3 | Pounding
I heard you took Song Nanchuan’s car home last night?
Pei Ying tossed off her heels when she got home, and then plopped down onto her bed.
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Her heart was still pounding, her head filled with shining images of Song Nanchuan.
His soft, dark hair. The way his lightly colored lips lifted up. And that teardrop mole that was ingrained into her mind.
Pei Ying gloomily covered her face with her hands. She’d only met him once, so why was she acting like such a fool? Really obsessed with appearances.
While she was reflecting on herself, the phone in her bag started ringing, playing that melodious and soothing violin song.
Pei Ying grabbed her bag and turned it out to find her phone. The name ‘Ren Shanshan’ was lit up on the screen.
“What is it?” she asked lazily as she answered the phone.
Ren Shanshan seemed to be eating and some of her words were unclear as she asked, “How was your meeting with the director?”
Being reminded of that, Pei Ying let out a sigh. “I’m probably not getting the part.”
“Why, did you offend the director again?”
“Of course not. It’s CEO Zhu, one of the investors for the series.”
From that short sentence, Ren Shanshan could already fill in the blanks as if it were a modern melodrama series. “Oh, did this CEO Zhu try to proposition you, only to have his enthusiasm be met by your cold a.s.s?”
Pei Ying, “…”
Did Ren Shanshan have to be so vulgar with her words?
Before she could say anything, Ren Shanshan started to lecture her again. “But really though, you’re an adult. Who are you trying to act so fresh and pure for? And let’s face it, your face and body don’t really fit the innocent image. If he wanted to feel you up, let him. Just don’t go all the way. Endure it a bit and it’s over. That’s how the industry works.”
Pei Ying furrowed her delicate brows. Her voice was sickly when she responded, “I get what you’re saying, but everyone has their own bottom line. You think that it’s okay to be felt up a bit, but I’m not okay with it. And you didn’t see what CEO Zhu looked like. If you were looking at him, you wouldn’t be able to endure it.”
“…” Ren Shanshan was silent for a bit. Then, “Pei Pei ah, those who are obsessed with looks don’t have a future ahead of them.”
Pei Ying pursed her lips. Then she sat up from her bed and asked excitedly, “Guess who else was at dinner.”
“Who?”
“Song Nanchuan!”
Ren Shanshan raised her eyebrows. “The third Song prince? I’ve seen him before, really handsome. Did he feel you up too?”
“…Don’t make others out to be so cra.s.s, won’t you? CEO Song was a perfect gentleman. Not only did he help me out at dinner, he even sent me home.”
“Home?!” Ren Shanshan shouted out in shock. “He’s not showering in your bathroom right now, is he? Go over and let me hear the water.”
Pei Ying, “…”
There were a few days every month that she really wanted to break off their friendship.
“I already told you, he’s someone with principles. After he sent me home, he left.”
“Eyy…” Ren Shanshan dragged out, as if considering things. “I think he’s putting out bait to catch a big fish. An expert, if you will.”
“…Stop thinking that everyone is as immoral as you.”
Ren Shanshan tsked with disdain. “Well, on the way back, you must have gotten his contact info, right?”
“…No.” Pei Ying felt some regrets as she spoke. “We didn’t even talk on the way back. I didn’t know what to talk to him about.”
“What else is there to talk about, you talk about love!” (Note: The word by word translation of dating is to ‘talk about love’)
“…Bye.” Pei Ying hung up the phone.
She tossed her phone to the side, got up, and went to take a shower. When she came out of the bathroom, her mood still hadn’t recovered. She laid down quietly for a bit, and then put on her headphones and found a song to listen to.
All the songs on this playlist were cla.s.sical music. Whenever Pei Ying felt troubled, she would listen to this list, and this time was no different. As she listened, her emotions gradually calmed, and she eventually fell asleep.
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When she opened her eyes the next morning, she felt the warm sunlight seeping through the window. The music had long ago stopped playing in her headphones. Pei Ying checked her phone and saw that it had already shut off.
She pulled out her charger from the bedside drawer. Just as her phone started charging, she received a notification for a missed call.
It was Chen Sheng.
Pei Ying didn’t want to delay after getting a call from the boss, so she quickly called him back. After a few words of greeting, he got straight to the point. “It’s like this. The production said that your appearance doesn’t really fit Tang Feifei’s character, so they decided to find someone else for the part.”
“Oh…” Pei Ying wasn’t surprised by this outcome, but she couldn’t help feeling disappointed.
Hearing her voice fall, Chen Sheng said, “Xiao Pei, I heard about what happened last night from Director Ceng. In this business, there are some things that can’t be helped. With your qualifications, if you just opened up a bit, you’d have gotten famous a long time ago.”
Pei Ying understood his meaning, but she couldn’t speak as bluntly to her boss as she had to Ren Shanshan. “GM Chen, I think that in the entertainment industry, it still comes down to your capability in the end. Things like back door deals won’t take you far.”
“Even if you’re capable, you still need the opportunity to grow.”
“Mm…” Pei Ying choked, but then also smiled as she said, “Actually, to look at it from another perspective, even if I had gotten the role, it wouldn’t mean that I’d have gotten popular.”
Chen Sheng, “…”
Hearing her say as much, he really did feel a bit comforted.
He hung up and let out a deep breath. Pei Ying had always been a cheerful girl. Of course that was a good thing, but if things continued on this way, it would be hard for her to develop her career.
Since you’re walking along the sh.o.r.e, how can you not get your shoes wet?
He seemed to have thought of something, and then sent a text to Pei Ying. “I heard you took Song Nanchuan’s car home last night?”
[Pei Ying] Mm, he sent me home and then left.
[Chen Sheng] …
He might not know about someone else, but Song Nanchuan was handsome and rich. When he first loftily announced that he would be joining the entertainment industry, there were several female celebrities who stuck right next to him. And Pei Ying just watched as that piece of fatty meat slipped away?
Leaving those dirty deals aside, didn’t she say she was obsessed with good looks? But she maintained her control with Song Nanchuan’s handsome face?
Chen Sheng felt very tired.
At the same time, the person in question, Song Nanchuan, had just finished his morning meeting. His a.s.sistant, Xiao Zhang, carried two cups of coffee to his office.
“Thank you.” Sitting opposite from Song Nanchuan was Xiao Gu, who accepted his coffee and took a sip. Song Nanchuan’s lips curled up into a smile. Looking at Xiao Gu, he said, “Apologies. CEO Xiao, you’re so busy but still personally came over, and I made you wait such a long time.”
Xiao Gu looked up and watched him. “CEO Song arrived to A City with such fanfare. Of course I should make a personal visit.”
Song Nanchuan’s smile widened. “Wasn’t it because I was trying to get away from the two old folks at home. I was afraid that if I stayed there, they’d try to set up another fiance for me.”
Xiao Gu put down his cup of coffee without saying anything. Song Nanchuan put away his smile and continued, “And after all, CEO Xiao, you’ve brought your business to A City. Of course I should expand here as well. That way, we can continue working together.”
Xiao Gu laughed lightly. “I heard you had dinner with CEO Zhu last night. I remember you have shares in Universe Pictures, but but they don’t seem to be backing this production.”
Song Nanchuan raised his brows. “CEO Xiao seems to be very familiar with my activities.”
“You’re an important collaborator, and you’ve just arrived here. Of course I should be a bit more concerned about you.”
Song Nanchuan laughed. Xiao Gu, this guy, really was vindictive. “I just had dinner with them to get to know some more people. After all, I just got into this business.”
“Mm, and what happened?”
“It was just everyday talk, nothing particular,”Song Nanchuan said. Then, as if he’d thought of something else, his eyes filled with laughter. “But it’s not like I didn’t gain anything out of it.”
Xiao Gu’s eyes shook slightly, but he didn’t say anything.
After he left, Song Nanchuan called for Xiao Zhang and told him, “Get me the info for Scenic Studios’ Pei Ying.”
Just at that moment, Pei Ying sneezed. (Note: It’s superst.i.tion that when you suddenly sneeze, someone’s talking about you.)
She looked out the window. The sun was shining and it looked just like spring outside. She raised her brow in hesitation and wondered if she ought to put on some more clothes.
She went to her dresser and pulled out a thin jacket.
She wasn’t working in the morning, but she had an acting cla.s.s in the afternoon. After lunch, she tidied up and carried her bag out the door.
The streets in that neighborhood were usually very clean. Perhaps because the cleaning lady was in a good mood today, she’d piled up all the fallen peach blossom petals into a heart-shaped heap.
Pei Ying couldn’t help her young girl’s heart and pulled out her phone to take a photo.
“Meow~” The stray cats gathered near her, their tails swishing around her legs. Pei Ying smiled as she thought that their noses were better than a dog’s. How did they know she’d come out?
She rummaged around in her bag, but she could only find some cookies. She left the cookies behind, thinking that she should buy some cat food on her way home. These cats obviously sought her out to be fed.
In her afternoon acting cla.s.s, Pei Ying was always very serious. Actually, celebrities who debuted for several years already, like herself, rarely went to cla.s.s. But she didn’t have much work, and she really wanted to improve herself, so she always went to cla.s.s.
The acting teacher had been invited from a famous university in the country. After several series of courses, Pei Ying made quite a bit of progress.
As she went to cla.s.s, Xiao Zhang efficiently delivered Pei Ying’s information to Song Nanchuan’s desk.
Song Nanchuan picked up the stack of A4 papers and slowly started to read.
Pei Ying, birth name Pei Xiujuan. Born April 1st, Aries, type B blood. 23 years old this year with a college diploma. She was under Scenic Studios, managed by Chen Sheng. Family details: father (45), mother (43), younger brother (19). Filmography includes…
Xiao Zhang had been very detailed with the information, filling up three sheets of A4 paper. Song Nanchuan suspected that the information he held in his hands was likely more than Chen Sheng had at his disposal.
What’s worth mentioning is that at the end of the information, an additional commentary was attached.
Xiao Zhang’s comments: Pei Ying debuted in the girl group Cute, but there haven’t been great developments for her in the past three years. With regards to appearances, she’s s.e.xy and glamorous, and most of her roles reflect that. But she’s very cautious when it comes to her personal life. Not only won’t she sleep with anyone, she doesn’t even usually attend dinners. Female celebrities with such a clean record in the entertainment circles are usually born to rich families that give them a lot of support. Pei Ying’s family is very ordinary, so she often hits snags in her career. (I also learned of a strange phenomenon that when she successfully accepts a project, a bunch of them end up stopping mid-production for whatever reasons.) P.S. She’s never gotten plastic surgery.
Song Nanchuan read over ‘Xiao Zhang’s comments,’ but didn’t find them very funny at all. He picked up the papers and his eyes landed back on Pei Ying’s real name.
This time, he laughed out loud.