Chapter 86: The Vase-like Female Lead
Whether it was because the night breeze and starlight met perfectly last night, or because those eyes that silently called her "good girl" were too gentle, Li Sishi had a rare, warm and sweet sleep that night.
The next morning, Li Sishi woke up and glanced at the faint morning light filtering through the curtains. When she got up and drew back the curtains of the French windows, she could see the trees that were exceptionally green and lovely in the early morning.
Occasionally, one can hear faint birdsong and the rustling of leaves in the wind. These rhythms unique to nature make the place seem even more tranquil, peaceful, and untouched by the world, bringing a sense of peace and tranquility.
The view from the mountaintop mansion is fantastic, but it's a bit far from the Qingshuitan TV City. If I need to go back to the TV station today, I'll naturally have to leave early.
When Li Sishi finished washing up and went downstairs for breakfast, she found that Madam Li was already sitting at the table with Zhou Jiaxian, chatting and laughing. Li Sishi was quite surprised: "Good morning, Grandma and Mommy, why are you up so early today?"
“As the elderly get older, they naturally need less sleep,” Mrs. Li replied cheerfully. “Your mother knew you were leaving early today, so she got up early to cook your favorite preserved egg and lean pork congee. Eat it while it’s hot!”
"Thank you, Mommy!" Li Sishi smiled and scooped up a spoonful of porridge. Then, under the old lady's unreasonable yet assertive attack of "How can you have the energy to lose weight if you don't eat your fill?", she happily accepted two more steamed buns.
"Eat slowly, be careful it's hot," Zhou Jiaxian quickly reminded her.
"I heard your laughter first thing this morning. What's making you so happy?" Li Jinhao came downstairs and, at the invitation of Madam Li, sat down next to Zhou Jiaxian.
"Good morning, Daddy!" Li Sishi called out, immediately receiving a smile from Li Jinhao.
Seemingly sensing that Li Sishi's attitude towards Li Jinhao was less reserved than it had been the previous two days, Old Madam Li's smile broadened even further: after all, they were father and daughter, and the magical pull of blood ties could easily bring two people who hadn't seen each other for many years closer together, making this old woman happy and at ease...
Thinking of this, Madam Li subconsciously glanced at Zhou Jiaxian sitting next to her.
Fortunately, fate has its own way of doing things. The process was full of twists and turns, but the ending was ultimately good. She made a lot of mistakes in her early years, but fortunately, she now has the opportunity to make amends.
She would pour all the love and everything she had into her only three relatives in the world...
I wonder what was going through Old Madam Li's mind.
Looking at the heartwarming scene of his mother, wife, and daughter enjoying each other's company, Li Jinhao took a deep breath.
Everything he did was worthwhile for that smile.
He will take full responsibility for the secrets and sins behind all these heartwarming scenes, only wishing that his loved ones can be happy forever.
After finishing her breakfast quickly and gracefully, Li Sishi said goodbye to the three of them and then got into the driver's car to head to Qingshuitan TV City.
After rushing, I finally arrived at the gate of the TV City before 9 o'clock, which is normal working time.
At this moment, the assistant, Zuo Lili, was already waiting at the gate. When she saw Li Sishi get out of the car, she immediately ran over and swiped her card to enter the gate with Li Sishi. Then she went straight to the direction where Zhuang Menghua's office was located.
Upon arriving at Zhuang Menghua's office, Zuo Lili raised her hand and knocked on the door. After receiving permission to enter, she opened the door and invited Li Sishi in, then followed behind.
"You look radiant; it seems you had a good holiday these past few days." Seeing Li Sishi enter the room, Zhuang Menghua made a rare joke at her.
“That’s right, all the elders in the family spoil her. I’m so afraid she won’t want to come back!” Lu Yiting, sitting on the sofa, teased Li Sishi. After receiving a feigned angry response from Li Sishi, she smiled and handed over the script in her hand. “Okay, I won’t tease you anymore…”
"After the holiday, it's time to get back to work." Lu Yiting gestured for Li Sishi to look at the script carefully. "This is the script I got for you to play the female lead in a movie. Your co-star is Zhou Shengyi, who has been a box office draw in recent years. Take a look at the script first."
Zuo Lili thoughtfully went out to make tea and coffee for the three of them. Li Sishi took the script, glanced at the plot summary briefly, and was both surprised and somewhat expected.
She had seen this movie before.
Strictly speaking, the script for this movie had also been in her hands in her previous life—and the character of the female lead was quite consistent with her previous life's "pretty face" persona.
Unfortunately, although the male lead is highly praised by the audience, he is known in the industry for his high standards and stubborn temper, which makes newcomers tremble with fear.
In addition, this movie is a fashion comedy, so even the female lead who is just a pretty face has to let loose and make people laugh according to the plot... In the end, after a difficult decision, she gave up this opportunity, which allowed the previous Miss Chinese International winner, Gong Likui, to get it.
Of course, she was also the original choice for the female lead in the mermaid-themed movie that later made Gong Likui a sensation in Southeast Asia.
This is a very simple resource allocation concept: although she was the first runner-up in the Miss Hong Kong pageant and Gong Likui was the Miss Chinese International pageant winner, in Hong Kong, the Miss Hong Kong pageant has always been far more well-known than the Miss Chinese International pageant. In addition, she had the powerful backing of Zhuang Menghua, so she would choose the best resources first, and only after she had made her selection would they be given to others to choose from.
This mermaid-themed movie was not one she wanted to turn down—in fact, it could be said that she still really wanted to act in it at the time.
However, her ex-husband Zheng Suxin, a scumbag from her past life, felt that the mermaid costume and underwater scenes were "a bit too revealing" and voiced his objections. So, fearing that Zheng Suxin would be angry, she blinded herself and turned down this beautiful fantasy movie that had a high probability of becoming a hit, just to please the scumbag and marry into a wealthy family so that she wouldn't have to work hard anymore.
Looking back now, how many good opportunities did she turn down back then for this scumbag?
In this year alone, there was Zhou Shengyi's fashion comedy film, the mermaid fantasy film with the female lead's huge popularity, and another fashion comedy New Year's film with three male and three female leads at the end of the year. Although the plot of that New Year's film was a typical popcorn family film, not only was her co-star Shang Hanyou, but the other two female leads were Xia Yingyun, "Taiwan's No. 1 Beauty", and Zhou Shuqiu, "Hong Kong's Sexy Goddess"!
You should know that the role was originally intended for Shang Lanyu, but unfortunately, Shang Lanyu's schedule didn't work out at the time, and she wasn't too keen on making this kind of popcorn commercial film, so in the end, it was downgraded and offered to her...
It was clearly a huge windfall to elevate her status, how could she have been so blind to let it go!
After mentally berating her past self, Li Sishi finally calmed down. She then felt a mix of pity and anger towards her past mistakes: It has to be said that in this day and age, if a female celebrity can hook up with a wealthy man, unless she doesn't intend to marry into the family and it's just a mutually beneficial arrangement, it's really hard for a female celebrity to refuse the offer of a "wealthy boyfriend".
After all, the entertainment industry in this golden age may seem glamorous, but underneath lies a layer of visible and invisible bones that have accumulated to an unfathomable thickness.
After being comforted by her stepfather Li Jinhao last night, while she was dissatisfied with her past self, she was also learning to accept these parts that once belonged to her.
Her mistakes in her past life, besides her own reasons, also stemmed from various external factors that propelled things in this direction. Making mistakes is about recognizing and correcting them, so completely negating one's past self for all those mistakes is misguided.
And her attempts to discard unbearable memories over the years, while not necessarily wrong, have also imprisoned her mind—because by constantly denying that flawed self and affirming her reborn self, isn't that also a form of escapism?
Just as her stepfather said, what he saw and understood about her was her "true nature"; and his treatment of her was to accept all her rights and wrongs...
Life should be lived like this: stand on the past and look to the future.
Regardless of right or wrong, good or bad, all aspects contribute to the "Li Sishi" we know today.
It is an element, so it should not be biased for any reason.
While thinking about something, Li Sishi finished reading the entire script. Just as she was about to carefully consider her words to express her willingness to take on the role of the "flower vase" female lead as her first step into the film industry, Zhuang Menghua, who probably sensed that she had finished reading the script and had thought about some things, suddenly spoke up: "Finished reading?"
"Yes, I've read it the first time." Li Sishi nodded, her words carrying a hint of cunning.
After watching it the first time... which means I want to watch it a second time, a third time, and ideally, even act out the scenes myself.
Zhuang Menghua has always admired ambitious and driven people. Seeing Li Sishi's response, her smile deepened: "Do you like this story?"
"Uh... as a viewer, I think I'll quite like it." Sensing the hidden meaning in Zhuang Menghua's words, Li Sishi roughly guessed what Zhuang Menghua meant.
The matter of her wanting to revise the script of "Mr. Morning" was only successfully resolved with the strong support and encouragement of Zhuang Menghua.
Zhuang Menghua's words were not a simple inquiry. Considering Zhou Shengyi's grudges and conflicts with various film companies, and the fact that Zhou Shengyi, despite being a graduate of the TBL acting training class, had many disagreements with his former employer over salary issues after becoming successful, Li Sishi estimated that her guess was probably very close to the truth.
"What are your thoughts now?" Zhuang Menghua asked softly.
"Currently, the script only has one growth storyline for the delivery boy, so the main storyline revolves entirely around him… With the confidence bolstered by her elders and powerful backers, Li Sishi's ideas naturally became much bolder. After a moment's thought, she had an inspiration: 'If we add a growth storyline for this 'decorative' female lead, then her screen time will be 'negotiable.'"
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