Chapter 52: Scummy and Rotten

“I’m not going,” Lu Beichen snorted coldly. “If you want to go, you go.”

Xia Wanwan tugged on his arm: “Beichen, I’m doing this for you. Meeting Mr. Fu would benefit your career.”

Lu Beichen still wore a sullen expression.

Xia Wanwan’s eyes darted around: “Then I’ll go and greet him on your behalf. It wouldn’t be good for Mr. Fu to think we are impolite.”

Lu Beichen begrudgingly accepted Xia Wanwan’s suggestion.

Xia Wanwan adjusted her hair and checked her appearance on her phone before walking over to Mu Ruo and Fu Jianzhi.

“Ruo Ruo, good evening.” Xia Wanwan greeted them.

Mu Ruo felt a headache coming on.

Why did she keep running into the main characters?

It felt like the world was against her, giving her no peace.

Her face turned icy: “What do you want?”

Xia Wanwan’s tone was soft and weak: “Nothing… I’ve noticed you’ve been very annoyed with me lately, and I wanted to apologize. I didn’t want to act, but Beichen said I was very suitable for it, and it would be a shame not to. Director Zhao happened to have an opportunity… I didn’t mean to clash with you…”

Mu Ruo crossed her arms: “Where you go is none of my business. We’re not close, so could you stop talking to me?”

Xia Wanwan lowered her head: “Okay… I just ran into the lead actor. Don’t you have a kiss scene with him tomorrow? He wants to rehearse with you tonight.”

Mu Ruo was puzzled: “I’ll call him later to ask.”

Xia Wanwan nodded: “Beichen is over there, so I won’t bother you. Goodbye, Ruo Ruo.”

After saying this, Xia Wanwan glanced at Fu Jianzhi: “Goodbye, Mr. Fu.”

After Xia Wanwan left, Fu Jianzhi asked calmly: “You have a kiss scene?”

Mu Ruo was confused: “It’s not in my script. Maybe the director added it last minute. I’ll call and check.”

The movie script was straightforward: At the end of a dynasty, a young tyrant rules, indulging in excess with his sister, enslaving the people to build luxurious palaces.

The male lead, unhappy with the tyrant’s rule, sneaks into the palace to assassinate him but gets caught.

The princess, played by Mu Ruo, finds the male lead intriguing and keeps him by her side.

The character Mu Ruo plays has special feelings for the male lead, played by the lead actor.

However, the male lead’s heart belongs to the female lead. Despite experiencing the world’s splendor and being favored by the most beautiful woman, his desire to overthrow tyranny and his feelings for the female lead remain unchanged.

Given this context, the director suddenly adding a kiss scene was not impossible.

Outside the hotel, the aroma of grilled corn wafted through the air.

Mu Ruo saw it and wanted some: “I’ll go get some corn.”

Fu Jianzhi nodded.

While she queued, he took out his phone and made a call.

Director Zhao answered almost immediately after seeing the name: “Mr. Fu, hello, hello!”

Fu Jianzhi spoke calmly: “Does Mu Ruo have a kiss scene tomorrow?”

Director Zhao was stunned.

Mu Ruo was a newcomer he brought into the cast, completely unknown in the industry.

How did Mr. Fu know such a newcomer?

Mu Ruo was recommended by Du Yue, who had some standing and connections in the industry but was far from Mr. Fu’s level. Even Du Yue might not have met Mr. Fu.

“Yes, we have that actress,” Director Zhao thought for a moment, “but her script doesn’t include a kiss scene. Mr. Fu, do you know her?”

“Oh, she is my wife. I was just concerned, so I called to check.” Fu Jianzhi’s warm voice was like a thunderclap in Director Zhao’s ears.

After hanging up the phone, Director Zhao was left in a daze.

Fu Jianzhi’s wife…

Director Zhao had previously thought that Mu Ruo had good acting skills and looks, and that with some resources, she could become popular. He had even considered signing her to his company.

Who would have thought she was Fu Jianzhi’s wife?

In Director Zhao’s view, Fu Jianzhi and Lu Beichen were on completely different levels.

Lu Beichen had to make all sorts of threats to get a minor role, and Director Zhao had decided to cut all his scenes later.

If Fu Jianzhi were to make a threat, Director Zhao would rewrite the entire script, letting him play whatever role he wanted and creating a script tailored to his recommendations.

The reason was simple. First, Fu Jianzhi had a powerful background; a single word from him could ruin Director Zhao’s reputation both domestically and internationally. Second, Fu Jianzhi was a major investor, having poured billions into the project.

Director Zhao recalled how he had scolded Fu’s wife for secretly eating sunflower seeds on set, making her wish she could disappear into the ground. Now, he was sweating profusely.

This girl had such a background, yet she hadn’t mentioned a word.

There was never a kiss scene to begin with.

Even if there was, after Fu’s call, Director Zhao wouldn’t dare include it.

After making money from commercial films, Director Zhao wanted to shoot a high-budget, non-commercial art film for fun, and was waiting for a big investor like Fu.

Mu Ruo returned with two steaming grilled corns and handed one to Fu Jianzhi.

Fu Jianzhi didn’t take it: “How do you eat this?”

Mu Ruo: “?”

Mu Ruo: “…You just bite into it.”

After speaking, Mu Ruo realized that eating corn on the cob was not something a high-class CEO would do.

She looked at Fu Jianzhi.

Hmm, his custom-made shirt, pants, and shoes were probably worth millions, and the watch on his wrist was worth sixty to seventy million.

A ten-yuan corn on the cob didn’t really suit a big shot like him.

But Mu Ruo could eat two on her own.

She quickly finished one.

Fu Jianzhi watched her eat the corn like a little squirrel nibbling on an acorn. Her eating manner was very neat, and her white cheeks puffed out slightly, making her look inexplicably cute.

Back in the hotel room, Mu Ruo sent a message to the lead actor, asking if they needed to rehearse for tomorrow’s scenes.

As a small-time actress, she wasn’t familiar with the lead actor.

The big names in the crew didn’t pay much attention to a newcomer like her.

So the idea that the lead actor would want to rehearse with her in the middle of the night seemed increasingly odd.

After a while, the lead actor replied: “It’s too late for that now.”

“As a senior in the industry, I advise you to focus on your acting and not resort to such petty tricks.”

Mu Ruo suddenly realized she had been set up by Xia Wanwan.

If the director were to change a scene, he wouldn’t notify just one person.

Sending a message like that to the lead actor late at night, given his status and resources, could easily be misconstrued.

Mu Ruo knew Xia Wanwan was full of lies, but she hadn’t expected her to tell such easily debunked work-related lies.

Fu Jianzhi put Mu Ruo’s things on the table and turned to see her lying on the bed in despair.

Just then, ambiguous sounds came from the next room.

Mu Ruo covered her ears in agony.

Fu Jianzhi approached and removed her hands: “Not hearing it doesn’t mean it’s not happening.”

To be honest, Fu Jianzhi really thought Mu Ruo had poor taste in men.

They were all scummy and rotten.