Chapter 60: Is the Sun Rising in the West?

After releasing Fu Jianzhi, Mu Ruo felt a bit scared, especially with the storm raging outside. She hesitated for a moment, trying to find a justification for her earlier actions, but realized that Fu Jianzhi had become silent and must have fallen asleep.

“Mr. Fu?” Mu Ruo called softly.

Fu Jianzhi did not respond.

Mu Ruo sighed. It seemed he was indeed asleep.

She closed her eyes and soon felt sleepy as well.

The next day, Mu Ruo arrived at the set, holding a cup of coffee and daydreaming.

Huo Minli sat down next to her. “Where did you go yesterday?”

Mu Ruo replied, “There were some family matters.”

To calm Lu Beichen, Xia Wanwan hadn’t come yesterday either.

Just after Mu Ruo arrived, Xia Wanwan appeared with a lot of coffee, handing it out to the crew members with a cheerful smile.

Huo Minli observed Xia Wanwan as she moved around. “This girl, though quite annoying, really knows how to network.”

Mu Ruo nodded in agreement.

Indeed, to be the heroine of a novel, Xia Wanwan must have some charm. If she didn’t always oppose Mu Ruo, her efforts to improve her social skills would seem quite inspiring.

Huo Minli scrutinized Mu Ruo’s face and then Xia Wanwan’s. “For some reason, you two do look a bit alike.”

However, Mu Ruo’s features were evidently more three-dimensional, with a perfectly refined bone structure and an innate elegance.

Xia Wanwan did look pretty, but under the camera’s magnification, certain aspects seemed rather contrived.

Mu Ruo touched her own face.

As usual, Xia Wanwan approached Gan Wen with a cup of coffee, greeting him cheerfully, “Good morning, Teacher Gan.”

This time, however, Gan Wen did not respond as he usually did. He took the script and walked past her without taking the coffee, as if he didn’t know her at all.

Gan Wen’s assistant was surprised. “Brother, Wanwan greeted you proactively.”

Gan Wen replied coldly, “Do I know her well?”

Xia Wanwan froze, not understanding why the attitude had changed so drastically overnight.

Gan Wen approached Mu Ruo. “Mu Ruo, let’s review the lines in advance.”

Huo Minli, from the side, remarked sarcastically, “Oh, the sun must be rising in the west.”

Gan Wen ignored her jibe. After all, it was he who had misunderstood before. With his experience, he couldn’t lower himself to apologize. He could only take the initiative to show his true attitude by approaching Mu Ruo.

Huo Minli crossed her arms. “You two review the lines. I’ll guide Mu Ruo from the side.”

With numerous awards, Huo Minli’s acting skills were unquestionable. Even though Mu Ruo wasn’t a newcomer, she couldn’t match the seasoned expertise of Huo Minli, who had won awards both domestically and internationally.

Xia Wanwan pouted from a distance, watching as the two biggest stars in the crew surrounded Mu Ruo, guiding her in her performance.

Others in the crew were also curious.

“Why are both the Best Actor and Best Actress being so nice to this newcomer?”

“I remember a few days ago, the Best Actor was ignoring her and didn’t want to have anything to do with her.”

“Shouldn’t the Best Actor and Wanwan have a good relationship? But just now, when Wanwan greeted the Best Actor, he completely ignored her.”

“Really don’t know what happened.”

“……”

Listening to the gossip around her, Xia Wanwan felt deeply embarrassed. She bit her lip.

The other actors in the crew were somewhat opportunistic; in this industry, you have to have some discernment. Even though they previously thought poorly of Mu Ruo based on what Xia Wanwan had said, now that the Best Actor and Best Actress were getting along with Mu Ruo, they were eager to build good relations with her as well.

As for Xia Wanwan’s recent attempts to curry favor with coffee and snacks, while they remembered her kindness, it didn’t mean they would always side with her. After all, who really misses a few cups of coffee or some snacks?

Everyone preferred to flatter the Best Actor and Best Actress if they could.

After finishing a scene, Mu Ruo felt very hot in the thick Hanfu she was wearing on such a stuffy day. She had just found a place to sit when a male actor she didn’t know approached and handed her a glass of iced lemonade.

Mu Ruo: “?”

Is the sun rising in the west?

She absolutely didn’t dare to drink a beverage given by a stranger.

Huo Minli came over again. “Ruo Ruo, you’re about to wrap up, right?”

Mu Ruo nodded.

In this film, Mu Ruo had a minor role with relatively few scenes, so her wrap-up time was earlier. If there were no issues, she could leave the set soon.

“Our company has a TV drama with good quality, and there’s a second female lead role still available. Would you like to take a look at the script?”

The male actor nearby looked as if he was about to burst into tears. They knew Huo Minli was generous, but didn’t expect her to recommend such a good resource to Mu Ruo, whom she didn’t even know well.

Mu Ruo thought for a moment. “Sure.”

That evening, Mu Ruo still had a scene outdoors. After recent rains, the ground was very damp, and there were all kinds of mosquitoes and bugs, making everyone use insect repellent. The set had a distinctive smell.

When the scene ended and everyone was packing up, Xia Wanwan was talking to an assistant. Suddenly, the assistant’s face turned white as she pointed at Xia Wanwan’s shoulder.

Xia Wanwan felt a chill on her shoulder and turned to see a small snake, about the thickness of a finger, crawling on her shoulder.

She screamed in fright, grabbed the snake, and threw it onto the assistant, quickly fleeing from the assistant’s side.

The assistant, a girl, had the snake coiled around her arm and was terrified, almost fainting.

If it were a more prominent actor, others would have been eager to help. But as a minor assistant, no one wanted to help. Those afraid of snakes were trembling and kept their distance, while those who weren’t afraid found the situation amusing.

Mu Ruo, regaining her composure, put on a plastic bag, pinched the snake’s vital spot, and threw it into a bush. The frightened snake quickly scurried away.

“It’s not venomous,” Mu Ruo said, frowning. “It’s fine.”

Actually, Mu Ruo had once been very afraid of such things. After shooting in deep mountains where insects and snakes would enter her accommodation, she was terrified at first and cried to go home. Over time, she became desensitized.

The assistant finally started crying. Because she had previously spoken ill of Mu Ruo with Xia Wanwan, she felt somewhat ashamed while crying.

The rest of the crew’s attitude towards Xia Wanwan also shifted. They were no longer as warm towards her as before.