Five years ago, in a cramped, less - than - ten - square - meter rental apartment.

The sky outside was just beginning to lighten when the alarm clock on the bedside started blaring like crazy, one shrill ring after another. Anna Bruce jolted awake from her sleep.

"Shit!"

She quickly reached up to steady her head.

Due to staying up late filming the previous night, her head was still groggy, and her eyes were sore and bloodshot.

But the moment she thought of her mother in the hospital bed and her younger brother still in school, she instantly sobered up.

"Anna Bruce, come on! You can definitely become an Oscar - winning actress!"

She carried out her daily pep - talk ritual in front of the chipped and blurry mirror.

She tried to force a smile, but the reflection showed a pale - faced girl with heavy dark circles under her eyes and bloodless lips.

On the film set, the sun was blazing hot that day, and the temperature was extremely high.

It made people feel dizzy.

At the moment, Anna Bruce, dressed in a palace maid's costume, was kneeling on the cobblestones...

Beads of sweat the size of soybeans rolled down her cheeks continuously, soaking her collar and back.

Ellen Lincon, wearing a gorgeous imperial concubine's costume and high - heeled flower - pot shoes, "clacked" towards her, her eyes filled with contempt and disgust.

"Greetings to the Imperial Concubine. May you live a long and prosperous life!"

Anna Bruce recited the lines as per the script.

Suddenly, "Slap!"

Ellen Lincon raised her hand and landed a hard slap.

"You slut! How dare you seduce the Emperor? I'll teach you a lesson!" Her shrill voice echoed on the set.

Anna Bruce's face was slapped to the side, and her cheek burned with pain.

A trickle of blood oozed from the corner of her mouth.

"Damn it!" The crew members on the set gasped.

They were all wondering why Ellen would hit so hard.

Hadn't it been agreed that they could use a fake - hit technique? Ignoring the pain, Anna Bruce was about to continue with the scene when Ellen said, "Director, I don't think my emotions were intense enough just now. How about... I give it another try?"

As she spoke, her eyes fluttered, sending a flirtatious look towards the director.

"Sure, Ellen. Get ready, and we'll shoot this scene again."

By now, Anna Bruce understood that the director was in cahoots with Ellen.

It seemed that the torment she was about to endure today was inevitable.

Ellen Lincon's delicately - made - up face was filled with smugness. She took a step closer and taunted, "You think you can compete with me for the role? Look at yourself! What do you think you are?"

Anna Bruce held back her tears.

She was in desperate need of money.

If she lost this role, she didn't know when she'd get another chance to be in a movie.

For the sake of her family, she had to swallow her pride.

The second time, the third time...

Ellen Lincon kept deliberately making things difficult, hitting her harder each time.

"What, can't take it anymore? If you can't stand it, get the hell off the set!"

Ellen sneered as she kept slapping.

Anna Bruce's cheeks were now swollen, blood was seeping from the corner of her mouth, and her body was swaying unsteadily.

Sensing that things might get out of hand, the director finally called out, "Cut!"

Anna Bruce stumbled to a corner of the set.

It was the actors' meal time.

She picked up the work - meal filled with cheap vegetarian dishes. Suddenly, she felt an intense sense of being watched, which sent a shiver down her spine.

She spun around and looked around, but all she saw were the busy figures of the crew members on the set.

Maybe she was just too tired these days and was hallucinating.

Ha! A nobody like her, who would pay attention?

Anna Bruce shook her head with a bitter smile, mocking herself...

After wrapping up the day's shoot, Ellen Lincon, strutting like a proud peacock, sashayed up to her.

"Anna Bruce, so what if you won first place in this new - actor competition? In this industry, without any connections or a powerful backer, you'll always be stuck in minor supporting roles!"

Ellen Lincon pulled a script out of her bag and waved it in front of Anna Bruce's face.

"Take a look! This is the script for the next movie. Jealous, aren't you? With just a word from me, I can easily get the role. As for a nobody like you, I suggest you give up now and stop daydreaming!"

Anna Bruce clenched her fists so tightly that her nails dug deep into her palms, and the veins on the back of her hands bulged.

She shouted angrily, "Don't be so arrogant! You only got your roles by sleeping with the director. If it were based on real talent, the lead role in this drama would be mine."

"Hahaha!" Ellen Lincon let out a shrill laugh.

"In this industry, you actually believe that talent alone can get you good roles? You're such a naive rube who doesn't understand the rules! Looks like I won't be seeing you around in this circle much longer. Well, I'll be generous and give you one last piece of advice." She took a step forward and slapped Anna Bruce's swollen cheek, which was as puffy as a steamed bun, one hard slap after another.

"In the entertainment industry, connections and dirty tricks are always the most important. Talent? That's bullshit!"

With a contemptuous sneer, she turned and walked away.

Late at night, back in her small, dimly - lit rental apartment, Anna Bruce slid down to the floor and stared up at the ceiling.

She could no longer hold back her emotions, and tears poured out like a flood.

No matter how hard she worked or how good her acting skills were, the result was always the same.

The roles she dreamed of were always snatched away by those who had connections and were pre - selected.

Was it really that hard for her to make it big?

Just as she was wallowing in despair, feeling that there was no hope in life, her phone suddenly rang.

She grabbed it like a drowning person clutching at a life - preserver and quickly swiped to answer.

On the other end of the line, she heard her agent's familiar and urgent voice.

"Tomorrow night at 8 o'clock, I've arranged a dinner with the director for you. This time, even though you lost the lead role, you should at least try to get the second or third female lead. Otherwise, do you want the company to go broke because of you?"

Suddenly, the image of the director she had met today flashed through her mind.

That man was just like Ellen Lincon, a total scumbag.

Just thinking about his disgusting words and actions made her feel sick.

She didn't have the slightest bit of liking for him.

She was about to open her mouth and refuse.

"Mathew, I don't want to go..."

Her agent's roar immediately hurt her eardrums.

"What right do you have to refuse? Get your head straight. The company has invested a lot of money in you. If you make the company lose money, you'll never get a chance to make it in this business again."

After this harsh threat, her agent "slammed" the phone down.

Tears welled up in Anna Bruce's eyes, and she slumped down on the edge of the bed.

Staring at the photo on her phone screen that showed her with her mother and younger brother, she gritted her teeth and reluctantly decided to meet that director.

The next evening, at that renowned high-end club in the city center, the director spotted her from afar.

A greasy smile spread across his face, and he hurried over to her.

He exclaimed joyfully, "Well, if it isn't the future big star, Miss Anna Bruce! I've been eagerly waiting for you!"

As he spoke, he reached out to put his arm around her waist.

She flinched and nimbly sidestepped out of his grasp.

The smile on the director's face froze instantly, and his expression turned so gloomy that it seemed as if it could drip with malice.

But then, as if he had just thought of something, he quickly put on a beaming smile again, as if nothing had happened just now.

The director sauntered over to the nearby bar table, picked up a wine bottle, and poured a glass for both himself and Anna Bruce.

"Miss Bruce, I'm sure you're here today to secure a better role for yourself, right? Come on, how about you finish this glass first?"

At this moment, she knew clearly that she had no way out. Summoning up her courage, she furrowed her brows, pinched her nose, and tilted her head back to gulp down the wine.

"Good, Miss Bruce is indeed straightforward. Then go ahead and finish these remaining glasses," the director said.

Just then, the director stepped aside a bit.

It turned out that while they were talking, the bartender had already lined up rows of wine bottles on the table.

Anna Bruce's hand gripping the wine glass turned white, and her fingernails were almost digging into her palm.

Her heart was filled with despair at that moment, but she still held onto that faint glimmer of hope, praying that the director would keep his promise.

Suddenly, she grabbed a wine bottle and tilted her head back to empty it in one go, then one bottle after another.

After a few bottles of wine, her head started to spin, and her steps became unsteady.

That's when the director revealed his true, despicable nature.

His fat, greasy hand slid up Anna Bruce's thigh.

It was as if something had struck her head with a bang, and she immediately sobered up from the alcohol.

A surge of anger welled up inside her, and she couldn't hold back any longer.

She slapped the director hard across the face with a resounding "smack."

The director was sent staggering backward a large step.

Holding his face, his eyes widened like copper bells, clearly not expecting that this young woman would dare to resist.

Then, the director started cursing loudly.

"You little bitch! How dare you hit me! I've been in this business long before you even knew what you were doing! You were probably still playing in the mud somewhere back then!"

He almost poked his finger right at her nose.

"You can forget about being in this movie. Get out of the crew right now! And in the entire entertainment industry, with just one word from me, no one will dare to hire you! You can just wait to be kicked out of this business and starve to death..."

The square was deserted in the dead of night.

Anna Bruce dragged her legs, which felt as heavy as if they were filled with lead, and shuffled over to the steps beside the fountain. She sat down slowly, feeling completely drained of energy, and buried her head between her legs.

"Aaaah!"

she let out a hysterical scream, as if trying to vent her anger at the unfairness of the world. Just then, her phone rang suddenly...