Chapter 97: You can look back when you can’t sleep, but you can’t go back…
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When I woke up the next day, my cheek wasn't swollen, but my eyes were. It wasn't serious, but it affected my appearance on camera. I used the swelling reduction methods that other people in the crew had used, and I recovered fairly well.
Jiang Shan remained unchanged, acting as if nothing had happened yesterday. When she was with her own people, she didn't restrain her temper at all. After meeting her, she glanced at her indifferently and then casually chatted about company gossip.
She was absent-minded and didn't really want to talk to him, but Cheng Yuzhou was right. There were too many young people like her who dreamed of becoming famous overnight, thinking that they could quickly gain exposure and fame and fortune by simply making a couple of films, appearing on some variety shows, signing with a company, and having someone promote them.
After she finished filming her scenes, she understood what Cheng Yuzhou meant. Jiang Shan didn't just look down on her; she had no interest in dealing with all the unknown celebrities. Ten years ago, countless people were competing, and only a few of them made it to this level. Being beautiful was just an entry ticket and didn't play a decisive role.
Cheng Yuzhou had gotten used to it; only scolding worked. Kind words couldn't make artists face reality, couldn't give them illusions, and couldn't give them hope.
However, after sobering up, she still tried to find ways to give her opportunities and nurture her.
Let her learn golf, horseback riding, and emotional intelligence courses. In short, she should know a little about all the sports that rich people like. Many deals are made during the process of eating, drinking, and having fun.
She's been so busy these past few days that she hasn't had time to think about Shen Yueze, except for a few moments before bed at night when she can't help but think about him again.
What is he doing? Who is with him? How active is his nightlife?
He has high needs; at his age, he's full of vigor.
Due to differences in physical structure, men have a much higher sex drive than women. She also has desires, but not as much as he does. Like most people around her, she only wants sex most during ovulation, but he doesn't; he wants it almost every day.
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On the day she returned from Hengdian, she called a cleaning lady to clean the rented place in advance. Xu Si transferred 300 yuan to her, and she had her cleaning done for two hours.
Pushing open the living room door, a unisex fragrance wafted out. This was one of the fragrances Shen Yueze often used, so it was quite familiar. A men's oversized jacket was tossed on the sofa.
"Weren't you not home?"
Xu Si sat on a small stool, drawing eyeliner in front of the makeup mirror, creating an upward-sweeping line with focused movements. She replied, "My boyfriend is late and will be leaving soon. Have you eaten? I ordered takeout, but I can't finish it all. If you haven't eaten, you can have it all."
Wen Yining put down her suitcase wearily, took a bottle of cold drink from the refrigerator, and blew on the fan. "It was so hot filming period dramas in the summer that I almost got heatstroke. And that Tao Jing likes to take care of her health. She doesn't allow air conditioning or fans to be turned on in the winter. Her team members all carry their own Huoxiang Zhengqi Water (a traditional Chinese medicine for heatstroke).
She rolled up her short-sleeved shirt sleeves, her whole body damp and sticky. She closed her eyes and faced the fan, her mind restless and agitated, unable to calm down.
Xu Si finished applying her eye makeup before glancing at her. "Your neck is all sunburned. Money isn't easy to earn these days. It's been forty degrees Celsius for the past few days, and you still have to wear several layers of costumes."
Picking up the phone on the table, she said, "Oh, by the way, my boyfriend has a good friend who wants your WeChat, so I sent it to him."
Xu Si posted a casual photo of the two of them on his WeChat Moments. They weren't dressed up in any fancy way; they had just taken a shower and were wearing loose, baggy T-shirts and shorts. The photo was taken at a roadside barbecue stall, and the two of them were having a late-night snack together. It had a very down-to-earth, everyday feel to it. The more casual the photo, the easier it is for a guy to have fantasies.
Her face is truly rare in real life. People in Shen Yueze's social circle are not lacking in beautiful women, but that doesn't mean others aren't.
She looked down and replied to her boss's message perfunctorily, "Do you have money? What do you look like?"
Xu Si found her some photos. "They're alright. I'll send them to you. You can see for yourself. They definitely can't compare to male celebrities. They're just average-looking people. If you like them, come hang out with me. They often get together, and you don't have to pay for meals or drinks."
After leaving Shen Yueze, all she wanted was a lot of money, preferably enough to buy her a large apartment.
It can't be any other city, it has to be Beijing. This is the political and cultural center, and most film and television companies are located here. If possible, I would like to settle down here.
The notification from her contact went off, but she didn't click on it immediately. Instead, she continued typing a reply to Cheng Yuzhou, her interest waning.
Let's get to the point: "What kind of car does he drive? Is he generous to his girlfriend? He shouldn't be very old."
"I remember it's a Porsche 911 worth over a million. Since you're single anyway, why not add him and chat? He's a nice guy. I've met him quite a few times. He gets tens of thousands of yuan in pocket money every month. You can definitely buy him a bag or shoes if you want."
"Then forget it."
She wasn't interested in dating that type of person, nor was she interested in stringing someone along. If she wanted, she had friends in her contacts who could transfer money to her anytime. Chen Jiabai was one, and Feng Yan was another. A few days ago, he even asked her what she was doing and offered to buy her a plane ticket so she could go to the city where he was filming.
It wasn't explicitly stated, but the conditions were similar: going to bed together.
The hardest thing in the world is making money, and there's no such thing as a fool who'll give money away unconditionally.
"My boss even sent me to learn golf and emotional intelligence, probably because he wants to introduce me to older men."
Xu Si instantly understood that she didn't like him, and teased her while drawing her eyebrows with an eyebrow pencil, "I thought I was already very materialistic, like marrying a rich person, but dating doesn't matter. I've dated very poor guys too. I was young then and didn't care about these things."
"But as I grew up, I realized that money is the most important thing. I would rather cry in a Mercedes than laugh on a bicycle."
"Is your boyfriend that tattoo artist? How much does he earn in this line of work?"
"He's considered to have a high income. There are a lot of people who want to work with him. His schedule is booked until next year. He charges by the hour. Even celebrities are looking for him."
A short while later, Xu Si's boyfriend came to pick her up. He parked downstairs in the apartment building. The building wasn't tall; she lived on the third floor. Wen Yining was hanging clothes out the window when she actually saw a Mercedes-AMG.
However, judging from Xu Si's spending habits, it's hard to believe she has a rich second-generation boyfriend. She doesn't own any luxury goods, her clothes are all bought online for a few dozen yuan, her cosmetics aren't big brands, playing music is too expensive, and she's much tighter on money than Xu Si.
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That evening, Cheng Yuzhou took her to a dinner party. There were quite a few celebrities there, and she even saw Jiang Shan, who had slapped her on set. Jiang Shan wasn't wearing much makeup, and she yawned widely, looking very impatient.
Because her favorite idol used to come from Dongyang, she had seen many interviews. A few years ago, there was a gossip that said Dongyang was different from other companies. They didn't allow their artists to attend dinner parties, and such socializing was generally accepted in the industry.
Actually, that gossip is fake. If you don't attend drinking parties, you can't attract investors, and your projects won't even get off the ground.
The table was filled with men and women, mostly older people. Among them was President Peng, who had shared a toast with her last time. Cheng Yuzhou, unaware of the situation, had specially instructed someone to change her seat so that she could sit next to him.
Mr. Peng: "I heard you broke up with your boyfriend."
Wen Yining looked a little embarrassed and hummed in agreement.
"Your boyfriend has quite a temper; he even blocked me on WeChat and by phone."
His tone wasn't accusatory, but he glanced at her casually.
She tactfully apologized, "I'm sorry, Mr. Peng. He argued with me and even threw my phone away. I didn't even know when he blocked me."
He hurriedly picked up his phone from the table, saying, "I'll release it right now, I'm really sorry."
"Alright, alright, let's eat."
Peng Zhi said impatiently.
Wen Yining smoothed her long hair, her expression somewhat unnatural, but she still removed him from the blacklist, cursing Shen Yueze inwardly for being such a bastard, even after they broke up, he still had to delay her from finding someone else.
Men are very concerned about their pride. Peng Zhi was somewhat bothered by being rejected twice. Even if he didn't say it, he wouldn't feel good about it. His indifference towards her was far less than the first time he was warm towards her.
In the dim light and chaotic atmosphere, her agent Xue Wen was anxious for her. "Why are you like a block of wood? Can't you learn from others? Didn't you hear what that Boss Zheng said? He's going to invest money in Hanhan and make her the second female lead. He said he wouldn't invest if she wasn't the second female lead. Her face is far worse than yours. She's just more proactive and more flirtatious than you."
“I was with Mr. Peng just now. He was interested in me last time and even asked me out to dinner on WeChat. I can’t ask anyone else.”
Xue Wen got even angrier and ruffled his hair. "Where is he now? Why is he walking away with someone else?"
She shook her head, unsure. In the end, Peng Zhi chose the most inconspicuous girl to leave.
The girl was wearing jeans, a white T-shirt, and a ponytail. She carried an ordinary canvas bag and had no luxury items on her body. She was plain-looking, appeared to be without makeup, had light-colored lips, and spoke in a soft voice, giving off an impression of naivety.
On the other hand, she went to a hair salon to get her hair done before coming, spending over a thousand yuan, and had someone do her makeup for 680 yuan.
She wore perfume, chose an exquisite bodycon dress with an off-the-shoulder design that revealed half of her sexy shoulder, and wore a pair of high-heeled shoes worth tens of thousands of yuan. She also carried a Dior Lady Dior bag. Her mature and elegant outfit made even Cheng Yuzhou, who sees female celebrities every day, momentarily lose his composure when he saw her.
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As they stepped out of the elevator, Xue Wen was still exasperated, constantly berating her, "What a great opportunity today! Do you know that those who want to find a backer don't even get a chance to enter this kind of situation? If Cheng Yuzhou hadn't insisted on bringing you, I would have asked Su Yu to come instead."
She knew that Xue Wen and Hanhan's agents were mortal enemies. Every artist has rivals, and agents are even more so, the kind who wish the other dead, fighting over resources and sabotaging each other's artists.
They're responsible for creating smear campaigns and disparaging content, which is why Xue Wen is so resentful tonight.
They complained that she hadn't managed to snag a single sugar daddy, that she was hopeless.
Xue Wen: "I'm asking you, do you still want to be famous?" "I do."
She took a deep breath, her stomach burning and bloated. She barely ate any food, just drank alcohol, and the more she drank, the more sober she became. The more she drank, the more she regretted breaking up with Shen Yueze. He was right, money outside was far less easy to earn than his.
If you want to find a rich second-generation like the one Xu Si introduces, it's quite easy. She'll make you look good and presentable when you take him out. In other words, she can make the guy look very rich. However, young second-generation men have very little disposable cash flow and even less network of connections.
Peng Zhi, whom Cheng Yuzhou knows, can even decide who the female lead is in major projects.
She felt dizzy from riding the elevator. The drinks she was forced to drink tonight even included some baijiu (Chinese liquor). She could drink red wine, spirits, and beer, but not baijiu. Cheng Yuzhou's alcohol tolerance was about the same as hers, and when he couldn't drink anymore, he would ask her to drink for him. Right now, she really didn't want to say a word.
Xue Wen said, "Cheng Yuzhou told me you want to be famous, want to make money, and don't want to live a life where you can be bullied anymore. Well, you should first figure out what your core competitiveness is. What kind of occasion is this? Still acting all high and mighty? If you don't take the initiative, you won't even get a chance to use the unspoken rules—"
She didn't reply, her eyes were a little vacant, and she walked towards the nanny van. These high heels were rubbing her feet, and the heels were extremely thin, they were like beautiful instruments of torture, and she could barely walk steadily.
With one hand carrying a bag and the other clutching Cheng Yuzhou's coat, he had vomited and was still in the bathroom. His assistant said this was normal.
She was getting annoyed, and finally, her anger, which she had been holding back for so long, broke out. She retorted, "Is this a matter of whether I want to or not? He doesn't like my type, and nothing I do will change that!"
"In this world, there are many things that people know how to do but just can't do. Is it because you didn't want to produce a top star or a Best Actress? I can't control how many conflicts you and Hanhan's agent have in the company, what does it have to do with me?!"
Xue Wen slapped her across the face. "What are you yelling at me for! If you're so tough, talk to the boss like that, go talk to the person who stole your resources! Wen Yining, we're in this together from now on. Is it wrong for me to think about your future? You've never seen how other company agents scold someone like you who's nobodies—"
"..."
She turned her head to the other side, covered her face, and tucked her hair behind her ear. This time she had gotten used to it, or rather, she had slowly accepted it and become numb to the situation.
Because I have indeed witnessed it; there are countless instances of minor celebrities being verbally abused and physically assaulted.
However, extras have it even worse. They only earn a few thousand yuan a month. They are cold in winter and scorching in summer. They are scolded and ordered around every day, with no dignity and are not treated like human beings.
And this is the rule for all film crews; it's become the unspoken rule.
Because some extras are lazy and will leave halfway through filming, the success of the show has nothing to do with them. They even laugh and don't take it seriously during filming, so it has become a situation where they can only be managed by insults.
Cheng Yuzhou said quite casually that they feared power but not morality. She didn't understand at first, but she never wanted to go that far, because that kind of work had no dignity whatsoever.
Aside from the political arena, no other circle is more hierarchical than the entertainment industry, which divides people into different classes and allows anyone to trample on those at the bottom.
Being bullied has become the fate of the weak.
There was a distance between the elevator and the van. After being slapped by Xue Wen, she didn't say anything and tried to get into the car nonchalantly, but she didn't expect to run into the last person she wanted to see—
A dozen meters away, three or four rich young men were surrounding Shen Yueze, and four or five supercars were parked there, all with Beijing license plates (京A) and leopard numbers.
He casually smoked, listening to Xie Yuchen say something, exuding a lazy vibe. He had one hand in his pocket, his posture upright and stylish. It was hard to hear what they were talking about, but then he smiled nonchalantly, quite relaxed and languid.
He was dressed in trendy clothes, with a silver Cuban chain around his neck, and his watch was a limited edition model that I had never seen before.
This club has a good level of privacy, and today just happens to be the weekend, which is not a coincidence. If it weren't for this kind of occasion, you would never run into him. He only appears in high-end places.
These young men were all about the same age, at the prime of their lives, indulging in whatever was expensive and extravagant.
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Xie Yuchen came to see his good friend's supercar today. They had a meal at the club, played games, drank some white wine, and then went for a race.
Staring at the LaFerrari, he said with a hint of envy, "Damn, your brother is really generous to you. As soon as he heard you broke up and were in a bad mood, he immediately gave you a LaFerrari. Is he just lending it to you for a while, or is he really giving it to you?"
A white Ferrari LaFerrari, worth half a billion yuan, there are only four convertibles in the whole country, and one of them is in Shen Kuo's hands.
"Give it to him. Shen Kuo is past the age of car collecting. The LaFerrari is for collecting. Don't drive it around. Just show it to your brothers."
"Someone offered him that price and asked if he would sell, but he didn't."
Shen Yueze lazily held up four fingers, meaning more than forty million.
Just then, his McLaren went to be repaired, and Shen Kuo, knowing he was in a bad mood after his breakup, gave him this LaFerrari, which is impossible to buy on the market.
“Let me tell you, even dogs don’t drive McLarens. Nine out of ten need repairs,” Xie Yuchen complained. “Mine breaks down every six months. Seriously, I’m fed up. Porsches are the best to drive.”
However, the most popular cars among men are McLaren and Lamborghini. They buy them for their looks and don't care how much it will cost to repair them.
"Let's go, let's go, Daddy's going to torture you to death."
We chatted for two minutes, then got ready to rush to the next event for some racing, when I heard a crisp slap—
The man's sharp insults were also mixed in. The girl did not fight back or cry. Instead, she casually tidied her hair, as if she was used to it. She was very thin, with thin arms and legs. Her dress was tight, covering her curves and exposing half of her shoulder. Her high heels must have been uncomfortable, as she walked unsteadily.
She wasn't in good shape; she looked quite different from her usual energetic self.
Even from a distance, Xie Yuchen, with her sharp eyesight, immediately recognized who this person was.
"Isn't that Wen Yining? Who's this guy hitting him?"
Ye Qingchi had already gotten into the car and started the engine. The car window was open, and she turned her head to look at Shen Yueze's expression. It was quite indifferent and cold. Her gaze swept over him coolly. She had a cigarette between her fingers and didn't say or do anything.
Ye Qingchi asked, "Aren't we going over there?"
I thought he still had some feelings for me; even though we broke up, we had at least slept together for a while.
But then he said, "Why are you meddling in other people's business?"
He then got into the driver's seat of the LaFerrari, slammed the door shut, and didn't look at it again.
Ye Qingchi originally wanted to meddle in other people's business, but deep down she felt that the two of them were not suitable. So she decided to give up and not get involved. Shi Yingmeng was more suitable; she was good at handling things and had high emotional intelligence.
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A note from the author:
There are 50 red envelopes in this chapter!
There's been so much explosive news lately, I'm busy just following the gossip [laughing and crying emoji]
Although the novel is melodramatic, I still feel that the real world is far more explosive and bizarre than fiction, and the gap between the rich and poor is much larger.
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