Chapter 23: Even the Hateful Have Their Sorrows

After returning, she enjoyed a blissful sleep. It wasn't until the sun had risen and the warmth of her bed became almost unbearably hot that Bai Ling finally emerged from the comfort of her hotel sheets. After washing up, she began her day of leisure.

She watched dramas and scrolled through short videos—essentially, she did nothing productive but was undeniably happy.

"Isn't the whole point of living simply to feel at ease?"

That was, until the phone rang.

Only then was Bai Ling forced to join Miao Miao in reshooting some scenes for the promotion of "Girl Group Assembly Order." As for follow-up arrangements, Miao Miao and the others would handle them themselves. Whether it was Bai Ling's social media accounts or any special schedules, everything was meticulously managed by Spring and Autumn Entertainment—clear-cut and thorough.

It was at this moment that Bai Ling realized something.

"In my previous life, all those celebrities would cry and complain about how exhausting and demanding their jobs were."

"Some even felt justified in pocketing two million a day for acting—how shameless is that?"

"If this was the daily routine, let alone getting a thrill every day, I’d do it for two hundred a day!"

During her idle moments, Bai Ling would also browse the comments under her posts with a side account, just to see if anything interesting might pop up.

As expected, what greeted her was a long string of effusive compliments.

"Sis, you’re so beautiful!"

"I’m absolutely in love with that bright red dress."

"Judging by the promotional material, Bai Ling is sure to outshine everyone else."

"'Girl Group Assembly Order' is definitely Bai Ling's comfort zone. She must be a guest star, right? Will she be performing this episode?"

"A performance? Singing? To be honest, the song she sang in her livestream doesn’t seem to fit the show."

"I heard that this episode’s guest performer is the movie king, Lin Yubai."

"Is it him? Why is this guy always in the news lately? What did he do now?"

"Hey, do you have a problem with our Lin Yubai? If you do, keep it to yourself!"

"Wow, bumped into a diehard fan, huh?"

"Yeah, what’s wrong with being a fan? Does it bother you?"

...

A hundred floors deep, the two continued bickering.

But after all, this was Bai Ling’s domain, so the majority of the discussion was about her.

Perhaps the producers wanted to save the best for last; so far, only the photos of Bai Ling in the bright red gown had been released.

Her stunning appearance left even Bai Ling herself in a daze—she almost wished she could fall in love with herself and never break up.

Let alone everyone else.

Whether young men or women, she bewitched them all.

As for the white traditional outfit, that would probably be revealed in a few days.

But the director of "Girl Group Assembly Order" certainly understood the art of promotion.

There were plenty of tags for the show in Bai Ling’s comments.

"I heard Bai Ling is the guest performer this time, is it true?"

"Apparently it’s not a singing act, but it’s going to be explosive."

"An insider from the TV station leaked that this episode is going to be a must-see."

"Is that so? I’m tuning in this weekend for sure!"

"Me too!"

"+1!"

"+1!"

"+10086!"

Reading these comments, Bai Ling couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

She didn’t believe there were that many genuine fans; most likely, the production team was stirring the pot, deliberately guiding public opinion.

First, they’d throw out a smokescreen to get everyone guessing, then hit them with the real deal.

That way, the topic was popular, the buzz was there—everything falling into place.

The key was, this was Bai Ling’s peak moment, with no scandals attached.

Nothing unsavory about these tactics—just some clever maneuvering.

So Bai Ling didn’t mind at all.

"They really do know how to play the game. Everyone’s so slick and eloquent—I absolutely love the entertainment industry."

After a bit of banter, Bai Ling suddenly remembered she still had an unopened system loot box.

She opened it.

"Congratulations, host! You’ve received a Performance Bonus Card!"

Magnificent! She was ready to soar!

Bai Ling had been worried she wouldn’t be able to bluff her way through the next event. She’d even considered pretending to be a diva and just submitting a raw recording from an online stream.

Now, with this system reward, a small headache had been resolved.

The filming was set for tomorrow and the day after—enough to get her through.

But just then, her phone rang, displaying an unfamiliar number.

A flash of hesitation crossed Bai Ling’s eyes, but she couldn’t resist picking up. What if—just what if—it was something important?

It couldn’t always be insurance sales or scam calls, right?

And even if it was, she could always mess with the scammer for amusement.

“Ring, ring…”

“Hello, Bai Ling?”

“Is this Bai Ling?”

“You brat, why did you change your number?”

Hearing that voice, Bai Ling shuddered.

A chill of dread crept into her heart.

She hung up immediately, her mind buzzing.

She swore, it wasn’t because there was some monster or demon on the other end of the line.

It was simply that her body, remembering the past, responded with instinctive fear and awe.

“That voice—Lin Fenfang?”

“Bai Ling’s mother?”

A torrent of memories surged through her mind.

These were memories Bai Ling had buried deep, memories she’d never wanted to revisit.

Now, they all rose to the surface.

And Bai Ling finally understood her reaction.

“I’d forgotten—Bai Ling’s original family was seriously troubled.”

In the novel, it had focused on Bai Ling’s transformation from a resilient young woman into a villain, ending with the trope that every hateful person has their own sorrows.

But it had only alluded to her family background in passing, never delving into detail.

So when she’d read the book, Bai Ling hadn’t paid much attention.

Now, sifting through the memories in her mind, she realized some things couldn’t be summed up in a mere couple of lines.

Bai Ling’s father was named Bai Zhengyi.

He was known far and wide in the village as a handsome young man—Bai Ling owed much of her looks to him.

Her mother, Lin Fenfang, had married him for exactly this reason.

To put it bluntly, Lin Fenfang had been a hopeless flirt in her youth, completely fooled by Bai Zhengyi’s good looks.

It was only after marriage that she realized what kind of man he truly was—a scoundrel through and through.

He smoked, drank, and did everything except an honest day’s work.

One of Bai Ling’s earliest memories was of her father gambling away the days.

He was addicted to alcohol as well, and once drunk, he lost all self-control.

Lin Fenfang, Bai Ling, and her younger brother were all victims.

For as long as she could remember, at least half the beatings she’d endured had come from her so-called wonderful father.