"Du?"
"Tonight, we went to karaoke. Brother Yang made fun of me, saying I'd traded my musical talent for my looks."
"Haha, Senior Brother's got a sense of humor. But you really are tone-deaf. I'm surprised you even picked up a microphone."
"You knew I was tone-deaf?"
"Didn't you know?"
"The troupe leader said I might still be developing, so..."
"Nazha, don't doubt it. You really are tone-deaf."
"I don't want to talk to you anymore. You tricked me out of ten meals, you jerk."
"A bet's a bet. The Nazha I know wouldn't be a sore loser."
"Who's a sore loser? I'm just calling you and Brother Yang out for teaming up to trick me. But I'll honor the bet, of course. Reba, you've changed."
[...]
The two women, who hadn't seen each other in a long time, chatted excitedly about what they'd been through in recent years and the things they'd seen across the country. They didn't even realize when they'd fallen asleep.
The next morning, a folk song woke Nazha. It was the ringtone she'd set for incoming calls.
"Sister K?" Seeing who was calling, Nazha hurriedly answered.
"Are you still asleep, Nazha?" Cai Yinong asked with concern.
Nazha glanced at the time at the top of her phone screen. It was already eight thirty, and she felt embarrassed. "I'm up, Sister K. I was just in the bathroom."
Cai Yinong had guessed as much. She didn't ask any questions and went straight to the reason for her call. "I've thought it over carefully. I've decided to have Jiang Jinfu learn from Hu Ge. You'll go to Hengdian with Zhang Yang today and learn from him."
"Huh?" Nazha was surprised.
She didn't mind whether she learned from Zhang Yang or Hu Ge, but if she had a choice, she'd definitely pick Zhang Yang.
He was close to her age, so they had more in common and it was easier to get along with him. They also had Reba as a mutual friend.
But Cai Yinong took her reaction to mean she was unhappy, so she offered an explanation. "Jiang Jinfu has studied acting at Shanghai Theatre Academy for nearly two years. He can learn the basics of working on a set directly from Hu Ge. You're starting from scratch, so it's better for you to learn from Zhang Yang."
"I don't mind, Sister K." Nazha understood and answered at once.
"Good." Cai Yinong smiled with satisfaction and added, "I've already called Zhang Yang. Just meet him before ten."
"Okay, Sister K." Nazha readily agreed.
As soon as she hung up, she got out of bed and opened her suitcase. She took out a change of clothes and went into the bathroom.
After the rustle of clothes being taken off, the shower began to run. Steam soon filled the bathroom, fogging up the glass until her graceful figure was only a silhouette, its curves visible through the mist.
A little over half an hour later, Nazha came out wearing a fitted black dress. Her wet hair fell over her shoulders, and her delicate collarbones drew the eye.
She bent down to put her old clothes in a small bag, then picked up her makeup kit and went back into the bathroom to apply a light, simple makeup look.
Since she still had to eat breakfast, she skipped the lipstick. After drying her hair, she messaged Zhang Yang.
[Senior Brother, when are we leaving?]
Zhang Yang: [I'm having breakfast on the X floor. Do you want to come eat here, or buy something outside?]
Nazha: [I'm coming over now.]
Zhang Yang: [OK. I'm by the window.]
Nazha: [Mm-hmm!]
She took her key card, shut the door, and hurried to the restaurant.
Elsewhere, Zhang Yang looked at Jiang Jinfu and asked, "Why?"
"I want to beat you." Jiang Jinfu put down his chopsticks, his expression serious. "Zhang Yang, I want to be more famous than you. I want to win awards sooner than you. I want to beat you and prove I'm just as good as you."
"That's why I can't let you be the one to show me the ropes."
After saying that, Jiang Jinfu stood and walked off, full of youthful energy.
Once he was out of sight, Zhang Yang rubbed his cheek and grinned. "Hey, I really am a genius."
If he'd volunteered to take Nazha on, Cai Yinong would never have agreed, given her personality.
But if he acted as though he didn't mind, and Jiang Jinfu said he didn't want to learn from him, Cai Yinong would reconsider.
She might not assign Nazha to him, but she definitely wouldn't have him take Jiang Jinfu. That was all he needed.
"Brother Yang."
As Zhang Yang thought about how to stir things up once they got to Hengdian, he heard Nazha call out to him.
It was another stunning day. Even Zhang Yang, who'd seen plenty of beauties, was momentarily dazzled. He smiled. "Go get whatever you want to eat. We'll leave once you're done. No rush."
Nazha nodded obediently, then went to get breakfast. She returned with two full trays.
"Can you finish all that?" Zhang Yang asked in surprise.
"You don't understand. This is Reba's punishment." Nazha took out her phone and snapped a bunch of pictures of the food, then logged into QQ and sent them to Reba.
Reba: [Nazha, do you realize this is a crime?! (drooling)]
After getting the reaction she wanted, Nazha's appetite soared, and she started working her way through breakfast.
Zhang Yang: "..."
At least the company reimbursed Nazha's meals.
A little over half an hour later, Zhang Yang and Nazha got into a business van and headed for Hengdian.
Zhang Yang spoke to her first. "About what I said after you sang last night—I said it on purpose."
"Oh?" Nazha blinked, confused.
What good would it do him to deliberately embarrass her?
"I was helping you build resilience." Zhang Yang repeated what he'd told Hu Ge the night before, with a few artistic embellishments.
"Is that right?" Nazha still felt something was off.
"It is." Zhang Yang answered with absolute certainty. "Old Hu was supposed to tell you all that, but Sister K changed her mind and assigned you to me. So I had to give you the pointers myself. Don't think I'm making excuses."
"I won't." Seeing how earnestly Zhang Yang spoke, Nazha stopped doubting him. She even felt a little embarrassed. "Hey, I guess I did pretty badly last night."
"The entertainment industry is a tough place. Once you've seen more of what goes on after joining a production, you'll understand," Zhang Yang said solemnly. "So when we get to Hengdian, I'll tell people you're my personal assistant. That way, not many people will pay attention to you, and you can watch and learn."
"Oh." Nazha nodded, but looked a little puzzled. "Brother Yang, you're not trying to trick me into becoming your personal assistant, are you?"
"Of course not." Zhang Yang waved his hand. "That's just the official cover. We'll act the same way in private as we always do."
Hearing this, Nazha didn't give it another thought.
"Let me go over some things you should know once you join the production. You..."
Zhang Yang patiently explained the basics to Nazha.
Whenever he gave an example, he included something he'd seen on a set before. Nazha treated it all like gossip and listened with great interest.
Several hours later, they reached Hengdian. Zhang Yang got in touch with the production assistant in charge of lodging and meals for The Legend of Dugu. After checking into an ordinary hotel as stipulated in his contract, he went straight to the set to report in.
The production coordinator glanced at the day's shooting schedule, then pulled a walkie-talkie from his pocket. "We need a makeup artist. The actor playing Zhao Kuangyin has arrived. Get him into makeup."
Someone took Zhang Yang straight to the makeup room and sat him down. While they waited, Nazha asked, "Brother Yang, they're doing your makeup right away?"
"Shouldn't you go introduce yourself to the director and the lead actors?"
Zhang Yang looked up at her, his expression calm. "I get along well with Old Hu, Sister Tangtang, Brother Qi, and the others. That gave you the wrong impression."
Nazha: ???
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