Divorce Application - Chapter 7
Chapter 7: The Sharpness
These words weren’t said out of earshot of Liu Sinan. She listened quietly, neither getting angry nor defending herself. After she heard it all, she walked directly over and looked at the shots the director was complaining about.
Everyone was now reminding her of the difference between her past and present.
She couldn’t dwell on the topic, because every time she did, it would lead her to the person she least wanted to think about right now.
“As far as I know, these shots lack the necessary light source. I don’t need to elaborate on the importance of lighting for a camera shot. A person’s face has bones, veins, and muscle lines. It can’t be a flat surface. That’s a pancake, not a face.”
Liu Sinan tilted her head slightly, maintaining her professionalism in the face of the director’s deliberate.
As for what the director chose to say, that was out of her control.
Sure enough, the director showed his true colors the next moment, saying in a nasty tone, “Oh, you still think you’re someone no one dares to provoke? Let me tell you clearly, the termination letter was sent to your studio this morning. Whether you shoot this commercial or not, we won’t use it.”
Lan Qi slammed her hand on the table, “What do you mean by this? Are you just playing with us?!”
The director didn’t think there was anything wrong with what he said. His malicious and mocking gaze fell on the two of them. “Ms. Liu, you should take some time to think carefully about who you’ve offended.”
“Oh, that’s right, how could Ms. Liu remember those things?” The director stood up and spilled a cup of coffee on the ground. A small splash of coffee liquid stained the top of Liu Sinan’s foot, forming a dirty dark mark.
The director stared at Liu Sinan, with a kind of vengeful pleasure. “The shoots that were prematurely killed by a frown or a sour face from you. The directors and actors who were replaced with just a single word of dissatisfaction. The behind-the-scenes staff you’ve messed with. How could Ms. Liu bother to remember all of that?”
Liu Sinan slowly frowned. “I don’t remember any of what you’re talking about.”
“Exactly, that innocent look,” the director said through gritted teeth. “It’s disgusting to look at.”
Lan Qi stepped between them, her face cold. “In that case, there’s no need for us to cooperate anymore.”
With that, she turned and left, pulling Liu Sinan along with her and slamming the door behind them.
On the way, Liu Sinan slowed her pace. “Wait, what did she mean by all of that?”
Lan Qi didn’t look back. She walked ahead in silence. It wasn’t until Liu Sinan couldn’t help but ask again that she took a deep breath and said coldly, “It’s nothing.”
Liu Sinan said, “Earlier at the magazine office, the director said we strongly rejected the first draft of the shoot design. Now, this director is saying I’ve ruined many people. Why would they say that?”
She found it difficult to understand this inexplicable malice. It seemed to have a source, a great deal of confidence, and only she was left in the dark, completely confused.
“You’re in charge of all my work. There have never been any mistakes all these years. Is it something we did wrong or…”
Liu Sinan racked her brain, but she still couldn’t find a reasonable explanation. Lan Qi interrupted her.
“What’s right and what’s wrong?” Lan Qi’s tone was obviously perfunctory and annoyed. It was as if she was suppressing something, not getting angry at Liu Sinan. “There were never any problems before, but now they’re stepping on you. Don’t overthink it.”
“But we can’t make enemies everywhere,” Liu Sinan said to Lan Qi, remembering what the director had just said. “I have to understand where their hostility is coming from.”
“Where it’s coming from?” Lan Qi suddenly raised her voice.
She turned to glare at Liu Sinan, her chest heaving, and said with a broken tone, “Yes, we are the ones who handle all your work, but do you know that every script that gets to your hands first goes through President Li?”
“And what was your attitude towards President Li? Did you ever seriously listen to her suggestions? You couldn’t wait to reject all her proposals. The ones she thought were good, you would refuse to take. The ones she thought were unfeasible, you would insist on doing!”
“Every time, it was President Li who was mediating for you, covering up for your immaturity and childishness.”
Lan Qi’s outburst seemed to have been a long time coming. She no longer cared about Liu Sinan’s feelings. She berated Liu Sinan for all her years of willfulness, and by the end, she was trembling with anger herself.
“Have you ever, truly taken your career seriously?” Lan Qi seemed exhausted. She wiped her face and rested her elbows on the transparent glass of the overpass, looking very dejected. “Or did you just see it as a trivial thing you could use to get back at President Li?”
“You have no idea how many resources and how much status you had that people envied,” Lan Qi said, lowering her head, her voice also low. “But you had such a good hand, and you played it to pieces.”
Liu Sinan had been stunned from the very first sentence Lan Qi shouted.
After hearing her say all this, Liu Sinan opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but nothing came out.
Because a large part of what Lan Qi said was true.
Perhaps it was the forced marriage from seven years ago that Liu Sinan couldn’t let go of. Over the years, she had often inexplicably resisted everything Li Jinping recommended for her.
When Li Jinping didn’t want her to act in a formulaic drama, she would go and make a cameo appearance.
When she didn’t want her to take suggestive photos, she would go abroad and appear in beach photos with her foreign friends.
When Li Jinping wanted her to sign with her company, she insisted on starting her own studio.
When Li Jinping wanted her to be managed by the best agent from her entertainment company, Liu Sinan specifically requested the most difficult-to-deal-with Lan Qi in the industry.
There were so many examples like this.
At first, it was just a difference in their ideas. Liu Sinan couldn’t adapt to everything Li Jinping had created for her.
Liu Sinan felt she was a plain little sparrow, and an ugly duckling that would never be able to fly. Even when she wore a slightly more expensive gown, she would worry that the threads would break during a runway show.
Not to mention that as soon as Li Jinping came along, she had a whole set of custom-made jewelry created for her.
She felt like a little hamster whose only sunflower seeds had been taken away. She watched with desperate eyes, anxious and sad, but then she was put into a luxurious treehouse filled with nuts.
She didn’t know what to do. She felt awkward and uneasy. Her eyes had nowhere to look, and she didn’t know what to do with her hands and feet.
Later, it became Liu Sinan’s unilateral and unreasonable rejection. She couldn’t adapt to Li Jinping’s elegance, so she used her willfulness and arrogance to bring Li Jinping down. It was as if she was using this method to express her dominance and her dissatisfaction with the marriage. Little did she know that the sharpest person is often the weakest.
When Li Jinping was with her, she often had to endure Liu Sinan’s sharp words and pointed wounds, trying to figure out her true thoughts and her vulnerability.
Liu Sinan thought aimlessly that this was probably why Li Jinping was tired.
Just then, a car stopped below the overpass. The director who had just scolded Liu Sinan came from the other side of the bridge and said to Liu Sinan with a fake smile, “Our President Zhao wants to have a word with you in the car, Ms. Liu.”
“President Zhao? Zhao Qiran?” Liu Sinan felt the name was very familiar and she had definitely heard it somewhere before.
The director could tell what Liu Sinan was thinking from her expression and said in a sarcastic tone, “From what I know, many of the first-tier brand endorsements you have, Ms. Liu, are from President Zhao’s company. President Zhao heard about your recent situation and wanted to show some concern. Whether you go or not is up to you, Ms. Liu.”
Only then did Liu Sinan remember who Zhao Qiran was.
It was the first masquerade ball she went to with Li Jinping after returning from abroad.
The host of the ball was an old lady who had lived overseas for decades before returning. She held a noble title from a Western European country.
The old lady had asked Li Jinping to help design the stage.
Li Jinping was talented and beautiful and had a high level of artistic skill. From the silk embroidery on the stage steps to the 3D ink wash effects on the platform, the overall effect was not only classically Western European and magnificent but also combined the elegance and subtlety of Eastern culture. The performance of the piano and guzheng together was so stunning it captivated all the guests.
And Zhao Qiran was the makeup and hair person for the ball. From the moment the ink wash princess came out, she had completely lost to Li Jinping.
Zhao Qiran got drunk because she lost at the ball. When she was sobering up outside, she ran into Liu Sinan. She remembered that this was Li Jinping’s little plaything, and she was very much to her taste. She couldn’t help but feel lustful and wanted to take her to a guest room.
Liu Sinan, of course, struggled with all her might. She kicked and screamed, putting on an attitude that she would rather die than be defiled.
“What’s the point of acting like a saint when you’re a whore? If you serve me well, you’ll be well-rewarded…” Zhao Qiran was strong and was about to pull her into the room when she was met by a flustered, frantic Li Jinping, her face as still as a pond before a volcanic eruption.