CEO's Sweetheart is a Super Idol-Chapter 41 - 39: Wolves All Around

Three days after the urgent casting notice, Ye Yuwei joined the crew.

Originally, she thought Xia Jin would be there, but it turned out he was off shooting an advertisement.

Today’s first scene was with Zhou Xue, an experienced veteran actor.

Smack!

Ye Yuwei instantly felt the world spinning, her vision filled with stars.

Her delicate white face immediately swelled up.

Although she had mentally prepared herself for the "fight scene," she hadn’t expected the other person to strike so ruthlessly.

This was already beyond the scope of acting. The sharp pain caused Ye Yuwei to instinctively cover her face, completely forgetting the lines she had rehearsed.

"Director, where did you find this amateur? She can’t even deliver her lines properly." Zhou Xue, who was old enough to be Ye Yuwei’s mother, stood tall with an air of arrogance, her face full of disdain.

"Stop, this scene is a nightmare to shoot. They shoved this useless little idol into my film." The director behind the monitors erupted in fury.

This wasn’t the director who initially oversaw casting, Director Zhou, but another replacement director.

Almost disfigured from being hit, Ye Yuwei realized the surrounding photographers, crew members, and staff were all giving her cold, mocking looks.

"I’m sorry, I’m sorry. It’s my fault..." Ye Yuwei suppressed her grievances, bowed deeply, and apologized to everyone. She had no choice—if she wanted to rise, she had to endure it.

Because Ye Yuwei’s face was injured, today’s shoot was scrapped.

As the deeply wronged Ye Yuwei returned to her hotel, Xia Jin was at another filming site watching the video of her being hit.

A schadenfreude-filled smile appeared on Xia Jin’s face, one known for its stunning beauty.

"Ye Yuwei, don’t think that having someone backing you means you’ll get all the good resources in the company. The entertainment industry isn’t that easy to navigate," Xia Jin said smugly.

After turning off the video, Xia Jin dialed a number: "Yuwei, I heard you were injured."

"I wasn’t injured. It was just during the scene and Sister Zhou didn’t control her strength well." Ye Yuwei didn’t want Xia Jin to think poorly of her. Though she knew Zhou Xue had done it intentionally, she couldn’t say that out loud.

"Yuwei, you’re still too kind. You’re oversimplifying things," Xia Jin said, her voice carrying a trace of helplessness. "Your role originally belonged to a friend’s daughter of Zhou Xue."

"So she’s retaliating against me?"

"What do you think?"

"Xiao Ju Jie, what should I do? I have quite a few scenes opposite her." Ye Yuwei felt a mix of fear and urgency.

"Zhou Xue is a veteran actor with a decent reputation in the industry. You’re a newcomer. If you go head-to-head with her and word spreads, it won’t reflect well on your reputation. The company might also think you’re difficult."

Xia Jin’s words made Ye Yuwei even more anxious and fearful.

"Yuwei, I think you should put up with it. Bring her the script and ask for some acting advice from Sister Zhou. Doing this would be like a subtle gesture of submission, showing her respect. She probably wouldn’t go too far afterward."

Ye Yuwei thought it over and felt Xia Jin’s advice made sense. Successfully completing the shoot was her top priority. "Alright, Xiao Ju Jie, I’ll listen to you."

Over on Xia Jin’s end, she hung up the phone, let out a cold smirk, and said to her assistant, "Go tell Zhou Xue that I resolved the suspension on her friend’s child’s role, but just one slap is far from enough."

The next day.

"Why aren’t we allowed in the makeup room?" Ye Yuwei’s temporary assistant asked angrily.

"Sister Zhou is doing her makeup inside. You’ll just have to wait!" Zhou Xue’s assistant stood sternly at the door, arrogantly blocking them.

Ye Yuwei froze, then felt deeply humiliated.

This was a shared makeup room meant for important actors other than the leads.

But now, even an assistant wouldn’t let her in, treating her with utter disregard.

"What? Are you deaf?" The assistant shot them a menacing glare.

"Alright then. Let Sister Zhou use it first." Helplessly, Ye Yuwei turned to leave.

"Hmph! Who do these people think they are? Don’t they realize they’re just bottom-feeder has-beens?" The assistant sneered coldly.

"Sister Yuwei, Sister Zhou probably has no idea how long she’ll take with her makeup. You have to be on set in an hour," her own assistant whispered in warning.

Ye Yuwei looked back at the tightly shut door, gritted her teeth, and said, "It’s fine, I have my ways."

Seeing Ye Yuwei walk off, Zhou Xue’s assistant was momentarily stunned and shot a glance at Ye Yuwei’s assistant.

The young assistant hurriedly followed Ye Yuwei, trying to persuade her but was stopped with a gesture.

"Sister Zhou is a senior. As juniors, we should display proper respect."

Before her assistant could say more, Ye Yuwei briskly left.

The assistant could only stomp her feet in frustration.

When filming time came, just as the entire crew prepared to watch Ye Yuwei humiliate herself further, she appeared on set promptly, perfectly made up, surprising everyone.

Her makeup aligned precisely with the crew’s requirements. Such makeup wasn’t terribly difficult but required significant skill that only professional makeup artists typically possessed.

When Ye Yuwei arrived earlier, they hadn’t noticed her bringing along a makeup artist.

What they didn’t know was that Ye Yuwei had always done her own makeup during her performances in small productions.

With natural talent and dedication, she had honed exceptional makeup skills.

Aside from the most intricate looks, she could handle most styles herself.

During filming, Zhou Xue didn’t try any antics this time, allowing Ye Yuwei to breathe a sigh of relief.

Inside a dome-ceilinged villa hall.

Lan Yening lay stretched out on velvet, striking poses as directed by the painter.

To support Ye Yuwei’s voting fund and pay for his mother’s medical treatment, he had quit his job at the restaurant and become a "high-end model."

The process involved the painter decorating his body with various designs before transferring these onto canvas. His hourly pay was 100 yuan, working six hours a day.

Apart from him, there were several other beautiful women in the studio.

According to those women, all the paintings were sold to buyers with specific interests.

Lan Yening wasn’t aware that, above the dome in the double-glass corridor, a group of well-dressed individuals was sipping tea, snacking on pastries, and watching the models.

"I’ll take the one called Lan Yening," an elderly man with gray hair said casually.

"He looks so fresh and naive," a middle-aged man with slicked-back hair chuckled.

"What a coincidence. I like him too," said an elderly woman wearing heavy makeup and covered in gaudy jewelry, her red lips curling into a menacing smile.

"All of you have your plans, but what if the boy doesn’t comply?" a woman in shadows suddenly spoke.

"Doesn’t comply? I’ve yet to meet anyone who doesn’t kneel before money," the elderly woman sneered.

Lan Yening, of course, had no clue about what was happening upstairs.

When his time was up, he headed to the bathhouse to scrub off the shameful paint, preparing to go home.

Knock, knock.

The WeChat notification sound rang.

He picked up his phone and saw messages from Lv Zhao, along with several missed calls.

Without hesitation, Lan Yening deleted the messages.

The money earned during those previous gigs had felt too easy, and after reflecting, he knew there had to be something suspicious involved.

Later, he asked some acquaintances in the "queer circle" about Lv Zhao.

It turned out that Lv Zhao still shared a poorly partitioned rental space with others but often stayed out all night.

This meant that Lv Zhao hadn’t managed to land a lucrative patron or source of income, so how could he have introduced Lan Yening to such incredible gigs?

Shaken by his revelation, Lan Yening decided never to respond to Lv Zhao’s messages again.

At this point, the studio manager approached him with a smile. "Xiao Ning, the company is organizing a model show and wants to invite you to join."

"Sorry, I don’t have time," Lan Yening said flatly, though his heart raced.

"Xiao Ning, this is a premium show. Just by attending, your appearance fee will be twenty thousand yuan."

"Sorry, I really don’t have time. Apologies."

When he heard this, Lan Yening became more certain of his suspicions.

"Xiao Ning, President Deng of Changfa Group wants to invite you for tea. If you agree, you’ll receive five thousand yuan as a meeting fee." The manager continued with a smile.

"Sorry, Manager. I know you’re trying to help me earn more, but I really can’t go."

The manager, clearly adept at handling such situations, simply smiled and didn’t insist further.