Next day, as already informed by director Zhang, Xin Mei reached the horse ranch located at the north of the city.
That day, the main cast was invited to practice horse riding for the scenes of the film. Xin Mei was excitedly looking forward to the day. She had learned horse riding when she was fifteen.
Xin Mei clearly remembered that at the age of fifteen, her father had taken her and her family to their farmhouse for a month. There he owned a horse with which Xin Mei had fallen in love at first sight.
She was so excited to see the horse that her father had appointed a trainer to teach her horse riding. Within a week, she became an expert rider. She also took full care of the horse by herself. She so loved to ride on him, bath him and feed the horse.
Xin Mei remembered that she had bawled out aloud when her father informed her that they were returning back to the city and that too without her horse.
She had stopped eating after returning back home. She wanted her horse. To console her, her father promised her that they would visit the farm once a month. And they did.
It was only a year back that her horse died. That day Xin Mei had cried a lot. She cried for losing the horse as if she had lost a close family member.
"Right on time Xin Mei." Director Zhang spoke from the behind of Xin Mei. "Do you have any experience of horse riding? I can predict that other cast already has some experience of horse riding but what about you?"
"Don"t worry director Zhang. I know how to handle a horse. In the past, I used to own my personal horse."
Director Zhang nodded his head and walked toward the other cast, to know about their experience. He asked the same question to Tang Min who also declared of knowing horse riding from his last movie. He then walked towards Zhou Mingyu only to scowl.
"Miss Zhou! Do you have any common sense?" director Zhang yelled. He started to question himself for selecting Zhou Mingyu for the role of Chunhua. If it wasn"t for his fellow judges then he would have rejected her at the first glace.
"What happened, director Zhang?" Zhou Mingyu asked in an extra sweet and innocent voice.
"Are you planning to learn horse riding in this dress?" director Zhang pointed towards the short skirt of Zhou Mingyu. "Look at your fellow mates. Everyone is wearing pants so that they can easily ride on the horse and here you are. How do you plan to ride on the horse in a skirt? Are you serious about this film? I don"t get it how come you become a superstar when you don"t have this simple sense."
Director Zhang scolded Zhou Mingyu very harshly. It brought real tears in her eyes. The other cast also laughed at the expense of Zhou Mingyu.
"Become serious Miss Zhou! I still know a lot of girls who are eyeing this role. If you keep showing me tardiness then I will not take a second before replacing you, best actress or not. Revenge is not like your other romantic chic this movie needs your full dedication. If you can give your dedication then stay otherwise leave us before it"s too late. Now go to the dressing room and find some dress. We don"t have any time to waste."
Director Zhang pointed toward the direction of the changing room which was provided by the management of Ranch.
Zhou Mingyu nodded her head before she sprinted off in the direction of the ranch. She was scolding herself for being so stupid to wear a skirt.
Earlier, when Xin Mei was still her manager, she never had to worry about her outfits. Xin Mei had always ensured to decide the best outfit for her. Whether it was for some award function, audition, interview, sports event, meeting at management company or anything! But now, she herself had to decide her outfit in which she was a big failure.
She really missed having Xin Mei as her manager. She had received a lot of benefits from her, a lot of movie opportunities. On top of everything, she was her manager for twenty-four seven where now her new manager didn"t even listen to her.
"Xin Mei, what was the need for you to discover about the truth of me and Qian Fan?" Zhou Mingyu muttered under her breath. She then scolded herself. "And why have I told her the truth? Couldn"t I make some excuse that I accidentally fall in love with Qian Fan? Why had I told her that I used her? I could still have maintained her friends.h.i.+p. I could still have used her. Mingyu, Mingyu, Mingyu, what have you done?"
After changing her dress, Zhou Mingyu walked out of the changing room. She looked at the scene in front of her to find that everyone was gossiping about her while praising Xin Mei who was riding her horse like an expert.
"Xin Mei, it"s your entire fault that I am suffering now. I will also make you suffer. I will not let you get success in becoming an actress. I will destroy you. Revenge will be your first and last film. You may have been my manager for four years but you still are unaware of all the tricks which I had played in the background." Zhou Mingyu smirked to herself before making her way towards the horse trainer.
Director Zhang was standing a little far from the land where everyone was practicing horse riding. He felt a lot of burden on his shoulder.
Director Zhang knew that he would need to work a lot harder on Revenge. It had a very strong investor. And above that, with Revenge, he wanted to keep with his name as a perfectionist.
He had selected the location of City B after rejecting a lot of similar locations. He knew that city B was perfect for particular scenes. He wanted to get the perfect shot in the given time. For that, he himself was working hard and would make his cast also work hard.
By the afternoon, director Zhang declared that Xin Mei and Tang Min didn"t need to practice anymore. He was satisfied with the skill they had.
As for Zhou Mingyu, the director asked her to practice horse riding daily. Moreover, she needed the basic skill of archery before the shooting of the first schedule.
Zhou Mingyu wanted to grumble hard as she was to practice more. But she didn"t say a thing as she was also aware that Revenge could change her life as an actress.
That day, when Xin Mei returned home, she had a satisfied smile on her face, she knew that she had won the favor of director Zhang. She knew that she could easily win the favor of most of the cast, pus.h.i.+ng Zhou Mingyu to a dead end.
She wanted Zhou Mingyu to do a silly mistake like usual so director Zhang would cut her screen timing. And she was sure that she would get successful in her mission.