Chapter 19: Papapa*, My Face Hurts A Little
*onomatopoeia for slaps, getting slapped in the face means eating one’s words, getting proven wrong.
Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=5821232
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com
Whenever Qin Shiyue was in a bad mood, she just wanted to sleep. She would return to the hotel, lock herself in, and sleep. She thought that after a nap, she would feel fully revived. But the things that really bothered her couldn’t be truly erased by just sleeping.
After two days of sleep, she still remembered her frustrating acting and felt really upset.
Maybe, just maybe, she should let it go. Acting might really be too difficult for her. But then, she couldn't help but think of Kong Huizhi's words, and the humiliation from Lin Qingyi. She felt that if she gave up, the two of them would stand together and mock her, with the attitude of "We knew you couldn't make it, and you couldn't stick with it." Just thinking about that scene made her feel unbearably uncomfortable.
Had she really tried her best? Qin Shiyue knew she hadn't. If she gave up so easily, she might even lose respect for herself. This time, no matter what, she couldn't give up so easily. They say there’s always a way out; there has to be a solution.
Qin Shiyue paced back and forth in the presidential suite of the hotel, racking her brain, trying to figure out how to improve her acting skills. Maybe she should find a senior with great acting skills and humbly ask for guidance—certainly better than blindly thinking on her own.
She thought of the grand slam-winning actress Liu Xiran. However, she didn’t have Liu Xiran’s contact information. Liu Xiran and Lin Qingyi were of the same caliber—people who cherished their feathers. People like her, a small traffic flower, usually had no opportunities to collaborate with such established, skillful figures, nor did they have any personal connections.
However, Qin Shiyue quickly remembered her all-powerful sister. She recalled that her sister had some connections with the Movie Queen Liu Xiran. It was through her sister's help that she had been invited to the charity ball last time.
"Sister, here's the thing. I want to add Queen Liu's WeChat and ask her for some acting advice..." Qin Shiyue immediately called her older sister and went straight to the point, explaining her request.
Qin Shilan thought that her younger sister would soon get over the idea of improving her acting, let alone surpassing someone like Lin Qingyi. She never expected that her sister was actually serious about seeking guidance from a senior. She was quite surprised, thinking; Has my little sister really grown up?
"No problem." Qin Shilan quickly found Liu Xiran in her contacts, having already given her a heads-up to help her younger sister.
Qin Shilan and Liu Xiran's husband were business partners, and with Qin Shilan being the second-largest shareholder of AX, Liu Xiran would certainly give her face. However, Liu Xiran was currently filming in Hollywood and couldn't return to the country right away.
Liu Xiran remembered seeing Lin Qingyi and Qin Shiyue dancing together at the charity ball, their intimate interaction made her think that their relationship was quite good. Seeing their interactions on Weibo only confirmed this. Therefore, she recommended Lin Qingyi to Qin Shiyue.
"Qingyi's acting is the best among your generation. You young people also have common topics to talk about. Asking her for guidance should yield results. I heard she's filming at XX Film City just like you, so it’s perfect timing," Liu Xiran suggested to Qin Shiyue.
Qin Shiyue didn't expect that the Movie Queen would push her towards Lin Qingyi. She gave an awkward laugh and agreed perfunctorily. It seemed she couldn’t rely on Liu Xiran. There were few with better acting skills than her in the industry, though there were some, but they were probably all busy. The timing just might not align, and it's probably going to be tough.
It was both surprising and unsurprising that the Movie Queen recommended Lin Qingyi. After all, they had just worked together, and Liu Xiran had always spoken highly of Lin Qingyi in public.
Lin Qingyi, who was filming at a nearby set, had time that aligned with hers, and it wouldn't interfere with her own filming. However, Qin Shiyue couldn't help but think back to what Lin Qingyi had said on set a few days ago. She thought to herself that no matter whether it was hypocrisy or feigned courtesy since Lin Qingyi had already said those words, if she really went to ask for guidance on acting, she’d have to handle it somehow. But considering that she had already rejected her, going back now would feel somewhat embarrassing. If only she hadn't been so definitive in her words back then.
Besides, she was her rival in love. Asking love rival, for advice on acting still felt like there was an insurmountable mental barrier.
At this moment, Qin Shiyue still couldn't find a suitable person to guide her acting.
With the attitude of being responsible for both herself and the production team, Qin Shiyue didn't want to continue filming casually until she was confident that she could perform well.
Although Song Chengmu had already filmed other people's scenes, as the lead actress with a significant number of scenes, Qin Shiyue had been resting and showed no intention of continuing. This left him anxious, and he reported the situation to the producer and investors.
Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=5821232
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com
The investor, thinking that Qin Shiyue was a popular star with a lot of traffic, figured that since she was so unwilling to continue filming, he might as well add more scenes for his little lover. He assumed that Qin Shiyue, who wasn't in the mood to act, wouldn't mind having fewer scenes. After all, her pay wouldn't change, and she would do less work. So, he proposed that the screenwriter revise the script to give more scenes to the second female lead.
Fang Xinhua naturally didn’t want the supporting character to steal scenes from Baby Qin'er. Not only was Baby Qin'er's acting poor, but adding scenes for the supporting character would lead to a disaster when the drama aired. She could already imagine the audience’s harsh criticism. It would also be detrimental to Baby Qin'er's career. However, Baby Qin'er's constant refusal to continue filming and the ongoing delays were not helping the production. Fang Xinhua had the ability to stop the production from adding scenes for the supporting character, but the premise was that Baby Qin'er had to resume filming, otherwise, it would be difficult to argue against it.
"Baby, if we don't continue filming, the production and investors are going to add scenes for the supporting character," Fang Xinhua had no choice but to inform Qin Shiyue of the current situation.
If she truly didn't want to act, then fine, but she wasn’t throwing a tantrum nor refusing to do a good job. It was just that she cared so much about performing well in this drama that she had temporarily halted it out of responsibility. Upon hearing that the scriptwriter would be altering the script to add scenes for the supporting character, Qin Shiyue naturally wasn’t happy. "I’m trying to build my career, and you’re trying to sabotage me?"
"I’ll go back to continue filming in a couple of days. Tell them not to add scenes for the supporting character," Qin Shiyue instructed Fang Xinhua.
"As long as you continue filming, we’ll be in the right, and we’ll have the justification to stop them from adding scenes for the supporting character," Fang Xinhua said, relieved. She was worried that if Qin Shiyue acted on a whim, she might refuse to continue. Thankfully, Qin Shiyue could still tell right from wrong in the bigger picture.
Qin Shiyue thought about resuming filming in a couple of days, but her acting still caused concern. She thought about Lin Qingyi, and it felt like she was grasping at straws. She thought to herself, if Han Xin* could endure humiliation of crawling through someone’s leg, why couldn’t she endure some hardships to achieve her goals?
*was a prominent general during the late Qin Dynasty and early Han Dynasty. He is often celebrated as one of the greatest military strategists and tacticians in Chinese history. One anecdote about him was the incident when he was bullied by a hooligan and humiliated to crawl under the hooligan’s leg. The idiom - Humiliation under the crotch (胯下之辱) originated from this and meant to describe a humiliating incident.
"I'll go out for a bit." After spending three minutes convincing herself, action-oriented Qin Shiyue got to work immediately, preparing to visit the film set of Lin Qingyi to check things out and see the situation on her side.
"Where are you going?" Fang Xinhua asked with concern.
"To visit the set."
"Whose set are you visiting?" Fang Xinhua thought for a moment. There were no female celebrities around here that were close to Baby Qin'er. She wondered who Baby Qin'er could possibly be visiting.
"Lin Qingyi, didn't she say she could help me, right? Since she offered, we should give her this opportunity, don't you think?" Qin Shiyue said in a somewhat awkward tone.
"Yes, absolutely." Fang Xinhua quickly agreed, thinking that people really need to face some setbacks to grow. She never expected her Baby Qin'er would already be able to bend and stretch when needed. It might be unrealistic to expect her acting skills to improve in just two days, but perhaps it's worth a try, even if it's like treating a dead horse as a live one*.
*making a final effort to save a desperate situation
"Check what Lin Qingyi likes to eat. Let's bring something with us as a token of appreciation." Qin Shiyue suddenly remembered as she was leaving the hotel and instructed Fang Xinhua to take care of it.
Fang Xinhua thought to herself, Baby is on point, thinking of all the details.
Author's Note:
Qin Shiyue: What drink does Sister like to have? I will buy it for you.
Lin Qingyi: Water, yours.
Split the comment, still 20 red envelopes.
