The Entertainment Industry in Turmoil: Young Actresses All Want to Rise to the Top

On October 14, 2025, near the Petroleum University, on the 15th floor of the hotel where the crew of the film "Brilliant Friend" was staying.

The air was filled with the sweet scent of cream and the lingering warmth of the revelry.

Happy birthday!

As the song ended, Tian Xi, wearing a paper crown, closed her eyes, clasped her hands together, and quietly made her 28th birthday wish.

The next second, she opened her bright eyes, her gaze passing over the flickering candlelight, and precisely locked onto Shen Mo across the coffee table.

"Brother Mo, thank you!"

She grinned, blew out the candle in an instant, revealing her signature dimple on her right cheek, leaned forward, and before Shen Mo could react, her soft lips were already pressed against his cheek.

"Oh~ So that's him, right?" Xiao Lu protested with a laugh.

Tian Xiwei, who was pressed back onto the sofa by Xiao Lu, laughed and said, "Oh! Baby Lulu is jealous? Then Baby Lulu will give you a kiss too."

Before Xiao Lu could react, he left a deep lip print on her right cheek.

"Ah!" Xiao Lu, who was unable to dodge in time, covered her cheek in surprise, and then saw Tian Xiwei's body lean to the right.

"Give Xuexue a kiss too!"

Tian Xiwei put her arms around Li Yitong's shoulders, who was sitting on her right, pouted her lips, pressed her face against Li Yitong's, and shook her head.

"Little Tian! My makeup!"

Seeing Li Yitong touching her face as if to wipe it, Tian Xiwei quickly grabbed her hand and hugged her, pouting her little mouth and looking at her with her big, watery eyes.

"Snow...you're disgusted with me~"

"Snow...you're hurting my heart."

Immediately, Tian Xiwei's eyes darted around, and she secretly wiped her finger across the cake.

Turning to Xiao Lu and Li Yitong on her left and right, she gave each of them a cream "attack," instantly igniting a battle between the three women.

Cream flew through the air, and screams and laughter filled the room.

Shen Mo smiled and moved back a little, trying to avoid the main battlefield, but was spotted by the sharp-eyed Tian Xiwei.

She deftly dodged Li Yitong's "pursuit" and casually wiped her face on her own and Li Yitong's assistant's faces.

Then she lightly threw herself into Shen Mo's arms, grabbed his hands and wrapped them around herself.

"Brother Mo, protect me!"

She tilted her head back, her face flushed, her eyes filled with love and mischief.

Shen Mo smiled helplessly, only to be instantly surrounded by four hands covered in cream. The "culprit" in his arms even took the opportunity to wipe his hands with his shirt.

"Tian Xiwei, you really are a little devil..."

He gave up resisting and let them do whatever they wanted, but deep down he felt a rare peace and contentment.

The battle ended, leaving behind a scene of utter devastation.

The assistants cleaned up the mess and went downstairs to throw out the trash.

Xiao Lu was cleaning her clothes in the bathroom, while Li Yitong sat on the side of the sofa, silently touching up her makeup.

Tian Xiwei half-knelt and half-lay in Shen Mo's arms, carefully wiping the cream off his face with a wet wipe.

Their foreheads touched, their breaths mingling.

"Xiaotian, have you made up your mind?"

Li Yitong's voice had lost its usual brightness, carrying a slight, almost imperceptible tremor.

Tian Xiwei did not answer immediately; she simply stared intently at Shen Mo in front of her.

"It's decided."

Tian Xi turned her head slightly, looked into Shen Mo's eyes, and spoke in a gentle yet firm tone.

"We're not young anymore. After this drama wraps up, I'll go back... and marry Brother Mo."

Li Yitong paused almost imperceptibly as she drew her eyebrows, without turning her head, but her eyes behind her glasses dimmed slightly.

The air seemed to freeze for a moment.

"...Are you planning to go public?"

Li Yitong put down her eyebrow pencil, her voice sounding somewhat distant.

She finally turned her head, her gaze lingering on Shen Mo's face for a second before quickly looking away.

"I respect Xiaotian's decision." Shen Mo looked up and caught her slight evasion.

Then he looked down at Tian Xi's slightly bright eyes.

"Not for public release..."

He deliberately drew out his words, and only after seeing Tian Xiwei's brows furrow instantly did he raise an eyebrow and smile.

"I'll be the man behind the big stars, taking care of all their worries."

"If I go public, I'll be the man in front of the big star, shielding him from all the storms."

Hearing the sweet words, Tian Xi trembled slightly, her expression one of utter disgust, but the happiness in her eyes was almost overflowing.

She quickly pecked him on the lips.

"Well said! Guess whether I should go public or not?"

She wrinkled her nose. "But don't be so mushy next time, it's giving me goosebumps!"

pat!

Li Yitong closed the makeup mirror and awkwardly stuffed the makeup into her bag.

She picked up another small, wrapped gift box, placed it on the table, and stood up.

"You guys keep being all lovey-dovey, I'm leaving. The 'Beauty Yu' crew only took half a day off."

She spoke urgently, without looking at anyone, "The gift is here, Tian'er, look at it after I leave."

"Thank you, Tongtong!"

Tian Xi responded sweetly, nudging Shen Mo gently with her elbow.

"Could you see Yitong off? I have to go to the film set too."

Shen Mo nodded and stood up, chasing after the departing figure who had already opened the door.

"Wait, let's go together!"

The elevator entrance was completely silent.

The two stood side by side, yet it was as if there was an invisible wall between them.

Li Yitong lowered her head, staring intently at the gleaming elevator door, as if she could see something amazing in it.

Shen Mo could sense the oppressive atmosphere surrounding her, a complex emotion that was being suppressed.

Ding--

The elevator doors slowly opened.

The moment Shen Mo accompanied Li Yitong as she stepped inside, he clearly heard a very faint sob.

Just as the elevator doors closed completely, Li Yitong suddenly raised her head, her eyes red and brimming with tears, and looked straight at him.

"You've made up your mind too?"

Her voice trembled, like a string stretched to its limit.

Shen Mo stared into those eyes he had known for over thirty years, eyes filled with resentment and a final glimmer of hope.

He pursed his lips, tightened his jawline, and then slowly nodded.

The light in those eyes shattered instantly.

Li Yitong's shoulders slumped, as if all her strength had been drained away.

She forced a smile that looked more like a grimace, and tears finally rolled down her cheeks.

"Oh well."

She took a deep breath and opened her arms.

"Give me a hug."

Happy birthday to you too.

Shen Mo's heart felt as if it had been violently struck by something.

Without hesitation, he stepped forward and gently pulled the girl, who was pretending to be strong, into his arms.

"Yukiko, I'm sorry."

He whispered in her ear, his voice hoarse.

Li Yitong buried her face in his shoulder, shook her head, and her muffled voice carried a sense of desperate relief.

"I'm the one who should be apologizing."

"The green plum couldn't withstand the sudden arrival of a newcomer. Perhaps, this is fate..."

suddenly!

The lights in the elevator suddenly went out, and a deathly darkness swallowed everything!

Immediately afterwards, a strong, heart-stopping feeling of weightlessness suddenly pulled them toward the abyss!

"ah--!"

Amidst gasps of surprise, Shen Mo almost instinctively used all his strength to hold Li Yitong tightly in his arms, completely enveloping her with his body.

He tried to press all the floor buttons, but his fingertips touched nothing but cold, unresponsive surfaces.

The feeling of falling out of control is getting stronger and stronger!

In his last moments of consciousness, he suddenly turned around, cushioning his fall with himself, and slammed Li Yitong into the corner.

A tremendous impact came, and in the darkness, the last thing Li Yitong heard was Shen Mo's almost whispered promise.

"If... this is the end..."

"Let me... be your cushion one more time..."

Then, all fell silent and darkness returned.