"The director scolded her and replaced her with someone else. Coincidentally, the person who replaced her was her nemesis, Zhao Xueqiao. The two have never gotten along."
System: "The director didn't replace you, so why is she taking her anger out on you?"
"After two scenes, I played a background maid. I stood very straight. The director walked by and praised me, saying, 'That's what you call professionalism. You're much better than those who don't even know what they're playing.'"
“She didn’t dare to mess with Zhao Xueqiao, so she came to me.”
The system paused for a moment: "Is this what humans mean by bullying the weak and fearing the strong, and by empathy?"
"The word 'empathy' is inaccurate," Shang Yechu chuckled. "Speaking of which, I even saw the director scolding her, why didn't you see it?"
The system replied matter-of-factly, "I am the host's personal system. I will not scan people who are unrelated to the host unless the host commands me to do so."
"..."
Shang Yechu murmured, "He said something quite remarkable."
The system felt that its understanding of the uglier side of humanity had deepened a little.
Shang Yechu lowered her head and continued reading, muttering to herself, "I felt angry... In the end, I decided to conquer her."
After reading this, Shang Yechu closed the book and went to collect her lunchbox.
The afternoon shoot began.
Luo Qianqian, as expected of someone with some connections, although she lost her role in the morning, after some maneuvering by Assistant Si, somehow managed to get her another maid role.
This maid was a cannon fodder character. While searching for something on top of the cupboard, she stumbled upon incriminating evidence against the male antagonist. She was caught by the antagonist when she tried to examine it. After strangling her, the antagonist staged it as a hanging.
Luo Qianqian is short. High heels are fine for her, but when she puts on the flat shoes for the period drama, she's not tall enough. Standing on a stool, she can't reach the top of the cabinet at all.
The stool used for stepping is a fixed prop and cannot be changed temporarily.
Seeing that no one was paying attention, Assistant Si couldn't help but complain, "Why did you insist on playing this role? Don't you know how tall you are? The maid was half a head taller than you before, and she could just reach you. I even sent the wrong message and got her away."
Luo Qianqian's face turned bright red, and she didn't dare to talk back.
The assistant added, "The director is going to yell at me again when he gets here. I think you should just give up!"
Luo Qianqian was sweating profusely with anxiety, terrified that the duck she was about to eat would fly away again. Fortunately, the director hadn't arrived yet, so there was still a chance to salvage the situation.
Luo Qianqian looked around and suddenly saw a thick book on a stool not far from the shed.
Luo Qianqian's eyes lit up, and she ran out to take the book into the shed.
The assistant asked, "Jane Eyre? Whose book is that?"
"It's a minor extra. He's doing some standing practice in another group. I'll borrow it." Luo Qianqian's eyes lit up with excitement. "Just put this book under my feet, and then stand on my tiptoes a little, and I'll be high enough, right?"
Assistant Si hesitated and said, "Wouldn't it give us away if the camera focused on this book?"
"My skirt is long enough to cover this book, so it won't give anything away." Luo Qianqian didn't bother to examine the book closely anymore and placed it on the stool with a grin.
The director was about to arrive, so Assistant Si didn't have time to think about anything else. They set up the cameras and were ready to start filming.
This scene wasn't very important, and everyone was still a bit tired and listless after their lunch break. The director waved his hand, not paying much attention.
Luo Qianqian stood on the book, feeling quite pleased with herself. She had solved the problem and also managed to humiliate that ugly, low-class girl—a win-win situation.
"Action!"
Filming has begun. Luo Qianqian tiptoed and tried her best to reach the top of the cabinet.
The prop on top of the cabinet was actually within easy reach, but Luo Qianqian, intending to ruin Shang Yechu's book, pretended not to be able to reach it. She stood on tiptoe and scraped the mud from the seams of her shoes onto the edges of the book. Not satisfied with scraping the mud, she also rubbed it vigorously on the book cover.
With a "crack," Luo Qianqian felt her foot slip and suddenly lose her balance, falling off the stool with a "thud!"
"What's going on?" The drowsy director was suddenly jolted awake. "You idiot, what's wrong with you? Did you grease your feet?"
Luo Qianqian was in so much pain that her buttocks felt like they were about to split into four pieces. She looked at the book in astonishment.
It turned out that the book was a hardcover book with a thick cover, but the connection between the cover and the spine was loose and precarious, with only a thin layer of plastic holding it together.
When she picked it up, the cover was so thick that it wasn't very noticeable. But just now, Luo Qianqian deliberately rubbed against it, and when she stepped on it, the cover immediately came off, causing her to lose her balance and fall!
Luo Qianqian stared wide-eyed at the book in disbelief.
The director recognized her as the maid who had been eliminated that morning and roared, "It's you again? Are you some kind of ghost? Get out of here!"
It's so annoying that such a trivial scene can cause such a commotion!
The director turned to his assistant and yelled, "Stop shoving shady characters into the crew all the time! If you cause any more trouble, you're fired too!"
Assistant Si was so frightened that he didn't dare to utter a sound.
Luo Qianqian was still in a daze when the director waved his hand, and two burly men playing guards half-helped and half-forced her to leave.
Luo Qianqian wasn't actually injured, since the stool wasn't very high. She just felt a little pain. So the director stopped paying attention to her and impatiently called out, "Where's the original actress?"
"Director, I'm here!"
A tall actress in costume came running up, panting: "Sorry I'm late."
The director was in a bad mood, but for the sake of the filming schedule, he had to suppress his anger: "Go now!"
The tall actress is named Tan Hua. Although she arrived late, fortunately she was already dressed in her costume and could start filming immediately.
Tan Hua walked to the stool, put away the cover of "Jane Eyre" and the book together, and placed them in a corner out of the camera's view. Then he hurriedly stepped onto the stool.
Tan Hua was very familiar with this scene, and it was filmed smoothly. The director's anger subsided considerably, and he praised her a couple of times.
After the performance, Tan Hua, carrying a copy of Jane Eyre, wandered around until he reached a corner where his eyes lit up.
"Small businessman!"
Shang Yechu was sitting on a small stool eating a boxed lunch when she saw Tan Hua and smiled shyly: "Sister Tan."
Tan Hua stepped forward and handed her the book: "Here, your book."
"Thank you." Shang Yechu put down the lunchbox and took the book. Upon closer inspection, she noticed that the cover had already been taped back on.
"I've glued the book back together and cleaned it." Tan Hua moved a small stool over and sat down next to Shang Yechu.
"Thank you." Shang Yechu smiled and said thank you again.
"I should thank you." Tan Hua breathed a sigh of relief. "Luckily, you informed me that this scene was going to start filming, and you even lent me your costume when I couldn't find it."
"It's all thanks to the fact that all the maids in our crew wear the same style of clothes." Shang Yechu put down her book, picked up her lunchbox, and continued eating.
"So you didn't have a costume, and the second director didn't scold you?"
Shang Yechu swallowed a mouthful of rice: "I arrived very late. By the time I got there, the scene of standing on the pole had already been filmed. So naturally, they didn't need me."
"Huh? Wouldn't the second director scold you to death?"
Shang Yechu stammered, "I told the second director that when I was having lunch with you, I heard you answer the phone. Assistant Si said on the phone that the shooting time had been changed from 2 pm to 3 pm, so I thought our scene had also been changed. That's why I was late."
After Shang Yechu finished speaking, she cautiously glanced at Tan Hua's face: "Sister Tan, you won't blame me, will you?"
Tan Hua was taken aback, recalling that Shang Yechu had indeed brought a small stool and sat next to her at lunchtime earlier that day. And she had indeed answered a call from Assistant Si.
Shang Yechu had helped her a great deal, so it was understandable that she would use this little trick to avoid the second director's scolding. Therefore, Tan Hua didn't take it to heart.
Tan Hua: "If you say that, will the second director let you off the hook?"
Shang Yechu obediently replied, "Second Director and Assistant Si are good brothers. Perhaps out of respect for him, they didn't blame me."
Tan Hua sneered: "That's understandable, after all, the second director and the man surnamed Si are inseparable!"
Shang Yechu bit her disposable chopsticks: "But this scene wasn't important anyway. They're just standing maids; one more or one less won't make much difference."
Shang Yechu thought for a moment and then said, "Sister Tan, your scene is very important. For such an important scene, Assistant Si actually got the time wrong. That's really unprofessional. Luckily, I saw the set where the camera was being adjusted when I went to the bathroom."
"Unprofessional? He's incredibly professional!" Tan Hua said through gritted teeth, "All for his mistress—"
Shang Yechu asked in confusion, "What buzz cut? Does our crew have to shave our heads?"
Tan Hua gave Shang Yechu a look of exasperation: "You need to be more careful! Little Shang, kids like you are so easily fooled! You'll be counting the money for someone who cheated you!"
"I don't have any money, so why would anyone cheat me?" Shang Yechu asked curiously.
"Alright, alright." Tan Hua waved his hand. "You wouldn't understand even if I explained. You'll just have to follow me and learn more from me from now on."
Shang Yechu smiled immediately: "Thank you, Sister Tan."
Tan Hua is considered a veteran among the extras, with some connections and status. He's not much less influential than Luo Qianqian.
"It's a blessing in disguise, that mistress—" Tan Hua glanced at the innocent Shang Yechu and swallowed the rest of his sentence, "Anyway, she's just unlucky. She didn't have the height to stand on the stool and fell down, didn't she? It's just a pity about your book, it got ruined by those stinky feet."
"Yes!" Shang Yechu said with distress, "This book is a second-hand book that I borrowed from the bookstore, and now I have to compensate the owner."
Tan Hua: "Oh dear! I'll pay for the book for you! You didn't even get paid this afternoon because of me, and you even lost money on the book for nothing. What kind of logic is that!"
Shang Yechu said gratefully, "Then thank you, Sister Tan."
Tan Hua slipped Shang Yechu a few dozen yuan and left. After finishing her boxed lunch, Shang Yechu packed her books into her bag and hummed a song as she returned to the bookstore.
She was tone-deaf, and she ruined a song terribly. The system listened silently, finding it even worse than its regular lectures.
Shang Yechu walked into the bookstore and said apologetically to Grandma Hu, "Grandma, I accidentally broke that copy of 'Jane Eyre' on set today. I'll replace it for you."
"How badly is it broken?" Grandma Hu asked, putting on her reading glasses. "Let me see it."
Shang Yechu lowered her head and said, "You don't need to look anymore. I made a lot of money acting today, so I'll just give it back to you. I also really wanted this book, so I'll just consider it a purchase."
"You silly child. You buy secondhand books instead of new ones. You can't waste money like this," Grandma Hu sighed.
She knew that although Shang Yechu seemed well-behaved, she actually had a stubborn streak. No amount of persuasion would change her mind, so she didn't say anything more.
Grandma Hu recalled for a moment; although she was old, her memory was still quite good.
"That book is 90% new. I think it cost me a certain amount when I bought it..."
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