Zhu Hanxing was an expert at self-consolation; it was how she survived. But lately, she had been playing the role of Shen Yan—upright, unyielding, like a white poplar tree. Even knowing that those who are too rigid often break, she refused to change her heart.
She had a line in the script: “If I bow my head now, I’ll never be able to lift it again for the rest of my life. It is easy to bend one’s waist, but hard to stand tall. Thus, in this life, I am unwilling to cling to the powerful, unwilling to bow, and even less willing to do things against my heart while comforting myself that it was the right thing to do.”
Shen Yan’s influence on Zhu Hanxing was too deep. She had realized it in a daze while confronting the director. In the past, she would have argued a few times at most, and if it didn’t work, she would have just looked for another opportunity for Ming Li. Now, she was unwilling to let it go.
Moreover, this was Ming Li they were talking about.
“This is just how things are,” Ming Li said, picking up the conversation. “I know you’re frustrated, and I am too. But what can we do?”
“That’s why I’m saying if you don’t act, I’m not acting either,” Zhu Hanxing said.
Ming Li was amused by the statement, but her smile quickly faded. She said, word by word, “We are the fish on the chopping block.”
“If you stop acting, you’re just handing the opportunity to someone else for nothing. You’d be hurting yourself and letting those who want to see you fail win. Why bother?” Ming Li said. “It’s just a role. Let her have it.”
Zhu Hanxing was speechless. “And if she comes to steal your wife? Will you let her have her too?”
“If she can take her, then she belongs to her.”
Ming Li thought to herself that Gu Qingshuang wasn’t hers to begin with; she merely held the title of her wife.
Zhu Hanxing let out a frustrated laugh. “Ming Li, oh Ming Li.”
“Hm?”
“When did you become like this?” Zhu Hanxing asked. “Are you still the Young Miss I knew?”
Ming Li replied calmly, “I haven’t been her for a long time.”
Zhu Hanxing was smiling, but tears suddenly began to fall. She covered her face with her hands, her voice choked but full of spirit. “To hell with this piece of shit capital!”
Ming Li handed her a tissue. “What’s the matter? It’s just a role, not my life.”
“She wouldn’t dare!” Zhu Hanxing slapped the table.
Just as she was looking ready to pick a fight, the trailer door opened. Her agent arrived, looking travel-worn. Her lips were dry, and her lipstick was smudged. She marched up to Zhu Hanxing, ready to continue her lecture, but stopped when she saw Hanxing’s red eyes and nose.
The scolding turned into: “Are you that upset?”
Zhu Hanxing wasn’t afraid of her. She rolled her eyes. “What do you think?”
The agent let out an exhausted sigh and looked at Ming Li. Ming Li gave a gentle smile, as if the matter had nothing to do with her. “She’s just too immersed in the role. Please don’t be hard on her.”
The agent thought to herself, If I can’t scold her, can I scold you? I’m not your agent. But Ming Li naturally seemed to have the moral high ground. The agent knew the director had acted shabbily. She was only angry at Hanxing’s attitude toward quitting.
Turning back to Ming Li, she asked calmly, “And you? What are your thoughts?”
“I won’t be doing the role,” Ming Li said. “I wasn’t that keen on it anyway.”
Zhu Hanxing shot her a side-eye, thinking it was a blatant lie. But she kept quiet.
Ming Li quickly proposed a solution to the agent. It was simple: Zhu Hanxing would continue acting, and Ming Li would simply be there to visit her friend.
The agent had considered a few options. The best would be for Ming Li to pass on this role, and then use her own connections to get Ming Li a supporting role in another film. If one wasn’t enough, she’d get her two. But Ming Li had to be the one to step back.
She hadn’t expected Ming Li to yield so gracefully. This made the agent feel slightly embarrassed, but she still had to go negotiate. She nodded to Ming Li. “Please look after this stubborn mule for me.”
The agent left. Inside the trailer, Zhu Hanxing raged, “You’re the stubborn mule! You’re the big stubborn mule!”
Ming Li said nothing.
–
After ten minutes in the trailer, Zhu Hanxing sniffled, realizing she had cried until her nose was blocked. Still worried about her agent, she decided to head out and check on things. Ming Li couldn’t stop her and could only make her promise three things: no causing trouble, no talking too much, and no impulsive strikes.
Zhu Hanxing sighed. “Grandmother, you’re not even fighting. What am I going to fight her for? It’s like the eunuch being more worried than the emperor.”
“Besides, I’ve thought it through. It’s just a role. If she wants it, she can have it. We’ll find something better.”
Zhu Hanxing grumbled as she walked. “As for her, a high-society lady making such a fuss over a woman… she’s not afraid of people knowing she’s a total ‘love-brain’ for Gu Qingshuang.”
Ming Li smiled faintly. “She’s not a love-brain.” No love-brain would leave her fiancée and go abroad alone right before the wedding.
“If she isn’t, are you?” Zhu Hanxing quipped.
Ming Li shook her head. “I’m not either.”
“You look like one to me,” Zhu Hanxing said. “You take so much crap at the Gu household and follow Gu Qingshuang’s every word. In ancient times, you’d be the type to die for her. If that’s not being a love-brain, what is?”
After a few seconds, Ming Li said softly, “I’m eating her food, so I have to follow her rules.”
Zhu Hanxing was silent. It made sense. She was convinced. After all, Gu Qingshuang had paid off nearly five hundred million in debt for Ming Li.
The two reached the dressing room. The staff had already dispersed. Only the director, the agent, and the film’s lead actress, Chun Liuyi, were inside.
Zhu Hanxing knocked and walked in before they could answer. She led Ming Li inside and scanned every corner. Shen Lideng was gone.
The director and the agent were talking peacefully. Chun Liuyi was sitting to the side playing on her phone, not engaging with them.
The director looked at Hanxing. “Is your temper gone?”
Zhu Hanxing stiffened her neck. “It’s fine, I guess.” Her voice was a bit raspy.
“Are you acting or not?” the director asked.
“I am. Why wouldn’t I?” Zhu Hanxing pulled out a chair for Ming Li and took one for herself. “The movie is more than halfway finished. I’m not quitting. I can’t afford the breach of contract fee.”
“Oh, so you do know about the contract,” the director remarked sarcastically.
“Where’s that delicate young miss from earlier? Is she filming already?” Zhu Hanxing changed the subject.
“She’s not,” the director said.
