I have a persona specifically for acting.

Song Wanzhuo was miserable.

When he woke up from the holographic pod, the tears in the corner of his eyes had already dried. He didn’t even realize that he had been crying; he just felt an emptiness inside. How to describe that feeling…

Song Wanzhuo was quite self-absorbed, with high standards for women, and had entered the entertainment industry early, so he had never been in a serious relationship. All his past flings were light-hearted and didn’t leave any scars. He didn’t understand that this feeling was called losing someone he loved. While enduring the subtle gazes of the other staff members and rubbing his chin with one hand, he finally figured out what this feeling was when he returned to his room!

It was like… finding out that all the jungle monsters were cleared when playing a jungler in a game.

Or when playing mid-lane, the minion wave was pushed by the support.

Or shipping the wrong CP (couple pairing) when watching *Naruto* and *Bleach*.

A sense of melancholy, discomfort, and a feeling of never wanting to love again.

It wasn’t until the next day, during a rest day, when the memories of the movie “Instinct” came flooding back, that Song Wanzhuo clutched his chest and sat up.

“Damn!”

“My beloved consort is dead!”

Song Wanzhuo moved his hand from his chest to his left cheek, let out a sob, and started to cry.

All the little moments they had shared flooded his mind, as if he had been hit with countless blows, making him see stars. His mind was filled with Consort Chen, and he even had a strange thought—it’s all because *The Ming Emperor’s Chronicles* is a historical drama. If he had met Consort Chen in modern times, he would have resisted all the pressure from fans and married her as his wife!

“Ugh… What the hell is wrong with me…”

Overwhelmed.

Completely overwhelmed.

Song Wanzhuo grabbed his phone and dialed his agent’s number. “Bro, my wife died!”

“…”

Woken up at seven in the morning, the agent groggily answered, “When did you get married?”

Song Wanzhuo briefly explained the situation.

Oh, so he just couldn’t get out of character.

Recalling the amount of commission Song Wanzhuo earned for him in the first half of the year, the agent’s tone became more patient. “So, what do you want to do about it?”

“I want to time-travel to the modern era and date Consort Chen. I want to give her happiness. She loves me so much, but I can’t give her anything…” With a slightly stuffy nose, Song Wanzhuo sounded just like a heartbroken young man. “I’m heartbroken! This is my first time being heartbroken at my age! I can’t lose her!”

Suddenly, the agent was wide awake.

That evening, when Song Wanzhuo logged onto Weibo and saw that his crying photo had been posted as a behind-the-scenes snippet, his mature mindset completely collapsed.

Wah, women are all liars!

And so, the world had one more man heartbroken over Consort Chen.

※

The role of Consort Chen received a great response, which indeed gave Tong Zhao a good start.

Her type of “true self” character is quite rare, and invitations to audition for palace drama roles and female characters with femme fatale personas poured in like snowflakes. Even after Sister Chu filtered out some poorly conceived projects that were completely out of consideration, there were still quite a few options left.

After all, the demand for these types of dramas was immense.

However, since Tong Zhao was still a newcomer, there were only two roles where she would have significant screen time.

“One is the female lead, and the other is the second female lead.”

Tong Zhao took a look.

The whole “family” in her mind peeked out as well.

“The Story of Consort Xi” tells the story of an orphan girl who enters the palace as a stand-in for her legitimate sister and climbs her way up to become an imperial consort.

“Palace Heart as Priority”

The first and second female leads are sisters. When they first entered the palace, they thought they would rely on each other for survival. However, the second sister was blinded by the overwhelming power and glory, gradually becoming corrupted and advancing her status by harming others. When the elder sister became the empress, the second sister even wanted to kill her and take her place. In the end, evil does not prevail over good. The merciful elder sister spared her from the death penalty and sent her to a temple to spend her days with ancient Buddha statues and oil lamps.

Consort Chen: “The first one is still passable, but what is the second one? Forget it. If I were playing the role, that Empress sister wouldn’t survive past the third episode. I’d send her off joyfully the moment she gains favor.”

Tong Zhao: “Have you noticed that these two scripts have something in common?”

Consort Chen: “What is it?”

Tong Zhao: “Everyone loves watching you play out sisterly yuri (girl-love) dramas.”

Consort Chen: “Back in the palace… Forget it, let’s not talk about that world. Ever since I met Immortal Master Lu, I knew I would never be interested in women again in this lifetime.”

Tong Zhao flipped through the scripts for a while.

They were clearly targeting her recent popularity with the “empress-consort yuri vibe,” but she didn’t want to keep repeating herself—having multiple personalities was her advantage, and milking one personality dry would be like crippling her own skills. Although it was a pity to give up such easy opportunities, Tong Zhao still tossed those two scripts aside.

Why doesn’t anyone dare to give her something different?

※

Halfway through the filming of the first season of *Star-Selected Girls*…

The members were given a week off and could return to modern life with internet access.

Xu Zhu was in a pretty good mood initially.

During the break, she could go shopping at the mall using the secondary card provided by Father Tong, and return to the Tong residence to enjoy the princess room that Tong Zhao used to live in, without having to squeeze into a dorm with those poor fellow trainees and go online to see how many new fans she had gained…

Her good mood ended the moment she got online.

Xu Zhu’s WeChat messages exploded, all urging her to watch *The Ming Emperor’s Chronicles*.

“OMG, Xu Zhu, your sister’s performance as the Consort is amazing! How did she land such a perfect role? Was it thanks to your dad? That’s incredible. Other people hit countless walls before landing a role that fits them so well…”

“Ahhh, please reply to my message!”

What made Xu Zhu’s heart tighten the most was a message from Ning Zhiyi, Tong Zhao’s childhood friend and ex-boyfriend—

“Zhuzhu, have you watched *The Ming Emperor’s Chronicles*? Is the rumor about her and Song Wanzhuo true?”

After all her secret efforts, Ning Zhiyi not only broke up with the proud and stubborn Tong Zhao but also became very close to her (Xu Zhu). But now, he was concerned about whether Tong Zhao’s rumored romance was true… Wait a minute, Song Wanzhuo? Brother Wanzhuo? How did they end up together? She clearly heard that after the first audition, Brother Wanzhuo was in a bad mood and wanted to replace Tong Zhao!

Xu Zhu was furious and opened both Weibo and news about Tong Zhao at the same time.

Every single headline was so dazzling that it hurt her eyes.

“The Enchanting Consort Tong Zhao, the first woman to evoke real feelings in Song Wanzhuo, makes her debut.”

“Unfiltered Version: Tong Zhao as Consort Chen – Scene Highlights.”

“Consort Chen’s Charming Bell Dance in Ultra HD (For the holographic version, please visit Channel 2 for paid viewing).”

“Epic Highlight: Consort Chen Slays in the Harem.”

#SongWanzhuoTongZhao#

As Xu Zhu browsed through the topics related to Tong Zhao, seeing people genuinely discussing and praising her, Xu Zhu’s chest rose and fell continuously. Drinking two sips of ice water only made her feel more nauseous. Memories flooded back—the two of them growing up as close as sisters, and in terms of appearance, academics, or talents, Tong Zhao always outshone her.

Xu Zhu blamed it all on Tong Zhao having a good mother.

Tong Zhao’s mother was beautiful, so her skin and features were better.

Tong Zhao’s mother married well, so she could live like a little princess.

Fortunately, Xu Zhu’s mother won once and took it all back.

With Tong Zhenming’s support, Xu Zhu felt she could finally surpass Tong Zhao in the entertainment industry!

However, the harsh reality hit her in the face. Tong Zhao’s subconscious wasn’t crushed by repeated blows; instead, she stood up, amazed the audience, and made them praise her “true self” for its strength…

The movie *Instinct* is a vast free market, and a ban is impossible.

The Tong family couldn’t manage it, and Xu Zhu certainly didn’t have the power to do so either.

Xu Zhu racked her brain, desperately thinking of a way to pull Tong Zhao down.

She couldn’t think of anything.

Finally, when her peripheral vision caught sight of Ning Zhiyi’s WeChat message to her, Xu Zhu had a sudden flash of inspiration and realized the key—Tong Zhao could play Consort Chen so well because her true nature was to seduce men. So, why not cast her in a completely opposite role? Dig a pit for her and mislead her.

#TongZhao#

#ZhangMengTongZhao#

Due to Consort Chen’s final inner monologue elevating the hidden bond of sisterhood, a new CP (couple pairing) fanbase suddenly emerged, generating some discussion. Actually, the topic of #StarSelectedGirlsXuZhu# wasn’t unpopular either, but Xu Zhu knew very well that it was all backed by a marketing company putting in paid efforts…

With a direction in mind, Xu Zhu’s brain calmed down.

Tong Zhao wasn’t that stupid.

But what if it was a great opportunity?

She could tell the production team that her sister was actually very strong and independent in private; as long as they gave her a template to follow, she could play the role well. She could also promise that the Tong family would help invest in marketing and promotion. Xu Zhu already had this level of authority, given to her by Tong Zhenming…

At worst, she could offer Tong Zhao a female lead role.

Thanks to the Tong family’s connections working behind the scenes, Xu Zhu had quite a few scripts to choose from. However, none of them offered the first female lead; nobody dared to give such a crucial role to a newbie who had never starred in an instinct movie. The available roles were all ones that lacked difficulty. Xu Zhu went through all the scripts that the Tong family could influence and finally found an invitation.

A semi-reality apocalypse movie, *Countdown: 72 Hours*.

The role offered to Xu Zhu was that of the female lead’s younger sister, a sweet and innocent character.

“This one is good.”

Xu Zhu didn’t overestimate herself; she felt that a character who screams for help whenever faced with trouble suited her just fine.

The female lead in *Countdown: 72 Hours* is a strong, emotionally detached woman who leads her sister to survive in a post-apocalyptic world, with a mission to complete in three days. This type of reality show-style movie became a trend after the rise of holographic consciousness filming. The audience watches the live stream online, and it is the genre where the director has the least ability to interfere.

Xu Zhu thought through the details carefully; she believed convincing the production team wouldn’t be a problem.

The problem was—

“Sigh, that woman probably won’t accept the invitation. She should just keep doing palace dramas.”

Xu Zhu dug a pit with no hope of success.