Chapter 131: Star Sister
In the Crescent Village, Illya was curiously examining several newly developed elixirs.
“Shaman, is this an aphrodisiac?”
Qiu Luo, the Shaman, nodded. “Yes, I’ve already tested it on some people. The effect is quite good. If Chu Feng ever needs it, you can take some.”
Illya blushed and muttered, “Chu Feng doesn’t need it…”
Chu Feng already had good physical fitness, and after consuming the Shaman’s medicine and absorbing spiritual energy from the spirit stones, his body had improved even more—along with that ability.
Qiu Luo looked a little disappointed. “That’s a shame. This elixir works really well.”
He had spent quite a bit of time researching this, and the results made him quite proud. Seeing Illya uninterested made him silently disappointed.
Illya asked curiously, “Shaman, who did you test it on?”
Qiu Luo said nonchalantly, “A few captives.”
Illya nodded and gave a casual “Oh.”
“At first, they didn’t want to try it, but after taking it once, they came begging for more.”
Qiu Luo looked at Illya and asked, “You took Manning to the human world earlier—did something happen? Is it related to Chu Feng’s background?”
Lately, Qiu Luo had been helping Manning with body conditioning and power enhancement, and the two had grown quite close. So he also knew what Manning had done during his trip.
Illya nodded. “Chu Feng was switched at birth. He should’ve grown up in a wealthy family.”
Qiu Luo looked confused. “But hasn’t Chu Feng always been rich?”
Illya blinked. “He used to be very poor. Chu Feng built everything from the ground up.”
Qiu Luo nodded thoughtfully. “Is that so?”
Illya nodded again, proudly saying, “People who inherit their family business are just relying on their parents. Self-made ones are more impressive. Chu Feng is amazing—he can earn millions in a year.”
At that moment, Chu Feng walked in and happened to hear Illya praising him. He instantly felt a little embarrassed.
What kind of business genius? At most, he was just a delivery man.
After Secretary Chen left, Chu Feng returned to his usual routine—traveling back and forth between the two worlds.
A few days passed without any news from the Zhuang family, and Chu Feng simply forgot about it. While he was staying in the villa, he received a phone call. Illya glanced at him and asked, “What is it? Who called?”
Chu Feng put down the phone and said calmly, “My sister.”
“The ‘star’ sister?” Illya asked.
Chu Feng nodded. “Yes.”
“What does she want with you?”
“I heard it’s expensive to treat a celebrity to a meal!”
“I guess so.” His sister was quite well-known, and inviting her to a meal wasn’t easy. Of course, with Zhuang Feixue’s status, she didn’t need to attend just any event.
“Are we paying for it?”
Chu Feng shook his head. “No, the other party is treating us. Do you want to come?”
“I can go?” Illya asked with surprise.
Chu Feng nodded. “Of course. You seem pretty excited.”
Illya tilted his head and said, “Celebrities seem kind of magical. I’ve seen your sister on TV.”
Chu Feng brought Illya to the restaurant as arranged and met with Zhuang Feixue.
“You’re Chu Feng?” she asked.
Chu Feng nodded. “Yes.”
Zhuang Feixue looked at him and said, “The DNA test results are out. You are indeed a member of the Zhuang family—my biological younger brother. The hospital made a mistake back then.”
“Oh,” Chu Feng responded flatly.
Zhuang Feixue looked at him with amusement. “I heard you told Secretary Chen that you’re gay, and if the Zhuang family can’t accept it, there’s no need to talk about ‘reuniting with the family.’”
“While I do like money, I also dislike trouble. So if a problem can be avoided, I’ll avoid it,” Chu Feng replied.
Zhuang Feixue glanced at Illya and smiled. “Is that your boyfriend?”
Chu Feng nodded. “Yes.”
Zhuang Feixue’s eyes showed a flash of amazement. “If it’s him, then I understand. Your boyfriend’s looks could easily rival the top male idols in the entertainment industry.”
Chu Feng chuckled. “You’re flattering me, sis.”
“I’m just curious—how did you manage to win him over?” she asked.
Chu Feng tilted his head. “Illya came from the mountains. He didn’t know anyone.” Under normal circumstances, it would’ve been hard to pursue Illya—he had his abilities to thank.
“You really lucked out,” Zhuang Feixue said teasingly.
Chu Feng nodded. “That’s true.”
Illya’s head turned back and forth between them, a little curious. Their conversation was too fast, and he didn’t quite follow.
“I’m currently filming an xianxia drama, and there’s a role that would suit him perfectly,” Zhuang Feixue said.
Chu Feng looked at her in surprise. He didn’t know his sister that well, and before coming here, he had thought about all the serious things she might want to discuss—he hadn’t expected her to try to poach his boyfriend.
Chu Feng shook his head. “No way.”
Zhuang Feixue asked, a bit confused, “Why not?”
“He’s not a registered citizen,” Chu Feng replied.
Zhuang Feixue frowned. “Not registered? Why?”
“He’s from a remote, isolated mountain area—no household registration,” Chu Feng explained.
Zhuang Feixue waved it off. “That’s nothing. I can take care of that.”
“You can?” Chu Feng looked at her.
“It’s not a big deal,” she said. “Household registration problems are easy to fix.”
Chu Feng thought for a moment and nodded. Big families had wide networks. Although he had money, he was still a newly rich outsider—different from Zhuang Feixue.
She turned to Illya. “Would you like to be a star?”
Illya nodded without hesitation. “I would!”
Chu Feng glanced at him. “Why do you want to be a star?”
Illya replied without thinking, “Being a star makes lots of money!”
Chu Feng curled his lips. “Only top-tier stars make that kind of money. Extras just get boxed lunches and make less than a hundred a day.”
Illya nodded. “Oh. Is being a star that hard? Then I don’t want to be one anymore.”
“Don’t worry,” Zhuang Feixue said. “With your looks, you may not be top-tier, but third- or fourth-tier is no problem.”
Illya asked curiously, “How much do third- and fourth-tier stars make?”
Zhuang Feixue smiled. “They eat well and live well.”
Illya clapped his hands, clearly excited. “I want to be a star!”
Although Chu Feng was very rich, the TV had said that staying at home too long can disconnect you from society. To maintain economic independence is the only way to have autonomy in marriage.
Chu Feng: “…Sis, you’re a celebrity. Are you trying to switch careers and become a talent agent?”
Zhuang Feixue nodded. “Yep! The industry is way too competitive now. It’s a cutthroat fight for resources. And recently, a bunch of powered ability-users have joined the entertainment world—things are getting harder. Maybe becoming a talent agent is a better path. Your boyfriend has amazing raw potential. As long as he’s not too dumb, he’ll definitely become popular.”
Chu Feng: Is this sister of mine actually serious…?
“Sis, did you run into a rival?” Chu Feng asked.
Zhuang Feixue nodded. “Yeah. A woman named Xue Ying.”
Chu Feng asked curiously, “She’s an ability-user too?”
Zhuang Feixue shook her head. “No, but her boyfriend is. He used to be a beekeeper, then ability-users the ability to control sting wasps. Now he surrounds her with bees all day long. If it were butterflies, fine—but bees? Aren’t they afraid someone will get stung?”
Chu Feng: “…” Being surrounded by butterflies might be romantic. But bees? Definitely not.
Illya tilted his head and said, “I saw you in a TV show once.”
Zhuang Feixue looked curious. “Which show?”
“‘The CEO’s Sweetheart Secretary,’” Illya answered.
Zhuang Feixue: That show again?
“The CEO’s Sweetheart Secretary” was one of Zhuang Feixue’s early works. Back then, her family didn’t support her career and forbade her from using her Zhuang family identity. She could only take on low-budget soap operas. In that show, she wasn’t the lead—just an arrogant, vicious rich girl.
Of course, in the end, the CEO chose the kind and lovable female lead and not the supporting female character. At the time, she had just debuted and didn’t have much say in her acting roles. After the drama aired, some people mocked her, suggesting she was just “playing herself.” The Zhuang family seemed rather displeased by this.
“The male lead in that drama was so ugly. You were right to dump him.”
Zhuang Feixue replied, “Is that so? The male lead in that drama was Zhou Ting. Whether in the show or in real life, she was the one who got dumped.” Hearing what Illya said, Zhuang Feixue felt secretly pleased.
Chu Feng asked curiously, “I heard that Zhuang Feilei got sick and collapsed?”
When it came to the person who had taken her place, Zhuang Feixue had mixed feelings. She said flatly, “Feilei is our parents’ darling. Even if she’s not a member of the Chu family, she still wouldn’t be excluded. And Mom already promised that even if she’s not part of the Zhuang family, the shares she was given won’t be taken back.”
Illya tilted his head, his eyes flickering, but he didn’t say anything. Chu Feng gave a calm nod and simply said, “En.” At a certain level, money is just a number. Chu Feng had no real designs on the Zhuang family’s wealth, but upon hearing Zhuang Feixue’s words, he still felt a twinge of bitterness.
Zhuang Feixue looked at Chu Feng and said, “Don’t take it to heart, little brother.”
Chu Feng shook his head. “The grace of raising me is greater than the grace of giving birth. I understand. Although my adoptive parents passed away many years ago, I still have deep feelings for them.”
Zhuang Feixue was stunned for a moment—she hadn’t expected Chu Feng to say that. In truth, she herself was feeling a bit uncomfortable. Zhuang Feilei held more shares than she did. If she had truly been her real younger sister, it would have been one thing. But she wasn’t. And even so, their mother still seemed to prefer Feilei.
Zhuang Feixue looked at Chu Feng and asked, “Will you come back to the capital with me?”
Chu Feng shook his head. “Not for now. Can you help me sort out Illya’s identity as soon as possible? Once that’s handled, I’ll go to the capital.”
Zhuang Feixue nodded. “Alright, leave it to me.”
After having a meal with Zhuang Feixue, Chu Feng and Illya took their leave.
“Your sister doesn’t seem to like Zhuang Feilei much,” Illya commented.
Chu Feng glanced at Illya and said, “You noticed?”
Illya nodded. “Yes. It’s not hatred, but it’s definitely not affection either.”
Chu Feng thought to himself: This Zhuang Feilei kind of resembles a female lead. A female lead is smart, beautiful, decisive, capable, and always in the spotlight, surrounded by talented young men… According to the information he had gathered, Zhuang Feilei was highly intelligent, had studied abroad for several years, and after returning, had significantly boosted the company’s performance. She had many suitors.
However, the female lead always ends up with the male lead, and the supporting male characters around her never have good endings. The female supporting characters fare even worse.
In contrast to Zhuang Feilei, Zhuang Feixue appeared much more ordinary.
Although celebrities hold high status nowadays, to the elite, even A-listers are still just entertainers. The Zhuang family didn’t seem very supportive of Zhuang Feixue’s decision to become an actress.
According to his research, the patriarch of the Zhuang family had started his own business over a decade ago and founded Yangfan Group. The eldest daughter, Zhuang Feixue, held 3% of the company’s shares, while the younger daughter, Zhuang Feilei, held 5%, a clear sign of how favored she was.
Illya looked at Chu Feng and asked, “You don’t really want to go back to the Zhuang family, do you?”
Chu Feng shook his head. “It just feels like a world I don’t belong in.”
Big families are always complicated. Back then, he had been swapped at birth—it wasn’t by chance. After the paternity test results came out, his biological parents were too busy consoling their adopted daughter to reach out to him. Perhaps they didn’t care that much. His personal file had likely already been sent to the capital. Having a son who dropped out of college and used to deliver packages wasn’t exactly a source of pride.
