was originally a dormitory for three people, but now that Su Ya had cleared out her things, the entire living room looked much more spacious, as if the space itself had increased.
Xu Gui noticed that after Su Ya left, He Yuan seemed much more relaxed. Seeing Xu Gui looking at her, she blushed.
Perhaps afraid that Xu Gui would misunderstand and think she disliked Su Ya, she explained somewhat embarrassedly, "It's not that I dislike Su Ya, I just don't know how to get along with her..."
Su Ya's personality was really not good. To put it nicely, she was good at judging situations and reading people's expressions; to put it bluntly, she was a snob, always looking down on the powerful and flattering the weak.
To people more famous than her, she was very sweet-talking, calling them "sister" and "brother," but to someone like He Yuan, who had been in the industry for years but was still working as an extra in various film crews, her attitude was much worse. Her words and actions always unintentionally carried a hint of disdain.
He Yuan wasn't stupid; how could she not notice this? However, she was introverted and had faced many setbacks in this industry over the years, which had worn down her edges. So even though she knew Su Ya looked down on her, she chose not to confront her directly, but rather to avoid direct contact.
Therefore, now that Su Ya had moved out, she was certainly relieved, at least she wouldn't have to face Su Ya's disdain anymore.
After hearing her explanation, Xu Gui simply said "oh," without indicating whether she believed her or not. Under He Yuan's somewhat awkward gaze, Xu Gui went to the sofa to rest—her legs were weak after a walk in the park.
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, Xu Gui noticed two notebooks on the coffee table. She picked them up and flipped through them, only to find they were scripts.
These scripts had clearly been read many times; each page was covered with sticky notes filled with character biographies.
Xu Gui looked at He Yuan and asked curiously, "Is this yours?"
He Yuan nodded, sat down next to Xu Gui, and took one of the scripts from Xu Gui's hand, saying, "These are two roles I recently secured. They're both small roles with very little screen time."
She seemed a little embarrassed.
Xu Gui glanced at it.
Seeing her curiosity, He Yuan introduced it to her: "The script you're holding is called 'The Master Thief,' it's Director He's upcoming film. The cast is incredibly luxurious, with Best Actress Meng Die and Best Actor Qi Duan joining the project. It's said that after filming, it's going to be submitted for the Lunar New Year film season..."
Director He's full name is He Zhao, an internationally renowned director. He's a regular at the Lunar New Year film season, and actors wanting to participate in his movies are countless. Even for small roles with only a few minutes of screen time, many people want to be in them.
The roles He Yuan got were the kind where she only appeared for a minute or two throughout the entire film, but even for such roles, she had to pull strings to get them.
Xu Gui flipped through the script and saw the character biography He Yuan had prepared. For a character with only five lines, He Yuan's biography was incredibly detailed, even outlining the character's life story.
Xu Gui had only discussed taking on the role of [Si Xuan] in "All Under Heaven" with Kuang Ming that afternoon, but she was still completely clueless about acting, how to portray a character. After all, as a newcomer to the industry, she was a complete novice in acting.
So, this was arguably the first time she had truly and clearly encountered what "acting" meant. "
So much preparation is needed for acting!" she suddenly realized.
"What about the other script?" she asked He Yuan with interest.
He Yuan paused, first glancing down at the script she had just received from Xu Gui, then seemingly hesitating before handing it to Xu Gui.
"This script…" She pursed her lips, a little embarrassed, but her tone couldn't hide her excitement as she said, "The production team wants to invite me to play the second female lead!"
Xu Gui: "Wow!"
He Yuan was even more embarrassed by her straightforward reaction, but it was precisely Xu Gui's supportive attitude that made her unable to resist revealing her deepest thoughts to him.
"This is the first time someone has invited me to play the second female lead." She said this—it's funny, she's been acting for so many years, and this is the first time she's received such a significant role.
Xu Gui flipped through the script and found that it was a crime drama, a TV series, not a movie.
He Yuan said, "I've worked with the director before. At the time, I was just an extra with a couple of lines, but the director said my acting was very good! He even said that if there was an opportunity in the future, he would look for me to work with again…"
At the time, she thought the director was just being polite, so she didn't take his words to heart. But unexpectedly, just half a month ago, she suddenly received a call from him, who solemnly invited her to play the second female lead in his new drama.
He Yuan's eyes shone as she spoke of this.
She'd been working in the film studio since she was seventeen, playing countless roles. Everyone said she was a good actress, that she could play any character convincingly. But what good was her acting? After all these years, wasn't she still just a nobody, an unknown 18th-tier actor, stuck in the film studio?
Calling her 18th-tier was being kind; to put it bluntly, she was just an extra, or at best, a slightly better extra.
This was the first time in all these years that a director had genuinely approached her and invited her to work with him because of her acting skills.
He Yuan felt a sense of respect.
Xu Gui glanced at the script in his hand and asked, "Are you going to act in both?"
Hearing this, He Yuan nodded, pointing to the movie script, "In 'The Thief,' my role isn't big, just two lines. Filming might take less than a day, which won't interfere with the filming of 'The Murderer.'"
So she could take on both roles.
"Hmm," Xu Gui pondered, then suddenly pointed to the script for the movie *The Thief* and said, "Let's shoot this one, and give up the other one."
He Yuan was bewildered: "Why? *The Murderer*, *The Murderer*… I'm the second female lead!" She couldn't sit still.
For He Yuan, this was her first time playing the second female lead, and also her first time taking on a role with so much screen time. Plus, the director was someone she had worked with before. She really couldn't understand why she could give up this project.
If it was because *The Thief* was a big production and would definitely be a hit, what did that have to do with a small role like hers?
When a movie becomes a hit, people first remember the lead actors and the director, and then a memorable character, but audiences will never remember the small-time character selling goods on the street.
Putting these two projects together, no matter how you look at it, *The Murderer* should be the priority. But Xu Gui was now telling He Yuan to give it up.
"Xu Gui, why are you telling us to give it up?" He Yuan couldn't help but ask, her voice soft.
Xu Gui frankly told her, "Because even though this drama is finished filming, it will never be broadcast. You've filmed for half a year, it's all for nothing."
He Yuan was stunned: "Why, why?"
"Do you know anything about the male lead of this drama?" Xu Gui asked her.
He Yuan recalled what the director had said about the male lead: "...The male lead is Pei Qi, he's very famous."
Unlike *The Thief*, which was aimed at the Spring Festival season and had an investment of over 1 billion yuan, boasting a luxurious cast and director, with most of the main actors being veteran actors with solid acting skills, *The Murderer* is more of an idol drama.
The cast of *The Murderer* is mostly young stars, and Pei Qi, the male lead, is currently a very popular idol—he became a sensation with his previous drama, and his acting skills are quite good, at least among popular idols, hence his current popularity and large fan base.
He Yuan hadn't had much contact with him, so she asked uncertainly, "He should be a pretty good person, right?"
Anyway, he had a good reputation online, and her friends said he had a good personality.
Xu Gui nodded slightly and said, "This guy is indeed not bad..."
Just as He Yuan breathed a
sigh of relief, Xu Gui changed the subject, saying, "But the sugar daddy he's hooked up with has a husband who's not to be trifled with." "? Cough cough cough!" He Yuan almost choked on her own saliva. She looked at Xu Gui in a daze, slowly realizing that she seemed to have just heard some incredible news from him.
Pei Qi, the sugar daddy... If this news got out, it would probably crash Weibo.
He Yuan asked softly, "So, Pei Qi's sugar daddy's husband will bury our drama?"
Bury?
Xu Gui listened to this "professional term" and thought it was quite fitting. Connecting it to the previous context, he could understand the meaning immediately.
"That's about it..." she said. "When your drama was being filmed and still under review, Pei Qi's affair with his sugar daddy was exposed. His sugar daddy is married, and her husband is rich and powerful."
So, this husband, "in a fit of rage for his wife," directly blacklisted Pei Qi's people. As for all the dramas Pei Qi had participated in during this period, they were also buried along with him, with no release date in sight.
So, He Yuan's first drama as the second female lead was buried just like that, without even making a ripple.
At first, He Yuan could still laugh, filled with the curiosity of hearing gossip, but after hearing the rest: "..." So I'm one of the protagonists of gossip too?
He Yuan: Suddenly couldn't laugh anymore.
She took a breath and spent several minutes digesting the news Xu Gui had told her. Finally, she smiled bitterly and sighed, "Maybe I'm just not destined to be the lead."
At this moment, He Yuan felt somewhat disheartened.
Having struggled in this industry for so many years, whenever she felt like giving up, she would grit her teeth and persevere, clinging to the thought that "maybe I'll become famous next time." Until now, with the drama "The Murderer," she was arguably the closest she had ever come to her dream.
But now, this dream, before it even began, had already been declared over. He Yuan couldn't help but doubt whether she was truly suited to be an actress, or even to the entertainment industry.
Perhaps she should have left this industry long ago… This wasn't the first time such thoughts had crossed her mind, but this time the feeling was the strongest.
Just as her spirits were at their lowest point, Xu Gui, sitting beside her, suddenly said, "Who said you weren't destined to be a leading lady?"
"…" He Yuan's heart skipped a beat. She slowly raised her head and silently looked at Xu Gui.
Xu Gui looked at her strangely. "I never said you couldn't be the lead...this!"
She picked up the script for "The Thief," her eyes shining. "If you act in this, you'll definitely be the lead!"
He Yuan looked at Xu Gui in shock and said softly, "This is a film by the internationally renowned director He. The lead actors are the award-winning actress Meng Die and the award-winning actor Qi Duan. You're saying I?"
She pointed to herself. "I can be the lead in this movie?"
"Xu Gui, I think you've got it wrong!" she said.
She wouldn't even dare to dream of something like this; it was just too unrealistic.
"You don't believe me?" Xu Gui looked at her.
He Yuan's eyes darted around as she said, "It's not that I don't believe you, it's just that what you're saying is really unlikely... Who is Director He Zhao?"
She simply looked directly at Xu Gui, meeting her gaze, her tone helpless: "Director He's leading roles are all Best Actor and Best Actress winners, or at the very least, veteran actors that audiences are very familiar with. Why would he let me be the lead?"
"Okay, even if something unexpected happens during filming and a lead role becomes vacant, Director He wouldn't possibly take a liking to me. You don't know how many actors in the entire entertainment industry want to work with Director He and star in his movies. It's like a swarm of locusts crossing a river; almost every star wants to be in his movies!"
"I just don't want to," Xu Gui chimed in.
He Yuan: "...Pfft."
She couldn't help but laugh, her previously low spirits completely gone. She said, "There are indeed people like you who aren't interested, but they're very rare. Anyway, as long as Director He speaks up, there are plenty of actresses willing to star in his productions. Director He would only take a liking to me if he were crazy."
"Are you really that insecure about yourself?" Xu Gui asked thoughtfully. "Is it because you think your acting isn't as good as others?"
Hearing this, He Yuan reacted strongly. She said excitedly, "How could my acting be worse than others? Do you know how many years I've been an actress? Twelve years! I dropped out of school at sixteen and started acting. I'll be twenty-nine soon..."
She said, enunciating each word clearly, "I don't think my acting is worse than anyone else's!"
Xu Gui looked at her reaction and smiled, saying, "If that's the case, what are you worried about? As long as that director He Zhao's eyes aren't malfunctioning, he'll definitely see that your acting is very good. Why do you think he won't choose you?"
He Yuan was speechless for a moment, then said, "Xu Gui, you're a newcomer, so you don't understand. Sometimes what kind of role you can play isn't based on your acting skills..."
Xu Gui said, "He Yuan, do you believe me?"
He Yuan was stunned. She looked at Xu Gui's serious expression, opened her mouth, but couldn't utter the words she wanted to say.
Xu Gui said, "If you trust me, choose the script 'The Master Thief.' Believe me, you'll get the lead role."
After saying this, Xu Gui went back to his bedroom to wash up, leaving He Yuan alone in the living room.
He Yuan didn't know how long she sat in the living room. She looked at the two scripts, feeling completely confused and disoriented. She barely slept that night, and even when she did, she kept dreaming. So when she woke up the next morning, she was completely dazed, and her steps felt unsteady as she walked out of the bedroom.
But once she was out of the bedroom, her feet felt solid because she saw Xu Gui's agent. Her
somewhat muddled mind suddenly cleared, and He Yuan looked at Kuang Ming and politely greeted him.
Xu Gui was sitting to the side eating breakfast. When she saw He Yuan come over, she turned to her and asked, "He Yuan, you're up? Come and have breakfast. Kuang Ming bought a lot!"
He Yuan glanced at the breakfast on the table and found that Xu Gui was indeed not being polite. There was a lot of food on the table. She looked over and immediately spotted soy milk, fried dough sticks, steamed buns, and porridge. It was clear that the person who bought breakfast had also considered her, their roommate.
Since that was the case, she didn't stand on ceremony with Xu Gui and said, "Then wait for me to wash my face!"
After she finished washing her face, she sat opposite Xu Gui and ate breakfast with her. As for Kuang Ming, he sat to the side while they ate breakfast. He Yuan politely asked him about it and received the reply that he had already eaten.
Xu Gui ate very quickly. By the time He Yuan sat down to drink her porridge, she had already finished her breakfast.
Seeing that she had finished eating, Kuang Ming finally spoke up.
"You seemed quite busy after having dinner with me last night..." He spoke with a hint of sarcasm, clearly a seasoned sarcastic person.
Hearing his words, Xu Gui knew what he meant and subconsciously reached for her phone, asking, "Am I trending again?" Otherwise, how would Kuang Ming know she was so "busy" last night?
Kuang Ming snorted and began to lecture her.
"You shouldn't have spoken so rashly. Your reckless words have made something that had nothing to do with you become something you are involved in." Kuang Ming's implication was similar to what Yan Xiaomi had said to Xu Gui last night.
"If the person who committed suicide were alright, that would be fine, but if she had actually jumped in, you would be involved even if you weren't!"
Kuang Ming looked at her seriously and said, "Next time you encounter something like this, I hope you will think twice and consider the consequences!"
Xu Gui: "But if I don't do anything, she will really jump into the river, and she will die."
Kuang Ming was speechless and said, "I don't mean you should ignore things, I just want you to think more... Sigh, well, at least the final result is good. That lady is alright, and you are alright too. There are many positive reviews about you online."
He Yuan didn't specifically listen to their conversation, but since they were in the same living room, their conversation inevitably reached her ears.
He Yuan: Trending topic? What trending topic?
She glanced at Xu Gui and Xu Ming, took out her phone, secretly opened Weibo, and found the post related to Xu Gui.
"...#Woman Attempts Suicide, But Fortune Teller Says She Won Millions#."
He Yuan, after reading the trending topic,
was like: ? What? This headline, practically a UC-style meme, really caught her attention. "
I want to see what's going on," she thought, rolling up her sleeves and clicking on the trending topic.
A minute later, after reading the whole story and even seeing the video, He Yuan exclaimed: "...Xu Gui is amazing!"
She knew Xu Gui could tell fortunes; she had watched Xu Gui's live streams and seen many of her trending topics, but hadn't paid much attention. After all, although they were roommates, they didn't interact much.
Now, after carefully reading through the article, she couldn't help but feel a bit more amazed by Xu Gui.
She was truly amazing... She secretly glanced at Xu Gui, wanting to ask about last night, but afraid that their relationship wasn't close enough to be impolite.
After finishing breakfast, she lingered for a moment, but finally couldn't suppress her curiosity and leaned over to Xu Gui, asking, "Xu Gui, did that woman who threatened to jump into the river yesterday really win the lottery?"
Xu Gui nodded, "I have no reason to lie about this."
He Yuan exclaimed, somewhat envious, "Thirty million!" Although City A is a first-tier city with many millionaires, for ordinary people like them who struggle to earn even ten thousand a month, it's an unattainable figure.
With three thousand five hundred thousand, she wondered what she could do with it all; He Yuan felt incredibly satisfied just thinking about it.
Many others shared He Yuan's sentiments. Under the trending topic, numerous comments were seen:
[So envious! When will I ever win thirty million? No, I'm begging for thirty million! Give me three million, or even three hundred thousand, and I'll be perfectly content. I'll quit my job and go back to my hometown to farm!]
[This suicidal young lady's reaction is so real! Before winning the lottery: Let me go, let me die! After finding out she won thirty million: What suicide? What jumping into the river?] Slander! It's all slander! All they care about is that 30 million!
[Just the scenarios Xu Gui imagined already made me feel good. I can already imagine the reactions of this young woman's ex-boyfriend and family when they find out she won 30 million. This is practically a realistic, satisfying story!]
[Sigh, thankfully she's alright in the end. Actually, listening to her cry made my heart ache. If she hadn't really been through it, who would want to commit suicide?]
[This woman seemed to have been drinking. Drinking makes emotions even more uncontrollable. If it weren't for the people around her trying to stop her, she probably would have jumped already.]
[Is this really not acting? Who is this Xu Gui? How did she know this woman had a lottery ticket in her pocket, and that the ticket won? Can she really tell fortunes?]
[Our Gui Gui really can tell fortunes!] [Here's a video, sisters, you should check it out, our Gui Gui fortune teller is really amazing!]
After the show ended, Xu Gui disappeared from the public eye. Everyone was wondering when they would see her again, but unexpectedly, she's back on the trending topics list just two days later.
Netizens commented: "I thought we'd have to wait ages to see her again, but I didn't expect to see you trending so quickly."
Of course, besides mentioning Xu Gui, some netizens were also discussing the old lady who wanted Xu Gui to predict whether her daughter-in-law's baby was a boy or a girl. Most netizens weren't very kind to the old lady.
[Sometimes I really don't understand, she's a woman herself, yet she still persecutes the next generation of women. Shouldn't she empathize with her daughter-in-law and treat her better?]
[According to what you said, Xu Gui, this old lady has never given birth to a son in her entire life, so why does she insist that her daughter-in-law give birth to a son?] [
This kind of person is psychologically disturbed, they can't stand seeing others do well when they themselves don't.]
[I hope this daughter-in-law sees this and gets rid of this family soon!] ... Looking at the online discussions, He Yuan couldn't help
but
nod in agreement; many netizens' words resonated deeply with her.
Of course, there were also some less pleasant comments, which He Yuan selectively ignored. After finishing scrolling through Weibo, she sat there blankly, feeling a sudden emptiness in her heart.
She remembered Xu Gui's advice from last night.
She wondered: should she really give up "The Murderer" and choose "The Thief" instead?
Since Xu Gui's fortune-telling was so accurate, Pei Qi's situation might be true... If so, Xu Gui's choice was indeed the best, but He Yuan still felt a vague sense of loss.
She looked at Xu Gui and couldn't help but ask, "Xu Gui, you said I'd become the lead in 'The Thief,' how did I become the lead?" Xu
Gui glanced at her and said, "Just curious."
He Yuan nodded honestly.
Xu Gui said, "This..."