Chapter 1: The Three Beauties of the Immortal Sword Meet for the First Time

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The August heat in Hengdian was oppressive, with steam rising visibly under the blazing sun. The much-anticipated crew of "Chinese Paladin III" had temporarily halted filming, and the staff were all lounging in the shade, seeking respite from the heat.

Under a parasol shading a dining table with chilled herbal tea, a young man sat flipping through a script in his hands.

"Guess who I am."

A nasal, coquettish voice sounded behind him.

The young man felt his vision suddenly go dark as a pair of cold hands covered his face. In that instant, it was as if time stood still, and a torrent of information flashed through his mind.

[The phenomenon of "Palace" airs, Yang Mi rises to top-tier actress]
[During the filming of "Ruyi," Liu Kaiwei openly admits wanting to pursue Yang Mi]
[While shooting the TV series "Symphony of Fate," Yang Mi accused of being a diva]
[At the 2011 National Drama Awards, Yang Mi, Tang Yan, Qi Wei, and Liu Shishi named the Four Actresses of Chinese Drama]
[…]

In the blink of an eye, the flood of information receded, but the young man knew that he could summon it at will—these memories were now indelibly etched in his mind.

Steadying himself and feeling the slight pressure from behind, he spoke slowly, "Mi-jie, even with a voice changer, you don’t bother to hide your nasal tone or your way of speaking. Are you hoping I won’t guess, or are you deliberately making it obvious?"

Truthfully, given that distinctive pressure from behind, even with a voice modulator, he would have known it was Yang Mi.

It had only been a little over half a year since they’d last seen each other, but this woman already carried the bearing of the future "Queen Mi."

"How boring. Couldn’t you at least pretend to guess wrong on purpose?" Yang Mi released her hands, resting one on her hip and arching her chest slightly.

The young man turned his head and felt a bit dazzled before his gaze met Yang Mi’s.

"Ali, you’ve gotten even more handsome. No wonder you’re our class heartthrob from the 2008 Beijing Film Academy," Yang Mi said with a bright, radiant smile, her lips curving.

"School hasn’t even started yet—how do you know I’ll be the campus heartthrob?" Zhang Li rolled his neck as he stood, looking down at Yang Mi.

"You think your senior has wasted three years at school for nothing?" Yang Mi’s long black hair fluttered in the breeze. "At the beginning of the year, when you went for the entrance exam, the examiner wanted to give you a special admission just for your looks. They said your face could rank among the best in the past twenty years at the Academy—a face that can adapt to many roles."

Being exceptionally handsome and having a versatile "chameleon" face were contradictory traits, as striking looks tended to leave a strong impression.

"Besides, your senior’s got eyes, doesn’t she? With a face like Pan An, I’d want to pinch it a few more times myself."

A face like Pan An’s?

Zhang Li thought Yang Mi was being far too modest.

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His looks, at the very least, were worthy of being called "reader-grade."

"As a reward for guessing right, this half watermelon is yours." Yang Mi signaled for her assistant to bring over half a chilled watermelon.

After much negotiation between Cai Yinong and Li Shaohong, Yang Mi had just been "borrowed" from the "Dream of the Red Chamber" crew to play the female lead in "Chinese Paladin III." As a seasoned veteran in the entertainment industry, she knew the importance of getting along with most of the crew, so she treated everyone to watermelon.

Zhang Li was an old friend she’d met during the filming of "The Return of the Condor Heroes." He was about to become her junior at the academy, and also played the second male lead in "Chinese Paladin III," so naturally, she greeted him first.

"Thank you, Mi-jie," Zhang Li said politely as he accepted the watermelon.

"No need to be so formal," Yang Mi propped her chin on her hand, a sly smile glinting in her fox-like eyes. "Why not call me ‘senior’ and let me hear how it sounds?"

Zhang Li chuckled softly, "If you want to hear it, I can oblige, but only if you first call me Qianqian-jie—she’s two years your senior."

Yang Mi’s eye twitched. "Forget it, I’m not that desperate."

Call Liu Yifei, who was actually younger than her, "senior"? Not a chance!

"But speaking of Yifei..." Yang Mi’s expression turned wistful. "I heard you’ve fallen out with the foster sister who practically raised you?"

"Such bold words..." Zhang Li replied with a look of disdain. "I was adopted by my godfather when I was ten, and by then I was already self-sufficient. If I had to say who raised me, it would be my godmother, Liu Xiaoli."

He was born in 1990 in Chinatown, USA, to Chinese parents with green cards.

When he was ten, a car accident took his parents’ lives, leaving him unharmed in the back seat. His father’s best friend in the US, a Chinese-American lawyer, took him in, offering to adopt him as his son.

At first, he would have chosen to refuse and return to China, enduring a life of being shuttled among relatives, always an outsider.

When he turned eighteen and had just switched back to Chinese citizenship, the lawyer Chen Guoli contacted him again, giving him the million-dollar inheritance his parents had left.

A young man who grew up reading people’s moods suddenly coming into wealth was bound to spend lavishly and make some questionable friends.

He never got involved in gambling, drugs, or prostitution, but he did get conned out of his money. In a rage, he drove into the conman, sending him to his death. When his car hit a utility pole, he suddenly awoke.

"Was it Zhuangzi dreaming of a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming of Zhuangzi?"

In that daze, he saw Chen Guoli’s wife’s daughter, Liu Yifei, already a graceful young woman at thirteen. She took his hand and led him through the streets of Douglaston, introducing him to the architecture.

At that touch, information about Liu Yifei surfaced in his mind.

[Played Bai Xuezhu in "The Story of a Noble Family," which dominated CCTV ratings for two years]
[Played Wang Yuyan in "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils," earning the title "Fairy Sister"]

These revelations made him realize that his "rebirth," or perhaps precognition, was somehow connected to Liu Yifei.

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So this time, he accepted Chen Guoli’s adoption and forged a good relationship with Liu Xiaoli and Liu Yifei.

Though only ten, his mind was much more mature, influenced by memories of a past life.

Later, Liu Yifei returned to China to pursue her dream of acting, which led to years of separation between Liu Xiaoli and Chen Guoli. For her daughter’s sake, Liu Xiaoli chose to divorce Chen Guoli, and Zhang Li also returned to China, living with his former foster mother and Liu Yifei.

When Liu Yifei, just as he remembered, joined the cast of "The Story of a Noble Family," he tagged along, meeting people like Dong Jie and Shu Chang.

It was then that he realized his ability to foresee the future was not limited to Liu Yifei—it applied to all female celebrities.

To glimpse their futures, he needed direct physical contact. However, not every touch resulted in a vision; after the first successful trigger, it depended on the nature of their relationship.

So far, the person he could see farthest and most about was Liu Yifei—every film, TV, and music achievement up to fifteen years ahead, as well as gossip and news. He knew how smoothly her early TV career went, and how her later film career would be a disaster.

He met Yang Mi, naturally, during Liu Yifei’s filming of "The Return of the Condor Heroes."

At first, he didn’t think much of Yang Mi. Until he glimpsed information about her in 2009 and learned of the phenomenal success of "Chinese Paladin III."

From that moment, he consciously worked to stay on good terms with Yang Mi, hoping to learn even more about the future.

He hadn’t expected that, after so long apart, Yang Mi would surprise him again today.

"Such bold words?"

A flurry of thoughts flashed through Zhang Li’s mind, though for Yang Mi, it all happened in the blink of an eye.

Hearing his retort, she instinctively reached out to ruffle Zhang Li’s hair, vigorously messing it up. "You cheeky brat!"

Zhang Li could only grunt in protest.

Their playful scuffle caught the attention of two women under another parasol nearby, enjoying watermelon.

This was truly a case of "eating the melon Yang Mi bought, while watching the drama Yang Mi starred in."

"Tang Tang, the one who stole your leading role is here," said a woman in blue costume, a flicker of displeasure in her eyes.

"Shishi, you were bumped from second female lead to third because of her, too," replied the woman in purple costume, turning to her. "And she stole your Yang Kang—no, your tofu prince."

Liu Shishi was silent.

"Come on, let’s go say hello."