After Director Wilson left, the other actresses looked at each other, unsure of what to say, as they were not close with He Jinxia.
He Jinxia quickly put on her cotton coat, not showing any shyness, turned to them and said, "Excuse , but did you all receive a call about the last-minute change to the audition ti from the director’s assistant yesterday?"
One of the actresses expressed her surprise, "There was no change in ti, he scheduled us for seven-thirty."
He Jinxia was stunned, and so was Luo You.
Luo You frowned and said, "Seven-thirty? Wasn’t he supposed to et you at eight?"
The other actresses chid in, "I was also told seven-thirty."
" too."
...
Luo You muttered to himself, "It seems soone didn’t want Jinxia to co for the audition."
Upon hearing this, the rest of the actresses fell silent.
Now they could see, He Jinxia was clearly being set up.
They had already sensed sothing was off when He Jinxia had stopped Director Wilson from leaving, as she made her reason public.
Sending an email at eleven at night to change the ti, was that so kind of joke?
It’s already the year 8012, who still uses email for communication? Their press releases were directly arranged by calling their agents.
Seeing everyone’s silence, He Jinxia didn’t say much else and walked ahead, creating a gap between her and the others.
A short walk later, she stopped again, standing by the elevator doors but not pressing the button to go down.
Cheng Xiaohua was about to step forward to press it but was stopped by He Jinxia.
He Jinxia shook her head at her, the corners of her mouth holding a smile that seed neither genuine nor entirely fake.
Seeing her smile, Cheng Xiaohua felt a chill down her spine, sensing that sothing bad was about to happen.
That smile... so sinister!
Luo You, seeing them all standing still, asked puzzledly, "Why aren’t you pressing the button?"
He Jinxia gently shook her head, uttering just two words, "Waiting for soone."
Before long, that group of tardy actresses arrived.
Everyone had the sense not to crowd forward, and instead stood two steps behind He Jinxia.
Only then did He Jinxia signal Cheng Xiaohua to press the elevator button, turning to the female stars with a beaming smile, although her focus was mainly on Deng Zhaoyan.
She said in a clear voice, "Sister Zhaoyan, the last ti we t in Country Z, I’ve missed you since returning to Huaxia, so how about we hang out today?"
Deng Zhaoyan’s smile was just as bright as she responded, "It’s been a while indeed, but it’s such a pity, I have an engagent this afternoon and can’t et with you."
With a "ding," the elevator doors opened at that mont.
He Jinxia, being closest to the door, blocked it without entering and said with a touch of regret, "That’s truly too bad, Sister Zhaoyan. Why don’t you and I chat alone in the elevator, there’s sothing important I need to discuss with you."
The smile on Deng Zhaoyan’s face stiffened slightly, but she recovered quickly, smiling as she replied, "Sure."
Deng Zhaoyan played along with He Jinxia because the last incident with JY had slightly tarnished her reputation, and she felt compelled to go along with the act; otherwise, with her status as a top-tier star, she would not acknowledge everyone who called her "sister."
And as for He Jinxia, playing the act was simply convenient. It’s no good when stars make their feuds too public; the dia reporters would latch onto those scandals, and sotis it’s quite disgusting to watch, with all sorts of stories of love rivals and the like erging.
The two of them entered the elevator, blatantly leaving the other stars outside, quite a bold move.
As soon as the elevator doors closed, Luo You turned to the stars and one by one he apologized to them, earnestly saying that they really had sothing to discuss and didn’t intentionally prevent them from entering the elevator.
Just then, another elevator arrived, and those female stars smiled at Luo You, saying it was fine, and they all entered the other elevator.
When the elevator doors were closing, Luo You faintly heard soone among them say, "It’s not like we don’t know those two have a bad relationship."
Cheng Xiaohua looked at Luo You, asking with concern, "Brother Luo, is Jinxia okay?"
Luo You’s expression darkened as he said coldly, "This is definitely Deng Zhaoyan’s doing! I knew that competing with her would lead to dirty tricks, but unfortunately, I didn’t know beforehand, or else—"
He stopped mid-sentence, deciding that there was no point in talking about it now. He also didn’t know which actor Director Wilson was interested in.
"Brother Luo, Jinxia, she..."
"Don’t worry, she won’t be in trouble. Both are public figures, the elevator has surveillance, and at the very least, they won’t fight. Once they get out, they will still talk and laugh as if they have a good relationship. Jinxia might seem indifferent to worldly affairs, but that’s only when no one provokes her. Once she is angered, Deng Zhaoyan won’t have an easy ti either."
Cheng Xiaohua was still a bit worried, saying, "Let’s hope so."
In the elevator, an invisible confrontation was unfolding.
He Jinxia had a smile on her face, and so did Deng Zhaoyan. If there were a two-way mirror between them, one would find their smiles were exactly alike.
This move, He Jinxia had learned from Deng Zhaoyan.
He Jinxia said, "You orchestrated this, didn’t you?"
Deng Zhaoyan: "I don’t know what you’re talking about."
He Jinxia: "Aren’t you afraid that if Director Wilson finds out, in a fit of anger, he’ll blacklist you?"
Without waiting for Deng Zhaoyan to speak, she continued to herself, "No, that’s not right. He wouldn’t go that far; after all, you can offer a reason to eliminate a competitor. Westerners value individual ability, he might even admire you for it."
At this point, she couldn’t continue her own line of thought, and laughed, "Don’t take it seriously, but this ti you definitely made an impression on the great director."
The emphasis she put on "made an impression" was profound.
Deng Zhaoyan still wore a smile, "I don’t know what you’re talking about."
There was no need to probe further, He Jinxia knew it was indeed Deng Zhaoyan’s doing.
If she truly suspected the wrong person, why wasn’t there even the slightest expression of surprise on her face?
It was precisely because there was suspicion that she resolved to say nothing at all.
With a "ding," the elevator doors opened at that mont.
He Jinxia took a step forward first, intending to exit, but as she reached the door she turned back to look at Deng Zhaoyan and suddenly said:
"You haven’t slept with that assistant, have you?"
Deng Zhaoyan’s face twisted for an instant, an expression she couldn’t conceal no matter how hard she tried.
She clenched her fists tightly, watching as He Jinxia walked out of the elevator, using considerable restraint to refrain from hitting her!
He Jinxia was provoking her!
She was, after all, a top-tier star; even if she collaborated with an assistant to trap her, she wouldn’t stoop to such depths!
What did she take her for, a supporting actress?
In the car, He Jinxia waited a mont before Cheng Xiaohua and Luo You returned.
Luo You pondered, "Are you sure it was Deng Zhaoyan’s doing?"
He Jinxia replied indifferently, "I’m not acquainted with the other female stars. I glanced around, and among those stars, only two or three have a reputation like mine. The biggest na is Deng Zhaoyan, and only Deng Zhaoyan would be so unscrupulous."
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