(Upper Class Spiritual State— Earth.)
"You Know what?'' Qing Yuer burst out laughing sarcastically, her hands folded before her, covering her beautifully composed face, her elbows resting on the polished table in the conference room. Every part of the room became dead quiet as all eyes fixed on her with subtle dread.
She kept laughing to herself because she found it not only ridiculous, but a cruel joke fashioned to end her career for good. She slowly pushed herself from the leather swivel chair reserved for her, her perfectly manicured hands fisting around her limited edition bag as her smile lingered on the stunned faces of the directors and other members of the production team.
''Fuck you.''
An old woman sitting close to her placed her hand across her chest as she turned to her daughter in horror.
''And You,'' she said calmly while pointing to the head of the camera team. The poor boy turned around in his seat, wondering why he had suddenly become her next target.
''And you, and you, and you…'' She pointed at every member, present in the confined yet reserved space, of one of the top meeting rooms in the hundred–floor high-rise building.
Tears welled in her eyes, as she tried to keep it together. Her hands trembled beside her as the Head Director slammed the script of an upcoming xianxia romance drama heavily on the table, its polished surface reflecting the room's bright lights. His hands rested on his hips as a few producers and actors rushed to hold him back and stop him from responding.
Qing Yuer had finally had enough of the subtle insults, humiliation, and abuse she has had to suffer for ten years now, all in the name of fame and money. She joined this industry at just fourteen, and was instantly recognized for her beauty, charm, and unique acting skills even while working as an extra in minor dramas.
She climbed the ranks, competing with industry's top dogs, in less than five years from her debut, she was already counted as one of the top five successful Chinese actresses of the new century. Gathering fans and admirers from all over the world, Qing Yuer became an internet sensation and no drama, no matter how terrible the plot was, has ever flopped simply because the Queen of Xianxia dramas got the lead role.
Life was perfect.
Until recently… Qing Yuer started to weigh the outcomes if she had stood up for herself at that age and refused to be exploited from all sides because she was a magnet, that hidden siren of success and what people will call luck.
What would have become of her and her life?
Would things have turned out differently or much worse?
She gently lifted her bag from the table and made a quick turn to leave.
This was it.
This was where she pressed softly on the breaks of her fast-moving life and paused to catch her breath.
Everyone stared as the icon of success walked out on all of them for good. Mrs. Qing, the old woman who had managed her daughter for the past ten years appeared flustered in her seat, not knowing what to do or say as all the intense looks and sharp glares flying around the room were focused on her.
The old woman gulped, raised her hands to fan herself a bit before stumbling to her feet, reaching out to grab a copy of the play her daughter was supposed to star in. She smiled nervously at all the demons in the room, threatening her with their big, brown eyes to get her daughter in check or they might really drag them both to hell this time.
Mrs. Qing, understanding her assignment clearly, stumbled out of the opaque glass doors leading out of the private room and rushed to grab hold of her daughter before she indeed made the biggest mistake of her entire life.
''Yuer!!!''
All the visitors gathered in the lobby of the ground floor of the building turned their heads to watch as a visibly furious woman in her early twenties got pursued by an older woman barefoot.
The woman paused when she could no longer run to catch her breath. Her daughter was indeed crazy for choosing to march down the stairs instead of taking the elevator like any sane person would.
This was already the twenty-first century!
You can't have a piece of the world without giving a part of yourself.
''Yuer!'' The woman screamed, breathing heavily as more eyes turned toward them worriedly. Most people nearby thought the young woman clutching her bag, refusing to face the older woman, was oddly familiar. She looked so much like the star that played the lead role in the latest popular Xianxia drama titled Your Royal Highness X Immortal Guardian.
Some, brave enough to confirm her identity, pushed forward to take a closer look as Qing Yuer, who was already at her wits' end, slowly turned around to face her equally disheveled mother. The only family she had ever known and cared for since she knew this world.
Mrs. Qing sighed, taking a few steps towards her mostly well-behaved and obedient daughter now flying on the wings of rebellion tonight. Mrs. Qing didn't even know where to start questioning her when she got the idea of rebelling against her dreams. A dream that was almost pushing her to the very top of the industry.
Wasn't this what they both wanted?
Why did they sell everything they once had to their name to make this dream come true?
And now, the role of the most anticipated drama of a lifetime, one the management of the other top four actresses couldn't secure for themselves, was finally placed in her lap with the tag of a once in a lifetime opportunity.
It was an unexpected boost, allowing her to surpass her adversaries at once and saying goodbye to being at the bottom for good.
''Why?'' Mrs. Qing asked as her daughter who refused to make eye contact with her.
''Because I am tired, Mom.''
What does that mean?
Mrs. Qing was finding it hard to understand as those words were only associated with losers and not the winning spirit her daughter possessed.
''What?!''
Qing Yuer turned to lock eyes with her mom and said again, this time rephrasing it in a way that would hit hardest for a greedy manager, who has little to no regard for her clients' feelings and how hard it was to even get up and breathe properly anymore. A manager that has forgotten how to be a mother the moment a fat cheque is waved in front of her like a candy and a new million dollar contract comes rolling in her mail.
''I am tired, Mom. This was not what I meant when I said I wanted to be a star. I didn't say it can happen at the cost of forgetting what living truly meant.''
Mrs. Qing stood before her daughter, looking more confused than a rat being used for an experiment.
''If you have been truly observant and still see me as your daughter and not an opportunity for you to fulfil your dreams, you will have noticed that I died ten years ago.''
Everyone watching and filming the dramatic moment gasped with their hands across their mouths. Qing Yuer noticed the cameras and phones turned to capture this moment, her vulnerable self that not even her fans could have easily noticed. She smiled one last time at her mom who looked like she had been slapped across the face by the biggest reality reveal yet. The script of the Xianxia drama, Till The Heavens Do Us Apart loosened in her hold, falling from her hands as she struggled to find a response.
Qing Yuer sniffed, trying to hold back her tears, holding herself like the strong, mentally capable person she had made herself believe she was.
Out of all things she would let herself endure, starring in a film with her ex husband, the top actor taking China along with the rest of the world by a storm, the one and only Henry Chen no one knows him to be a monster and an abuser was the least.
Her two years of marriage that could be cast as the biggest horror show in history ended with her barely making it out alive.
Her mental health was gone and compensated with a few millions from him as she shakily placed her signature on the divorce papers that fateful night in court.
No one till this day will understand why a woman with a brain and eyes will part ways with an angel like Henry Chen. Her fans dragged her for weeks on the internet, she received a lot of hate, cyber bullying and even death threats from his fans. Her management lost a lot of money because of her foolish decision to divorce one of the leading faces in the Chinese entertainment industry and the world.
Their plan to fix her ''plummeting career and erase all stains on her once perfect internet image was to'' get her a leading role with the same Henry Chen in a highly anticipated Xianxia romance drama. She was expected to use this opportunity to unite the fans and paint this perfect image of a possible reunion between them. To recover every penny the management has lost because of her foolish decision to fight for a divorce, winning against a giant and daring to drag his name through the mud because at times he might be hot tempered and has raised his voice at her on a few occasions.
Qing Yuer bit down so hard on her lower lip till it bruised a bit.
They had no idea that he once…that he once…that he once…
Tears collected in her eyes, streaming down her face like a river.
This was the first time Mrs. Qing had seen her baby cry in front of her in a long time. She had always thought she was happy and at peace with whatever they do to get themselves out of poverty. She thought the millions, fame and attention was enough to never have her cry like this again.
But she was so wrong.
Mrs. Qing's hands slackened beside her in total defeat and guilt.
Qing Yuer placed her hand slowly against her stomach as she remembered what that monster once did that made her risk getting a divorce and ruining everything she thought was enough to get her a happy life.
''Oh my God… is she okay?''
''What happened?''
''Isn't that…Yuer_Yuer?''
Well, Yuer__Yuer has had just enough of everything. She slowly removed her dark sunglasses from her purse, wearing it to conceal her puffy eyes before turning on her heels to leave the building. Her final goodbye to a life well-lived in hell.