Lady By The Pillow - Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Fighting for the Role (1)

“What if I say no?”

On the day of the launch ceremony, in addition to the group photos, the official Weibo account posted the cast list on time at 9 p.m.

“The nine-tiered palace conceals a bl00d-soaked struggle, and beautiful clothes and hairpins forge a tough spirit. With a sword as her pen and bl00d as her ink, she crushes the royal power on the battlefield and writes the laws of a new dynasty amidst the flames of war.

Ji Lan, played by @WeiJiuyi, arrives with a blaze.

‘If there is no justice in this world, I will kill my way to it.'”

“The six-tiered palace cultivates ambition, and the phoenix seal tempers a ruthless heart. With power as her blade and schemes as her poison, she molds puppets from the court and sweeps away all evil with her authority.

Jiang Ke, played by @ShiQing, the empress’s call to power.

‘This empress’s ambitions are far more than just being an empress.'”

The post immediately garnered widespread attention on the internet.

Empress was a rare power struggle novel with two female leads. It started gaining popularity on a web novel platform and gradually became well-known throughout the online novel community. When the physical book was published last year, it broke several records for the publisher.

When the film rights were sold, fans became concerned. It was because the original novel was so successful that their worries were justified. There had been too many failed adaptations in recent years, especially in the power struggle genre. If not handled well, they could be boring and long-winded. Many high-quality power struggle dramas had TV ratings of less than 0.5.

The fans finally felt relieved after scrolling through the official Weibo’s main cast. The production company was the well-known power struggle giant “Morning Star,” the script was written by the original author, Guo Xi, and the director was the experienced Fan Erhua. The female lead, Ji Lan, was the new award-winning actress, Wei Jiuyi.

A cast like this could not go wrong. Whoever played the empress would reach for the stars.

“Wen-jie, what do you think? I would bring in a lot more than Shi Qing as the empress.”

In the office of Dou Qinwen, the agent for Sheng Qiao Entertainment, their top actress, Wen Yi, showed great sincerity as she discussed the role change with Dou Qinwen.

Dou Qinwen made two cups of coffee and pushed one toward Wen Yi. “Wen Yi, the cast has been officially announced. Even if our CEO Zhu were to step in, they wouldn’t change the actress, let alone me, an agent.”

Sheng Qiao operated on a “head agent + junior assistant” model. Dou Qinwen personally managed most of the female artists, including Wen Yi and Shi Qing, who was currently on set.

Wen Yi didn’t drink her coffee. She knew it wouldn’t be this easy. She continued to negotiate. “Changing the actress is a hassle, but if it makes the company money, I’m sure CEO Zhu will help me.”

“How so?”

“Shi Qing has been in the industry for almost 10 years, and she’s always been just so-so. To be blunt, the company has been relying on me and Bin-ge for all these years. You’re aware of my abilities, connections, and fan base. I was nominated for Best Actress alongside Wei Jiuyi at the last film festival, and I admit she deserved to win. But this gives us a great opportunity for a publicity stunt. The princess in the movie fights the empress for power, and in real life, Wei Jiuyi and I competed for Best Actress. The company wouldn’t let go of such a great topic, right?”

Wen Yi was a year older than Shi Qing, 32 at the time. She had been in the entertainment industry for over a decade and was very familiar with how to generate buzz. As she said, no entertainment company would let go of such a great opportunity.

Dou Qinwen took a sip of her coffee and put the cup and coaster back on the table. She looked at Wen Yi with a more serious expression. “Xiao Wen, making a movie isn’t always about the publicity.”

“Then what is it about?”

“I gave you the script for Empress first. Do you remember what you told me? ‘The plot is long, and the characters are one-dimensional.’ At the time, the casting director required actors to write a character biography, but you thought it was a waste of time and wanted to just have a meeting. A director like Fan Erhua, who started in film, values the actor’s attitude toward the work.”

Wen Yi was embarrassed. She was used to fast-paced TV shows and a system where roles were decided before the script was even read. She didn’t want to waste time writing a biography and auditioning like a fresh graduate.

But there was a reason. “At the time, I didn’t know the female lead was Wei Jiuyi, or that Morning Star was the production company.”

Dou Qinwen nodded. “I didn’t either. But after I showed Shi Qing the script, she loved it. She stayed up all night to read it and write a character biography. You know she’s always been that dedicated.”

Wen Yi didn’t respond.

Dou Qinwen continued, “So, you can say she fought for this role. But don’t be sad. As you said, the company has relied on you and Xiao Bin for all these years, so we won’t let you down in terms of resources. I know the director Zhu Fei. I’ve mentioned you to him. He’s working on a fantasy drama based on a novel. Would you like to take a look?”

Wen Yi was silent for a few seconds. When she looked up, she had a smiling face again. “Okay, Wen-jie, you’re so good to me.”

Dou Qinwen smiled, but her eyes didn’t. No entertainment company would put all their eggs in one basket. Wen Yi had been in many films in recent years, but she had grown restless. She had even tried to start her own studio after being nominated for Best Actress, trying to break away from the company. Although it didn’t work out in the end, Dou Qinwen knew about it.

As a shareholder and the head agent, she had a responsibility to nurture more talent for the company. Shi Qing was the best choice. She was talented and motivated, but she was also smart. With one hint from Dou Qinwen, “You have to seize it,” she understood that this role was taken from Wen Yi, and she immediately wrote a character biography and went to the audition, afraid the company would change its mind.

One has to be realistic and know their own limits. This role was meant for Shi Qing.

After filming began, the first two days were spent on fight scenes, showing Wei Jiuyi’s early arrogance as she challenged the princes. Shi Qing’s first scene was on the third day, a dance performance during the court rivalry period. For this, she practiced with the dance instructor every day to build muscle memory for a smooth shoot.

Dong Ya had fully recovered on the day of the ceremony. She carried her big backpack and followed Shi Qing everywhere. She also worked as Shi Qing’s unofficial social media assistant, taking videos and photos of Shi Qing’s daily routine for future promotions.

Wen Yi arrived on the second day of filming, quietly, without alerting anyone on the set.

After Shi Qing finished her dance practice, Dong Ya excitedly ran over to her with a bottle of water. “Yi-jie is here to visit! She wants to take you out for dinner.”

“Yi-jie?” Shi Qing paused. “Did she say anything else?”

“No. She just said she wanted to celebrate you getting a big role. She’s already made reservations and is waiting for you.”

“Okay.”

“Qing-jie, why don’t you look happy? When has Yi-jie ever visited a set before? She’s inviting you to dinner; you should be happy.”

Shi Qing took a couple of sips of water. Her gaze was unfathomable. “You know, when has she ever visited a set before?”

Dong Ya was stunned, not understanding. Although Wen Yi was busy with her own filming, she had a good reputation within the company. She was the top female artist, but she was approachable. Dong Ya thought she genuinely wanted to celebrate with Shi Qing.

So why did Qing-jie look so worried?

…

“Xiao Qing, what do you think? Will you consider it?”

In the quiet private room, Wen Yi got straight to the point. She had barely eaten, but she felt full. Shi Qing put down her chopsticks, her expression still calm and unbothered.

“Yi-jie, the cast has already been announced. It would look bad if I dropped out now.”

Wen Yi knew she would say that and came prepared. She pulled a check out of her bag. “It’s not that you’re dropping out; it’s that you’re not feeling well and can’t participate. I won’t let you suffer any losses. This money is enough for you to pay the penalty. I checked, your pay for this film isn’t high, so I’m also compensating you. Since you haven’t started filming, the penalty won’t be high. You’ll actually be making a lot of money.”

Shi Qing smiled. “This isn’t about the money.”

Wen Yi nodded and turned up the heat. “I know, it’s about your hard work. Xiao Qing, I’ve been in this industry longer than you, and I’ve seen all kinds of people. I admit you work very hard, but in our line of work, luck is far more important than effort. This movie might not even be a success. Instead of betting on an unknown, wouldn’t it be safer to take the money? You could use the free time to take on other projects and make more money. It’s a win-win. Besides, Wen-jie was originally going to give me this role. I’m just getting what’s rightfully mine, right?”

Shi Qing had no presence in the company, just like in the entertainment industry. No one cared about what roles she took or what her plans were. Everyone’s impression of her was just “a hardworking beauty,” nothing more.

That’s why Wen Yi had the courage to approach her. A person who was not a fighter and had never seen the dark side of the industry would be easy to manipulate.

Shi Qing listened to her quietly, her beautiful face unmoving.

“Yi-jie, if you truly wanted this role, it would have never come to me.”

Wen Yi’s eyes twitched. “What do you mean?”

Shi Qing said calmly, “You threw this role away yourself. I was lucky enough to pick it up. You just said that luck is more important than hard work. I’ve been working hard for so many years, and I finally found a good role. Of course, I have to hold on to it tightly.”

This was her refusal.

Wen Yi’s face hardened. “Xiao Qing, do you think I’m trying to steal your role? If I really wanted to, I wouldn’t be sitting here talking to you nicely. We’re from the same company, we’re like sisters. What I’m doing is for your own good. You have to be realistic and know your own limits. Nowadays, producers like to cast actors with a lot of popularity in big productions, and they often get torn apart by critics. Your current skills aren’t enough. If you push yourself, you’ll only hurt yourself.”

Shi Qing looked at her, her lips curving into a much wider smile, but her eyes remained calm. Her voice was still gentle.

“Thank you, Yi-jie, for coming here to remind me. I will put in my best effort to play Jiang Ke well.”

A crack finally appeared in Wen Yi’s expression. “So, there’s nothing else to discuss?”

Shi Qing pushed the check back to her. “Jie, you’ve contributed a lot to the company over the years. Everyone can see that, and I’m very grateful. You know I haven’t been very successful, even after all this time. Sometimes, I have to write nine character biographies just to get one audition. You have many roles to choose from, but I only have ‘Jiang Ke’. It was very difficult for me to get this role, so thank you for your generosity.”

The words “thank you for your generosity” could be interpreted on the surface as Wen Yi being generous for giving up the role. But, at this point, the deeper meaning was “please be generous to me.”

There were many ways to ruin an artist, both openly and secretly, legally and illegally. Wen Yi’s connections were strong enough to start her own studio. Shi Qing was an ant at the base of a skyscraper. How could she be her opponent?

“What if I say no?” Wen Yi’s voice was cold.

Just then, Shi Qing’s phone on the table rang. It was face up, and the WeChat profile picture was clearly visible. Even more obvious was the name underneath: Wei Jiuyi.