150 Lack of Skills

An evil grin flashed across a woman's face when she saw Si Weimin waiting outside Xu Jia Li's room. A sudden pang of hatred and resentment filled her heart. How could she let this thing go?

After taking video and pictures, she wore a satisfied grin. Before walking away, she looked at the cctv cameras and laughed when she saw that they were off. 'The bitch Xu wouldn't know that it's me. I wanna see her reach the rock bottom.' she walked merrily in the dark corridor, knowing that the last laugh was on her.

Unknown to her, even though the cctv cameras weren't working, a set of surveillance camera were placed in the most inconspicuous places. Her actions were all captured by the cameras. Those cameras were specifically placed by Xu Jia Li without everyone knowing.

All that were recorded were automatically forwarded on Xu Jia Li's phone.

****

Xu Jia Li laughed when she saw the footages on her phone. She was sitting beside Si Weimin on the sofa when her phone rang. It was a notification about the recorded surveillance footages.

"How bold is this woman?" Si Weimin's chilly tone echoed inside the room, "It seems like I'm being too forbearing and lenient these days."

"No need to worry," she chuckled as she squeezed Si Weimin's hand, "Leave it to me."

"Just know that all you have to do is ask. You always have me."

****

Evergreen Hot Spring and Resort – Thursday

Early next morning, Xu Jia Li woke up without Si Weimin by her side. She felt her heart suddenly yearning for his presence. The soft bed seemed cold without him. She sighed as she got up from her bed.

Last night, after the both of them talked about the recent events, she remembered falling asleep on his warm embrace. His presence always gave her an immense peace and a sense of security.

She slowly entered the bathroom and enjoyed a relaxing bath. With her eyes closed and her body submerged in the warm, fragrance bubble bath, her mind was filled with many things. She was still thinking about the posts on Weibo. She couldn't let it slide without giving those people a dose of their own medicine.

After a few hours, she was all ready to get out of her room. The warm bubble bath helped clear her head as she proceeded to the filming site. She was greeted by malicious gazes and inaudible whispers as she walked towards her dressing room.

She just shrugged her shoulders, knowing that those people would soon eat their words. She won't dilly dally while someone tainted her name.

Once she reached her dressing room, Shen Linqin arrived with a bag of food from Green Leaf.

"Li-jie, I got you some delicious milk and nuts congee, and your favorite shrimp dumplings."

"Thank you, Linqin," she smiled gratefully before she entered inside.

But even before Xu Jia Li could answer, the make up artist came panting as she entered the dressing room, "I'm sorry, Miss Xu. My stomach hurts so I'm late. Sorry for coming late."

Xu Jia Li flashed a slight smile as she sat in front of the vanity table. The make-up artist smiled apologetically as she started fixing Xu Jia Li's face.

"Thank God, your skin is really good. I just need to put a little more for the scene."

Xu Jia Li saw how good the make- up artist was in what she did. After only a few minutes, she was ready.

She thanked the make-up artist before she strode out of the dressing room, with Shen Linqin following behind.

****

"Nice take, Miss Xu! Work harder, Miss Meng. The scene requires deep emotions. It may be simple but the character has deep emotions she wants to convey."

"I'll do better, Director Han," Meng Lulu bowed in front of Director Han as pure embarrassment engulfed her whole being.

"Just work harder on your emotions."

Xu Jia Li moved her gaze from Director Han to Meng Lulu. She studied her every move. In the deepest part of her heart, she was hoping that Meng Lulu had nothing to do with Tang Xie's actions.

"Lulu, do you have a minute?"

"O-of course, Senior Xu."

"Let's talk to my dressing room, is that okay?"

Seeing Meng Lulu nodded, she walked towards her dressing room. Shen Linqin was already busy getting Xu Jia Li's lunch so she didn't follow the two.

Once they were inside her dressing room, she handed the script to Meng Lulu, "Lulu, let's go over your lines, shall we?"

"I-it's really not necessary, Senior Xu. I really don't want to disturb you with my lack of acting skills," Meng Lulu flashed a smile that never reached her eyes.

"Since I don't have anything to do, why don't we do it?"

Meng Lulu reluctantly took the script before she sat on the chair opposite Xu Jia Li.

When Shen Linqin arrived, the three of them ate, with Xu Jia Li still asking Meng Lulu to deliver her lines. She immediately saw that it was not Meng Lulu's lack of knowledge about acting that hindered her from showing the emotions required in the movie. It was actually the plastic surgeries done to her face that made her looked stiff.

She felt bad for her since she knew that Meng Lulu wanted to be popular. She really wanted to help her but it was beyond her power to help her improve. She knew that Meng Lulu would always have problems with her performance since she couldn't display the emotions on her face.