Chapter 405: Chapter 405

At first, everyone thought Sang Ning was just joking around. The shooting intensity was already exhausting enough, and now she had to squeeze in time for review—no one, not even a superhero, could pull that off.

But Sang Ning had this kind of determination. A person who was perpetually sleep-deprived managed to balance filming and studying by sleeping only five hours a day. Her level of dedication was jaw-dropping.

Even while getting her makeup done, she always held a book in her hands, quietly studying.

The makeup artist, who had been in charge of Sang Ning’s look, felt her seriousness firsthand. The densely packed notes in her books made it clear she wasn’t doing it just for show.

One time, after finishing her hair and makeup, there was some time left before filming officially started. Sang Ning continued reading in the makeup room, and the makeup artist couldn’t resist taking a close-up of Sang Ning’s book and posting it online.

"Beautiful and hardworking—Teacher Sang Ning really earns my respect!"

Before the movie was officially released, all of the actors’ hair and makeup styles were kept secret. The makeup artist intentionally only showed Sang Ning’s hands and the book she was holding in the close-up.

Not long after posting, the makeup artist realized it might not have been proper and quickly deleted the Weibo post. But the photo had already been saved by Sang Ning’s fans.

With Sang Ning so motivated, her fans naturally felt proud and were eager to show off their idol to the world.

The hashtag #SangNingStudyingForGradSchool quietly climbed into the top ten of the trending topics. Sharp-eyed netizens identified the book Sang Ning was holding—it was a higher mathematics textbook.

Sang Ning was still lacking a breakout film, and her reputation among casual audiences wasn’t strong enough to be universally convincing. As expected, she couldn’t escape a wave of online mockery.

[Is Sang Ning trying to milk the "scholar-actress" persona she picked up during that variety show? Planning to ride this gimmick all the way?]

[Does she not understand the concept of diminishing returns? Some persona-building is fine, but overdoing it just makes people tired and annoyed.]

[When she helped tutor Sang Chuan and Song Shiye before, she did seem impressive, but that was just high school material—it’s not surprising she had learned it. Yet she majored in the humanities during college and barely touched higher math. Now she dares to jump into grad school prep? Should we call her stupid or naïve?]

The hashtag stayed in the trending topics for only half a day before the buzz quietly faded, as netizens continued to watch with skeptical and mocking interest.

Most people believed Sang Ning was just putting on an act, releasing tidbits to maintain her scholar persona. Whether she had even signed up for the grad school entrance exams was another matter. Even if she did sign up, with her current filming pace, she might be too exhausted to even make it to the preliminary test.

But once again, Sang Ning defied expectations. On the day of the grad school retake exam, she was photographed by another test-taker in the same examination hall, and the picture was posted online.

In the photo, Sang Ning was fully covered with a mask, but her unmistakable trademark fox-like eyes gave her away. For origınal chapters go to novelꜰire.net

[No way! Sang Ning’s actually taking this seriously? She really showed up for the exam?]

[Please, no. If Sang Ning really gets into grad school and quits the industry, where am I supposed to go to enjoy seeing a goddess?]

[What are you worrying about? She only showed up for the exam—it doesn’t mean she’ll pass. According to test-takers in the same hall, Sang Ning handed in her papers early for every single exam—which definitely means she didn’t know the answers and just scribbled down enough to finish.]

[Fellow grad school takers here, let me say—this year’s higher math exam was absurdly hard. One of the math geniuses I know was in my same hall and said the time given wasn’t remotely enough. I heard Sang Ning handed in her answers half an hour early—did she really finish her paper? I’m highly skeptical.]

After a round of heated discussion, netizens reached a consensus: Even if Sang Ning had participated in the exams, she was nothing more than a background prop—a waste of space not worth mentioning.

The online chatter didn’t faze Sang Ning much; she was far too busy to dwell on it.

Right after the retakes ended, Tang Yuanmao loaded her up with dozens of specialized textbooks, demanding she finish reading every single one before the grad school retakes began.

No one knew where Tang Yuanmao got his confidence—he was certain she would pass the preliminaries. Yet he was annoyingly impartial, refusing to give Sang Ning any hints about the interview content.

Sang Ning didn’t mind. She was confident she could pass, but confidence and attitude were two different things.

When it came to learning, humility was essential. As for the stack of textbooks Tang Yuanmao handed her, Sang Ning took them seriously, studying each one diligently.

After working through those books, the film finally wrapped up shooting. There was still some time before the preliminary exam results were announced.

The movie entered post-production, with a scheduled summer release. After filming ended, Sang Ning felt like she’d finally entered a short lull—though it was only her personal feeling.

Just one day after the wrap, her agent was already showing her multiple offers for appearances.

Sang Ning was sprawled on the couch, her eyes slightly narrowed, sinking her head down. Her entire demeanor spelled rejection: "Can’t we just take it slow? The film just wrapped up. Even a workhorse gets a break, doesn’t it?"

Her agent forced a formulaic smile and, instead of responding to Sang Ning directly, pulled a contract from the stack on the table and started explaining: "Sis, believe me, I don’t want to push you either. But you’ve been out of the limelight for quite some time because of Director Qin’s movie. You’re not at the level of a top-tier actor yet, so maintaining a certain level of exposure is still necessary."

Sang Ning pressed her lips together. She understood—it was all about her status still being a work-in-progress. She was only venting a little.

Besides her agent’s concerns, Sang Ning had another problematic obligation waiting. That cursed fanbase growth target still hadn’t been met yet. Until the one-year deadline was up, she needed to maintain visibility at all times.

The company had prepared multiple appearances for her, ranging from being an observer on a dating reality show, to serving as a celebrity promoter on a singing competition show, to leading roles in two idol drama offers.

In the end, Sang Ning chose to sign up for a travel reality show and turned down the other offers.

Between shooting and studying, she’d been worn out physically and mentally and needed some time to unwind.

A travel reality show fit perfectly—it allowed her to relax while maintaining exposure.

This travel show would be filmed in three episodes, each spanning four days and three nights, lasting 15 days in total.

Reportedly, this was the show’s fourth season. The first season had decent ratings and reviews, but by the second and third seasons, the focus had shifted to manufactured drama and conflicts among the guests. Initially, this boosted viewership slightly, but eventually, audiences grew tired of it, and the ratings plummeted.

To salvage its reputation, the production team for this season had been replaced, aiming for a warm and healing vibe. They even introduced non-celebrity guests.

To ease viewers’ concerns about manipulative editing, the director boldly adopted a mix of live-streaming and pre-recorded formats to showcase the guests’ travel experiences from all angles.

This was exactly why Sang Ning agreed to join this reality show—she genuinely just wanted to relax!