Chapter 22

This beauty salon is very strictly managed. The first time Tan Lingling went in, she followed Zhou Ye in.

As a newcomer, Tan Lingling even needed to have her fingerprints and iris scans registered before she could move freely in certain areas.

Zhou Ye turned and got into the elevator, while Tan Lingling was led into a bathhouse by a special person.

There's a reason why this beauty salon is so popular with celebrities.

"These are natural hot spring pools. Different pools have different effects. Since this is your first time here, we recommend that you do not soak for more than 15 minutes at a time."

The waitress wore a white silk cheongsam, which made her waist look graceful and her walk was elegant.

Tan Lingling took a closer look and found that the waitress was just as pretty as herself.

"Okay, thank you." Tan Lingling hung the bath towel she was wrapped in on the rack, then suddenly remembered something, "By the way, is this a public hot spring?"

Tan Lingling had been here for quite some time and hadn't seen a single person. The place was quite large; even if this beauty salon was high-end, it couldn't possibly be a place exclusively for one person, could it?

“Mr. Zhou is our highest-level Black Gold Card guest, and he enjoys private service every time he comes. As his friend, you are naturally our most honored guest as well.”

The waiter's voice was melodious and pleasant, like a beautiful musical instrument, but to Tan Lingling's ears, it always sounded somewhat out of place.

Perhaps it was because her tone was too stiff and rigid, like a robot?

Tan Lingling immersed her entire body in the water until the water level barely covered her chin.

She didn't pay attention to these details; following Zhou Ye, she always received special treatment that ordinary people didn't have.

As for the girl in front of her, Tan Lingling thought nonchalantly that she was probably someone who had witnessed Zhou Ye's brutal methods.

That's why your expression is so stiff.

"Okay, I understand. I'll be out in two hours. Can you book me a full-body SAP treatment?"

Like a fish out of water, Tan Lingling was finally inside the place she had been longing for, and she wished she could stay there forever.

"Okay, just ring bell number one when you come out."

After saying that, the waiter bowed, took three steps back, and turned to leave.

Tan Lingling leaned back, intending to soak in each pool for 15 minutes before leaving.

It was too rushed to come in the afternoon. If Zhou Ye hadn't been so insistent, she would have come in the morning.

It takes 8 hours to run an SAP test.

However, she just asked if she could stay here for one night after finishing the project before going back.

This place is open 24 hours a day.

While it's a bit strange that beauty salons are open 24 hours a day... well, a single SAP session can cost five figures, so it's not surprising that the service is excellent.

The black card that Zhou Ye gave to Tan Lingling allows her to spend freely here without paying a single penny.

The day after tomorrow, she will be joining a new production team, and she wants to attend the opening ceremony in the best possible condition.

There will be many reporters following her, and Tan Lingling plans to seize this opportunity to become a minor celebrity.

Having made a name for himself online, he could finally sit a little more submissively in front of Zhou Ye.

It might sound harsh, but this beauty salon not only offers expensive services, but also a wide variety of services.

Tan Lingling, who suddenly became rich despite being poor, just wanted to experience the thrill of getting her money back.

Enveloped in the slightly hot pool water, rising and falling with the waves, Tan Lingling couldn't help but feel drowsy.

The lingering pain from this period of torment seemed to fade away little by little with the sound of flowing water.

-

"Rehearsals will begin at 9 a.m. tomorrow."

There was no notification, no friend request from anyone, and no phone call from any staff member.

If it weren't for her relentless daily scrolling through various news platforms, Zhu Yu, who habitually takes her phone with her when she gets up to use the bathroom at night, would have missed this message.

Was this sent to the wrong person?

Without any clear beginning or end, Zhu Yu didn't dare to even think about the play.

And...tomorrow...

If I'm not mistaken, this text message was sent after midnight, so is "tomorrow" in the narrow sense or the broad sense?

No, it must be a prank!

How could there be such irresponsible staff members who use such vague information, without even a name or location, to notify others?

“I checked, and this number does indeed belong to a staff member, and it matches the time on the commencement report they submitted.”

In the end, Zhu Yu had to seek help from Shi Ru to confirm the news.

Even before officially participating in rehearsals, Zhu Yu already had a very bad feeling.

-

With the location given to her by Shi Ru, Zhu Yu arrived at the largest theater in the city. Perhaps because it was too early, the theater was dark and the lights were not yet on.

Following the room number sent by Shi Ru, Zhu Yu carefully walked inside.

Fortunately, several doors were open not far away, and light was shining from inside.

"I heard that our Sifeng this time is quite remarkable; she even called the director's phone directly!"

"I've seen this girl before. She seems to be very close to so-and-so's son!"

"That can't be right, I heard she's—his mistress,"

Is this talking about...me?

Zhu Yu paused slightly, after all, she was the only one playing Sifeng in this play.

"Knock knock knock." Taking advantage of a break in their conversation, Zhu Yu knocked on the door, both as a reminder and to stop them.

"Hello, is this the rehearsal hall for 'Thunderstorm'?"

The people in the room were startled, and their first reaction was to put out their cigarettes.

Looking at the brightly lit "No Smoking" sign at the entrance, and the burnt yellow marks left on the floor by the few people sitting on the ground who casually stubbed out their cigarettes.

"I'm a little reluctant to go in..." Zhu Yu hesitated, knowing that secondhand smoke was far more harmful than firsthand smoke.

And perhaps because her sense of smell is too acute, she feels very uncomfortable every time she smells this kind of scent.

"Uh, who are you?"

The man who looked much older than the other two, who was sitting in the middle, stood up, and the other two followed suit.

"I am Zhu Yu. I received the message yesterday asking me to come to the rehearsal."

"Oh~ you're that Sifeng, right!" The man dragged out the sound dramatically, completely ignoring Zhu Yu. The two behind him winked and said, "Welcome, welcome, welcome to our new colleague!"

"Come on in, let's warm up together. The others will be here in about half an hour."

No matter what they say about Zhu Yu in private, he is, after all, a person with powerful backing, and they can't afford to offend him.

And... they were actually caught smoking in the rehearsal room! If she reports them, they might even be blacklisted by the theater!

To ensure the floors in the theater's rehearsal halls and performance stages are slip-resistant and can accommodate various types of theatrical performances, the floors are made of rubber.

For a dance drama to be performed successfully, it requires a very specific floor plan.

Besides its high price, the most fatal feature of this type of floor mat is that it is flammable.

Although the flooring used in the rehearsal room is not exactly the same as that on the stage, it is still flammable. It can be said that the three of them were completely courting death.

"By the way, did the director give you the script?"

The group took their positions under the pretext of rehearsing their lines. Seeing that Zhu Yu's hands were empty, one of the younger-looking boys asked her a question.

"Wasn't the script handed out during rehearsals? Did you all receive it?"

Zhu Yu's eyes swept over the identical white A4-sized notebooks in the hands of the group.

"Uh... hahahaha." Seemingly not expecting the director to be so stubborn as to so obviously and undisguisedly dislike this person with connections.

The boy could only hide the script behind his back, awkwardly smiling as he tried to make Zhu Yu forget about it.

"You guys, has the sun risen in the west? Why are you here so early today?"

As they were talking, the director who had sat in the middle during the last interview came in from outside. As he passed Zhu Yu, he casually handed her a notebook bound with A4 paper.

"Here's the script, take a good look at it."

Then the director walked to the back row of lockers in the rehearsal room, took out the key from his backpack, and took out his water bottle.

"Alright, rehearsals will officially begin today. The rehearsal venue has been moved to Hall 3."

After saying that, he walked out first, and the boys quickly followed.

Without waiting for anyone to call out, Zhu Yu followed along on her own.

I didn't even have time to ponder the deeper meaning behind the director's words.

"Come on, everyone, gather around here."

Standing on the stage, the director clapped his hands at the scattered crowd in the audience below, signaling them to come to the stage.

"Let me introduce you all. This is our little fourth phoenix—Zhu Yu! Let's give her a round of applause!"

Then, scattered applause broke out from the audience.

"Well, Zhu Yu, there's something I have to tell you. We didn't originally plan to hold open auditions for the role of Sifeng."

After the short meeting, the director asked the main actors to organize everyone to start training on their own. Then he called Zhu Yu down from the stage and put on a friendly, heart-to-heart talk.

"As you can see, our current Sifeng is incredibly popular right now, and many viewers come specifically for her!"

The director is a master of the art of speaking; every word he utters is highly persuasive.

"As the saying goes, Xiao He made us and Xiao He broke us. Sifeng's schedule is very full right now, and she may not be able to attend all the shows. So, in order to avoid the negative impact of leaving a gap in the schedule, Sifeng took the initiative to suggest that we recruit another understudy."

In this sense, Zhu Yu not only cannot blame Si Feng for taking the role, but also has to accept her favor.

Zhu Yu lowered her eyes, somewhat disappointed. She didn't understand why the director's attitude had changed so drastically.

During the first interview, the director's praise for her seemed genuine, but from the final interview onwards, it was as if he was possessed.

"Okay, do I still need to attend rehearsals?"

"Of course, of course! Even though you're the understudy, you still get a chance to go on stage!"

Seeing that Zhu Yu was feeling down, and fearing that she might go backstage to complain, the director quickly put his arm around her shoulder, like a confidant, and gently comforted her in a low voice.

However, this attempt to appease them didn't last long, as the director was soon called over by the arguing lead actors.

How was your first day of rehearsal?

It was a message from Shi Ru.

“I’m currently in charge of this project, so you can go undercover for me and write down any areas you think can be improved.”