The Empress In The Modern Era [Entertainment Industry GL] - Chapter 6

Once the role of Shen Yifen was settled, Wang Yun naturally received the news as well. The hand she had placed on the dressing table clenched tightly into a fist, and she could not help cursing, “That Zhang Hui is really useless. He doesn’t even have the authority to decide on a second female lead!”

Tao Xiaomei thought about it. Although she felt it was a pity, she felt even more relieved. “Ai, it’s fine. At least we didn’t lose anything. But he said he can give you a maid role, playing Shen Yifen’s maid. There aren’t many shots. Are you going?”

“I’m not going.” Wang Yun rejected it without even thinking.

A maid role—who even knew if she would have any lines when the time came? She was not crazy enough to want that kind of role. Besides, Zhang Hui had actually called personally over such a role, wasn’t that just because he still wanted her to feel grateful? It was only a maid role. He really had the nerve to bring it up.

Tao Xiaomei had always listened to Wang Yun in everything. Since Wang Yun said she was not going, of course Tao Xiaomei would not object.

Wang Yun thought about it and still felt a little unwilling. She had studied the character of Shen Yifen for a long time, and she believed that her audition performance that day had not been bad. Add Zhang Hui on top of that, and logically, even if the role had not been guaranteed, it should have been close. How had it been snatched away just like that?

“Xiaomei, do you know who got the role?” she asked.

Zhang Hui had mentioned it earlier, so Tao Xiaomei thought for a moment and said, “I don’t know exactly who it is, but I heard it’s someone brought in by another assistant director, Wang Min. She seems to be a newcomer who has never acted before. But I heard her acting was supposedly all right, and even Director Meng Ping approved of her.”

Wang Yun had naturally heard of Wang Min. Not only had she heard of her, she had also privately heard people talk about some of Wang Min’s personal affairs. Because of that, she gave a cold laugh and said, “So it turns out she’s one of hers.”

A newcomer who had never acted before—what acting skills could she possibly have? It was nothing more than Wang Min having more say than Zhang Hui. Damn it. If she had known, she would have gone through Wang Min’s connections instead. Even if her sexual orientation was special and made people feel disgusted, as long as she could get the role, putting up with a little grievance with a woman would still be better than doing it with a man, right?

Sigh. Forget it, forget it. The matter had already been decided. Thinking about it more would be useless.

“Xiaomei, call He Zeng for me. Ask him about that xianxia period drama adapted from a novel. Is it still missing a second female lead? If it is, see if he can help me fight for it,” Wang Yun said. After learning that the person who had stolen her role was Wang Min’s person, she no longer bothered with it and instead wanted to find another suitable project as quickly as possible.

After Wang Yun debuted, she signed with Baoqing Entertainment. This entertainment company had not been established for long and did not have a single artist who was wildly popular. Even now, it only had a limited number of presentable artists. Of course, Wang Yun was not among those presentable ones, but she was not bad either. At the very least, she could be considered above average.

But that did not stop her manager from being Baoqing’s ace agent, He Zeng. Aside from being the talent scout who had brought Wang Yun into the entertainment industry, this man was also Wang Yun’s sworn older brother. It was just that her sworn older brother had recently gotten a girlfriend. In order to avoid suspicion, although he was Wang Yun’s manager, under normal circumstances, Wang Yun did not personally contact him. She knew very well what kind of reputation she had in Baoqing.

Tao Xiaomei called He Zeng. He Zeng was quite attentive toward his sworn younger sister and immediately agreed to send the materials over, telling Wang Yun that after she looked through them, if she was certain she wanted to fight for the role, she should let him know as soon as possible.

Wang Yun had placed a great deal of expectation on the role of Shen Yifen before. Because of that, she had turned down two other jobs at the time. Now that this role was gone, as an artist, she could not stay idle. Without exposure, fans would drift away too quickly. And school was about to start soon too, so she needed money. Because of that, she could only keep searching for a better role.

The second female lead in this xianxia drama was a traditionally vicious supporting female character. However, she was devoted enough, and in the end, she even died to save the male lead. Although this was a worn-out plotline, this kind of character setting had always been better at winning the audience’s sympathy and fondness. After Wang Yun read the detailed materials, she immediately expressed that she wanted to take the role.

Because Baoqing Entertainment was also one of the investors in this drama, and because He Zeng, the ace agent, was there, Wang Yun did not even need to audition. The start date was confirmed directly, and she was told to arrive at the filming base on time at the end of the month.

……

On Yu Shilan’s side, the day after meeting Wang Min, she signed the contract with the production crew. Then on the third day, she received another call from Wang Min. Wang Min informed her that the date for joining the crew had been set for the end of the month, but before joining, she had to attend a training session with the other actresses.

Meng Ping was a director with very high standards. In a Republican-era drama, the women naturally could not avoid wearing qipaos. Modern girls might look good once they put on a qipao, but to have the grace of women from that era in the way they walked, sat, and moved was very difficult. This training was specifically to invite someone to teach them how to walk, sit, stand, and lie down.

Yu Shilan was a complete newcomer, yet she had to play the second female lead in this film. Although she did not have that many scenes, the role was still an important one. Because of that, Wang Min was worried and personally called her.

Yu Shilan had no management company and no assistant, so she could only book her plane ticket online herself. As for accommodations, she did not need to book those. The production crew would arrange them all together. Then she packed her luggage, told Yu Yuanxing, and set off the next day.

The training lasted only one week. Although it was strict, Yu Shilan herself was already especially dignified and grand, with a good figure and elegant posture. Moreover, she was not playing a Republican-era courtesan beauty. She was playing a sheltered young lady from a great family. Because of that, her training very quickly passed and ended.

At the end of July, Yu Shilan joined the crew.

The night before filming began, the production crew held a dinner. They called it a dinner, but in reality, it was just for everyone to meet before filming started, get to know one another, eat a simple meal, chat a little, and become familiar enough with each other that once filming officially began, they would not waste time being unable to find the right acting feel because they were unfamiliar.

Although she was the second female lead, Yu Shilan was completely a newcomer, so when the seats were arranged, she was placed directly in the most corner position.

Yu Shilan did not mind this. What she had not expected, however, was that the female lead, Qiao Feiyu, would arrive especially early—and once she arrived, she did not sit in the good seat arranged for her, but instead sat directly beside Yu Shilan.

Qiao Feiyu was currently one of the leading popular young actresses born after 1985. Although she had only risen to fame in the last three or four years, her Weibo followers were already close to fifty million. Wherever she went, she truly had crowds of fanboys and fangirls. Before this, she and Yu Shilan had attended training together, but they could not really be considered acquainted. Qiao Feiyu had received her teacher’s training in a separate room at a separate time. As for Yu Shilan and the other supporting actresses, at most, they only got their turn every day when Qiao Feiyu left, so they could merely run into each other briefly.

Yu Shilan had not deliberately made herself seem out of place before either, so she had treated Qiao Feiyu the same way she treated everyone else: with great respect. If they ran into each other face-to-face, she would absolutely be the first to smile and greet her. Before, Qiao Feiyu had only nodded faintly, treating everyone equally, and had never spoken to Yu Shilan. But today… why had she sat beside her?

Although Yu Shilan was puzzled, she did not think in a bad direction. It was truly because Qiao Feiyu looked like such a good person, and she was also her own younger brother’s Fairy Sister.

Yu Yuanxing had only joked about it before, but unexpectedly, it had actually come true. During training, it had not been convenient, but now that she had arrived at Hengdian, Yu Shilan had actually wanted to call Yu Yuanxing and show off a little. However, she also knew this younger brother of hers. Usually, he was as steady as could be, but the moment it involved the Fairy Sister whose posters he had plastered all over his room, he had no rationality whatsoever. Yu Shilan was afraid that once he found out, he would lose control and run straight over.

“Hello, Teacher Qiao.” Yu Shilan felt a little overwhelmed by the favor. She wanted to call her Sister Qiao, but then felt that it might be too intimate. Besides, female celebrities were generally afraid of age increasing, and calling her “Sister” might make her sound old. So the words that came out of her mouth were “Teacher Qiao.”

Qiao Feiyu was stunned outright by Yu Shilan’s form of address.

She was born in 1988 and was not even thirty yet. In the industry, she had always been called Xiao Qiao. And today, someone had suddenly called her Teacher Qiao out of nowhere…

Just now, she had deliberately looked for a corner seat. After sitting down, she actually had not really looked at who was beside her. Only now did she realize it was the actress playing Shen Yifen. She heard this person was a complete newcomer. No wonder the moment she opened her mouth, she called her Teacher Qiao.

Because of this, her gloomy mood actually improved a little.

“You should still be young, right? Don’t call me that. Just call me Sister Qiao,” she said in a low voice.

Yu Shilan readily followed her lead and called her Sister Qiao.

Qiao Feiyu saw that her face was bare, with only her eyebrows drawn and lipstick applied, and she looked rather approachable. Because she felt irritated at the thought of the person she was about to see, she simply began chatting idly with Yu Shilan. “I heard you’re a complete newcomer. Did you study acting?”

Yu Shilan shook her head. “No. I studied design. I’m just interested in acting, and this opportunity happened to come up, so I came.”

Qiao Feiyu had not come from a professional acting program either. Hearing this gave her a bit more warmth toward Yu Shilan. So she leaned in and whispered to Yu Shilan, saying things like as long as she watched, learned, stayed diligent, and worked hard, it did not matter if she had not come from a professional background. She could still have acting skills that made professionally trained actors look at her differently.

At this moment, Yu Shilan no longer merely felt overwhelmed by favor. She truly felt as if a pie had fallen from the sky and hit her on the head. Was this the rhythm of a first-line young actress teaching her acting techniques?

What virtue or ability did she have? She had done nothing, yet somehow gained the favor of a first-line young actress!

Just as she was quietly absorbing knowledge, the private room suddenly became lively. Yu Shilan split her attention and raised her eyes to look outside, then saw someone walking over surrounded by people. It was a very tall man. As he drew closer, Yu Shilan saw his face and finally recognized him as Film Emperor Mo Ruchen.

Mo Ruchen!

No matter how steady Yu Shilan was, during her girlhood, she had also been Mo Ruchen’s fangirl. Although Mo Ruchen was only in his early thirties now, he had debuted early, entering the industry when he was still in his teens. Over the past ten-plus years, his looks had only grown better and better. Even without mentioning his acting skills, without mentioning all the good roles he had created, just from his appearance alone, Yu Shilan could be considered a fan of his face.

She was so excited that she wanted to stand up, only to discover that Qiao Feiyu beside her was still speaking quietly. Only then did her mind clear, and she lowered her eyes. She finally understood why Qiao Feiyu was being so nice to her. So it turned out she was using her as a shield to avoid coming face-to-face with her ex-boyfriend.

Speaking of it, it had been four or five years, right? Qiao Feiyu still had not forgotten that brief relationship with Mo Ruchen.

Yu Shilan did not know what kind of mood she was in. Everyone else had already stood up to greet Mo Ruchen. His attitude was friendly, and he was kind to everyone. He even shook hands with some people. As a former fangirl, Yu Shilan actually very much wanted to stand up and say even a few words to her idol. But she could not leave Qiao Feiyu behind and stand up by herself. That would be offending Qiao Feiyu. So she could only pretend she had not seen anything and continue listening quietly.

Sensing the change in Yu Shilan’s mood, Qiao Feiyu gradually could no longer keep speaking either. Amid the lively greetings in the room, she suddenly pulled Yu Shilan’s hand and stood up.

“…You, come with me to the restroom,” she said. After talking for so long, she still did not even know Yu Shilan’s name.

Facing Qiao Feiyu, Yu Shilan had absolutely no right to refuse.

The two of them walked out. When Yu Shilan passed Mo Ruchen, who was looking over, she hurriedly bent slightly at the waist and smiled respectfully. Mo Ruchen, however, only glanced at Qiao Feiyu and did not notice Yu Shilan.

As the two left the private room and quickly headed toward the restroom, Wang Yun and Tao Xiaomei came walking along the long corridor next door.

“Isn’t that Qiao Feiyu?” Wang Yun recognized Qiao Feiyu’s back at a glance.

Tao Xiaomei narrowed her eyes and looked for a moment, then said, “Yunzi, Qiao Feiyu is the female lead of Heroes Through Wind and Rain. The person with her doesn’t look like her assistant. Could she be the actress playing Shen Yifen?”

Shen Yifen?

Wang Yun quickened her steps, following another corridor and watching until Yu Shilan and Qiao Feiyu’s figures disappeared. Although she could only see a back view, just from that height and figure, Wang Yun felt that there was an eighty to ninety percent chance this was the person who had stolen her role.

“No way. This woman is that capable?” she said softly. “First Wang Min, then Qiao Feiyu. The famous Qiao Feiyu!”

She really had not expected that this woman, Qiao Feiyu, was also gay.

And she had expected even less that this newcomer, whoever she was, had somehow managed to take down two women in such a short amount of time.

Although she found such methods disgusting, she had to admit that Wang Yun had truly become curious about this woman. She even wanted to ask this woman for advice and see exactly how she had done it—whether she had gone all the way, or had merely cast out bait.

If she had only cast out bait, then why did Wang Yun always fail to succeed?

“Xiaomei, I’m going in. Later, think of a way to help me ask around and find out what that woman’s name is,” she instructed.