Chapter 181: Chapter 167: Side Story—The Movie Queen’s Comeback (Part 1)

Li Xiaoxiao had always loved acting since she was young.

She couldn’t actually remember how she ended up in the orphanage, but she vaguely remembered it had also been related to watching a performance, then she got lost and was carried away by someone. Later that person suddenly collapsed, and having nowhere to go, she was sent to the orphanage.

But the orphanage was not what people outside imagined; where there were people, there were worldly affairs, even among children.

She was pretty, liked to smile, and she could sing and dance.

Thus, some of the kids always liked to bully her, push her down, and make her dirty.

In short, they just didn’t want her to be clean and pretty.

They were afraid that someone might pick her for adoption when they came, thereby blocking the chance of others.

Eventually, she could not stand the bullying anymore and ran away from the orphanage.

But where could she go after running away from the orphanage?

Naturally, there was nowhere she could go.

She just cried, walking while crying, not knowing where she was going until she finally squatted down and cried at the doorstep of a house.

The door opened, and out came Fang Yi.

Fang Yi was startled at first, then quickly lifted her up, gently dusted off the dirt on her, wiped her tears, and asked, "Poor little one, whose child are you? How did you end up here?"

"I’m from the orphanage, I don’t want to go back, they all hit me," Li Xiaoxiao said with grievance.

Fang Yi felt distressed, quickly taking her home to wash her face and change her clothes.

At home, there was also Fang Anning.

Fang Anning was lying on a small chair doing her homework, and when she saw her mother bring a little girl back, she quickly asked, "Mom, who is she?"

"Just a poor little girl, she got lost and was crying at our doorstep."

"So pitiful? I’ll give her my clothes to wear."

Immediately, Fang Anning went to find her new clothes for Li Xiaoxiao to wear after Fang Yi had bathed her.

But her new clothes were too big for Li Xiaoxiao, wearing them looked like a theatrical robe.

The two kids looked at each other and started laughing.

Fang Yi scolded lovingly, "Silly kids."

She then dug out Fang Anning’s old clothes and changed Li Xiaoxiao into them, transforming her into a cute and beautiful little girl.

Actually, Fang Yi initially had no intention of adopting Li Xiaoxiao.

After all, it was already not easy for her, a single woman, living with Fang Anning, residing in a house in the suburbs to save money.

Even so, their lives were very tight.

If another child were added, she really couldn’t afford to raise her.

So, she planned to send her back to the orphanage.

But when Li Xiaoxiao heard she was going to be sent back, she wouldn’t have it.

Though still young, she knew what places were good and what weren’t.

How nice it was here, the auntie was gentle and beautiful, and the sister was very kind to her. They gave her new clothes to wear, and even fed her eggs.

Thus, she resolutely refused to leave, suddenly kneeling down and pleading with Fang Yi, "Auntie, I don’t want to go, please don’t send me away, I don’t want to go back."

This put Fang Yi in a difficult position.

Seeing this, Fang Anning also suddenly knelt down, beseeching Fang Yi, "Mom, don’t send sister away. She came to our doorstep, she’s one of our family now, we can’t send her away."

Fang Yi’s heart softened by the children’s crying, kneeling, and pleading, nodding her head and agreed, "Okay, we won’t send her away, but you both need to behave."

"Yeah, we will behave."

"Yeah, we will behave."

The two little ones agreed in unison.

From then on, Li Xiaoxiao officially moved into their home.

Fang Anning had good grades since she was little, while Li Xiaoxiao had poor grades and instead liked singing, dancing, and performing.

However, Fang Yi didn’t have enough money to send her to art training and could only afford a cheap dance class for her to mingle in.

Li Xiaoxiao planned to drop out of middle school to work and later study acting.

But Fang Yi absolutely refused, insisting she attend vocational school, saying that without even a vocational high school education, becoming an actor without any educational background or culture would not work.

After graduating from vocational school, Li Xiaoxiao started working, and then Fang Yi had an accident, Fang Anning got married.

It was then that she fortuitously met Liao Hanfeng and thus entered the entertainment circle.

Time flew, and she had been mixing in this circle for three years, now somewhat famous as a female star.

She was called one of the Four Dan actresses.

Three years is neither too long nor too short. If one hasn’t received any awards after three years in the circle, it’s actually a kind of negation of the actor.

So, this year’s goal for Xiaoxiao was to win an award. She declined several popular movies, aiming to find a highly artistic art film to focus on winning prizes.

"Xiaoxiao, I’ve picked out a few of the better scripts from inside, take a look."

Her agent came over with a stack of scripts for Li Xiaoxiao to see.

After taking them and looking through, Li Xiaoxiao picked one and said, "This one is good, quite touching."

The script’s name was "First Love."

Just hearing the name, you could tell it was an art film. In recent years, such films weren’t box office hits. However, they often received critical acclaim, especially since the director was Mr. Li Wei, a well-known award-winning director.

The agent naturally understood her intention, nodded in agreement and said, "Your insight is really good, Xiaoxiao. Many in the industry have high hopes for this film. It’s a tough nut to crack, with many vying for it."

"Then I want it even more." Li Xiaoxiao said proudly.

She thought, with her current position in the entertainment industry, securing such a niche art film would be easy.

But unexpectedly, her agent returned with a sour expression, having failed to secure the deal.

"Xiaoxiao, this movie is funded by Huayu Group. They plan on using their own company’s artists. It might be tough to contend for, why don’t you look at other scripts? There are some other great ones," the agent said.

Li Xiaoxiao frowned.

But hearing it was Huayu Group, she didn’t want to compete for it anymore; having left Huayu Group so many years ago, she preferred keeping her distance.

However, unexpectedly, she was no longer pursuing that resource when Liao Hanfeng sought her out.

It had been over a year since they last met.

Liao Hanfeng had been abroad, not returning for a year.

Now, suddenly seeing him in her studio, Li Xiaoxiao was momentarily stunned, almost not recognizing him.

Indeed, Liao Hanfeng had changed a lot, shedding his former naïveté and becoming much more mature.

But once he spoke, he returned to his true self, helping Li Xiaoxiao quickly recognize him.

"Did I hear you’re vying for the ’First Love’ script?" Liao Hanfeng asked.

Li Xiaoxiao nodded, "Yes, what about it?"

Liao Hanfeng said, "I am the producer of that movie."

Li Xiaoxiao looked at him in surprise. When had he become a producer?

Liao Hanfeng continued, "Actually, I went to study these past years, and having just returned, my first production is ’First Love’. Unexpectedly, you’re also interested in this drama."

"But isn’t Huayu Group planning to use their own artists? I’ve already given up," Xiaoxiao said.

Liao Hanfeng immediately responded, "It’s not necessarily reserved for them. I think whoever suits the role should get it. So, are you available for a screen test?"

Li Xiaoxiao looked at him, silent for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

"Good."

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read