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1.75% Hitting the Entertainment News Spotlight / Chapter 12: Satisfied

Chapter 12: Satisfied

Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The cameras were focused on her once more. Jiang Se's weak knees slowly gave way and met the ground. There were two more gunshots. She bit and broke the bag of blood in her mouth. The props master had told her that Zhang Jingan had strict requirements and wanted the shot to be as realistic as possible. Therefore, the bag of blood inside her mouth was not ordinary honeyed water with food coloring like the ones used in television shows. Instead, they had imported these bags of blood. The props master wanted her to be mentally prepared.

Despite being prepared, when the metallic taste of blood filled her mouth, Jiang Se almost retched.

She fell to the ground with her eyes half-opened and she tried her best to empty her mind.

She could hear the patter of footsteps around her as the invader, Gao Rong, walked up to her. She seemed reluctant to lower her head before this invader. She moved her bound legs as if she wanted to get up.

However, all that was caught on camera were her legs moving feebly.

Zhang Jingan made an excited gesture. He instructed the camera to slide closer to Jiang Se along the tracks. The camera was lowered.

There seemed to be a defiant look in her eyes as if she was clinging to life. At this moment, it seemed as if she had truly gotten into character. When Gao Rong recited his lines, she gave another weak "pah" at his feet.

The blood from her mouth splashed onto Gao Rong's ankle, taking him by surprise while he was still reciting his lines.

This scene was not part of the script. Fortunately, Gao Rong was an experienced actor. Although he was shocked, he did not slow down when reciting the rest of his lines. Instead, he lifted his leg angrily, playing along with Jiang Se's performance.

It should have been Gao Rong's time to shine in this scene. However, Zhang Jingan did not instruct the camera to adjust its angle. It was focused on Jiang Se's face instead.

In this scene, the newcomer's performance was on par with Gao Rong's. There was no sign of her paling in comparison to him.

Although the scene of her second "pah" while spitting blood was not written in the script, Jiang Se's improvisation had made it better than planned as the character was immediately brought to life. It matched her reluctance to yield before Gao Rong's threats in the scene before this.

The light in Jiang Se's eyes seemed to fade slowly. Zhang Jingan stroked his chin, appearing troubled.

"Liu Ye, you're right."

His brows were tightly knitted together. He tapped the ground with his left foot, making soft sounds.

"This newcomer is interesting. Her performance has brought the character to life. I should give her the role in Daqing Village."

However, now that Jiang Se had already shown her striking features besides performing well, Zhang Jingan would not be satisfied if this scene was cut and another actor were to be used.

At this moment, in his mind, Jiang Se was the Zhou family's maid who had died by Gao Rong's hand. The maid with the exceptional charisma could be portrayed by none other than her.

"If she's caught your eye, she'll have plenty of chances in the future." Liu Ye removed his shades and looked at the young girl on the screen.

Before this, his impression of her was that she was just another pretty face. However, she now seemed more interesting to him. "She's young, she's got looks, she's patient, and she's got some skills. Even if she's not in the Daqing Village film, I know that if a girl like her has ambition and is smart about it, she will surely have other opportunities coming her way."

Zhang Jingan was still lamenting the loss. He spread his fingers and clenched his fist. Then, he brought it down onto his chest and nodded. "That's the only way."

After he said that, he got up. "It's getting late. I've been here for half a day. Let's go."

Liu Ye stood up as well. He glanced at Jiang Se who was lying on the ground nearby. Although he found her interesting, he eventually decided to crush his own intentions after considering his own popularity and status. He put his shades back on.

The shooting ended smoothly, so the famous director was ready to leave. He was clearly surprised and satisfied with what he found after coming here to inspect the shooting on a whim. He left with a smile on his face. Even his tone was gentle when he addressed the executive director.

Jiang Se was helped to her feet. The crew untied her hands and gave her some mineral water to rinse her mouth.

Since it was getting late, after the filming, the crew gave the extras their packed lunch. Lu Baobao grabbed hers and ate it on a round table under a beach parasol with Jiang Se.

She clearly had a hard day. There were still streaks of makeup lingering on her face while her neck and ears were red from being under the sun.

The executive director naturally headed to somewhere else for his meal as the other crew members sat down in small groups. The other extras found shaded spots, squatted down, and ate their lunches.

Although this scene was completed, it did not mean that the job for the extras was over. They merely appeared for an instant on-screen. After completing this scene, they would have other scenes to film in the afternoon.

Gao Rong sat among the crew members as if trying to get in touch with the common folk. He raised his packed lunch toward himself and spoke with a smile, "Little Jiang, how old are you?"

Although he was not extremely popular in the entertainment industry, he did gain seniority from all the years he had been working and the crew members did regard him with some level of respect.

When Gao Rong was finished with his question, Jiang Se did not even have the time to answer when Lu Baobao said with a smile, "Senior Gao, Sese is 17, a year younger than I am. We're still in grade 12, and we're classmates."

This young girl had a scheming mind and would not withhold any information.

The others bombarded her with questions. They soon learned virtually everything they wanted to know about Jiang Se from her. Naturally, Lu Baobao told them about the original Jiang Se's intentions of making it big in the entertainment industry.

However, nobody laughed at her. After all, Jiang Se was gorgeous. Heaven definitely favored her in this aspect. With her looks, body, and bearing, it would be easy for her to enter the industry in the future.

Moreover, a famous director such as Zhang Jingan had been satisfied with her performance even though she was not an arts major. Jiang Se clearly had the talent for this, thus it would not be surprising if she became a superstar in the future.

"Little Jiang, you did well in the shoot today. I almost let my own emotions be influenced."

When Gao Rong mentioned the day's filming, Lu Baobao beamed and nodded repeatedly. "It's true, it's true."

Jiang Se truly did a good job today. During the filming, Lu Baobao felt as if she had been pulled into the world of the script. "I knew she'd be fine. Still, I couldn't help but worry about her."

The others laughed and Jiang Se smiled as well. However, her thoughts were elsewhere.

After lunch, Lu Baobao had another assignment. However, nobody called on Jiang Se to be an extra anymore.

The industry was like a concentrated cocoon of the human condition. She looked on as Lu Baobao changed into different costumes over the course of the afternoon and portrayed different characters while being drenched in sweat. However, because she had earned the personal praise of Zhang Jingan, Jiang Se was left to wait by the side with some water. Nobody came to order her around anymore.

A few shoots and a break later, the crew filmed a scene by the river at dusk. Jiang Se overheard some of the crew members say that Li Mingyuan was coming.


Chapter 13: Remuneration

Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The grips were already giving instructions for the next set. The woman who took the names of Jiang Se and the others this morning re-emerged and gathered the extras together. It was clearly time for their remuneration to be calculated.

After working hard for an entire day, many of the extras sighed in relief at this. They registered looks of happiness.

However, before they could follow this woman away, another person hurried toward them. "I'll need some men to stay back."

When they heard this, many of the extras displayed displeased looks. However, a dozen of them were called out to stay behind in the end. The others went away with the woman.

The remuneration was paid based on the predetermined rate. Although Lu Baobo had only been filming for more than eight hours, she was paid $50. The additional $10 was compensation for the hot weather in Shen Villa today which had gone higher than 37 degrees.

As for Jiang Se, because of her line and being Zhang Jingan's personal pick, the crew gave her an additional $300, $40 for being an extra, another $20 for having fallen into the river, and a $10 allowance from the crew for her cooling drink, so she received $370 in total.

Everyone waited for their turn to get their payment. At this moment, it was getting quite late.

Lu Baobao and Jiang Se did not have time to shower. When they finished changing, it was almost 10 o'clock in the evening.

Lu Baobao initially intended to try her luck back at the other tents. However, when she saw that there were more than 60 missed calls on her phone, all of which were from her parents, she naturally snuffed out her intentions of going after the celebrities.

The two of them had been so busy with filming. Their clothes and personal belongings were left in the lockers while Lu Baobao did not even have the chance to catch her breath. Naturally, she did not manage to answer her parents' calls.

There were the sounds of filming nearby. Lu Baobao pulled on Jiang Se, looking slightly anxious.

"This is bad." She stomped her feet. "The last bus to the imperial capital from Shen Villa is about to depart."

She had been planning to come to Shen Villa for a very long time, so she had done some research before that. "The transit buses between Shen Villa and the imperial capital end at nine, and their operating hours are extended by an hour during the weekends. However, that means that the last bus will leave at 10."

Lu Baobao's watch clearly showed that it was now 9.45 p.m. They had another 15 minutes. If they could not catch the last bus, they would have to spend the night here in Shen Villa. "I've never stayed overnight outside. My mum will flog me to death when I get back tomorrow!"

She had been dying to come here before this. Now, she was as anxious as ants on a hot pan. "What do we do? What do we do?"

When Jiang Se saw her anxious look, she could not help but glance at her phone. "Give your folks a call. Try to calm them down. Tell them not to worry, for now."

Lu Baobao was beside herself with worry. When she heard the suggestion, she hastily nodded. However, when she processed it, she looked at Jiang Se and asked, "How do I calm them down? What should I tell them?"

"Just tell them anything. Hurry up. The bus is almost leaving. We'll have to buy the tickets to return to the imperial capital."

This time, the production team had recruited many extras. Some of them must have been from the imperial capital as well. If they were late to the station, they might not even be able to catch the last bus.

Lu Baobao finally realized the situation they were in. The two of them held hands and ran from the filming site.

It was getting late, but there were still reporters camped outside. When they saw extras appearing, the reporters swarmed them and wanted to interview any extra they could get their hands on to get some inside scoop about the production.

Jiang Se and Lu Baobao were thankful for these reporters. Many of the extras were held up doing interviews. When Jiang Se and Lu Baobao arrived at the bus station, it was not as full as they expected it to be.

The two of them were lucky. When they reached the ticketing counter, it was five minutes to the departure of the last bus from Shen Villa, and there were not many tickets left.

Perhaps because of the exhaustion from the day's work, Lu Baobao soon fell into a deep sleep shortly after they boarded the bus.

However, Jiang Se could not fall asleep no matter how she tried. The Daxing River separated Shen Villa from the imperial capital.

When the bus drove onto the suspension bridge, she stared at the oncoming lights from the other side. She could hear Lu Baobao's soft snoring in her ear. Her face was occasionally illuminated and plunged into darkness by the streetlights they were passing outside.

She had a feeling as if she was getting further and further away from the things she was familiar with. Just like Shen Villa, she had been there but did not leave any mark.

When they arrived at the imperial capital, it was nearly 11 p.m.

The Du family was already fast asleep. Jiang Se tried a few knocks on the door. Perhaps someone heard her, but nobody came to the door.

Therefore, Jiang Se could only turn around and go back. This area was already considered the imperial capital's suburbs. The building in which the Dus resided had no property management or residential management office, so it was dangerous for her to stay outside at night.

She caressed the few hundred dollars she just made that day. She found a small inn and paid $100 for a night's stay. She took a hasty shower and, without waiting for her hair to dry, hopped into the bed and fell asleep.

After having gone through so much that day, she slept especially soundly after all the exertion.

When she awoke the next day, it was almost 11 a.m. Jiang Se wanted to get up, but when she moved her arm, she realized that she was sore all over.

The spots where the ropes were tied yesterday were now showing faint marks. The mark on her shoulder where she had been hit by the prop knife and the bruise on her chest left by the squib looked even more grotesque overnight

She drew a deep breath and rubbed her chest while bearing the pain. She reckoned that it would take several days for her wounds to heal.

Her bra, which she had hand-washed last night, was already dry, so she changed her clothes. When she reached the Du residence, Du Changqun had already left for work. Zhou Hui was preparing lunch while Du Honghong was watching the television in the living room. When she saw Jiang Se, she clicked her tongue. "Looks who finally decided to come back."

The kitchen was only partitioned off a corner of the living room. When Zhou Hui emerged from the kitchen after hearing Du Honghong's words, water was still dripping from her hands. She shot Jiang Se a slightly nasty look. Her lips moved, but nothing came out. Then, she returned to the kitchen without saying anything to Jiang Se.

When Zhou Hui left, Du Honghong pursed her lips. "Why did you come back?"

Although they were half-sisters, it was clear that they were not close. They did not even resemble each other.

Zhou Hui had given birth to three children, but only her son, Du You, resembled her. Her two daughters, who were born from different fathers, did not resemble her.

Du Changqun was nothing special to look at, and Du Honghong could only be described as comely, at best. If she stood beside Jiang Se, one of them would look incredibly beautiful while the other would look insignificant.

This was also why Du Honghong disliked Jiang Se. Since she was a little child, the people around them would praise Jiang Se for being beautiful even though they knew that she was only Du Changqun's stepdaughter.

As Jiang Se went into her room without saying anything, Du Honghong rolled her eyes at her stepsister. When she noticed Jiang Se going into her room without replying to her, she pouted. "Manners!"

She had a puzzled look in her eyes. In the past, Jiang Se knew that the Dus did not like her since she was only living under their roof. Therefore, she was never close to any of them and would only speak to Zhou Hui.


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