Is This How the Entertainment Industry Works? (GL) - Chapter 36

Zhao Baoshang frowned. “This happened many days ago, didn’t it?”

Yan Zhen hesitated for a moment and then nodded.

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” Zhao Baoshang asked.

Yan Zhen couldn’t answer. To her, this was just a tiny, trivial matter; if she had been willing to set aside the time, she could have easily resolved it herself. She was utterly bewildered as to why the “Eldest Princess” was so angry.

“I was afraid of disturbing you,” she said, lost.

Zhao Baoshang snorted coldly. “Do you think I would mind? You’ve disturbed me so many times—you even infected me with a Love Gu—and I’ve never said a word.”

Yan Zhen nodded quickly. “You truly are very broad-minded.”

The praised Zhao Baoshang, however, wasn’t that happy. She felt a sense of emptiness again, feeling that the little fan didn’t trust her. All that talk about “listening to her” was probably just lip service.

Looking at Yan Zhen, Zhao Baoshang felt an urge to put a chain on her so she couldn’t go anywhere and could only stay by her side. Her head lowered, and her gaze grew dark.

Yan Zhen called out to her, “Are you alright?”

Zhao Baoshang slowly shook her head.

Yan Zhen looked curiously at the space around Zhao Baoshang. She thought she saw a flicker of black haze just now, but she wasn’t sure if it was an illusion.

Director Xu brought his megaphone over and shouted for Zhao Baoshang to film her scene. She prepared to go touch up her makeup.

Yan Zhen followed beside her and said, “I need to go out for a bit later.” She carefully watched Zhao Baoshang’s expression.

To her surprise, Zhao Baoshang didn’t lose her temper but nodded in agreement.

Yan Zhen was startled. “You agreed?” Usually, the Princess would nag for a bit; what happened today?

Zhao Baoshang looked up at her, appearing quite reluctant. “Did you expect me to go with you? How shameless. When there’s a chance in the future, I’ll go with you.”

Hearing this familiar tone, it seemed the Princess was still the same Princess. Yan Zhen breathed a sigh of relief. “Then I’ll be back soon.”

She left the set, and Yu Lian drove over to pick her up and take her to Lin Xiaomei’s. The moment she entered Lin Xiaomei’s home, Yan Zhen felt a strong sense of resentment. She stopped in her tracks.

Yu Lian noticed and asked, “What is it?”

Yan Zhen looked at her. “Do you remember the vase from your house?”

Yu Lian nodded. “I remember.”

“Have you remembered who gave it to you yet?”

“I… really haven’t.” Yu Lian rubbed her temples, trying hard to think. “Does that vase have anything to do with Lin Xiaomei’s husband’s cheating?”

“Maybe, or maybe not,” Yan Zhen said.

The only certainty was that Lin Xiaomei’s home was also filled with grievance. It looked as if someone had intentionally set up arrays in the homes of people from Tianhua Company to steal something from them.

She continued walking. “What kind of person is Lin Xiaomei’s ex-husband?”

“Oh, you don’t know?” Yu Lian thought for a bit. “Right, we talked too fast yesterday. Her husband was a fairly famous actor ten years ago. After marrying her two years ago, he stopped acting much.”

“They’ve only been married for two years?” Yan Zhen asked.

“Yes. There’s a ten-year age gap; she’s only twenty-nine this year,” Yu Lian continued. “After marriage, his main job was managing resource approvals for the company. He had a fair amount of power, so young starlets were always trying to climb that social ladder for roles.”

“He used to be disciplined, but a few months ago, for some reason, he suddenly got caught up in a scandal with a mediocre starlet. He knelt and begged Lin Xiaomei for forgiveness, but then a few days ago, he took her assets, somehow got her to sign a divorce agreement, and vanished.”

As Yu Lian finished speaking, she rang the doorbell. Lin Xiaomei opened the door for them. “Have you thought of a way to help me get revenge?”

She was wearing a black silk nightgown and appeared to have just showered, her wet hair hanging down. Her complexion seemed fine. Yan Zhen scanned the room, sat on the sofa, and pulled three boxes from her bag.

“What are these?” Lin Xiaomei asked.

“I have three methods here,” Yan Zhen said. “First is the Yansheng technique—commonly known as voodoo dolls. Second is a Feng Shui array to make your ex-husband’s life miserable. Third is the Soul-Snatching technique.”

Yan Zhen paused. Lin Xiaomei asked, “What is Soul-Snatching?”

“It is a more sinister art that can control someone’s mind, making him return to your side and never leave again.” Yan Zhen took a sip of water.

She had once sworn to stay away from such petty arts, but later, as the National Preceptor, she was often ordered by the Emperor to do such things. She had come up with a set of methods to scare people—they looked like voodoo, but they had no lasting effect, only looking terrifying for a while before wearing off. It was just an “anger-release” technique for the Emperor.

Lin Xiaomei said, “I want to try all three.”

“Only one,” Yan Zhen said. “Or I won’t do the job.”

Lin Xiaomei wanted to snap at her, but Yu Lian stopped her. Eventually, Lin Xiaomei gave in. “Fine. I don’t care if he comes back, but the first two don’t sound strong enough. I’ll take the third. Make it as harsh as possible.”

“Understood.” Yan Zhen pulled out a piece of paper. “Write down his birth ‘Bazi’.”

After Lin wrote it down, Yan Zhen asked for something personal—clothes, hair, or nails. Lin ran upstairs and brought down some clothes he’d left behind. Yan Zhen grabbed a garment and sprinkled some mysterious powder on it. A pale yellow flame ignited.

Lin Xiaomei and Yu Lian were startled, but Yu Lian touched the flame and found it wasn’t hot at all. After a moment, the flame vanished, and the clothes became even more wrinkled. Yan Zhen touched them, and they shrunk into a ball. She attached a few items and drew a strange pattern.

“Done,” Yan Zhen told Lin Xiaomei. “Your ex-husband will return in a few days. Then, he will be at your disposal.”

Her expression looked so much like a common swindler that Lin Xiaomei looked at her skeptically. “If this is real, I will reward you handsomely.”

Yan Zhen returned to the set. Zhao Baoshang had taken over two stools and was sitting with her legs up. Director Xu was pulling his hair out in agony.

He ran to Yan Zhen like he’d seen his own mother. “You’re finally here! Let’s film your scenes first.”

“Is Zhao Baoshang’s scene done?” Yan Zhen asked.

“Done my foot!” Director Xu groaned. “Zhao Er can’t smile! Do you understand? She can’t smile.”

Yan Zhen washed her hands with mineral water. “Are we filming the later scenes already?”

Director Xu nodded, then shook his head. “No, it’s the early scene—the knowing smile when she meets the male lead.” He slapped his head. “Why am I explaining this to you? You wouldn’t understand.”

Yan Zhen was confused; Zhao Baoshang had known how to smile before, so why couldn’t she do it now? Zhao Baoshang waved her over from a distance.

“Director Xu says you can’t smile, is it true?” Yan Zhen asked.

Zhao Baoshang’s face immediately soured. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Then what about your scenes?”

“I’ll use a double,” Zhao Baoshang said.

“You can use a double for that too?” Yan Zhen was amazed. Director Xu ran over and said, “There’s a scene for the two of you in this same setting. Let’s film it tonight. Memorize your lines.”

It was the scene of watching the stars at night on page 22. After a fight scene with stunt doubles, night fell, and it was time for Yan Zhen and Zhao Baoshang’s joint scene. They sat on stone benches in their costumes—Zhao Baoshang in white and Yan Zhen in pale blue.

Filming started. Yan Zhen sat to Zhao Baoshang’s right, tensing her muscles to look stiff and nervous. After a while, she said, “Miss, the night is cold and the wind is strong. It’s time to go inside.”

Ning An gave a soft “mhm,” then leaned her head against Qing Zhu’s shoulder. “I only want to feel the cold wind to soothe my pain. Do you even want to stop me from doing that?”

“This servant wouldn’t dare,” Qing Zhu said, preparing to kneel.

Ning An grabbed her hand. “Since when did you and I become so distant?”

“This servant… does not know.” Qing Zhu didn’t dare move, fearing Ning An would be sad.

“Does it make you uncomfortable when I lean on you like this?” Ning An asked.

Qing Zhu shook her head.

“Then would you be willing if I leaned on you every night?”

Qing Zhu blurted out, “How can that be?!”

“Why not?” Ning An’s voice was husky. She braced herself and looked up, no longer leaning, but leaning in close—extremely close to Qing Zhu’s face, as if trying to probe the depths of her eyes.

Qing Zhu pulled back slightly and called out unnaturally, “Miss?”

The corner of Ning An’s mouth curled up. “Stop calling me Miss.” She leaned in even further, almost about to kiss her.

Just as Yan Zhen thought the scene was about to fall apart, Zhao Baoshang pulled away. She returned to her lines: “Our family’s revenge is not yet taken; we must hide our identities. If you call me the wrong thing again, I shall have to punish you.”

Yan Zhen froze and said hurriedly, “Yes.”

The moonlight was like water. Yan Zhen felt moved. She rarely felt “suppressed” by another actor’s presence, but this time, Zhao Baoshang led her through the scene. Every movement Zhao Baoshang made guided her next step.

Perhaps this was the true strength of a Movie Queen. Before, the Princess had only been playing around. Yan Zhen thought seriously: As expected of the Princess. My own strength is still not enough; I must work twice as hard.

Author’s Note:

Zhao Baoshang: I leaned in so close, why didn’t you kiss me?

Yan Zhen: A servant has no right to kiss the master.

Zhao Baoshang: Fine, I get it. Next time I’ll just kiss you directly.

Yan Zhen: …That’s not what I meant!