The movie's plot revolved around the romantic affairs and power struggles inside a royal palace during ancient China. Dressed in a purple palace gown, Tang Yue stood in front of Wan Qingsi with a beautiful and vibrant smile on her face. Tang Yue's smile wavered the moment she noticed Mei Jing's presence.
"Ah! We've been wondering who it was that had snatched the second lead role from Tian Yiyi. So it was you, Mei Jing!" The moment Tang Yue's words were out, everyone turned their eyes to Ah Sha, including Tian Yiyi, who was outright shooting daggers at Ah Sha through her eyes.
Ah Sha arched her brows. "So, nobody knew about the cast change," she thought. "Why, though?" Ah Sha's eyes moved past Wan Qingsi without really looking at him. She might have imagined it, but she thought she detected a look of adoration in his eyes for a moment there.
She rubbed her eyes. "I must be seeing things now," she thought. When she looked again, Wan Qingsi still had that same icy look on his face.
"You're still planning to seduce the boss?" Tian Yiyi rushed over. "Don't think for a second that I don't know how you managed to pull this off. You slept with men just..."
"Shut your trap!" A cold voice rang out.
Other than Ah Sha, everyone else there shuddered. There was an air of lethality and ruthlessness about Wan Qingsi right now. Beside him, Tang Yue's hands were pressed against her chest as she stared at the man beside her in disbelief. As far as she could tell, he would only get so worked up when things involved that girl.
"The company has the final say on the casting. It's swarming with reporters outside, so you better watch your mouth," Wan Qingsi said, casting an icy look at Tian Yiyi. "You know better than anyone else how you got the role in the first place. If you're not happy with the role you're assigned to, just quit."
When he finished his rant, Wan Qingsi did not even look at Mei Jing before he stormed away from the movie set. Tian Yiyi looked utterly disoriented when her assistant dragged her away. Tang Yue merely sighed in relief. "So it was because of the movie," she thought. "That was why he got so mad."
An opening ceremony— a religious ceremony involving the uncovering of the video camera used for the filming as well as the burning of incense— was held, after which the shooting of the first scene began. Mei Jing sat on the sidelines, watching the first encounter between Tang Yue's character and the emperor. The actor who played the emperor was a distinguished one; he was the award-winning actor, Chu Yi.
As the filming went on, Ah Sha's thoughts drifted away, back to her time in Caesar two years ago.
Back then, everyone at the academy knew who the student council president was: the ethereal and unapproachable boy who was lodging at the home of the academy's Chairwoman. All the girls crushed on him while the boys turned up their noses at him.
But because Tang Yue was the vice president of the student council, she had the chance to interact with Xunxun. Tang Yue's family ran an advertising firm, a small and ordinary company, in fact. Even so, her popularity within the academy had always been very high. If Ah Sha had not accidentally stumbled upon a video that involved Tang Yue and three other men in bed, she would really have believed that Tang Yue's character was exactly like what her physical appearance showed— transcendentally pure and innocent.
Needless to say, those rich second generations in the academy were interested in Tang Yue. For Ah Sha, it was the opposite; her status as the daughter of the academy's Chairwoman pretty much ensured that nobody harassed her. There were one or two arrogant ones who tried their luck on that front, though they were never seen in the academy again the next day.
Eventually, everyone in Caesar came to the realization that Ah Sha was untouchable. Well, everyone except the man who hung out with her everyday, Wan Qingsi.
"Brother Xunxun, why did that boy suddenly withdraw from school? I mean the one who wanted to treat me to lunch yesterday, the son of a minister or something."
"There's been a death in his family," Xunxun had answered her. "He went back to handle the funeral."
That was how Xunxun would always answer her questions whenever she asked him about a student's mysterious "disappearance". Later on, Ah Sha grew up and began to understand the truth behind those disappearances. She found it highly amusing, though. Her Brother Xunxun was just like how he had always been, brutal and ruthless!
One time, Tang Yue employed a series of schemes to mess with Ah Sha. Xunxun figured it out and kicked Tang Yue into the lake right in front of everyone. After that, Tang Yue was expelled, but for some reason, she returned to the academy a few days later.
Ah Sha had been leaning against Xunxun's chest back then when she asked him about it. "That's too small of a price for her to pay. It's not unforgettable enough," Xunxun had answered.
She did not understand what he had meant back then. But...
Ah Sha failed to contain the laugh which burst through the seams of her lips. Now she finally understood.
A voice pulled Ah Sha out of her musing. "Miss Mei!" Ah Sha raised her head and saw a petite-looking woman standing beside her. The woman was staring up at Ah Sha with a look of pleasant surprise.
"Um, sorry, but you are..?"
"I'm Xiao Hua!" Said the petite woman. The woman's eyes had practically sparkled the moment she heard Ah Sha speaking to her. "I'm the assistant that the company had assigned for you. From now on, I'm in charge of protec..." The woman trailed off before correcting herself. "Looking after you!"
Ah Sha appraised Xiao Hua for a long time. "Have we met somewhere before?" "Why did she look so familiar?" Ah Sha wondered.
"That's impossible. I... I mean, I just got employed by Stars Entertainment." The girl touched her own face. "Blame my common face, then. Haha, haha!"
"Then, I shall be in your care from now on." Ah Sha smiled. Happy with Ah Sha's response, Xiao Hua handed Ah Sha a cup of ice coffee. "Here you go!"
Ah Sha took the drink and nodded at Xiao Hua. Then, Ah Sha turned her eyes towards Tang Yue who was walking gracefully towards the side to take a break from the filming. Ah Sha lowered her head and pressed her lips together in a smile.
Half a month later, Ah Sha's character shared a scene with the male lead for the first time. At this point in the movie, Tang Yue's character was pregnant, so Ah Sha's character— the servant girl of Tang Yue's character— had to please the emperor on behalf of her mistress. During the scene, Ah Sha's character hid herself under the emperor's bed. After that, some flirty remarks were exchanged between her and the emperor. Then, the emperor was suddenly lying on top of her, and then... the scene went dark.
"Cut!!" Lin Dong yelled. "Not bad! Next up will be the sex scene. Take five. After that, we'll continue in five minutes." Lin Dong watched the replay of the scene with a satisfied look on his face. He was very happy with this rookie who was playing the second female lead. Mei Jing was legitimately one of the most talented actresses he had seen in his entire career. Lin Dong would bet on his life that Mei Jing would be famous!
Besides, it seemed like the boss of Stars Entertainment was taking a special interest in her.
Ever since the start of the filming, Wan Qingsi had frequently dropped by the set just to hang out. Everyone just assumed that he was there to see Tang Yue, which resulted in the entire filming crew trying to suck up to Tang Yue. Yeah, right. As if Lin Dong would be fooled. It was impossible for Lin Dong not to notice the fact that the boss would only be around when Mei Jing had a scene to shoot.
It was not just Lin Dong, though. Being someone directly involved in the matter, Tang Yue herself knew it too. She knew that Wan Qingsi had not come to the set for her. She also knew better than anyone else how she had managed to secure her place in the movie's cast. Wan Qingsi had zero interest in her, that much she knew. But it mattered not; it would be good enough as long as other people thought there was something between the two of them!
That was why when Wan Qingsi arrived on set today, Tang Yue approached him and started acting all sweet and coquettish, as if she was welcoming the arrival of her lover.
Wan Qingsi, on the other hand, just stood there, his face devoid of expression as he outright ignored her. Still, he did not chase her away or demanded her to stay away from him. To others, that, per se, was about as much face as Wan Qingsi was capable of giving to anyone. But just as everyone was wallowing in the feelings of envy they had towards Tang Yue, they heard a voice, "We'll wrap up the set for today."
Just like that, everyone was now staring at the big Boss in utter stupor, including Ah Sha, whose hand was still raised in mid-air as she barely had time to withdraw it.
When the shooting commenced the next day, everyone was shocked to learn of a sudden change in the movie plot; now it was Tian Yiyi's character— a concubine— who was supposed to satisfy the emperor on behalf of Tang Yue's character. Apparently, Tang Yue's character had some dirt on Tian Yiyi's character which she then used to leverage Tian Yiyi's character into doing her bidding.
"What the heck is going on?" Everyone turned their eyes to the director. Lin Dong gave them a rueful smile and announced the beginning of the shooting. Right now, Lin Dong was absolutely positive that Wan Qingsi was interested in Mei Jing. Not only that, Lin Dong was pretty sure that Wan Qingsi cared deeply about Mei Jing; otherwise, he would not have tried to prevent Mei Jing from being touched by other men even if it was just for a movie.
Tang Yue's eyes lingered on Mei Jing's face. After a while, Tang Yue scowled and climbed into the crew van while Ah Sha glanced up at the sky.
Slowly and gradually, the weather turned chilly. Right now, Ah Sha was shooting her final scene of the movie. In this scene, Ah Sha's character had disobeyed Tang Yue's character's orders, and was thus slapped. The slapping scene was supposed to be accomplished via the manipulation of camera angle; however, nobody on set could mistake the sound of palm connecting with cheek for anything else.
"Smack!" The slap connected with Ah Sha's cheek in a clear and blatant manner.
In the next moment, the sound of Tang Yue's loud shriek was heard. "Mei Jing! I'm sorry! Oh, I'm so sorry. I... I didn't control my hands well."
Lin Dong did a facepalm and then rubbed his forehead. He shot Tang Yue a look of dissatisfaction. "I thought she's a clever women," Lin Dong thought. "Hah! Who knew she's an idiot just like the others. Haha!"
Ah Sha held her cheek, which she felt was already swollen. Obviously, that woman had put quite a bit of strength in the slap.
"Oh, it's alright," Ah Sha said. Then, she slowly turned around to look at the director. "With my face in this state, I don't think I can continue shooting the scene. I think we should do this scene another time. I'll be off now." Ah Sha headed straight for the set's make-up booth while a scowling Xiao Hua trailed after her.
Tang Yue bit her lip and quickly followed as well.
Only Ah Sha and Xiao Hua were inside the make-up booth when Tang Yue entered. "Are you alright?" Tang Yue asked, taking a seat beside Ah Sha. "Look, I really didn't do it on purpose. Why don't you slap me back?"
Tang Yue saw the raising of Ah Sha's hand the moment she put out those words. A split second later, a vicious slap ripped across her cheek.
"You..." Tang Yue held her stinging cheek, her eyes filled with fear and panic. She had never expected that Ah Sha would really hit her back.
Ah Sha's lips broke into a grin and damn if she did not look a bit terrifying with half her face swollen like that. "Everyone has to pay the price for their own actions," Ah Sha said. "Since you slapped me first, it's only fair if I return the favor." Ah Sha stood up and headed for the exit. At the door, she paused and turned back around.
"Oh, by the way. I hope you don't die too early in the game, because it will just be boring and meaningless."
Tang Yue froze in her seat. In that instant just now, Tang Yue thought she saw Wan Qingsi in Mei Jing. "Impossible," Tang Yue thought. "How could a little girl like her give out such a vibe?"
Xiao Hua picked up Ah Sha's backpack and moved to stand up. No one knew how she did it, but Xiao Hua managed to upend the stool that Tang Yue was sitting on when she got up. The next thing Tang Yue knew, she was falling in a heap to the floor, the beads of her hairpin scattering everywhere.
Tang Yue climbed back up to her feet, her face sporting a dark glower. She glared in the direction of the doorway and then turned back to look into the mirror. She took in the sight of her red, swollen face. A scheming look formed on her face. Moments later, her eyes became red-rimmed and she rushed out with her face in buried in her hands.
"What did you say?" From behind his office desk, Wan Qingsi sprang to his feet. The look in his eyes was as if he was a demon who had crawled past the gates of hell; Xiao Hua had to keep pinching her arm hard to prevent herself from passing out due to fear.
"Just... It's just... Well, back then... It all happened so suddenly. I didn't expect that woman to actually hit her." Xiao Hua was at the verge of tears. Why did her young master have to be so damn terrifying?
Anger radiated off Xunxun like a supernova. From head to toe, he was taut and tense. He released a cold sneer. "Great... This is just great. Our Ah Sha has never once been touched from the moment of her birth. Now someone had actually slapped her in the face? Haha!"
Xiao Hua swallowed. "I... Tonight, I'll assassinate her."
"Kill her?" Xunxun said, darkness swirling and roiling in the depths of his eyes. "No, no, no. Ending her life would be going easy on her. Mutilate her instead. Disfigure her, destroy her face, and then toss her into the Red Light District."
Xiao Hua nodded vigorously. "Yes, sir! Right away!" After that, Xiao Hua sneaked away to carry out her directive.
Xunxun pummeled his fist into the wine cabinet beside him. There was a split second when a glint of warmth could be detected in Xunxun's eyes. "Babe, I can't believe you allowed yourself to get hurt. This game has dragged on too far. It's time to end this..."
Deep in the night, all was quiet as humanity descended into somnolence. On a veranda outside a bedroom, a dark, human-shaped shadow suddenly appeared. With haste, the figure crept towards the bed and was just about to make a move when a voice suddenly sounded behind it.
"What do you think you're doing?"
Xiao Hua froze for a moment. When she turned around, she noticed another dark figure moving stealthily into the room.
"A woman? And her face is masked just like me."
"Who are you?"
The newcomer laughed. "And who are you?"
"If you're here for the sake of the woman on the bed, then I advise you to leave right now. The person she has wronged is not someone you can afford to mess with," Xiao Hua said. Then again, Xiao Hua was a little surprised that their loud conversation had not woken the woman on the bed yet. How could that be?
Xiao Hua was just about to bend at her waist to check the woman on the bed when she saw the other masked woman waving her hand. An instant later, the security alarms outside the window started blaring.
"Damn it!" Xiao Hua cursed. The other masked woman did a back flip and leaped off the veranda. At this point, Xiao Hua could no longer afford to linger to check on the woman on the bed. She dashed out in a hurry and quickly vanished into the night.