Rebirth from the Ashes

Chapter 641: Tall, Dark, and Handsome Young Man

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

It was one bad take after another.

Shen Xi quietly stood in a corner while stoically observing. She was carrying a callous mien that held people back from striking up a conversation with her.

As Shen Xi’s student, Ruan Sisi was no stranger to her teacher’s identity and feud with the Su family. Otherwise, she would not have given Su Ruowan the attitude in the first place.

Su Ruowan had lesser bad takes these days, and for this particular scene, she had practiced countless times. She played the scene in her mind numerous times and even sought guidance from the director and ran lines with the cast so that she was able to kill it in one take.

Yet, Shen Xi, the b*tch, refused to make it easy for her. Shen Xi was dragging Su Ruowan down in her performance with her presence. Because of Shen Xi, Su Ruowan was unable to get into character and had to reshoot her scene repeatedly.

The onlooking cast and crew gave Su Ruowan a sympathetic look while others were contemptuous and impatient by the endless retakes. She was wasting everybody’s time.

By the tenth time the director yelled cut, Su Ruowan was about to lose it. Although her body was frozen stiff, she did not feel the cold but only sheer hatred for Shen Xi.

Clearing his throat, Hu Zheng asked if Su Ruowan wanted to proceed with the shoot or wait for her body to regain warmth.

Su Ruowan knew she had to pull herself together and not let the b*tch get the thrill of it. She needed to take a break and come back stronger. Before Su Ruowan could say anything, Ruan Sisi forthrightly asked, “Ms. Cai Ni, doesn’t she know how to act? She’s a horrible actress. I can pull a random person from the street and they can do a better job.”

These words nearly saw Su Ruowan passing out in rage. On the brink of flipping out, she pushed back the bitterness and lifted her head to force a smile at Hu Zheng. “Mr. Hu, I can carry on with the shoot.”

The people around were close to bursting out in laughter. Su Ruowan might not have a gift at acting, but she put in the work and showed quite an improvement. To say any random person on the street was better than her was pretty hurtful.

Ruan Sisi clicked her tongue and said, “I have to say though that she’s resilient toward the cold weather. She’s an actress indeed.”

Su Ruowan’s rising blood pressure dropped back down. Was Ruan Sisi undermining her or complimenting her? Was Shen Xi’s student a moron?

Everyone, including Su Ruowan, believed Shen Xi would not answer the stupid question.

Shen Xi glanced at Ruan Sisi before uttering in a flat tone, “Sisi, you’re not a good judge of character. She’s a natural at acting.”

With her blood reaching boiling point, Su Ruowan kept to herself and lowered her gaze to hide the wickedness in her eyes. Her nails dug deep into the flesh of her palms.

Su Ruowan was certain that Shen Xi was giving her hell on purpose. As if one person was not enough, Shen Xi had to bring her moron student along to stir the pot.

Ms. Cai Ni’s sudden comment threw the production team into a whirlwind of whispering. They had a feeling that there was more to what Ms. Cai Ni had said.

Su Ruowan’s acting was sloppy at best. It was not that good, but it was not that bad either. She was not the talented kind, but she could hone her skills if she put in the hard work.

They had trouble reading between the lines of Su Ruowan being a natural at acting.

As a veteran in the industry with connections to match, Lin Chan knew a lot more. The rumors about Li Jingran’s relationship with Ms. Cai Ni went around showbiz, and the people were divided between believing the hearsays or not.

Lin Chan presumed the rumors to be true and even took it upon herself to investigate the matter. Ms. Cai Ni did indeed stay at Su’s residence for a year before leaving.

Things would only get interesting if Ms. Cai Ni was really Li Jingran’s daughter. By the looks of what happened at the film festival’s red carpet last year, the mother and daughter were against each other.

Lin Chan was sure that Ms. Cai Ni was not in the wrong, which meant it was all Li Jingran’s fault. She could seek an in-depth investigation into the matter and perhaps dig up dirt on Li Jingran as well.

The cast and production team got ready and clapped the film slate to mark the scene.

Su Ruowan’s performance was no different than before. Try as she may, she was unable to immerse herself into the role. The more she tried to do well, the effects came out the opposite. The recurring retakes were driving her nuts while she was chilled to the bone by the howling north wind and fluttering snow. Only the burning animosity was keeping her blood circulating.

Some actors thought she was pushing herself too hard and tried to talk her out of it.

Furrowing his brows, Hu Zheng believed Su Ruowan had gone mad and asked her a few times to take a break. He was here to shoot a film, not take a life. It was not worth it for her to throw her life away for a shoot. Besides, it was the production team who would feel the fury of the public if anything happened to Su Ruowan.

Nevertheless, Su Ruowan persisted with the shoot despite everyone’s persuasion. Why should she give in? Why should she bow down to Shen Xi, the b*tch?

Shen Xi wanted to make a monkey out of her. Well, the joke was on Shen Xi. Su Ruowan refused to give Shen Xi satisfaction.

After a continuous run of bad takes, Su Ruowan blacked out as her body went limp. She was out cold.

Just seconds before losing her consciousness, Su Ruowan heard Ruan Sisi jeering in surprise and disdain, “I thought she was a natural in acting but she can’t take the heat.”

Su Ruowan flew off the handle before darkness swallowed her. If only she could tear Ruan Sisi apart. It then hit her.

They were egging her on! Shen Xi, the b*tch, did it on purpose and she fell for it!

“She’s useless and no fun.” Ruan Sisi whined to Shen Xi as people scattered to carry Su Ruowan off the set.

Su Ruowan passed out less than half an hour into the shoot. What a weakling.

Without taking a glance at Su Ruowan, Shen Xi made work arrangements with Ruan Sisi before heading back to the hotel. Hu Zheng’s quest for perfection on details exceeded her own now.

Since Su Ruowan loved to show off and do well, Shen Xi was going to leave her at it. This was her last chance anyway. Soon, Su Ruowan would grasp the meaning behind futile efforts.

It was still snowing when Shen Xi walked out of the set. Under a tree across her stood a young man.. The tall, dark, and handsome young man was holding an umbrella and smiled at her as she emerged into the picture.