The first thing Jiang Yue heard after stepping back onto SkyInk property wasn't a welcome.
It was silence.
Not cold, not dismissive. Just...
Reverent.
She'd returned from London thinner, her cheekbones sharper, her hair trimmed blunt to the nape. No stylist had touched her. No cameras followed her.
Yet the air changed when she walked in.
One assistant dropped her tablet.
A lighting tech forgot to breathe.
Even the elevator seemed to pause before opening its doors.
System Update:
FL Return Confirmed – Post-Isolation Status: Class A
Global Fan Curiosity Surge +7.1%
Hidden Metric: Emotional Gravitas Enhanced +13.2% (Verified through Eye Contact Retention)
Public Reveal Window Opens in 72 hours – Countdown Begins
Zeyan stood in his office, watching the lobby feed.
She didn't walk like someone trying to impress.
She walked like someone who had stood in front of herself—and didn't flinch.
He left the office without a word.
Jiang Yue's phone buzzed the moment she stepped into the practice hall.
Script Revision – Scene 62: "The Slap"
Note: Director wishes to test your performance range with new dialogue added on set. Co-star: Lin Qifeng.
Her brows furrowed.
Lin Qifeng.
He wasn't just a rising actor. He was a media darling. Fast-talking, charming, and a habitual scene stealer.
The slap scene had been a simple emotional confrontation.
Now, rewritten with a monologue.
She wasn't worried.
She was... curious.
On set, Lin Qifeng greeted her with a smile too white to be real.
"Back from the trenches, I see," he said. "You're thinner. Looks good on camera."
She said nothing.
Just took her mark.
Scene 62: The Slap
Lin Qifeng:"You think you're better than me now? One trip to Europe and suddenly you're more than a voice?"
Jiang Yue:"I didn't go to be more than you. I went to remember who I was before anyone told me how to perform."
Lin Qifeng: "They say you cracked over there. Cried in front of a mirror. Think that makes you deep?"
There it was. The real test. A public prod in a private wound.
Jiang Yue stepped forward.
"I cracked, yes. Because I wasn't made of cheap plastic like you."
SLAP.
The sound rang like a bell.
Even the director didn't call cut.
Because Jiang Yue leaned in and whispered—off script: "This isn't performance anymore. This is release."
System Alert:
Emotional Sync: 99.9% Achieved
New Skill Fragment Gained: "Reactive Authority – Tier D"
Effect: Scene partners lose control advantage when FL reaches emotional peak
Bonus: +8.5% Audience Empathy in Conflict Scenes
The scene went viral even before official release.Someone had leaked it. A crew intern, probably.
But Jiang Yue's monologue, her poise, her slap—they became a montage on reels, on short-video platforms, in duet commentary breakdowns.
#SheDoesn'tBreak trended for 14 hours straight.
Meanwhile...
Yan Ruiqing watched from her private theater.
"She's... shifted."
Su Cheng sat beside her, arms folded.
"She's stronger?"
"No," Ruiqing said. "She's real now. That's more dangerous."
She lit a slim cigarette.
"And real doesn't need permission."
In the SkyInk boardroom, the heads of SkyInk's expansion team filed in.
A representative from Cannes International Streaming Market was on the call.
"We've reviewed Jiang Yue's footage. We're intrigued. We'd like to offer a screening slot for her short film. Non-competitive, but prime slot."
Zeyan leaned back.
"Send her the invite. But wait for her answer. She chooses what defines her now."
System Notification:
FL Prestige Threshold Reached: Global Notice Tier I
Invitation: Cannes Screening Accepted (Pending FL Approval)
Decision Window: 48 Hours
Option: Attach Mini-Documentary of Blackbridge Journey (Unlocks Legacy
Buff: "Artist's Flame")
Jiang Yue sat in her apartment that night, fingers hovering over the screen.
A Cannes invite.
A legacy tag.
A story only she could choose to tell.
She looked out the window at the dark city skyline.
"Not yet," she whispered.
She clicked: Delay.
Let them wait.
Let the fire burn hotter.