Is This How the Entertainment Industry Works? (GL) - Chapter 18

Zhao Baoshang was still filming Qing Shan Yuan today. The movie was supposed to be a traditional Wuxia film, pure and simple. However, for some reason, the director insisted on adding erotic scenes and intimate physical contact between the leads during the fight sequences.

Being professional, Zhao Baoshang hadn’t said much the first few times. But eventually, the director felt it “wasn’t enough to stimulate the deep desires of the human heart” and insisted on more reshoots.

Zhao Baoshang simply quit. She withdrew her investment, bought out the script, and prepared to find a new director. If it hadn’t been for this director’s constant nonsense, she wouldn’t have missed her little fan’s competition.

Feeling a mix of complex emotions, she sat on a stool and quietly watched the post-edited videos. As she watched, her face cycled through a series of expressions she wasn’t even aware of.

Because of the false accusations, many of the photographers developed a strange sense of sympathy for Yan Zhen. Two of them noticed Yan Zhen observing the moon, looking quite lonely. After discussing it, one of them walked over to give her some extra screen time.

“Are you checking the weather for tomorrow?” the photographer asked.

“Something like that,” Yan Zhen replied.

She was actually observing the stars, specifically the trends over the Imperial Capital. As the nation’s capital and the “Eye of the Golden Dragon,” it should logically be brimming with auspicious purple qi. However, as Yan Zhen looked at the night sky, she saw faint black clouds obscuring it.

The “Golden Clouds Obscuring the Sun” phenomenon seen previously was already a once-in-a-century occurrence; now, seeing this malignant black energy left Yan Zhen somewhat perplexed.

The photographer asked, “Well? Want to guess tomorrow’s weather?”

“Too many clouds,” Yan Zhen said. “There’s an eighty percent chance of rain.”

The photographer laughed. “Then your reading might be off. Several weather stations said it would be sunny for several days, and it’s not even thunderstorm season yet.”

“I’m still betting on rain,” Yan Zhen said.

“A bet?” the photographer asked.

“Sure.”

The two bet one yuan. When 11:00 PM rolled around and the photographer finished his shift to go home, Yan Zhen handed him an umbrella. He laughed and declined.

Halfway home, a torrential downpour began. The photographer sprinted forward, shielding his head, but didn’t forget to turn on the camera. He gave a middle finger to the lens and cursed himself: “Why didn’t I take that umbrella? I must have been kicked in the head by a donkey.”

Viewers who saw this little blooper flooded the screen with “Hahahas.”

Yu Lian also saw this clip and decided to give that unlucky photographer a bonus tomorrow.

It was nearly midnight, and Yu Lian had finished reviewing all the videos and was preparing to go home. Before leaving, she suddenly remembered Yan Zhen saying “it’s not safe at night.” She thought about it for a while and eventually found a room in the skyscraper to stay the night.

The next morning, a Weibo notification jolted her awake. Yu Lian opened it dizzily and saw that a robbery had occurred near her residential complex. The victim, having fought back desperately, had been stabbed three times by the robber and was currently in the hospital for emergency treatment.

Yu Lian snapped wide awake. She checked the time of the incident; it was exactly when she would have been heading home. Moreover, the alley where the robbery occurred was a path she frequently took.

—The person who was supposed to be robbed was very likely her.

Yu Lian was terrified. After hesitating for a moment, she went to find Yan Zhen. The two sat down in a café. Yu Lian ordered two Americanos. “You know what I want to talk to you about, right?”

“Not entirely sure,” Yan Zhen said.

“Yesterday…” Yu Lian thought for a moment before voicing her doubt. “Can you actually calculate things that will happen in the future?”

“Some things I can, some I can’t,” Yan Zhen replied.

“What about yesterday?” Yu Lian asked.

“I just mentioned it casually,” Yan Zhen said.

Yu Lian shook her head. “You might have meant well, but I can’t help feeling… I was the one meant to get hurt, and now someone else has suffered in my place. It’s really…” She felt extremely guilty, her speech losing its usual sharpness and flow.

Yan Zhen understood Yu Lian’s mindset. Yesterday, Yu Lian had asked casually, and Yan Zhen had answered casually. Yu Lian chose to believe her words and thus avoided the disaster. However, everything is linked by karma. What she avoided today might come back with interest later.

After doing some calculations, Yan Zhen realized this specific incident actually had nothing to do with Yu Lian’s destiny. She told her, “It’s alright. Don’t be too hard on yourself.”

Yu Lian sighed. She was older and a practitioner of Buddhism, so she felt that letting someone else block a disaster for her would bring bad retribution.

Yan Zhen handed her a yellow talisman. “If you’re afraid, keep this protective charm on you.”

Yu Lian accepted it. After a sip of coffee, she asked, “Do you know who the robber is?”

Yan Zhen paused. The question was unexpected, but since Yu Lian asked, she couldn’t leave it unanswered. She did indeed know the robber’s identity.

In the past, she could only calculate a general direction, but this time, she had met the robber in person, and he had even let her calculate his identity out of curiosity. It was the man from her train compartment.

“It should be the reporter who broke this news,” Yan Zhen said. “The goal was to manufacture a story—but someone behind the scenes gave him a sum of money. I don’t know the specifics beyond that.”

Yu Lian’s eyes widened. She didn’t even try to verify Yan Zhen’s words before giving a promise. “Once the competition is over, you can just call me Sister Lian.” Yu Lian understood that this was a deliberate attempt to manufacture news. She let out a long sigh. “Whatever I can help with, I will do my best.”

After returning, Yu Lian didn’t think for long before filing an anonymous police report. Based on her lead, the police began monitoring the reporter.

That night, a large sum of money was transferred into the reporter’s account. Simultaneously, the reporter got drunk and began blathering to his friends about the stupid thing he had done.

Half a month ago, he had received an anonymous private message asking if he wanted to make money. He had said yes without hesitation. The message outlined the robbery plan; the tools and information were provided by the anonymous sender, but the execution was entirely the reporter’s own.

After a plainclothes officer finished recording the confession, he made a gesture, and a group of police swarmed in. The reporter was quickly arrested and taken to the station.

When Yu Lian saw the latest news, she was practically ready to prostrate herself before Yan Zhen. She wanted to ask her more things, but remembering the competition was still ongoing, she suppressed her questions for the time being.

Author’s Note:

Zhao Baoshang: You haven’t told my fortune in a long time.

Yan Zhen: I usually only calculate the bad stuff.

Zhao Baoshang: …cnmua (Love you, mwah).