Recently, besides scrubbing toilets, Xiao Liu has been focusing on self-improvement and enriching his soul. Following Supervisor Xiao Zhang's suggestion, he has deeply studied a lot of theoretical knowledge on workplace cunning and strategy. According to the guidance of workplace cunning, Cousin's current approach is highly inappropriate. If he wants to target Luo Mingqing, he should do it himself. Why involve Li Ling and put her in a difficult position? Kind-hearted and compassionate Xiao Liu decided to generously sacrifice himself. He bent down like a grand eunuch and proactively picked up the Strawberry Bear slippers. He looked up and winked at Li Ling, signaling that she didn't need to thank him for his great kindness. Li Ling smiled back at him and said, "Thank you." Without a moment's hesitation, she picked up the slippers and threw them out again. Xiao Liu: ? The cute Strawberry Bear slippers hit Luo Mingqing's calf with a swift and precise "smack." Li Ling said exaggeratedly, "Oh dear, how did they fall again?" Xiao Liu was shocked. He couldn't understand why someone would deliberately court death and suspected she might have a mental problem. Unexpectedly, Luo Mingqing had even more of a mental problem. He smiled very forgivingly, bent down, picked up the fluffy slippers, and handed them to Li Ling. "Do you need my help, sister?" he asked gently, looking up at her. He deliberately leaned in close, lowering the last two syllables so only she could hear. Li Ling stared at his handsome face, feeling waves of nausea in her stomach. But she boldly straightened her foot and said with a smile, "Mr. Luo, your service awareness is so strong? Alright then." Her white arch, like the trembling tail of a mermaid, leaped over the waves beneath her skirt. Luo Mingqing knelt on one knee, head bowed, as if to kiss the top of her foot. He didn't do that. His movements were very gentlemanly, gently helping her put on the slippers. This was already quite shocking. In front of everyone, the big star humbly performed such a humiliating act, yet seemed to enjoy it. Everyone on set stared dumbfounded at this scene, their eyes practically falling out. Xiao Liu also got goosebumps and couldn't help but complain to the person next to him, "Is he crazy, thinking he's in a romance drama?" Turning his head, he found the female intern beside him blushing. Damn, what the hell. Xiao Liu looked back and forth, his head turning faster than a three-speed fan, suddenly feeling enlightened: Li Ling might really be a die-hard fan of Cousin. Otherwise, why would she willingly do such a disgusting thing to help Cousin humiliate Luo Mingqing? Charging into battle for her idol, truly worthy of a fan! He silently gave her a thumbs-up in his heart. Li Ling's feelings were also complicated, suspecting Luo Mingqing had hit his head. She had deliberately said something disgusting to provoke him, not expecting him to not only not get angry but actually comply. Moreover, after doing all this, he still didn't intend to get up, squatting by the wheelchair, looking at her very gently: "Don't you like the birthday cake?" Li Ling feigned ignorance, widening her eyes: "What birthday cake?" Luo Mingqing said, "Yesterday was your birthday. I bought a cake and left it at your door." He paused, his tone becoming somewhat melancholic: "You threw it away." "Was that a birthday cake?" Li Ling covered her mouth dramatically, "Yesterday someone left an unidentified object at my door. I thought it was a bomb and threw it away." "I'm really sorry." She looked surprised and apologetic, but her eyes were full of gloating laughter. She was already blatantly lying with her eyes wide open, yet Luo Mingqing still wasn't angry at all, his face full of smiles. However, that smile did not reach his eyes; instead, it was like a sharp blade cutting through the winter lake. "Your acting is terrible, sister," he said softly, as if gently complaining, "How did Jin Jingyao take a liking to you?" Li Ling's heart tightened, as if she saw the same sinister look in his dark eyes as she did back then. That shadow quickly dissipated, turning into a false gentleness and calm. Jin Jingyao glanced at his watch: "Have you said enough?" Luo Mingqing smiled: "Sorry, I got caught up reminiscing with an old friend and lost track of time." "I'll go shoot the scene first, and come find you later." He bent down and hugged Li Ling affectionately, "Dear... sister." The hug came unexpectedly, his tone was gentle, but his arms pressed down with the scorching force of red-hot iron. Warm breath brushed her face, and Li Ling smelled a strong perfume. It wasn't the usual cologne for men, but a much sweeter floral and fruity scent. She suddenly missed Jin Jingyao very much. He was always so clean, without any extra scent on him, reminding her of the biting wind and the forest at midnight. Through Luo Mingqing's back, Li Ling unexpectedly made eye contact with Director Jin. He looked at her expressionlessly. For some reason, Li Ling's heart tightened as well. Even though she had been calm no matter what Luo Mingqing said earlier, now she felt a bit guilty. Li Ling instinctively gave Director Jin a bright smile. Then, she seized the opportunity to do something she had wanted to do for many years. She leaned forward slightly and yanked Luo Mingqing's hair hard. Caught off guard, he let out a pained "hiss." She exerted even more force and secretly stomped on his foot. - In any case, meeting Luo Mingqing again was not as Li Ling had imagined. Her impression of him was still that of the chubby little troublemaker from childhood. Now, not only had his appearance changed drastically, but his temperament was also completely different. He had actually learned to call her sister in such a gentle tone. God knows how surprised she was when she heard it. Back then, even if you beat him to death and knocked out all his teeth, you would never hear those two words from his mouth. Imagining Luo Mingqing with his teeth knocked out, Li Ling immediately felt cheerful. She picked up a script from the side to cover her face, planning to take a nap. After all, she had no interest in watching him act. Half asleep, someone suddenly shouted at her fiercely, "Hey!" Li Ling moved the script away from her face and saw Xiao Liu standing in front of her, glaring at her like she was a spy. "Why did Luo Dog just say in front of so many people that you are his friend?" he said, heartbroken, "You didn't betray Cousin, did you?" "Or," he paused for a moment, then said with great difficulty, "is Cousin also part of your play?" Li Ling: "...Brother, let me explain." Xiao Liu kept saying "I don't want to hear it, I don't want to hear it," while quickly grabbing a small plastic stool to sit down. Li Ling: "Your body is very honest." Xiao Liu: "Don't change the subject! Talk seriously!" "It's like this," Li Ling said seriously, "Luo Mingqing used to be my brother." With a "crack," Xiao Liu broke the small plastic stool he was sitting on. Li Ling: ? "Brother, calm down first..." To hear the gossip, Teacher Xiao Liu didn't mind the effort, squatting like a laborer on the ground to listen to the whole thing. "Trash! You've been no good since you were a kid!" The other party cursed indignantly, "Why should you take out the mistakes of the previous generation on yourself!" Li Ling had been nervously observing his reaction and couldn't help but be stunned: "Do you believe me?" Xiao Liu was also surprised as he looked at her: "Otherwise? Do you think you would lie to me?" Li Ling said, "Of course I didn't lie to you, it's just..." It's just that, even many years ago, her father never believed what she said. He would only say to her, "What do kids know? You should give in to him more." Even the person closest to her never believed her. Over time, she stopped talking. She worked hard to escape that cold family. She fled to school, then to He Wei's acting training class. It seemed she never successfully escaped anywhere, always spinning in bad memories. Until now. Xiao Liu: "That's it, I know everything you said is true." Li Ling looked at him, somewhat moved: "Teacher Liu, you're really nice." Xiao Liu suddenly felt a bit embarrassed, avoiding her gaze: "I'm not that nice, I haven't even apologized to you for the audition before..." Li Ling: "It's nothing, if it weren't for you, I might not have even gotten the audition." Xiao Liu said expressionlessly: "Alright, I know I'm a clown." Li Ling: "Pfft." - With the misunderstanding resolved, the two had nothing to do. Li Ling couldn't really go to sleep, so she turned her attention back to the filming set. It was the first time Li Ling saw Jin Jingyao working with other actors. Indeed, in Director Jin's crew, actors had no special privileges. Whether the lead or extras, everyone had to honestly follow the lighting tests and rehearsals on set. There was no way to use a stand-in, let alone sneak off to rest. But he seemed to be too harsh on Luo Mingqing. Luo Mingqing brought his own makeup team, but Jin Jingyao took one look at him and had them remove all his makeup, then had the crew's makeup artist make him look uglier. The big star just stood there on set, but Jin Jingyao deliberately ignored him, treating him like air, constantly holding meetings and testing lights and camera positions with the other main creators. After a while, they still hadn't started filming. He felt the scene layout wasn't good and wanted to change the set and props on the spot. A bunch of things couldn't be moved, and the props team was worried. Jin Jingyao said, "This isn't human." The props team was also fierce, waving at Luo Mingqing, and three big boxes were about to fall on him. Luo Mingqing's agent had been standing by, not daring to speak up out of respect for the big director. But now he couldn't take it anymore, rushing over with a smile: "Director, why don't we try the scene first... Mingqing has been looking forward to working with you and has prepared a lot for this role..." Jin Jingyao impatiently looked at the assistant director: "Why haven't you cleared the set yet?" The assistant director also started smiling apologetically. The agent said good things, and he said ten times more good things. The agent bent over, and he directly knelt down, managing to get the person out. Xiao Liu watched in amazement. So this is what real workplace scheming looks like. "Hehe, this is so satisfying." He was so excited he was almost drooling, "Who would've thought, the great director, playing personal vendettas so skillfully." Li Ling said, "The director is tempering his character." Xiao Liu: "Huh?" "This character needs to be ruthless and bad enough, hating Zhou Jing to death, to be performed well."Liling said, "The director might think that Luo Mingqing's acting isn't good enough, so he deliberately made him angry first." Xiao Liu was stunned: "Is that so?" "Yes," Liling said confidently. "Someone like your cousin, a workaholic who prioritizes movies above all else, wouldn't just pick on an actor for no reason." Xiao Liu was even more stunned and said, "Don't love him too much." Liling looked at him, puzzled: "Short? Oh, one meter sixty-five is not tall. Do you need height insoles..." Xiao Liu was furious but still tearfully added the height insoles Liling recommended to his cart. However, as if to confirm her words, moments later, Jin Jingyao had the assistant director call Luo Mingqing's agent back. In front of the agent, they ran through the scene again. Luo Mingqing's performance was unbearable to watch. It wasn't that he wasn't trying; his attitude was fine, and he had memorized his lines and actions. But his acting was overly formulaic. In short, he had all the common flaws of idol actors, caring only about how he looked on camera and not about the emotions or fitting the character. This style of acting might pass in the soft-focus lens of idol dramas, but on the big screen, it was immediately exposed. Standing next to other actors, it was so out of place it was almost a farce. Luo Mingqing's agent stood to the side, watching the monitor, breaking out in a cold sweat. He wanted to say something nice, but after Jin Jingyao had kicked him out earlier, he had secretly called the producer, Mai Hongcheng, and begged for this chance. Who knew his artist would be so disappointing, making the director's painstaking efforts seem wasted. Jin Jingyao remained the same, expressionless, calmly saying "cut" and "again." He didn't scold or get angry; he was always polite and civilized. But the way he looked at people, it was as if they were the most insignificant trash in the world. The atmosphere on set was suffocating. Every machine, every curtain, every empty seat in the audience seemed to hide a pair of blood-red eyes, silently mocking and judging. A big star like Luo Mingqing had never been so humiliated. First, he was punished to stand, and now he was being publicly shamed. After many takes, Luo Mingqing's performance got worse and worse, even worse than the beginning, making all sorts of basic mistakes. Xiao Liu clicked his tongue: "What kind of acting is this? I could do better." Liling stared at the monitor and said, "He's lost his confidence. The more he acts, the less confident he becomes. But this character is supposed to be an arrogant young master, so acting with suppressed anger is better. The director's original idea was right." Xiao Liu looked at her in surprise: "How do you know so much?" Liling hurriedly explained, afraid of being misunderstood: "It has nothing to do with Luo Mingqing. I read the script many times and am familiar with every character." Xiao Liu's eyes lit up: "Do you remember the lines for this scene?" Liling said, "More or less." Xiao Liu let out a strange laugh: "Then we have a solution." Liling saw his strange expression and felt he must have come up with some bad idea. But he acted mysteriously, and it wasn't until the latest take ended miserably that he jumped onto the stage and whispered his plan into the director's ear with a mischievous grin. Jin Jingyao nodded and turned to Liling: "Come here." Liling had a bad feeling and pushed her wheelchair back: "Director, what do you want me to do..." Jin Jingyao said emotionlessly, "You act it out once, to show him." Liling: ? Are you crazy? She swallowed and said, "He and I are different genders, besides, I'm still a disabled person..." So weak, pitiful, and helpless. Jin Jingyao looked at her and smiled, suddenly saying, "Do you really not want to?" Originally, Li Ling would never have agreed to such an unreliable proposal. But for some reason, at that moment, looking into his eyes, she thought of the way Jin Jingyao looked at her when Luo Mingqing was holding her. A torrent surged towards her, sweeping away the ground beneath her feet. His voice resonated deep within her. She wanted to. - It was just a screen test, no need for makeup or costumes. But the equipment was still set up, and the process was no different from an official shoot. The clapperboard snapped, and Li Ling, sitting in her wheelchair, was slowly pushed in front of Jin Jingyao by the extras. Luo Mingqing's agent initially looked very disdainful, muttering under his breath, "You can't just call anyone over..." As soon as the scene started, he shut up. They hadn't rehearsed the blocking, but Li Ling's wheelchair moved with precise accuracy, not a millimeter off. She was very skilled. The script required Luo Mingqing's character to bend down and lift Jin Jingyao's chin with his hand. Sitting in the wheelchair, bending down didn't look good. But her ability to adapt was strong, and she immediately made a more dramatically tense move. She leaned slightly, using the tip of her shoe to lift Jin Jingyao's chin, smiling as she said, "Zhou Jing, why be so stubborn?" It was still the same face, with delicate features and slender eyebrows. But in Li Ling's dark eyes, there was a sediment of almost innocent evil. She got into character so quickly. Without reading the script, without any preparation, and without any makeup or costume embellishments. Her eyes and brows were filled with dark malice. The plainer the face, the more shockingly evil it appeared. Zhou Jing had just been beaten, lying on the ground with his face turned to the side, breathing heavily, blood sliding from his forehead past his eyes. He struggled to lift his head, their eyes meeting. Jin Jingyao stared at her intently, a ferocity in his eyes. The blood on his face, like a bright red curse, imprinted itself into her pupils bit by bit. Luo Mingqing's agent was in disbelief. He was certain that when the director had acted with his artist earlier, although the performance was flawless, it was nowhere near as immersive as it was now. Good actors enhance each other, turning the set into a battlefield. Director Jin's eyes at this moment were not only fierce but also carried a nearly naked, bloody desire. Xiao Liu watched for a while, equally incredulous. What kind of play are these two doing?