After being publicly humiliated by Mu Chen, Su Qiao had expected Bai Meixin to stop acting up, at least for a couple of days. But clearly, the universe had other plans in store for her.
Bai Meixin didn't act up the way cannon fodder in all the novels Su Qiao was admittedly starting to become addicted to did. What she was capable of was far, far worse. Su Qiao had to spend hours redoing takes with her, watching her cry whenever she made mistakes before going off to have long, thoughtful discussions with the director that would help her to improve. She would then become such an expert at that one thing she'd corrected and Su Qiao would be able to finally get the scene over and done with…
Until Bai Meixin made another error again. Rinse, wash, repeat. If this were any other director, Su Qiao was certain that Bai Meixin would have been replaced by now. The amount of footage that was being wasted wasn't a joke. Director Ma was either the most patient soul known to mankind, who was just one step away from attaining enlightenment or Su Qiao's messing with the plotline turned him from a strict taskmaster into this benign mentor figure.
She'd worked with Director Ma for almost four months on the previous set of 'Diamond in the Rough'. She knew he was the farthest thing from patient.
Great. The plot had changed again. Last time, because Bai Meixin hadn't been here, Director Ma had been a stern and unrelenting perfectionist. Now that Bai Meixin was the one making all the dumb mistakes, he had morphed into a forgiving teacher who was happy to guide her repeatedly. This wasn't even the same vibes he'd given off their first day of filming.
Was this the effect of Bai Meixin's protagonist halo? She had seen it working on some of the other crew members too. Just earlier this morning, Bai Meixin had forgotten to inform Wardrobe of a last-minute schedule change that Director Ma had told her about. As a result, she'd been fitted into the wrong costume and wasted a precious half an hour. But instead of scolding her, everyone had waved it off as a rookie mistake.
A rookie mistake? Su Qiao wanted to laugh. It was precisely rookies who got scolded for rubbish like that. And this wasn't a rookie mistake, this was sheer carelessness.
The only thing that surprised her was that Mu Chen seemed immune to Bai Meixin's charms. Although Bai Meixin had approached him multiple times to try and talk to him, he was indifferent to all her attempts unless she asked him an actual question about acting.
Even then, if the question was a stupid one, he would make it obvious to her with a sarcasm that Su Qiao wouldn't like to be on the receiving end of.
"You're not worried that people will accuse you of bullying a newbie?" she jokingly asked once, after Bai Meixin fled in near tears and a couple of crew members shot disapproving looks their way.
But Mu Chen remained unperturbed. He returned the side-glances he was receiving and they quickly disappeared. "So what if I am?" he asked. He was still polite when talking to Su Qiao but they had dispensed with the formalities by now. Su Qiao felt like this could potentially be the start of a great friendship. She wasn't so arrogant as to think that Mu Chen might be interested in her, especially since he didn't give off any such vibes. So the only explanation she could come up with for why he took her side since day one was that they were similar types of people.
Birds of a feather and all that jazz.
"Film Emperor Mu isn't worried about his reputation?"
Mu Chen let out a quiet laugh. "As long as I don't commit any crimes or conduct myself despicably, I'll be forgiven. A film emperor who doesn't want to assist a newbie with her incessant questions isn't bullying, it's having better things to do than dole out charity." He gave her a pointed look. "If you still don't know what the industry is like, it's time to learn if you want to stay in this for the long haul."
He was right. Su Qiao did know what the industry was like. The higher you climb the further the fall but also the more leeway you had for mistakes. Mu Chen fell into what was termed the 'acting skill category', which meant that he didn't rely on his face or looks for fame. Of course, he attracted his fair share of those too, but unlike young fresh meat, these 'girlfriend' and 'wife' stans couldn't make or break his career. Instead, he had a solid loyal fan base that appreciated his acting and would watch any show of his insofar as he continued to produce good quality films.
Su Qiao was envious. She wanted to be him. Right now, she was in the middle of the ladder. Not right at the bottom, where everyone could grind her into the dirt with their heels, but also not high enough where she could take a knock or two without repercussions.
"You don't find her attractive?" she asked suddenly. It wasn't the wisest, broaching a sensitive subject like that, but somehow she felt like Mu Chen wouldn't take offence, just like how she felt that he would trust her not to be recording his answers in secret to sell to the media.
He raised an eyebrow. "Is she meant to be?"
Su Qiao looked at Bai Meixin, who was now being comforted in a corner by Xue Junxie and her manager. She used her chin to indicate the small commotion. "Even our dashing young supporting lead seems very taken with her, how come you're immune? I assumed she was everyone's type."
That was the way Bai Meixin was written to be, after all.
An amused glint shone in Mu Chen's eyes like he was recalling something funny. Su Qiao wasn't sure what this could be and it didn't seem like he was about to share either.
"Not everyone," he said.
——————————
"Ma, I'm really fine."
On the other end of the line, her mother started nagging again about putting some ice on her eyelids to reduce the puffiness. Bai Meixin smiled at her fondly and nodded, rising from the bed to head over to the mini-bar to retrieve the small packet of ice her assistant had left in there.
Just for her to have with her drinks if she wanted.
This was a life of luxury that Bai Meixin had never thought she would ever have. For as long as she knew, her mother and she grew up in a difficult situation and she had never known who her father was until recently. At first, she had resented her father for not being there for the both of them in times of hardship, but she soon learnt that it was because he had been separated from his true love by his family!
After her parents had told her this, Bai Meixin could only be touched that he came back to find them so that they could be reunited once more. And now that her dream career had finally taken flight too, her life had never been happier!
Bai Meixin was going to work hard to protect her loved ones and her aspirations!
She sighed. If only her big sister saw things her way too.
"Ma," she said hesitantly, tears beading at the corner of her eyes when she thought about the cruel, dismissive way Su Qiao called her 'Ms Bai'. Every time she did, it was like a slap across the face, a blatant refusal to acknowledge this little sister of hers. "I've tried talking to Big Sister but I think she's still unable to accept me…"
Her mother made an irritated sound. "That girl is completely out of control," she complained. "Causing so much trouble and then blocking everyone in the family from contacting her, does she truly think that she wouldn't be disowned?"
Bai Meixin's eyes widened. "D-disowned?" She might not get along with Su Qiao but this wasn't what she wanted! Why couldn't Su Qiao just realise that she wasn't the enemy? They were blood-related sisters, even though Bai Meixin had been told that she couldn't let Su Qiao discover this yet, had to give her more time to come to terms with her mother's death.
Bai Meixin wasn't so naive that she didn't know what this meant. She knew that her father had been unfaithful once before, in the heat of the moment, and that she was the result of this. She felt bad for Su Qiao and the auntie she'd never met before, but was it entirely her father's fault? All he did was love another woman, whom he had intended to marry at first!
Even if her father couldn't love Su Qiao as much as he loved his real family, Su Qiao still had a duty to be a filial daughter because she was raised by him. Bai Meixin didn't like the terse environment that permeated the house every time she went home now. She'd thought that if she could improve her relationship with Su Qiao while working on this set, then things would become all right again.
But Su Qiao was being so stubborn. Bai Meixin shook her head sadly. If only Su Qiao could see that she was the one who was mistreating her family, not the other way around. And even Big Brother Lin, who had been so tolerant with her young mistress temper…
At the thought of Big Brother Lin, Bai Meixin couldn't hide the blush that came onto her cheeks. This earned her a round of teasing from her mother, who had eagle-eyes.
"Are you thinking about your Big Brother Lin again?" her mother asked with a knowing smile.
Bai Meixin shook her head furiously, pressing her hands to her face to try and cool it down. "I'm not!" she protested shyly but the bright sparkle in her eyes gave her away. "I—I'm merely really grateful for all the help that he's given me." He was such a good person, she didn't understand how Su Qiao could toss him aside just like that. Perhaps Su Qiao had another person in mind?
That was so fickle! If that was the truth, then Bai Meixin wasn't going to forgive her. Su Qiao would no longer have any moral high ground to stand on when it came to their family too.
If Big Brother Lin had been engaged to her instead, she would never…
"Why don't you text him and offer to let him visit you on set?" Her mother's suggestion was so casual that Bai Meixin didn't think anything untoward about it. It sounded like a good plan. She had been working so hard lately to improve and it was only right to let Big Brother Lin, who had assisted her so much, know that she was doing well.
And if she secretly wanted to see him, well. No one would have to know. It wasn't like what Su Qiao implied, Bai Meixin wasn't so cheap as to steal her big sister's fiancé! If—if Big Brother Lin did have those inclinations towards her, she would be very troubled indeed…