After Punching Her Way Through The Entertainment Industry [Ancient-to-Modern] - Chapter 3

“Ah Shi?”

Before they knew it, they had arrived at the door of their home. Seeing Meng Shi lost in thought, Xie Ping called her twice.

“Hmm?”

Only then did Meng Shi come back to her senses. She opened her eyes wide and blinked, forcing back the tears that had welled up. She took out the key, opened the door, and helped Xie Ping onto the sofa.

Her heart felt unbearably heavy, so she did not speak much with Xie Ping.

“You should rest. I’ll be back soon.”

With that, she turned and left.

“Be careful!”

Hearing Xie Ping’s reminder through the closed door, Meng Shi took several deep breaths and forced herself to stop dwelling on the past.

After composing herself, she set off.

…

On the bus, Meng Shi watched the scenery rush past outside the window.

She truly did not want to think about the past anymore, so she took out her phone and began fiddling with it.

This phone…

Hmm…

It was rather frustrating.

It was badly worn, and the screen was shattered. She did not care about that, but…

Why was Yan Qing also her phone wallpaper?!

Why?!

Worse still, Meng Shi had not yet figured out how to change the wallpaper…

She opened the browser and read the news for a while. Although she could not understand much of it, she still needed to familiarize herself with this world.

【Xiyuan Film and Television City】

Meng Shi glanced out the window, quickly put away her phone, and got off the bus.

She had seen this place countless times in the notebooks and wanted to know what kind of magic it possessed that had made the original Meng Shi unable to stop thinking about it.

However, the place was packed with people.

That was not a problem.

The problem was…

It required an entrance ticket.

Meng Shi had not brought any money, nor could she afford a one-hundred-yuan ticket. But she did not want to have come all this way for nothing, so…

She found a deserted corner and climbed over the wall.

…

At the same time, filming was in full swing for Yan Qing’s new production, Princess of the Grasslands.

“Cut.”

Yan Qing stared at the close-up of Fang Ling on the monitor, visibly irritated.

“You still haven’t conveyed Fang Ling’s inner struggle. Your facial expression is also far too stiff. Sadness isn’t something you can express simply by squeezing out two dry tears.”

They had already filmed the scene six times, yet it still had not passed.

There had not even been the slightest improvement. The actress simply could not grasp the role at all.

How had she dared to enter Yan Qing’s production?

Who had let her in?

When everyone saw the director’s expression darken, they immediately moved far away, afraid of being caught in the crossfire.

Yang Man, the young actress playing Fang Ling, barely dared to breathe.

“Sister Qing, why don’t we take a short break and let her adjust?”

At a time like this, only Yan Qing’s assistant, Ye Wei, dared to speak.

Yan Qing glanced at her but said nothing. She turned and walked toward her trailer.

She knew that some newcomers were afraid of her and thought she was too fierce and demanding.

But when she had first started acting, she had endured far worse scoldings than they ever had.

Unlike these little princesses nowadays, who would start sniffling and become emotionally unstable after being criticized a few times.

Yan Qing had only just sat down inside the trailer when Ye Wei followed her in.

“You know my rules for hiring people. What is going on with this girl? With acting this bad, tell me—how did she pass the audition?”

Yan Qing crossed her arms and questioned her.

She had merely been absent on the day of casting. How had they managed to pick such a treasure?

Ye Wei smiled awkwardly.

“Well, she was recommended by the investor. It would have been difficult to reject them outright. I already gave her the role with the least screen time. She only has two scenes, so please bear with it…”

Before Yan Qing could respond, Ye Wei hurriedly continued.

“Although the investor recommended her, her image does suit the younger Fang Ling quite well. She’s also been studying very seriously.”

Yan Qing leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes to rest. She still looked displeased, but she did not say anything else.

Ye Wei understood her rules, and Yan Qing also understood Ye Wei’s intentions.

Ye Wei had been her personal assistant ever since she became famous. She had even followed Yan Qing after she changed careers.

Given Yan Qing’s terrible temper, Ye Wei had helped ward off countless problems over the past decade.

“Do we have a backup candidate?”

“No. She was the only one who came to the audition that day…”

Yan Qing paused, then immediately understood.

“Heh. Impressive. That investor’s reach is certainly long.”

“Sister Qing, please don’t smile like that…”

Whenever Yan Qing wore that skin-deep smile, Ye Wei became frightened.

Yan Qing raised an eyebrow slightly, tossed the long hair beside her ear behind her shoulder, and leaned closer to Ye Wei. The smile at the corners of her lips deepened.

“Sister Qing, just give me your orders!”

Ye Wei felt as though she were sitting on pins and needles.

“First, clean out every rotten apple in the production team. Second, I will not tolerate anyone using the back door again. Even if it’s your own daughter, if she wants to join my production, she must audition openly and fairly.”

Yan Qing paused.

“As for this little girl, I can give her one final chance.”

Ye Wei secretly sighed in relief.

“All right, then. You rest for now. I’ll go see how the preparations are going.”

After leaving the trailer, Ye Wei let out a long breath.

Without realizing it, she had broken out in a full-body sweat.

From a distance, Yan Qing glanced at Yang Man. Seeing that the young actress was still holding the script and trying to understand the character, some of her anger faded.

She also picked up the script and began reading.

Ten minutes later, Ye Wei knocked on the trailer window.

“She still isn’t ready?” Yan Qing asked.

“Uh… We might need to wait a little longer…”

Ye Wei looked embarrassed.

“What is it?”

Yan Qing glanced into the distance and frowned.

“Don’t tell me she doesn’t know how to ride a horse.”

“…She’s learning right now!”

Yan Qing raised an eyebrow and laughed.

“Tell the investor to withdraw their funding. Replace her.”

【Ye Wei: …Boss, TAT, that’s our sugar daddy investor…】

“She has only two scenes. In the farewell scene, she can’t express the proper emotions. In the riding scene, she can’t ride a horse. Why should I keep her around? To make myself miserable?”

Anger appeared on Yan Qing’s face.

“Sister Qing…”

Ye Wei had just begun to speak when a piercing scream suddenly rang out, followed by a burst of chaotic shouting.

“What happened?”

Yan Qing naturally heard it as well. She leaned her head out and saw Yang Man galloping wildly on horseback.

“Doesn’t that look like she can ride?”

As Yan Qing spoke, she quickly realized something was wrong.

Yang Man was bent low over the horse, clinging tightly to its neck for fear of falling off, while screaming continuously.

Yan Qing hurriedly got out of the trailer to check the situation.

As for Yang Man, she had not known in advance that the riding scene required a real horse.

When she saw the prop handler lead one over, her mind went completely blank.

Furthermore, after repeatedly failing to find the right state and being scolded by Director Yan for her poor performance, she had become anxious.

In a moment of reckless courage, she forced herself to climb onto the horse.

However, someone—whoever had such itchy hands—slapped the horse’s rear.

The animal immediately bolted!

Yang Man truly did not know how to ride. She was so terrified that she could only hug the horse’s neck and remain completely still.

“Move! Get out of the way!”

She screamed loudly, warning the people nearby to move aside.

However, the girl ahead wearing a SpongeBob T-shirt seemed not to hear her. She stood foolishly in the middle of the road.

The horse was about to crash straight into her!

Meanwhile, after sneaking into the film city, Meng Shi had found everything fresh and fascinating. She had wandered around everywhere to her heart’s content when she suddenly heard the sound of galloping hooves.

She knew that sound far too well.

She had missed it terribly.

After all, she had practically grown up on horseback.

Following the sound, she arrived at the scene.

The moment she saw the way the rider was sitting, she immediately understood what had happened.

Without thinking, she ran into the middle of the road and waited for the horse to approach.

“Move! Hurry and move!”

That woman certainly knew how to scream…

Meng Shi remained still.

When the horse drew closer, she narrowed her eyes slightly, turned around, and began sprinting forward in long strides.

“What the hell is happening? Is she racing the horse?!”

The onlookers were completely dumbfounded.

Meng Shi ran several steps.

At the exact moment the horse swept past her, she reached out and grabbed the bridle around its neck.

Using its momentum, she sprinted forward another two steps, then suddenly leaped into the air and landed on the horse’s back!

“Holy crap! That has to be fake, right?!”

The horse still had a somewhat wild temperament and was not particularly obedient.

Furthermore, the other girl was getting in Meng Shi’s way. All she knew how to do was close her eyes and scream.

Her body was pinning down the reins, making them impossible to grab.

Left with no choice, Meng Shi seized the back of the girl’s collar and lifted her upright. She snatched the reins from her hands and wrapped them twice around her right hand, while using her left arm to steady the girl.

“Whoa—whoa—”

Meng Shi pulled on the reins.

Although the horse slowed down somewhat, she could clearly feel it struggling restlessly against her restraint.

Meng Shi immediately matched its strength.

“Ah! Ahead—look ahead!”

Yang Man suddenly pointed forward as though she had seen a ghost.

Meng Shi raised her eyes slightly and saw a woman standing completely motionless at the side of the road.

“Director Yan, move!”

【Yan Qing: Holy crap! You all ran away quickly enough! Could someone please help me?! My legs have gone weak—I can’t move! Aaaaah!】

The horse was about to crash into Yan Qing.

The surrounding crowd closed their eyes, unable to bear witnessing the bloody scene.

Even Ye Wei stood frozen nearby, completely unable to react.

At that critical instant, Meng Shi let out a thunderous shout.

Gathering all the strength in her body, she gripped the reins tightly and jerked them backward with tremendous force.

The horse reared high onto its hind legs.

Its two front hooves flailed twice directly before Yan Qing’s face before it finally landed steadily on the ground.

For a moment, the entire set fell utterly silent.

Everyone’s gaze remained fixed on Yan Qing.

Meng Shi’s included.

From her higher position on horseback, Meng Shi looked down at the woman she had once loved with all her heart and hated to the very marrow of her bones.

Yan Qing looked back at her.

【Meng Shi: She seems different. She’s older.】

【Yan Qing: Is this person even human? That shout nearly deafened me.】

【Onlookers: Wow, Director Yan really is Director Yan. She has seen the world. Even with a mountain collapsing before her, her expression doesn’t change. Truly admirable!】

【Yang Man: This is so awkward. I should thank her, right? But she keeps staring at Director Yan… and Director Yan is staring at her too… Are they treating me like air? o(╯□╰)o】

The two of them stared at each other for a full ten minutes, neither willing to look away.

Yan Qing was surprised.

This young girl actually dared to meet her eyes so directly?

More importantly, her eyes were incredibly expressive.

When they first made eye contact, Yan Qing could clearly sense excitement and joy bursting from her gaze.

Yet in only an instant, the girl restrained those emotions and became cold—even faintly disgusted!

Yan Qing had already imagined an entire tragic drama inside her head:

Two lovers separated for many years finally reunite. Before they can rejoice, one discovers that the other has fallen in love with someone else, leaving them trapped between love and hatred, unable either to possess or let go.

【Meng Shi: Is this woman perhaps an idiot? ㄟ( ▔, ▔)ㄏ】

Meng Shi lowered her eyelids and withdrew her gaze.

She released the reins and dismounted.

Only then did Yan Qing begin examining her carefully.

Her fashion sense was ordinary. She looked like a completely normal young woman.

Yet she had just done something extraordinarily abnormal.

Furthermore, she wore an expression of profound resentment, as though someone owed her several million yuan.

Those eyes, so full of emotion and drama, were impossible to ignore.

Hmm.

She was rather tall—probably over 170 centimeters.

Her figure was a little slender. Her chest was slightly flat, though her bottom was quite shapely.

Her brows and eyes were decent. The more one looked at her, the more attractive she appeared.

Her fingers were long and slender, and clear red marks from the reins remained across her right hand.

This girl was certainly strong.

“Thank you.”

“Thank you.”

Yan Qing and Yang Man spoke at the same time.

Yan Qing glanced at Yang Man.

Trying to steal my line?

“Thank you for saving her,” Yan Qing corrected herself calmly.

Meng Shi ignored both of them.

She looked into the horse’s eyes and reached out to gently stroke its mane.

【Yan Qing: Did she just ignore me?】

【Yang Man: Is the horse prettier than I am??】

As Yan Qing watched Meng Shi, she suddenly wondered whether her eyes were playing tricks on her.

When this young girl looked at the horse, an expression had finally appeared on her face.

It was a trace of tenderness that had slipped out without her noticing…