Chapter 25: The Director’s Proposition

It took Jiang Wenting and Beiye over half an hour to calm Yi Lan down.
Xiao Ru was swearing nonstop, and when they got to the underground parking lot, she was still incessantly cursing.
After finishing, she glanced at Jiang Wenting: “She’s fully recovered now, when are you planning to send her away?”

Jiang Wenting subconsciously retorted: “She’s not fully recovered yet, is she?
The doctor said she still needs three to five days before discharge.”

The other party immediately bristled, almost leaping out of the driver’s seat: “What three to five days?
The doctor said that yesterday, and today is already the third day!
Jiang Wenting, don’t tell me you don’t want to send her away!”

Jiang Wenting pointed forward, indicating: “You’re driving, babe, don’t be so startled!”

Xiao Ru glared at her with wide almond eyes, but ultimately, that “babe” suppressed her emotions.
Her tone softened slightly: “Jiang Wenting, you promised me that once she got a little better, you’d return her to the director!”

Jiang Wenting was silent for a moment, then slowly uttered two words: “I will.”

The plateau sickness in the Northwest was extremely severe.
She couldn’t possibly take Yi Lan, who had heart problems, to such an environment.
Moreover, the film crew operated in a completely enclosed setting, and filming conditions were harsh.
Even if she found a way to bring Yi Lan along, it would only be suffering.

Xiao Ru saw her thoughts drifting and gently said to her: “Jiang Wenting, everyone has their own destiny.
You’ve already done more than enough!”

“I know,” Jiang Wenting smiled faintly, her gentle tone attempting to change the subject, “I wonder what kind of person Teacher Zhou, whom we’re meeting next, is.
Will she be easy to get along with?
I’m a little nervous.”

Xiao Ru quickly searched her mind for information about Zhou Jing.
She was a legend in the Chinese film industry, whose works were internationally oriented.
It was said that she demanded extremely high standards from actors.
Shen Jinglan’s peak work came from her hands.
But as for what kind of person she was, Xiao Ru hadn’t looked into it.

The genre of the upcoming film had not been revealed either.
Thinking of this, Xiao Ru couldn’t help but feel nervous for Jiang Wenting.

Jiang Wenting noticed her eyebrows slightly furrowed and quickly tried to reassure her: “It’s okay, Xiao Ru.
Your Sister Jiang here is also a big star who has acted in countless plays.
It’s just a meal and an audition, right?
Believe me, I can handle it!”

Though she said this, she couldn’t help but feel nervous.
However, this nervousness seemed less intense than what she used to feel during every audition.
Before, she was very utilitarian, craving to be chosen for every good script, but now…

She knew the path ahead required sufficient strength, yet she couldn’t help but think of the person in the ward.

The highway was clear.
The two took turns driving.
Seven hours later, the car pulled into the underground parking lot of Yunqiao Restaurant.
Shen Jinglan was already waiting upstairs.
Soon after Jiang Wenting went up, Zhou Jing also arrived.

The other party was seven or eight years older than Shen Jinglan, wearing a shirt and a hip-hugging skirt, with gold-rimmed glasses perched on her nose, giving her an air of refined, debauched sexiness and charm.

She walked in on high heels, her foxy eyes slightly slanted, her gaze sweeping past Shen Jinglan, then she waved and greeted Jiang Wenting: “Hi!”

Jiang Wenting stood up: “Hello, Teacher Zhou!”

Zhou Jing smiled, a dimple gracing her right cheek.
Paired with her flowing gaze, it added a touch of indefinable allure to her smile.

Shen Jinglan also stood up, pointing to the opposite seat: “Teacher Zhou, you must be tired from your journey.
Please have a seat!”

Zhou Jing turned and walked over.
As she passed Shen Jinglan, she patted her shoulder: “After not acting for so long, our CEO Shen’s demeanor feels even colder than before.”

Shen Jinglan was expressionless: “Mm.”

Zhou Jing smiled, leaning in to whisper in her ear: “Your wife is quite pretty, congratulations!”

Shen Jinglan instinctively pulled away: “Thank you.”

A conversation that couldn’t withstand any ripples.
Zhou Jing sat down in the main seat opposite, adjusted her gold-rimmed glasses, and winked at Jiang Wenting: “CEO Shen is so boring, don’t you agree, student Jiang?”

Jiang Wenting didn’t speak, but her beautiful peach blossom eyes curved downwards as a response.

Before coming, she had imagined countless personas for this renowned female director, but she had never anticipated such an image.

Shen Jinglan saw that everyone had arrived and signaled the waiter to start serving dishes.
Zhou Jing half-leaned on the dining table, resting her chin on one hand, her gaze fixed on Jiang Wenting.

Jiang Wenting felt uncomfortable under her scrutiny, yet maintained her composure.

The other party scrutinized her for a full minute, turning her over and over, before finally retracting her gaze, saying approvingly: “Good!
A promising talent!”

When she spoke, the dimple remained at the corner of her lips, making it hard to tell if her satisfaction was genuine or merely perfunctory.

Jiang Wenting smiled cooperatively.
Shen Jinglan cut straight to the chase: “Can she act?”

Zhou Jing picked up the water glass in front of her, took a small sip, and slowly nodded: “She can.”

Jiang Wenting’s suspended heart relaxed slightly.
Then she heard the other party’s slowly drawn-out final syllable: “However, have you ever worked on a werewolf character before?”

“No,” Jiang Wenting replied truthfully.

Zhou Jing smiled: “Quite honest.”

She didn’t tease her further.
Taking a sip of water, she returned to the main topic: “Right, before coming, you’ve done some good female-themed works, but this time, the genre… the character you’re playing is a werewolf, which is quite demanding on acting skills.”

When Zhou Jing talked about the script, her image as a refined degenerate completely vanished.

Werewolf-themed films are currently rare in China, not to mention that the one they were about to shoot was a dual-female lead redemption story.
In it, Jiang Wenting played a female wolf-human who was raised by wolves then driven out of their territory.
She was on the verge of death in the snow and ice when she was rescued by another female lead.

The female lead took her home, bandaged her wounds, and meticulously taught her using a dog training manual, helping her shed her beastly habits.
No matter how many times the female wolf-human resisted or hurt her, the female lead always treated her gently.

Later, the female wolf-human recognized her as her master, staying by her side, never leaving.

But good times didn’t last long.
The female lead’s true identity was actually a discarded woman betrayed by her family.
At that time, to escape an arranged marriage, she fled to this desolate mountain.
However, her fiancé’s family was incredibly powerful, and it wasn’t long before they located her hiding place.

At that time, the female lead and the female wolf-human had already developed feelings for each other.
The fiancé’s family used this to threaten the female lead.
To protect the female wolf-human, the female lead painfully drove her away, while she herself returned to the city with those humans.

The female wolf-human, abandoned time and again, was heartbroken.
She returned to the wolf pack’s territory with the wisdom the female lead had taught her, becoming the alpha wolf.
At the same time, she constantly tracked the female lead’s footsteps using the wolves’ keen sense of smell.

On the day of the female lead’s wedding, she brought her pack of wolves to battle at the scene, snatching the female lead away.
She and the wolf pack were then besieged by human forces, a truly brutal scene.
In the nick of time, the female lead took a bullet for the female wolf-human.

Finally, the female wolf-human carried the female lead’s corpse away from the scene amidst the encirclement, bearing severe injuries herself.
She fled far into the snowy mountains with the female lead on her back.
She tearfully kissed the female lead’s cold cheek, licking away the bloodstains bit by bit.
Then, she pulled out a wolf bone from her own body and buried it with the female lead.

She herself, to protect the wolf pack, went alone to face the human pursuit.

The ending was: the wolf pack was safe, but the female wolf-human and the female lead had a tragic ending.

After Zhou Jing finished describing the general plot, Shen Jinglan slightly lowered her gaze, then spoke after half a second: “She is not suitable to play the werewolf.”

Their eyes met.
Zhou Jing immediately reacted: “Oh, right, she’s more suitable to play the female lead!”

Jiang Wenting’s gentle and resolute image, wasn’t that exactly like the female lead in the script!

“Then who will play the werewolf?” After settling on the role, Zhou Jing suddenly realized a very important question.
She looked at Shen Jinglan: “CEO Shen?”

Shen Jinglan shook her head: “No time.
The company has too much going on.”

Zhou Jing again displayed that inherent laid-back charm, patiently trying to persuade her: “Please, CEO Shen~”

“Seriously, no time!” Shen Jinglan refused again, her tone leaving no room for doubt, “However, there is someone…”

She hesitated, then swallowed the words she hadn’t spoken.

Zhou Jing caught a fleeting spark in Shen Jinglan’s eyes, instantly piquing her curiosity to the extreme.
She rolled up the sleeves of her shirt on both sides, looking determined: “Who?
I’ll go invite them.
No matter what their status, as long as they can act, I’ll even tie them up and bring them here!”

Jiang Wenting: …

Zhou Jing was someone who truly valued talent.
Her entire life’s energy was poured into art.
If there was a suitable role, she might actually do something like kidnapping, she really meant it.

Shen Jinglan, however, didn’t give her the chance for kidnapping.
She said faintly: “Let’s keep looking!”

Zhou Jing wanted to press further, but Beiye’s phone rang.
She stood up: “I’m going to the restroom.”

After speaking, she took her phone and answered the call.
Only Jiang Wenting and Zhou Jing remained at the dining table.
Zhou Jing was still unwilling to give up, narrowing her eyes and smiling at Jiang Wenting: “Ting Bao, do you know who CEO Shen was talking about?”

Jiang Wenting thought seriously for a moment: “I don’t know.”

Zhou Jing: …

She genuinely didn’t know.
In the current entertainment industry, besides Shen Jinglan, which other female star could handle a role like the werewolf?

Soon after, Shen Jinglan returned from her call.
Zhou Jing saw her sit down and immediately became overly attentive, serving her dishes and pouring her tea and water.
Jiang Wenting witnessed all of this, inexplicably impressed.

Shen Jinglan, however, remained impervious: “Teacher Zhou, you don’t need to try so hard with me.
It’s really not suitable.
Aside from professionalism, my body simply can’t handle it.”

Jiang Wenting froze upon hearing the latter half of the sentence.
She turned her head to look at the person beside her.

Their gazes met briefly.
Shen Jinglan’s expression was normal, but Jiang Wenting vaguely guessed the “suitable candidate” she had in mind.

Seeing that Shen Jinglan truly didn’t intend to recommend her, Zhou Jing reluctantly set it aside: “Alright then, if CEO Shen has a suitable candidate, you must recommend them to me!”

Shen Jinglan: “Mm.”

After the three finished discussing the script and came out, it was already pitch black.
Zhou Jing said goodbye and left first.
Jiang Wenting looked at Shen Jinglan, unable to resist asking: “Lan Jie, that suitable candidate you just mentioned, was it Yi Lan?”

Shen Jinglan nodded: “I just thought of her for a moment.
I feel like you two would make a very suitable CP.
But her heart isn’t well, and you probably wouldn’t be willing, right?”

Jiang Wenting: …

What did she mean, “she wouldn’t be willing”?