CH 24

Since taking that horror film, Zheng Baozhu hasn't received any supporting roles for many days. Although she has been keeping busy by watching videos and practicing, she can't help but doubt her life choices. If she had known, she wouldn't have been so picky about horror films. Having acting opportunities is so much better than having none at all.

With these thoughts in mind, when it was almost time, she picked up her phone and started checking the supporting roles group, hoping for news of any audition.

Her luck was good today. The group administrator posted the notice on time, with a special requirement for a supporting role actor who could dance.

Zheng Baozhu's eyes lit up. That was exactly what she could do! She quickly pasted her information on the post.

The list of applicants scrolled by with rows of names. The administrator asked all the applicants to send a dance video, preferably a Chinese dance.

This request was tailor-made for Zheng Baozhu. Since her mother tore up her essay about her dream as a star, she knew it was impossible for her family to agree to her studying acting. But dancing? Su Mingxi wouldn't suspect anything. Since Zheng Baozhu liked it, she enrolled her in a dance class. Zheng Baozhu's plan was that if she became an actress in the future, dance skills might come in handy. Even if they didn't, it would improve her overall charm. After all, the more skills, the better.

And now, the opportunity had presented itself.

Zheng Baozhu couldn't help but sigh. I was really clever from a young age, planning for the future so early.

After praising herself, Zheng Baozhu found an appropriate Chinese dance costume in her room. She adjusted the lighting and camera, then started recording her dance video.

Perhaps because they had to screen through additional dance performances, the list for today came in quite late. Zheng Baozhu had been waiting until she was almost falling asleep when she heard another notification from the group.

The administrator had selected three contract actors, and Zheng Baozhu's name was listed first.

"Great!" Zheng Baozhu's sleepiness was instantly replaced with joy and she twirled around in place. Seeing the group's notification that they would gather at 8 a.m. the next morning, Zheng Baozhu quickly got into bed to sleep.

It had been a long time since she had to go out so early in the morning. When she put on her mask, she was still yawning. She called herself a car, thinking that she might as well take a nap on the way.

When she arrived at the hotel for makeup, it was 7:50 a.m. There were already many extras queuing up in the hotel corridor to get their makeup done. Normally, Zheng Baozhu would have to line up with them, but now that she was a supporting actor, she was exempted from the queue!

She contacted the makeup artist, who said that the lead actors were getting their makeup done, and after they were done, the contract actors could have theirs. Zheng Baozhu took advantage of this time to have breakfast and review the script.

This is a palace drama. The character she's playing is a dancer who was sent into the palace and amazed everyone with her dance in the grand hall. However, her main objective in entering the palace was to assassinate the crown prince, but unfortunately, she was killed by the crown prince instead.

Although this character only had one line, she had an important dance scene with many camera shots. Moreover, it was a large-scale production; Zheng Baozhu had previously seen photos shared by netizens on Weibo where the actors' makeup and costumes looked stunning.

She started looking forward to her own look.

After the makeup artist called her, Zheng Baozhu hurriedly ran up. Her character was from the Western Region, so the makeup had an exotic touch. The eye makeup took an especially long time, as it needed to match the intricate gold accessories. The overall makeup mainly used golden shades. Once the makeup was done, the makeup artist started curling and styling Zheng Baozhu's hair, then began putting on the headpiece, forehead ornament, face decoration, and earrings one by one.

Although these accessories were not made of real gold, they were exquisitely crafted and adorned with pearls and sequins, making them look incredibly luxurious.

After putting on the necklace, Zheng Baozhu thought it was over, but to her surprise, the makeup artist also brought out bracelets and anklets. The dangling bells rang with every move Zheng Baozhu made.

"Oh my gosh, this looks so beautiful!" Zheng Baozhu admired her sparkling golden bracelet in the mirror and kept changing angles to appreciate her appearance.

"It will look even better when you put on the costume," the makeup artist was also very satisfied with her work. Although she usually did makeup for actors in the film and television city, it was rare to encounter such a stunning actor, "Can I take a few photos?"

"Sure," Zheng Baozhu nodded and posed for several shots facing the camera.

After leaving the hotel, Zheng Baozhu found the car that the crew had arranged for the contract actors. She went with two other actors today, and their glamorous makeup attracted requests for photos from the other actors.

After driving for less than an hour, they finally arrived at the grand palace where the filming would take place. It was Zheng Baozhu's first time there, so she admired the scenery before going to collect her costume. The dancer's costume was light and ethereal, with a veil and a sheer outer robe. However, there were no shoes provided this time, so Zheng Baozhu had to temporarily wear her own shoes while walking.

Yesterday, the group admin sent the dance video they would be shooting today. Zheng Baozhu quickly glanced at it last night and saw that they were relatively simple routines, so she went to sleep directly. During the makeup session earlier, she had already memorized the dance moves. Unexpectedly, the crew had also arranged a dance teacher, and as soon as she arrived, the teacher took her away to practice dancing.

While rehearsing the dance, every staff member passing by would take a few more glances, and even during mealtime, other actors came over to ask for photos together. Zheng Baozhu felt that she looked particularly beautiful today and wanted to commemorate it by posting on her social media. She took a few selfies with her phone and selected the most beautiful one to post on her moments.

Zheng Baozhu: Today's appearance is really so beautiful! Ahhhh! [Picture]

Quickly, a wave of likes and flattering comments flooded her moments. While Zheng Baozhu was reading everyone's praise, suddenly her mother's message popped up.

Mother: What are you doing?

Zheng Baozhu: "......"

Zheng Baozhu quickly tried to make amends: Unified response: taking promotional photos. 

After this response was posted, the comments' direction changed; everyone started asking for the name of the photo studio.

Zheng Baozhu didn't reply, but one of the actors, who was together with her in the supporting cast last time during the horror film, asked with a question mark: "Aren't you on set?"

Zheng Baozhu sent him a "hush" emoticon.

The actor understood the situation and sent back a grinning emoticon, adding, "You look particularly beautiful."

Zheng Baozhu liked this honest boy.

Mother: Show me the photos.

Zheng Baozhu: "......"

For two seconds, she was speechless, and then another like appeared, this time from Qu Zhi.

The corners of Zheng Baozhu's mouth slightly lifted. Qu Zhi actually gave her a like?

Her fingertips lightly tapped the side of her phone as comments from her mother began to roll in: "I saw that Qu Zhi liked your photo. Oh, did you finally add him on WeChat?"

Zheng Baozhu: "......"

From the beginning, she should have remembered to block her mom from viewing her moments.

Zheng Baozhu put her phone away, finished eating, and then practiced the dance routine with the two backup dancers before heading to the shooting location. When the director saw her, he teased, "Hey, here comes the famous dancer the whole crew is talking about."

The male actor who was playing the emperor heard this and also chimed in, "Such a beautiful young lady, and you only gave her a minor role? That's too wasteful!"

He was a veteran actor, Zheng Baozhu had seen him in several TV dramas when she was young. Being praised like this by him made her a bit embarrassed.

But joking aside, the director had high demands during the shoot. Zheng Baozhu's main part was the dance. To have more material for editing in post-production, the director had them repeat the dance many times and even instructed the cinematographer, "Close-ups, get direct close-ups, shoot more of them."

After the shoot, Zheng Baozhu was exhausted. Dancing took much more effort than just acting a normal scene with lines. Also, because of her costume, she didn't wear shoes, so jumping around barefoot started to take a toll on her feet. She hadn't noticed during the shoot, but now that she relaxed a bit, she felt pain in her right ankle.

She didn't know when she had accidentally twisted it.

She sat in the resting area, massaging her foot for a while, before being called for an additional close-up shot of her character's death scene. Finally, they wrapped up for the day. As her character died, the crew gave her a red envelope as a gesture of good luck. It only contained five yuan, but as it was meant for auspicious purposes, Zheng Baozhu didn't mind.

As per the crew's tradition, this red envelope had to be spent before returning home. So, Zheng Baozhu bought a few packs of spicy chips from the small shop near the set.

Today, she wore a lot of accessories, and she had to return them all to the makeup artist. The arranged car only took her to the makeup hotel and left afterward. Once she returned everything, she hailed a car to go back. She was glad she had hailed a car today; otherwise, with her current sore feet, she wouldn't have been able to drive back home.

By the time she reached Starlight Farm, it was already 9 o'clock. With her feet hurting, she walked with some difficulty.

"What happened to your foot?" Qu Zhi had just finished overtime and saw Zheng Baozhu limping ahead as soon as he entered the hotel.

Zheng Baozhu turned back to look at him and continued dragging herself forward, "I might have twisted it accidentally, it'll be fine after applying some ointment."

"What do you mean 'might have'? If you twisted it, you should know!" Qu Zhi walked up and bent down to look at Zheng Baozhu's ankle, "It seems a bit swollen."

"It's okay." Zheng Baozhu continued moving forward stubbornly, "I have some medicinal liquor in my room. An overnight rest will make it better."

Qu Zhi stood still, watching her struggle for two steps before he went forward and bent down to lift her horizontally.

Zheng Baozhu was taken aback for a moment, wondering if she had suddenly taken flight. It wasn't until a strong hand held her waist that she turned to look at Qu Zhi in surprise, "What are you doing?"

Qu Zhi's expression remained unchanged as he said, "Carrying you up. You won't be able to move by yourself until tomorrow morning."

"...You're exaggerating," Zheng Baozhu originally wanted to argue with him, but she found that being carried like this was surprisingly comfortable, so she simply stayed quiet. Qu Zhi carried her to the elevator, and with a calm tone, he said, "Press the elevator button."

"......Oh!" Zheng Baozhu reached out and pressed the button.

Xiao Yu stuck her head out and, seeing the two disappear from view, she rushed to their CP group and announced, "Good news, good news! Just now, just now! Mr. Qu carried Miss Baozhu upstairs! A princess carry!"

Liang Huihui: !

Meng Yaxin: !

Wei Zhen: Tell us more!

Cen Tongtong: No, I don't want to hear. 

In the elevator, Zheng Baozhu rested her head on Qu Zhi's chest, watching as the elevator numbers slowly climbed. Outside, she hadn't noticed anything, but inside the confined space of the elevator, she realized that her position with Qu Zhi was overly intimate. She could even hear Qu Zhi's strong and forceful heartbeat.

One beat after another, powerful and rhythmic.

Her ears felt a little warm, but fortunately, their floor wasn't too high, and the elevator door soon opened. Qu Zhi carried her all the way to her room's entrance. This time, Zheng Baozhu had learned from the previous experience and used her fingerprint to open the door.

Qu Zhi carried her inside and used his foot to close the door behind them. Zheng Baozhu watched the door slowly shut and began to feel uneasy.

This... didn't seem right.

As she pondered whether it was appropriate or not, Qu Zhi had already placed her on the sofa. He didn't seem to have any intention of leaving; instead, he took off his jacket and draped it over the side, then stood in front of the sofa and asked Zheng Baozhu, "Where is your medicinal liquor?"

Looking at the person before her, rolling up his shirt sleeves, Zheng Baozhu couldn't help but look doubtful. "Are you planning to administer the medicine to me?"

Qu Zhi replied, "En, that's exactly what I was thinking."

Zheng Baozhu: "..."

She knew Qu Zhi was acting strange! Could he be possessed by something weird?

"If you have something to say, just say it straight. Don't do these unnecessary things," Zheng Baozhu warned as she watched him cautiously.

Qu Zhi stood still, pursing his lips, and then turned around to look in the TV cabinet's drawer.

Zheng Baozhu had indeed placed the medicinal liquor there.

"Here. Roll up your pants a bit," Qu Zhi said, sitting down next to Zheng Baozhu without any hesitation. Zheng Baozhu looked at him and hesitated for a moment, but Qu Zhi waited a while and then reached out to help her.

"I can do it myself!" Zheng Baozhu blocked his hand and rolled up her pants on her own, putting her foot aside. Upon inspection, her ankle was slightly swollen and had a bruise, confirming that she had indeed twisted it.

"What were you doing today?" Qu Zhi poured some medicinal liquor into his hand and warmed it up.

Zheng Baozhu noticed that he was acting quite professional, so she didn't resist as much and replied, "Nothing much, just dancing all day."

Qu Zhi recalled the photo she posted on her Moments today; she indeed looked like a dancing girl from the Western Region. He chuckled lightly and applied the medicinal liquor in his hand to Zheng Baozhu's ankle, "See? You didn't even need me to tell on you; you got yourself in trouble."

Zheng Baozhu forced a smile, "Huh, in the end, didn't I still fulfill my obligation?"

Qu Zhi nodded, "Remember to show the photos you took to Aunt Su."

Zheng Baozhu: "..."

She felt like her mom would probably forget about this in a few days! Yeah!

Qu Zhi applied a little more pressure with his hand, and Zheng Baozhu immediately exclaimed, "Qu Zhi, I knew you had ulterior motives! You did this on purpose!"

Qu Zhi glanced at her, "This is just a normal technique. If you're so afraid of pain, why weren't you more careful while dancing?"

Zheng Baozhu defended herself, "There were so many cameras focusing on me while I was dancing! How could I notice this! Hey, can't you be more gentle!"

"Being gentle won't be effective," Qu Zhi said, but he did ease up a bit, "It would be for best to rest indoors for a few days, don't walk."

"That's not possible," Zheng Baozhu said, "This job lasts for three days in total, I have to go back to the film set tomorrow."

Qu Zhi frowned slightly, "Are you sure you'll be able to dance tomorrow?"

Zheng Baozhu pursed her lips and explained, "The dance is already done today. The next two days I should be on standby at the set to re-shoot any scenes if needed."

Qu Zhi looked at her, poured a bit more medicinal liquor into his hand, and warmed it up with his palm, "While at the set, has anyone told you that you look like Su Ming?"

"Yes," Zheng Baozhu nodded, "Why do you ask?"

Qu Zhi said, "If you take advantage of your relationship with your aunt, you wouldn't have to push yourself so hard, and you could get much better roles."

"Hmph, you're a scientist, and yet you have such thoughts!" Zheng Baozhu accused him righteously, "So, does that mean when you write a research paper, you can just put your mom's name on it and get it published in top journals?"

Qu Zhi: "..."

Zheng Baozhu often accused him of being proud, but he didn't think Zheng Baozhu was any better either.

"I want to succeed as Zheng Baozhu, not just as Su Ming's niece."