Chapter 36

Rong Yin took a combat shower that lasted less than ten minutes. When she came out wrapped in a bath towel, Lu Zhi was on the phone with an assistant, telling them to come up and get some things.

Lu Zhi glanced at her while talking. The girl still had a layer of misty moisture on her skin, her hair wrapped in a towel. The short white bathrobe barely covered the key areas, leaving her long, fair limbs and neck completely exposed. Her whole person was as delicate as an undefended hibiscus flower, and yet here she was, fierce in appearance but faint-hearted, rolling her eyes at her.

Lu Zhi found it somewhat amusing but didn’t show it. She simply gestured with her eyes for her to hurry up and get ready.

Rong Yin pressed her two lips into a straight line, walked to the vanity, casually squeezed a few drops of lotion, and patted it onto her face. Her eyes stared at the back in the mirror. The moment she saw the other person put down her phone, she immediately issued an impatient command: “Hurry up and blow-dry my hair. Didn’t you say we were going to be late?!”

Lu Zhi didn’t get angry. She casually placed her phone on the table and also brought the salad and juice over, setting them in front of Rong Yin.

Rong Yin puffed up her face, glaring at her through the mirror. Her skin was so tender that the marks from Lu Zhi pinching her cheek earlier still showed faint red traces.

Lu Zhi, however, seemed completely oblivious to her annoyance and resistance. She reached out and undid her hair cap. Rong Yin’s hair was well-maintained—soft, resilient, and very thick.

Lu Zhi gathered it back and slowly blew it dry with the dryer, saying to Rong Yin: “Eat your meal first.”

“What kind of meal is this?” Rong Yin snorted, poking at the plastic wrap with her finger, making a hole with every poke. She muttered under her breath: “Eating grass every day! Every day! Treating me like a rabbit! Dog company! Dog Zhuang Jie! Dog Little Ma…”

Lu Zhi listened as she openly cursed and vented her anger without any restraint while finishing every last bit of the salad and not leaving a single drop of the juice. Even when a bit of avocado mush stuck to the glass, she extended her pink tongue tip to lick it clean before putting it down.

After her hair was dried, while Rong Yin was changing, two assistants came up to carry the bags and bundles. Rong Yin didn’t bother with makeup, just put on a pair of sunglasses and headed out.

The Republican-era drama crew wasn’t far from the Xianxia crew. The First Male Lead was a serious drama actor in his early thirties. He had been popular for a while but had faded in recent years. Now, taking on this Republican idol drama, his fans had always called it a “god descending to the mortal world.”

Aside from the First and Second Male Leads and some old Seniors, the rest of the supporting cast were all newcomers. Rong Yin was clearly the hottest one there at the moment. As soon as she arrived, a group of people came to greet her, calling her Sister Rong or Teacher regardless of age.

Rong Yin didn’t even take off her sunglasses. She forced a smile and greeted everyone, then went to show her face at the production team and director group. The director here was a woman, surnamed Zhang, in her forties, with wheat-colored skin and glasses that made her look rather serious.

Director Zhang was in the middle of filming a scene of the Male Lead making contact at the end of an alley. Seeing Rong Yin, she smiled and said, “Go get your makeup done first. Come back later and I’ll explain today’s scenes.”

Rong Yin gave an “Mm” and then put her sunglasses back on, five seconds after taking them off.

In this drama, she played a rich Young Lady, bright-eyed and white-toothed, with snow-white skin and jet-black hair, styled with two braids and a blue school uniform. She was pure, moving, and graceful.

All the action scenes in the drama were with the Male Lead. The Female Lead’s scenes were mostly dialogue. Rong Yin was also on dubbing mode, having barely memorized her lines. Throughout the whole process, she just showed her face, cooperating with some expressions of joy or anger.

The moment filming stopped, while on standby, she would hug her phone and play games with the volume turned up loud, making no effort to connect with anyone else.

At noon, Lu Zhi ate the crew boxed lunch. Rong Yin’s lunch was a fitness meal brought by an assistant from the hotel.

Rong Yin still held a grudge about Lu Zhi threatening her in the morning. She had been speaking to her viciously all morning. During lunch, she specifically locked the break room from the inside to keep her out.

Lu Zhi naturally didn’t take these childish tricks to heart. She turned around, took her boxed lunch, and went to eat with the director, casually discussing Rong Yin’s scenes for the next few days.

After a while, the Male Lead’s Agent also came over. A few of them started discussing the recent interactive promotions for the Male and Female Leads.

Lu Zhi had some free time in the morning to browse the internet and knew that the other party had already begun quietly shipping the CP. They had released some stills and location leaks, and also edited quite a few videos splicing together characters the two had played before, marketing the Male and Female Lead as a handsome older man and cute little sister. The response was good; quite a few people online were shipping them.

The director group was naturally happy to see this happen, but Lu Zhi knew this drama ultimately wouldn’t air due to some sensitive factors, so she didn’t say anything particularly constructive.

In the afternoon, the Male Lead bought a fruit platter for the crew. Lu Zhi picked out a few pieces of strawberry and mango strips and offered them to Rong Yin, asking if she wanted any.

Rong Yin looked at her with a face full of vigilance.

Lu Zhi raised an eyebrow: “Never mind if you don’t want it.”

“Hey, hey!” Rong Yin hurriedly grabbed her wrist. A flash of conflict crossed her face, and finally, she said loudly: “Who says I don’t want it? You were the one who asked me to eat it. When Zhuang Jie finds fault, you can’t play dumb.”

Lu Zhi nodded.

Only then did Rong Yin condescend to take the glass bowl. Then, without any psychological burden, she hugged the bowl and started eating. She ate in small bites, like a rabbit, but her happiness was clearly visible, juice spilling between her lips and teeth as she chewed.

She spent ten minutes eating a bowl of fruit. When she finished, Lu Zhi asked her: “Do you want more?”

Rong Yin blinked, not expecting there to be this option. She immediately said: “Yes! Get it now, let my stomach rest for a bit, and I’ll eat it later.”

Lu Zhi took the empty bowl and glanced at her stomach, casually asking: “Is your stomach that small?”

“Hmph, it’s only small because you guys starve me!”

Lu Zhi had already become quite accepting of her constant, sarcastic jabs. Hearing this, she didn’t say anything, just went to pick out another bowlful, even covering it with plastic wrap.

Around three in the afternoon, Little Ma brought Zhou Mingming over.

“The Male Lead over there started changing the script again. The whole set was forced to a halt. I doubt it’ll get sorted today.” Little Ma complained to Lu Zhi, very exasperated.

That Xianxia drama had always been the Male Lead’s domain. Adding or changing scenes was a daily occurrence, and everyone else was used to it.

Lu Zhi didn’t care about these things. The only person she was currently managing was Zhou Mingming. An expendable minor supporting role—no matter how much the script changed, it wouldn’t affect her. As for Rong Yin, Lu Zhi was only acting as an agent temporarily; she wouldn’t flatter herself into thinking her role was to serve her, so naturally, she didn’t care. She only reminded Little Ma to report the script changes to Zhuang Jie in detail.

Zhou Mingming, as a newcomer without scenes to shoot, naturally and obediently followed behind Lu Zhi.

Lu Zhi brought over a chair for her to sit and watch others film, got her a bottle of mineral water, and even found a straw hat from the props team for her to wear as sun protection. It was like taking care of a child on an outing.

The first afternoon scene for Rong Yin and the Male Lead was a chase scene, running from a group of thugs. The director temporarily added a scene where the Female Lead falls and gets embraced by the Male Lead. To achieve the final aesthetically pleasing presentation, they ran over a dozen takes in different positions before finally finishing, panting heavily.

As a result, as soon as Rong Yin finished, she saw the girl sitting comfortably, drinking something and watching the show!

Ha!

“Why are you everywhere? Don’t you have anything to do?” Rong Yin looked at Zhou Mingming, finding fault with everything about her.

Zhou Mingming still had a bit of an idol filter for the big star and was momentarily flustered: “I… well… that… Sister Ma said the director changed the script and we couldn’t film this afternoon, so I came over…”

“Change, change, change! Changing the script again! Why doesn’t he just become the screenwriter himself!” Rong Yin was full of fire, ready to explode at the slightest touch: “What kind of crap did they find for me to film? Do they really think I’m dead?!”

Zhou Mingming mumbled and fell silent, quietly moving her chair further away from Rong Yin.

Lu Zhi happened to be nearby and asked Zhou Mingming if she wanted to go out for a walk.

Zhou Mingming said quietly: “I don’t want to go alone.”

“I’ll go with you.” Lu Zhi reached out and patted the brim of her hat.

Zhou Mingming’s eyes lit up, and she immediately nodded repeatedly like a chick pecking at rice.

Rong Yin listened to them chatting about where to play as if no one else was there. Her eyeballs were practically popping out of her head. She looked at Lu Zhi: “What are you thinking? I’m still filming! Do you have any professional integrity?!”

Lu Zhi looked at her strangely: “Didn’t you say you didn’t want to see me?”

“I…” The moment Rong Yin met those clear, ink-black eyes, she choked. Furious, she turned and yelled at the assistant next to her: “Where is Little Ma?!”

“I’ll go find her right away.” The little assistant dashed off.

When Little Ma was around, Lu Zhi basically never managed Rong Yin. She soon took Zhou Mingming out of the set to wander around inside Hengdian, checking out a few other drama filming locations.

Because they had work permits on them, she very smoothly helped the young girl get a few signatures from other stars, making Zhou Mingming incredibly happy.

When they got back, Zhou Mingming bought some small gifts for Little Ma and the others, and finally got stuck for a long time on whether to buy a gift for Rong Yin.

“Buy her a radish cake. That’s her favorite,” Lu Zhi said.

Zhou Mingming pursed her lips and smiled, saying: “But Sister Ma won’t let her eat it. If I buy it, Sister Ma will definitely kill me.” She sighed, then added: “Sister Rong Yin is 167cm, and her weight is less than 90 jin. I think I’m too fat; I might need to lose weight.”

“No need. You’re just right. Rong Yin is too thin,” Lu Zhi said.

Zhou Mingming said: “But they say being thin looks good on camera.”

Lu Zhi: “You already look very good on camera right now.”

Zhou Mingming quickly cheered up and stopped talking about dieting.

By the time they got back, they saw fans had come to visit the set. They had probably been waiting for quite a while. The director only let the staff bring them in after rushing through several scenes.

Instantly, the place was filled with screams. The Male Lead and Rong Yin greeted the fans together. Rong Yin was quiet; the Male Lead did most of the talking.

“It’s too late. Everyone, please go back early and be safe, okay?”

The fans all let out a collective “Aww,” and then a few representatives came forward to present flowers, though most were given to Rong Yin. A young girl even took the chance to hug her, then ran off with a blush on her face.

Rong Yin, in a good-natured manner, curved her lips into a smile. Seeing this, Little Ma hurried forward to arrange a group photo.

Zhou Mingming watched with a sigh, her eyes full of envy.

Even after removing makeup and planning to return to the hotel, there were still quite a few fans lingering nearby. As they passed by, Rong Yin reached out to roll down the car window, waving while shouting outside: “Go back right now, you hear?!”

The fans, very obligingly, screamed.

Rong Yin nodded with satisfaction, like a leader inspecting, then rolled the window back up and settled into her seat again.