Lately, everything was going smoothly for Chen Ming. In the morning, he had just secured a role in Wong Kar-wai's film, and in the afternoon, he received word from Dajin in Beijing.
The other party had agreed to their terms and asked him to go to Beijing for an audition as soon as possible. As long as he passed the audition, he would sign the contract and preparations for filming would begin.
This film was scheduled to wrap up before the Lunar New Year, so it wouldn't delay Chen Ming from joining Wong Kar-wai's crew after the holiday.
Upon receiving the news, he rushed straight to Beijing and, unsurprisingly, passed the audition. However, the director, Teng Huatao, was somewhat lukewarm toward Chen Ming.
Chen Ming didn't care at all. *Do you have any idea how much talent you actually have? No matter, time will tell.*
"Let's drink to this!"
"Cheers!"
Since they were in Beijing, the two of them naturally agreed they had to eat roast duck. However, whether they had picked the wrong place or not, the food at this long-famed establishment was thoroughly mediocre. Chen Ming felt it tasted pretty much the same as the roast duck shops in Hengdian...
"You're considered a real industry insider now. Shouldn't you find an assistant or something? I have a niece..."
"Stop right there!"
Chen Ming cut Dajin off before he could finish.
"What am I even, that I need to find an assistant now? I'm a guy and I can handle things myself. If someone really gave me an assistant right now, I wouldn't even know what to do with them."
Seeing that Chen Ming's expression didn't seem falsely modest, Dajin thought about his usual demeanor—though he had been a bit effeminate lately, he truly wasn't the pretentious type.
"Brother Jin, let's talk about that when I actually hit it big."
"It won't be far off, my boy, that's Wong Kar-wai's movie after all... Oh right, what's the movie called? Who are you working with?"
Hearing this, Chen Ming gave a bitter smile and took a small sip of his drink. As he raised his glass, he suppressed the urge of his orchid finger that wanted to cock upward of its own accord, thinking to himself that this system really wasn't without its side effects. Just one eunuch had made him like this; what if he had to play a murderer someday...?
*Terrifying.*
Right after, he tucked away his messy thoughts and said in a low voice, "I asked tactfully, but Director Wong keeps the movie title under tight wraps. This time coming for the audition was a low-key trip, but I heard Tony Leung is involved..."
"Holy crap!"
Dajin exclaimed, "My man, you've really hit the big time! Do you have any scenes with him?"
Chen Ming shrugged: "They haven't even bloody given me the script yet. They just gave me a character description and told me to go back and figure it out myself."
In his past life, he had heard about Wong Kar-wai's directing style—no script, just handing the actors a slip of paper on set and starting to shoot right then and there. Chen Ming was quite curious: how on earth was this supposed to be filmed?
As the two of them chatted and brought the meal to a close, Chen Ming got up to check out. While he and Dajin were politely yielding to each other over who would pay, he felt his elbow bump into something.
"Landlord!"
He instinctively looked back. A girl wearing a duck-tongue cap, a face mask, and a tacky pink padded cotton coat was holding her phone and staring straight at him.
Although her face couldn't be seen clearly, those eyes alone were very distinct. They were beautiful, but lifeless. For a split second, Chen Ming thought this sister might be blind...
If so, he would have committed a grave sin!
Until Chen Ming started to feel a bit creeped out by the staring.
He instinctively looked at the phone the girl was holding up. The highest-ranking cards in her hand were a pair of Aces, and she confidently snatched the landlord spot on a three-point bid.
"Double!"
The voice rang out from the latest model of Apple phone, making Chen Ming feel a few shades more awkward.
*You two are absolute rascals, what time of day is it and you're still doubling?*
"Um... there might still be hope?"
Chen Ming offered an awkward smile.
The girl didn't answer. She simply handed the phone directly to Chen Ming, her meaning clear: "You think you're so smart, you take over."
Chen Ming had no choice but to take it. He glanced at the multiplier, then checked the balance—thirty seconds to end the battle, the entire run consisting of nothing more than a pair of 3s.
There, go collect your welfare check.
Having watched Chen Ming's operation, the girl raised her head once more and stared at him with that exact same deadpan look as before.
They looked at each other in silence, but the silent condemnation had already begun from this very moment.
Chen Ming's coping skills were seasoned enough; he simply turned his head away.
*If I don't look at you, I won't know you're looking at me.*
*If I'm not embarrassed, the only one who's embarrassed will be you.*
Yet this girl was stubborn to a fault. She just stood there without a word, staring right at him. Chen Ming felt as though a knife was slowly slicing across his handsome face, inch by inch.
He took a deep breath, summoned the imposing aura of a senior eunuch reprimanding a junior one, and spoke directly.
"You're so young, such a pretty little girl, yet you idle your days away without ambition, indulging in gambling every single day—what is the meaning of this? Let me tell you! Today is just a warning. From now on, you must study hard and play less of this shady nonsense! Hmph!"
Having spoken with righteous indignation, Chen Ming thrust the phone back into her hands amidst the girl's incredulous gaze, gave a proud toss of his head, and strode with bold steps toward the front desk to settle the bill.
*I am in the right, so I have nothing to fear!*
Yet his pace grew faster and faster, ending in a near-sprint. He bolted right out of the restaurant without even paying the bill, ran all the way to the back of Dajin's car, and crouched straight down.
Seeing that the girl hadn't chased after him, he let out a long breath of relief.
"Little brat, she might not be old, but her gaze sure is bewitching."
Chen Ming felt he was back in top form.
***
After staying in Beijing for two more days to finalize the contract and other miscellaneous matters, Dajin returned to Hengdian. When he left, he felt a lingering reluctance.
It wasn't that he was reluctant to leave Chen Ming; rather, he was reluctant to part with the directors and producers in Hengdian who used to act so high and mighty, yet now addressed him respectfully as "President Jin."
When had he ever had such opportunities before?
In the past, he was always the one bowing and scraping to flatter others, walking on eggshells just to read their expressions—to the point where his bragging kept inflating until he was practically about to crown himself the richest man in Dongyang. Sensing that the situation was turning south, Chen Ming had quickly urged him to get out while the getting was good.
In the days that followed, aside from working out, he holed up in his hotel room to ponder the script for *Love Is Not Blind*. The character wasn't difficult at all; he just needed to add a touch of femininity and project that inherent petty, bitchy vibe.
No big deal.
Time flew by in a blur until the day the cast assembled.
"Teacher Bai, hello, hello, I am Chen Ming."
Looking at the girl in front of him who sported the sharply cut, trendy blunt bangs and bore a striking resemblance to Wang Luodan, Chen Ming shook her hand and greeted her. He figured the two of them probably hadn't had a falling out yet at this point in time, but he still had to be careful—this girl knew martial arts, too.
The One-Finger Zen.
The current cast of this film didn't feature any major heavyweights, and nobody was prone to throwing diva fits. The real big names were only making cameo appearances, whom he might not even get to see. However, Chen Ming was genuinely looking forward to his scenes with Teacher Zhang Jiayi.
"Teacher Chen, hello. I am Bai Baihe. Oh my goodness, how can you still look so handsome even with a buzz cut?"
The girl spoke with a distinct Beijing accent. Her eyes were lively and carried a natural sense of innocence, though her tone was exceptionally bold and hearty.
"Hahaha, thank you. You look exceptionally pretty today, too."
"Don't even mention it."
Bai Baihe was quite quick to warm up. As she spoke, she directly fussed with her bangs and said, "Look, it's so ugly. It doesn't even suit me to begin with."
With that, she flipped her bangs up and, rising slightly on her tiptoes, leaned her face close to Chen Ming as if wanting him to see clearly, while widening her eyes to gaze at him innocently.
Chen Ming immediately made his calculation in his heart.
This girl...
Seemingly innocent.
In reality.
She's utterly ruthless!