The first time I met Fu Nanshan was in a hospital. I gave him a kidney, and in return, he offered me the lead role in a movie.

The film flopped. I earned no money and gained no fame.

Meanwhile, Fu Nanshan happily walked down the aisle with his beloved wife—the one who received my kidney. My best friend, Wang Jie, urged me to beg him for another favor. After all, I’d given his wife a kidney. The least he could do was make me famous.

I thought about it and agreed. So I started staking out Fu Group, hoping to corner him. Three months passed, and I hadn’t even caught a glimpse of him. The actress who played the supporting role in that same movie had already risen as the new darling of the industry, while I couldn’t even land an extra’s gig.

Frustrated and desperate, I once tried to intercept Fu Nanshan’s car. Not only did I nearly get run over, but his driver also cursed me out like I was trash. I figured my shot at showbiz was over—until, out of nowhere, Fu Nanshan sought me out a month later.

That night, I was singing at a bar when he walked in, handed the owner a check, and cleared the entire place. He stood below the stage, staring at me with an icy expression. “How much for one of your eggs?”

I nearly toppled off the stage.

Half in shock, half in delight. Shocked that Fu Nanshan wanted to buy an egg—delighted that he needed me again.

When I didn’t respond immediately, his frown deepened, impatience sharpening his tone. “Miss Qu, are you unwilling to sell?”

“No!” I tossed my electric guitar aside and leaped off the stage, rushing toward him. I grabbed his wrist. “I’ll sell! But this time, I don’t want a lead role.”

He yanked his hand away, turning his face aside in disgust. “Then what do you want?”

“I want to be famous.”

I’d chased him for so long. Now that he’d come to me, I wasn’t about to let this chance slip.

Fu Nanshan swept a glance over me, his thin lips curling into a mocking smirk. It made me uncomfortable, like he saw me as nothing more than a cheap whore.

But whores sell their bodies—I was just selling an egg. Three years in this industry, and I’d kept myself clean, body and soul. The first thing I ever sold was a kidney—to him. Now this. He had no right to look at me like that.

Yet I had no way to defend myself.

Those at the bottom of society don't deserve the luxury of self-respect.

I waited nervously for what felt like an eternity before Fu Nanshan finally took pity on me and asked, "How famous do you want to be?"

"Famous enough to earn tens of millions for a single movie." I didn’t care about winning awards—I just wanted the money.

Fu Nanshan let out an amused chuckle. "Then asking for a leading role last time was the wrong approach."

I stared at him, confused.

"Someone will come soon to take you to the hospital," he said, pausing briefly before adding, "After that, a professional agent will contact you."

I was still processing his words when Fu Nanshan strode out of the bar without waiting for a response—as if the very air in this place might taint him. I bit my lower lip, swallowing the unspoken "thank you."

True to his word, two men in crisp suits arrived shortly after and escorted me to the hospital.

This wasn’t some private clinic but one of City A’s most prestigious hospitals. The doctor performing my procedure was a renowned specialist whose name I’d seen online—someone patients typically had to book weeks in advance.

The lives of the wealthy really were different.

I was wheeled into the operating room for egg retrieval. By the time it was over, I felt completely drained. Ever since losing a kidney, my body had never been the same. Missing an organ made it impossible to keep up with a healthy person.

Two days later, the "professional agent" Fu Nanshan had mentioned finally showed up. I never expected that, in his eyes, "professional" meant Bai Yayuan—the legendary manager behind multiple A-list stars, the woman everyone respectfully called "Sister Yuan."

She arrived with a styling team in tow. Without a word, they stripped me down and transformed me from head to toe, turning me from a tacky small-town girl into a sweet, innocent girl-next-door.

Then, she dragged me back to the bar where I worked part-time and forced me to sing folk songs with a guitar in hand.

The next day, my video wearing a white dress and holding a guitar went viral online.

After that, Bai Yayuan began flooding the media with press releases, meticulously crafting my image as a quiet, introspective artist—a girl with a serene exterior but eyes that held distant dreams and poetry.

She forbade me from opening a Weibo account or making any public statements. Instead, she started lining up acting roles for me. My first gig was a web series based on a wildly popular IP. Originally, the female lead was supposed to be someone else—rumored to be the campus belle of University A—but that woman didn’t have the kind of backing I did.

In this entire entertainment industry, who would dare cross Fu Nanshan?

I spent two months on set, pouring everything into the role. But at the wrap party, as I stepped out of the restaurant, my eyes landed on Fu Nanshan’s face flashing across the LED screen outside.

Surrounded by an entourage, he emerged from the airport, shielding a petite woman in his arms. He kept her face hidden the entire time, so I couldn’t make out her features. But the way he guarded her—so carefully, so possessively—was enough to tell just how much he adored her.

Lucky her.

"Mr. Fu, is the baby Mrs. Fu gave birth to a little prince or a little princess? Could you share with us?"

I froze. Mrs. Fu had a child?

Fu Nanshan paused mid-step, lifting his gaze to the camera with a smile. "A little princess." The warmth in his eyes was unmistakable, the sheer adoration practically spilling through the screen.

My eyes widened in disbelief. If they could have children… why did Fu Nanshan need my eggs?

"Don’t get ideas about what isn’t yours," Bai Yayuan suddenly said, sidling up beside me.

A cigarette dangled between her fingers as she turned her head, exhaling a thick cloud of smoke straight into my face. I coughed violently, my eyes watering.

She rested a hand on my shoulder, her tone razor-sharp. "A big-shot director’s coming tonight. Be smart about it."

My stomach dropped. I shook my head immediately. "Yuan-jie, I—you know I’ve never—"

"Mr. Fu told me you wanted fame. That’s why he had me take you under my wing. If you want to make it, you’d better learn the rules of this game. You can’t play the saint after selling out. And trust me, that saintly act? Mr. Fu isn’t buying it."

The world assumed I’d climbed into Fu Nanshan’s bed to earn Bai Yayuan’s favor. They’d never guess my leverage was an egg—far more sophisticated than selling my body. Still, in front of Bai Yayuan, I knew better than to argue. Women like her didn’t tolerate defiance from their protégés.

And honestly? She wasn’t wrong.

Back then, I couldn’t even sell myself if I tried. Now, as long as it got me ahead, what was there to fear? But I never expected that bad luck was in my blood—no amount of protection from a powerhouse like Bai Yayuan could change that.