Chapter 191: The Hard Work Behind the Scenes
“You know, but you still want to apply for a leave.” Hou Chengjue couldn’t do anything about Yun Xiangxiang.
This was the deal they had before Yun Xiangxiang entered school. He could only take his pen and sign it, “Don’t lag behind in your studies.”
“Don’t worry, teacher. I guarantee you that I won’t give you guys the chance to expel me,” Yun Xiangxiang smiled cheekily.
“What do you think of the national math competition next year?” Hou Chengjue handed the slip of leave to Yun Xiangxiang.
Yun Xiangxiang was caught between a rock and a hard place, “Teacher, I know that is an honor, but I don’t plan on taking part.”
The intra school competition for freshmen was for selecting talents who would take part in the nationals in sophomore year. The top three would have to compete. This was the tradition.
Most of the participants in the intra school competition did it to have a shot at the nationals. Yun Xiangxiang did it because she wanted to prove the legitimacy of her results.
She might be slightly smarter than the average person, but she was no genius. It took everything she had just for the intra school competition. The stress would collapse her if she took part in the nationals. The intra school competition tested their individual abilities. The nationals would test their abilities as a team.
The results in an individual based competition pertained to that one person. The nationals not only demanded their time to nurture the chemistry between teammates, it was also related to their honor as a whole.
Hou Chengjue heaved a sigh. He waved Yun Xiangxiang away, “Go, go. If you stay around any longer, you’ll miss the dean.”
A prolonged leave must be approved by many authorities before being signed by the dean. When the dean saw the signature of the counselor and the head of course, he simply asked a few questions before approving her leave promptly.
After taking the slip of approval, Yun Xiangxiang packed her things and left in a flash to board tomorrow’s flight so she could join the “Jiu Se” crew.
During the opening ceremony on the fifteenth, Yun Xiangxiang got to know the other actors. All of them were shortlisted and invited by Du Changrong himself. The producer and the other persons-in-charge mostly came from Huan Yu Century Entertainment. Nobody really pressured Yun Xiangxiang.
“Xiangxiang, can you accept it if your fans who know you’re filming in Chongqing want to visit you?” Song Meng called Yun Xiangxiang after the latter had filmed for a few days.
Since “The King’s Plan” was kept under wraps, Yun Xiangxiang’s photos after makeup were not uploaded. This time, Song Meng posted them on the first day.
Naturally, many fans’ burning question was where Yun Xiangxiang was filming. Song Meng had to answer them, of course.
“Select a few representatives, that will be enough. One bouquet of flowers at most. No expensive gifts,” Yun Xiangxiang reminded Song Meng.
She already had little interaction with her fans in the first place. If she rejected their visit during work, they might feel alienated by her.
“Okay, I’ll make the arrangements and discuss the time of visit with you,” Song Meng immediately started handling it.
“Ugh!” Yun Xiangxiang saw a co-actress vomiting at a corner when she came back from the call.
The actress was alone. It just happened that Yun Xiangxiang had a bottle of mineral water with her. Yun Xiangxiang walked up to the actress and handed her the bottle of water. “Are you alright, Sister Ping?”
Meng Ping played an important minor character – Yao Zhenzhu.
Yao Zhenzhu was a member of the organization who was hiding in the mountain village. She stayed there using the identity of a villager’s relative because she had a mission.
After Jiu Se surrendered to the thug to protect the villagers, Yao Zhenzhu had already set her eyes on Jiu Se. After killing the thug, not wishing to drag the villagers in, Jiu Se wanted to end everything with a suicide. It was Yao Zhenzhu who saved her and cleaned up her mess before taking her away.
“Thank you,” Meng Ping took a sip of water to calm herself before smiling weakly at Yun Xiangxiang.
“Sister Ping, you don’t look so good. Do you want me to tell Director Du that you’re taking the day off so you can go to the hospital for a checkup?” Yun Xiangxiang was worried when she looked at the ashen Meng Ping.
Meng Ping was only twenty-four. The fatigue was unnoticeable beneath the makeup. But Yun Xiangxiang walked the same path in her past life. More than anyone, she knew how tired Meng Ping was now.
“It’s fine. I only have a few scenes left. I can wrap up after that,” Meng Ping shook her head and waved Yun Xiangxiang down.
“Then I’ll take you back so you can rest a bit,” it was not Yun Xiangxiang’s place to push Meng Ping. The latter obviously didn’t want to go.
Meng Ping did not refuse Yun Xiangxiang’s offer. She looked at Yun Xiangxiang touchingly, “You’re different from many other stars.”
Yun Xiangxiang was a different class of actress from her. Meng Ping had already been in the industry for six years. Over those years, she joined various crews and saw various actors.
It was not as if there were no actors who would look out for little actors like Meng Ping, but they usually wouldn’t do it themselves. They did not want to be taken advantage of, nor did they want to be related with any negative news. The most they did was to ask their assistant to ask about their conditions.
“Sister Ping, your body is the foundation for revolution [1],” Yun Xiangxiang reminded her gently.
She worked too desperately in her past life, or else she wouldn’t die before she was thirty.
“Look at how many extras there are over there. Many of them are handsome and beautiful. If I do not work hard, someone else will. It’s for surviving in this land,” Meng Ping gazed at the group of extras. Many young girls had the gleam of desire in their eyes.
They either had the dream of being a star, or were interested in acting, but failed to enter the related academy for it. That was why they could only join various crews.
They humbled themselves and became sycophants, ingratiating themselves into better groups. They locked on to every chance to appear in one more scene, or to have one more line.
Yun Xiangxiang said nothing further. It was a cruel reality. Many among the public who looked at the glamor of stars thought being actors and stars could net them unbelievable wealth and fame.
The thing that eluded them was that most people stayed at the bottom of the hierarchy in every field. Only a select few could stand on top of the pyramid. The others were only stepping stones for them. These people slaved away and endured the humiliation and frustration, yet they probably couldn’t even feed themselves.
It was obvious Meng Ping couldn’t hire her own assistant at a glance. Since her agent was not beside her, the agent probably had other actors under their management.
As Yun Xiangxiang looked on, Meng Ping was looking worse and worse with each passing day. Coincidentally, she was acting as someone who came to the village to recuperate from a severe disease.
It was only after a few days before Meng Ping blacked out during filming to everyone’s shock. The crew immediately sent her to the hospital.
They chose the nearest hospital. After diagnosing her, the doctor announced that Meng Ping was suffering from subarachnoid hemorrhage caused by overwork.
The severity of Meng Ping’s situation warranted a craniotomy. However, it was impossible for their hospital to do so. She must be sent to the city center to receive treatment.
Yun Xiangxiang’s stomach lurched when she received the news. She called Song Mian, “Ah Mian, can you check if Chongqing has any doctors that specializes in treating subarachnoid hemorrhage and send one to the hospital in the city center…?”
Yun Xiangxiang could not ignore a fresh, living person. She could only ask for Song Mian’s help.
“Don’t worry. Tell me the patient’s information, and I’ll arrange it immediately,” Song Mian would naturally grant Yun Xiangxiang’s every wish.
Just as Meng Ping was sent to the hospital, the doctor arranged by Song Mian had arrived.
The crew who followed her to the hospital in the afternoon came back to announce that Meng Ping was out of the woods.
Yun Xiangxiang breathed a sigh of relief when she heard that. However, Meng Ping’s scenes were not finished yet. Du Changrong couldn’t bear to wait and wanted to change the actress.
“Director Du, Sister Ping’s scenes are almost done. Why don’t we make some changes? We’ll have to film again if you change the actress. It’s also a waste of resources and time.” Yun Xiangxiang wanted to keep Meng Ping’s fruits of labor intact.