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

The image of the last second before losing consciousness was deeply etched into Li Yitong's mind.

Struggling and shouting, Li Yitong tried her best to break free from that warm embrace.

But in this endless darkness, apart from his own consciousness, he could feel nothing and do nothing.

She dared not think about how she would face everything if she really survived because of him.

How should I deal with my aunt?

How should I deal with Oda?

How to face yourself!

After an unknown amount of time, a ray of light appeared before my eyes.

I slowly opened my eyes; everything was blurry.

I subconsciously reached up to wipe my eyes; they were tears, covering my vision.

His heart ached as if it were being stabbed. He pressed his other hand, which was supporting his body, against his heart and slowly collapsed to the ground, his body convulsing uncontrollably.

Outside the room, a passerby glanced inside, then stopped and quickly ran in.

"Xue, Xue, are you alright?"

The person who came quickly helped Li Yitong up, held her in his arms, and kept talking while checking her body with his hands.

"Xue, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

"You're not feeling well, why are you practicing the splits? Get up!"

"Are you under too much pressure? It's okay, there's still more than two weeks until the graduation performance. Don't worry, you can definitely do it!"

In a daze, Li Yitong saw clearly the person holding her—Jin Daxi!

[Jin Daxi? The young...Jin Daxi?]

Her thoughts, like rusty gears, began to turn with difficulty.

She vaguely heard the words "graduation performance," which made Li Yitong's mind go blank as if a bomb had plowed the ground.

Looking around more closely, I came across a dance studio filled with large mirrors.

Meanwhile, he was wearing his long-forgotten dance outfit and white tights, and he was lying on the ground with his legs spread wide in a split.

[This isn't 2025. This is... the dance studio at the Beijing Dance Academy?]

"You mean graduation, the performance?"

Her voice was hoarse from crying and trembling with disbelief.

Hearing Li Yitong's sobbing and intermittent words, Jin Daxi hugged her and gently patted her back.

"Have you recovered?"

"Yeah, there's still more than half a month to go, what's the rush? You've been practicing pretty well, what are you worried about?"

"Or is something wrong at home, and you need my help?"

[Home?]

This word was like a key, instantly unlocking the floodgates of emotion, and a powerful impulse made her almost unable to breathe.

She needed to confirm, to confirm that none of this was a dream!

"Great news! What's the date today?"

"May 20th? What's wrong? Are you out of your mind about dates?"

Li Yitong's eyes widened suddenly, she gritted her teeth, and let out a long hiss...

She had just pinched her thigh hard, and the pain made her pretty face turn bright red instantly.

The commotion startled Jin Daxi, who quickly began to thoroughly search Li Yitong's entire body.

"What's wrong? What's wrong?"

"It's okay, it's okay, hahaha..."

Just a moment ago it was in excruciating pain, but now Jin Daxi's touch made her feel itchy all over, and she couldn't help but dodge and burst into laughter.

"I just touched a nerve, stop it, you're tickling me..."

"If you don't stop, I'm going to retaliate, Jin Daxi!"

Jin Daxi, who was initially worried, guessed that Li Yitong was probably alright when he saw her like this. He chuckled and scratched her even more vigorously.

After playing around for a while and seeing Jin Daxi off, Li Yitong closed the door to the dance studio and immediately ran to the area where her schoolbags and coats were piled up.

With trembling hands, he pulled his phone out from inside his clothes—his long-lost iPhone 4.

Upon opening the screen, several large numbers appeared: May 20, 2011. The wallpaper was a photo of himself and Shen Mo with their arms around each other, taken at Shichahai.

"Hahaha!"

"Ah~~~"

In the empty dance studio, Li Yitong held her phone tightly in both hands, laughing unrestrainedly, a single tear silently sliding down her cheek.

I am back!

I, Li Yitong, am back!

However, after the laughter faded away alone in the empty room, a huge, unprecedented sense of detachment washed over him like a cold tide, instantly drowning out the initial ecstasy.

She raised her hand, her fingertips trembling slightly uncontrollably.

These hands are fair, firm, and full of youthful energy, without the subtle scars and calluses left from years of filming.

But when she tried to clench her fist, she felt a kind of "emptiness" on a spiritual level.

It was as if this perfect body was a hotel room she was temporarily staying in, a room she knew intimately, rather than her real home.

"Dad... Mom..." she murmured unconsciously.

A strong urge made her tremble as she picked up her phone again and dialed home.

I heard a voice coming through the microphone that seemed old in my memory, but was now unusually loud and full of energy.

"Feed? Xue, what's wrong?"

Li Yitong felt as if something was tightly blocking her throat.

She opened her mouth, but all the eloquence she had honed over a decade in the entertainment industry vanished.

What should she say?

Say "Mom, I miss you"?

But in the phone's contacts, it showed that I had spoken to my mother on the phone just yesterday.

Saying "You should take care of your health"?

But at this moment, my parents are in their prime, and in very good health.

The immense sense of temporal displacement made her feel like a clumsy actress, holding the wrong script, playing the wrong role, yet pouring her heart into it.

She is separated from her closest family by a thick wall called "the future".

"No...it's nothing," she finally managed to say, her voice tinged with a barely perceptible hoarseness and sob.

"Well... I'm a little tired from dance practice, so I wanted to hear your voices."

After hanging up the phone, a deep sadness washed over me.

She possessed the most precious gift in the world—time.

But because of this, he became a prophet who knew everything, yet a lonely soul who had nothing.

And Shen Mo...

The moment the name appeared in her mind, her heart felt as if it had been clenched tightly by an invisible hand, then suddenly released, bringing a tremor that was a mixture of pain and ecstasy.

His resolute gaze in the elevator, the warmth of his chest as he cushioned her fall, and those words, "I'm sorry"...

These images, like a red-hot branding iron, seared into the depths of her soul.

If she were alone, this loneliness that transcends time and space would be devastating.

She needs an anchor, a "future" that she has experienced, not an "absurd and illusory" fantasy.

Shen Mo is the only choice.

Now that I've come back, what about him?

At this moment, she needs Shen Mo more than ever.

This need instantly overwhelmed everything, even temporarily eclipsing his guilt towards Tian Xiwei.

When faced with the instinct for survival, morality takes a backseat.

Suddenly, my phone vibrated.

The caller ID showed it was—Shen Mo!

Li Yitong froze instantly, looking at the familiar name, and for a moment she felt a sense of panic and fear.

She was afraid that if she answered the phone, she would hear that still-naive voice, oblivious to everything.

With trembling fingers, I pressed the answer button, and there was silence on both ends of the phone.

Finally, Li Yitong tentatively asked, "Shen Mo?"

"Um!"

The voice on the other end of the phone sounded slightly immature, but... the tone carried an unusual calmness.

"you……"

"I saw the text message you sent me, June 9th, right?"

May 6st!

Li Yitong instantly remembered what Jin Daxi had just said: the graduation performance.

"Um."

"Okay, I'll be right there. If there's nothing else, you should get back to your dance practice!"

"it is good."

The phone hangs up.

In just a few words, Li Yitong's heart soared from the depths of fear to the clouds!

The calmness and understanding in his tone were completely unlike anything Shen Mo had done in 2011!

Moreover, he didn't attend the last graduation show!

He's back too!

This finally put Li Yitong's mind at ease.

She is not alone!

Looking up at my youthful self in the mirror, a smile returned.

Suddenly, he slid down to the ground, feeling utterly weak. His lips twitched, his brows furrowed into a V-shape, and his eyes stared blankly at the ceiling.

"No way!"

"God, are you kidding me?!"

"20 days left!"

"Graduation Show!"

I haven't practiced seriously for over a decade, and you expect me to perform my ultimate show now?

Please stop mistreating people over 35!

Even though I was reborn, that's awesome!

However, she was reborn 20 days before her graduation show.

What's the difference between this and going back to the day before the college entrance exam?

As a distinguished graduate of the Beijing Dance Academy, is it really possible that I will not be able to get my diploma in this lifetime?

wrong!

Li Yitong, who was lying on the ground and unconsciously spread her legs into a split, suddenly realized what was happening.

You're Sister Li!

I'm not 35 anymore!

She's a beautiful 20-year-old girl in the prime of her youth!

He possesses peak physical condition, the fastest reaction speed, and over thirty years of accumulated dance experience and vision.

20 days left!

If you take away from sleeping, you can work for 20 hours a day.

It's not too late!

Come on! Let's work hard!

Unleash your inner power!

However, since I'm already lying down, I might as well lie down a little longer...

My thoughts wander: would those big-budget productions really be willing to cast a newcomer like myself?

She had encountered great opportunities in her past life. In early 2010, Director Zhang held a nationwide audition for the female lead of "Under the Hawthorn Tree".

While still studying at the Beijing Dance Academy, I became the only one in my class to be selected through the audition and meet Director Zhang.

I vaguely remember during the second audition, Director Zhang asked me, "Girl, do you like acting?"

When I got nervous, I replied, "It's alright, but I haven't had much experience with it."

Having absolutely no knowledge of acting, I tried it out but forgot which part of the plot it was, and then that was it.

However, even if I were to go back to that time now, with ten years of acting experience, I probably wouldn't be the "simple and natural" "Jingqiu" that Director Zhang needed.

Without capital or connections, starting over as an ordinary person, can I really reach the top?

I can't live like I did in my previous life, working as an extra, sending out resumes everywhere, not being picky about roles, and just taking any role I pass the audition.

Or, could you start a business first, make a lot of money, and then bring your own investment to join the team?

When Li Yitong thought about starting a business and making money, she couldn't help but think of Shen Mo, whose profession was this.

We need to persuade him; we can't let him choose that path of development that everyone despises again.

Although I've been in the entertainment industry for over a decade and already understand his choice, it's always better to avoid it.

"In this life, I will take back everything that is rightfully mine!"

This classic line from the short drama resonated within her at that moment, but it took on a more complex meaning.

Not only does she aspire to be at the top of her career, but she also wants to reclaim what rightfully belongs to her as her "kindred spirit," the "only one" who makes her feel less alone in this chaotic time and space.

Tian'er, in the past life, I, your childhood sweetheart, was defeated by you, who came from the sky. In this life, I must first say I'm sorry!

Sister Meng! Sister Lu! Sister Zhao! Sister Mi! And all the other top female celebrities in the industry, whether I know them or not, I apologize in advance...

In this life, I, Li Yitong, will accept the opportunity for you to ascend to immortality in advance!

Let me experience the joy of being a top star!

Hehehe...

Thinking of Shen Mo, and the future they were about to create together, Li Yitong, lying on the ground, smiled more and more brightly, her face filled with a complex light that was a mixture of ambition and expectation.

Bringing my thoughts back, a reality surfaced in my mind.

Alright, enough daydreaming. Li Yitong, time to get up and practice dancing!

Get your diploma first, otherwise there's no point in discussing anything else!

……