Chapter 177: I Accepted the Script

“Women in that godforsaken place in Province F are stronger than I am. I’m not going!”

Lian Hanqi replied coolly, “Then don’t go.”

Gu Zhishu, on the other end of the phone, fell silent as though someone had grabbed him by the throat. He did not send another voice message right away.

After a while, he sent a sullen reply: “Don’t do this to me, big brother. I was wrong. I’ll book my ticket right now.”

Even Yun Fu could hear the despair in his voice. Realizing that it was because of her, she felt a little guilty.

She asked Lian Hanqi, “Will he be gone for long?”

“He’ll crawl back on his own.”

“...”

As expected of biological brothers.

While the two of them were eating in peace, the internet had already exploded.

KDS had won the Asian Championship for the first time, and Yun Fu had turned out to be KDS’s coach.

Those two pieces of news occupied all ten spots on the trending list.

Just as Yun Fu had expected, the more viciously people had mocked her before, the more stunned they were now. That reversal had made her known throughout the country.

Do you know Yun Fu?

What?! You don’t? She’s KDS’s coach. What?! You don’t know KDS either? Let me tell you...

In short, without Yun Fu, KDS could never have won the championship. Everyone knew how strong KDS had been before, and how far their former coach had managed to take them.

Yun Fu had become famous in the most extraordinary way.

One online forum thread after another sprang up.

#HowManyIdentitiesDoesThisPopularActressHave#

#AStarWithBothBeautyAndTalentHowDoesSheDoIt#

“She’s absolutely incredible. She must be the goddess of creation’s own daughter. Otherwise, how could she have both brains and beauty?”

“I finally understand what it means to be able to live off one’s looks, yet insist on relying on talent!”

“This isn’t merely a matter of talent. She’s at the level of a professional coach. This woman is terrifying. She isn’t even human!”

“Even my mother knows the name Yun Fu now. She asked me whether Yun Fu was that beautiful supporting actress in Stunning Grace!”

“Someone should cast Yun Fu in an esports drama. I’d gladly pay for a whole year of membership just to watch it. She’s truly incredible!”

“I hereby declare that Yun Fu is my goddess from this day forward. No one can change my mind!”

An endless stream of offers came looking for Qiao An, and countless talent agencies extended invitations to her. It had all happened overnight.

When Lian Hanqi drove her home, the last thing he said to her was, “Do whatever you want to do. I’ll handle everything else.”

Yun Fu thought of the house he had given her, and her eyes shimmered. She decided to go over and decorate it in a few days, then invite him there to watch a movie.

When she returned home, Qiao An was waiting for her with a radiant smile.

She did not ask Yun Fu what else she might be hiding. Instead, she simply laid out the scripts she considered suitable, one after another.

“Xiaofu, all of these scripts are excellent. Before this, we couldn’t even get a chance at them. Take a look and see which one you like. By then, the film we’re shooting should be nearly finished.”

Yun Fu nodded.

She walked over to the refrigerator, took out a bottle of cola, and snapped it open one-handed. Tilting her head back, she drank, her elegant neck appearing fair and delicate beneath the lights.

Watching her, Qiao An felt incredibly fortunate to have an artist like her. She absolutely could not hold Yun Fu back. She had to secure even better opportunities for her.

Yun Fu held the drink with an almost gangster-like swagger, yet on her, it possessed a distinctive charm.

She flopped naturally onto the sofa and picked up one of the scripts beside her. She looked utterly listless.

Yun Fu lazily skimmed through them all. But when she reached the final script, she sat up slightly and read it through again.

“Interesting.”

Hearing this, Qiao An hurried over. “Which script?”

Yun Fu handed it to her.

“This one...” Qiao An looked at her with a knowing smile. “You certainly have a good eye. This is the only one that hasn’t offered us a role—just an audition. I thought the script was excellent, though, so I accepted the invitation for you.”

Yun Fu’s gaze fell upon the title in her hands: A Road of Blossoms.

The female lead, Xie Qingru, was a lawyer born in the peaceful and prosperous twenty-first century. By a twist of fate, she travels back to the Republican era, a time only a few decades old, and meets the male lead, a man who has returned from studying abroad.

In an age when the future is shrouded in darkness, the heroine is the only one who knows which way to go.

She believes she will have to devote herself alone to this once-turbulent nation. But she never expects that even in the darkness, even with a long and arduous road ahead, there are still so many people quietly giving everything they have.

With their lives, they blaze a magnificent road for future generations. With their blood, they tell the world that the sons and daughters of this land will never surrender.

This was a patriotic historical drama. If Yun Fu secured it, she could completely break away from idol dramas. She might even successfully reinvent herself, and her public image would improve as well.

With Yun Fu’s current standing, she would never normally have been considered for a script like this. But after helping KDS win the championship—a victory that could be called a matter of national pride—the director had given her an opportunity to audition.

“If you can win this role, the scripts we’ll be able to get afterward will be even better. You may not even need to make idol dramas anymore.”

Yun Fu nodded and lazily took a sip of cola. “I’m not making idol dramas.”

The thought of acting lovey-dovey with some strange man made her worry that she might lose control and punch him.

“I’m taking this role.”

Qiao An stared at her in silence.

They had not even gone to the audition yet.

But for some reason, when those words came from Yun Fu, Qiao An found them entirely convincing.

Perhaps she had developed the same Yun Fu filter her fans talked about.

“Your competitors this time are all first- or second-tier actresses. They’re not lacking in acting ability.”

Yun Fu lifted her chin proudly and glanced at her without concern. “My acting is better.”

Their acting was meant to make them famous, but hers had once been a matter of survival. That was why she was certain she would win. That was her confidence.

A few days later, A Road of Blossoms was even named one of the year’s ten best television dramas. It was slated to air on the national network.

The already fierce competition became even more intense.

Qiao An glanced at Yun Fu, who was sprawled lazily on the sofa playing with her phone, and silently swallowed the words on the tip of her tongue.

Forget it. All she needed to do was trust her.

The day of the audition arrived soon enough. Yun Fu’s film was also nearing completion and would wrap in a few more days. The timing was perfect.

Qiao An took her to the audition venue. The moment they entered, however, they ran into someone familiar.

Xi Rou’er frowned instinctively when she saw Yun Fu appear there. Whenever Yun Fu showed up, nothing good seemed to follow.

Yun Fu’s face and her recent surge in popularity had made the others feel deeply threatened. Even without Xi Rou’er taking the lead, there were plenty of people willing to target Yun Fu.