An uncomfortable silence surrounded them.
Wang Meng felt the awkwardness and when he looked at Yang Shan again, his eyes were full of disgust.
From beside him, Tang Xiaoxiao straightened up and frowned in displeasure. "Yang Shan! You're not a child anymore. Do you know what you're doing now?"
"I…" Yang Shan panicked and turned her head suddenly. She met with Assistant Director Wang Meng's angry gaze and then looked at Zhao Le, who was not far away, she seemed to understand something instantly.
Meanwhile, Zhao Le, who was sitting not far away, took this chance to saunter over with a chair and he raised his head triumphantly. "Shanshan, did you see that? This is your so-called loyal manager. She failed to stand this little test. But… fortunately, you are now standing at a higher starting point than she is. You should cherish everything you have now and pick your assistant and manager carefully."
Tang Xiaoxiao did not want to lower herself to Zhao Le's level, but she was more than a little annoyed. This trash was merely a new assistant, but was bragging in front of her and provoking her nonstop.
Who the f*cking hell did you think you are, acting all pretentious in front of me?
Regardless of whether I'm a professional manager or whether something happened between Yang Shan and me, in the production team, I am at least Yang Shan's manager in name. You? You are only an assistant. You can be dismissive of me, obey me in public, and disobey me in private, but you should at least treat me professionally on the surface, okay?
When Wang Meng saw that Tang Xiaoxiao seemed ready to let loose on Zhao Le, he grabbed her from behind. "Don't be rash."
Tang Xiaoxiao lifted the corners of her lips with a mocking look in her eyes as she pulled away Wang Meng's hands. "Don't worry, Assistant Director Wang, I'm not going to embarrass you and the production team. I won't do anything to him."
Walking haughtily towards Zhao Le, Tang Xiaoxiao took out some money and handed it to Zhao Le. "Assistant Zhao, please go and buy some supper for the crew. Remember to go to that old and famous shop in the south of the city. There are many people in the crew, so buy a variety of fillings for the wonton and dumplings. Oh… by the way, Shanshan wants to have some beef jerky. Please go to the north of the city and buy one kilogram for her. Remember to get the one with the original flavor."
Zhao Le finally regained his senses with the money in his hand. He almost threw the money directly at Tang Xiaoxiao's face, wanting to rage at her in anger. What are you! You're just relying on your acquaintance with Yang Shan and became a manager. Did you really f*cking think that you're a manager?
Looking at Zhao Le's furious expression, Tang Xiaoxiao was amused. Sparks were almost coming out of his eyes and he looked like he was about to vomit blood! Her beautiful eyes were full of teasing and derision at the same time. She tilted her head and said, "What's the matter? Assistant Zhao, you're not unwilling to go, are you? Don't forget, you are Shanshan's only assistant. If you don't do it, we'll have to change the assistant."
"You ruthless b… Tang Xiaoxiao…!" Zhao Le ground his teeth together in hatred. This pretentious woman!!
Behind them, Yang Shan was standing silently without a word.
"Scene 276, act 59, 3, 2, 1. Action!"
A pure and beautiful girl dressed in a 1920s style cheongsam stepped down from the attic with her left hand holding the handrail of the stairs. A middle-aged beautiful woman was sitting downstairs. She was wearing a red cheongsam, with a huge pearl necklace around her neck and she had her chin slightly raised, exuding a queenly air of arrogance. She was sitting on the sofa in a dignified manner and held a cigarette between her fingers, where there was a jade ring adorning one. At the end of her slender and fair thighs, a pair of sapphire blue high heels was exposed and she was puffing away quietly.
It was such a decadent scene that everyone's attention would be drawn to this middle-aged beauty. As for the pure beauty Yang Shan, who should have been at the center of attention, she was completely ignored.
"NG! Stop!" There was a strong trace of anger in Cao Hao's voice. "Yang Shan, can you at least try to have a little bit of a rich young lady's bearing and demeanor? Look at yourself, how do you even look like a lady? You don't have the imposing manner and brilliance the female lead should have!"
"That's right." The actress of the middle-aged beauty, Wen Ruoyi, stood up with disdain on her face as she put the cigarette in the ashtray. "Can you do it? If you can't, just quit. It will save us the waste of time."
"I…" Yang Shan, who was acting as a rich young lady, lowered her head timidly. "I'm sorry, Director, Sister Wen. Give me some time to adjust and I'll definitely do well!"
"Oh? Are you sure?" Wen Ruoyi swept over to Yang Shan, her smile arrogant and accompanied by a raised brow. When she passed by her, she deliberately bumped her shoulder and said sarcastically, "You're just an inexperienced newcomer. Do you really think you are a star? Your dumb luck will come to an end from today!"
"Sister Wen, you…" Yang Shan looked at Wen Ruoyi with disbelief.
In response, she only gave Yang Shan a sneer.
Watching from afar, Tang Xiaoxiao shook her head helplessly. Yang Shan was really too tender. Although her acting skills were somewhat unsatisfactory, it was not like she could not cope with such a simple shot. The only explanation was that the actress in the same scene, Wen Ruoyi, was stealing her scene!
It was no wonder Wen Ruoyi was like this. Originally, she had a high chance to be the female lead in this movie. Unfortunately, Cao Hao picked Yang Shan and made her, the hottest candidate for the female lead, be sidelined and could only act as a minor supporting role, becoming the laughingstock in the industry. How could Wen Ruoyi let Yang Shan off when they were acting?
Since she had arrived at the production set the day before, Wen Ruoyi had been showing a bad attitude towards Yang Shan. She sneered at Yang Shan all the time, but Yang Shan listened to Zhao Le's encouragement that by pleasing Wen Ruoyi, it would be of great benefit to her future star career. She was snubbed despite showing good intentions and was played by Wen Ruoyi like a fool.
Yang Shan went to Tang Xiaoxiao with tears in her eyes and called out in an aggrieved manner, "Xiaoxiao…"
"It's okay. It's not your fault."
Tang Xiaoxiao patted Yang Shan's back and pulled her over to Wen Ruoyi. Holding back the unhappiness in her heart, she bowed respectfully to Wen Ruoyi and said with a smile, "Sister Wen, our Shanshan is still young and ignorant. She doesn't understand many things and I hope you won't blame her if she has offended you."
Yang Shan was startled and looked at Tang Xiaoxiao in confusion. But Tang Xiaoxiao only smiled and met Yang Shan's eyes directly.
It had gotten to the point. She was left with no choice but to play the move of taking strong measures since the courteous ones had failed.
With a contemptuous snort, Wen Ruoyi raised her eyebrows. "A little girl like you is quite sensible, but… do you think it's enough for you to just apologize? Hm?"
Tang Xiaoxiao lowered her eyes. "Sister Wen, it's not your first day in the entertainment industry and I'm sure that you can understand this kind of thing. This matter is not done by our Shanshan on purpose, but the director chose her. This kind of thing should be normal in the entertainment industry. It's not necessary for any actor to be treated like this just because he was chosen by the director, right?"