Chapter 44

The TV series Rong Yin shot at the end of August had its title finalized, called “Honey and Arsenic.” The female lead was named Tang Mi, and the male lead was Lu Shuang. It was a super sweet, invincible love idol drama dressed in a workplace exterior, focused on the story of a natural airhead sweetie and a tsundere, black-bellied, overbearing CEO locked in a love-hate relationship.

Lu Zhi had always believed that the best SSS-tier scripts didn’t really need huge investments or massive productions. The core focus was whether the role matched the artist.

Rong Yin’s current public persona was that of a sweet girl, and she was already adept at these roles. Taking on such a guaranteed hit sweet drama was the most natural course of action.

Of course, she could also immediately find a complex and profound resource, one that would let her chase Best Actress awards after filming. But the current situation was clearly that Rong Yin’s virtue did not match her position; her professional ability couldn’t handle those thought-provoking roles either.

So Lu Zhi wouldn’t try to force her growth. After a little thought, she felt it was better to take it step by step.

In the plot, after Rong Yin took on this drama, it did become a minor hit. However, because it was broadcast on an online platform and didn’t air on satellite TV—even though most netizens no longer watched dramas on television these days—it was still considered low-tier by the audience.

Lu Zhi couldn’t directly decide Rong Yin’s acting skill, but this time, she could try to maneuver things so that this drama could ultimately be broadcast on satellite TV.

After wining and dining the Promotion Director of Q&D a few times, Lu Zhi successfully introduced him to the producer of the “Honey and Arsenic” crew. After several rounds of discussion and negotiation, Q&D decided to become the clothing sponsor for this workplace idol drama.

A week before the crew started filming, Lu Zhi only just got her hands on the basically finalized episode breakdown and script. That afternoon, she happened to have nothing to do, so she drove to pick up Zhou Mingming, and they went together to the home of the acting teacher where Rong Yin was currently taking lessons.

Lu Zhi had hired two seniors from the acting world to teach Rong Yin. One was Zhang Tianying, a heavyweight veteran of serious drama. Rong Yin mainly took his theory courses, studying basic acting skills, fundamental performance theory, literary cultivation, and so on.

The other was a grandmaster artist, Fang Zhen, sixty-seven years old this year. She started as a stage actress and later also acted in TV series and films. She won quite a few awards when she was young. Now, suitable roles for her were fewer, so she had stepped back to take on students. Rong Yin mainly studied lines and body movement with her.

Because they were both women, Rong Yin had a closer relationship with Teacher Fang. For regular classes and such, she would go directly to the teacher’s home.

Lu Zhi had dropped Rong Yin off there before and knew the way. The parking situation in the old residential area wasn’t very convenient, so she parked the car at the intersection. Then, she and Zhou Mingming, carrying bags full of gifts like fruit, milk calcium supplements, and tea drinks, walked into the alley.

Although the villas in this area looked somewhat old, each had a large yard, all beautifully maintained. Even through the fence gates, you could see the interiors planted full of flowers, plants, and various colored vegetables.

Lu Zhi had called ahead, so after ringing the doorbell, a housekeeper quickly came to open the door, taking the things while saying, “Miss Rong Yin and Teacher Fang are upstairs singing opera.”

Lu Zhi smiled and was just about to speak when she heard someone call her from the second floor: “Little Chen is here.”

“Hello, Teacher Fang.” Lu Zhi looked up and greeted with a smile.

Behind her, Zhou Mingming also hurriedly bowed, saying, “Hello, Teacher Fang.”

“Hello to you both,” Teacher Fang’s voice was slow when she spoke, her brows and eyes marked by the passage of time. She stood on the small balcony, waving gracefully. “Come on up first,” she said with a smile.

The second floor of the villa was a small living room plus a teaching studio. The wooden door was open wide.

The assistant assigned to follow Rong Yin was in the small living room. Lu Zhi greeted her and walked over. Just as she was about to enter the teaching studio, a white water sleeve suddenly floated out from behind the door, accompanied by a trembling, drawn-out, mournful aria.

“Oh, my husband…”

Lu Zhi’s eyelid twitched. She saw Rong Yin, dressed in a crimson opera robe, appearing from behind the door like someone half-hiding behind a pipa. A pair of bright, limpid eyes looked at her from behind the sleeve with a hesitant, longing gaze. A thin voice came out: “Oh, my husband, within this city of Chang’an, my furrowed brow begins to ease…”

It was clearly a line meant to be slow and sorrowful, but performed by her in that pinched voice, combined with those rolling black eyeballs, it actually seemed quite naughty and laughable.

Lu Zhi curved her lips. As expected, she soon heard Teacher Fang helplessly interrupt from behind: “Stop singing, stop singing. A perfectly good Peking opera piece has been turned into a comedy by you.”

Rong Yin clearly had a good relationship with Teacher Fang. Hearing this, she wasn’t afraid at all. She even triumphantly flicked the pure white, silky water sleeve onto Lu Zhi’s face, threw a flirtatious glance, and then circled around with tiny, shuffling steps, trilling.

“That child insisted on hiding behind the door to startle you,” Teacher Fang shook her head, though her face still held a smile.

Lu Zhi glanced at Rong Yin, who was still clowning around, and also laughed: “Thank you, Teacher Fang, for putting up with her mischievous monkey nature.”

“Mischievous, she is indeed the most mischievous. Every time she comes here, she practically tries to lift the roof off,” Teacher Fang said as she walked over. Looking at Zhou Mingming behind Lu Zhi, she asked, “Is this a child you’re managing too?”

Lu Zhi nodded: “Yes.”

Teacher Fang asked Zhou Mingming a few more questions, then said to Lu Zhi: “Since you’re all here, have dinner here tonight.”

Teacher Fang had divorced early in life, and neither of her children lived with her. So usually, there was no one else in the house besides her and the housekeeper.

Lu Zhi looked up, confirming her expression was sincere and didn’t seem like a polite but insincere offer, so she agreed with a smile.

When she had some free time in the early evening, Lu Zhi also showed her the script for “Honey and Arsenic.”

Teacher Fang flipped through a couple of pages, saying, “It’s quite good. Rong Yin is still young, she should be acting in these love stories. You also don’t always need to think about transforming, transforming. It mainly depends on whether it’s suitable. A lovey-dovey drama like this—if she doesn’t act in it now, when will she? Acting in this kind of mushy stuff in her thirties or forties, that would be embarrassing.”

Rong Yin sat nearby, peeling an orange in her hands, nodding repeatedly and chiming in: “Right, right, I think so too.”

After dinner and sitting for a while longer, the group finally said their goodbyes.

Including the assistant, the four of them drove two cars. Normally, the assistant would naturally take Rong Yin, and Lu Zhi would take Zhou Mingming. Unexpectedly, just as Lu Zhi opened the driver’s side door, Rong Yin had already scurried over, opened the passenger door, and sat down.

Lu Zhi leaned on the car door, looking at her.

Rong Yin sat comfortably in the passenger seat, saying, “I have something to tell you.”

Only then did Lu Zhi get in the car. Zhou Mingming naturally didn’t dare to compete with Rong Yin; she opened the back door and got in.

The car slowly drove out of the residential area, the assistant’s minivan following close behind.

“Next week, when filming starts, will you be staying with the crew?” Rong Yin took the script out of the glove compartment, flipping through it casually as she asked Lu Zhi.

“The crew is in this city. If nothing comes up, I will,” Lu Zhi said, both hands on the steering wheel, maintaining a steady speed. She added, “Q&D has agreed to be the clothing sponsor for this workplace idol drama. The specific contract terms have been discussed with the producer. Also, regarding Director Zhang, I spoke to him in advance. He’ll focus on polishing your acting during filming. Be humble when the time comes.”

Rong Yin was stunned for a moment, then immediately struck a pose of being deeply touched, blinking her watery eyes at Lu Zhi: “Big Sis… wuwuwu… you’re putting too much thought into this for me…”

Lu Zhi smiled slightly, glancing at her sideways: “Keep yourself in check too. Don’t bring out all your old bad habits. Lately, I’ll have Little Wang supervise you memorizing your lines every day.”

Rong Yin didn’t feel warned at all. Patting her chest, she said, “Don’t worry, I’ll definitely memorize them well. And I’ve been getting up at six every morning lately to practice vocalization!”

As she spoke, she pinched her mouth into a little chicken beak, making “eeee,” “aaaa” sounds, making even Zhou Mingming unable to hold back her laughter.

Lu Zhi could clearly feel that Rong Yin was in a very good mood recently. In just under a month, she was already completely different from that easily provoked, explosive brat from before.

The car first arrived at Star City Residences, where Zhou Mingming lived. The young girl obediently waved goodbye to the two of them and got out.

“Has Zhou Mingming not had any announcements lately?” Rong Yin suddenly asked after the car started moving again.

“She joins a crew next month, for Director Li Chengfeng’s art film, playing a little sister,” Lu Zhi said casually.

Li Chengfeng was a recently popular new director in the film circle, known for skillfully depicting delicate female emotions. If Zhou Mingming could play a small supporting role in his movie, she would undergo a significant transformation afterward.

Of the two young girls under Lu Zhi’s management now, Zhou Mingming wasn’t particularly talented. Her looks were only average in the entertainment industry, crowded with beauties and handsome men, and her personality was the unremarkable, introverted, and obedient type. To stand out, she could only slowly polish her acting bit by bit, climbing up step by step from small roles.

As for Rong Yin, she had a uniquely blessed face, full of spiritual qi when she debuted, but now there was almost none left. To find her original aspiration, she would still need a lot of work—she could only be polished slowly too.

Small fame relies on promotion; big fame relies on fate.

So it wasn’t like Lu Zhi could just pull good resources and casually make them soar to the sky. It was a slow process.

Rong Yin pursed her lips. It was a long moment before she just said, “Oh.”

The car soon arrived at Lu Zhi’s apartment. She parked at the intersection. In the rearview mirror, she could see the assistant’s minivan parked behind them too. She turned to Rong Yin and said, “I’m here. You get out and take Little Wang’s car back.”

Rong Yin snapped out of her thoughts, looked outside through the glass window, “You live here?”

Lu Zhi “Mm”ed, “Get out of the car.”

Rong Yin made an “oh” sound, unbuckled her seatbelt halfway, then let her hand drop. Suddenly interested, she said, “Since we’re already here, I’ll come see your place to recognize the door.”

Lu Zhi thought of that little den, less than thirty square meters, and hesitated slightly.

Seeing her expression, Rong Yin immediately got a bit unhappy: “Hey, you know me inside and out, but I can’t even know where you live?”

“My room is a bit small…” Lu Zhi was always adaptable by nature. Material possessions meant little to her normally. And she had been in this world for less than half a year, spending most of it on business trips. So she was still living in the small place Chen Qihua had rented back then, with no immediate plans to move.

“Small? How small can it be? I’m not staying at your place,” Rong Yin said, annoyed.

And then it really was very small. Pushing the door open led to a studio apartment. The living room, bedroom, dining area, and study were all one. Although it was very clean, with even a miniature cactus on the table, it still shocked Rong Yin.

“Why do you live here?” Rong Yin’s mouth gaped wide enough to fit a quail egg. She stood at the doorway, not daring to enter.

Lu Zhi gently lifted Rong Yin’s pointy chin with a finger, then pushed her inside, closing the security door. She said with a smile, “Because I’m very poor.”

Rong Yin still frowned, utterly puzzled. She surveyed the small room where you could see everything at a glance, feeling like there wasn’t even a place to step. This room was even smaller than the houses those so-called poor girls lived in, in the idol dramas she used to film.

“But I… I always thought you were a rich second-generation! You just seem really wealthy!”

Lu Zhi chuckled. Without even asking Rong Yin to change her shoes, she pulled out the only chair in the room for Rong Yin to sit on, then said, “Then you guessed wrong. I’m a slum girl.”

Rong Yin pressed her lips together, her little head full of question marks. She carefully examined Lu Zhi’s delicate features, her clear skin, her composed demeanor, her clothes of an unbranded but clearly comfortable nature. For a good while, she couldn’t speak.

Lu Zhi first went to her bathroom, which was less than two square meters, to wash her hands. Then she used a glass cup to get some filtered water from the newly bought purifier, handed it to her, and leaned back lightly against the table. “I don’t drink tea at home myself. You’ll have to make do with plain water.”

Lu Zhi wore cool-toned clothes today. As her body leaned slightly, her legs, wrapped in the beautifully draped navy fabric, looked exceptionally long. Now, her slender fingers casually supported the tabletop. Beneath her rolled-up shirtsleeve was a well-proportioned arm, two delicate wrist bones slightly protruding on either side, her skin gleaming white like a piece of naturally perfect jade.

Her cool, outstanding aura showed not the slightest hint of worldly toil.

Anyone looking would feel that a person of such bearing was completely out of place in this cramped little room.

Rong Yin sipped her water, feeling very uncomfortable inside. Thinking about how Lu Zhi casually negotiated salaries or endorsements worth millions or tens of millions with big shots during the day, only to come home to such a tiny house at night, it struck her as incredibly absurd.

“Is an agent’s salary that low…” Rong Yin felt somewhat disillusioned. Frowning, she muttered to herself, “Otherwise… otherwise…”

Rong Yin suddenly looked up, her eyes shining as she looked at Lu Zhi: “Otherwise, you can moonlight as my personal assistant! I don’t have much work right now anyway. I’ll provide room and board, and I can even pay you separately! That way, you can earn two salaries!”