Ning Ran grabbed Ye Meng’s hand. “Stop it!”
“Don’t stop me. I must teach this b**** a lesson today!” Ye Meng shrieked, yanking her hand out of Ning Ran’s grip.
“This is too much!” Ning Ran shouted in anger.
“So what? What can you do to me? You b****!”
Ye Meng raised her hand, attempting to slap Cheng Xiangyun again.
Slap!
However, a loud slap landed on her own face.
Ning Ran couldn’t stand it anymore and finally made a move.
“How… How dare you slap me?”
Ye Meng’s vicious face was suddenly replaced by a pitiable expression.
In the next second, tears started trickling down her cheeks.
Her reaction stunned Ning Ran. No wonder she’s a female superstar. Her acting skill is indeed impressive.
“Ms. Ye, can we start now?”
Just then, the director came in. He was shocked when he saw Ye Meng crying. “What’s going on?”
“That woman hit her!” Ye Meng’s assistant pointed at Ning Ran.
In disbelief, the director turned to stare at Ning Ran with widened eyes.
It’s already shocking that a newbie like her can join Channing’s commercial shoot. Now that she’s here for the shooting, she even hit Ms. Ye! Is she crazy? How could she beat a superstar like Ms. Ye?
“She’s the one who started it! Look, she hit me till my nose bled,” Cheng Xiangyun quickly explained.
The director shot a glance at Cheng Xiangyun.
Her nose is really bleeding. Was the fight that bad? How did they get into a fight when they have just met one another? Do they have grudges against each other? Anyway, I’m only a director, so I shouldn’t comment about it in front of these big shots. After all, I don’t have a say in their personal affairs.
“Let bygones be bygones. Fate has brought us together for the commercial shoot, so try to respect and get along with each other,” the director advised them with a smile.
“I had no intention to stir up trouble, but she slapped me. Does she have a prominent background or what? How could she just hit me like that? It’s getting harder to be in the show business. Even a newbie is arrogant enough to get physical with me!”
After saying that, Ye Meng wept louder.
Ning Ran was baffled.
Is she that fragile that she’ll cry whenever she has a conflict with someone? Just a few minutes ago, she was so haughty and overbearing when she slapped Cheng Xiangyun, behaving like a ferocious barbarian. But now she turns into a delicate woman. What a surprising change.
“Ms. Ye, please don’t cry. Touch up your makeup. We’re going to start shooting soon,” the director comforted her.
“I can’t work with her. I’m afraid that she’ll hurt me again. Go ahead with the shooting. I’ll come tomorrow or, better yet, call me when she is done shooting, then I’ll come over,” Ye Meng said.
The director was dumbstruck by her words. Oh no… Ms. Ye wants to leave. The top management has arranged for them to do the shoot together. And I have other commercials to shoot after this. What should I do?
“Ms. Ye, I don’t think this is a good idea. Your schedule is full, so I’m afraid you’ll have no time to spare if you don’t stay for the shoot today,” the director hurriedly persuaded her.
“Fine then. I don’t mind quitting this. I’ve many other commercials, and this one is nothing to me.” Standing up, Ye Meng stormed out of the dressing room.
The director turned to look at Ning Ran. “Ms. Ding, you’re too impulsive. You’ve provoked Ms. Ye so much that she left, and that messed up the shooting schedule. In case the management holds us accountable for this, you’ll have to give them an explanation. I’m not taking the blame.”
“This woman is unreasonable! She was the one who picked a fight with us, refusing to stop slapping even after my friend started bleeding. I had no choice but to slap her back,” A wave of indignation burned in Ning Ran’s chest.
“But Ms. Ye has left. What should we do now? Why don’t you apologize and ask her to stay for the shooting?” the director suggested.
“No way! Why should we apologize to her? She slapped me first!” Cheng Xiangyun said furiously.
Ning Ran mulled over the entire incident again.
Something seems wrong. Obviously, Ye Meng stirred up trouble deliberately, but she played the victim after that. That means she didn’t want to shoot for this commercial from the beginning itself. Yet, she put all the blame on me after the fight. Now everyone thinks that I’m the uncivilized budding actress who slapped her when she’s the one who started the fight. I’ll have to take the fall if anyone pursues this matter. Fine, if my apology can solve this issue, I’ll bear with it.
“Okay, I’ll talk to her,” Ning Ran agreed.
After all, this was her first commercial. Therefore, she wanted everything to go smoothly as planned, and to not make a fuss.
“We did nothing wrong. Why should we say sorry?” Cheng Xiangyun protested.
“It’s alright, I’ll bear with it. I’m sorry for what you’ve gone through. Wait for me here, I’ll be back in a while.” Ning Ran patted her shoulder.
Walking out of the dressing room, she realized that Ye Meng was still around.
The woman was standing in a corner, whispering something to her assistant. The moment she saw Ning Ran, she stopped talking and turned her head to the other side.
Immediately, Ning Ran had a gut feeling that Ye Meng knew she was going to come after her, so she waited here on purpose.
“Can I have a word with you, Ms. Ye?” Ning Ran asked.
“What do you want to talk about? Are you trying to hit me again?” Ye Meng plastered on a fearful expression.
“I’ve acted too impulsively. Still, you can’t scold my friend, let alone slap her multiple times!” Ning Ran reprimanded.
“So you’re here to condemn me?” Ye Meng asked in a cold tone.
“No, what I mean is that if you’re still mad about it, slap me to vent your rage. Then we can continue shooting,” Ning Ran suggested.
“I dare not slap you. I can’t afford to offend someone as fierce as you,” Ye Meng replied sarcastically.
“The truth is that you’re more aggressive than anyone of us. But why are you acting weak and pitiful now? What are you trying to do? I’m truly in awe of your acting skill.”
“I want you to quit the jewelry commercial shoot and let me take over. You can go for the fashion shoot.” Ye Meng finally revealed her hidden agenda.
“That’s not up to me. You can discuss this with the investors yourself. I’m fine with quitting if they agree to it,” Ning Ran refuted her.
“Didn’t you get me? I want you to quit out of your own accord. Only then they’ll let me do the shooting. Just tell them your demeanor isn’t suitable for jewelry commercials, but you’re willing to shoot fashion commercials.”
I see. So this is her real intention. She finally made herself clear.
“I won’t do that. This is the company’s arrangement, so I have no right to quit just like that,” Ning Ran insisted.
“It’s pointless to talk then. Scram!”
“Ms. Ye, we’ve just met for the first time today, and I don’t hold any grudge against you. I sincerely want to work with you to get today’s work done.” Ning Ran tried to convince her again.
“Quit, and we’ll talk. If you don’t, there’s nothing left to talk about. Now get lost!”
Letting out a sigh, Ning Ran said conclusively, “I’ve tried my best to make you stay. There’s nothing else I can do if you insist on leaving.”
“Go away!”
Right then, the director came out of the room to persuade Ye Meng. However, she pointed right at him and gestured him to shut up.
The director felt piqued and gave up.
As a commercial director, making peace isn’t part of my job scope.
