This story is entirely fictional. Any resemblance to actual people or events is purely coincidental.
Shen Qingci is an obscure actress, sweet and obedient on the surface but a theatrical mess inside. Desperate for quick money to help her seriously ill mother, she accepts a role as the “cannon-fodder female supporting character” on the wildly popular dating show "Heartbeat Trap". Her job is to play a scheming green tea and make the show’s rising star look good. But the person she’s paired with turns out to be Lu Yubai, a top film emperor known throughout the industry for his aloofness and exacting standards.
Shen Qingci diligently plays the green tea, planning to take the money and leave after the whole internet turns against her. But the film emperor’s gaze grows increasingly strange. He improvises a kissing scene that isn’t in the script. During a dangerous segment of the show, he’s the first to protect her. The whole internet is buzzing about their “on-screen couple,” but late one night, he knocks on her door and says in a hoarse voice, “Shen Qingci, after all this acting, it’s time to settle your fee. Would a lifetime with me be enough?”
