Is This How the Entertainment Industry Works? (GL) - Chapter 5

Zhao Baoshang was leaning against a large tree in the shade, frowning and looking slightly dejected. When Yan Zhen saw her, the thought that she was the reincarnation of the Eldest Princess made her heart pound. She walked over, trembling, and knelt down. Seeing Zhao Baoshang’s red eyes, she immediately went on high alert. “!!?!??!?!??!??!!?!??!?”

Zhao Baoshang frowned. “Why are you so surprised?”

Yan Zhen dropped to her knees and studied Zhao Baoshang’s face. She cautiously asked, “Did someone bully you?”

Zhao Baoshang’s ears immediately turned red. “What are you talking about?”

Yan Zhen thought for a moment, choosing her words carefully. “Don’t pay too much attention to what other people say. It’s best to just live your own life.”

Zhao Baoshang turned her face away, not wanting to talk anymore.

Of course, she wasn’t paying attention to what others said. It all started with some online haters’ comments on social media, which made her unhappy. When she saw the comments, Xu Fengmei was right there, so she told Xu Fengmei how she felt.

To her surprise, Xu Fengmei, while saying, “You need to grow up,” began asking her for a spot on a reality TV show.

For some reason, Zhao Baoshang suddenly felt a wave of irritation. Xu Fengmei had saved her life. She had grown up on stories of grateful cranes repaying their debts, so she naturally felt she had to repay Xu Fengmei. But Xu Fengmei kept pushing her luck, first by getting her into the entertainment industry, then by using her for endorsements and publicity stunts. Zhao Baoshang didn’t want to make a big deal out of it, but every time she thought about it, she felt disillusioned. Was the person who had saved her really the same person as the Xu Fengmei now?

She couldn’t help but cry secretly, and to her dismay, Yan Zhen saw her.

Seeing Zhao Baoshang’s silence, Yan Zhen grew worried. She tried to comfort her again, “Whatever it is that’s making you sad, you can tell me… your humble servant… me!”

Zhao Baoshang’s face was cold. “Tell you what? So you can laugh at me?”

“How can you think that?” Yan Zhen’s heart felt like it was being twisted. “Of course, I only want what’s best for you.”

Zhao Baoshang scoffed, clearly not believing her. Yan Zhen sat beside her with her knees hugged to her chest, accompanying her with a worried expression. She had practically raised the Eldest Princess herself and had a good sense of what her reincarnated self’s personality would be like.

At this moment, Zhao Baoshang must be feeling incredibly vulnerable, but she was putting on a strong front. Yan Zhen wanted her to know that she was the princess’s strongest supporter.

After a long while, Zhao Baoshang slowly said, “I have a benefactor, and I want to be genuinely good to her, but all she wants to do is use me.”

Yan Zhen asked, “Is it the film queen who was here a few days ago?”

Zhao Baoshang’s face darkened. “How do you know that?” It was her little secret.

Yan Zhen said, “I figured it out.”

“Can you really do that?” Zhao Baoshang asked.

Yan Zhen nodded.

Zhao Baoshang hesitated for a moment. “Then help me figure out if Xu Fengmei really likes me.”

Yan Zhen was surprised to hear Xu Fengmei’s name. Who could possibly be related to Xu Fengmei? Yan Zhen asked, “Are you Zhao Baoshang?”

Zhao Baoshang nodded.

Yan Zhen had assumed she had only rescued a nobody. She never imagined this person was the very Zhao Baoshang everyone talked about. Having delivered food for a few days, she felt a great deal of sympathy for this Zhao Baoshang. She was a renowned film queen, but to others, she was just a spoiled little girl, forever labeled “Xu Fengmei’s fan.” Zhao Baoshang was too lazy to tear off the label herself, but others secretly laughed at her.

This person is the reincarnation of the Eldest Princess. How can she be treated this way? Yan Zhen’s heart ached. She suppressed her sorrow and told Zhao Baoshang, “Xu Fengmei doesn’t like you.”

“Did you really do a reading?” Zhao Baoshang frowned.

“I wouldn’t lie to you,” Yan Zhen said. “If she really liked you, she would have chased after you and looked for you.”

Zhao Baoshang lowered her head and thought about it. It was true. But she still didn’t want to give up. Her stubbornness was her last bit of pride.

After making up her mind, Zhao Baoshang’s cold demeanor returned, and she stood up. Her eyes were no longer red, and she stood under the tree like a beauty carved from white jade. Yan Zhen was reminded of a grand banquet in the Great Feng Palace and felt a mix of nostalgia and admiration in her eyes.

Zhao Baoshang saw her gaze and felt a bit uneasy. She said, “Don’t look at me like that.”

Yan Zhen had always been willing to do anything for the Eldest Princess. She nodded. “Okay.”

After a while of sitting in silence, Zhao Baoshang felt sleepy and said she was going back. She walked away from the house, but after five minutes, she was back where she started. The beauty by moonlight was clearly lost.

Yan Zhen looked up and asked, “Are you lost?”

Zhao Baoshang stared at Yan Zhen blankly.

Yan Zhen took a step forward and asked, “Where do you live?”

“What do you want?” Zhao Baoshang’s eyes widened. Then she said, “In a sky-blue motel.”

Yan Zhen was very familiar with the area. She led the way and only left after she had brought Zhao Baoshang to the motel.

Zhao Baoshang’s assistant was on the verge of tears. She was pacing anxiously at the entrance and was so excited to see Zhao Baoshang that it was like seeing her own mother. “Ms. Zhao, you’re finally back!” the assistant said, her eyes welling up. “Who was that person who brought you back? They’re a really good person!”

Zhao Baoshang mumbled a response, thinking of the way Yan Zhen had looked at her. She said casually, “Just a little girl from the village.”

Yan Zhen spent two days reading the script that Lu Ming gave her and memorized most of the lines. A few days later, Lu Ming came to take her to the set for the shoot.

“You’re going to film the opening scene, where you lose your daughter and cry your heart out. Okay?” Director Wang said to Yan Zhen.

Yan Zhen immediately turned to stare at Lu Ming, her eyes asking, Did you say I was going to be an emotionless character?

Lu Ming’s eyes darted around, afraid to meet Yan Zhen’s gaze.

Director Wang slapped Lu Ming on the back of the head. “What’s with the silent treatment?”

Yan Zhen explained, “Crying my heart out is a bit difficult.”

“Then just cry as much as you can,” Director Wang said, not holding out much hope. After all, she was just a small-time actor, and perhaps that previous look in her eyes was her limit. The director sighed to himself. She wasn’t a professional… He turned on the camera and looked at Yan Zhen through the lens.

Yan Zhen sat on a long bench, building up her emotions. When she was ready, her face had a theatrical, pained expression. She stumbled off the bench and asked everyone she saw, “Where’s my child? Where’s my child?”

Someone came to comfort her, but she pushed them away with her bony hands. She kept asking, growing more and more desperate. Her expression went from a wail of sorrow to a cold numbness. Only her eyes remained, filled with pain, with a lack of struggle, and with guilt for her own powerlessness. A dead leaf fell and left a white mark on her face. It looked painful, but she didn’t react.

Director Wang was stunned. Half of his cigarette fell onto his pants. Is this really the same person who just said, ‘Crying my heart out is a bit difficult’?

Comrade, you don’t show off like that.

Author’s Note:

Yan Zhen: Crying my heart out is a bit difficult, but the Eldest Princess’s woman will never give up.

Director Wang: Newcomer, please don’t improvise.

Zhao Baoshang: I’m the one spoiling her. Got a problem with that?

Director Wang: …We have professionals to write your scenes for you!