I Love Her Because She’s Dim-Witted And Filthy Rich - Chapter 2

Duan Bainian looked toward the direction of the voice. A girl stood at the door, wearing a white down jacket. She had long, straight black hair that reached her shoulders and air bangs, beneath which was a pair of large eyes. They were very large, yet they lacked any sparkle, making her look somewhat dull and blank.

Is this Su Miao? Why is she so different from what I imagined? Do the “financial backers” nowadays all have a taste for this type?

The crowd didn’t respond immediately. It was the director who finally snapped out of it. “You’re here, Su Miao! Come quickly, I specially saved the seat next to me for you!”

Su Miao pursed her lips and smiled. Bringing her assistant along, she sat down beside the director.

The director called for the waiter. “You can start serving the food now.”

During a lull in the meal, the director introduced Su Miao. “That person over there is Teacher Wu Yang. Most of your scenes will be with him. In the future, you should consult him and learn from him often.”

Wu Yang, however, was far from pleased.

He had always cared deeply about his reputation. He had originally signed the contract because he heard he would be partnering with Duan Bainian and that the director was professional; otherwise, as a formally trained actor, he never would have looked twice at a web drama. But now, he was being told at the last minute that his partner had been replaced by a dim-witted newcomer. He could already foresee that this drama was 100% guaranteed to be a disaster.

Hearing the suggestion to “consult” him, Wu Yang let out a cold snort. “Don’t bother. I can’t afford the honor.”

The atmosphere turned cold once again.

Duan Bainian acted like an outsider, silently eating her food.

She usually followed the principle of helping whenever she could. However, regarding the matter of having her role snatched away, it would be a lie to say she didn’t mind.

At this moment, it was already good enough that she wasn’t stepping on the girl; there was no way she would proactively help diffuse the situation.

In the end, it was the director who changed the subject, and the meal ended on an unpleasant note.

The Sichuan restaurant was quite a distance from the hotel where they were staying. The group dispersed downstairs to head back to the hotel separately.

Duan Bainian was asked to stay behind by the director.

Whether it was because he had been drinking or because the director himself was embarrassed by what he was about to say, his face was flushed a deep, messy red.

“Bainian, Su Miao is an inexperienced newcomer. Her acting skills definitely need polishing, but the crew has to keep up with the schedule—we can’t let her polish them on set, right? Um… what I mean is, could you look after her in your spare time? Maybe help her run lines when you’re free?”

Duan Bainian was very surprised. “I should mentor her?”

The director himself laughed sheepishly. “Originally, I planned to let Wu Yang mentor her since most of their scenes are together. But look at how things were tonight; Wu Yang definitely won’t be willing.”

Duan Bainian felt it was absurd. “Director Zhang, if I said I didn’t hold a grudge against Su Miao, would you believe me?”

The director sighed. “Sigh, I know what you mean. But don’t I have no other choice? We’re old acquaintances; just help me out, okay? If I have any suitable roles in the future, I’ll prioritize you!”

Duan Bainian ended up agreeing. If for nothing else, it wasn’t a bad idea to have Director Zhang owe her a favor; there would always be a time when it would come in handy.

The next day, filming began.

The first scene was a confrontation between Su Miao and Wu Yang. Su Miao, who had soul-transmigrated, blocked Wu Yang outside the palace and delivered a long, nonstop tirade of accusations.

…There were 17 consecutive NGs (No-Goods).

The actors watching from the sidelines whispered among themselves.

“How can the lead actress’s line delivery be this bad? Wu Yang’s face is turning green with rage!”

“Heh, I heard this lead actress has a backer and brought her own funding to the production. She’s never acted before, so how could she be anything but terrible?”

By the 18th time, the director couldn’t take it anymore. If things continued like this, they would spend the entire day on just this one scene.

He arranged to film other segments, deciding to leave Su Miao’s scenes for the next day.

When work finished at night, Duan Bainian had just returned to her room and finished removing her makeup when she heard a knock at the door.

She went to open it. The director was standing outside, and behind him was Su Miao.

The director winked at Duan Bainian. “Just like we agreed yesterday, I’ve brought the person to you. You have to teach her well for me!”

With that, the director pulled Su Miao forward. “From now on, every night, come find Sister Bainian to run your lines, you hear me?”

Su Miao replied, “I understand.”

After seeing the director off, Duan Bainian let Su Miao in. “Which scene are you performing tomorrow?”

Su Miao’s fingers tightened around her script. “It’s… it’s still the same scene from today.”

Duan Bainian had watched that scene today. Actually, Su Miao’s facial expressions once she was in character weren’t a big problem; at least they were consistent with the character and didn’t feel jarring.

Her problem was that she remembered her lines in a jumble. Every NG was because of a mistake in the dialogue.

Duan Bainian thought for a moment. “You can’t remember the lines?”

An unnatural look flashed across Su Miao’s face. “Yes.”

Duan Bainian peeled the mask off her face. “Then start memorizing first. I’m going to wash my face and I’ll be right back.”

Su Miao was in the exact same state when Duan Bainian returned as she was when she left.

From the moment she entered the room, she hadn’t moved from that spot. The way she held the script, reading and memorizing, made her look like a student.

She was very stiff.

Duan Bainian beckoned her over, trying her best to smile gently. “Come and sit. Why are you standing?”

Su Miao froze for a moment before walking over and sitting where Duan Bainian indicated.

Duan Bainian checked her phone: 8:30 PM.

She hoped she could send Su Miao away within an hour.

However, by 9:30 PM, Duan Bainian realized that if she could get Su Miao out by midnight, she would be lucky.

She truly couldn’t understand—it was just one page of lines, a few hundred words in total, and it wasn’t even in classical Chinese. Was it really that hard to memorize?

By 10:30 PM, Duan Bainian’s patience had reached its limit.

She naturally had feelings of resentment toward Su Miao, from the moment she first heard about her role being snatched until now.

It was just that after years in the entertainment industry, she had been polished into a smooth and tactful person. Moreover, she had promised the director she would mentor Su Miao, so she naturally had to play the role of a gentle and understanding “big sister.”

At this moment, having played that role for two hours, Duan Bainian was truly exhausted. She just wanted to get rid of this nuisance as quickly as possible.

She said euphemistically, “Are you tired? If you’re tired, you should go back and rest.”

However, Duan Bainian didn’t expect that Su Miao wouldn’t be able to read between the lines. She genuinely thought Duan Bainian was worried about her being tired, and she spoke up shyly, “I… I’m not tired. I can keep going.”

Duan Bainian: “…”

So, Duan Bainian tried a different approach. “There’s an old saying that a bad pen is better than a good memory. How about this? Take a pen and copy these lines out. It might help you understand the emotions behind the dialogue more deeply, and then you’ll definitely be able to remember them.”

She stood up, grabbed some paper and a pen, and placed them in front of Su Miao. “How about this: copy them ten or eight times. Of course, I’m not asking you to finish copying them all tonight. Just copy as many times as you can. If you get tired of writing, just go back and rest. My head hurts a bit, so I’m going to sleep for a while. We’ll run the lines tomorrow morning, okay?”

Su Miao nodded, a spark of life flashing in her dark eyes. She whispered, “Okay.”

Having received her agreement, Duan Bainian went into her bedroom.

In the second before she closed the door, she glanced at Su Miao sitting at the table. She was bowing her head, copying the lines stroke by stroke.

Having gotten rid of Su Miao, Duan Bainian breathed a long sigh of relief.

She took off her clothes and lay in bed. Within three to five minutes, her consciousness began to drift.

In her daze, she heard the sound of the living room door closing. She thought it was probably Su Miao leaving.

When she woke up again, it was 3:00 AM.

Because she had been talking non-stop while running lines with Su Miao earlier that night, Duan Bainian had drunk a lot of water.

She turned on the light and got out of bed, intending to go to the bathroom outside. When she opened the door, the living room was brightly lit.

Duan Bainian instinctively turned her head and locked eyes with a pair of pitch-black pupils.

Duan Bainian was beyond shocked. “Why haven’t you gone back to rest yet?”

Su Miao smiled sheepishly. “I’ve only reached the seventh copy.”

Duan Bainian was stunned. Is this person a fool? She had casually said to copy it ten or eight times, and she had also said to go back if she was tired and that she didn’t have to finish. Given all that, what normal person would take it seriously?

Is this idiot missing a gear in her brain?

Duan Bainian walked over to look at the handwriting on the table. Every stroke was neat and tidy, looking very much like a primary school student’s homework.

She looked at Su Miao with a complicated expression. “Aren’t you tired after copying it so many times?”

Su Miao’s eyes crinkled into a smile. “I’m not tired. I know you’re doing this for my own good. You’re so amazing—the method you suggested is really effective. I feel like I remember it much more clearly now.”

Duan Bainian almost couldn’t bring herself to speak. “…You really think so?”

Su Miao’s eyes were full of sincerity. “Really, your method is truly effective. And…”

At this point, Su Miao became shy again. “You… you’re a very good person. You didn’t look down on me for being slow at memorizing, and you kept thinking of different ways to help me solve my problems. Thank you for helping me with all of this!”

Duan Bainian fell into silence.

She shot Su Miao a look filled with a hundred kinds of suspicion.

How did a fool like this manage to land a financial backer?