Chapter 63
Chapter 63
Chen Ying carried the thick script all the way back to her nanny van.
Her assistant followed behind her, her face revealing undisguised worry.
Without turning her head, Chen Ying reminded her, "Don't look so sad, smile, or the tabloids will write nonsense."
The assistant immediately forced a smile, putting on a strained expression. She opened the door to the van for Chen Ying, but the bitterness in her eyes seeped through her breath.
The assistant, barely able to hold back her sobs, said, "Sis, we didn't bring him back. The young master will blame you."
After the assistant finished speaking, he pulled a folding table out of the nanny van and set it down, placing the boxed lunch and chopsticks that Chen Ying had received.
Chen Ying pulled her assistant to sit down outside, filled her small bowl with water, picked out the vegetables one by one, rinsed them in the water to remove the grease and salt, then used rice as absorbent paper to remove the excess water before putting them into her mouth and slowly chewing the vegetable leaves.
Her lips moved slightly as she chewed, and her words were as calm as she was: "In Hong Kong, 'the eldest daughter-in-law marrying a businessman' is a choice that has to be made, but if I don't go back, I can live a good life by focusing on acting on the mainland."
The assistant trembled involuntarily with fear, her voice lowering even further: "But, but Uncle and Aunt's gambling debts..."
Chen Ying: "I've already paid off more than 50 million for them. I'm not young anymore. At most, in three years, even if I use my Best Actress title to act in TV dramas, I won't be able to get the leading role."
Chen Ying suddenly curled her lips and revealed a mocking smile. She had only eaten about ten pieces of green vegetables, but had already put down her chopsticks: "Besides, the young master has a fiancée. The daughter of a wealthy family can bring him a lot of resources. I am also his mistress. I don't want to kneel down and serve tea to the eldest mistress during festivals, nor do I want my child to be called an illegitimate child."
The assistant asked, puzzled, "Then why did you invite Jiang Mingyue over just now?"
Chen Ying: "Don't you watch the news? This girl just helped Lan Xu switch jobs."
The assistant shook her head slightly: "I saw it, but, sis, news in the entertainment industry is a mix of truth and falsehood. You can't possibly believe she's so kind-hearted as to help others in need, can you? There must be something to gain from this."
Chen Ying twitched her fingers and quickly changed her tune: "I know. I accepted the second young master's invitation to play the female lead not only because the fee offered by that scoundrel was higher than the film contracts in Hong Kong, but also because I wanted to test the waters for the eldest young master and see just how deep the waters are in the mainland entertainment industry."
After Chen Ying finished speaking, she quickly glanced at the assistant sitting next to her, her expression still indifferent: "After all these years with the young master, even if I have grievances, I am still human, and I am still on his side."
The assistant finally looked away from Chen Ying.
Chen Ying also stood up from her seat, turned around, and bent down to rummage through the large backpack her assistant was carrying.
She kept an eye on her assistant's actions out of the corner of her eye, but the assistant continued eating and didn't get up to ask her what she was looking for.
Her assistant's attention is no longer on her; has she been bribed after all?
"Found it. I'll look at the script for a bit. You take your time eating, and go rest when you're done. We'll go back to the hotel later," Chen Ying deliberately reminded him.
She first placed the script on a clean spot on the table, then took out a wet wipe and carefully cleaned her hands. Once her hands were dry, she opened the script that Jiang Mingyue had given her and devoted all her energy to studying it, completely ignoring her assistant.
"Sister??" the assistant called out to Chen Ying, but Chen Ying's attention was still on the script, and she didn't react at all, as if she hadn't heard the assistant's call.
The assistant glanced at Chen Ying a few more times, quickly tidied up the desk, got into the van, and dialed He Peirong's number.
Chen Ying grabbed the script, quickly poured the half-full cup of water from the disposable cup next to her into her mouth, then turned it upside down against the window of the van and put her ear close to it.
As time went by, Chen Ying's expression gradually darkened.
She sat back down, crushed the disposable cup, and threw it into a trash bag.
Chen Ying was acutely aware of her cautious nature—not revealing her true thoughts to everyone around her who was being paid to do things before things were done saved her once again.
She was truly fed up with being portrayed in tabloids as the mistress of a wealthy young man, and with her parents and brothers using that title to gamble and accumulate gambling debts. This forced her to abandon all dignity and use her body to please the young man in exchange for resources and financial assistance.
Family? Only those who love and care for each other are family. Parents and brothers will only leech off her.
They are all vampires.
Do whatever you want. She doesn't want to work so hard in acting for over twenty years only to end up making Category III films.
The second young master has already connected with a big boss in mainland China and they've started a company together. The fact that he personally visited her to invite her to play the female lead in "The Silver Bottle" proves that he also values Chen Ying's acting skills and her fan base.
Chen Ying didn't care how the two sons of the He family fought over the inheritance, because that money had nothing to do with her. But how He Peirong and He Rui treated her was very important to Chen Ying. She needed to think about her future.
He Rui gave her resources and opportunities, but He Peirong still wanted her to grovel at his feet like a dog. Both of them had pointed out the path she would take in the future. If she still didn't know which choice was the right one, she would really deserve to suffer and be unlucky.
—When the second young master expands the company's business, he needs exposure.
Given this, Chen Ying felt that she could at least keep her affair with He Peirong from getting out of hand.
News that's hard to distinguish between right and wrong is exactly what entertainment audiences love. It can not only help the second young master's company expand its reputation and increase the exposure of "The Silver Bottle", but also help him clear his name.
Chen Ying didn't need to make a decision; she had already decided on her future. She flipped through Jiang Mingyue's script for a while and sighed deeply—if all the new generation of actors in mainland China were like this, if she didn't work hard, she might soon not even be able to get roles as the mother of the female lead.
As for He Da Shao He Pei Rong?
Compared to the income he earns from acting, what is he anyway?
As darkness fell, the assistant got out of the van and reminded Chen Ying, "Sister, it's time to go back to the hotel. Young Master has been waiting for you. He'll be unhappy if you keep him waiting too long since you didn't get things done."
Chen Ying closed the script, got into the nanny van, and was driven home.
Upon arriving at the hotel, she suddenly said, "You take your things back first, I'll go find Jiang Mingyue and try again."
An uncontrollable smile appeared on the assistant's face. Although she quickly suppressed the upturned corners of her mouth, Chen Ying could still see the expression clearly.
When she and her assistant went their separate ways, Chen Ying couldn't help but turn cold.
Hmph, spending the salary she provides to be He Peirong's lackey. Once the economic contract is finalized, she'll fire this treacherous assistant immediately.
Chen Ying, a fellow actress, easily found out Jiang Mingyue's room number with just a few words.
As she went upstairs, Chen Ying had already composed herself and her facial expression.
*
Invited to someone else's room, Jiang Mingyue ran as fast as she could, but when Chen Ying came over herself, Jiang Mingyue didn't stop her at all and let her in directly.
Chen Ying didn't waste any words and stated directly: "Young Master wants me to take you to see him tonight. I'll get beaten up when I get back, but for the sake of Gu Yifan taking you too—call the police for me in five minutes!"
Chen Ying only said this one sentence, put down the script, and left.
Chen Ying's words were so serious that Jiang Mingyue had no choice but to see her off in person. When she arrived at the door, Chen Ying suddenly said, "I've read your character biography and script analysis. They have very insightful opinions, even more profound than my own. At most, once this show is released, you'll definitely become famous."
Chen Ying spoke in a hurry and left in a hurry.
The moment the door closed, Li Ruojun rushed over and asked anxiously, "Sister, are we really going to call the police? If we do, what should we say? We can't just say we called the police on behalf of Actress Chen, can we? That would put us in a very difficult position."
Jiang Mingyue immediately grabbed the script Chen Ying had returned to her, draped her coat over her shoulders, and walked out the door: "Let's go to the front desk and ask Chen Ying which room she's staying in."
Jiang Mingyue walked very fast, and Li Ruojun only hesitated for a moment before falling behind her by more than ten steps.
Li Ruojun quickly jogged to catch up, just as Jiang Mingyue pressed the elevator button. The two went downstairs together; but after getting out of the elevator, Jiang Mingyue suddenly slowed down, as if nothing had happened, and asked the receptionist for information.
She acted so naturally that the receptionist, without warning, told Jiang Mingyue where Chen Ying lived.
After expressing her gratitude, Jiang Mingyue continued walking back to the elevator at her unhurried pace.
The elevator doors had already closed, but then opened again, and Jiang Mingyue unexpectedly saw Fu Xiachuan and He Rui.
He Rui was as enthusiastic as ever, and he immediately stepped aside: "How is it like staying here? The hotel has just been completed and is not yet in use. When you come to stay, you must fill in all the rectification opinions carefully."
Jiang Mingyue looked up at the elevator security camera and asked, "Is the security camera on?"
He Rui turned to look at Fu Xiachuan.
Jiang Mingyue then turned her gaze to Fu Xiachuan, who nodded: "They are all in trial operation."
Jiang Mingyue smiled with relief: "That's great, then I don't need to record audio and video myself anymore."
Her gaze shifted between Fu Xiachuan and He Rui before settling on He Rui. She suddenly invited, "Mr. He, would you like to accompany me?"
He Rui glanced at Fu Xiachuan with a keen eye. Fu Xiachuan remained standing there without saying a word, his face showing no extra emotion.
When the elevator stopped, Fu Xiachuan held the door open without moving, and made a gentlemanly "please" gesture, indicating that He Rui should follow Jiang Mingyue's footsteps, which startled He Rui so much that he kept looking back.
Fu Xiachuan followed behind without saying a word, which made Jiang Mingyue turn around and look at him a few more times.
Two young women walking in a hotel corridor wouldn't seem like anything, but the addition of two strong men makes the scene much more somber—the four of them walking in a horizontal line almost completely fill the not-so-narrow passage.
Jiang Mingyue knocked on the door, but the room was quiet.
She knocked again, but there was still no sound.
Even though nothing had happened, Jiang Mingyue suddenly turned around with a look of horror, precisely facing the camera with her facial expression.
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