Chapter 49: Not Interested in You Either

“It’s a bit hot.” Mu Ruo, with a splitting headache and still somewhat drunk, wobbled out of bed. “I’m going to take a shower.”

Unfortunately, her balance was off, and she stumbled forward as she got out of bed.

Fu Jianzhi reached out to steady her and guided her into the bathroom before leaving her room.

Butler Li was surprised to see Fu Jianzhi coming out tonight. “Mr. Fu, I’ll get you a glass of warm water. It’s getting late; you should rest early.”

Fu Jianzhi had thrown his coat in Mu Ruo’s room and was now in a white shirt, his tie already loosened and two buttons undone, revealing his delicate collarbone. He looked somewhat disheveled.

He lit a cigarette. “No need.”

Mu Ruo woke up early the next morning.

She had to go to the set today, and since it was so far from the studio, she needed to leave quite early.

She didn’t expect Fu Jianzhi to already be downstairs when she came down.

Mu Ruo glanced at her watch.

It was six o’clock in the morning.

…Even a billionaire CEO wakes up at six in the morning.

What right did she have not to work hard?

Mu Ruo silently pua’d herself and greeted Fu Jianzhi, “Good morning.”

Fu Jianzhi, sipping his coffee, glanced at her. “Good morning.”

Mu Ruo gulped down half a glass of milk, grabbed a piece of toast, and headed towards the door. “Butler Li, could you drive me to a place where I can easily catch a cab? I need to get to the set early.”

Filming historical dramas had its downsides—makeup and costume were a hassle, so she needed to be early.

“Come back here.”

Mu Ruo heard the man’s deep voice and curiously looked back, pointing at herself. “Me?”

Fu Jianzhi smiled, “Who else?”

Mu Ruo put on a submissive expression and walked over to Fu Jianzhi’s side. “What can I do for you? I’ll handle it right away.”

“You got my clothes dirty,” Fu Jianzhi said. “How do you plan to compensate for that?”

Mu Ruo recalled the suit jacket she had found in her room this morning.

Yes… it was indeed smeared with foundation.

Fu Jianzhi’s clothes were all custom-made, with European designers flying in to take measurements and make them each quarter.

So, even seemingly ordinary items around Fu Jianzhi were actually very expensive.

Mu Ruo said, “I’ll send it for dry cleaning today.”

“Fine,” Fu Jianzhi said with a smile. “But your salary for next month will be gone.”

Mu Ruo felt her heart bleed.

She thought the original female lead never had such difficulty taking money from Fu Jianzhi.

In the original story, there was no mention of any significant entanglement between Fu Jianzhi and Mu Ruo.

Mu Ruo was merely a tool to appease the Fu family, and there was essentially no interaction between them.

So why was she constantly being threatened with deductions now?

Mu Ruo asked, “What do you want to do then?”

Fu Jianzhi smiled and said, “I haven’t decided yet. I’ll see how you perform this month. If you’re as invisible as last month, don’t expect to receive a single penny for the next six months.”

Butler Li had never seen his master so meticulous. Fu Jianzhi was usually generous and never wasted time on women. Shocked, he gaped.

Mu Ruo suddenly understood.

So the sponsor felt this money wasn’t worth it and wanted her to provide some value.

Either make him happy or resolve his crisis.

After all, twenty million wasn’t a small amount; it was understandable he wouldn’t want to give it away easily.

For Mu Ruo, it wasn’t a big deal.

After all, she would feel embarrassed if she obtained the money too easily.

Moreover, Fu Jianzhi had severe insomnia. If he didn’t have someone to help him sleep, he would definitely be in a bad mood due to poor sleep.

“Alright.” Mu Ruo readily agreed, “But I’ll be busy filming at the studio these days, and I might even be filming in another location. If Mr. Fu can’t sleep at night, you can come to the hotel to find me.”

After saying this, Mu Ruo felt something was off.

Her ears turned red as she quickly added, “Uh, I’ll only help you sleep, not… anything else.”

Fu Jianzhi pinched her cheek.

She hadn’t applied makeup this morning, so her cheeks were soft and rosy, and his touch was smooth: “Little girl, do you think I’d be interested in you?”

Mu Ruo: “…”

Mu Ruo felt indignant.

She was indeed very pretty.

In her previous world, she had many fans who lamented that she never acted in TV dramas, praising her as very pleasant to look at and saying she would outperform popular young actresses in historical dramas.

However, Fu Jianzhi, a big shot, was portrayed in the novel as someone with a “pure and unworldly” persona, indifferent to appearances.

Even if she crawled into his bed naked, he would be the kind of person who would still throw her out.

To save face, Mu Ruo arrogantly retorted, “Well, I’m not interested in you either.”

As soon as she said that, Fu Jianzhi’s pinch on her cheek tightened.

Mu Ruo quickly changed her tone: “I was wrong. Mr. Fu, you’re the man of my dreams. I dream about you every night and wish you’d be my husband in the next life.”

Fu Jianzhi released her, giving Butler Li a look to indicate he should see her off.

When Mu Ruo arrived on set, she noticed that everyone’s mood was off.

Director Zhao had turned into a tyrant dragon, criticizing everyone unconditionally. Even Mu Ruo wasn’t spared: “You’re so late? Don’t come if you’re going to be this late next time!”

Mu Ruo shivered. She wasn’t very familiar with the others on set, and since several people disliked her because of Xia Wanwan, she went to stand by her more familiar acting coach.

The coach smiled and said, “The newcomer who was shoved in here last night failed more than ten takes, not a single shot passed, which made Director Zhao extremely angry.”

Mu Ruo shrugged.

Different industries had different standards.

Her smooth entry into this environment was because she wasn’t actually a newcomer. In her previous world, she had won several Best Supporting Actress awards and was recognized for her acting skills.

Xia Wanwan wanted to compete with her on everything, and she joined a strict director like Zhao. It was expected to face setbacks.

Director Zhao didn’t like Xia Wanwan and was annoyed by her joining the cast and adding scenes, but he wouldn’t intentionally obstruct her scenes since the production was on a tight schedule and he didn’t want to waste time on that.

However, in Xia Wanwan’s eyes, it seemed like Director Zhao was deliberately making things difficult for her and not approving her scenes.

The acting coach laughed: “Do you know Director Zhao’s nickname is ‘One Cut No’? Many of the scenes he shoots are cut down to almost nothing after he edits them, and sometimes the main leads end up being cut down to supporting roles.”

In her view, Xia Wanwan, who forced her way into the cast and failed to meet Zhao’s standards, would likely be cut completely, with not a single frame left of her in the final film.

Mu Ruo: “Uh.”

Mu Ruo had not only witnessed but also experienced this.

Previously, because she was more beautiful in the same frame as the female lead, all her scenes were cut out by the other party’s team, resulting in none of her scenes appearing in the final cut.