Chapter 359: Chapter 359 - 353: If She Overheard That...

After stepping down from the stage following the interview, the director and the producer continued to greet industry friends along with the male and female leads.

Actually, not every initiation banquet follows the old-fashioned style of newlyweds going to each table to toast the guests. However, the veteran director of "Shadow Kill" is one of the most renowned directors in the industry, and his approach is quite traditional. After the introductions, he took them to toast each table. Although they didn’t drink much at each table, with so many tables, even a small glass at each was enough to make someone like Shi Su, with her low alcohol tolerance, feel a bit unsteady on her feet by the end.

With over thirty tables in the banquet hall, when Shi Su finally returned to her seat, Wei Sinan quietly asked her, "Drank too much?"

"No," Shi Su mustered her strength, waved her hand, and lowered her voice to reply, "But Li Sansheng was too much; every table had different drinks: red, white, beer, all mixed together. No matter how little you drink, it’s unbearable."

Fortunately, while following Mr. Li and the producer to toast at the tables, she didn’t see Jing Jihan; otherwise, she might not have been able to drink at all.

"I’ve heard that at every film’s initiation banquet, Mr. Li does this. They say going around each table brings good luck. And indeed, over the years, every movie he’s made has been a box office hit. Maybe there really is some mysticism involved." Wei Sinan poured her a glass of juice: "Have some juice."

Shi Su waved her hand again: "No, if I drink more, I’ll throw up. Is there any mineral water?"

Wei Sinan searched the table, then got up to ask a server in the banquet hall for two bottles of mineral water. When he returned, Shi Su was leaning back in her chair with her eyes closed, and Cai Hong came over to ask how she was. Shi Su still smiled at Mr. Cai, saying she was fine.

Cai Hong chuckled, "Forgot to remind you to prepare some hangover medicine in advance. Mr. Li’s old habits haven’t changed; he always does this at initiation banquets."

Shi Su sighed with a smile, turned her face away, and sighed again: "Anyone who doesn’t know might think someone is getting married, going to each table to toast."

Cai Hong laughed, looked up, and saw Wei Sinan returning with the mineral water, and couldn’t help but tease: "Since Mr. Li isn’t calling you over again right now, take good care of your new bride. I’ll go over there and chat with some people."

Wei Sinan, amused by the joke, nodded with a smile and walked over. Shi Su rolled her eyes at him, without responding, nor taking the joke seriously, and started looking for her phone.

"What are you looking for?"

"Where’s my phone? I need to call Jun and ask her to come over and keep me company. Otherwise, I might get sold off by the lot of you and not even know it."

"Didn’t you give Jun your bag and phone before you went on stage? She probably still has them." Wei Sinan opened the mineral water bottle and handed it to her, then looked around: "But I don’t see her right now."

"She might have gone to the restroom; I’ll look for her in a bit." Shi Su took a sip of water and then slightly furrowed her brows.

In the past couple of years, at the various events she’s attended, she’s had a few drinks sporadically, sometimes a few glasses of red wine or champagne, occasionally some white wine or beer. It’s not like she hasn’t been tipsy before. As Jun would put it, it’s not the wine that’s intoxicating, strangely, she’s the one getting greedier. Clearly, she can’t handle alcohol well, but when required to drink, she insists on acting as if she can handle any amount. Those unfamiliar with her might think she has a great tolerance based on her expression.

Take the director of "Shadow Kill," Li Sansheng, for example. He probably assumed she had a high alcohol tolerance, which is why he took her and Wei Sinan around to toast.

But in reality, when it comes to drinking, Shi Su’s not much of anything.

Yet she’s especially good at maintaining composure.

"Eat something to soak it up."

At this moment, quite a few industry insiders came over to chat. Seeing Shi Su seemingly having had too much to drink, they simply chatted with a smile before leaving, speaking more with Wei Sinan. Wei Sinan stayed by her side, looking after her.

Shi Su couldn’t care less now, just leaning back in her chair, looking at the fruits and some lightly cooked dishes placed in front of her, and still shook her head.

"I can’t eat; if I do, I’ll vomit."

But she was genuinely hungry. She initially thought she’d eat at the initiation banquet, so she barely ate anything in the evening and came directly. There were already plenty of tasty dishes on the table, all in line with Mr. Li’s superstition-themed preferences, even including auspicious dishes like Four Happiness Meatballs and sauced pig knuckles... Truly an initiation banquet aimed at ensuring good fortune.

The aromas tempted her, with both meat and vegetables.

After sitting quietly for a while, Shi Su felt slightly better, picked up her chopsticks, took a bite of the greens, then two pieces of fruit, and after drinking some water, finally had the courage to try a piece of sliced meat.

Anyway, she’d finished the interviews and necessary mingling, so she could head home after a full meal.

However, after a few bites, she suddenly put down her chopsticks, clutching her stomach with a pale face.

Wei Sinan came over to ask if she was feeling stomach pains. Shi Su shook her head, stood up while pushing away Wei Sinan’s supporting hand, turned, and caught hold of a server to ask where the restroom was. After learning the location, she rushed towards the restroom.

"Hey, Shi Su, you..." Wei Sinan stopped from following her upon hearing she was going to the restroom. Seeing her hurried silhouette, guessing she was about to throw up, he helplessly opened the other bottle of mineral water on the table, planning to have it ready for when she returns and needs to rinse her mouth.

Shi Su dashed into the restroom.

Yes, she felt the urge to vomit.

A strong urge.

But as she rushed in, she saw the second and third female leads of the movie inside, touching up their makeup, and as she burst in, she overheard them mentioning her name, seemingly gossiping about "whether Shi Su has any inappropriate dealings with Mr. Cai."

Shi Su immediately suppressed the overwhelming urge to vomit, forcing herself to endure with a pale face as she walked past the two actresses, appearing calm, to another row of mirrors to pretend to touch up makeup.

But without her bag with her, what was she to touch up with?

So she casually took a tissue from the box on the sink, lightly pressing it against her nose, pretending to dab non-existent oil. Shi Su naturally had great skin; even after putting on makeup, other actresses’ skin would get oily, but hers remained fresh and clean. However, without a makeup bag, she could only mimic a typical actress’s conscientious behavior...

Once Shi Su entered, the two actresses stopped talking, exchanging glances, quietly continuing to touch up, occasionally stealing glances towards the back, but unable to discern anything unusual.

And they were unsure if their whispered gossip about Shi Su had been overheard by the person concerned because Shi Su was quite famous in the industry, with good connections among directors and producers. If overheard, it could be troublesome.