a horror-themed show, which might be too frightening for a woman.
"I'll do it!" Her voice was full of excitement.
Ji Huan: "Are you sure? Let me tell you first that this show has no script, and the horror atmosphere is very realistic."
"I'll take it. I'm not afraid; I have a strong heart."
"Alright then, come by the company office this afternoon so we can go over and sign the contract together."
In the afternoon, Yin Zhizhi took a company car to the office. She rode the elevator up, found Ji Huan's office, and knocked on the door.
"Knock, knock."
"Come in."
When Yin Zhizhi entered, she saw Ji Huan sitting at his desk with the contract in front of him.
He pushed his glasses up and said, "Take a look at the contract, and if you have no issues, sign it."