Yan Huan was reminded of a famous Chinese saying: “it takes ten years of hard work just to get ten minutes in the spotlight.” It was clearly not an exaggeration.
Yan Huan suddenly sensed that someone was looking at her with less-than-friendly intentions. She turned and saw Wen Dongni’s icy smile; the other actress appeared to be mentally slashing Yan Huan all over with her hostile, razor-sharp gaze.
Yan Huan turned back around. She found a chair and eased herself comfortably into it. Go on, try and cut me up, she thought, I have thick skin. Yan Huan was, as the saying went, pure gold, and she was not afraid of fire. She did not believe for a second that Wen Dongni would be able to do anything to her.
“Cut! Wen Dongni, what the hell do you think you’re doing? You’re playing the part of Hong Yu, not some kind of vengeful spirit. If you don’t get it, pack your things, go home, and make sure you read the script this time.”
“Cut! Wen Dongni, can’t you even position yourself correctly?! Look at where you’re standing, you’re blocking out everyone behind you!”
“Cut! Wen Dongni! Ms. Wen! Where are your lines? Did you feed them to the dogs?! If you don’t know how to act, get out of my sight!”
Director Jin’s booming shouts resonated through the set. It had begun with a simple warning, and then escalated into colorful, unrestrained swearing. No word was too foul for the director; the verbal abuse was enough to break the spirit of most men, let alone a woman.
Wen Dongni was in tears from all the scolding. Her makeup had turned into a smudged mess.
This was the first time she had been scolded like this since becoming an actress. It was utterly humiliating. Her temper suddenly flared; she picked up a prop and smashed it, before whipping around to kick the props next to her feet.
Hmph! That was it, she was quitting. It was just a supporting role anyway, nothing special. There were plenty of other roles out there waiting for her.
She strode arrogantly out of the studio, leaving her assistant dumbfounded. After a moment of speechless gaping, he was left with no option but to follow her out the door.
The same thought was now going through everyone’s minds: what an unpleasant and unprofessional actress!
If there was one thing Jin Hailiang hated most, it was actors who threw tantrums and behaved like divas. How dare she wreck his set! Very well then, he vowed to himself, I didn’t get my reputation in this industry for nothing—I will never let Wen Dongni participate in my projects ever again!
Anyone who dared mention Wen Dongni’s name in his presence would earn themselves a good scolding.
Now that Wen Dongni had walked off the set, it was necessary to get someone else to play the part of Hong Yu. The role went to a new actress; her acting was not quite as good as Wen Dongni’s, but she was very obedient and humble. Jin Hailiang was not completely satisfied with her performance, but he would take someone who was obedient, if not too bright, over a drama queen like Wen Dongni any day. He had seen and worked with plenty of actors, and, quite frankly, Wen Dongni was nothing special. Who did she think she was?
The new actress was Sun Shasha. Yan Huan knew a little about her from her previous life: the actress would eventually become famous enough for those in the industry to recognize her name, but she would fall short of becoming a true star. That was the reality of the industry—competition was fierce as there were new, fresh-faced actors entering the scene every day. Yan Huan did not know what became of Sun Shasha after her own untimely demise in her previous life, but she knew that Sun Shasha’s acting had slowly improved after taking on roles in a number of TV shows and movies of differing genres. She had a reputation for being a nice person, and Yan Huan felt she would probably make a good friend.
Yan Huan did not try to out-act the new actress and steal the show. Instead, she worked with Sun Shasha to make sure she performed to the best of her ability. Sun Shasha knew Yan Huan was doing her best to accommodate her, and that knowledge was enough to turn her into a starry-eyed fan.
“Ms. Yan, your acting skills are amazing. Thank you so much for today.” Sun Shasha had found time after the scene was over to personally thank Yan Huan. It was sincere, too, for if it hadn’t been for Yan Huan, she would probably have had to redo her scenes many, many times.
