Su Ding turned around, "What do you want?"
"I want you to apologize to me," Jiang Xiaoyu said indignantly.
"Sorry," Su Ding replied perfunctorily, and turned to leave.
Xiao Yuan walked beside her, speechless, "That young actress really thinks she's all that."
"She exploded as soon as she entered the industry and lost herself," Su Ding chuckled, not bothered by the minor incident. Girls like that would eventually learn their lesson from reality.
"You two are playing best friends later, take it easy," Xiao Yuan reminded her.
"Mm, I know."
Su Ding thought about Jiang Xiaoyu's attitude earlier and felt that the acting wouldn't go smoothly today.
As expected.
When they arrived at the set, Jiang Xiaoyu saw her from afar. Her gaze was a bit strange, and she kept looking at Su Ding.
Even if Su Ding wanted to ignore it, she couldn't anymore.
Xiao Yuan couldn't help but pull her around and look her up and down, "Is there something on your face?"
Su Ding frowned and simply turned in another direction, not looking at her.
Soon, Jiang Xiaoyu walked over, wearing an innocent and pure smile, and an apologetic expression, "Sister Su Ding, I'm sorry about earlier."
Su Ding didn't respond, but her arm was already being held.
"I didn't know it was you earlier, I'm truly sorry. You are my senior."
Jiang Xiaoyu hugged Su Ding's arm and gently swayed it, "I'll need your guidance when we act later, Sister Su Ding."
Su Ding sneered inwardly. This little girl changed her tune fast.
Perhaps her agent had told Jiang Xiaoyu about Su Ding's backing capital, and fearing it, she had come to make peace.
"Work hard later, and let's consider what happened before as past."
Su Ding pushed her hand away and walked to the side, silently memorizing her lines.
Unexpectedly, her shoulder was tapped!
She turned impatiently, about to speak, when she saw Xue Zhiqiao smiling behind her, "So serious?"
"Of course," Su Ding glanced forward. The director was filming the leading actress's scene.
"Let me take you to eat nearby at noon," Xue Zhiqiao nudged her with his shoulder, inviting her.
"No, it wouldn't be good if we were photographed. It's safer to just eat bento boxes," Su Ding patted him, saying earnestly, "You are an idol beloved by millions of girls. You need to be mindful of gossip."
"So what if we're photographed? What's there to fear?" Xue Zhiqiao looked into her eyes, half-jokingly.
Su Ding turned her face away, pretending to be casual, "I'm scared. Scared of being chased by your fans."
Xue Zhiqiao's heart ached. How could he not see that Su Ding was rejecting his advances? But he just couldn't give up.
"Brother Zhiqiao!" Jiang Xiaoyu walked over, "Sister Su Ding, you two know each other."
"Yes," Su Ding replied simply.
"Brother Zhiqiao, can I have your autograph?" Jiang Xiaoyu held a small notebook, saying shyly, "I've liked you for a long time. I didn't expect to be filming with you this time..."
"Sure." Xue Zhiqiao took the notebook and signed it with a flourish.
"Thank you!" Jiang Xiaoyu took the notebook and stood beside them, her gaze almost glued to Xue Zhiqiao.
Xue Zhiqiao completely ignored Jiang Xiaoyu. Seeing a piece of lint on Su Ding's hair, he casually removed it.
Su Ding took a step back in surprise.
"Lint," Xue Zhiqiao explained in a low voice, retracted his hand, and stared into Su Ding's eyes.
Su Ding could no longer ignore the undisguised seriousness and admiration in Xue Zhiqiao's eyes.
She smiled uncomfortably, "Thanks."
"Brother Zhiqiao, can you run lines with me? I'm about to go on stage and I'm a bit nervous," Jiang Xiaoyu suddenly said.
She was jealous of Su Ding and dissatisfied with Xue Zhiqiao's indifference towards her. She wanted to make her presence known.
Xue Zhiqiao broke into a big smile, just like his bright and handsome appearance, "Sure, let's go over there."
Jiang Xiaoyu was completely smitten.
He was indeed the handsome, warm, and kind prince—Qiao. Could she take this opportunity to spark a romance with her idol?
...
At noon, after eating on set, Su Ding got into her car to rest.
As she drifted off to sleep, she heard faint sounds of arguments and crying nearby. The voices were somewhat distant but kept intruding into her ears.
She endured it for a long time before finally getting out of the car to check.
Walking towards the source of the sounds, the argument grew louder:
"Are you blind?"
"You can't afford to pay it back even if you sold yourself, understand? Who brought you in!"
"Call your leader! Pay up!"
"I'm sorry, woo woo woo..."
Su Ding followed the sound and saw Jiang Xiaoyu's agent, Wang Xi, grabbing a young girl's hair and yelling at her.
The young girl had her hair pulled, tears streaming down her face, and she kept apologizing.
Her clothes were soaked, water dripping down, making her look extremely disheveled.
The cold early winter wind blew gently, making her shiver, her face full of fear and pain, yet she dared not resist.
Meanwhile, Jiang Xiaoyu, touching the bracelet on her hand, glared at the young girl with disdain, "What's there to cry about when you've made a mistake? I demand compensation!"
The young girl's legs went weak. If her hair hadn't been held, she would have knelt down.
"Sister Xiaoyu, I really didn't mean it. I'll pay you back with all my part-time job earnings. Please forgive me..."
"Heh, my bracelet is worth five hundred thousand. Now that it's flawed from being bumped, how much could your little money be? Hurry up and call your leader."
Jiang Xiaoyu said haughtily, showing no sign of affection for the bracelet.
The young girl cried even harder.
"Slap! Slap!"
Su Ding clapped her hands and walked over, "I'd like to see this five-hundred-thousand-dollar bracelet too."
Seeing someone approaching, Jiang Xiaoyu quickly gave her agent a look.
Wang Xi immediately grabbed the young girl's arm and pulled her up forcefully, warning her in a low voice, "Stop crying!"