"You're welcome, it was nothing!"
Xiao Wenqiang felt Situ Chen was a bit distant, but she understood. After all, he was a major film star, and there wasn't much to talk about with someone like her, who wasn't even considered an eighteenth-tier actress. Still, out of politeness, she shamelessly asked, "It was a huge help to me! I was wondering when you and Manager Gao might be free. I'd like to treat you both to a meal." After sending the message, she thought to herself how bold she was. Was it that easy to ask out a "film star"?
As expected, the reply came: "We'll see!"
This was clearly a polite rejection. Xiao Wenqiang understood and finally replied, "Okay, whatever is convenient for you. I'll contact you then." She ended with a cute dog bowing and thanking her with a "Weishu" emoji.
On the other end, Situ Chen, seeing the emoji, didn't reply further. He looked at the man lounging in his home, drinking expensive aged wine, and said, "Did you give my phone number to that Su Ling?"
"Oh, she contacted you?" Gao Shiying asked, interested, putting down the fine wine.
"She transferred ten thousand yuan to me," Situ Chen said, taking an elegant sip of red wine. "I've accepted it on your behalf as punishment for leaking my information."
"What the heck! That's too expensive for a punishment! You're so greedy!" Gao Shiying instantly felt the expensive wine didn't taste as good anymore. But he quickly shrugged it off. "What a pity about that Su Ling. She looks great on the outside, but she has no brains. How did she end up signing with Li Bokai?"
Situ Chen remained noncommittal.
"But I didn't expect you to meddle in that business that day. Don't you usually avoid such things?" Gao Shiying was curious.
"She has a pair of very eloquent eyes," Situ Chen said lightly.
"You think so too, don't you? I was thinking of trying to talk to her when her contract is up," Gao Shiying began scouting for talented performing artists for his company.
Situ Chen nodded and clinked glasses with Gao Shiying.
...
Xiao Wenqiang ate the freshly delivered fried rice, finding it incredibly delicious. Although it was considered unhealthy food with its high fat, high calorie, and high starch content, fortunately, Su Ling had a good natural constitution, so eating it occasionally shouldn't be a problem.
Not long after finishing her meal, Xiao Wenqiang received a message from Sister Qiao, who sent her a "Weishu" account: "Little Su, please add Annie. I've already explained your situation to her. You can discuss the specifics with her."
"Okay, thank you, Sister Qiao!" After replying, Xiao Wenqiang immediately added Annie as a "Weishu" friend.
Annie accepted her request immediately. Before Xiao Wenqiang could even compose her message, Annie's "Weishu" voice call came through.
"Su Ling, right? I'm Annie. Sister Qiao must have told you?" a hearty female voice came from the other end of the line.
"Hello, Annie, I'm Su Ling," Xiao Wenqiang replied.
"Hello, hello! It's like this, our crew is currently looking for an actress. Requirements are good looks and agility. Sister Qiao said you're suitable. Are you interested in coming for an audition?" Annie got straight to the point.
"Okay, may I ask when?"
"Tomorrow morning at 9 AM, at our film studio, for the 'Forensic Files' crew." Annie rattled off the information like a machine gun. "I'll send you the script for your part later. Prepare tonight, and I'll see you tomorrow!" With that, she hung up the voice call.
Xiao Wenqiang lowered her head and smiled, finding Annie's straightforward personality quite likable. She seemed like a very direct person. Then, she opened the script Annie had sent.
"Forensic Files" was a unit-based crime investigation drama. This role was the protagonist in one of the cases. Liu Yiyi was a pure and cute-looking but timid female vocational high school student. Her parents divorced when she was very young, and she grew up with her grandmother. Liu Yiyi's grades were poor, and she was not very talkative, so neither teachers nor classmates liked her.
Unfortunately, school bullying found its way to her. A group of vocational high school girls who had already started dabbling in street life harassed her frequently. It started with throwing mice into her schoolbag and secretly tearing up her exams, and later escalated to cornering her in the restroom and beating her, becoming increasingly aggressive.
On another occasion, they cornered Liu Yiyi on her way home from school. This time, the group of hooligans stripped her clothes, forced her to say derogatory things about herself on camera, and even found a man to rape her, filming the entire incident.
Liu Yiyi fought back with a knife, resulting in three injuries and two deaths at the scene. Fearing the consequences, she fled.
The main protagonists gathered evidence, pieced together clues, and finally ruled Liu Yiyi's actions as self-defense, prompting the audience to reflect on social issues like school violence.
Xiao Wenqiang really liked this script, feeling there was a lot of room for her to perform. After thoroughly cleaning herself that evening and drying her hair, she fell asleep with the script in her hands, silently reciting her lines.
The next day, at the "Forensic Files" set.
"Run through the scene from Liu Yiyi enduring the abuse to fighting back and killing," Director Wu Wangfei looked at Xiao Wenqiang and gave the prompt. "Get two people to help her!"
Two men emerged from the crew. One loosely restrained Xiao Wenqiang, while the other pretended to hold up a phone to record, helping to create the scene.
Xiao Wenqiang closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them again, she was the ill-fated Liu Yiyi.
"Let go of me! Please, let me go!" Xiao Wenqiang, as Liu Yiyi, struggled.
"Ah Qiang, hurry up, today's your chance to be the male lead!" another crew member read his lines emotionlessly.
"Please let me go, don't force me!" Xiao Wenqiang cried, tears streaming down her face, but her pleas were met with no mercy.
When she felt the actor playing Ah Qiang begin to pretend to strip her clothes, Xiao Wenqiang suddenly glared fiercely at him, then used her legs to powerfully kick him in the groin.
While the man crouched down in pain, Xiao Wenqiang made a fake move to pull a switchblade from her pocket. She then knelt up and slashed at his carotid artery. Before anyone could react, she lunged with her bare hands, making slashing motions at the crew members in front of her.
After everyone dispersed, Xiao Wenqiang wiped her face, pretending to wipe away nonexistent blood. Then, as if just realizing what had happened, she screamed, dropped the knife, and stumbled away into the distance, crying...
Finally, she returned to Wu Wangfei, bowed, and said, "Director, my performance is finished."
The set was silent for a few seconds. Annie was the first to start clapping, leading the crew in spontaneous applause. "Su Ling, your acting is great! That look in your eyes just before you fought back was incredibly fierce, it even scared me a little."
Director Wu Wangfei was also very satisfied. "Good, good! And your fighting skills during the counter-attack were quite neat! Nobody even reacted! I think we can add a character trait for Liu Yiyi: because she was bullied constantly, she secretly learned some martial arts, allowing her to protect herself at a critical moment. You're very suitable for this role! Let's discuss the price later. If everything is agreeable, we'll sign the contract as soon as possible!" At this point, Xiao Wenqiang realized she would have to talk to Li Bokai after all.