I have a persona specifically for acting.

“Transmigrated again?”

This was the first thought that came to Tong Zhao’s mind when she opened her eyes.

Ever since she died in a car accident at the age of twenty-four, Tong Zhao had acquired a quick transmigration system. Her soul had completed arduous tasks in many different worlds, and she had long been used to opening her eyes after death, accepting a new identity, and facing new challenges.

As she sat up to observe her surroundings, she called out to the system.

Tong Zhao was in a simple, small room. Apart from the bed and a dining table, there wasn’t any extra furniture. Fortunately, there was a private bathroom, so she didn’t have to share it with other tenants. But as for cooking, that was out of the question; there was no gas stove.

Faced with this predicament, Tong Zhao actually laughed.

It seems this mission won’t be too difficult.

After all, the last time she woke up, her soul board was shattered, her four limbs were pierced by Immortal Locking Nails, and she was hung in a heavily guarded water dungeon. Compared to that, this modern world, even with a bit of poverty, was practically a vacation for her.

Tong Zhao: [System, what is the mission this time?]

There was a dead silence in her mind—no synthesized mechanical voice answered her question.

This had never happened before.

Tong Zhao’s mind was filled with suspicion, but an arrogant and spoiled female voice sounded from outside the door: ‘Tong Zhao, I’ve come to see you.’

The sound of her name hit Tong Zhao like a bolt of lightning!

How long had it been since someone called her by that name? She had once been the favored Noble Consort Chen of the Six Palaces, Duan Ge who fought her way through the apocalypse, and Lu Xianzhang, who executed the scumbag that killed his wife to achieve enlightenment… Besides the system addressing her as Tong Zhao, she had almost forgotten her original name.

And this long-lost, familiar female voice brought a flood of memories associated with this body rushing back to her.

Tong Zhao hadn’t transmigrated again.

She had transmigrated back.

Back to her most helpless and lost eighteen-year-old self.

It was half a year after her mother’s death, and her father couldn’t wait to bring his mistress, Xu Xinya, and her illegitimate daughter back into the house because the mistress was pregnant with the long-awaited grandson of the Tong family. Overwhelmed, Tong Zhao ran away from home, vowing that even if she starved to death on the streets, she would never have anything to do with that family again.

Tong Zhao’s mother had once been a famous film actress, and Xu Xinya was her assistant, as close as a sister.

When Tong Zhao’s mother was pregnant and it was inconvenient for the couple to have marital relations, Xu Xinya used the excuse of taking good care of her ‘close friend’ to get close to Tong Zhao’s father, and the two of them began their illicit affair in the mansion. One thing led to another, and Xu Xinya ended up pregnant with a child of the Tong family, secretly kept outside.

Unaware of any of this, Tong Zhao’s mother thought her friend had been deceived by a scumbag, getting pregnant out of wedlock. Out of compassion, she provided financial and emotional support for the mistress. Xu Xinya, in turn, shamelessly took advantage of her kindness to continue her affair with Tong Zhao’s father.

Later, when Tong Zhao’s mother fell seriously ill, Xu Xinya, thinking her time had come, secretly revealed the truth to her by the bedside. This truth severely shocked her, who should have been calmly recuperating, and the double betrayal from both her husband and her friend utterly broke her. She did not survive the coldest winter in Jiangcheng.

Since she was a child, Tong Zhao has idolized her mother and dreamed of becoming a big star. However, after her mother’s death, everything changed. The girl’s angry accusations only made her guilty father fly into a rage out of shame. This allowed her stepmother and stepsister to take advantage of the situation and take everything away from her—no living expenses, no place to stay, and all the resources shifted toward the stepsister who also dreamed of becoming a star…

Outside the door, the chatter continued incessantly:

‘Stop pretending to be dead. I know you’re in there. Didn’t you say you wanted to sever ties with the Tong family? At least take the things you left at home with you! Look how nice I am, driving over to bring them to you myself.’

…

Oh, the one barking outside is her stepsister, Xu Zhu.

A name her cheap father chose, meaning ‘the lost pearl of the sea.’

Xu Zhu made this special trip to see her, with two main goals:

One, to feel reassured that Tong Zhao wasn’t doing well.

Two, to kick her while she’s down, to ruthlessly beat a drowning dog.

After all, Xu Zhu had always envied Tong Zhao for living openly in the mansion. Seeing the young lady fall from grace and live a life worse than hers was a scene worth traveling across mountains and rivers to witness. Back then, the eighteen-year-old Tong Zhao obliged, showing her enemy’s daughter her most broken and desperate side, crying and yelling at her to get lost.

Tong Zhao said, ‘Just woke up. Give me a moment.’”

It immediately became quiet outside the door.

Xu Zhu really wanted to see what her stepsister looked like now.

If she had to wait, she was willing to wait.

Back then, she had lain on the bed like a dying dog for several days, tossing and turning as she mourned her deceased mother, filled with hatred but powerless to change anything. Fortunately, after crying herself out, her eyes weren’t swollen at the moment, just her complexion was a bit pale. Tong Zhao rummaged through her bag and took out a makeup kit. With her slender fingers moving quickly, she applied a base makeup and put on a bright lipstick.

After just five minutes, the person outside couldn’t wait any longer. ‘Tong Zhao, I warn you not to leave me hanging out here. If you hate me or feel resentful, then open the door and say it to my face! Are you too scared to even face your own sister…’

Tong Zhao opened the door.

The voice outside stopped abruptly, and Xu Zhu froze.

Standing before her, Tong Zhao was wrapped in a silk nightgown, her slightly curled black hair cascading over her shoulders and forehead. Her exposed skin was as delicate and fair as the first snow. The bold lipstick color accentuated the girl’s features, making her look even more coldly beautiful.

Tong Zhao curved her almond-shaped eyes and smiled without a hint of warmth.

‘Speak.’

…

Xu Zhu was more than just speechless; she could barely breathe.

Just two days ago, Xu Zhu had seen Tong Zhao in the living room, having a breakdown while shouting and cursing at her father, then crying as she stormed out of the house. That scene was still fresh in her mind and had been so thrilling that she felt it wasn’t enough. She wanted a classic reenactment, to personally experience the pleasure of kicking someone when they’re down.

What happened to being down and out?

What happened to a mental breakdown?

Both of them took after their mothers.

One inherited the looks of an actress, while the other resembled the actress’s assistant, and the difference in their beauty was immediately apparent.

Tong Zhao’s beauty was very well-proportioned. From her brow arch down to the perfectly shaped bridge of her nose, her features created a face that could withstand scrutiny from any angle. At first glance, it was clear she was a well-educated young lady from a wealthy family. At this moment, Tong Zhao’s presence was overwhelming; her beauty carried a tangible aura that completely overshadowed Xu Zhu.

Xu Zhu managed to find her voice again. ‘T-Tong Zhao, Auntie hasn’t been gone for long… and you’re already wearing makeup?’

Although she stuttered a bit, she knew the other person had been through so much misery lately that there was no need to think hard to find a weak spot—one poke would hit the sore point. But unfortunately for her, the person standing before her was no longer the pitiful child who would explode at the mention of her mother. Tong Zhao, who had served as an overseer of the Samsara Mirror in a cultivation world, no longer felt sorrow over her deceased mother—only hatred remained.

The revenge she owed would not be left unpaid.

But the jokes her enemies had laughed at before—this time, there would be none.

“My mom loved to see me looking beautiful. Keeping this beauty she passed on to me well-maintained is the best tribute to her,” Tong Zhao lowered her eyes, her gaze cold as water falling on Xu Zhu’s merely delicate face. She curled her lips into a mocking smile, “Where are the things you brought for me? Hand them over.”

Under the command-like tone of her words, Xu Zhu obediently handed over a large bag of clothes.

Once her hands were free, Xu Zhu suddenly realized—

Why was she being so obedient?

She had come to humiliate Tong Zhao; how could she behave like she used to, obeying her?

That’s right, back when she was trying to make a living in the Tong family, Xu Zhu had followed her mother’s advice to curry favor with the legitimate young lady, becoming good friends with the original Tong Zhao. Under Xu Xinya’s teachings, she believed that women’s friendships were only for leveraging resources and that it was all about selling at the best value.

Not only did she want to sell out her friend, but she also resented that Tong Zhao’s life was better than hers.

Truly a champion among traitors.

“Tong Zhao!” Xu Zhu, ashamed and angry, gritted her teeth at her. “Do you still think you’re the eldest daughter of the Tong family? My mom went for a checkup last week, and this time, she’s pregnant with a boy. Even if you went back and apologized to Dad, it wouldn’t matter. There’s no place for you in the Tong family anymore.”

After throwing out this harsh remark, Xu Zhu, still suffocated by Tong Zhao’s beauty, finally felt a bit more satisfied.

Tong Zhao listened quietly to her rant, and a genuine emotion touched the corners of her smiling lips.

From Xu Zhu’s perspective, she could only see Tong Zhao’s captivating eyes, unable to discern the emotions behind her bright red smile. It seemed to carry both mockery and pity, like looking down at a pest chasing crumbs on the ground.

“From the moment Tong Zhenming betrayed his wife, I ceased to be part of the Tong family. You and your mother have spent half your lives scraping and clawing, discarding morality, dignity, and friendship just to squeeze through that door…”

Tong Zhao’s tone was cold and lazy, with a hint of a raspy, amused chuckle.

Even while insulting her, there was a seductive allure in her voice.

“Sorry, but I find it filthy to even spare you another glance.”

Tong Zhao’s smile faded as she calmly closed the door with her slender, pale hand. She then called the building’s security downstairs, saying there was an unfamiliar person causing trouble outside her door and asked them to remove her. In China, there is a great emphasis on public security. An apartment complex may be old, but it must have a certain number of security personnel.

‘Tong Zhao, get out here! What are you pretending to be so noble for? You’re living in this dump. You’re nothing without the Tong family! I’m going to tell Dad what you said, and don’t even think about getting any resources from my family…’

Sure enough, when the security arrived on the 13th floor, they saw Xu Zhu, angrily kicking the door in high heels and yelling.

Without much fuss, she was immediately treated as someone causing trouble and escorted away.

Xu Zhu’s words were half true.

Back then, Tong Zhao was like a flower in a greenhouse. After leaving the Tong family, she couldn’t compete with those who had connections above her, nor could she fight those with tough backgrounds and high emotional intelligence below her. The only advantage she had was a connection her mother had set up for her before she died — the lead director of the TV drama *The Legend of Emperor Ming* was a fan of her mother and, as a favor, gave Tong Zhao a role as a minor concubine, one of the female extras.

But her past self hadn’t made the most of that single opportunity.

Due to the nature of holographic filming, actors cannot retain their own consciousness; they can only perform by instinct, fused with the personality of the characters they are implanted with. Therefore, holographic films are also called ‘instinctive films.’ Most young idols have little life experience, let alone the dramatic experiences of the characters in the movies. The resulting performances often seem superficial, and audiences have grown accustomed to these lackluster performances.

After being humiliated and provoked by her stepsister, Tong Zhao fell into severe emotional problems. The concubine she played in the film didn’t exude the seductive charm of a femme fatale; instead, audiences only saw a pitiful and panicked girl.

Those who cared about her were pained, while those who resented her were delighted. Tong Zhao never got another role and watched helplessly as her stepsister gained fame and fortune.

But this time, having come back…

Tong Zhao walked to the mirror and studied her face, recalling the first world she had transmigrated into.

In an ancient time, she was a fox spirit tasked with hastening the downfall of a tyrant—a favored imperial concubine named Chen Guifei. Every official’s memorial to the emperor had to begin by praising the emperor and then extolling Chen Guifei’s beauty; otherwise, it would be considered a grave offense.

The more favored she was, the more absurd it became.

In that instant before the mirror, the thoughts and feelings of Chen Guifei throughout her life flowed through Tong Zhao’s entire being.

Tong Zhao realized that not only could she recall the personalities she had embodied in the past, but she could also wield them at will!