Acting Spoiled and Arrogant [Rebirth] - Chapter 8

Praising a junior too much is meaningless; after all, the actual filming hadn’t even begun, so the pleasantries were better left at that.

Zuo Xian was not someone without discernment. She knew that while her acting had certainly impressed Director Jiang, and the incident earlier had earned her a wave of goodwill, Director Jiang’s praise was largely out of respect for Lu Xingxian—after all, Lu Xingxian had been the one suddenly acting opposite her.

Thus, Zuo Xian said with a smile, “I’ll leave you two to chat.”

Jiang Minrui gave Zuo Xian an extra glance; she was quite sensible. He had been trying to persuade Lu Xingxian to take a supporting role in this drama for ages, wearing his tongue out to no avail!

Zuo Xian secretly stuck out her tongue and winked at Lu Xingxian when no one was looking. Then, gathering her palace skirts, she jogged away.

However, as she passed the waiting area and saw that woman—whose name she didn’t even know—crying piteously while being comforted by a crowd, her mouth twitched. Those who had been rejected were all girls of a similar age, and they were quickly forming an alliance around the sobbing girl.

Seeing Zuo Xian approach, a blunt-tempered girl stood up immediately, acting as if Zuo Xian were some kind of heinous villain. She spread her arms to shield the person behind her and shouted, “What else do you want?! You think you can bully people just because you have a backer? Jiayi’s face is swollen because of you! First, you stole her makeup artist, then you slapped her! With so many people here, do you really think you can start a fight?!”

Zuo Xian’s eyes widened in shock.

After a moment, she looked at the person huddled in the center, leaning on someone’s shoulder and dabbing at tears. Zuo Xian smirked as she finally remembered who it was. “If you could apply this acting talent to the right path,” she said regretfully, “you might actually make something of yourself.”

With that, Zuo Xian walked away without looking back.

She had experienced plenty of this in her past life. Climbing out of the mud to eventually become Best Actress wasn’t easy for anyone. But looking back after a lifetime, she only found this kind of drama hilarious.

It was like an adult watching a group of six-year-olds using malicious words they didn’t even fully understand to speculate about others—a meaningless, childish, and clumsy argument.

Xu Hui, who had silently recorded the entire thing on his phone, finally pressed the stop button.

As he passed the group of girls who were still spewing venomous speculations about Zuo Xian, he couldn’t help but frown. He quickened his pace, unwilling to listen to any more of those toxic words.

For small supporting roles without any “status,” an audition was like buying cabbage at a market; managers weren’t even allowed inside.

When Chen Shuang saw Zuo Xian coming out in her regular clothes, she rushed forward anxiously. “How was it? How did it go?”

Zuo Xian shook her head in silence.

Even though Chen Shuang had expected this result, her heart sank for a moment. But in the next second, she gathered her energy, fulfilling her duty as a manager to comfort the young girl. “It’s okay. If this one is gone, we’ll find the next one. Just wait for your Sister Shuang…”

“Sigh,” Zuo Xian interrupted Chen Shuang, looking mournful. “Sister Shuang, I accidentally landed the role. What should I do…”

Chen Shuang didn’t register the words at first. She was busy draping a coat over Zuo Xian, muttering to herself, “It’s fine, it’s fine. I’m here. It’s just one role we didn’t land…”

Chen Shuang repeated “landed the role” to herself a few times. By the time it finally clicked, Zuo Xian had already climbed into the back of the van and was hugging an electric hot water bag to keep warm.

Seeing Zuo Xian’s grinning face, Chen Shuang finally suppressed the excitement in her heart. “Good job! Xianxian, if you can successfully land this role, the road ahead will be smooth!”

Seeing Chen Shuang so full of drive made Zuo Xian very happy. She looked at the manager who had stayed with her until the very end in her previous life and smiled. “Yes.”

Back at her own apartment, Zuo Xian took another look around.

In her past life, she had sold this city-center apartment at a low price for Lin Weiqi’s sake, just to get a large sum of cash quickly. This two-bedroom apartment wasn’t huge, but the location was top-tier. In the coming years, due to the construction of several nearby subway stations, property prices here would skyrocket, making many people a fortune.

The interior was filled with the warm atmosphere of home—the most familiar sight in Zuo Xian’s memory. She looked around slowly and, following her memory, found a simple household first-aid kit.

Before she could even set the kit on the table, the doorbell rang.

Zuo Xian was startled. It was getting late; who would be coming at this hour? She went to the door and looked through the peephole. To her delight, Lu Xingxian was standing outside.

Zuo Xian’s eyes crinkled into a smile instantly. she threw the door open and pounced on her happily. “Axian? Why are you here?”

Lu Xingxian caught the girl in her arms. Just as she was about to speak, a suppressed cough came from nearby.

Zuo Xian scrambled out of Lu Xingxian’s arms and looked to the side. Her face flushed red, and she stood up straight, calling out awkwardly, “Dad…”

Zuo Cheng宏 had a very serious, square face. At forty, he was in the prime of his life. He looked at the two girls who had just separated but were still practically glued together, smiled, and said, “Don’t be all clingy at the door. Get inside. Leave the door ajar; your mother is downstairs buying milk for you.”

Zuo Xian’s eyes lit up. “Mom is here too?”

Zuo Chenghong gave her a strange look and nodded. “Girl, did you forget what day it is?”

What day?

Zuo Xian blinked and turned to Lu Xingxian for confirmation.

Lu Xingxian smiled slightly, handed a gift to Zuo Xian, and whispered, “Xianxian, happy nineteenth birthday.”

—Zuo Xian finally remembered! Today was her nineteenth birthday!

She accepted the gift and watched as Lu Xingxian helped Zuo Chenghong carry things into the house. She followed them around like a little tail, not even opening her gift yet. “Axian, Axian, Axian, what did you get me?”

Lu Xingxian wouldn’t say.

The Zuo family had a small tradition: if a girl was having a birthday, she had to wait until after the candles were blown out to open gifts from guests and friends. This way, the luck of the gifts would be passed on to her. Zuo Xian had followed this for years, but she was still dying of curiosity.

“Go play somewhere else,” Zuo Chenghong said, carrying several bags of groceries.

Zuo Xian’s kitchen was a relatively modern open-plan style with a bar counter that could serve as a dining or drinking table. But being traditional, the Zuos still used a proper dining table. Zuo Xian wasn’t much of a cook, and the ingredients were difficult to prep, so Zuo Chenghong didn’t ask for help. He just told Zuo Xian to take Lu Xingxian inside.

Zuo Xian was happy to oblige. Once in her room, and before her mother returned, she carefully brought the first-aid kit in.

Lu Xingxian was indeed waiting for her. As Zuo Xian shut the door, Lu Xingxian gently took her wrist and sat her down on the bed. “Where are you hurt? Let me see.”

Zuo Xian’s heart warmed. She obediently held out her hands. “My hands got scratched, but they’re just minor injuries. It’s nothing.”

Lu Xingxian fell silent for a moment, as if wanting to say something but holding back. She quietly opened the kit, dipped a swab in iodine, and gently dabbed Zuo Xian’s scratches, blowing on them softly as she worked. These red marks on such snow-white skin… they looked like an eyesore no matter how she looked at them.

Zuo Xian smiled, thoroughly enjoying the feeling of being cared for by Lu Xingxian.

“What exactly happened today?” Once the disinfection was done, Lu Xingxian found two discreet band-aids to cover the wounds.

Zuo Xian curled her lip and shook her head. “It was nothing. I’m used to it.”

It was just a group of girls who were jealous of others because their own skills weren’t up to par. It wasn’t worth dwelling on. However, seeing Lu Xingxian’s worried but hesitant expression, Zuo Xian decided to recount the highlights of the day’s events.

Then, she said with a grin, “So, am I amazing or what?”

“You’re a reckless one,” Lu Xingxian shook her head. “If she dared to confront you, she must have a backup plan. Be careful not to let her turn the tables on you.” As she spoke, Lu Xingxian frowned, quickly going over the people on set that day in her mind and locking onto a few suspects.

Zuo Xian laughed. ” I’m not stupid. I saw someone recording nearby. Besides, there were so many people at the audition, cameras everywhere, and several behind-the-scenes directors. The ‘making-of’ footage will be edited in later. Even if she gets someone to maliciously edit a video, I won’t just sit back and be bullied.”

Lu Xingxian studied Zuo Xian’s proud demeanor. Looking into the girl’s bright, shining eyes, she finally let out a slow smile. “You…”

Zuo Xian froze. Lu Xingxian didn’t smile very often, but in private, she acted more like an elder; even when she did smile, it was usually polite and distant. A genuine, heartfelt smile was rare.

Zuo Xian’s finger gently touched Lu Xingxian’s face, applying a tiny bit of pressure to pull her cheeks into a wider smile. She tilted her head and mumbled, “Axian, smile again…”

Lu Xingxian: “…”

Lu Xingxian didn’t join in her nonsense. Hearing the sound of the door lock, she patted Zuo Xian’s hand away and went out.

Zuo Xian shrugged regretfully and tidied up her room, only to hear the phone on the table vibrate. She saw it was Chen Shuang and answered.

Chen Shuang’s voice sounded panicked. “Xianxian, have you been on Weibo lately?”

Zuo Xian put it on speaker and set the phone on the table while opening the app. “No, why?”

Chen Shuang seemed to be struggling for words, but before she could speak, Zuo Xian saw it. She paused and rolled her eyes. “I see it.”

Her Weibo, which usually had no new messages, was suddenly flooded with 999+ mentions and comments. Zuo Xian patiently clicked through and realized what was going on.

She scratched her head, and just as she was about to say something to Chen Shuang, she heard Zuo Chenghong calling her to help wash the vegetables.

“Sister Shuang, don’t worry about this for now,” Zuo Xian said to the phone. “I have to go help my dad wash vegetables.”

With that, she hung up.

On the other end, Chen Shuang, who was frantically flipping through her contacts to find a PR team: “…”

Wash vegetables?

At a time like this, she’s going to wash vegetables?!

Author’s Note:

The female lead is very mischievous!