We Are Filthy, Born From Mud - Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Yes, I Am the Clown.

The two-day holiday passed quickly, but it was a holiday in name only, as neither of them did anything.

Zong Yougu was under strict surveillance by Zong Liangu, so she naturally couldn’t do anything. Unable to leave the room, she could only loudly complain.

Zong Liangu didn’t have the habit of taking vacations. She continued to exercise as she had in the past, maintaining her physical agility.

The only addition to her daily routine was watching films and TV shows, as she needed to adapt to her current identity as an actress.

Zong Yougu, locked in the bedroom, was constantly noisy, disturbing Zong Liangu at all times.

Having no choice, Zong Liangu locked herself in the bathroom, watching movies on a small phone screen with headphones on.

Although the conditions were harsh and the equipment was rudimentary, she gained some valuable insights.

She was very good at imitation, and extensive viewing taught her many techniques.

For instance, she now knew that when crying, one could slightly tilt the head back to collect tears before letting them fall. This makes the crying scene feel more authentic and moving.

The phone played one work after another, the actors dedicatedly portraying their roles, and Zong Liangu subconsciously imitated them.

The bathroom was actually quite good. The cramped space aided concentration, and the mirror in front of her allowed her to check her performance at any time.

Heavens, she even wanted to praise her own diligence.

It would be better if the strange smell didn’t slowly spread up through the drainpipe. It would be better if the toilet lid didn’t creak.

Alright, suddenly crying and laughing in the bathroom was indeed a bit strange.

Zong Liangu rubbed her forehead. She finally pushed open the bathroom sliding door and walked out.

After being fumigated in the bathroom for several hours, Zong Liangu felt that even the unventilated air in the cramped room had become fresh.

“It’s inhumane! It’s atrocious! I want out! I want out!” Zong Yougu’s continuous clamor came from the room.

After shouting for so long, her volume hadn’t dropped, and her voice was still loud. Sometimes Zong Liangu had to admire her.

Click.

Zong Liangu unlocked the door.

“You’ve been shouting for over two hours,” Zong Liangu frowned, her tone showing clear annoyance and disdain.

“You know I’ve been shouting for that long, yet you still won’t take me out to play,” Zong Yougu rolled around on the bed carelessly, saying with a giggle.

Zong Liangu’s frown deepened. She closed the bedroom door. The small space was now just the two of them.

“Don’t push your luck. I’m only keeping you around just in case,” Zong Liangu’s voice was cold.

Zong Yougu smiled even more happily. She flipped over and knelt halfway on the bed, pointing at Zong Liangu: “I was just joking with you. You didn’t take it seriously, did you? Why would I want to go out? Someone is working for me, living for me. What’s wrong with that?”

Zong Yougu reached out, her fingertip touching Zong Liangu’s tightly furrowed brow, then her finger pad slid down, passing over the nose tip, resting on the philtrum, seemingly trying to feel Zong Liangu’s breath.

“Why are you so perfect?” Zong Yougu’s eyes curved into a smile.

As she spoke, her finger continued to slide down, circling Zong Liangu’s lower lip.

Zong Liangu took the opportunity to bite the finger moving restlessly on her lip. Her upper and lower teeth clamped down tightly on the finger, the sharp canine teeth sinking into the soft flesh of the fingertip.

“Vicious dog!” Zong Yougu stretched out her other hand, pointing at Zong Liangu’s head.

Zong Liangu still didn’t let go, instead biting down harder.

A sharp pain spread from the finger. Zong Yougu endured the pain while angrily hitting the other person’s shoulder with her hand. She continued to curse: “Dead person!”

Zong Liangu wasn’t angry. She finally released her bite and smiled.

“That’s right, I’m dead. Now the dead person is back and going to replace you. What can you do about it?” Zong Liangu herself didn’t know what motivated her. Based on her original character, she shouldn’t be wasting words on Zong Yougu.

“For the past few hours, these last two days, I’ve watched many movies, many TV shows, and I thoroughly watched all your work from beginning to end… You are truly… truly so lackadaisical and lazy.

I was really fooled by you. I believed you actually had ambition.”

Oh, now she understood. Her current complex feeling stemmed from jealousy. She felt unbalanced.

They had the same birth, the same background, yet Zong Yougu lived a much more comfortable life than her.

How could this be so unfair?

At 8 o’clock, Hu Yinghua arrived on time to pick her up.

Zong Liangu did not let Zong Yougu come along. Most of the people at the company were familiar with Zong Yougu.

Even if Zong Yougu was fully covered, there was no guarantee she wouldn’t be recognized.

So Zong Yougu was locked in the bedroom again, only this time, Zong Liangu added another lock to the door.

The continuous, winding stairs of the apartment building always made people dizzy and confused about the floor level.

Zong Liangu walked down each step quickly.

The image of the person who brushed past her earlier that day, the one with hurried steps, suddenly reappeared in her mind.

That person was dressed entirely in light blue denim, probably a worker from a nearby factory. Their face was obscured by a large hoodie. Zong Liangu didn’t see their face clearly, but the person always gave her a familiar feeling.

Was it someone she knew?

“Sister Yougu! Over here!” Hu Yinghua jumped up and waved at Zong Liangu.

She professionally opened the car door for Zong Liangu, then began giving detailed instructions: “Sister Yougu, promotion for The Rumor has started. You’ll be on a few variety shows soon. Sister Qifang has arranged for you and Miss Su to go promote it together.”

The Rumor? Zong Liangu frowned in thought, then her brow smoothed out. She remembered. The script for the assassin role, which she received shortly after arriving in this world, did have the words “The Rumor” on it.

“Me? I’m just a minor antagonist. Why am I going along?”

Zong Liangu asked. She was genuinely confused. Her character did significantly impact the protagonist, but her screen time was short, and she was a villain. Her name in the cast list would probably be in the teens and beyond. Why would she be included?

Zong Liangu saw Hu Yinghua’s hesitant expression. Hu Yinghua pursed her lips and spoke with some difficulty: “It’s Sister Qifang’s arrangement, anyway. She’ll tell you the specifics later.”

Hu Yinghua pursed her lips again, constantly checking Zong Liangu’s expression through the rearview mirror. She said, “Sister Yougu, will you promise me one thing?”

“Mhm? Tell me first,” Zong Liangu said.

“Promise me you won’t get angry no matter what Sister Qifang says later, okay?

Sister Yougu, I really didn’t expect Sister Qifang to be your new agent. We all say that every artist Qifang takes on becomes popular. While that might be partly flattery, she is undeniably excellent.

Please, don’t cause trouble later. She’s not Liao Qinghe; she won’t tolerate you indefinitely.

And also…”

Hu Yinghua stopped again, looking hesitant.

Zong Liangu smiled, signaling for Hu Yinghua to continue.

Hu Yinghua finally started again, her voice very soft: “Also, Miss Su is also under her management.”

“So what? Aren’t Miss Su and I good friends?”

Zong Liangu said calmly. She had learned from Zong Yougu over the past two days that Su Tongguo was still her friend in this world.

“Sister Yougu, you and Miss Su are friends, that’s true. But Sister Qifang is a company employee. She will try everything to maximize the company’s profits.

Miss Su is very popular now and has excellent resources. The company wants to promote her, so Sister Qifang taking you on might be to help elevate her.

But on the other hand, the company also has to guard against her leaving when her contract ends. In that case, Sister Yougu, you might be Qifang’s warning to Miss Su.”

Zong Liangu pondered. Hu Yinghua quickly covered her tracks with a laugh: “Oh well, just ignore me. I’m always pessimistic. Anyway, just one thing: Sister Yougu, you absolutely cannot cause trouble like you used to.”

Zong Liangu smiled. She looked out the window: “Of course, I won’t be like before.”

Hu Yinghua skillfully drove the car into the company building’s garage.

The office building, located in the city center, had transparent glass walls that glowed with warm yellow light at night, making it a landmark.

The building had thirty floors. Their company occupied the floors starting from the twenty-fourth.

“Sister Yougu, did you bring your employee badge?” Hu Yinghua asked.

“What badge?”

Zong Liangu’s question seemed to be expected by Hu Yinghua. Hu Yinghua pulled out a badge from a bag behind the seat: “Luckily, you returned the spare badge last time, or we wouldn’t even be able to take the elevator.”

Zong Liangu held the badge and looked at it for a long time.

On the back of the red-backed badge was a small photo of Zong Yougu. Zong Liangu’s gaze lingered on the photo, as if trying to hypnotize herself into believing that the person in the picture was herself.

She still felt unbalanced. Why did Zong Yougu not have to erase her life traces and could leave her mark everywhere?

She used to be very satisfied with her job as a killer. She thought she was meant to live that way forever.

Thinking about it now, perhaps it was because she had never believed her life had any other possibility. She naturally walked in the shadows, always alone.

Beep—

She swiped her employee badge on the sensor. The button for the 28th floor lit up on the elevator.

“Sister Yougu, hurry and put your things away. Sister Qifang is already waiting.”

“I don’t have anything. Just take me there.”

Hu Yinghua dutifully led the way for Zong Liangu. Zong Liangu couldn’t help but look around.

The bright, clean office was carpeted with black and gray stripes. It felt soft underfoot, and all sound seemed to be absorbed by the carpet.

Unlike typical office areas, the employees’ workstations were spread far apart here. The spacious desks were often adorned with various trinkets and decorations, full of life and personal style.

Zong Liangu finally found the seat labeled “Zong Yougu.” Zong Liangu was surprised because there was nothing on the desk, as if it were an idle, empty seat.

After passing through several glass doors and turning a few corners, Hu Yinghua finally stopped.

“Sister Yougu, this is it. You must remember, absolutely no getting angry, absolutely no causing trouble,” Hu Yinghua clapped her hands together, dramatically cautioning Zong Liangu.

Zong Liangu smiled and nodded. She pushed open the frosted door and walked in.

Sitting behind the office desk was Qi Fang.

She had short hair, the hair at her temples neatly trimmed.

“You’re here? I’m Qi Fang, your agent from now on. I won’t introduce anything else. You’ll know my style of work the longer we work together.”

Zong Liangu smiled and nodded, showing just the right amount of obedience.

A white script was pushed toward her.

Zong Liangu took it and started reading it without being prompted.

“Your assistant should have told you. I need you and Su Tongguo to go together for the promotional variety show recording the day after tomorrow. This is the general flow,” Qi Fang smiled. “To put it simply, this is the script.”

Zong Liangu smiled and simply hummed in acknowledgement, continuing to read.

For a moment, the only sounds in the office were the rustling of turning pages and the occasional crisp clink of a glass of water hitting the desk.

Zong Liangu put down the script. The smile on her face did not fade: “I understand. Your meaning is that I have to act like the clown to elevate Miss Su, correct?”

Qi Fang did not hide it. She laughed twice: “You could interpret it that way.”

“Alright, I understand.” Zong Liangu still smiled. She pointed to herself: “I am the clown.”