Cheng Ying stared at her phone, dazed for two minutes.
She had thought that someone as proper as Jiang Hanguang, even if she didn’t contact her immediately, would at least check in with her before work started.
But now, almost the entire morning had passed, and there was no sign of her artist. The deliberately aloof Agent Cheng felt she couldn’t wrong herself any longer and dialed the number directly.
When the phone rang, she had already prepared a whole slew of lectures in her mind.
Before, when they had no professional relationship, she couldn’t be bothered to say anything. But now, it was time to let Miss Jiang know how a normal agent educates their artist.
But no one answered.
Jiang Hanguang, you…
Cheng Ying held her breath in frustration, directly pulled Cheng Mantou back from surfing the web, and had her hack into the film crew’s surveillance system.
“Using child labor is illegal!” Cheng Mantou protested.
“Wait until you robots have founded your own country, then we can talk about child protection laws.” Cheng Ying took a sip of coffee, frowned, and pointed to an app on her phone named “Spank Butt,” her threat obvious.
A wise girl doesn’t fight a losing battle. In less than five seconds, Cheng Mantou pulled up the surveillance feed for the “White Robe” film set.
The set area had been transformed into a majestic immortal palace. Jiang Hanguang, still in that snow-white dress, was kneeling for a long time outside the hall.
Although she had only casually flipped through the script, Cheng Ying had a photographic memory for useful information.
This scene was Mo Yan’s last-ditch struggle after her plot to harm Baiyi was exposed, and she was about to be expelled from the immortal sect.
In the original novel, and even in the original script, Mo Yan was a character who evoked both love and hate. She came from a humble background but was diligent, hardworking, gentle, and taciturn. Originally looked down upon for being an Omega, she had been full of hope after entering the immortal sect, like a small flower struggling to emerge from a crack in a stone, offering a tender smile to the stingy sunlight.
She thought she had escaped. She thought she could be like everyone else. She thought she wouldn’t have to become any Alpha’s forbidden plaything, but an independent person.
But the cruel world always tells those young people who are still dreaming: you wish.
The shadow of her family was inescapable. Her family members were like parasites growing on the roots of this flower, mercilessly sucking all her nutrients dry.
Her mother cursed her for being disloyal and unfilial in front of the other disciples. Her older brother directly demanded money from her for his wedding, threatening to take her back to be married off for money if she refused.
Mo Yan’s head hung lower and lower, and she spoke less and less. All day long, she just practiced with a gloomy face, gradually becoming estranged from the other disciples in the sect.
She lived alone in a darkness of constant fear, rotting in solitude.
Until she saw that true darling of the heavens—Baiyi.
Family background, talent, love, friendship—all the things she could never obtain—surrounded Baiyi in inexhaustible supply.
Why? Some people are thrown on the ground at birth to get rid of bad luck, while others already have everything when they are still just babies.
She couldn’t stop herself from seeking revenge, as if snatching something from Baiyi was the greatest act of rebellion against this unfair world.
But she failed. Even the little she had was about to be taken away.
She knelt before that majestic gate, her forehead bleeding from kowtowing, but no one gave her an answer.
Until, during that endless kneeling, she completely transformed.
She no longer hated Baiyi. She suddenly understood that what was against her was the entire world.
It was this world that deserved to be smashed, it was all the people who took pleasure in bullying her.
She had harmed the one beloved by the world, and the world wanted her to die.
Then let’s see who dies first.
Jiang Hanguang’s gaze slowly turned cold. The tear tracks dried on her face, and from the depths of her dark pupils, it seemed a man-eating monster was about to emerge.
She supported herself on her legs to stand up, took one last look at the high palace gate, forcefully wiped the blood from her forehead, and limped away.
It was hard to connect her with the woman from yesterday who had been like a quail being scolded by Fan Jie.
Cheng Ying’s eyes unconsciously followed Jiang Hanguang’s figure. Her breathing slowed as she watched the person in white on the screen walk towards a sunless abyss.
Until— “Director, what the hell are you filming? Why does a villain like her get such a good shot?”
Miss Hua Ran, always so unfailingly annoying.
The corner of Cheng Ying’s mouth twitched. Her gaze as she sized up the arrogant girl grew colder, and she stood up to change her clothes.
Jiang Hanguang had only been resting in the break area for a moment when she received a helpless gesture from the director, indicating they had to reshoot. She calmly stood up, ready to go kneel for a while longer, but a sudden force on her shoulder, with an irresistible strength, pushed her back down into her seat.
“?” She subconsciously looked up, only to see Boss Cheng, who had been appearing frequently these past two days, still dressed like a walking gachapon machine. One hand was pressing down on her, the other holding a half-eaten ice cream, while she smiled radiantly at Director Yuan.
“How many takes has it been?”
Director Yuan hadn’t expected Cheng Ying to show up again and was so startled he took half a step back. He still answered her first, “The fifth take.”
“Ahem, not bad, Miss Jiang.” Cheng Ying’s smile grew even more cheerful as she lightly patted her shoulder. “Other people act in a movie, but you’re going through military training, huh? Getting splashed when told, kneeling when told?”
“…” Although Cheng Ying’s tone and words were flippant, Jiang Hanguang had a feeling they weren’t meant as a compliment.
And for some reason, even though Cheng Ying wasn’t doing anything out of line at the moment, Jiang Hanguang keenly sensed her displeasure.
Had I done something to offend Boss Cheng?
At a loss, Jiang Hanguang could only resort to the same method she used with Fan Jie to deal with the current situation.
Silence, and more silence.
During this awkward silence, Cheng Ying’s internal blood pressure bar quietly shot up a notch.
So, she’d been presumptuously trying to save the day, and in return, the other person was guarding against her as if she were a pervert.
Like a savage who eats raw meat and drinks blood, she crudely crunched up the ice cream cone and licked the remaining ice cream from her fingers.
“Miss Jiang is my artist now.” She patted her pants pockets with her clean hand, realized she hadn’t brought any wet wipes, and so unceremoniously prepared to wipe her fingers on her outrageously expensive pullover T-shirt.
Just then, a wet wipe was offered up from below, right in front of her. Cheng Ying looked down and saw Jiang Hanguang’s dark, dark eyes.
A very sincere gaze.
Like a cat that clearly doesn’t know what it did wrong, but rolls over to show its belly and curry favor because you’re ignoring it.
May I interpret this as you showing weakness, Miss Jiang Hanguang?
Cheng Ying’s fleeting temper was thoroughly soothed. No matter how reluctant, it couldn’t help but let out a satisfied whimper before vanishing without a trace.
She pinched a corner of the wet wipe, pulled it from Jiang Hanguang’s hand, wiped her own hands, and gave Director Yuan a brilliant smile. “Can you take me to see Miss Hua?”
Watching Cheng Ying’s back, Jiang Hanguang was reminded of when she was a child, new to this place. She had accidentally broken a vase in the classroom, and her father had been summoned to the teacher’s office. This was the back of her father as he went.
What was it he had said then?
“You just wait.”
That night, Jiang Hanguang received the first beating of her life, was given no dinner, and was in so much pain she couldn’t sleep, crying all night under the covers. The memory was therefore exceptionally deep.
Jiang Hanguang unconsciously straightened her already perfectly straight back, like a prisoner awaiting sentencing, her heart filled with anxiety.
Cheng Ying followed behind Director Yuan and saw Hua Ran from a distance, sitting in a prime spot in the filming area. She was surrounded by four or five assistants, bundled up tightly, drinking steaming hot black tea, her eyebrows furrowed as if she were worrying about the fate of the nation.
If you didn’t know better, you’d think she was the director.
Cheng Ying sneered inwardly, but her face showed nothing.
Hua Ran saw Director Yuan and immediately complained, “Telling her to shoot again and she’s dawdling. Who does she think she is, putting on airs?”
Who would dare put on airs in front of you? With your grand posture, anyone who comes would have to kowtow to you first.
Cheng Ying preemptively raised her hand in greeting. “Sister-in-law, I’m the one who told her not to come.”
Hua Ran, with her drooping eyelids, finally noticed the person following behind Director Yuan and said with some surprise, “Xiao Ying, what are you doing here?”
You’re really not treating me like an outsider.
Cheng Ying looked at this little princess, who was a few years younger than her, and while mentally plotting how to bury her, she continued to smile. “Sigh, it’s just bad luck. Miss Jiang’s previous agent committed a crime and got thrown in jail. I don’t know what wire the people in the company’s valuation department crossed, but they assigned her to me. Since I’m in this position, I have to do my job. I can’t just ignore her, right?”
“Oh…” Hua Ran nodded, then frowned at Cheng Ying. “So what do you mean? You feel sorry for her?”
She thought to herself, Cheng Liang was right. This Cheng Ying really is a good-for-nothing lecher, like mud that can’t be plastered on a wall. She just broke up with Xu Ning and is already eyeing new prey.
She didn’t care what Cheng Ying thought. In any case, in her first leading role, no one was going to steal her thunder.
Cheng Ying shook her head. “What’s there to feel sorry about? It’s an artist’s duty to suffer a little while filming. But…” She smiled at Hua Ran. “I don’t think this scene is important, and she’s not acting it well anyway. I’ll talk to the director and have this part deleted.”
Hua Ran’s eyes lit up. “You think so too? Director Yuan, you see…”
She had already suggested this, but Director Yuan had been evasive and refused to take the bait. Now that Cheng Ying, the artist’s own agent, was proposing it, how could Director Yuan possibly refuse?
“This, this, this…” Director Yuan wiped his sweat. He knew whose person Hua Ran was, so he never dared to defy her. But this scene was very important, and Jiang Hanguang’s performance was truly excellent. The director hadn’t yet mentally prepared himself to completely abandon the dignity of a cultured person, so he really couldn’t agree with the suggestions of these two drama-killers.
Cheng Ying couldn’t tell that Director Yuan still had some integrity. It was a pity that with how terribly it had been filmed before, this show was already ruined.
She gave Hua Ran a fawning smile. “I’ll have a private word with Director Yuan.”
After saying that, she put a hand on the man’s neck, turned around, and whispered in his ear.
“Miss Hua is my sister-in-law. When the sky falls, the tall ones hold it up. Do you think my brother can’t handle it? As for you, if you offend him over this, your life at Cheng’s won’t be very comfortable in the future.”
These few words from her made Director Yuan break out in a cold sweat, but he also had a sudden epiphany. The rumors about Hua Ran and Cheng Liang had been flying everywhere for a long time. His own standards had slipped so much this time, even a ghost would know whose fault it was. In any case, it wasn’t his. It was absolutely not worth offending Cheng Liang for this rotten show.
He immediately turned back, putting on the same fawning smile as Cheng Ying. “Miss Hua, Boss Cheng is right. It was I who was being narrow-minded. We’ll delete this scene. I’ll speak with the screenwriter.”
Cheng Ying and Hua Ran smiled in satisfaction together, but inside, Cheng Ying’s heart was completely cold.
People, in the end. Once they understand the pros and cons, they reveal the calculating scales in their hearts. For the sake of their own careers, they’ll sacrifice something others worked hard to film without even blinking.
Similarly, in order to force me to mark her, a Best Actress was actually stupid enough to inject herself with a heat inducer.
For their own selfish desires, they could be as shrewd as machines and as foolish as monkeys.
How are you supposed to establish a positive connection with a machine full of bugs?
Cheng Ying once had one, but she lost it due to her own foolishness.
Later, she tried twice more, and both times she failed.
She cast her gaze towards the break room where Jiang Hanguang was.
I hope you won’t disappoint me, Miss Jiang.
