Chapter 17: Survival Guide

Ling Xiaoli immediately opened her browser and searched. As it turned out, there was very little information online about Director Hu’s new drama. The production hadn’t publicly announced any casting calls at all.

The audition involving Luo Zhaoyin in the novel mainly focused on her conflict with the female lead. The other roles weren’t mentioned at all.

Ayin was essentially a predetermined choice for the role, so even if Ling Xiaoli asked her, she probably wouldn’t know any more details.

So she would just have to improvise when the time came?

Ling Xiaoli was still pondering this when her phone suddenly vibrated.

Incoming call. It was Keke.

“Ahhh~ Xiaoli, you were so cool today! The moment you turned off all the beauty filters, I nearly stopped breathing. As expected of my wife, the most beautiful woman in the world!”

Keke’s voice was sweet and pleasant, enough to lift anyone’s mood.

“Hehe, how did I do?”

“You were amazing! I’m telling you, absolutely amazing!”

……

After chatting a little longer, Ling Xiaoli learned that Keke hadn’t called immediately because she had been arguing with people on Weibo just moments earlier.

Feeling the wholehearted affection and protection coming from the other end of the phone, Ling Xiaoli somehow felt a little heartbroken.

The original Ling Xiaoli… How much had you missed out on?

As they continued chatting, the excited Keke suddenly laughed.

“Ling Xiaoli, I feel like you’ve finally returned to the way you were back then. Congratulations on coming back!”

Ling Xiaoli paused, then smiled.

“Really? This past year was just too difficult…”

“Fortunately, it’s all over now…”

Yes, it was all over. Unfortunately, some people could never come back.

………

Not long after hanging up, Ling Xiaoli received a call from the company. It wasn’t Wang Yun calling, but someone else she didn’t recognize.

The person explained a great deal to Ling Xiaoli. The gist was that now that Ling Xiaoli had revealed her true appearance, the results were excellent. The company had simply overthought things before, and the fault had been theirs.

If she wasn’t satisfied with her previous contract, she could sign a new one. There was no need to terminate it.

The company would provide her with the best resources, and the television drama they had promised her would still be hers.

Ling Xiaoli naturally refused.

This company had already ruined the original Ling Xiaoli once. Did they think they could trick her again?

Dream on!

She firmly demanded to terminate her contract.

In the end, the person on the other side had no choice but to agree and asked her to come to the company tomorrow to complete the formalities. After all, a considerable amount of money was involved.

Just as she finished dealing with that, a WeChat message suddenly arrived.

—Bai: Continuing tonight?

Ling Xiaoli: ???

Continuing what? Who is this person? Why can’t I understand a word?

Before Ling Xiaoli could ask, another message arrived.

—Bai: I just got a bottle of Riesling. I’ve saved it for you. You might like it.

Oh… So this was one of the original owner’s bunch of drinking buddies!

—Ling Xiaoli: Not going. I’ve quit drinking.

Heh. They still wanted her to go drinking? Never mind that she didn’t know where to go—even if she did, she wouldn’t go!

—Bai: …Quit drinking again? Okay, I understand. If you ever want a drink, just find me.

Ling Xiaoli: ???

Ling Xiaoli stroked her chin. This drinking buddy didn’t seem as terrible as she had initially imagined. He seemed more like someone the original owner used to vent her frustrations to.

If she got the chance, perhaps she could try probing this person for information about the original Ling Xiaoli. She had a feeling that this person, whose nickname was Bai, might know quite a lot.

At that moment, Ling Xiaoli stopped being a couch potato. Instead, she dug out a blank notebook she had found while cleaning and began writing down every bit of the original novel’s plot that she could remember, word for word.

She had to study it carefully and not miss a single plot point she could participate in.

It wasn’t just the plot. Compared with her original world, this world had some similarities in its literary and artistic works, but there were also major differences.

For example, some singers and their works existed in both worlds, while certain singers and works from her original world didn’t exist here at all.

These were the foundation for her adding her own scenes to the story!

Ling Xiaoli was going to write every single one of them down.

Although it was a massive undertaking, she wouldn’t give up.

Because she was a woman determined to survive all the way to the ending!

……

And so, she wrote for the entire night.

By the time Ling Xiaoli finally stopped writing, it was already ten-thirty in the evening.

She rubbed her eyes and looked at the notebook, which was now more than half-filled with her writing. She let out a long breath.

Then she turned to the first page and solemnly wrote four large characters:

Survival Guide.