Ning Ran grabbed Ye Mengâs hand. âStop it!â
âDonât stop me. I must teach this b**** a lesson today!â Ye Meng shrieked, yanking her hand out of Ning Ranâs grip.
âThis is too much!â Ning Ran shouted in anger.
âSo what? What can you do to me? You b****!â
Ye Meng raised her hand, attempting to slap Cheng Xiangyun again.
Slap!
However, a loud slap landed on her own face.
Ning Ran couldnât stand it anymore and finally made a move.
âHow⦠How dare you slap me?â
Ye Mengâs vicious face was suddenly replaced by a pitiable expression.
In the next second, tears started trickling down her cheeks.
Her reaction stunned Ning Ran. No wonder sheâs a female superstar. Her acting skill is indeed impressive.
âMs. Ye, can we start now?â
Just then, the director came in. He was shocked when he saw Ye Meng crying. âWhatâs going on?â
âThat woman hit her!â Ye Mengâs assistant pointed at Ning Ran.
In disbelief, the director turned to stare at Ning Ran with widened eyes.
Itâs already shocking that a newbie like her can join Channingâs commercial shoot. Now that sheâs here for the shooting, she even hit Ms. Ye! Is she crazy? How could she beat a superstar like Ms. Ye?
âSheâs the one who started it! Look, she hit me till my nose bled,â Cheng Xiangyun quickly explained.
The director shot a glance at Cheng Xiangyun.
Her nose is really bleeding. Was the fight that bad? How did they get into a fight when they have just met one another? Do they have grudges against each other? Anyway, Iâm only a director, so I shouldnât comment about it in front of these big shots. After all, I donât have a say in their personal affairs.
âLet bygones be bygones. Fate has brought us together for the commercial shoot, so try to respect and get along with each other,â the director advised them with a smile.
âI had no intention to stir up trouble, but she slapped me. Does she have a prominent background or what? How could she just hit me like that? Itâs getting harder to be in the show business. Even a newbie is arrogant enough to get physical with me!â
After saying that, Ye Meng wept louder.
Ning Ran was baffled.
Is she that fragile that sheâll cry whenever she has a conflict with someone? Just a few minutes ago, she was so haughty and overbearing when she slapped Cheng Xiangyun, behaving like a ferocious barbarian. But now she turns into a delicate woman. What a surprising change.
âMs. Ye, please donât cry. Touch up your makeup. Weâre going to start shooting soon,â the director comforted her.
âI canât work with her. Iâm afraid that sheâll hurt me again. Go ahead with the shooting. Iâll come tomorrow or, better yet, call me when she is done shooting, then Iâll come over,â Ye Meng said.
The director was dumbstruck by her words. Oh no⦠Ms. Ye wants to leave. The top management has arranged for them to do the shoot together. And I have other commercials to shoot after this. What should I do?
âMs. Ye, I donât think this is a good idea. Your schedule is full, so Iâm afraid youâll have no time to spare if you donât stay for the shoot today,â the director hurriedly persuaded her.
âFine then. I donât mind quitting this. Iâve many other commercials, and this one is nothing to me.â
Standing up, Ye Meng stormed out of the dressing room.
The director turned to look at Ning Ran. âMs. Ding, youâre too impulsive. Youâve provoked Ms. Ye so much that she left, and that messed up the shooting schedule. In case the management holds us accountable for this, youâll have to give them an explanation. Iâm not taking the blame.â
âThis woman is unreasonable! She was the one who picked a fight with us, refusing to stop slapping even after my friend started bleeding. I had no choice but to slap her back,â A wave of indignation burned in Ning Ranâs chest.
âBut Ms. Ye has left. What should we do now? Why donât you apologize and ask her to stay for the shooting?â the director suggested.
âNo way! Why should we apologize to her? She slapped me first!â Cheng Xiangyun said furiously.
Ning Ran mulled over the entire incident again.
Something seems wrong. Obviously, Ye Meng stirred up trouble deliberately, but she played the victim after that. That means she didnât want to shoot for this commercial from the beginning itself. Yet, she put all the blame on me after the fight. Now everyone thinks that Iâm the uncivilized budding actress who slapped her when sheâs the one who started the fight. Iâll have to take the fall if anyone pursues this matter. Fine, if my apology can solve this issue, Iâll bear with it.
âOkay, Iâll talk to her,â Ning Ran agreed.
After all, this was her first commercial. Therefore, she wanted everything to go smoothly as planned, and to not make a fuss.
âWe did nothing wrong. Why should we say sorry?â Cheng Xiangyun protested.
âItâs alright, Iâll bear with it. Iâm sorry for what youâve gone through. Wait for me here, Iâll be back in a while.â Ning Ran patted her shoulder.
Walking out of the dressing room, she realized that Ye Meng was still around.
The woman was standing in a corner, whispering something to her assistant. The moment she saw Ning Ran, she stopped talking and turned her head to the other side.
Immediately, Ning Ran had a gut feeling that Ye Meng knew she was going to come after her, so she waited here on purpose.
âCan I have a word with you, Ms. Ye?â Ning Ran asked.
âWhat do you want to talk about? Are you trying to hit me again?â Ye Meng plastered on a fearful expression.
âIâve acted too impulsively. Still, you canât scold my friend, let alone slap her multiple times!â Ning Ran reprimanded.
âSo youâre here to condemn me?â Ye Meng asked in a cold tone.
âNo, what I mean is that if youâre still mad about it, slap me to vent your rage. Then we can continue shooting,â Ning Ran suggested.
âI dare not slap you. I canât afford to offend someone as fierce as you,â Ye Meng replied sarcastically.
âThe truth is that youâre more aggressive than anyone of us. But why are you acting weak and pitiful now? What are you trying to do? Iâm truly in awe of your acting skill.â
âI want you to quit the jewelry commercial shoot and let me take over. You can go for the fashion shoot.â Ye Meng finally revealed her hidden agenda.
âThatâs not up to me. You can discuss this with the investors yourself. Iâm fine with quitting if they agree to it,â Ning Ran refuted her.
âDidnât you get me? I want you to quit out of your own accord. Only then theyâll let me do the shooting.
Just tell them your demeanor isnât suitable for jewelry commercials, but youâre willing to shoot fashion commercials.â
I see. So this is her real intention. She finally made herself clear.
âI wonât do that. This is the companyâs arrangement, so I have no right to quit just like that,â Ning Ran insisted.
âItâs pointless to talk then. Scram!â
âMs. Ye, weâve just met for the first time today, and I donât hold any grudge against you. I sincerely want to work with you to get todayâs work done.â Ning Ran tried to convince her again.
âQuit, and weâll talk. If you donât, thereâs nothing left to talk about. Now get lost!â
Letting out a sigh, Ning Ran said conclusively, âIâve tried my best to make you stay. Thereâs nothing else I can do if you insist on leaving.â
âGo away!â
Right then, the director came out of the room to persuade Ye Meng. However, she pointed right at him and gestured him to shut up.
The director felt piqued and gave up.
As a commercial director, making peace isnât part of my job scope.
Next Chapter q