For some stupid reason, Linda Ling felt the need to gloat over her stepsister, Lily Ling, when she arrived on Royston Tan's set.
"Heh," she smirked when she caught sight of Lily. "Dear sister…did you know?"
"Know what?" Lily asked disinterestedly. Linda scowled, but brightened up because she was certain she held the upper hand.
"Brother-in-law was very kind to me. I just went to see him in his office yesterday and he agreed to my request." Linda puffed out her chest. "He helped me get a role in this movie. Even spoke to Royston Tan directly for this."
"Oh, yeah. He told me." On the surface, Lily looked unmoved, but inwardly she was thoroughly amused. She had to exert every ounce of strength she had to suppress her laughter. However, outwardly she maintained her pursed lips. "I hope you can cooperate with the other actresses and actors here."
"Hmph. You don't have to worry about that." Linda folded her arms. "I'm a professional. I know what to do. You should be worrying more about yourself, dear sister. You're new to the business, after all."
"I will do my best." Lily somehow managed to maintain her straight face despite wanting to burst out laughing. For one thing, I had already informed her of my plans. Why wouldn't I? This wasn't a stupid CEO story where the main characters kept secrets from each other and always had miscommunications just so that they could artificially create drama (I was sick of reading such nonsense). For another, Lily couldn't stop snorting at the irony. Linda was far from being a "professional" actress. She relied on connections and seducing agents and directors to snatch a role.
And Linda had tried to do the same yesterday, attempting to run into my arms. If I hadn't dodged and tripped her, she might have pulled off the embracing stunt. As it was, she was a terrible actress. She couldn't even hide her emotions properly and was always messing up at scenes. That was why she only ever received supporting roles, relegated to the background. Simply because she couldn't act at all. And when she did, she needed a lot of takes.
But Lily was looking forward to the rude shock that Linda would be receiving later today…
"And…action!"
At Royston Tan's command, the actors took their place. Linda swaggered into the room, approaching the main actor. Royston Tan was taking on the main role, playing the part of the protagonist who had returned after several years, only to see his coastal village demolished so that the government could build the dam at the Three Gorges River.
He was apparently looking for his old lover, but Linda was supposed to be a stalker who followed him all the way from the city. She was also a city official who cruelly taunted the villagers and forcibly evicted them from their residences, bringing demolition crews and gangs to intimidate them.
Now she was striding forward, hands on her hips as she arrogantly sneered on the "lesser" villagers before her. At least she could play the part of an arrogant bitch well. It suited her the best (and we all knew she couldn't properly act in other roles). She was a natural.
"Destroy them! And drive them out of their homes!" she proclaimed proudly, pointing accusingly at Royston Tan and the supporting crew.
One of the actresses who played the many villagers for this scene walked up to her fiercely. She was an elderly lady, in her middle ages and a bit of the plump side. She held a stick – the villagers had armed themselves with pieces of debris, broken pipes and all the other stuff. Waddling forward, she slapped Linda Ling hard. Such was the power behind the blow that Linda crashed onto the ground. She stared up in shock, holding her reddened cheek gingerly.
"What's that for!?" she shouted, outraged.
"CUT!" Royston Tan bellowed. He strode over, looking annoyed. "Linda Ling, did you forget your lines?!"
"B…but…she's not supposed to slap me! This wasn't in the script…!" Linda Ling spluttered, only to make Royston Tan more furious.
"What do you mean it's not in the script!? Did you not read the script?! I literally said that you'll be attacked in this scene! Your response shouldn't be 'what's that for?!'! You're supposed to take command of the demolition crews and set them on the villagers! This is supposed to lead to the riot!"
"But…but she didn't have to slap me so hard…"
"What are you, a pussy? This is a riot scene! Of course it'll be filled with violence!"
Linda Ling turned pale, a reaction that wasn't lost on Royston Tan. He narrowed his eyes.
"If you can't handle it, then we'll get another actress to replace you. And to think you desperately begged the president for a role…"
"No! No, I'll do it!" Linda Ling got to her feet unsteadily. A fierce glow shone in her eyes. "I can do this! It's not a problem."
"Good. Then we'll do this take again. Everyone, get to your positions!"
They did so, only for the middle-aged lady to slap Linda Ling so hard that she crashed onto the ground. Once again, Linda Ling was slow to react. She bristled.
"You…you…!" she spluttered. "You meant to hit me for real!"
"CUT!" Royston Tan bellowed again. He shook his head, disgusted. "Did you forget your bloody lines? I literally just told you in the last take that you're supposed to order the demolition crews to attack! Why are you whining about getting hit instead? Do you really want to do this properly or not?"
"No, that's…that's…! But…but that lady really hit me!"
"How else is she supposed to hit you? It's a slapping scene! Deal with it!"
"What?! She's not supposed to really hit me…"
"Huh? If she fakes the slap, then this scene wouldn't look genuine! What the hell are you talking about? Do you know how to act?"
"Sister, didn't you say you are a professional actress?" Lily folded her arms, watching from the side. She had yet to step onto the stage yet because this wasn't her scene. But earlier, she had already acted without any retakes.
Royston Tan had praised her for her acting, especially when she glided across the shore of the Three Gorges River, looking pensive. Her movements were smooth and expression appropriate.
"I need her to act like a ghost, sort of like an intangible memory," he had said.
Lily had fulfilled that request, dressed in a white dress and moving in an almost phantom manner across the coast. Her sad expression seemed genuine, and several of the studio hands were moved to tears when filming her. Evidently Lily Ling had learned from Lily Bai with regards to acting. Even though Lily Ling had received no formal training in performing, she had gained the memories and skills of Lily Bai. It was sort of weird, but hey, this was how CEO romance stories worked. Especially those that involved reincarnation or rebirth in someone else's body.
Wait, what? No, that wasn't how it worked. Usually Lily Bai should have permanently taken over Lily Ling's body and lived happily ever after, but she was exorcized. Whatever. I didn't know what was going on anymore. At least my proton packs were selling pretty well to the Daoist Alliance.
What mattered right now was how everyone praised Lily Ling for her skills in acting and her professionalism. Even Royston Tan complimented her.
"You're among the best actresses I've worked with," he had declared, much to Linda Ling's fury. Of course, the wicked stepsister was determined to usurp Lily with her own performance, but reality never went as planned.
Back to the present, Linda Ling was shrinking back as she glared at Lily, still clutching her swollen cheek. She gritted her teeth.
"I'm better than you!" she snarled.
"You still have the cheek to say that?!" Royston Tan roared. "Lily didn't have any retakes at all. Her acting was much better than you!"
"How shameless."
"Yeah, we all literally witnessed how moving Lily's performance was."
"If I were her, I would be embarrassed to death. How can she claim that she's better than Lily?"
"Wow…I heard that the sisters had a bad relationship, but I didn't know just how terrible. But now I can see clearly that the rumors are true, that Linda Ling has always been bullying Lily."
"Shut up!" Linda shrieked. Royston Tan turned silent, but his eyes remained stern. He regarded her darkly.
"If you aren't happy with this, then you are free to leave. We'll find another actress." He then turned to Lily. "Perhaps you can show her how it's done. We'll use makeup to make you look like another person. Also, change the clothing."
"Sure." Lily didn't hesitate. "I will do it."
Within just a few minutes, Lily was done, looking like almost a different person altogether thanks to the efforts of the makeup artists and wardrobe handlers. She sashayed arrogantly, a smirk on her pretty face as she pointed at the villagers.
"Destroy them! And drive them out of their homes!"
The middle-aged lady waddled and slapped Lily. There was a crack, and Lily staggered, but she didn't flinch. Instead, she shoved the middle-aged lay back, swinging her arm as she shrieked.
"Get them! Beat them up! Don't allow a single one of them get away!"
"You heard the boss lady!" The demolition crew relished their job and they surged forward, bringing their tools to bear. The villagers charged forward as well, yelling as they brandished their pipes and debris.
They collided in a chaotic mess, exchanging blows and stuff. Eventually, the demolition crews were driven off, with Lily waving a fist at the villagers.
"Don't think this is over!" she shouted, waving a hand at them, blood streaming from her face. "We will be back!"
"No, you won't!" the middle-aged woman shouted defiantly, also looking bruised from the fight. "Don't you come back!"
"No one can defy the government!" Lily snapped back. "You will see!"
And with that, Royston wrapped up the scene. "Excellent! Excellent!" He was clapping his hands and praising his actors. "That was a job well done! Great work, everyone! On to the next scene!"
Then he paused before turning to Linda Ling, his face cold.
"We don't need you anymore. Your sister can take over your role. She does it way better than you. Pack up your things and leave."
"No…no way…!" Linda Ling sank to her knees, despair taking over. "Impossible!"
While she was on the ground, nobody paid her any attention, exchanging delightful remarks as they moved onto the next scene.