Chapter 23

Jia Qin received the notification and posted an announcement in other fan groups, reminding Salt Soda with a large account to handle it coldly. She is one of the subordinates of @YanZhaoFanSupportGroup, with strong influence. Most of Salt Soda ignored this Weibo post, at most, they just made fun of the author with their sisters. But with the promotion of marketing accounts and water armies, this Weibo post was quickly spread out. Many netizens lamented that today’s celebrities only care about making money, lacking professional ethics.

To be fair, Lu Yinnan’s lack of professionalism is true, so the mockery from netizens is a consequence she should bear. But at the same time, the drama crew of “You in Teaching Building 7” also suffered repercussions. Fans of the original work shouted to change the female lead actress on the official Weibo, and many netizens were already criticizing this web series. Song Jing even sent a WeChat message to Yan Zhao, saying not to invest too much energy in this drama.

Yan Zhao replied: “I will do my part well.”

On the second day of the Lunar New Year, amid an awkward atmosphere, the crew resumed filming.

Yan Zhao entered the studio, and there was already someone in the makeup room. The makeup artist was covering blemishes for her.

“Good morning,” Yan Zhao greeted, taking his seat.

Lu Yinnan also replied, “Good morning,” with a hoarse voice. Her face looked tired, slightly swollen, and there was a pimple beside her lips.

In the makeup room, no one spoke. Yan Zhao broke the silence, and said, “Teacher Lu, is your assistant not coming today?”

Lu Yinnan replied, “She resigned.”

Resigning and being dismissed carry different meanings. It seems that yesterday’s incident had a significant impact on her. After all, with the online rumors, Lu Yinnan has become the representative of being sidelined and having poor acting skills. Who would hire her to act in a drama?

She arrived so early that even the director was a little surprised, “Teacher Lu, are you not filming ‘Tang Niangzi’?”

Lu Yinnan said in despair, “The screenwriter cut the script, but a big ending can still be edited with the current material. I only need one more official seal for my contract with ‘Love in This Moment,’ but they backed out, so it’s now useless.”

Director: “…” So, it’s just our crew left, and do we still need you?

Yan Zhao held the script, casually took a sip of lemon tea, and bit the straw, and said, “Well, that’s great. You can think about the drama thoroughly.”

The director whispered: “Oh dear, Zhao Zhao, don’t provoke her.”

Yan Zhao nonchalantly uttered a perfunctory “Hmm” from his nostrils.

The shooting was progressing slowly. Yan Zhao’s scenes passed smoothly, usually in one take, while Lu Yinnan’s scenes had to be shot four or five times. In the more intense and conflicting parts, the progress was so slow that it was almost impossible to move forward.

During the break, Yan Zhao checked off the script and jotted down his new thoughts on the male lead.

Zhong Ling had just heard some gossip and whispered to him, “Teacher Lu and He Tao terminated the contract on New Year’s Eve.”

Yan Zhao continued writing: “So what?”

Zhong Ling: “I heard she hasn’t earned a penny in all these years and owes He Tao 2 million in training fees…”

Yan Zhao flipped a page of the script: “I feel sorry for her. Do you want to say something nice to her? I feel sorry too, acting alongside her.”

His previous co-actors were all talented, not necessarily award-winning, but they had real skills. Yan Zhao used to enjoy acting, but now his acting experience has plummeted. He even felt it was better to act alone in front of thin air, at least he wouldn’t be bothered by the other person’s acting skills.

Zhong Ling said, “Yeah, Yan Ge is really pitiful, being in the same crew as her. The money from He Tao’s side is probably unrecoverable, at least we should demand compensation for the frustration. If they want to deal with Lu Yinnan, there’s no other choice but this drama. I think what Sister Song said is right; maybe we should just quit the crew. This drama is as good as wasted…”

Yan Zhao raised his head; the director was discussing the scene with Lu Yinnan, spit flying as he exaggerated his body language. Unfortunately, the director’s sincere efforts were not appreciated by the other side. Lu Yinnan still had a distracted look, not returning to a normal state.

Yan Zhao raised his eyebrows.

He shouted, “Lu Yinnan!”

Lu Yinnan jolted and turned around, “Yan, Teacher Yan?”

Yan Zhao said coldly, “If you don’t want to act, then quit the crew. Don’t waste everyone’s time.”

Quitting the crew with a dragging attitude would only be a burden to others. Why should others bear the responsibility for her mistakes?

Lu Yinnan’s face turned pale.

The director said awkwardly, “Hahaha, Teacher Yan is just joking with you, trying to provoke you a bit—”

Yan Zhao interrupted, “In Jin Theatre, there are so many students. It should be easy to find a girl with better acting skills than you. I’ll pay the breach of contract fee, you can quit on your own, so it doesn’t become a big mess and make everyone look bad.”

The director initially wanted to persuade him, but upon careful thought, he realized, ‘Damn, he’s right.’ Lu Yinnan’s acting skills were not great, and for the crew, it was like a negative buff. But the students from Jin Theatre were different; just the chance to act with Yan Zhao might make them willing to waive their pay.

Lu Yinnan was aware of the situation, and seeing that no one in the crew had any intention of helping her, her mind went blank.

“Yan, Teacher Yan!” With red eyes and trembling, she walked over, lowered her head, and said, “I’m sorry, it’s my fault. I was immature before, but I’ll do better in the future!”

Zhong Ling turned her head and rolled her eyes.

Yan Zhao said, “Anyone can make verbal promises. I even said I could lose twenty pounds in a day.”

Lu Yinnan sobbed, “This movie is really important to me. Without it, I’ll be done for. I don’t want to leave the industry…”

Yan Zhao stated indifferently, “Even if you can’t act well, you’ll still leave the industry, and you’ll be dragging down dozens of people in the crew.”

Lu Yinnan said, “I’ll work hard. I also graduated from a prestigious acting school, and I was an outstanding student back then…”

Yan Zhao interrupted, “That Jin Theatre acting cohort was really terrible.”

Lu Yinnan, “…..”

The director coughed twice and said, “Teacher Yan, how about this? Let Teacher Lu act for another week. If she doesn’t perform well, we can consider replacing her, okay?” This was a way to give Lu Yinnan a chance, considering her financial situation. The director still had some sympathy for her.

After thinking for a moment, Yan Zhao nodded, “Alright, but whether she acts well or not, it’s my decision.”

Lu Yinnan trembled and said softly, “Teacher Yan, your acting skills are too good, I can’t catch up.”

“Don’t worry,” Yan Zhao smiled at her, but there was no warmth in his eyes. “I’ll teach you.”

Lu Yinnan felt an inexplicable chill creeping up and swallowed a spit.

Yan Zhao smiled, “Well then, let’s set some rules first?”

The drama “You in Teaching Building 7” has a high rating of 8.9 on Douban and was a huge hit back in the day, a nostalgic memory for many girls during their youth. Today, they are requesting a change of the female lead under the official account of the drama crew.

After playing dead for a day, the official account finally responded, but it wasn’t the replacement they were talking about. Instead, it was:

[@TeachingBuildingSevenDramaCrew: Failing the final exam and waiting for a makeup?！Guan Ying transforms into a teacher to give urgent makeup classes to Huo Panpan. Huo Panpan, you have to work hard to reach the passing line, quack! @YanZhao @LuYinnan [Image].]

As soon as the fans saw this, they exploded. Huo Panpan’s biggest pride in the original work was her grades, and the plot of failing the exam was simply impossible! Trash drama crew, even the character settings are out of character!

In just a few minutes, the comment section was filled with questions, and some even went to Lu Yinnan’s Weibo to criticize her.

But when they refreshed, Lu Yinnan’s retweet appeared: [I’m sorry to everyone in the drama crew and my fans. It’s my impatience that failed to fulfill the actor’s duty. Thanks to Director Wang and Teacher Yan for giving me this opportunity. After a week, if my acting doesn’t pass the assessment, I will voluntarily leave the drama crew.]

Fans: What? What’s going on? Is Lu Yinnan leaving? Isn’t this a cause for celebration?

Confused, they started from the first Weibo post to figure out the situation. They realized that the picture the drama crew posted wasn’t a still from the drama but a photo of the two actors rehearsing together. According to the crew, Yan Zhao was teaching Lu Yinnan how to act?

Their thoughts were quickly confirmed. The drama crew spent money to boost the heat, and soon, hashtags like #YanZhaoTeacher #LuYinnanQuits #TeachingBuildingSevenActing emerged on the real-time trending list. Netizens watching the drama couldn’t believe it. Did they read it wrong? Yan Zhao, teaching and acting? These three terms shouldn’t be mentioned together in this world!

Based on previous works, what level is Yan Zhao’s acting skills? He’s the KING of acting like a chicken! Even a cat could act better than him. Where does he get the confidence to say he can be someone else’s teacher?

Hey, wait a minute, Lu Yinnan’s acting might be bad too…

Apart from the usual mocking, overall, netizens suggest this trending topic should include some humorous news. Haha, that would settle it. But with this twist, some fans temporarily quieted down. If Lu Yinnan leaves, the toxic element would be gone, and they feel quite satisfied. At the same time, many passers-by became interested in the future developments, keeping an eye on the production team to see what Yan Zhao can teach.

On the other hand, the fans of Salt Soda were in tears. They think Yan Zhao is too kind-hearted, even helping Lu Yinnan improve her acting. He’s like a shining archangel!

What? Yan Zhao’s acting is not good? Nonsense! Every strand of his hair represents acting skills! Our Yan Zhao is here to dominate the entertainment industry. Haters, just leave!

While Salt Soda is crying, expressing that their Yan Zhao is the best idol in the world, on the other side, Shen Yuanting receives an anonymous email.

In the email, there is a string of chat records, showing Yan Zhao colluding with someone to sell the Shen family company’s secrets. In addition, there are several photos of Yan Zhao drunk, lying on the sofa, with his collar unbuttoned, revealing some skin. The bar’s dim lights create an ambiguous atmosphere.

[You’ve been played by him. He’s just a jerk], said the sender.

Shen Yuanting didn’t even raise his eyebrows,  and replied to the email.

Han Yuxuan had just finished showering, and he had already received a reply in his email.

He used to look down on Yan Zhao, naturally he didn’t have any intimate contact with him, but he often boasted to his friends by taking a few pictures. He just didn’t believe that Shen Yuanting could withstand the evidence of Yan Zhao betraying him.

With a malicious smile, Han Yuxuan opened the email and read the reply, which only contained two words:

[Idiot.]

Immediately after, the computer flashed and blue-screened.