Chapter 16: The Grand Palace Intrigue Drama: Meng Ziyi vs. Li Yitong

"Tch, just keep talking tough."

Her roommate rolled her eyes at Meng Ziyi; although they hadn't known each other long, she already understood her very well.

Meng Ziyi climbed onto the top bunk with her phone, staring at the figure on the screen clad in ancient robes and holding a long sword, her eyes shining brightly.

Handsome!

Indeed, very handsome.

In all her life, this was the first time she had seen a boy this handsome.

Suddenly, a thought popped into her mind.

I want to go see Zhou Jin and find out if he's really this handsome in person!

Once this thought emerged, it could no longer be suppressed.

The filming set for Swords of Legends seemed to be in Hengdian.

Meng Ziyi fell into distress again.

Because even if she went to Hengdian, there was no guarantee she would be able to see Zhou Jin.

Suddenly, Meng Ziyi had a flash of inspiration; she picked up her phone and searched for Zhou Jin's Fan Support Group.

Nothing found.

No one had created one yet!

Meng Ziyi's eyes lit up.

Since there was no Fan Support Group, if she created one, wouldn't she become the Group Leader of the Fan Support Group?

By then, she could legitimately add Zhou Jin as a friend!

Meng Ziyi, whose execution ability was extremely strong, immediately set about creating Zhou Jin's Fan Support Group.

Hotel.

Lying in bed, Li Yitong saw the Hottest Search entry for Zhou Jin.

A surge of excitement rose in her heart, a surprise akin to discovering that a treasured gem she exclusively supported had been found by others.

Li Yitong's thoughts were the same as Meng Ziyi's; she also wanted to establish a Fan Support Group for Zhou Jin, become the Group Leader herself, and use the opportunity to interact more with Zhou Jin.

But when she searched, she discovered that Zhou Jin's Fan Support Group already existed.

She found the group number and applied to join.

Soon she was invited into the group; upon checking the member count, good heavens, there were over 1,000 people.

This fan group had only been established for a little over an hour, yet there were already more than 1,000 people inside.

Beaten to it?

Clearly I was the first to arrive.

Clearly I was the first to know Zhou Jin!

Somewhat annoyed, Li Yitong opened Zhou Jin's WeChat, wanting to invite him to dinner, but didn't know how best to start the conversation.

She pondered over every single character.

Typing, deleting, typing again, then deleting again.

Li Yitong did not know.

During the time she was hesitating, Meng Ziyi had already used her status as Fan Support Group Leader to apply to add Zhou Jin on WeChat.

【Meng Ziyi has sent you a friend request.】

Request note: I am your Fan Support Group Leader.

Zhou Jin:???

On the way back to the hotel, Zhou Jin took out his phone and checked several times before confirming that the leader of his Fan Support Group was indeed Meng Ziyi.

How did she become his fan?

Shouldn't she be attending university at BFA right now?

After thinking it over, Zhou Jin could only attribute it to the Butterfly Effect.

Zhou Jin directly accepted the friend request.

Just as he accepted, his phone vibrated.

Meng Ziyi: Hello, my name is Meng Ziyi, I am your Fan Support Group Leader, are you free to have dinner together tonight?

Zhou Jin:???

This Meng Ziyi was truly quite direct.

If it were anyone else, Zhou Jin would have gotten to know them a bit before proposing a meeting.

But if it was Sister Meng, who acted on impulse with her body flying ahead while her brain chased behind, then this was perfectly normal.

Interacting and communicating with First-Tier and Top-tier Female Stars allowed one to obtain Entries.

Such an excellent opportunity, he naturally would not let slip away.

So Zhou Jin replied affirmatively, then casually found a hotpot restaurant and sent over the location.

Meng Ziyi: "Okay, I will arrive on time."

Zhou Jin was just about to put down his phone.

The phone vibrated again.

Just as Zhou Jin thought it was Meng Ziyi again, this time it was Li Yitong.

She had sent another selfie.

In the photo, Li Yitong sat by the bedside, two buttons of her collar undone, revealing exquisite collarbones and a small section of fair shoulder.

The hem of her shirt just covered the roots of her thighs; her two legs were crossed and laid sideways on the bed, bare, without stockings.

Her skin was so white it nearly merged with the white bedsheets beneath her.

Her toenails were painted with clear polish, clean and shining, slightly curled.

Save first, view later; Zhou Jin always had this good habit.

After saving it, Zhou Jin stared at the photo for a few seconds, then typed back: "Good-looking, love looking, send more."

Li Yitong: Can we have dinner together tonight?

Zhou Jin:...

Why were both Li Yitong and Meng Ziyi inviting him to dinner today?

But he had already promised Meng Ziyi, so he could only refuse Li Yitong.

Zhou Jin: Sorry, I have something on tonight.

Li Yitong: What's wrong, no time tonight?

Zhou Jin: I just promised someone else dinner.

Li Yitong: May I ask boldly, may I ask who it is?

Zhou Jin: The Fan Support Group Leader, a friend I just added.

Inside the hotel room.

Li Yitong threw her phone onto the bed, threw herself down on it, and beat the quilt with both hands.

Tears blurred her eyes.

Wu wu wu.

She was just one step too slow.

Just one step too slow.

The Fan Support Group wasn't founded by her, and even the dinner invitation had been snatched by someone else first.

Li Yitong buried her face in the pillow, humming muffledly a few times, then suddenly lifted her head and picked up her phone again.

Zhou Jin returned to his hotel room, took off his clothes, and threw them onto a chair; just as he was about to enter the bathroom to shower, his phone vibrated again.

He picked it up and saw it was Li Yitong again.

"Can we go have dinner together?"

Zhou Jin scratched his head, unsure how to reply, when his phone vibrated once more.

Li Yitong had sent another photo.

This time it was a fitness photo.

In the photo, Li Yitong stood before a large mirror in the gym, wearing tight yoga pants.

A section of her flat, toned lower abdomen was visible, her skin so white it glowed, covered with a thin layer of sweat that shimmered with a moist luster under the gym lights.

The outline of her vest lines faintly emerged beneath her skin.

Sweat slid down her neck, flowed across her collarbones, and disappeared into the neckline of her sports bra.

She held her phone up to take a picture in the mirror, her other hand making a V-sign, her face flushed from exercise, lips slightly parted, eyes sparkling brightly.

Below the photo followed a message: "Can I please?"

It also included a pitiful-looking emoji sticker.

Zhou Jin tapped his fingers on the screen a few times and silently saved this fitness photo into his album.

Then he typed back: "Let me ask the other party."

Beijing Film Academy girls' dormitory.

After sending the friend request to Zhou Jin, Meng Ziyi kept staring at her phone screen; after waiting a while with no response, her heart felt unsettled.

Just as she was about to put her phone down, a WeChat notification popped up—"The other party has accepted your friend request."

Meng Ziyi suddenly sat up in bed.

She stared at that notification for two seconds, then her fingers swiftly tapped into the chat window; before her mind could organize any words, her fingers moved first, clattering out a line of text: "Can we have dinner together tonight?"

The instant the message was sent, Meng Ziyi's mind finally caught up.

Oh no.

Asking for dinner right after adding a friend was far too presumptuous.

What if he rejected her outright?

That would be too awkward.

The more Meng Ziyi thought about it, the more she regretted it; she wished she could recall that message from just now.

Her phone vibrated once.

She quickly picked it up to look; lying on the screen was Zhou Jin's reply, just one word: "Okay."

Meng Ziyi jumped down from the bed in one motion, stepped barefoot onto the floor, sat before the mirror at her desk, and took out bottles and jars to apply makeup.

Hengdian had so many film crews; there must be very many beautiful female stars.

But so what?

She, Sister Meng, would definitely be the most beautiful one under heaven!

Just as Meng Ziyi finished applying her lipstick, the Apple 5 on her desk vibrated.

She picked it up to look; it was a message from Zhou Jin: "There's another friend in Hengdian, a girl, who wants to have dinner together tonight; she's also my fan, is that okay?"

Meng Ziyi looked at herself in the mirror; her makeup was exquisite, her eyebrows and eyes bright.

She smiled, lowered her head, and typed: "A girl? Sure, of course that's fine."

Hmph, I just finished applying my beautiful makeup.

And this green leaf has voluntarily delivered itself to my door!

……

Seeing Zhou Jin reply that it was fine, Li Yitong felt a surge of joy in her heart.

But the moment she thought of that woman who had sprinted ahead to establish the Fan Support Group, Li Yitong ground her teeth.

She was determined to see exactly which woman had been so fast-handed as to snatch the position of president from her.

Tonight, she would definitely dress up beautifully and thoroughly overshadow that detestable woman.

After a moment's hesitation, Li Yitong called a highly skilled makeup artist she had met in Hengdian.

"Big Sister Makeup Artist, I have a date shortly; could you do my makeup for me?"

"Ah, no time?"

"Boohoo... Actually, the person I'm about to meet is a love rival."

"Ah? Now there is time; rush to my hotel within five minutes—actually, there's no need to be quite that urgent..."