Li Zhen drove for more than three hours before they arrived on set.
It was once again the old village, surrounded by greenery. Other than the wooden houses with red pillars and cornices, there were only a bunch of mosquitoes, looking for their targets.
The moment Song Qingli got out of the car, she looked around and saw that there were only production crews busy rummaging around and there were no other actors present.
Li Zhen took out her phone. She was planning to book a hotel room for the both of them, before bringing her artist onto the set.
Song Qingli stretched her neck and moved closer. She grinned. "Sister Li, are there any hotels nearby?"
"There are no hotels here. We'll be staying in a homestay."
"Then, which homestay is Xiao Yi staying at?"
Li Zhen peered at her and Song Qingli was so scared that she stiffened her neck and shut her mouth. She pouted her lips and thought to herself, 'If you didn't want to say, then so be it. Once she arrived at the scene, she could just casually ask anyone and they would definitely tell her.'
Song Qingli carried her luggage alone and followed behind Li Zhen. She was wearing a hat and sunglasses, looking more like Li Zhen's assistant than an actor.
Since the crew was filming here, the homestays in the ancient village were mostly packed. If it weren't for Li Zhen's friends, they would still be stranded on the streets.
"There's a shortage of rooms in the homestays. So, I'll be sharing one room with you." Li Zhen's luggage was very simple as she only had a small bag. They were filled with documents unlike Song Qingli, whose entire luggage was filled with clothes and makeup.
The young girl admired a strong woman like Li Zhen from the bottom of her heart. Li Zhen was efficient, successful, and well-respected.
This was also the reason why Song Qingli didn't dare to retaliate against Li Zhen when she was used to rebutting everyone else.
"Sister Li, how long do you usually work in a day?"
"About ten hours."
"Don't you get tired?"
Li Zhen stopped what she was doing and looked at Song Qingli's coy and slightly seductive face. "In this industry, there are always others who are more tired than you but they are still working hard. However, there are also those who are born to succeed without using too much effort."
Song Qingli had learned her lesson and she did not answer Li Zhen. She only stared at Li Zhen with her eyes wide open. This manager of hers never had nice things coming out of her mouth and Song Qingli had already experienced it previously.
The woman sneered and pinched Song Qingli's chin. "For example, beautiful women like you,"
The young girl's hair stood on its end. She pushed Li Zhen's hand away and immediately jumped up from the bed. Song Qingli understood what Li Zhen meant. In this industry, most of them who got to the top with their looks had crawled into the beds with the directors and producers.
She disdained those who tried to use the easy way out and she hated those who got themselves involved in such dirty matters.
Song Qingli quickly changed into a fresh set of clothes and put on a mask and a hat. "Sister Li, let's go to the set."
Li Zhen crossed her arms and tilted her head back as she looked at Song Qingli's enthusiasm. The corners of her mouth curled up into a faint smile. "Xiao Yi is also staying here. I'm not telling you this so that you can do things that are out of line but because I don't want you to do anything crazy. You're an actor now, not Xiao Yi's fan."
"I understand." There were fireworks set off in Song Qingli's heart. Her eyes lit up brightly and she was nodding her head like a pestle pounding garlic.
–--
It was a hot summer day and the young girl was already sweating after walking for more than ten minutes from the homestay to where the set was. She fanned herself with her hands and followed behind Li Zhen with a dry mouth. She saw that Li Zhen's back was already completely wet. The woman was only wearing a sun hat and she walked with wide steps without showing any signs of difficulty.
Li Zhen had never been a pretentious person but she had never expected Song Qingli to be such a kind one. She had no idea where Song Qingli found an umbrella but there was one that suddenly covered her head. There was even a cool breeze under the umbrella and turns out, there was a small fan tied onto the pole underneath the umbrella.
The wind was strong enough to blow dry sweat-drenched hair.
"I borrowed it," Song Qingli's eyes curved into crescents as she smiled. She was a little silly. In the morning, she was so afraid of Li Zhen that she tried to hide, but now, she was sticking close to Li Zhen again.
Li Zhen's face was expressionless and she said casually, "Remember to return it later."
As they slowly approached the shooting scene, they could vaguely see the stage assistants who were as busy as bees. There were more than a dozen cameras running and the director was holding a walkie-talkie in front of the monitor to direct the scene.
"Teacher Xiao, good job. This scene isn't too bad but I think you can add some gentleness to it. Although you are the prime celestial, you still have to show that you care for the little girl. When you saw that she got injured, you must first show concern in your eyes, then cover them with calm and hidden affections towards her."
Song Qingli followed closely behind Li Zhen and finally saw the man who was standing in the middle of the stage through the gaps in the crowd. He stood there, tall and slender, looking like a celestial being. After hearing the director's explanation, he immediately adjusted his state of mind.
"Alright, director. Let's do another one."
This time, Xiao Yi descended from the sky, and with a wave of his hand, he used his spiritual energy to push away the little fairy servant who was bullying the female lead. Then, he kneeled beside the female lead. The prime celestial reached out to hold the girl in his arms, who had a mouth full of blood.
"Fu Liu, where are you feeling the pain?" he asked with his eyes filled with concern.
Song Qingli sighed in her heart. Xiao Yi's acting skills were indeed worthy of being known as the best actor.
The camera panned to Su Qinqin. The blood in her mouth looked unnatural and it lacked beauty. There were even bubbles coming from it. Before she could finish her lines, the director shouted, "Cut!"
Song Qingli chuckled softly and Li Zhen immediately shot her a look. "What's wrong? You think your acting skills are better than hers?"
"No, I don't." The girl lowered her head.
"Hmph, it's good that you know your own limits. You can make up for your shortcomings by taking advantage of your strengths."
"Alright," she answered. Song Qingli was like a little quail in front of Li Zhen.
The director angrily walked onto the set, his chest heaving up and down as he put his hands on his hips. "Qinqin, take a look at it on your own. When you are spitting blood out of your mouth, can you stop thinking about how to quickly get it all out of your mouth? Think about how to spit it out beautifully."
"Director, I will do better in the next one. Please don't be angry. Can we do another one?" The young girl looked at the director with her eyes wide open, acting coquettishly and cutely without any scruples.
"Another one? What do you mean by the next one? How many have you already done? Move aside and practice how to spit it out beautifully. The assistants, get ready. We'll shoot the next scene first." The director sighed deeply as he left, shaking his head.
As soon as the director left, the makeup artists immediately surrounded Xiao Yi to fix his makeup. The female lead, Su Qinqin, was standing by the side. She was holding a bag of 'blood' in her hand and her assistant was holding a mirror for her. She was indeed practicing how to vomit blood in one corner of the room.
Li Zhen tilted his head and whispered to Song Qingli. "See that? Those who came here by using dirty tricks will show their true colors when it's time for the real deal. It will delay the progress of the entire production team. Even if you're a famous celebrity, no one will like you for it."
"Sister Li, how did you know that she got in by dirty means?" Song Qingli knew that Su Qinqin didn't have a clean history because of the memories from her past life but how did Sister Li know about this?
Li Zhen glanced at Song Qingli from the corner of her eyes and looked at Qingli as if she was an idiot. "She's just a member of a girl group who only knows how to dance. Anyone with a brain would know that she's not someone clean if she can get a role in such a big production."
Song Qingli suddenly realized that anyone with eyes could see it through. However, if Xiao Yi also saw through Su Qinqin's dirty tricks in her past life, why would he still date her?
What did Su Qinqin do?
Li Zhen elbowed her. "I'm going to find the director. You just stay here and watch them. Don't cause any trouble for me, you hear me?"
The young girl was in a daze for a long time as she stared at the girl who was holding the bag of blood and practicing how to vomit blood.
"Hmph, I'd like to see what skills you have up your sleeves." Song Qingli left the crowd and walked towards Su Qinqin.