Chapter 2: My Dream

The most painful thing in winter was to get up early, wishing to stay wrapped up all day. But it was a hot day in summer.

Qin Ze had finished his toast, eating bacon and poached eggs. It was ten minutes before she came out. Wearing loose bear pajamas, she wobbly walked over, squinting her eyes.

"I was half-killed by your friends last night. What's with your excessive drinking?" Qin Ze asked.

“You were the one that drank excessively.” Big sister sent him a blank look, then lazily sat on a chair, pouting her thin lips, “After you went to bed, they were all wasted, I was the only one left sober. Those who had boyfriends called them, and the single girls, I had to take them home one by one. I only went to sleep at 3:30 in the morning.”

“It’s time!” Qin Ze took a sip of milk and quickly passed her a piece of bacon. “Go wash your face and brush your teeth.” 

Big sister nodded, stuffed the bacon in her mouth, stood up, and ran to the bathroom. She poked her head out, grimacing at him.

Qin Ze was ready to fight, but she immediately withdrew her head. Big sister didn’t act like a big sister, he was used to it. He didn’t act like a younger brother anyways.

It was probably because of how they were raised. Their parents were hard on Qin Ze from an early age, fearing that the sapling would grow into a crooked tree. However, they treated Big sister affectionately and gave her whatever she wanted. It was completely different. That was why Qin Ze suspected Big sister to be the biological one. 

Regardless of how strict they were and their hopes for his future, Qin Ze was unable to reach all their expectations, he grew up to become a mediocre 22-year-old. On the contrary, the dearly loved Big sister was always a top student, and easily got admitted to Fudan University.

‘If you were even half as smart as Baby, I would wake up happy every day.’ This was what Father always told Qin Ze.

That’s right, Big sister’s name was Baby. Her full name was Qin Baby, 25 years old.

Qin Baby came out of the bathroom all cleaned up, looking like a completely different person. Her face was milky and delicate, because of that, she was often a target of gossip when she was in college.

"It took ten minutes for you to wash your face and brush your teeth. It is now 8:25. Even if you eat breakfast in five minutes, go back to your room to change, put on makeup, and then take the subway... forget it, don’t take the subway and drive. Calculating the time, you’ll be late today. One day late will make you lose your full attendance award, which means losing 300 yuan, equivalent to a week's meals." Qin Ze calculated the losses caused by his sister's laziness.

"I never wear makeup." Qin Baby wrinkled her nose like a little girl.

"The point is that you're going to be late for work." Qin Ze freaked out.

"I’m not going to work, I quit my job." Qin Baby calmly ate her poached egg and took a sip of milk. 

Qin Ze was taken aback: "Since when?" 

"I resigned yesterday, didn't I tell you?"

"I don’t remember anything like that."

"Oh, there are so many things that I forget to tell you."

"Well, why did you quit your job? Did your boss harass you?"

Qin Baby’s eyes suddenly shone in delight: "That's a good idea. I’ll use that when dad asks.”

“Ridiculous, you think I’ll keep it a secret for you? Your job is very good. You earned 5,000 yuan a month during your internship. And after you became a regular worker, you earn more than 10,000 a month, and you still get a handsome bonus at the end of the year. What will you do if you quit?"

Qin Baby blinked her eyes and said cutely: "Sister will be raised by you."

"Get lost, I haven't even graduated yet." Qin Ze continued: "Dad even bragged about you to our relatives last year, smug but pretending not to care: Oh, it's just one of the top 500 companies in the world..."

Qin Baby lowered her head and carefully spread peanut butter on her toast. She softly said, "Yesterday was my birthday, another year of my life passed just like that. I can’t go on like this. I don't want to waste my youth on one of the top 500 companies in the world. I want to break free from my shackles, be brave, and run for my dream..."

“Run after your dream, you mean?”

“Want to die?” Qin Baby glared at him.

“What do you want to do?” Qin Ze asked uneasily, he had a bad feeling about this.

"I want to go on screen, become a big star, and a national goddess, ho ho ho!" Qin Baby said confidently, but her eyes slightly quivered.

Sure enough!

Qin Ze silently covered his face.

There was a big stain in Qin Baby’s life, and a big regret.

This stain was her name. In middle school, because she couldn’t bear the ridicule of her classmates, she secretly took the family register and changed her name with no parent accompanying her to sign the agreement. The Public Security Bureau’s staff called home to ask. Dad didn't say anything to the police, he just grabbed her by the ears and took her home. 

Qin Ze remembered it was the first time her parents worked together to beat her with a stick.

The second time was when she was in high school, because of her beauty and extraordinary temperament, Qin Baby was scouted by a talent agent. Qin Ze didn’t know what the guy told her, but it made her think of becoming a big star as her lifelong dream. 

But their father was old-fashioned and didn't want his daughter to enter the entertainment circle. 

Their mother was worried that the so-called talent scout was a liar and wanted to trick her daughter, so she served her another stick beating. Qin Baby regarded it as the biggest regret of her life.

In fact, their parents didn’t know that after the college entrance examination, Qin Baby wanted to try for the Shanghai Drama Academy.

Fortunately, she was desperately stopped by Qin Ze, otherwise, she would have been waiting for the third beating of her life.

After so many years, I didn't expect that she still had this dream.

"Enough, what's so good about stars? It looks pretty on the surface but there’s only bitterness underneath. This society is very dark. If you mindlessly plunge into these rivers and lakes, you’ll become black fungus in less than two years, and you may never recover." Qin Ze said sincerely.

"I don’t care, I don’t care!" Qin Baby shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut.

"It's no use acting cute with me. This is serious. I'm going to tell our dad." Qin Ze reached for his cell phone in his pocket.

Qin Baby flew over, grabbed his hand, and pitifully said, "No! If he finds out, he’ll beat me to death."

"Stop acting up, I don't know if he’ll beat you to death, but if I don't tell him, I’m sure he’ll kill me." Qin Ze pushed her head away while pulling out his phone.

Suddenly, a mechanical voice came from his brain: [Main task: Assist Qin Baby in signing with Xingyi Entertainment, success will reward you 300 points. Fail and 100 points will be deducted.]

What?

Qin Ze was stunned. While he was absent-minded, Qin Baby grabbed the phone and guarded it as if it was her firstborn.

Why am I hearing voices? Am I still drunk?

“Hand me my phone.” Qin Ze was furious. There was a more important matter in front of him. He had to find a way to dispel this woman’s unrealistic thoughts... but it seemed unlikely. 

Qin Baby was stubborn. He knew, but she was more afraid of getting beaten. She used to live at home with her parents, but then she moved out, feeling like a wild horse that was finally unleashed. Then their father made Qin Ze live with her. 

‘Look after her and don’t let her mess up. In the worst case, she’d resign to enter the entertainment industry.’

If she mentioned anything of that sort, he would have to immediately report it to his father, and if he didn’t, there would be serious consequences.

Qin Baby squeezed the phone into her bra: “Come, come on!  If you dare to touch me, I’ll tell dad you touched my chest."

This woman!

Qin Ze’s mind was full of holes.

"Sister, let's talk about it." Qin Ze decided to try and persuade her: "I get it. It's not my place to stop you from chasing your dreams. But the timing just isn’t right. It's too late. You’re 25 years old, at your age, how will you mix into the entertainment circle? A pure and innocent image is already out of reach. Everyone wants to be famous and successful, the competition is fiercer than you can imagine. Come on, you studied in Fudan, not acting. Do you think you can compete with acting graduates? Can you act? Do you have solid acting skills? You’re 25 years old already, don’t be naive.”

“I have my face.” Qin Baby looked up and joked.

"You have a cheeky face. Do you think you can depend solely on your face in the entertainment industry? There are many handsome guys and beauties in the world." Qin Ze said. 

[You're wrong, host. I've been to a parallel universe where artists have no acting skills at all, and they can succeed in the entertainment industry with just their faces.] The strange voice spoke again.

"Who is it?" Qin Ze jumped up and looked around in horror, like a cat with bristled fur.