Lover Number Nine

Wild and Gentle Agent vs. Steady, Scheming White Lotus

Li Xing got a new agent. Unlike the decisive, sharp-suited elite type, this agent was always wearing a faint smile. She was gentle but full of wild spirit, poised and polished, with a mischievous streak.

But when it came to getting things done, she never wavered. She even said...

"You're the easiest artist I've ever worked with. My job is to make absolutely sure your career stays on track, so... if you ever need anything, I can take care of it. No hookups, no fooling around, no dating, no workplace spouses, and no dating someone new before you break up."

"If you have emotional needs, I'm off on the ninth of every month. I can be your partner, too, and become your lover for a limited time."

*

Li Xing: Are you this devoted to your other artists, too?

Yu Ting: Right now, I'm focusing all my attention on you.

Li Xing: And will you take on other people later?

She wore that same faint, bewitching smile and joked, "That depends on whether you can make the most of your chance."

Li Xing did her best, taking every job seriously and following orders to the letter. Yet Yu Ting was still meeting new talents.

Suddenly, Li Xing, who had always been so obedient, grew a rebellious streak and decided to throw caution to the wind.

She even went to the director to request a new agent, and at one point avoided Yu Ting altogether.

They finally met again at an awards ceremony three months later, where Yu Ting arrived with another rising star.

Only now, they were on opposing sides.

*

Rumor had it the newcomer Yu Ting was representing was a beautiful, high-born heiress with powerful connections. The company had planned an elegant, mysterious image for her, and in every way, she seemed to be the opposite of Li Xing.

Suddenly, Li Xing wanted to run away again.

She never expected that one day she and A Yu would sit across the negotiating table as rivals, each holding the resources the other wanted.

Li Xing: Fine, but... I want her.

Coming Next: "The Lady with the White Beard"

(After her wife blacklists her, she has to win her back!)

The first time Fu Su met Li Lingxi, Li Lingxi blacklisted her with a single sentence.

Fu Su was twenty then, a student just starting out. She was brought in at the last minute as a replacement, got on the assistant director's bad side and was retaliated against, then read lines as numbers on set. She angered Li Lingxi, who said, "Don't let me ever see this person again." That left her effectively blacklisted for four years.

Her fledgling career was cut short just like that, and she struggled on for more than four years.

At twenty-five, Fu Su signed with a new company and landed a leading role in a drama. As it happened, Li Lingxi was its producer.

At the project launch dinner, years later, Fu Su met Li Lingxi's eyes again. She was still afraid.

So after filming began, whenever Li Lingxi was on set supervising, Fu Su would be so afraid of forgetting her lines that she couldn't get into character and kept flubbing take after take.

As it happened more and more, Li Lingxi's brows drew together tighter and tighter. Fu Su was so close to breaking down that she almost wanted to quit. She could practically hear Li Lingxi telling her to "get out" again.

*

Later, Li Lingxi apologized over and over, begging for forgiveness.

Fu Su casually added, "Actually, that day was my twentieth birthday."

Li Lingxi fell silent for two seconds. "Could I fix this by getting down on my knees?"

Theme: Don't rush to be first; just keep flowing onward.