When Ning Ran arrived on the set for the commercial shoot, she realized the people there were staring at her oddly.
It was not that surprising as she, a newcomer to the scene, had managed to get an opportunity to advertise Channing’s products. Even she was amazed, let alone them.
One of the staff informed her, “Ms. Ding, the dressing rooms are over there.”
“Okay, thank you.”
Ning Ran was feeling rather out of place seeing that this was the first time she was shooting a commercial. What more, it was an advertisement for such a luxurious brand.
“Ran, calm down. You’re a celebrity now; act like one. You have to put on an air of confidence! Otherwise, you might be bullied by the others!” Cheng Xiangyun whispered to Ning Ran.
“I’m still a newbie, not a celebrity! I don’t have the right to act so proudly!” Ning Ran muttered back.
“You can’t act too humbly either. Showbiz has always been a vanity fair. You’ll only get picked on if you act too meekly.”
“I’ll just keep a low profile for now. If anyone were to bully me then I’ll decide what to do.”
For some reason, what Nan Chen had said to her before rang through her mind.
Don’t let anyone bully you. If they bully you, you bully them back.
Cheng Xiangyun’s sharp eyes caught the faint smile quirking Ning Ran’s lips. “What are you smiling at?”
“Oh, nothing.” Ning Ran snapped out of her thoughts.
Pushing open the dressing door, she saw a beautiful woman having her make-up done. There were four people standing nearby.
One of them bellowed, “Ms. Ye is having her make-up done! Who said you could enter? Get out!”
Ning Ran took a closer look at the woman, instantly recognizing her as Ye Meng.
When Ning Ran had still been overseas, Ye Meng was already famous all across Asia.
She had debuted in Korea but then broke off the contract with her company there. Unfortunately, she did not attain much fame upon returning to China.
After that, she headed to Japan and was cast in an explicit movie where she showed her amazing body and was suddenly exploded into fame.
Despite that, she terminated her contract in Japan and returned to China once more.
At last, due to that movie, she became a celebrity in China. In a few years’ time, she had attained the status of a superstar.
Ning Ran had never seen the movie that made Ye Meng famous but she had seen her commercials. She had to admit that Ye Meng really did have a spectacular body.
Even as a woman herself, Ning Ran had to admire Ye Meng’s gorgeous figure. She had curves in all the right places with not a hint of unnecessary fat.
Comparing herself to Ye Meng, she found that they were not even in the same league.
She bowed a little at the waist. “Sorry for interrupting.”
“Hold on.”
Ye Meng gestured for the make-up artist to stop for a moment. Turning her head, she asked one of the people standing around her. “Who is she?”
She had not asked Ning Ran that question. Instead, she was staring at Ning Ran while asking the person closest to her. This clearly showed her arrogant attitude.
“No idea. I don’t recognize her. She must be one of the janitors.”
“Hmm, yeah. She does look like a janitor.” Ye Meng nodded.
Ning Ran was certain they were doing this on purpose.
Although she was not exactly decked out in shining jewelry, she had dressed rather appropriately for the occasion. There was no way she looked anything like a janitor.
On that note, she actually thought the job of a janitor was rather noble. She held the utmost respect for them.
Yet what Ye Meng and her lackey said clearly showed their disdain for janitors. Otherwise, she would not have used that as an insult to Ning Ran. Ye Meng was belittling her deliberately!
Ning Ran did not reply, she merely dipped her head and made to back out of the room.
What’s wrong with being a janitor? They’re doing hard labor to earn a living. There’s nothing wrong with that!
Ye Meng spoke up again, “Stop right there! Did I say you could leave?”
Ning Ran stopped in her tracks.
“Janitor, clean this place up. Oh, there’s dirt on my shoes as well. Wipe them clean for me.”
Spinning around in her chair, Ye Meng extended her leg out toward Ning Ran.
“Sorry but I’m not a janitor. Even if I were, I wouldn’t be in charge of personal cleanliness. A janitor is only responsible for the cleaning of the building.” Sensing the belligerence Ye Meng was exuding, Ning Ran’s voice was noticeably colder as she said that.
However, she did try to not let her unhappy emotions show on her face.
“Oh, you’re not a janitor? Then who are you? What are you doing here?”
“I’m Ding Mi.”
“And who’s Ding Mi? Have you guys heard of her?” Ye Meng questioned her entourage.
They simultaneously replied, “Nope, never heard of her.”
As expected of a superstar! She has a group of attendants who are so cooperative!
Truthfully, Ning Ran did not mind. It was rather normal for people not to have heard of her since she was relatively new.
“What are you doing here?” Ye Meng repeated.
Finally unable to stand it anymore, Cheng Xiangyun burst out, “We’re not here to clean, that’s for sure!”
Ning Ran hurriedly grabbed hold of her friend’s arm, shaking her head slightly.
Pointing a finger at Cheng Xiangyun, Ye Meng shrieked, “And who are you? You don’t even have a right to speak here! Shut your mouth!”
Cheng Xiangyun made to retort something but Ning Ran gestured for her to be quiet.
“Sorry for disturbing you. I’ll leave you to it,” Ning Ran muttered.
“Hold it! I remember now. There’s supposed to be a newbie here to film the commercial too. Her name is Ding Mi. Is that you?”
Ye Meng obviously knew the answer.
Although Ning Ran was not some celebrity, it only made sense that Ye Meng would still hear about her being the spokesperson for Channing.
After all, the spokesperson for the jewelry was supposed to have been Ye Meng. Yet now she had been pushed aside to advertise their clothing while Ning Ran got to endorse the jewelry. Of course, Ye Meng would know about the change.
“Yes, that’s me. Pleased to meet you, Ms. Ye,” Ning Ran answered politely.
“So it really is you? So you’re the one who snatched what was supposed to be my commercial! Who the hell do you think you are? How dare you take what’s mine!”
At last, Ye Meng was showing her true colors. She stood up and stalked toward Ning Ran aggressively.
Being of mixed-blood, Ye Meng had a slender and tall figure. Her long legs only served to make her look that much bigger than Ning Ran. Standing before the latter, she literally looked down her nose at the other woman.
Ning Ran’s voice came out calm, “The company arranged that. It has nothing to do with me.”
She stared up into Ye Meng’s eyes, not a hint of fear in her determined gaze.
She was trying hard to be polite and keep a low profile since she had been raised to have good manners.
However, just because she had a good upbringing did not mean she would cower in fear before others. Blustering and acting arrogantly did not mean one was brave either.
“How dare you talk back to me? You only got to where you are because you’re sleeping with someone powerful and rich! There’s no difference between you and a prostitute then!”
“How could you insult her like that? You’re a celebrity, aren’t you? How could you have such a filthy mouth!”
Unable to bear seeing Ning Ran get humiliated, Cheng Xiangyun leaped to her defense again.
Smack!
Ye Meng slapped Cheng Xiangyun across the face. Her voice was frosty as she snapped, “I already said you have no right to speak here. A dog like you is not worthy of speaking to me!”
“What did you hit me for?” Cheng Xiangyun raged.
She was infuriated but there was nothing she could do about it. The woman standing before her now was a female superstar. She, a lowly assistant, could not afford to offend her!
Smack!
Ye Meng gave Cheng Xiangyun another harsh slap across the face. She had not held back this time, putting as much force as she could into that hit. Thinking of all the frustration and fury she felt having her advertisement given to someone else, she vented on Cheng Xiangyun.
Her second slap was so vicious that Cheng Xiangyun’s nose was bleeding.
Yet, she was still not happy. She raised her hand wanting to continue.
