After Being Dumped by the Film Empress, My Acting Skills Soared - Chapter 24

Chapter 24

The actors continued discussing their positioning, but when the cameras finally rolled, Wen Jing struggled to deliver the specific feeling Mo Yu was looking for. It wasn’t that the practice sessions with the veteran actors had been useless; it was simply that Wen Jing couldn’t grasp that precise, fleeting spark Mo Yu demanded.

Wen Jing had filmed the simple shot of looking up from a pile of exam papers and throwing her pen down in frustration over a dozen times. They tried slow-motion and high-speed takes, but Mo Yu refused to give the “okay.”

As long as Wen Jing couldn’t pass, Mo Yu remained stubbornly deadlocked with her. She refused to skip ahead to later scenes, leaving everyone in a state of stagnant exhaustion.

Watching this from the sidelines, Shao Niannian felt her eyelid twitching incessantly. She gripped her script, so anxious she couldn’t even sit down. she paced back and forth along the edge of the set, occasionally stopping to adjust her posture or expression, trying to keep her body “warm” and her mind in character.

Jiang Yan watched Niannian’s pacing with genuine interest. It was like a top student watching a kindergartner during a final exam—her hands were itching, as if she wanted to grab a pen and take the test alongside the child.

“Stop pacing,” Jiang Yan said, pulling Niannian over and forcing her to sit. Realizing it was impossible to get her to relax, she sighed helplessly. “Is it really that terrifying? Mo Yu isn’t going to eat you.”

“She won’t eat us, but…” Niannian looked at Mo Yu’s face, which had turned as dark as coal, and swallowed hard. “It’s still terrifying!”

Niannian reached down to massage her trembling calves through her thin school uniform pants. She slumped her shoulders. “It’s mostly because I’ve never worked with a director like Director Mo before. I’m a bit intimidated.”

“You…” Jiang Yan started to say she shouldn’t be.

But then she reconsidered. Niannian’s career resources had indeed been mediocre. Her current agency wasn’t a powerhouse; the only reason it had any clout was because Jiang Yan’s own company held investment shares in it. Jiang Yan recalled her manager’s words: “Gao Hui can’t help her much.”

Searching for information on Niannian online, Jiang Yan realized the girl had rarely worked with famous directors. To the general public, her most recognizable credit was The Courtesans of Jinling, and even in that, she had played a forgettable supporting role.

“Don’t be afraid.” The comfort hovered on the tip of Jiang Yan’s tongue, then took a turn. She pulled Niannian up from the stool and led her away from the crowded edge of the set to a vacant, yet still nearby, open space.

“Huh?” Niannian didn’t understand what she was doing.

“Am I not your specially assigned acting coach? As your teacher, I have a duty to help my student resolve her anxieties.”

“How are you going to help me?” Niannian looked at her blankly, but the realization hit her almost instantly.

Jiang Yan was going to run the lines with her.

“From this second on, I am the Good Student… Pei Fei. You continue to play the Mute Girl.”

“We start on my count. Three, two, one.” Jiang Yan asked one more time, “Do you understand what I mean now?”

“Yes.”

Niannian nodded. The moment Jiang Yan reached “one,” Niannian saw her entire expression shift. Just like that day during their private lesson, she became a different person.

Niannian hurriedly discarded all stray thoughts and rose to the challenge, meeting Jiang Yan’s performance head-on.

“Jiang Yi, don’t you fucking play deaf and dumb with me.” Pei Fei shot Jiang Yi a vicious look and slapped Niannian’s shoulder hard. “You stinking mute, do you have any money on you or not?”

Jiang Yi’s body trembled uncontrollably. Her hands, resting at her sides, gripped the hem of her uniform tightly. She tried to back away, but her back hit the bathroom stall partition. There was nowhere left to run.

Pei Fei pinned her into the corner, her eyes savage—as if if Jiang Yi didn’t obey, the next thing to hit her face would be a palm, or something even sharper and more painful.

Pei Fei’s hand felt like a cold, venomous snake, crawling up Jiang Yi’s spine through the thin fabric of her uniform. The invisible pressure pushed Jiang Yi’s mental state to its breaking point.

Her hands rose slightly, wanting to push away the Pei Fei who was crowding her space, but she couldn’t muster any strength; it was a futile, weak gesture of separation.

“Dead mute, I’m talking to you! Where’s the money!” Pei Fei’s hands rifled through Jiang Yi’s pockets, her movements becoming increasingly frantic.

Finding not a single cent only fueled Pei Fei’s aggression. The mute couldn’t speak, but her resistance grew more desperate. The two struggled until, finding nothing, Pei Fei shoved her. The force sent Jiang Yi crashing hard against the stall partition.

The impact made a loud thud. Jiang Yi’s back went numb, and tears welled in her eyes from the pain.

But she refused to let them fall. She wouldn’t show weakness in front of Pei Fei. She bit down on the inside of her cheek until the flesh tore; blood mingled with saliva, and she swallowed it down. The metallic taste of iron spread through her mouth.

Pei Fei grabbed Jiang Yi’s chin, her fingers tightening until the jawbone ached. Amidst her arrogance was a hint of madness; she felt a thrill at Jiang Yi’s displayed fear and carefully hidden hatred.

Pei Fei thrived on the joy of crushing someone more lowly than herself, ensuring they could never rise again. At school, few people associated with Pei Fei—partly because they looked down on her, but mostly because she viewed them with contempt. She had no interest in “playing house” or being friends with fools.

But Jiang Yi was different. She was a pathetic creature who would wag her tail for the slightest scrap of kindness. More importantly, she was a mute with a family that didn’t care for her. Even if she was bullied, no one would ever stand up for her. That was the real reason Pei Fei “played” with her.

Pei Fei pulled some money from her own pocket and stuffed it insultingly into Jiang Yi’s collar. She yanked the loose, oversized uniform, forcing Jiang Yi to stumble toward her.

Jiang Yi felt Pei Fei’s hand reach inside her clothes. Cool fingertips brushed against her waist, sliding just above the hip and lingering near the edge of her bra strap. It wasn’t a hand; it was a snake-like coil of malice—Pei Fei’s deliberate provocation and violation.

The next second, before Jiang Yi could react, those fingertips turned into knuckles that pinched her delicate skin ruthlessly. The tears that had been hanging in her eyes finally broke, streaming down her face until she was a sobbing mess.

The culprit, however, felt a sense of relief. The irritation of the unsolved math problems from earlier vanished, replaced by a pleasant mood.

Pei Fei admired Jiang Yi’s tearful face, then curled her lip in a threat. “When you go back to the classroom after buying that bread, if I see a single tear on your face, don’t blame me for not being merciful.”

“Did you hear me!”

“…”

Biting her lip and unable to make a sound, Jiang Yi could only nod frantically. She was terrified of the piercing pain returning to her waist and terrified that Pei Fei would vent any further displeasure on her.

When the door slammed shut, the vibration echoing through Jiang Yi’s body, tears flowed into her collar. Hatred made her grit her teeth and tremble. She wanted to rush out and kill Pei Fei right there.

But she knew she couldn’t. She couldn’t outfight Pei Fei, and she couldn’t out-argue her. Pei Fei’s parents would protect her. Hers would not.