The Unexpected Rise Before My Exit from the Entertainment Industry

Chapter 1

"Damn."

Qin Wei opened her eyes, nearly blinded by the barrage of camera flashes.

She instinctively shielded her eyes with her hand, still not understanding what was happening, when someone asked her:

"Miss Qin Wei, do you have anything to say about this drunk driving incident?"

"Damn."

Qin Wei blurted out, shocking everyone present.

All fell silent.

Even the reporters forgot to keep snapping photos.

As the glare of the flashes died down, Qin Wei realized she was at a press conference, which was being broadcast live.

She turned to see her agent's face darken.

A reporter broke the silence with a question: "Miss Qin Wei, what did you just say?"

Qin Wei answered honestly again:

"Damn."

The flashes erupted once more.

Her agent stepped in front of her, addressing the sea of microphones:

"Miss Qin Wei is not feeling well, having just woken up at the hospital this morning. She may not even know what she's saying. But let me reiterate, Qin Wei was not drunk driving. We will accept the appropriate punishment and fulfill it on schedule."

Pushing through the mob of reporters, the agent escorted Qin Wei away.

Even seated in the car, Qin Wei remained disoriented.

Where is this? Who is he?

Didn't I already die?

"Give me your phone."

Qin Wei held out her hand to the agent sitting beside her.

The agent hesitated before handing it over.

"Weiwei, don't take what they're saying online too seriously. As long as you haven't been completely blacklisted, we still have a chance to turn things around..."

Qin Wei didn't hear a word he said. She just opened the front camera and examined herself from all angles.

Not bad, still taking selfies in this state.

The agent silently rolled his eyes and turned away.

But Qin Wei was shocked by the exquisite face on the screen.

So beautiful. Gorgeously beautiful, even she couldn't help but admire it...

But this wasn't Qin Wei.

More precisely, this wasn't her original self.

Hard to put into words...

Qin Wei was indeed named Qin Wei, but just a nameless trainee struggling abroad. Despite working tirelessly for three consecutive years, her plain looks meant the company never gave her a chance to debut.

Just as opportunity knocked, fate played a cruel trick, slipping through her fingers.

Too painful to look back on the past. Qin Wei sighed. She had clearly jumped to her death, so how did things turn out like this?

"Hey, do you know who I am?"

Qin Wei nudged the agent beside her with her elbow.

He turned to look at her, mouth gaping as he struggled to find the right words.

"Weiwei, did you really damage your brain?"

Qin Wei: "..."

In short, the face reflected in the camera was Qin Wei's. Except she had become the youngest Queen of Acting in history to win the White Eagle Award, at the peak of her popularity.

How did she turn into her?!

Qin Wei slapped herself repeatedly.

The agent gripped her slender wrists, pained at the sight of her reddening cheeks:

"Please, your face is all you have left!"

It hurt. This was no dream.

Qin Wei rolled her eyes in despair.

She had died yet also transmigrated, possessing a washed-up celebrity!

...

Given her bizarre behavior, the agent was also worried. He drove her home first, planning to let her calm down before making arrangements.

When the car pulled up at the mansion downtown, Qin Wei had mostly collected herself.

The Queen was still the Queen. Never mind being washed-up, at least she was rich.

That's how Qin Wei saw it.

She followed the agent into the mansion, its familiarity washing over her. This was her home, no doubt, though she had no memories of the original owner or how she had died. But this feeling couldn't be wrong.

The agent placed the contract on the table.

"After your community service, focus on this job for the next half month. It's been months since your last role, and this is our only prospect moving forward."

Sitting on the sofa, Qin Wei glanced at the contract. By now, she had made peace with the situation. Things were as they were, so she might as well enjoy life as a happy divorcée.

And she was still beautiful to boot.

"Disband the studio. I'm retiring from the industry."

Qin Wei lazily waved her hand at the agent.

The Queen's assets were enough to support her for life anyway.

The agent looked at her in astonishment. "Weiwei, is your brain really damaged?"

...

After an hour of chattering, the agent finally made her understand the dire straits she was in.

Her, Qin Wei the White Eagle Queen of Acting, darling of the fashion scene, drowning in lucrative advertising deals, an instant hit from debut to the peak of her career, sixteen years old with seven years in showbiz, had thoroughly destroyed her public image through all kinds of low EQ behavior - scolding colleagues, provoking sponsors, and more.

A week ago, a drunk driving accident sent her car into the sea, alienating even her last remaining fan club to automatically disband.

Although the police later clarified she had not actually been drinking when she fell into the sea, the media cared little for that, continuing to relentlessly drag her name through the mud.

To preempt further damage from negative press, brands had rushed to terminate her contracts and demand compensation fees for breach of contract.

With no acting roles in hand, these penalties had basically drained the Queen's family fortune.

"Do you remember why you fell into the sea?"

The agent looked at her mysteriously.

She swallowed and shook her head.

The agent adjusted his glasses.

"Your investments failed spectacularly, costing you a fortune."

Wow, kicking her when she's down.

"So... I jumped into the sea because of that?"

The agent shook his head.

"You said you felt awful and had me drive you to the seaside to get some fresh air. I parked on an unfinished bridge, thinking the remote location would avoid paparazzi. Who knew that in the time I stepped out for a smoke, you got back in the car and started crying."

"And then I jumped?"

"While crying, you said you wanted to speed, but before I could warn you construction was ongoing, you had already plunged over the edge with the car."

The corners of Qin Wei's mouth twitched, seemingly grasping how she had transmigrated here.

"Damn."

Oh right, I didn't come here to live the good life. I'm here to pay off debts.

The agent frowned, opening his phone to the trending topics, pointing to the leading hashtags:

#QinWeiDamn#

#QinWeiCurses#

#QinWeiMentalState#

#QinWeiDrunkDriving#

"Don't say that word again."

"F..."

"..."

"The censer gives off purple smoke..."

...

The agent sat down to console her:

"There there, we didn't actually break the law, just some regulations. Once we accept the penalties, it'll be fine. Keep working hard, I stand by what I said earlier. As long as you haven't been completely blacklisted, there's still a chance to turn things around."

So even a Queen had so much hardship. Luckily she came from a wealthy family. Even losing this much hadn't put her in debt, just left her with a mansion and luxury car.

But the original owner was gone now, and she had to plan for the future too. Glancing at her bank account balance, she reluctantly picked up the contract again.

Skipping past the dense terms, she flipped to the last page.

Pointing at the long string of zeros, she counted off.

"Tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, hundred thousands... fine, I'll do it."

Qin Wei flourished the pen and signed her name.