The Empress In The Modern Era [Entertainment Industry GL] - Chapter 8

For a pre-filming dinner, female artists naturally had to dress themselves up properly. Although Wang Yun was now so drunk she was unconscious, and her makeup was somewhat smudged, it was still rather difficult to see her original appearance through that layer of makeup.

Yu Shilan stared at her for a while, but the more she looked, the more she felt there was something familiar about her brows and eyes. It was as if she had seen her somewhere before, yet she could not remember where. That strange feeling made even her chest feel somewhat blocked.

“Sis, she seems to know you,” Yu Yuanxing said silently.

It really did seem that way. Had she not just called out her name?

Yu Shilan moved her gaze away and took Qiao Feiyu’s autographed photo out of her bag, handing it to Yu Yuanxing. “Take this. Your Fairy Sister’s autographed photo. Go out first. I’ll go open another room for you.”

Less than two minutes after the door closed, Wang Yun’s phone rang.

The cheerful ringtone rang three times in a row before Wang Yun, dazed and half-asleep, instinctively picked up her phone and pressed answer. “Hello, who is this?”

“Yunzi, where did you go? Everyone from the crew left ages ago. Where did you go by yourself?” Tao Xiaomei’s worried voice was already tinged with tears.

As a qualified assistant, Tao Xiaomei did understand the men who had attended tonight’s dinner. The reason she had not warned Wang Yun too much was because she knew Wang Yun was smart and would not casually throw herself in. But when she waited and waited without seeing her, then went inside and found the private room completely empty, she truly panicked.

She understood Wang Yun too well. Wang Yun wanted to climb upward with all her heart, and many times, she walked right along the edge of danger.

Tonight, she had disappeared, and her phone had only connected after ringing three times. Tao Xiaomei thought that after spending all day hunting wild geese, Wang Yun had finally had her eyes pecked by one—that some disgusting man had taken her away.

Wang Yun narrowed her eyes and looked around, then pressed her fingers to her temples because of her headache. “Oh, I came back first. I drank a bit too much, so I already lay down to sleep.”

Tao Xiaomei had no time to be angry. She only felt that she could finally let out a breath.

“Then how are you now? Do you want me to come check on you, or buy you some hangover medicine?” she said.

“No need. It’s late. You should go back and rest early too.” After saying this in a daze, Wang Yun tossed the phone aside. Whether the call had hung up or not, she had no energy to care.

Tao Xiaomei sighed and was just about to hang up when a new call came in on her phone.

“Brother He.” She hurriedly answered.

He Zeng’s voice was low, and his tone was also somewhat helpless. “Yunzi’s role is gone because of special circumstances. Tell her that and comfort her properly. Bring her back as soon as possible. I’ll arrange a new project for her on my side.”

Tao Xiaomei had just been feeling sorry for Wang Yun. Hearing this, how could she hold back? “What happened? Filming starts tomorrow, the contract was already signed, and everything had been agreed on properly. How can it just be gone like that?!”

“It’s gone, so it’s gone. Why ask so much?” He Zeng’s artist had had her role stolen, so his mood was already terrible. With Tao Xiaomei shouting at him on top of that, he grew angry too. “You just stay with Yunzi properly. You don’t need to meddle in anything else.”

After saying this, he hung up without even pausing.

Tao Xiaomei listened to the beeping busy tone. Then, thinking of Wang Yun’s muddled voice after getting drunk just now, grief surged up in her heart, and she opened her mouth and wailed.

Last time, Wang Yun had prepared for so long for the role of Shen Yifen, only to have it stolen. This time, this second female lead role was about to start filming, yet it had been stolen too. How much money had been lost, before and after? Why was Yunzi so unlucky?

The more Tao Xiaomei thought about it, the more heartbroken she cried. Holding her phone, she walked while crying. After hesitating for a very long time, she finally decided to tell Wang Yun tomorrow. Right now, Wang Yun was drunk and sleeping uncomfortably. If she told her this, Wang Yun would feel even worse and be unable to sleep. Who knew how badly she would be tormented?

……

Only after opening a new room and taking a shower did Yu Yuanxing realize his own sister had really done something wonderful. She had driven him out in the middle of the night, without even giving him a change of clothes. After showering, he did not even have underwear to wear!

But when he thought about how, after entering the room, he had stared at Fairy Sister’s photo for half an hour, then gone online to show off to his friends for another half hour, and on top of that spent another half hour showering, it was already deep into the night now.

At this hour, his sister was probably already asleep.

Tomorrow was the opening ceremony. This was the first production in his sister’s life. If she could not look beautiful for it, that would definitely be a great regret. Since it was so late, he had better not disturb her. He would wash his underwear first, let the air conditioner dry it overnight, then put it on tomorrow and go back to his room to get his clothes.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Yu Shilan, whom Yu Yuanxing thought was already asleep, was holding wet wipes in one hand and makeup remover in the other. She had dragged Wang Yun’s upper body off the bed, fixed her head on her own lap, and was lowering her head to remove her makeup.

After the makeup was removed, although traces of cosmetics still remained on Wang Yun’s face, her true original appearance was revealed. A clean fair face, delicate brows and eyes, a small nose tip, slightly pale lips—she looked fragile, soft, and beautiful. Just like… just like the woman in the dream.

That woman had a pair of beautiful eyes.

But now, this woman named Wang Yun had her eyes closed.

The woman who always appeared in her dreams had appeared in reality, right in front of her. Drunk and completely unconscious, her head resting on Yu Shilan’s thigh, she seemed troubled by something even in her heart, and her brows were still faintly furrowed.

Yu Shilan’s hands trembled a little. She gently held Wang Yun’s head and placed it on the bed. Then she got up and quietly went to the bathroom, took a disposable towel, wet it with water, and came back to wipe Wang Yun’s face again. An actress’s face could not be treated carelessly. If she did not pay attention when she was young, once she grew old, no amount of maintenance injections could make up for it.

Before she knew it, her movements had become especially gentle, as if she were afraid of waking Wang Yun. But in truth, there were not that many thoughts in her mind. She only felt that her brain had already crashed. In her dazed state, everything she was doing was purely instinctive.

Perhaps the gentle movements were especially uncomfortable. Wang Yun randomly stretched out her hand and pressed it onto Yu Shilan’s, murmuring softly, “Xiaomei, stop fussing. Hurry and sleep.”

Her skin was slightly warm, while Yu Shilan’s own skin was cool. The moment they touched, Yu Shilan suddenly felt her heartbeat speed up.

She thought of that dream.

In the dream, the woman seemed to say: The one you love clearly isn’t me. Why would you die for me?

And how had she answered?

She could not speak, but in her heart, she had been shouting: No, I didn’t love anyone else. I love you. The one I love is you. That’s why I was willing to die for you.

What kind of ridiculous dream was that?!

She had lived for twenty-one years and had never had feelings for any girl. She was clearly even a face fan of Film Emperor Mo Ruchen. How could she, how could she possibly love a girl, love her so much that she would die for her?

Impossible. She was not the kind of person who could die for love.

So working backward from that, it was even more impossible for her to fall in love with a girl!

Then why would she dream of this girl?

She seemed to know her, so did she know something?

Yu Shilan threw away the disposable towel and bent down to look at Wang Yun once more. Afterward, she turned off the lights and left the room. When this girl called Wang Yun woke up tomorrow, she absolutely had to ask her properly.

Yu Shilan slept very well that night, without a single dream.

She had even thought she would dream that bizarre dream again.

But early the next morning, the production crew’s opening ceremony was at eight. She was a newcomer and had to rely on herself to do her makeup, and she also had to arrive earlier. So early in the morning, she did not go looking for Wang Yun. Instead, after saying something to Yu Yuanxing, she rushed to the production crew’s side very early.

In order to get his sister to take him to meet his idol, Yu Yuanxing was extremely obedient. He got up at seven, went out to have breakfast, and even bought a portion for Wang Yun. At seven-thirty, he knocked on the door tentatively. Unexpectedly, the door opened the second time he knocked.

Looking at Wang Yun, who was barefaced yet glaring over with sharp eyes, Yu Yuanxing became a mute gourd. Only after a long while did he dryly squeeze out two words.

“…Hello.”

“I’m not well,” Wang Yun said, taking a step back and letting Yu Yuanxing enter.

She had woken up twenty minutes ago and seen the message Tao Xiaomei sent saying her role had been stolen. Although she had already expected it, her mood was still extremely bad. Immediately afterward, she discovered that this was not her room. Her luggage was not inside, but there was a suitcase containing men’s clothes. Then, when she went to the bathroom, she was shocked to discover that her makeup had been removed—and removed very unclearly at that!

If not for the fact that she was still wearing yesterday’s clothes and there was no discomfort anywhere on her body, then at the sight of Yu Yuanxing, she would not have merely replied with “I’m not well.” She probably would have raised her foot directly and kicked him in the family jewels.

Of course, she was still just as unhappy now.

He removed her makeup, yet had not touched her otherwise. Was this because he thought she was ugly?

After having her role stolen, Wang Yun felt as if she had received another heavy critical blow.

Yu Yuanxing felt super awkward, and also a little wronged. Speaking of it, he could count as Wang Yun’s lifesaver. He had even bought her breakfast early in the morning. Forget not thanking him—what was with that expression like he owed her something?

You’re not well? I’m not well either!

Yu Yuanxing put the breakfast on the table, then walked over to his own suitcase. Looking at the suitcase that had been opened and rummaged through until everything inside was a mess, black lines appeared over his head in waves. Finally unable to hold back, he turned back and said to Wang Yun, “You went through my suitcase?”

The displeasure in his tone was so full it was practically overflowing.

Wang Yun gave him an eye roll and said, “You brought me back? From where? And also, did you remove my makeup? Who allowed you to touch my face?!”

Even if her innocence was still intact, having some unfamiliar grown man remove her makeup inevitably meant he had touched and handled her a bit, right? He looked decent enough, young enough to seem like a student, but how did he have such a perverted hobby?

Only then did Yu Yuanxing realize something was off. Last night, she had been wearing makeup. Now she was completely barefaced. No wonder he had felt something strange the moment he entered.

But wearing makeup and not wearing makeup really were two different things.

The former was pretty, charming, sexy beauty, while the latter was delicate, graceful, and lovable. As expected of a celebrity. Even an eighteenth-tier actress had this much capital.

“What are you looking at?!” Wang Yun grew angry and stepped forward, raising her foot as if to kick him. But after thinking about how they were, in the end, an unmarried man and woman alone together, and if she truly angered him, she would be the one at a disadvantage, she forced herself to endure it. “Do you know that what you did is illegal? Who are you, to be so bold?”

Yu Yuanxing was directly angered into laughter by her.

“Illegal?” he said. “Big Sis, last night you were drunk and crying on the roadside with absolutely no image at all. If I hadn’t saved you, you’d already be on the entertainment headlines today, okay?! Illegal? I’m your lifesaver, all right?”

Wang Yun choked.

Her memory really only went as far as that period of time last night after she left the hotel. She remembered that the more she walked, the sadder she became, and then she casually found a place to sit. Had she cried? And sat by the roadside with no image at all… crying loudly?

All right, even if that was true, he still should not have removed her makeup.

“Then why did you remove my makeup?” Her arrogance settled a little, but she was still very dissatisfied. “You’re a grown man. How do you have this kind of hobby? Even if you saved me, you can’t just casually touch me.”

Yu Yuanxing refused to take the blame. “I didn’t! It was probably my sister. Last night, I opened another room. Maybe later my sister came to help remove your makeup. Sleeping with heavy makeup on isn’t good either. My sister was doing it for your own good. Otherwise, she would even think it was dirty.”

“Your sister?” Wang Yun asked.

Yu Yuanxing nodded. “Yu Shilan. Your friend. Last night, when you were drunk, you were even calling her name.”

Wang Yun: “…” Since when had she and Yu Shilan become friends?

No, wait. Yu Shilan!

Yu Shilan, who stole her role!

Her younger brother saved her, and she removed her makeup. What was she trying to do?

Wang Yun had no competition with her and had never offended her. As for her backers Wang Min and Qiao Feiyu, Wang Yun was even less qualified to offend them. She probably was not trying to mess with her, so what was she trying to do?

Wang Yun glared at Yu Yuanxing. Looking at his face, which had clear, defined features but was a little too good-looking, she silently started worrying.

Very clearly, this Yu Shilan was not a good person.

First there was Wang Min, then Qiao Feiyu, and now she had actually taken a liking to Wang Yun too?

No, wait. She had only removed Wang Yun’s makeup. So did that mean she had not taken a liking to her?

Yu Yuanxing watched Wang Yun’s expression change several times back and forth. Unable to guess what she was thinking, and also not wanting to pay her much attention, he said, “Today is the opening ceremony for Heroes Through Wind and Rain. My sister went over early this morning. She told me to buy you breakfast. If you’re fine after eating, you can stay here a little longer. If you have something to do, then leave your number. My sister said she has something to talk to you about.”

Only after he finished speaking did Yu Yuanxing feel that something was a little off.

If they were friends, why did she not even have her phone number?

“Did you change your number and not tell my sister?” In the end, he cared more about his sister. “You two didn’t argue, did you? My sister’s personality looks a little cold, but actually, she cares a lot about her friends. She’s cold on the outside and warm on the inside. Although she hasn’t had many friends over the years, once she makes one, it’s a friendship for life. Even now, she still often keeps in contact with her elementary school and high school friends.”

What are you doing!

I don’t care what kind of personality your sister has at all, okay!

After hearing Yu Yuanxing’s words, the worry in Wang Yun’s heart practically shot into the sky. It seemed Yu Shilan’s younger brother knew about her sexual orientation. Otherwise, why would he explain so much to her and even deliberately bring up elementary school and high school friends as shields? It was not like she was stupid!

The thing she should do most right now was hurry and run!

But… should she leave, or should she stay?

Yu Shilan was so capable. As a completely unknown newcomer, she had instantly obtained the second female lead role in Director Meng Ping’s film through Wang Min, and then immediately stuck herself to Qiao Feiyu. Wang Yun truly did not have that kind of ability.

She had to learn.

Pleasing women, if she did not do that kind of thing, was actually better than pleasing men. And even if she did do that kind of thing, as long as she was on top, the one giving, it would not interfere with her marrying in the future.

Wang Yun quickly analyzed the pros and cons in her heart and made a decision.

“When will Shilan come back?” Although she had not done especially well in the industry, she had been around for years after all, and her ability to speak differently to different people was something Wang Yun used very well. The moment she made her decision in her heart, the way she addressed Yu Shilan immediately became affectionate.

Seeing that Wang Yun was no longer baring her teeth and brandishing her claws, Yu Yuanxing’s attitude improved a little too. “Probably in a while. If you have nothing to do, you can come with me to find her. I happen to be planning to go take a photo with my idol. If I don’t go now, I’m afraid I won’t have the chance anymore.”

Wang Yun casually asked, “Who’s your idol?”

“Fairy Sister Qiao Feiyu,” Yu Yuanxing said proudly.

Wang Yun let out two dry, awkward laughs, and the thought she had just developed of going with Yu Yuanxing to find Yu Shilan was immediately extinguished. If she went, wouldn’t Yu Shilan’s face change from fright? Wang Min and Qiao Feiyu were both there. Yu Shilan was already likely having a hard enough time dealing with them. If Wang Yun showed up too and angered those two, only a ghost would believe she could have a good outcome.

“No. I’ll wait here for her,” she said, looking at Yu Yuanxing with a smile that was not quite a smile. “You go. Tidy yourself up before you go. At least leave a good impression.”

That was your short-term… brother-in-law? Or sister-in-law?

Wang Yun did not have the brain cells to figure it out.

Yu Yuanxing left happily, without even asking for Wang Yun’s phone number.

Wang Yun called Tao Xiaomei and told her to bring clothes and makeup to find her. But after hanging up, she grew a little troubled. Yu Shilan had removed her makeup, so what did that mean? Did she not like seeing her with makeup on?

It definitely was not that Yu Shilan did not like her. She had even told her younger brother to keep Wang Yun here. How could she not like her?

She probably did not like the way she looked with makeup on. In that case, when Tao Xiaomei came, she had to choose a more pure and innocent outfit. Then, finally, she would put on some nude makeup. It would make her complexion look good. For lipstick, she would choose a nude pink shade, with a little orange added in to create a gradient lip look.

Oh right, she had to hurry and shower and wash her hair now.

……

When Yu Yuanxing arrived at the place where the opening ceremony was being held, they had just finished offering incense. He found a gap and called Yu Shilan, and was quickly brought before Qiao Feiyu.

The moment he saw Qiao Feiyu, Yu Yuanxing was so excited he forgot how to speak. He stared at Qiao Feiyu with a silly, foolish look, making even Yu Shilan feel embarrassed.

Qiao Feiyu, however, was already used to this and showed no strangeness. She took the initiative to stand beside Yu Yuanxing. Yu Shilan pressed the camera button several times, taking four or five photos. Then Qiao Feiyu simply linked her arm through Yu Yuanxing’s and smiled, striking another pose.

Yu Yuanxing’s face flushed red, and his smile was practically like that of a big fool.

Yu Shilan could only continue, pressing the button several more times.

Not far away, Mo Ruchen saw this scene and was rather surprised. Yesterday, he had already noticed that Qiao Feiyu and this newcomer seemed to have a close relationship. Could it be that she had some kind of relationship with this newcomer’s younger brother?