Caught in Affairs with Superstar

Chapter 267: Chapter 229: Rising Phase: 65

”Sister Xiao Yun, your performance just now was amazing! I could totally empathize while watching you,” Zheng Xiaojue admiringly said to Zhou Yun with starry eyes, clearly in awe of Zhou Yun’s recent act.

”Do you really think I performed well?” Zhou Yun asked.

”Really! Not just me, everyone was shocked by your performance,” Zheng Xiaojue replied. ”I even heard the cameraman quietly praising you as awesome.”

Zhou Yun smiled happily and said, ”I really enjoyed acting it out myself.”

Zheng Xiaojue exclaimed, ”It’s really amazing, Sister Xiao Yun, you haven’t even taken any acting training classes, how can you perform so well?”

”Mr. Lei once told me something; an actor actually does three things: first, go all out; second, forget oneself; and third, become someone else,” Zhou Yun explained. ”Just immerse yourself completely in the situation and react as authentically as possible, and that’s enough.”

Zheng Xiaojue nodded and said, ”Sister Xiao Yun, you can definitely win Best Actress.”

”I hope so too, but it’s quite challenging; there are many talented actresses,” Zhou Yun sighed deeply, ”No idea when that hope will ever come true.”

Zheng Xiaojue said, ”You definitely can.”

Her utterly confident expression genuinely believed that Zhou Yun would surely stand on that award podium.

After staying in the break room for a while, suddenly, Director Cong knocked on the door and entered her lounge.

”Director Cong, are you looking for me?” Zhou Yun stood up immediately.

Director Cong gestured with his hand, signaling her to sit down and not be so formal.

”Your performance has been improving over the last two days, as if divinely inspired,” Director Cong started with a compliment.

Zhou Yun felt a bit embarrassed; even if she felt happy inside, her muscles would still habitually become shy in response to the director’s praise.

”Thank you, Director,” Zhou Yun said. ”I think I still have a lot of room for improvement.”

Director Cong is no longer young, and his face shows signs of fatigue from long hours of intense work, but his eyes are still gentle with a kind elder’s warmth.

Such a gaze could calm people down.

”Recently your online rift with Xu Siyao has been quite heated. Has it affected your mood?” asked Director Cong.

Zhou Yun shook her head and said, ”Not really, no.”

Director Cong remarked, ”Xu Siyao is a young girl; everything shows on her face, which is quite similar to the character Wan Yu.”

”Director Cong, I am also a young girl,” said Zhou Yun with a slight coquettish tone.

Director Cong casually revealed a warm smile and said, ”You are a young girl, but you are too composed, which might make people forget that you are a young girl. That’s why this time, you’ve left many people feeling bewildered.”

”Director Cong, I just want to act well. After finishing the filming, I plan to leave the crew,” Zhou Yun sighed lightly. ”But it seems not so easy to just mind my own business.”

”There is no such thing as minding only your own business,” Director Cong said. ”When I was young, I had similar thoughts like yours, but later I gradually realized, such ideas are only young people’s thoughts. It’s not possible to isolate oneself, whether in the crew, the company, or in familial relationships, you are tangled in countless interpersonal and social connections; you have a lot to manage unless you completely disconnect from the outside world.”

Zhou Yun smiled.

”I’ve had another lesson.”

”With the current state between you and Xu Siyao, it actually benefits the characters you two are playing, but later on, Zhang Hua and Wan Yu are supposed to become friends. You can act as enemies, but can you portray good friends?” asked Director Cong.

Zhou Yun thought for a moment and said, ”I’ll try not to let my subjective emotions interfere.”

”Not just you,” added Director Cong.

Zhou Yun remained silent.

Director Cong said, ”For ’Dingfengbo’, up to now, I’m relatively satisfied with it myself. The script is well-written and obviously refined. My biggest fear is having actors who don’t understand drama ruin it. I thought it was going to be ruined, but fortunately, you all are capable young actors, so I felt it would be a pity to let a good play go to waste.”

”Director, I understand what you mean.”

Director Cong continued, ”I’m neither you nor her. Just as a director, I want to put in my two cents. Whether you take this to heart is up to you. Xu Siyao and I have said the same; ultimately, it’s your own business.”

Zhou Yun remained silent once more.

”You should rest first.”

Director Cong left.

Nothing in the world is more important than the play.

After a moment of struggle, Zhou Yun couldn’t overcome her conscience and walked to Xu Siyao’s dressing room.

She knocked on the door.

”Who is it?” Xu Siyao’s impatient voice came from behind the door.

Even through the door, the irritation in Xu Siyao’s words was palpable.

”It’s me,” Zhou Yun spoke.

A few seconds of silence followed from inside, with a dragging sound and then footsteps.

Xu Siyao’s face appeared from behind the opened door, filled with wariness, distancing, disgust—emotions clearly written all over it.

Zhou Yun said, ”Regardless, you are a professional actress, right?”

Xu Siyao lifted her chin and curled her lip, ”I attended an acting school for four years, what about you?”

”Since you’re a professional actress, no matter what, keep acting as you should. If the play is good, we both benefit. If not, both of us lose face. What do you think?” Zhou Yun asked.

”What do you think?” Xu Siyao looked at Zhou Yun contemptuously, ”You think I will quit? Keep dreaming. I’m telling you, I absolutely won’t submit to your oppression. Don’t think by doing this and having everyone scorn me, that I will be driven away.”

Zhou Yun said, ”I don’t know why you’re so hostile towards me.”

”Of course, you don’t know,” Xu Siyao slammed the door shut.

The door slam hit Zhou Yun like a gust of wind, igniting a fire in her heart.

No chance for communication, to hell with it.

Zhou Yun stopped trying to keep the peace. The situation couldn’t be calmed, nor could the people. She could only be true to herself.

However, inexplicably, over the next few days, Xu Siyao stopped provoking Zhou Yun altogether. She would act when there was a scene, and stay in her dressing room when there wasn’t, no longer picking and choosing outside, causing trouble.

The trouble with ’Dingfengbo’ shifted, and the tense atmosphere among the actors seemed to have dissipated like it was blown away by the wind.

In comparison, the occasional leaves taken by Li Ci, Zhou Yun, and Xu Siyao seemed minor.

The condemnation of Xu Siyao online gradually cooled down, while Zhou Yun’s haters continued to be active. Luckily, Zhou Lan was always monitoring the sentiments online, keeping everything within bounds.

The buzz that dominated the first half of the year involving Song Chi, Zhou Yun, and Xu Siyao gradually subsided online, crawling into obscurity for the time being.

As summer arrived, heatwaves rolled in.

That day, Zhou Yun received invitations from both Chen Ting and Ren Sumin for a private dinner each, scheduled for June 20th, asking her to attend.