CH 69

Variety Show

Su Shen said nothing upon hearing that. After a while, she boarded her flight. When she returned to her condo, it was already 9:00 pm. There was still half a month before she went on set. During this period, there were a lot of engagements that she had to attend. 

She sat on her bed and looked at her schedule for the next few weeks using her laptop, only to find that the rumors about Xie Yan’s girlfriend were getting more and more intense. Fortunately, Cen Qing had been excluded from suspicion, because Xie Yan’s studio had made a statement. 

Xie Yan’s Studio V: Regarding the rumor online, it is not true. Xie Yan and Miss Cen Qing are just ordinary colleagues. We hope everyone stops spreading falsehoods to prevent unnecessary misunderstandings about the two.  

Netizen A: Emmmmm, ordinary colleagues, AHAHAHA

Netizen B: Does Cen Qing’s face hurt? 

Netizen C: In the entertainment industry, I like He Hua as an agent the most. He never wades through mud and water in clarification. [joy]

Netizen D: It suddenly occurred to me that the studio never clarified the relationship with Su Shen. Unless…

Netizen E: When they shot The Song of Troubled Times, Xie Yan had already clarified his relationship with Su Shen. There’s no need for the studio to clarify it again. 

Netizen F: So, who on earth is the woman in the photo [joy]

Netizen G: After zooming in on the photo, I noticed that Hubby took the initiative to hold the other person’s hand, whereas they didn’t even bend their hand. [joy]

Su Shen had to respect the brains of the netizens. She didn’t even remember when Xie Yan had held her hand, making it seem as if she was very cold to him. 

However, too many people had seen her wearing that dress yesterday. The possibility of someone exposing it couldn’t be ruled out, but as long as some mainstream media did not speak, other small media channels exposing it would not be believed by the fans. Moreover, everything was under He Hua’s control, so she didn’t need to care about it. 

After checking through the schedule sent by Liu jie, she would be rushing back and forth for the next while. The drama with Jiang Yin was about to be broadcasted, so she had to attend a variety show for publicity tomorrow. Afterward, she had a few cameos and several magazine covers. On the ninth, she had to attend an award ceremony. Basically, she would be going everywhere.  

She then looked at some scripts that Liu jie sent over. These were already filtered out by her. She added the booking quote and some details about the production team too. All in all, these scripts were much better than the ones she had received before. 

Now, her booking price has also reached $350,000 an episode, averaging about ten million for a drama. There were also some that gave even higher quotes, but most of them were idol dramas, full of melodrama. 

After sifting through for a while, she finally found a script unlike the rest. It was a historical drama centered around a powerful female lead. Different from those dramas where the white lotus was forced to mature, this female lead was very strong-minded. She was from a prestigious family, but her father sacrificed his life for his country on the battlefield. Her mother was heartbroken and soon followed after her father. At that time, the female lead was only twelve years old. As no one in her clan liked her and felt that she was a jinx, the female lead was adopted by an aunt in the palace. 

From a pampered noble lady to an orphan who suffered disdain, the female lead’s mentality was constantly evolving. Gradually, she understood the importance of power and hated those relatives who occupied her family property, but she was too weak to do anything. 

Although she was only twelve years old, she was very beautiful. The princesses in the Imperial Palace didn’t like her and bullied her in all respects. However, the female lead was very intelligent and knew her own advantages. Every time the Emperor came to visit her aunt, she would often expose her wound in front of the Emperor. Her father was a hero, and the Emperor was also a little fond of the female lead, so he would often bestow her with gifts, causing others to be green with envy. The female lead would skillfully turn the tide every time.   

She knew that she couldn’t do anything as a girl. If she wanted power, she had to make use of men, so she often approached the Third Prince who was the Emperor’s favorite. The Third Prince also liked her, so he often played with her which made the other princesses even more envious. In one incident where she was framed, she encountered the Eldest Prince, and he helped her out of the situation. He felt that she was very different from the rest. However, she felt that the Eldest Prince was too dangerous, so she tried to avoid him each and every time, which only made him more and more curious about her.  

As time went by, the female lead became more and more beautiful, attracting many people’s attention. The Fifth Prince and Sixth Prince also liked her. Thus, the female lead circled between them. When she found out that the Emperor was about to appoint the Third Prince as the Crown Prince and to betroth her to him, she didn’t refuse because she also liked the Third Prince a lot. However, she also held a different type of sentiment toward the Eldest Prince who had always been helping her.  

Later, she married the Third Prince, but when the Third Prince was in danger, she sought the Eldest Prince for help and lied to him that she would be with him in the future. However, when the Third Prince was free of danger, she didn’t know how to face the Eldest Prince. 

During a fight for the throne, the female lead was shot by an arrow in order to save the Eldest Prince. For her, the Eldest Prince was willing to guard the border and never return to the capital. The Third Prince ascended to the throne, but he died young due to a previous injury. The female lead governed from behind the scene as she brought up her one-year-old son. In the last scene of the ending, the female lead sat on the swing in the imperial garden, watching the snow fly all over the sky, and the Eldest Prince, who was far away at the border, was also standing on a tower looking in the direction of the capital. 

It was already 2:00 am when she finished reading the script. Su Shen felt perplexed. Although the female lead might be too unreasonable since she used other people’s feelings but didn’t end up being together with them, only those who had experienced bullying and humiliation could understand what power meant. Sometimes, living was not just for happiness but also for avengement. Moreover, the female lead couldn’t tell what was love at that time. She thought she loved the Third Prince, but in the end, she found that it was not love.  

Su Shen knew the nature of the scriptwriters. They would certainly exaggerate the humiliation that the female lead would endure, and then say that she was forced to become scheming because dramas needed to stay positive. 

This script was very challenging. If she was not careful, she would portray the character as a pretentious and scheming b***h. However, Su Shen liked the character of the female lead. She wasn’t a good person, a very selfish person at that. But in reality, this kind of person was the most realistic. Moreover, current dramas placed love above all else, giving up everything for love, but why not for power? Love was not the only thing in a grand frame. 

Originally, Su Shen wanted to take a break after filming Director Li’s film, but now, she wanted to take on this challenging script. Although their booking quote was not high, it was not the most important thing, as long as the production team was good. 

The next morning, Liu jie arrived at 10:00 am and even brought a hairstylist to help her style her hair since she had to attend a variety show today. 

“How could you and Xie Yan be so careless to get photographed?” Liu jie stood at the door and asked puzzledly. 

Sitting in front of the vanity, the hairstylist was styling Su Shen’s hair while she slowly turned over the magazine in her hand. “There are always times where we can’t guard against it, I can’t do anything about it.”  

“Nevermind. Fortunately, it was Cen Qing who got attacked. But, you have offended her.” Liu jie sighed and took out a cigarette from her purse. 

Many people in the entertainment industry liked to smoke. It should be said that very few people didn’t smoke. For example, Wang Cheng and Li Hao all smoked, but they just didn’t smoke in front of her. Many female artists also smoked a lot because they were under too much pressure being in this industry, and smoking could temporarily relax their state of mind. 

“Then I have to tell you, I have already offended her.” Su Shen said with a laugh, feeling helpless in her heart. 

At that, Liu jie exhaled a smoke ring and frowned, “What do you mean?” 

Su Shen said insipidly, “There’s nothing I can do. Don’t you know what I mean?” 

Cen Qing didn’t like her at first glance. 

At that, Liu jie just frowned and said nothing. There was no secret in this industry, and it spread rapidly. Many people knew that Cen Qing had gone after Xie Yan for a period of time. Now, it was not unlikely that she would vent her anger on Su Shen. 

Liu jie suddenly realized that Su Shen had really offended too many people. 

“Right, I’ve read the scripts you sent me. I want to take on Li Palace,” said Su Shen suddenly. 

Liu jie pondered for a while upon hearing that and walked up to the vanity with a cigarette in hand, “The production team of this script is one of the best in the industry. Although I don’t really like the script, the director’s pretty good. His dramas all have a pretty good rating. Logically speaking, this kind of script wouldn’t ask for you. They would look for a veteran actress. However, the production team does have the intention to ask you to act the role. If you think it’s fine, I think we can discuss with them to alter the script a little bit. This female lead is too pretentious. When it airs, you’ll definitely be attacked.” 

Liu jie sought to find the best interests for them. The female lead was definitely not on the same page as a sweet and naive girl. She would use all kinds of methods to achieve her goal. However, up until now, which drama that won awards had a sweet and naive girl as the female lead?  

“If there’s something wrong with the script after it’s been handed out, I’ll tell you. If you tell them now, they will think that I’m hard to work with.” Su Shen said as she glanced at Liu jie from the corner of her eye. 

The latter said nothing. Perhaps she thought what she said was reasonable. 

After getting her hair done, Su Shen followed Liu jie to the recording studio. This was an indoor variety show and not an outdoor reality show. Moreover, it was a well-known veteran variety program and held a high rep in the country. There was no appearance fee given to participate in the show. At most, the production team would compensate for a makeup fee. 

When they arrived at the recording studio, Jiang Yin, Zhu Qinqin, and the rest were already there. Seeing her, Zhu Qinqin was somewhat unhappy, more so envious of her. They debuted at the same time and started with idol dramas, but now, Su Shen could be considered a B-list starlet. As for her, she was still at the starting point. 

Ignoring Zhu Qinqin’s weird gaze, Su Shen came to the lounge prepared for her, and one of the directors immediately came in with a script to discuss what would take place.  

“Su Shen, I heard that you’re good at playing the guzheng. Can you perform a little later?” The beautiful director asked with a smile, sitting on the sofa. 

Leaning against the sofa and reading the itinerary, Su Shen hesitated upon hearing that. 

Noticing her hesitation, the director thought that she must be worried about her skills, so she continued, “You can just casually play a song, for just two minutes.”