Chapter 11: The Two-Slap Sister is About to Turn Her Life Around...
Xiao Tang is wearing Hiraeth's latest haute couture collection today.
The sheer, moon-white gauze, as thin as a cicada's wing, outlined her perfect figure. The off-shoulder design, with long ribbons hanging down from her left shoulder, swayed gently as she walked, making her appear even more graceful.
After settling down, Xiao Tang's eyes met hers.
The venue was vast and magnificent, with people hurrying by and cameras everywhere. Zhu Qingzhi's smile remained constant. Xiao Tang also smiled and gestured for her seat to be next to her.
While bending down to kick aside the power line blocking the road, Shen Yaozhi muttered, "He really is someone special."
Zhu Qingzhi lifted her skirt, gave him a reassuring look, and walked over.
A simple dusty pink halter-neck beaded fishtail dress, paired with a side-swept updo adorned only with a single pink rose, perfectly accentuates the LR bridal collection pink diamond necklace draped around her neck.
With her gentle makeup and graceful posture, Shen Yaozhi could even sense a hint of valiant, imposing air, as if she were crossing the Yalu River. He touched his nose, lagged behind her by a few steps, and then followed.
Half an hour before the ceremony was scheduled to begin, the camera in front of Zhu Qingzhi had already started working.
She and Xiao Tang simply nodded to each other and then didn't communicate again, but they both tacitly avoided using their phones.
People came and went, and I met quite a few people. We greeted each other, some warmly and some casually, which helped pass the time.
Shen Yaozhi was also sitting next to Zhu Qingzhi. He played with his phone for a while, then, as if he had seen something interesting, he handed the phone to her with a smile.
Zhu Qingzhi glanced at it, then immediately turned her head to look behind her.
Outside the dimly lit arena, pink support lights almost filled half the space, creating a pink ocean that belonged solely to her. Inside the chaotic arena, body and soul were connected, and in a flash, overflowing love filled her empty shell.
She stood up and waved her hand vigorously.
The distance between the outer and inner fields is not close. At both ends, she is a tiny little thing. As if by some kind of call or telepathy, the calm ocean is suddenly stirred up with waves.
She maintained a perfect, impeccable smile on the surface, but her hands, resting on the back of the chair, trembled slightly.
"Perform a fairy's tears and outshine the one next to you."
...
Dude, can't you just be a quiet, handsome guy?!
Shen Yaozhi put away his phone, crossed his legs, leaned back in his chair, and unbuttoned his suit jacket. His lips barely moved, which only showed that his ventriloquism skills were already superb.
Zhu Qingzhi sat down again in silence.
Under the high-definition cameras, their little movements were on full display and broadcast live on the big screen. Meanwhile, the scene on the red carpet had already been edited and posted online by someone with ulterior motives.
The related topic, "[What do you think of the show featuring three people, Xiao Tang?]", became the first trending topic at the entertainment awards ceremony. The discussion was already high, and with the live broadcast from inside the venue, the discussion area for this trending topic became the front line for gossip.
When Zhu Qingzhi opened her phone, she immediately saw the most popular post on Weibo: "[Having become part of someone else's game, how else can I, Tangtang, watch? Of course, I'll watch her in Haitang's arms!]"
The number of likes, shares, and comments under this Weibo post has already exceeded 10,000.
Xiao Tang also picked up her phone, glancing at her out of the corner of her eye, observing her reaction; she must have seen it too.
In a confrontation between the two sides, whoever can remain calm will have the upper hand. So Zhu Qingzhi only rolled her eyes in her heart, but her face showed no reaction, not even a frown.
Xiao Tang seemed a little anxious. She put away her phone first, turned slightly to the side, and said, "I'm sorry."
He spoke clearly and distinctly, without covering his mouth or tilting his head, clearly wanting his fans to read his lips.
Okay, I'll play along.
Zhu Qingzhi blinked, feigning confusion, then suddenly realized and said, "You mean the thing about taking my role? It's all in the past, don't worry about it. Just act well." She patted Xiao Tang's shoulder reassuringly and made a "good luck" gesture.
That was really too much of a green tea bitch, and Shen Yaozhi was kicking her heels like crazy from below.
"That matter of yours is long over, and people don't even care about it anymore, so don't worry about it. Right now, people are talking about the red carpet."
He bent down, resting one elbow on his knee, and looked at Xiao Tang with a smile, "We were just promoting our drama. You haven't filmed many dramas, so you might not have experienced this before. You didn't really take it seriously, did you? Did you think we were bullying you?"
As one of the three parties involved, Shen Yaozhi couldn't just tell everyone what was going on. They were all actors, and whose acting skills were inferior to others?
Xiao Tang's face was slightly flushed, probably from the air conditioning.
"The red carpet thing?" Zhu Qingzhi looked at Shen Yaozhi with a shocked expression. "Is that a big deal?" Then she straightened her expression and reassured Xiao Tang again, "It's nothing."
Xiao Tang, having only been in the industry for a short time, was caught in a pincer attack from both sides and fell into a disadvantageous position, so she stopped talking.
Real-time plot updates, real-time lip-reading translation. Gu Qiao was the first to send her congratulations: "Follow the path of the 'green tea' (a manipulative woman), leaving her nowhere to go."
When the ceremony began, the inner area became dark, but the brightness of their positions did not change much because they were close to the podium.
Of the three, Xiao Tang was the first to go on stage to accept the award, the "Newcomer of the Year" award. The presenters were Director Xu, the director of "The Beauty," and veteran actor Chen Jingkang, who played the emperor in the film.
These three people all have an inseparable relationship with [the actress], so naturally they should take this opportunity to promote their new movie.
Director Xu and Chen Jingkang's remarks were brief and to the point, revealing little, but both of them subtly laid the groundwork for Xiao Tang's future. Xiao Tang, true to form, then introduced a roughly one-minute promotional video for the film "The Beauty."
Night rain, bamboo forest, soft sword, long spear, glint of swords, wind rustling and forest destruction.
The beautiful visuals, perfectly timed background music, and subtle touches all evoke a strong desire for exploration.
Thunderous applause erupted from the audience, and the large screen swept across the audience, finally focusing on Zhu Qingzhi's face.
Her smile was genuine.
The Lu family, the Zhu family, and her new employer, Chaoxing, have all secretly invested. Of course, the more money they make, the happier she is. She can't wait for the movie to be released, for it to gross over 100 million yuan, and for her to make a fortune.
The director originally wanted to focus on her, and the camera suddenly turned to capture her expression for a moment. However, he did not expect that she was full of satisfaction and anticipation, which was too generous and appropriate.
He didn't give up and gave the order to "shoot for at least ten seconds if you can't get an embarrassing shot." If the camera hadn't paused for too long, his intentions would have been too obvious. Otherwise, he would have wanted to put the camera right in her face.
Just ten seconds later, as he was about to switch the camera, he heard Director Xu on stage ask for the microphone. With his keen intuition, the director immediately withdrew the instruction to switch the camera.
"The script for 【佳人】 encountered some problems during the preparation stage, which generated a lot of discussion, but none of these were my intentions."
"I'm standing here today to clarify that I have no improper relationship with actress Zhu Qingzhi, and the controversy surrounding the replacement of the actress in 'Jiaren' has nothing to do with her. It was a decision made after negotiations with multiple parties."
"I do not want to hear any more of this as a pretext to defame or slander me. Otherwise, I will take legal action to protect my rights."
Director Xu usually seems like a cheerful person, but today he was wearing a well-tailored suit and glasses, giving him the air of a refined old professor.
Zhu Qingzhi wanted to laugh, but she couldn't. She could only pinch her inner thigh hard until tears welled up in her eyes.
No one expected Director Xu to do this in this situation, and they were all stunned. The applause came a few seconds late.
Xiao Tang's expression on stage was not very good.
Over the past few months, Director Xu has been dedicated to his work and has provided her with hands-on guidance. He has never given up on her and is quite satisfied with her performance.
She had thought that working together day and night would make Director Xu see her efforts and lessen his aversion to her, but she never expected him to be so disrespectful. It was practically a public slap in the face, almost like publicly blaming the investors for forcing her into this situation.
Upon seeing this, the director immediately switched to Xiao Tang's footage on the big screen, just as expected.
The camera captured her hand gripping the trophy, so tightly it looked like she wanted to tear it apart. The crystal base reflected a dazzling light, and jealousy and resentment seemed to pierce through her palm.
Director Xu was also a smooth talker. He changed the subject and praised Xiao Tang a few more times, as if what he had just said had nothing to do with Xiao Tang.
Zhu Qingzhi's phone rang just then, but she didn't pay attention to it.
"If you keep pinching her, you'll end up in the hospital." Shen Yaozhi touched her arm, looking rather disgusted.
...
Taking advantage of the fact that no cameras were rolling, Zhu Qingzhi quickly rolled her eyes at him.
"Director Xu is being unfair; the female lead is still on stage." Shen Yaozhi looked at Xiao Tang, who was standing on the awards stage somewhat absentmindedly, his eyes showing no mockery or sarcasm, but rather a calm demeanor. "The trailer is good, it has great selling points, and because of you and Xiao Tang, the movie has been generating a lot of buzz."
"Director Xu posted your video on Weibo a few days ago, and he just showed his support for you on stage. He really meant it, but don't get too emotional yet. He was probably mostly trying to promote 'The Beauty'. I won't lie to you, it was a success. Anyway, I'm very interested in the finished film now."
He spoke slowly, analyzing the events that had taken place on stage that day with her.
Shen Yaozhi knew the truth about the role change, and had already scolded her for it, but there was nothing else she could do now.
Zhu Qingzhi rubbed her legs and admitted that his analysis was correct: "It was my stupid decision to change the actor. I should have played the role! I didn't know back then that dealing with this series of butterfly effects would be so troublesome."
As it turns out, smooth sailing can lead to naivety, and this time she really stumbled.
"It's good to clarify things for you, otherwise if this drags on, it will be really difficult for you to turn things around."
According to the schedule, the next two to go on stage were the two of them, so he stood up, buttoned up his suit jacket, and bent his arm to reach out to Zhu Qingzhi. Seeing that she was looking at her phone, he reminded her again: "After Director Xu's speech just now, I guess he won't make things too difficult for you later."
Zhu Qingzhi's eyes went unfocused for a moment, then she put away her phone, took his arm loosely, and went with him to wait by the podium.
At this moment, most of the audience's eyes were focused on her. She said softly, "Is your mouth blessed? I'm about to turn my life around!"
Shen Yaozhi was amused by her, but before the smile on his lips could fade, he noticed the camera turning towards him and immediately looked straight ahead, his expression unchanged.
While waiting in the audience, he suddenly noticed that Xiao Tang's gaze was fixed on Zhu Qingzhi without any attempt to hide it, as direct as a vulture pouncing on its prey.
What happened this time?
Zhu Qingzhi, who was beside him, was also in a good mood, and the fingers on the side closest to him were tapping out a rhythm.
Well, here comes another good show.
A note from the author:
----------------------
Qingzhi [Let me see]: Watch me turn my life around!
Yaozhi [doge]: Speaking is completely unnecessary.
Wen Qi [shrugs]: Hmm? (Thinking to himself: How long do you plan to keep me locked up?)
Author: Wen Qi, don't rush, I'll raise the flag for Shuangzhi! We're counting on you for the off-field support, you'll definitely be there next time! skr~
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