Is This How the Entertainment Industry Works? (GL) - Chapter 22

Yan Zhen had no idea that after joining this competition, she would actually harvest a group of “CP” fans.

She was currently idling around, calculating the directions. After finishing her divination, she discovered that Zhao Baoshang was nearby, so she excitedly ran out to find her. To her surprise, she spotted Zhao Baoshang just as she stepped out of the building.

Zhao Baoshang was sitting near a flower bed. A little stray cat was meowing beside it. After a moment of being annoyed, Zhao Baoshang waved her hand to shoo it away, but the kitten persistently kept meowing. Finally, Zhao Baoshang pulled a bag of cat food from her pocket, tore it open, and poured a generous amount onto a mound of dirt.

It was truly a deeply affectionate scene.

Yan Zhen’s eyes filled with delight as she walked over quickly and called out, “Zhao Baoshang.”

Hearing her, Zhao Baoshang stood up. A small grain of cat food had stuck to her clothes; Yan Zhen reached out, picked it off, and tossed it to the stray cat. The kitten, startled, scampered away.

“Alin was disqualified, did you know?” Yan Zhen asked.

Zhao Baoshang nodded.

“As expected.” Yan Zhen smiled. “It must have been you who caught that staff member, right?”

Zhao Baoshang ignored her. She felt the answer was obvious—besides herself, who else would work so hard to help this little fan?

Yan Zhen asked, “Why aren’t you talking?” She circled around Zhao Baoshang and sat down beside her on the flower bed.

When she was with the “Eldest Princess,” she became an unusual chatterbox. Yan Zhen recalled how long ago, her interactions with the Princess were just like this: the Princess hated speaking, and only Yan Zhen would chatter incessantly. Later, the Princess would get annoyed and have someone drag her away. After that happened enough times, Yan Zhen didn’t dare speak recklessly anymore.

…But facing the person in front of her now, she still couldn’t help herself.

“Don’t you have to film today?” Yan Zhen asked.

Zhao Baoshang snorted. “No.”

Yan Zhen was confused. “What happened?”

Zhao Baoshang was about to speak, but she suddenly thought of something and changed her tune: “…The director said we need to shoot a ‘passion’ scene, but I’m not very good at it.”

This was the truth, though she omitted the part about what happened afterward.

“A passion scene?” Yan Zhen didn’t understand. “What kind?”

“Like this.” Zhao Baoshang reached out and touched Yan Zhen’s hand, then quickly pulled it back.

Yan Zhen: “…??”

A passion scene? Yan Zhen didn’t think it was that difficult. In the Palace, there were often private banquets for the female officials. Yan Zhen had seen them a few times—after the dancers finished their performances, they would lean into the officials like water, caressing them with hands as soft as congealed fat. Once the officials’ desires were stirred, there would naturally be “passion” to watch.

Although Yan Zhen had never practiced it, she had seen it many times.

She sat behind Zhao Baoshang, reached out to wrap her arm around her shoulder, and then slowly moved her hand downward. The touch was as light as gauze, barely there, until it reached her waist…

Zhao Baoshang suddenly grabbed Yan Zhen’s hand. “What are you doing?”

Yan Zhen said, “For a passion scene, you need to create an atmosphere. For example, through caressing, kissing, or sharing wine from the mouth—” She summarized this from the dancers’ performances in the palace.

Zhao Baoshang didn’t quite understand. “Can kissing really create an atmosphere?”

“Of course,” Yan Zhen said. “That’s how they do it on TV.”

She looked at Zhao Baoshang’s excessively gorgeous face, reached up to stroke it gently, and then let go as if she were touching a precious treasure, hiding her hands behind her back.

“How do you kiss?” Zhao Baoshang asked.

“What do you mean ‘how’?” Yan Zhen was bewildered.

“The one you mentioned… the atmosphere-building kiss.” Zhao Baoshang knew that kissing only happened between people with a very good relationship. But regarding acting, she was completely clueless. In the past, she always used a body double—and then she’d get roasted by haters for it.

Zhao Baoshang desperately wanted to be a real actress, to throw herself wholeheartedly into a role rather than being an unprofessional one who relies on doubles at critical moments. She had thought about practicing the parts she was bad at. But the moment she encountered excessive physical contact, she felt disgusted. Forget filming; she couldn’t even manage to practice.

This had troubled Zhao Baoshang for a long time. But now, facing Yan Zhen, she felt her internal resistance wasn’t that strong.

“Have you never kissed anyone?” Yan Zhen asked.

“Of course I have!” Zhao Baoshang refused to be outdone.

“Then it’s just like usual, you just have to slow the movements down.”

Zhao Baoshang grabbed Yan Zhen’s hand and said, “I don’t know how to slow the movements down.” Her tone was assertive, her eyes shimmering.

Yan Zhen froze for a second, then leaned in closer.

“Princess, your servant will demonstrate only once.” The warmth of her breath brushed against Zhao Baoshang’s ear, and then she slowly approached Zhao Baoshang’s cheek.

What princess…

Zhao Baoshang didn’t have time to think; she nervously closed her eyes. Suddenly, she felt something soft touch her cheek, then move to her lips. It was soft and tender, somewhat warm—like a jelly that had been in the microwave for five seconds.

Zhao Baoshang licked her lips and leaned in a bit more. It turned out the taste of a kiss was sweet. She liked it very much.

Opening her eyes, she could see Yan Zhen’s trembling eyelashes. Zhao Baoshang suddenly felt as if fireworks were exploding in her heart; she was filled with an unprecedented satisfaction, as if she were floating to the sky.

Why do I like this feeling so much?

Zhao Baoshang panted slightly. She decided it must be a tactic her little fan used to seduce her. In that case, it was only right for her to take back some “interest.”

And so, for the rest of the evening, Zhao Baoshang dragged Yan Zhen to try out the “kiss scene” several times, feeling that her acting skills had been completely sublimated.

She returned to her apartment feeling a secret thrill. Her manager, Li Ping, saw her and asked, “Where did you go?”

“Nowhere.”

Li Ping looked at Zhao Baoshang’s face closely. “What are you smiling at?”

Zhao Baoshang asked, “Am I smiling?”

“Yes,” Li Ping said.

“You saw wrong,” Zhao Baoshang replied.

“I hope I saw wrong.” Li Ping pushed up her glasses. “In any case, if you fall in love, you must tell me. The second daughter of the Zhao family falling in love is no small matter; I need to prepare the PR in advance.”

Zhao Baoshang nearly bristled. “Who’s in love?! Me?! How could I!”

She thought of her little fan again. A trace of sweetness spread through her heart, and she happily fled upstairs.

The next morning, before the competition started.

Yu Lian walked over and announced: “Due to internal negligence, a certain contestant obtained the answers in advance. Although she did not take first place, it seriously affected the fairness of our competition. Therefore, we have forced that contestant to withdraw and fired the staff member who cheated.”

Everyone realized immediately that the disqualified contestant was Alin.

Della muttered to herself, “How can this be? Really disqualified? Isn’t Alin’s family very powerful?”

Yu Lian heard her. “Power and cheating are two different concepts.” She then told all the contestants, “I hope everyone competes fairly and does not engage in any violations.”

Everyone responded, but each had their own thoughts. One thing they shared was that Alin’s disqualification made them realize Zhao Baoshang’s power. This matter could have been handled quietly; in the past, talent shows were full of hidden “black box” operations, and cases of direct disqualification were rare.

If it wasn’t Zhao Baoshang’s doing, it wouldn’t make sense. Consequently, during the following challenges, no one dared to provoke Yan Zhen again out of fear of Zhao Baoshang’s influence.

Yan Zhen won quite happily all by herself.

Author’s Note:

Yan Zhen: Eldest Princess, have you never kissed anyone else?

Zhao Baoshang: W-what, of course I’ve kissed many! (Counting on fingers) There’s my little fan, my little fan, my little fan…

Li Ping: Hello, 911? There’s an idiot here.