Is This How the Entertainment Industry Works? (GL) - Chapter 32

Yan Zhen asked, “Then what exactly do you want to eat?”

Zhao Baoshang coldly pinched Yan Zhen’s face. “Are you playing dumb?”

Yan Zhen explained indistinctly, “I really don’t know.”

Zhao Baoshang flew into a rage. “You clearly—” …should have come up and given me a kiss!

She stared at her little fan. She felt the fan must be playing “hard to get”; otherwise, how could she not know? She must be waiting for Zhao Baoshang to say it out loud just so she could reject her. It was truly hateful.

Yan Zhen mumbled, “Face… hurts.”

Zhao Baoshang let go. “Don’t forget what you promised me.”

Yan Zhen rubbed her face and looked at Zhao Baoshang, her eyes filled with confusion.

Zhao Baoshang emphasized, “You said you would be very obedient from now on.”

Yan Zhen quickly showed her loyalty. “Of course I’ll listen to you! Look, I even bought you a cake.”

Zhao Baoshang snorted coldly. …She’s too good at acting spoiled. She took the cake, deciding to let the little fan off for now. She took a bite, then another.

Yan Zhen breathed a sigh of relief as she watched Zhao Baoshang finish the small cake. It seemed the cake suited her taste, or at least she didn’t look displeased.

Yan Zhen asked, “Does this count as a successful bribe?”

Zhao Baoshang suddenly looked up, her expression souring. “What kind of bribe is this! You don’t even know how to bribe someone?!” As she spoke, she tossed the script to Yan Zhen.

Yan Zhen caught it blankly and opened it.

Zhao Baoshang said, “Read the script through first.”

The implication was that she was prepared to give Yan Zhen a chance. Yan Zhen smiled and said “Okay,” reading the script again. When she finished, she asked, “What role are you giving me?”

“Qing Zhu,” Zhao Baoshang said. “The female lead’s personal maid.”

Yan Zhen remembered this role; it was quite good. The character was distinct—someone who loved and hated fiercely, and who remained loyal enough to save her master at a critical moment. It was almost certainly a role that would attract fans.

That Zhao Baoshang would set aside such a role for her showed immense regard. Yan Zhen was moved, swearing that she would protect the “Eldest Princess” even if it cost her her life.

In reality, however, she was overthinking it. This was a role that no one else dared to take.

Acting opposite Zhao Baoshang required immense courage. Yan Zhen had only practiced scenes with her and, because of her good acting, hadn’t suffered much. She didn’t know that when Zhao Baoshang acted, if she saw someone out of character—or so into character that they lost control—she would emit a murderous aura and sweep them with a cold gaze until they were terrified enough to want to break their contract and run away.

This “hobby” of Zhao Baoshang’s had long been spread around, growing more exaggerated with each telling. It went from her emitting murderous aura to her blacklisting people, and then to her hiring assassins.

Zhao Baoshang knew about these rumors but disdained to explain. As the rumors intensified, popular young starlets naturally didn’t dare challenge a movie where their lives might be at risk. The only ones willing to take roles were newcomers or Zhao Baoshang’s ultimate fangirls.

Yan Zhen wanted to ask more questions, but Zhao Baoshang spoke first: “I’m not giving you the role directly. You need an interview.”

“Are you the interviewer?” Yan Zhen asked.

Zhao Baoshang nodded. She asked Yan Zhen, “If you play this maid, Qing Zhu, how do you plan to act it?”

After getting a role, besides reading the plot, a 360-degree analysis of the character is crucial. In Zhao Baoshang’s heart, Yan Zhen was already the designated choice, so her questions were deep. A normal person might have been stunned, but Yan Zhen was not normal.

She stated her view: “This character exists to highlight the protagonist’s sense of destiny. Although she is important, she shouldn’t express too much emotion.”

Zhao Baoshang was confused. “No emotion? Qing Zhu is a major character; if she doesn’t show emotion, won’t people forget her?”

“No,” Yan Zhen said. “Qing Zhu was sold as a maid as a child, but her personality isn’t humble. Given her eventual ending, her stance in the middle of the story should be as mysterious as possible.”

Zhao Baoshang understood instantly. “Right. Keep people guessing whether she is good or bad; that makes the ending more impactful.”

“Mhm.” Yan Zhen flipped through the back pages of the script. She felt Qing Zhu’s character was fine, but she was worried about the protagonist Zhao Baoshang was playing.

The lead, Ning An, was perhaps the most complex character in the play. She was ruthless and decisive when alone, constantly sarcastic when with the male lead, and smiled like an innocent lamb when plotting revenge. The role’s facial expression requirements were incredibly high.

“Can you play the lead well?” Yan Zhen asked. “The character is almost always smiling in the later stages.”

Zhao Baoshang frowned. “Are you doubting my acting?”

Yan Zhen paused, trying to be as tactful as possible. “I just… haven’t seen you smile much.”

Zhao Baoshang shot her a cold glance. “Are you really my fan? Fine… I know you really want to see me smile, so I’ll satisfy you.”

Yan Zhen nodded expectantly.

“Mhm, watch closely.” Zhao Baoshang sat on the sofa and looked at Yan Zhen.

The living room was silent; not even the sound of a mosquito existed. Yan Zhen held her breath. After a while, she asked, “What happened?”

Zhao Baoshang pointed to the corners of her mouth. Yan Zhen observed closely. Zhao Baoshang’s lips were pale pink with a sharp lip line. The corners of her mouth were dark red and perfectly flat. There seemed to be no problem.

Yan Zhen was lost. “What did you want me to see?”

Zhao Baoshang frowned. “Can’t you see? I’m smiling.”

Yan Zhen: “…Really?”

Zhao Baoshang nodded.

Yan Zhen said with some difficulty, “…I really can’t see it at all.”

Zhao Baoshang snorted, clearly not accepting this. In her own mind, she was already smiling quite brightly, exactly like the female lead. Is this little fan really a follower of my work? How could she say something so rude?

Yan Zhen asked again, “Were you really smiling just now?”

Zhao Baoshang looked at her chillingly. “What do you think?”

The murderous aura was a bit strong. Yan Zhen said hurriedly, “Now that you mention it, I think I felt it.”

Zhao Baoshang turned away again.

“But that kind of smile isn’t quite enough,” Yan Zhen offered an opinion. “Can you smile more… intensely?”

Zhao Baoshang’s brow knitted. This was pushing her luck. Is it because I’m too gentle that this fan thinks I’m afraid to hit her?

Yan Zhen added, “You can think of happy things. That way it comes out naturally.”

“Happy things?” Zhao Baoshang asked.

“Yes. Like things from your childhood—your mother taking you to a lantern festival or an outing in the spring.”

Zhao Baoshang’s face went dark. “I don’t have any.”

How could she not? Yan Zhen had calculated her fate before; she should have had a harmonious family until the sibling rivalry started at fifteen. Her elders should still be on good terms. Yan Zhen was puzzled.

“What about things from your school days?” Yan Zhen asked.

“None.”

“During filming?”

“Hmph. A bunch of monkeys jumping around.”

“…What about when we watched the movie together the other day?”

Zhao Baoshang turned her head and muttered, “It was okay.” She thought of the cold air in the theater, but her face suddenly heated up.

Zhao Baoshang remained silent. Yan Zhen thought it was so pitiful that she had no happy memories. Perhaps it was because so many people had hated on her in the last two years.

Yan Zhen suggested, “Do you want to go out and find some fun?”

Few people made such suggestions to Zhao Baoshang. “What kind of fun?”

“Like a bar or something.” Yan Zhen remembered many people on Weibo saying bars were interesting.

Zhao Baoshang refused. “No.”

“Why?”

“You want me to go and be stared at like a circus animal?” Zhao Baoshang was fuming.

“That makes sense. Then we can only choose indoor activities,” Yan Zhen murmured.

Zhao Baoshang sat on the sofa watching her bustle about. She saw Yan Zhen walk from the kitchen to the study, then to the window to look at the scenery, then close her eyes in deep, concentrated thought. It was a bit ridiculous, but knowing it was all for her, Zhao Baoshang was touched. She sat closer to observe.

The fan looked so young, yet she wore such a solemn expression—all for her sake. She really does love me to her very core, Zhao Baoshang thought, unable to help her lips curling up slightly.

Yan Zhen happened to open her eyes to make a suggestion. She saw it and widened her eyes. “You smiled!”

“I didn’t,” Zhao Baoshang said.

“I saw it,” Yan Zhen insisted. “What were you thinking about just now?”

Zhao Baoshang immediately pursed her lips tight. She wouldn’t admit she smiled because she was thinking about the fan. Not to anyone!

She turned her head huffily and commanded, “Go get me some water.”

Yan Zhen ran to the kitchen. She still couldn’t help asking curiously when she brought the water back, “What were you thinking about?”

“Nothing at all!” Zhao Baoshang emphasized. To ease the awkwardness, she turned on the TV and flicked through channels, but it was all the TV dramas she and Xu Fengmei had starred in.

If I’d known, I wouldn’t have bribed so many stations to play them back then. She turned off the TV in a rage and threw the remote on the sofa.

Yan Zhen looked at the TV and thought silently: She must have thought of Xu Fengmei. That’s the only possibility. It seemed the Princess’s earlier claim that she had nothing to do with Xu Fengmei was just talk.

To shift her mood, Zhao Baoshang asked Yan Zhen a few more questions. Yan Zhen’s insights were so sharp that Zhao Baoshang felt no one was better suited to play Qing Zhu. The way this person looked at her with such reverence—it was exactly the way Qing Zhu looked at her mistress.

On a whim, Zhao Baoshang officially selected Yan Zhen for the role. After making the decision, she spoke to the director, and the next day she brought Yan Zhen to the production base to begin filming Qing Shan Yuan.