Chapter 458: Chapter 458

Zuo Yuqing’s eyes deepened, she didn’t speak, and took another sip of her drink, but her posture clearly showed she was continuing to listen to Tan Lanxin.

The other actress sitting beside Zuo Yuqing was from the same management company as Tan Lanxin, but compared to Tan Lanxin, she seemed relatively quiet. Even though she had been sitting beside Zuo Yuqing for over half an hour, she had spoken fewer than ten sentences, mostly reading scripts and memorizing lines, or listening to the conversation between Tan Lanxin and Zuo Yuqing. She always kept silent, only occasionally responding when Tan Lanxin shifted the topic to her.

Her name was Yi Shuang. She had been in the industry for over two years. Although not a newcomer, she wasn’t very famous either – at best, she could be considered a second-tier artist who had just managed to hold her ground.

In comparison to Tan Lanxin’s fame, Yi Shuang couldn’t compete, let alone compared to Zuo Yuqing’s. Her own modest level of fame was even less significant.

Tan Lanxin thought Zuo Yuqing wasn’t aware of the Song Qiao’s issue and kept talking about what she knew which included the wedding incident, the statement Lu Jingchen released the next day, and the posts from the newly created Weibo account by Murong Rui.

When Zuo Yuqing heard that Murong Rui had opened a new Weibo account and posted some direct comments aimed at Song Qiao, which had been trending hot for several days, she was mildly surprised as this was news to her.

She had been busy shuttling back and forth between film sets in different places, day and night, and had no time to keep up with the goings-on here, so now she felt like she had missed out on a lot.

Today, Song Qiao didn’t bring the makeup artist that Shen Yi had always arranged for her, because she had to hurry over after receiving a call. So, she just made a call and, finding out that the makeup artist hadn’t woken up yet, didn’t have her come over.

The director seemed to have thought of this and immediately had his assistant find a makeup artist for Song Xi. This one was a dedicated professional from the film crew with better skills than the average makeup artist, ensuring at least that the makeup wouldn’t be ruined.

This drama was a costume drama, and although not exactly a palace intrigue drama, it didn’t stray too far from such elements, featuring over a dozen actresses playing roles like concubines and female supporting characters, with a similar number of princes and generals. Thıs text ıs hosted at 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭·𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮·𝙣𝙚𝙩

In terms of fame, Song Xi was the least known actress here, being a newcomer who had only just climbed up without yet finding her footing. In this crew, everyone else was a senior to her.

So, when the director’s assistant mentioned that a private makeup artist had been prepared for Song Xi, it immediately drew dissatisfaction from many people. Especially from those who, being significantly more famous than Song Xi, had to share the common makeup room and felt disgruntled looking at the small makeup room with eyes full of ’envy, jealousy, and hatred.’ The gossip started buzzing without restraint, and no one bothered to keep their voices down.

"Wow, such a grandiose display for a newbie, acting like she doesn’t see us at all."

"Pfft, don’t you know who her backer is? Just look at who her sister is."

"Who? Isn’t she just the woman who climbed her way up CK Corporation?"

"That’s true, she probably seduced the president of CK Corporation with her bedroom skills."

"Hey, let’s not talk about this, I almost forgot, wasn’t there a fuss on the internet before? That woman’s parents caused the death of someone else’s parents. I wonder if the president of CK Corporation should be writing a divorce agreement by now."

"But how can she have the face to show up like that? If it were me, I would’ve preferred to just die in an accident; having such parents is utterly embarrassing."

"To be honest, with parents like that, how could their two daughters turn out to be any good?"

Song Qiao, upon hearing these words, remained unfazed, but Song Xi could no longer sit still, anger clearly appearing on her face. She was in the middle of being made up when she abruptly stood up, ready to confront those people.

"Hey, why did you get up? Look, you’ve smudged your makeup..." the makeup artist frantically put down her tools as she saw Song Xi’s makeup get messed up due to her standing up.

Song Qiao, upon seeing the anger on Song Xi’s face, was initially stunned, then stepped forward, took hold of her arm, and stopped her from walking out as she said, "What are you doing? The makeup artist is applying your makeup, didn’t we say not to act impulsively?"

Song Xi’s eyes fell on Song Qiao’s face, and seeing her calm expression, she knew very well that Song Qiao was probably feeling terrible inside, which made her indignantly say, "Sis, those people are speaking too offensively, I..."

"What exactly are you planning to do?" Before Song Xi could finish, Song Qiao had already interrupted her, the gentleness in her voice replaced by a few notes of severity, "Didn’t I tell you before we came here? Being too impulsive in this industry often ends up harming oneself. People have mouths of their own, whatever they say is their business, and if you rush over there impulsively now, what do you think you can do to them?"

Song Xi, what I told you before wasn’t a joke, but very serious lessons. You’re no longer the impulsive Song Xi from the past, if you can’t stay calm now, how will you do so when you face other issues in the future?"

Song Xi’s face didn’t look great, but emotionally, she seemed much more stable now. Her lips moved, but no words came out.

Looking at her, Song Qiao’s tone softened a bit as she gently said, "You are my sister, and I hope you can be well. Actually, I didn’t wish for you to enter the entertainment industry, but if it’s what you like, I will support and help you. Regardless of what others say, don’t act so impulsively. If someone bites you, are you going to bite back?"

The original saying from the last line would probably be ’If a dog bites you, are you going to bite back at the dog?’ She didn’t make it explicit, but everyone could understand what she meant.

Those people said some even more offensive things, and it wasn’t like she hadn’t heard them, but what does it matter? She’s no longer the impulsive Song Qiao. If it had been before, she might have rushed up and slapped each one of them. Since they are using her current status as the Young Mistress of the Lu Family to make comments, she would have used this identity to show off arrogantly to them.

But she is no longer the Song Qiao from before.

Song Xi certainly understood Song Qiao’s words; she thought seriously and her emotions finally calmed down significantly. For a moment, she didn’t say anything more but just pursed her lips and stood there, her eyes inexplicably reddening.

Song Xi had always known that her sister hadn’t had it easy these past few years, but Song Qiao never talked about it.

Watching Song Xi in front of her, Song Qiao reached out to pat the back of her hand, and softly said, "Sit down and finish your makeup first. If you want to strike back, work hard on your acting skills. Becoming famous will be the best way to slap them in the face. Understand?"

Song Xi was silent for half a minute, then finally nodded, "Sis, I understand." Saying this, she obediently sat back down and turned to look at the makeup artist beside her, apologizing, "Sorry, I was too impulsive just now. Please continue with the makeup."

The makeup artist looked at Song Xi with a touch of astonishment. She was indeed aware of the rumours about the second young mistress of the Song Family, known for being arrogant and with a disagreeable character, and many said she was too selfish, completely disregarding others’ feelings. If it hadn’t been for her status as the Song Family’s second daughter, people would have probably troubled her long ago.

But now it seemed it wasn’t the case. Apart from being a bit impulsive earlier, Song Xi in front of her was very well-behaved and polite.

Any dissatisfaction that had emerged in her heart because of Song Xi’s behavior dissipated instantly, she smiled slightly and said, "It’s okay, sit down. Your scene is almost up; we need to hurry up with the makeup."

The makeup artist was speaking when hurried footsteps came from outside. The assistant who had brought Song Qiao and the others over came in and asked, "Is the makeup ready? We’re starting to shoot in half an hour."

The makeup artist turned to the newcomer, paused, then said, "It’ll be ready soon."

The assistant nodded, then turned his attention to Song Qiao, smiled slightly, and said, "Mrs. Lu, please remember to have Song Xi go over the script. Our director is a bit, you know, if there are too many NGs, he doesn’t care who it is, he will scold them."

As for being addressed as Mrs. Lu, Song Qiao just slightly frowned but said nothing and nodded, "Okay, I got it, thank you."

The outside gossip continued, just not as loudly as before. As the assistant left, they turned to Song Qiao and said, "You guys don’t have to take what they say so seriously. Those people like to gossip, and you should just let it go in one ear and out the other. They act because they are envious and jealous of you."

Although just a minor assistant, she had been with the director for many years and had seen countless artists. Those artists appeared amiable and easy to talk to on camera, but in reality, they were often gossips. Normally, no matter who it was, if these people were together, they’d begin talking about everyone else, eager to let the whole crew know what they think of that person.