Chapter 43
Being Her Stand-in
Upon seeing the genuine delight that spread across the crown prince’s face, Chi Su figured this was too good a chance to miss…
He mustered his courage and posed the question. “Crown Prince, about that raise…”
Mo Nianchen suddenly darted his eyes at the man.
The latter instantly felt a shiver run down his spine. ‘Sorry, Crown Prince, I’m demanding too much. Please forgive me. I’ll take my leave right away…’ he thought to himself.
Just as he took his first step toward the door, Mo Nianchen’s eyes twinkled with brilliance.
“Sure, anyone who’s involved gets a raise!” he said.
For a split second, Chi Su thought he heard the man wrongly but quickly recovered to show his appreciation. “Thank you Crown Prince! Thank you!”
How exciting! The crown prince became kinder ever since getting together with the crown princess. He was definitely gentler and more generous from inside out!
The Crown Prince finally met his true love. The assistant reckoned things were going to be better for him as well!
He hoped the crown princess would encounter more troubles in the future so he would have more opportunities for a salary raise!
*
On the other side, Li Shengxia was rushing toward the studio with her prize.
A look of disbelief washed over Gina’s face upon seeing the woman’s return.
“Gina, this is the pair of heels you want. Come on, try it on.” Then, Li Shengxia lowered to the ground to help the other woman into her heels.
It was the exact same one!
Gina was unsure of how to react.
How was this possible? Was this not a limited edition?
A frown formed between her eyebrows as she was not used to Li Shengxia being attentive to her. “What the hell are you doing?”
“I’m sincerely inviting you to be my model!” she replied earnestly.
Gina sized her up and down as if considering the reliability of those words.
Right that instant, someone came calling for her –
“Miss Gina to the scene –”
“Coming,” she replied flatly. As if suddenly remembering something, she turned to face Li Shengxia with an enigmatic smile on her face. “I’ll consider being your model but you’ll have to be my stand-in for today’s shoot.”
“Being your stand-in?” The other woman was baffled at the unexpected request.
Gina raised an eyebrow at her. “I’ll consider your suggestion if you’re willing to be my stand-in for today.”
Li Shengxia knew this would not be an easy task just from the sound of it.
However, she could only agree as Gina promised to reconsider the offer. She had already come this far anyway and did not want to go home empty-handed.
She nodded upon thinking about this. “Sure, I’ll do it!”
The agent glanced at her in surprise.
Gina wanted her to be the stand-in? All the takes she did on this scene had been rejected so far. Could Li Shengxia pull it off?
The former’s lips twitched into a mysterious smile as she headed toward the filming scene.
“Gina’s here. Everyone on standby.”
The crew positioned themselves when they noticed the star approaching.
Gina, on the other hand, walked toward the director and whispered in his ear, “This woman will be my stand-in for the scene where she jumps into the dirty clothes.”
Director Cheng, who was only twenty-seven this year had already made a name for himself in the film industry. No one questioned the professional quality of his work.
He was a handsome man with an outstanding temperament. The artistic genius could earn a living based on his exceptional appearance but stubbornly chose to stay in this specialty instead.
The man brimming with talent was also a perfectionist. His overly nit-picky attitude striving for perfection in every scene was to the point that it was demanding.
The director looked Li Shengxia up and down. “Is she a professional?”
Gina replied with a smile, “Don’t worry about that, as she’s better than I am. Besides, she volunteered to be my stand-in. Ask her if you don’t believe me.”
She said aloud at the other woman, “Can you do it?”
The latter nodded right away. “No problem!”
The director signaled for her to get ready.
Soon, Li Shengxia reappeared in a filthy outfit, even her bare arms were covered with dirty stains. All she needed to do was dash toward the water and dive in headfirst.
Therefore, the location was set on the outdoor lake to bring out the concept of nature.
Although the weather in early October was not freezing, jumping into the water would still chill someone to the bone. Gina had to call for a break after two tries this morning but the director insisted to finish the scene by the end of today.
“Action!” The director’s voice rang in the air.
Immediately, Li Shengxia rushed to the lake and dived into the water.
The icy cold water made her shiver uncontrollably and she finally poked her head out of the water after some time. It was piercing cold indeed that even her hair was protesting!
The agent delivered a towel to her when she swam to the shore. Before she had the chance to dry herself, the director instructed, “Your movements were too tense earlier and that failed to bring out the aesthetic of the scene. Dry your hair immediately and start again!”
She trembled. The first try took courage but the second try would be a test of her endurance.
“Why are you still standing there? Hurry up!” The director was known for his perfectionism thus no one dared to go against him.
Gina was casually sipping on her coffee by the side as she enjoyed watching Li Shengxia suffer. “What’s wrong? Giving up already?”
“No, I can do this!” She refused the agent’s kindness, dried her hair quickly and returned to the starting position.
The agent could not help thinking Li Shengxia looked rather similar to Gina. For reasons unknown, however, she thought Li Shengxia looked prettier in comparison. Her looks would definitely trump Gina’s after a makeover.
“Action!”
She tried to run as gracefully as she could be this time, in hopes of giving the best outcome. By the time she reached the lakeside, she jumped in once again without hesitation.
The director’s comment came right after that, “The running is better this time but you have to jump into the water faster! Let’s take it from the top one more time.”
The woman surfaced out of the water, drenched. Her whole body began shivering but she had to follow the order. As expected, being Gina’s “stand-in” was not an easy task.
Simultaneously, Gina was relaxing under the parasol with her coffee. She was thoroughly enjoying watching the other woman trying stubbornly to please her.
“Jump!” the director ordered.
Without hesitation, she did as she was told. She preferred doing it quicker so she would have to spend less time in the cold.
The fussy director was not satisfied. His brows furrowed as he criticized the woman, “No, not enough. Your body is too tense! Soften up! One more time!”
Again, and again, and again. Time flew by as the director’s criticism rang in the air incessantly.
“Cut!”
“Cut!”
“Cut!”