The Scumbag Attackers Regretted It Deeply After My Death - Chapter 26

Jiang Nian’an could no longer be bothered to guess whether Yao Zhenzhen had truly heard only a part of the conversation or the entire thing. She looked up toward the interior of the house and sighed. Turning her gaze to the tense woman beside her, she noted that Yao Zhenzhen looked as though she were terrified Jiang Nian’an might give up on saving her father.

“Elder Mr. Yao’s business is my business,” Jiang Nian’an said. “Since I’ve promised, I will certainly help you make it happen.”

Yao Zhenzhen froze for a moment, a complex emotion flickering in her eyes. She understood that Jiang Nian’an didn’t mean she was helping save Yao Guangming for free; this was being counted as one of the three conditions.

“…Alright, then I’ll have to trouble you, Sister Nian’an.”

Jiang Nian’an nodded, her brow shadowed with exhaustion. She had been thoroughly drained by Yao Zhenzhen’s antics today.

“I still have work to finish, so I’m heading back. Contact me if anything comes up.”

Thinking of the phone call she had received from Manager Lin five minutes ago, Yao Zhenzhen’s eyes tightened. Watching the Alpha’s tall, slender silhouette as she turned to leave, Yao Zhenzhen suddenly called out, “Sister Nian’an!”

Jiang Nian’an paused and looked back, her expression cold. “Is there something else?”

Yao Zhenzhen bit her lip, appearing to make a difficult decision. She quickly blurted out, “I’ve already used one of the three conditions, but there is one more thing I need Sister Nian’an’s help with!”

“Is this the second condition?”

Jiang Nian’an arched an eyebrow, seemingly surprised. Aside from Yao Guangming, she couldn’t imagine what else Yao Zhenzhen would beg of her.

“Yes!”

Despite how much it pained her to use it, time waited for no one. She had to get Jiang Nian’an to help her!

Yao Zhenzhen stared at the Alpha with determined eyes, her voice resonant as she spoke each word: “I want to join the cast of Phoenix Reborn!”

To her surprise, Jiang Nian’an frowned and rejected her immediately without a second thought.

“No. The female lead is Yao Anna; that has already been announced.”

The collaboration with the Yao family was already losing money. Jiang Nian’an had invested a full 300 million into the TV series Phoenix Reborn. She couldn’t risk losing that investment because of Yao Zhenzhen—otherwise, she truly would end up with nothing to show for her efforts.

“I don’t want the lead role, Sister Nian’an. Can’t I just have a supporting role?”

Yao Zhenzhen’s face darkened. Fearing another rejection, she asked very cautiously, looking at Jiang Nian’an with pitiful eyes.

Jiang Nian’an knew that tomorrow was the day the cast was set to begin filming. Yao Zhenzhen’s sudden request made her suspicious of how she had obtained that information.

The Alpha remained silent for a moment before nodding slightly. “Fine. I agree.”

Yao Zhenzhen let out a long breath of relief, the heavy stone in her heart finally dropping. She said gratefully, “Thank you, Sister Nian’an!”

“Don’t thank me. This is our second transaction.”

Jiang Nian’an gave Yao Zhenzhen a deep, lingering look before turning and leaving without looking back, her tall figure gradually vanishing into the darkness.

Yao Zhenzhen stood there in a daze. There were three conditions in total; if she hadn’t been at the end of her rope, she wouldn’t have wasted these limited opportunities on Jiang Nian’an.

She would have to think very carefully about how to use the final condition!

The Next Day.

Yao Anna quickly packed her luggage, loaded her newly purchased suitcase into the trunk, and drove her flashy red Ferrari toward the hotel booked by the production crew.

The hotel was located near the Film City. It was a five-star establishment with excellent privacy. Yao Anna parked the car and tossed the keys into the air; the valet caught them steadily. She took off her sunglasses, revealing her gorgeous, striking face. The valet quickly called over a bellhop to assist with her luggage.

“Miss Yao, please follow me.”

Yao Anna nodded slightly and casually hung her sunglasses on the neckline of her V-neck sleeveless T-shirt, faintly revealing a charming hint of cleavage. She followed the bellhop, asking casually as they walked, “Has Director Zou arrived?”

“He’s here. Director Zou is already waiting for you in the conference hall. He instructed me to bring you over as soon as you arrived.”

“Mhm.”

Director Zou had called her yesterday to explain that they would take costume photos as soon as she arrived. She assumed the set for the photos would be a simple setup in the conference hall.

Sure enough, when she followed the bellhop into the wide-open conference hall, she saw many familiar and unfamiliar faces moving about.

As for Director Zou, he was busy instructing the staff on the set decorations. A young staff member noticed Yao Anna and quickly said to the director, “Director, Miss Yao is here!”

“Where? Where?”

Director Zou temporarily set aside his work and looked toward the door. His stern face immediately broke into a smile as he waved at Yao Anna.

“Anna, over here!”

Yao Anna walked straight toward Director Zou. His shout drew the attention of many actors who were currently getting their makeup done.

They looked at Yao Anna for two reasons: first, she had been a trending topic for the past few days, dominating the search charts regarding the drama between her and Yao Zhenzhen—which had inadvertently provided free publicity for Phoenix Reborn.

Second, Yao Anna was an A-list star. Many famous directors had said she was born to be an actress. Most of the people there had never seen her in person, so their curiosity was natural.

For a moment, Yao Anna became the center of attention. However, she seemed accustomed to being the focus of many eyes; her pace remained steady and unhurried, showing no sign of nerves.

“Director Zou,” Yao Anna greeted softly.

Director Zou nodded, looking over Yao Anna’s appearance with satisfaction. He pulled over a busy makeup designer and asked, “Old Liu, come look at Anna’s makeup. Does it need any adjustments?”

The makeup designer was a mature woman in her thirties. The moment Designer Liu saw Yao Anna, her eyes lit up with a flash of amazement. She had never seen an actress with such good skin—her features were simply exquisite!

Designer Liu smiled and reached out to Yao Anna. “Hello, Miss Yao. You can follow Director Zou’s lead and call me Old Liu. I’ve heard of your great name for a long time, and seeing you today proves the rumors true—you really are an actress blessed by the heavens.”

“Designer Liu, you flatter me,” Yao Anna smiled modestly as she shook her hand. “Those rumors are just kind words from directors I’ve worked with. Please don’t take them too seriously.”

“Not at all. I think those big shots were right. You are indeed very beautiful, and your acting is excellent.”

Watching the two exchange compliments and modesty, Director Zou stroked his small mustache with a chuckle. He could tell that Designer Liu highly appreciated Yao Anna!

This was good. As long as the designer liked the actress, the makeup and styling would surely turn out exceptional.

Returning to the topic at hand, Designer Liu suggested that Yao Anna change into her costume first to take the “early-stage” character photos. Only the lipstick shade would need a slight adjustment. The “late-stage” photos, which required a domineering, “ruler-of-the-world” queenly vibe, would require a total makeup change, which was more time-consuming.

Director Zou agreed; he and Designer Liu were on the same page. “Anna, let’s do as Old Liu suggests! You’re the female lead, so we’ll take your photos first. The Alpha lead is already in the dressing room. Go ahead, and later we’ll take a set of photos of the two of you together.”

“Alright.”

Yao Anna had no objections to their decision. Seeing that she had arrived alone, Director Zou asked, “Anna, why isn’t your manager here with you?”

“I don’t know. She’s probably busy.”

The woman’s voice was indifferent; she didn’t seem to care about her manager’s whereabouts.

“Busy?” Director Zou was a bit displeased upon hearing this. “What could Manager Lin be busy with? As far as I know, you’re the only successful one under her. The others are all 18th-tier nobodies. Instead of accompanying you, she’s with those obscure nobodies? I don’t know what she’s thinking!”

He snorted and added indignantly, “When Manager Lin gets here, I’m definitely going to have a talk with her. I wonder if she’s dissatisfied with Phoenix Reborn or with me, Zou Zhaoming!”

Hearing this, Designer Liu quickly spoke up to smooth things over. “Alright, Director Zou. You’re one of the titans of the directing world; Manager Lin wouldn’t dare have an issue with you. Anna still has to work under her, so don’t make things difficult for Anna. She’s a great talent, and with her in Phoenix Reborn, it’s bound to be a massive hit!”

Director Zou frowned, wanting to say more, but Yao Anna suddenly spoke: “I’m not in a difficult position. If you want to scold her, go ahead, Director Zou. As long as it makes you happy.”

Both Director Zou and Designer Liu were stunned. They looked at Yao Anna and saw her expression was calm, her eyes tinged with a cool indifference.

“Even though I am an artist under Manager Lin, I also feel she doesn’t respect you enough, Director Zou. Otherwise, knowing we were moving into the hotel today, she wouldn’t have failed to show up with me just to go through the motions. You’re right, Director; someone like her really does need a lesson!”

After hearing this, Director Zou grew even angrier. From Yao Anna’s tone, it sounded like Manager Lin truly did have some private dissatisfaction with him.

Speak of the devil!

Just as she finished speaking, a familiar female voice came from behind them.

“Director Zou, Anna! Ah, Designer Liu is here too.”

Everyone turned to look. Manager Lin was walking toward them with a large stride and a smile on her face. Not far behind her was Yao Zhenzhen—someone who shouldn’t have been there. Compared to Manager Lin’s hurried pace, Yao Zhenzhen walked slowly. The two seemed to be intentionally keeping their distance, as if they didn’t want people to associate them with one another!

Yao Anna’s brow furrowed in confusion. Why was Yao Zhenzhen here?

Hadn’t she lost the audition?

Beside her, Director Zou’s expression darkened. Noticing Yao Anna’s confused gaze, he explained in a low voice: “I didn’t want Yao Zhenzhen in the cast either, but President Jiang arranged for her to be here. I couldn’t refuse!”

Designer Liu had a look of disgust, clearly disdainful of actors being “arranged” into the cast. She had followed the heated drama between Yao Zhenzhen and Yao Anna a few days ago, so she had no favorable impression of Yao Zhenzhen.

Yao Anna’s eyes turned cold. Jiang Nian’an—her again!

She asked coldly, “So, what role is she playing?”

Director Zou could see Yao Anna was unhappy. After all, they had just been tearing each other apart on Weibo a few days ago. Meeting in the same cast would annoy anyone. He quickly explained, “Just a supporting role, the fifth female lead. A small character with very few scenes!”

The fifth female lead?