Oh No, My Tail Has Been Seen! - Chapter 24

Chapter 24: This Path Is Not Easy

Was this an illusion?

Maybe she entered the room incorrectly, so Su Miao took two steps back and re-entered the kitchen with her other foot. The result was that the Bai Jin who had her back to her had now turned around, holding a spatula and placing a fried egg on a plate.

“Just sit down. It’ll be ready to eat soon.” Bai Jin’s words made everyone in the room look up, their gazes fixed on Su Miao.

An unknown newcomer, and the top manager was personally cooking breakfast for her.

What kind of treatment was this?

Or, how slow-witted was Su Miao? Was she not afraid that Bai Jin would be upset about doing housework and terminate their contract?

Of course, everyone’s inner thoughts were that Su Miao was in for it.

But as the person in question, Su Miao felt no sense of danger at all. Because Bai Jin had proactively asked her to come over, she was not only not afraid but also a little touched.

Bai Jin must be making this especially for her to repay her for yesterday’s breakfast.

What a great partner.

And so considerate of her colleagues.

Su Miao obediently went to the dining table and sat down, quietly waiting for Bai Jin to bring her breakfast.

Bai Jin’s fried eggs were also sunny-side up, but they looked even more beautiful than the ones Su Miao thought she made well.

And there were no mistakes; both eggs looked so good.

This meant that Bai Jin had some cooking skills.

Next time she cooked for Bai Jin, she had to be more serious about it, so she wouldn’t be seen through as someone who didn’t know how to cook.

“Su Miao, did you know that Xu Sheng and her manager left early?” Zhang Linyu, who was sitting in a corner of the restaurant drinking boxed milk, suddenly remembered this and said to Su Miao.

Having just felt sad about Xu Sheng’s sudden departure, Su Miao’s mood dropped at the mention of it again. She pursed her lips, looking slightly unhappy, but quickly forced a smile. “I got a message from her this morning. I even drank with her last night. It was like a farewell party.”

Zhang Linyu had gone to bed early last night and had no idea about their late-night drinking. Her comment now made her feel like she had put her foot in her mouth. “Oh, is that so? I thought you didn’t know and wanted to tell you.”

She gave an awkward laugh.

Su Miao didn’t want to continue the conversation with her. She nodded and continued to eat her breakfast. She had to savor what Bai Jin had made for her.

As she was eating, Bai Jin suddenly stood up and fiddled with the coffee machine for a while. Soon, the rich aroma of coffee filled the air.

A cup of coffee was handed to Su Miao. “Try it. The beans are different from the last time.”

Su Miao took the coffee from Bai Jin. First, she looked at the design on top. It was still a failed attempt at latte art, a design that was unrecognizable.

She took a sip. The coffee had a slight sourness, but it wasn’t overpowering. Bai Jin had a good ratio of milk, so it was still drinkable.

It was obvious that the coffee beans here were not as good as the ones in Bai Jin’s office.

“Your skills are still great,” Su Miao said, giving her a thumbs-up. “The beans are different from the ones in your office. I’m more used to the ones there.”

After all, this was a show. It wouldn’t be appropriate to say that the coffee beans were not good.

Su Miao had to find a roundabout way to say it, both praising Bai Jin and letting her know that she could taste the difference in the beans.

“Good morning, everyone! I haven’t seen you all day. Did you miss me?” The host walked in, and the once-spacious kitchen was instantly filled with crew members.

“Today is already our sixth day of filming, and we’ll be officially ending tomorrow. So today’s schedule will be very tight and requires everyone’s active cooperation. We hope we can give this show a perfect ending,” the host said. Seeing that some of the guests were still eating, he was not in a hurry and first arranged for the guests who had finished their breakfast to go do their individual interviews.

Since this was a group shoot, Su Miao didn’t want everyone to wait for her, so she quickly finished her breakfast, savoring the coffee one sip at a time.

Drinking coffee too fast was bad for her stomach.

Especially in the morning, Su Miao didn’t dare to try.

Bai Jin also finished her meal quickly. Su Miao immediately stood up and took Bai Jin’s plate to wash it.

Seeing Su Miao instinctively take her plate, Bai Jin’s movements froze for a moment, but she didn’t stop her, letting her do the dishwashing.

Interviews for both artists and managers took a while. By the time it was Su Miao’s turn, it was almost noon.

“Hello, Su Miao. Come sit over here,” the host said, sitting on the other side of the coffee table, gesturing for Su Miao to sit opposite him.

After she sat down, the host brought her a cup of hot tea.

“I finally have a chance to interview you alone, Su Miao. Looking at you this close, you really are so beautiful,” the host said, staring at Su Miao with eyes full of admiration.

This made Su Miao a little embarrassed. She lowered her head slightly and took a sip of tea to hide her discomfort. “Everyone is very beautiful.”

“You’re being too modest.” The host pulled out a small card. “Do you remember when we first came in and voted on who was the ‘face’ of our show? You can say that in that vote, everyone voted for you except for yourself.”

With that, the host made a clapping gesture. “You don’t need to be modest.”

Since he put it that way and showed her the data, Su Miao could only nod and jokingly say, “I didn’t agree to it.”

The host smiled and asked Su Miao, “I want to know, for a great beauty like you, is being beautiful a good thing or a bad thing?”

This was a question many people had asked her.

She had even been asked it during her interview to become Bai Jin’s artist.

Su Miao thought carefully before answering. “There are pros and cons. My face, at first glance, is quite suitable for playing a vicious female supporting role, like in idol dramas, where I’d be the foil to the female lead. In that regard, it might not be suitable for playing the lead role. But in historical dramas, for settings with the ‘number one beauty in the world,’ I feel I can handle it, so that’s my advantage. However, for a role, I’m also willing to look ugly.”

The last sentence she added was very important. If a director happened to watch this show, they would remember that she was willing to look ugly and could hide her beauty for a role.

The host listened intently before saying, “I think everyone can see that Su Miao is a truly dedicated and good actress. She’s willing to make sacrifices for a role. I have one more question, and it’s about you and Bai Jin. She was absent for three days. What was your mood like when she hadn’t arrived yet?”

As soon as Bai Jin was mentioned, Su Miao’s heart skipped a beat. After hearing the question, she quickly relaxed. Fortunately, it wasn’t a tricky question. “Actually, on my first day, I already knew that Bai Jin had to leave to take care of something. She told me about it, and I was the one who agreed to let her leave. So I don’t think it’s a big deal. It was just that at that moment, there was someone who needed Bai Jin more than I did. It was only right for her to go and take care of the other artist first.”

In her heart, this matter had already vanished into thin air ever since Bai Jin returned.

At first, she felt a little wronged, but as soon as she saw Bai Jin, all those feelings of injustice disappeared.

The host nodded in agreement after hearing her words. “Yes, I heard about that matter. I think everyone can understand why Bai Jin had to leave. So, for the last question, do you have any goals for your acting career at this point? Has your interaction with so many managers and artists during this time changed your future direction in any way?”

Su Miao thought about the question seriously. “I’ve had a great time with everyone here in the house. Zhang Linyu, as the person with the most acting experience here, occasionally shares some acting tips and good things from film sets. Xu Sheng shared many of her personal acting experiences, and Li Yaxun occasionally shares tips on how to improve one’s气质 [temperament]…”

In her recollection, Su Miao mentioned every single guest by name, even the managers who rarely appeared on camera.

This was the best answer he had heard all night. The host nodded in agreement, then suddenly remembered something and quickly asked, “Wait, you still haven’t said your goal.”

Su Miao then realized her long speech was just a recollection. As for her goal, she had actually had it since college. She didn’t mention it last time because she thought it was too big and people would think she was overreaching.

But now, she felt that it took courage to speak her goal out loud.

Even if Bai Jin had once experienced that glory, so what? The honor Su Miao would bring to her would also be special.

“My goal is to be the lead actress at the Magnolia Awards.” As soon as Su Miao’s words fell, the host’s jaw dropped in shock.

If it were someone else, he would immediately encourage them.

But this was Su Miao, whose manager had once trained such an outstanding actress.

Did this mean that Su Miao’s goal had always been to be like An Yixin?

But these words involved a movie queen, and as a host, he couldn’t stir up that kind of conversation. So he ended the segment with a compliment, just as he had with the previous guests.

“Alright, our conversation is over. Could you please go help me call Bai Jin in?” The host made a gesturing motion, signaling for her to leave.

“Okay.” Su Miao turned and left, closing the door behind her.

She had been so blunt just now. Only now did she belatedly realize that the next person to be interviewed was Bai Jin. What if they asked her, “What do you think of your new artist’s goal of becoming a Magnolia Award-winning actress?”

What would happen then?

Su Miao smacked her head. Why did she dig a hole for herself?

And there was a chance that once this clip aired, people would immediately compare her to An Yixin.

She didn’t want that kind of attention.

But the words were already out and couldn’t be taken back. Su Miao walked straight out. When she saw Bai Jin, she forced a smile. “Bai Jin, it’s your turn.”

Bai Jin’s eyes rested on her, taking in her expression. After saying “okay,” she walked into the room for the individual interview.

Su Miao went back to where she had eaten breakfast and boredly scrolled through posts on her phone.

There was a lot of recent entertainment news. The top headline was a paparazzi scoop of a director and a female artist being affectionate in a private room, with other people present.

Su Miao recognized the female artist. It was the very popular Yang Yongqi, the female lead of the hit drama “Youth Campus,” who was most famous for her sweet, healing smile.

The most liked comment was.

I can’t believe she’s that kind of person.

Indeed, actors can’t show their true selves to everyone, but this kind of “truth” from paparazzi is not allowed.

Taking candid photos was way out of line.

The trending topic of the day was Yang Yongqi. It was said that she had already lost several endorsements because of this incident.

For a rising actress, the blow was immense.

Su Miao was so engrossed in her phone that she didn’t realize Bai Jin had already finished her interview and was standing beside her.

“Ahem,” Bai Jin cleared her throat.

“Huh?” Su Miao immediately reacted, turned around, and saw Bai Jin standing there.

“Your interview was so fast?” Why was she asked so many questions just now?

But her own answers were quite long, so they took up a lot of time.

Given Bai Jin’s personality, which didn’t seem to like talking much, the host probably couldn’t get much out of her.

So, did the host ask the question she was most worried about?

Su Miao wanted to say something but hesitated. If the host hadn’t asked, wouldn’t it be even stranger if she brought it up now?

It wasn’t just her; many people had this goal. Why was it so special for her?

Thinking this, Su Miao felt much better and no longer worried about the question.

“Are you looking at Yang Yongqi’s gossip?” Bai Jin pulled out a chair and sat down. “Sorry, I accidentally glanced at your phone screen just now.”

Since she had been seen, Su Miao simply put her phone in front of them.

There was no one else around. Everyone had gone back to their rooms to prepare for camping. Su Miao had already prepared her things in the morning, so she just had to go back and grab them later.

“She’s lost several endorsements already. This incident has a huge impact.” Seeing this gossip, it was more of a warning for her.

Maybe in the future, she would also encounter directors who wanted her to drink with them. How she would handle that was a question worth thinking about.

She had never liked those kinds of dinners. She understood social etiquette, but getting mixed up in it would be exhausting, both mentally and physically.

Besides, she couldn’t drink, so she naturally couldn’t be a drinking companion.

“I can guarantee that this kind of thing will not happen to you,” Bai Jin said seriously. “My artists don’t need to do these things for a role. You can rest assured and focus on what you, as an actress, need to do. As for everything else, you can leave it entirely to me.”

Hearing Bai Jin’s words, Su Miao’s heart, which had been hanging in the air, was no longer afraid.

This path was not easy, but the person in front of her would be her protector.