Huayu: I'm reborn, but you still force me to be a scumbag?

Chapter 555 The Magic Mirror Has Eyes

Dilraba saw the news that her boss had apparently broken up with his girlfriend on her way to the film set.

She was very nervous because it was her first time joining a film crew. So, in the car, she took out her phone to browse Weibo and relax.

Unexpectedly, when I clicked on it, I saw three sensational terms on the trending topics list.

Without thinking, I immediately clicked on it, glanced at it briefly, and then widened my eyes to click on a video contained in one of the entries.

With a "whoosh" sound!
A loud commotion came from the phone's speaker, startling her. She hurriedly turned the volume down.

A voice, tinged with amusement, asked from the side, "What are you looking at?"

Dilraba turned her head away.

The person speaking was Ye Mengxin, the assistant assigned to her by the company.

Although she was her assistant, he actually had far more experience in the industry than a newbie like her. He was not even 30 yet, but he had already worked for several artists. When they first met a few days ago, they chatted for a few minutes, and Dilraba felt that he was a very intelligent person.

When Ye Mengxin asked, she didn't try to hide it and said, "Sister Li, did you know that President Chen is trending on Weibo?"

"Oh?" Ye Mengxin said, "I really didn't know. I went to bed late last night and haven't checked my phone since I woke up this morning. What happened?"

Dilraba said, "Want to take a look together?"

As soon as she said that, in addition to Ye Mengxin, the makeup and styling staff in the back row also crowded around.

The video continues to play.

Although the sound was quieter this time, the atmosphere in the video was still conveyed to everyone watching.

The person everyone was familiar with waved his hat at the audience below, which immediately caused an even bigger wave of excitement.

Those colorful glow sticks reminded Dilraba of a time when she visited Yili, Xinjiang, as a child, and the sight of a swarm of fireflies rising from the dark fields at night, startled by the sight.

The video was short and finished playing quickly.

"Wow, what's this? Whose concert is this?"

"The boss is so handsome."

Makeup artist Zhang Chang and stylist Zhou Jie, two young women, immediately expressed their amazement.

Dilraba explained, "It's an idol group from Japan, AKB48."

"I know, I know," makeup artist Zhou Jie said. "They're incredibly popular in Japan right now. But why would Mr. Chen go to their concert?"

Dilraba glanced at Ye Mengxin and said, "It's said online that President Chen is with a woman named Maeda Atsuko from this group... but that's definitely a rumor, I don't believe it at all."

"what!"

Zhou Jie and Zhang Chang immediately got excited and pulled out their phones to start scrolling.

Wow, really? Three trending topics!

"It's only a few o'clock, they must have been up since the early hours of last night."

"Does anyone in the company know about this? Should they come out and deny it?"

"Definitely not, this looks so fake. Maeda Atsuko? Wow, her look is so ugly. It would be a miracle if President Chen were interested in her."

"I also think this makeup is so tacky, just like what Michelle said, it's so outdated."

"Right, it's the 21st century, why are people still wearing this kind of makeup? Isn't Japanese pop culture supposed to be very advanced?"

"Can anything more advanced be more advanced than Professor Michelle?"

correct.

Starting this year, after revitalizing and expanding its team, senior management has placed particular emphasis on improving the overall quality of its staff. This includes makeup artists and stylists who work with various artists; all must undergo training and guidance from Michelle Williams, the company's Senior Director of Styling and Makeup, before officially starting their jobs.

This makeup artist, the go-to stylist for the male lead in "Twilight," is also a veteran member of the company. These self-taught young women in China practically idolize her, calling her "Teacher Michelle" at the drop of a hat and constantly mentioning her name. They frequently criticize the styling of artists from other companies.

However, Dilraba tried it out the day before yesterday and found that what the two girls made was indeed quite unique.

In short: clean, refreshing, natural, and pleasing to the eye. After looking at them for a while, I feel that the currently popular heavy smoky makeup or exaggerated Japanese and Korean innocent big eye makeup is a bit pretentious, and their techniques are more comfortable and natural.

While Zhou Jie and Zhang Chang were discussing, Ye Mengxin was also watching.

Dilraba asked, "Sister Li, isn't this kind of rumor a bit too much?"

Ye Mengxin didn't say anything, her thumb kept sliding across the phone screen.

Dilraba's heart skipped a beat, and she suddenly felt a little nervous. She tentatively said, "It can't be true, right, Sister Li?"

Ye Mengxin put her phone in her bag, turned around and smiled, "What Maeda Atsuko said was that she was leaving the group to act, not leaving the entertainment industry to become a rich housewife. Besides, how could President Chen possibly date a Japanese person? Impossible. This is all fabricated news by the Japanese media to glorify themselves."

Dilraba felt a sense of relief, but for some reason, she also felt a slight sense of disappointment.

"Dilraba, it's still early. You should get some rest. Today is your first scene, so it'll probably be tiring."

"oh oh."

Although Dilraba didn't understand what it meant, she obediently closed her eyes and pretended to sleep.

Fortunately, she managed to sleep for about twenty minutes on the way, so when the day's filming was finished, Dilraba felt like her legs and face weren't her own anymore, but she managed to hold on and, following Ye Mengxin's instructions, greeted the crew members one by one before leaving.

He greeted the staff along the way, saying "Thank you for your hard work," and then walked to the film's director.

The director's surname is Guo, and Dilraba wasn't familiar with him, having only interacted with him during auditions and script readings. Before filming began, she had heard a lot of gossip and wondered if the director was unprofessional, which made her a little apprehensive. But after a full day of filming, her impression of Director Guo completely changed, and she even felt a bit of admiration for him.

The director may be short in stature, but he has a very broad mind.

There was a scene today where she felt her expressions might not be quite right; if we were to use the term used by someone surnamed Chen who criticized her, it could be described as "expressionless."

But the director not only approved it, but also praised her with a smile, saying that she acted well.

The director's praise boosted her confidence, and as a result, today's filming went surprisingly smoothly. Although she was tired, she managed to complete the task perfectly.

Don't underestimate the importance of "completing the task".

It should be noted that this time, they filmed the first "Tiny Times" movie and the second "Tiny Times: The Age of Green" movie together.

What does that mean?

This means that, according to the director's shooting schedule, from the start of filming in November to before the Spring Festival in February of the following year, the two movies were filmed together in less than three months, with a total of about 3-4 hours of scenes.

This shows how heavy the daily tasks are and how many scenes need to be filmed.

Seriously, no one but a professional could possibly do it like that, and even if they did, they definitely wouldn't be able to finish filming. Dilraba was under a lot of pressure joining such a professional production crew for her first acting role, afraid she wouldn't do a good enough job.

But as the day went by, she actually felt like a fish in water, a weary bird returning to its nest. How could this not be an unexpected joy?

At that moment, Director Guo was still watching the playback on the monitor with someone. When he saw her coming over, he immediately smiled, stood up, looked up and laughed, "What's up? Do you have to clock in before you leave work?"

Dilraba was amused by his words and thought to herself: Are all people from Sichuan this humorous?

She smiled and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Director. I'd like to say thank you before I leave."

Director Guo stood on tiptoe, reached out and patted her shoulder, saying, "Very good acting, keep up the good work tomorrow."

"Thank you, director."

Fortunately, Dilraba reacted quickly, slightly bending her knees so the director could film her. At the same time, she secretly resolved not to wear high heels tomorrow. "Director, these are throat lozenges. This brand is pretty good. You can try them tomorrow."

Director Guo was slightly surprised when he saw the throat lozenges in her hand, but then he took them and said with a smile, "Thank you."

After speaking with the director, she turned to another person sitting next to the monitor and said with a smile, "Sister Mi, thank you for taking care of me today."

Honey Sister must have been filming all day, because her legs were a little sore. She didn't stand up or turn around; she was looking down at her phone and absentmindedly hummed in agreement.

Dilraba didn't care.

Because of her interactions that day, besides witnessing the director's kindness, she also discovered that this big star was actually quite introverted in private. Except when Director Guo spoke to her, she was always the same – just mumbled "uh-huh," "oh," and "hehe" – making her seem a bit difficult to communicate with.

"Honey, this is a drink I just bought."

"No, I'm not thirsty."

Honey refused without even looking up.

Dilraba felt slightly embarrassed; this was the first time she had ever been rejected. She glanced back at Ye Mengxin.

Ye Mengxin winked at her.

Dilraba realized what was happening and said, "Then I'll put it here for you. Director, I'll be going now. Bye-bye, Honey Sister."

After saying that, she left quickly.

After greeting the two most important people in her life, Dilraba breathed a sigh of relief and then went to find the other actors from the drama to greet and say goodbye to them one by one.

After going through the process, it took another ten minutes or so.

When Dilraba got into the car, she felt like her legs didn't belong to her anymore.

The driver started moving, and she was exhausted. She closed her eyes, intending to take a nap in the car.

Suddenly, Ye Mengxin called out, "Brother Xu, stop, wait a minute. Reba, Yang Mi is here, it seems she's looking for you. See what she says. Remember, no matter what she wants from you, don't agree or refuse. If she asks you anything, just say you're new and don't know. Got it?"

Dilraba opened her eyes abruptly and turned her head to look. Sure enough, wasn't this Sister Mi who couldn't even stand up just now?

Wearing high heels, she walked with surprising speed and efficiency. "Oh, I understand!"

……

This time, not only could Sister Honey move her legs again, but she also became more talkative.

After she got out of the car, Sister Mi called her aside and said with a smile, "My legs were hurting and my throat was a little sore just now, so I'm sorry... Reba, you don't mind, do you?"

Dilraba quickly shook her head and said, "I don't mind, I don't mind."

Honey smiled and said, "Thank you for the drink. It's so thoughtful of you. It's rare to see such a sensible newcomer like you. Your company has done a great job nurturing you."

Dilraba was flattered and said, "Thank you, Sister Honey. I still have a lot to learn."

Honey said, "Take your time, there's no rush. You already have a great platform... By the way, are you familiar with your boss, Mr. Chen?"

"Not familiar... familiar... not familiar... familiar, I think it's alright." Dilraba was now completely obedient to Ye Mengxin, keeping her opinion in mind and changing her words several times.

Honey's eyes were fixed on her face, as if judging whether she was telling the truth.

Dilraba forced herself to remain calm.

Well, she wasn't lying. She and Mr. Chen weren't exactly close, but they also had no personal relationship whatsoever. Yet, she almost had him examine her, so it was alright.

Honey said, "Actually, I know that your boss Chen values ​​you a lot. Otherwise, why would he choose you for this role when you've brought in so many new people?"

"..."

"You should know about my relationship with your General Manager Chen, right?"

"Yes, Honey, I know. You are old friends and old classmates."

Honey smiled slightly and said, "Yes, that's right. So I have a question for you. Can you tell me the truth?"

Dilraba was a little confused and said, "Ah, okay."

"I've been very busy today and haven't had a chance to check my phone. I just found out from the news in Japan that your CEO Chen and Liu Yifei actually broke up a long time ago. Are you aware of this?"

Dilraba said, "That's a rumor, Honey."

Honey frowned and said, "Really?"

"Ah."

"Oh." Sister Mi's brows relaxed, and she smiled. "I think so too. It seems that paparazzi are all the same no matter which country they are, all they do is make up stories. Tell your boss, Mr. Chen, to sue them! Haha."

Dilraba smiled twice in agreement.

Honey looked dejected, as if her throat was sore again and her legs were a little weak. She waved her hand, as if she wanted her to leave.

But immediately, Honey's gaze fixed on her face.

Suddenly, a smile slowly returned to her face, and she said in a particularly gentle tone, "Dilraba..."

……

"She asked you to tip her off?"

"Uh," Dilraba hesitated, "No way, Sister Honey just said she wanted to be friends with me."

Ye Mengxin smiled and said, "Reba, you're too naive. I can't speak for others, but this person is worthless; she wouldn't even bother to glance at her. Her purpose in befriending you is to get some information about President Chen through you, so she can make you her mole in the company."

Uh, is that so? Dilraba was taken aback. She knew she wasn't very bright and her emotional intelligence was always low, but she never expected that the usually amiable Sister Mi would mean this.
Ye Mengxin raised the corner of her mouth and said, "You jump to conclusions at the slightest sound. You're dreaming. Alright, Dilraba, you can rest after you remove your makeup. I'll go report to President Li now."

After saying that, Ye Mengxin went out.

Only Dilraba, Zhou Jie, and Zhang Chang remained in the room, and the two girls were helping her remove her makeup.

Suddenly, Zhou Jie said, "It would be great if President Chen really became single again."

Zhang Chang was startled and said, "What are you saying? Are you crazy!"

Zhou Jie said, "Anyway, there are no outsiders here, a little gossip won't kill us."

Zhang Chang said, "But..."

"It's alright." Zhou Jie looked in the mirror and smiled, "Dilraba, don't you think so?"

Dilraba was taken aback for a moment.

My mind involuntarily conjured up that scene.

He nodded as if possessed.

After she nodded, neither Zhou Jie nor Zhang Chang brought up the topic again, but they seemed to feel even closer to her.

After removing her makeup, Zhou Jie was leaving the house when she suddenly slapped her forehead, as if she had remembered something. She turned around and said, "Oh right, Reba, Sister Bingbing asked me to pass on a message that she would like to invite you to dinner when you have a few days off."

Sister Binbing? Fan Binbing?
why?
Dilraba nodded blankly.

……

……

"...Aunt Liu, you actually believe this kind of news? That Maeda Atsuko or the dishwasher or something, I've never heard of those names before, they have nothing to do with me. You've been in Japan for so long, how can you believe such rumors?"

"...What's that sound?? There's no sound... Oh, you mean the sound of water? Uh, it's raining here."

“Aunt Liu, I know you’re not skipping work. I didn’t blame you for not seeing you when I came to Japan. Xixi is currently filming very well, and I completely understand why you should go there to accompany and take care of her.”

"...Anyway, don't worry. Just stay with Sisi. I've already arranged things in Japan. It's all in the preparation stage now. I've already explained everything to Eri. She knows what to do and won't cause any problems."

"...Okay, please say hello to Xixi for me. Never mind, you don't need to ask her. I asked Professor Li, and he said that her current state is very rare, she's in the state of filming a long movie. If she can finish filming this movie well, her acting skills will probably reach a new level. Who knows, she might even bring you back an award for Best Actress, haha."

"OK, OK, bye-bye."

After rambling on for a while, they finally hung up the phone.

Chen Nuo put his phone in his pocket, then put the other items back in his crotch, before coming out of the bathroom. He washed his hands, tidied himself up in front of the mirror, and then went outside.

Alison and Gulnazar were both waiting for him at the bathroom door.

Allison said, "Chen, is something wrong? I heard you on the phone inside, and you seemed a little troubled?"

Chen Nuo laughed and shook his head, saying, "It's nothing. It was just a news story from a few days ago. An elder of mine only just saw it now, so he called to check on me."

"Oh, that's good. I was worried that..."

"The general election, right?"

“That’s right. There are still a few days left, and people from both parties are going crazy. James has told me several times that the Democrats want you to campaign for them. I’ve received a lot of calls from them myself, and although I’ve declined many times, they don’t seem to be giving up. I’m worried they’ll call you. Especially Obama.”

"Probably not. He's busy right now, why would he bother with me?"

"Hehe, Chen, it's hard to say. There are a lot of rumors circulating outside."

Chen Nuo gave a wry smile. "What you're saying is making me scared. Actually, I have some friends who want me to appear at the Republican Party meeting. To be honest, Alison, I swore I wouldn't come to the US before the 8th. But I still came."

Allison said, "It's okay, just attend today's premiere, then you can find somewhere to hide until after the election. By the way, I think we could... Montana... it's a fantastic place... the news only came out in the last couple of days, and there are already several buyers..."

"It's alright, we can go there ourselves."

"is that useful?"

"Haha, you'll see when the time comes."

"OK."

"Okay, let's go."

Chen Nuo nodded, straightened his collar, turned to Gulnazar and smiled, "How do I look? I just looked in the mirror and I feel like I've lost a lot of weight. My clothes are almost too big for me. What do you think?"

Gulnazar looked him up and down, and under Alison's meaningful gaze, she smiled and chuckled, "No, boss, I still think you're the most handsome man in the world."

Chen Nuo laughed heartily, gave a thumbs up, and said, "The Magic Mirror has good taste."

After saying that, he strode out of the hotel, accompanied by two women.

Further out, the hotel manager and waiters were waiting for him. As soon as they came out, they greeted them and led the way.

It wasn't the Hilton, but the lobby of the even more opulent Aman Hotel was bathed in the glow of the crystal chandelier, making him appear as if he were surrounded by a halo.

At the hotel entrance, a gleaming stretch Lincoln, sent by the Cloud Atlas film crew, was already waiting to pick him up.

As he walked along, everyone around him, whether they were guests chatting or waiters working quietly, subconsciously stopped what they were doing, either following him with their eyes or taking out their phones to look at him.

If being an actor is about moving from one film crew to another, then being a star is about walking from one red carpet to another, from one gaze to another.

Chen Nuo is used to it now. As long as these people are holding cell phones instead of guns, he can pretend they don't exist when they're showing their faces in public.

As he walked through the gleaming revolving door, a doorman in a tuxedo and white gloves stood by the rear door of the Lincoln and opened the door for him as he passed.

As Chen Nuo walked over and was about to get into the car, he suddenly remembered something and turned back to ask, "If a reporter on the red carpet asks me whether I support Romney or Obama, what's the best thing to say?"

Allison paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "Don't mention Obama or Romney. Just say you're Chinese and you don't know."

(End of this chapter)