OFR – Chapter 95  Star.

When Zhang Xiashan posted his next message, it immediately stirred up a lot of people in the group chat. “Wow! Is Mu Xiaoxiao really the lead actress in Beauty Chronicles of the Great Qin? I knew she looked familiar!”

“What?! The girl we all used to have a crush on has become a celebrity?”

“Maybe not a top star yet, but she’s definitely entered the entertainment industry for real!”

“No way! I went to school with a celebrity!”

“Man, Mu Bai must be kicking himself now. Mu Xiaoxiao cared about him back then, but he was always fooling around with his deskmate Wang Yuwei. If he had gotten close to Mu Xiaoxiao back then, he could’ve saved himself years of struggle.”

“What’s wrong with Wang Yuwei? Do you even know who the famous streamer in Shenhao Legends on Douyu TV is?”

“Exactly! Wang Yuwei has a mega-rich supporter in the streaming industry too!”

“It’s such a shame. Mu Bai had the chance to end up with either of these goddesses.”

“Haha, let’s have a moment of silence for our old classmate, Mu Bai.”

“Well, at least Mu Bai had good memories with both goddesses!”

“But Xiashan, are you serious that Mu Xiaoxiao will be at a charity auction in Nanjing in three days? She’s a celebrity now. Do you think she’d even care about us anymore?”

“Yeah, let’s be real. Forget about getting autographs or photos. We probably won’t even get inside the venue.”

The chat exploded with messages, moving at lightning speed. Mu Xiaoxiao’s celebrity status was a huge shock to the group of former classmates, leaving everyone feeling a mix of awe and bitterness.

The girls in the group felt a twinge of jealousy and envy, while the boys found their lingering dreams about her officially shattered. As some mentioned, even though they knew Mu Xiaoxiao would be at the Nanjing charity auction in three days, it seemed unlikely they’d get to meet her, let alone snag a photo or autograph.

After half an hour of animated chatting, the initial excitement gradually died down, and the messages dwindled.

“Alright, alright. It’s late. Let’s stop obsessing over goddesses we can’t reach and go to sleep. Life’s tough enough as it is.”

“Yeah, Zhang Zhi is right. Sleep is more important than daydreaming.”

“No way! We night owls can keep going!”

“Sure, keep it up and die of exhaustion! Also, to be honest, we Nanjing folks probably can’t get you guys any autographs or photos. Sorry in advance.”

“Yeah, same here. I doubt I’ll even get into the auction hall.”

Admin Zhang Xiashan: “Sigh, I guess I still think like we did back in middle school. It’s crazy how much things have changed.”

“Enough talk. That’s just how life is. Goodnight, everyone.”

“Yeah, goodnight.”

The once-bustling group chat fell silent again, with the earlier excitement fading like a brief bloom. In the quiet, time slowly ticked by.

At eight in the morning, Mu Bai was already up in his Inkwood Residence apartment. After breakfast, he logged onto QQ to check his messages. He noticed one from Mi Xuan.

Mi Xuan: “Thanks for caring, Mu Hao. It’s just a little cold, don’t worry. It won’t affect work. I’m heading out to get your prepared contract.”

Seeing the message, Mu Bai glanced outside at the falling snow and icy streets and replied, “It’s snowing today; don’t go out. Drink plenty of warm water and take some medicine. Work isn’t important, your health is.”

He waited a while but received no reply, guessing that Mi Xuan had probably already left for work in the snow. Shaking his head, he sent her another message, reminding her to be careful. Then he scrolled through his QQ Space feed, giving a like to Qian Yiwen’s travel update and skimming through the other posts.

One particular post caught his attention. It was a status update from an old middle school classmate he hadn’t spoken to in ages.

Zhang Xiashan’s post: “The long-dormant village middle school group chat came alive last night, but after that brief burst of excitement, it fell silent again.”

Attached were screenshots of the chat, followed by comments from friends.

Classmate Zhang Zhi: “Pfft! We’re all middle school dropouts. Can we stop with the fancy language?”

Classmate Ning Ning: “Haha, already liked the post! But Xiashan, your writing needs work. ‘Silent’ and ‘quiet as a whisper’ are redundant.”

Classmate Li Jie: “Ugh, I wish you hadn’t mentioned our old crush, Mu Xiaoxiao, becoming a star. Now I feel down again.”

Classmate Tuo Kun: “I just went through the group chat logs and saw what happened. I can’t believe the recent hit drama Beauty Chronicles of the Great Qin features our former classmate as the lead! It feels surreal.”

“Mu Xiaoxiao? The lead in Beauty Chronicles of the Great Qin?” Mu Bai muttered as he read the post. He remembered thinking the lead actress looked familiar when he watched the show recently, but he never imagined it was Mu Xiaoxiao.

Mu Xiaoxiao had been one of his closer female friends in middle school, second only to Wang Yuwei.

“She’s actually made it as a star in the entertainment world?” Mu Bai marveled. Even he was a little stunned.

After reading the comments, he checked the old village school group chat and skimmed through the conversation from the previous night. Then he did a quick online search to learn more about Mu Xiaoxiao, taking about ten minutes to catch up on her current status.

It turned out that Mu Xiaoxiao had indeed become a rising celebrity, known for her stunning looks and solid acting skills, gaining fame as the lead in Beauty Chronicles of the Great Qin. Her Weibo followers had reached the tens of millions, and she was being hailed as a goddess of historical dramas.

She was even invited to a high-profile charity auction in Nanjing—an event that offered both fame and prestige for stars, showing just how far she had come.

“Amazing,” Mu Bai murmured in disbelief. Just then, a notification interrupted his thoughts. He assumed it was a message from Mi Xuan, but when he switched back from browsing posts, he saw something surprising.

It was a message from none other than Mu Xiaoxiao herself.

Mu Xiaoxiao: “Mu Bai, are you there?”

It was a simple greeting, but coming from a now-famous Mu Xiaoxiao, it felt incredibly precious.