Rapid Collapse (GL) - Chapter 29

Both of them had their own thoughts but still arrived at the film studio together naturally.

Han Ning sat down for makeup, while Shen Xi was waiting for Chen Rong. After just a few minutes, Chen Rong arrived and called Shen Xi away. Along with Chen Rong came a female screenwriter. Han Ning recognized her—like Chen Rong, she had a good reputation and several well-known works.

After Shen Xi left, Han Ning’s eyes unconsciously followed her figure until An An, the makeup artist, had to gently turn her head back to keep the makeup process undisturbed.

Only then did Han Ning withdraw her gaze.

Around nine o’clock, Han Ning headed to the set. Xu Lier wasn’t in good condition today—her face was pale as if she were sick. She was either a beat too slow with her lines or her expressions weren’t right. This led to frequent NGs all morning, and only a few scenes were completed.

Zhou Heyang frowned, took off his headset, and checked the time. It was almost noon. He stood up, walked over to Xu Lier, and asked, “Are you feeling unwell?”

Xu Lier forced a smile and shook her head. Han Ning could tell she was just holding on.

She thought to herself that, despite her young age, Xu Lier was quite dedicated. However, work was work, and her poor condition was indeed slowing down the progress. Before Zhou Heyang could return to his seat and resume filming, Han Ning called out to him: “Director Zhou…”

Zhou Heyang turned around. “What is it?”

“It’s almost lunchtime anyway. Why don’t we wrap up a bit early? She’s probably overwhelmed with all these scenes back to back. Let her take a break. Once she recovers, she’ll be able to perform better this afternoon,” Han Ning suggested while glancing at Xu Lier.

Zhou Heyang thought about it and figured a few minutes wouldn’t make much difference. So, he agreed and let Xu Lier take a break. After he left, Xu Lier looked at Han Ning gratefully and said, “Thank you, Sister Han Ning.”

Han Ning smiled and shook her head. “No problem. Go get some rest.”

After Xu Lier left, Han Ning sat on a stone bench, resting her head on her hand, feeling bored. She looked up toward the meeting room where Shen Xi was and guessed that it would take a while for her to finish.

“Perfect timing…” Han Ning smirked, stood up from the stone bench, and walked over to a group of extras who looked like street thugs, casually chatting. She cleared her throat, and the group immediately stood up, smiling. The leader of the extras asked, “Sister Ning, do you need our help with something?”

Han Ning turned to the leader and said, “Brother Mai, since we have free time, are you interested in taking on a little job?”

Mai blinked. “What kind of job? What do you need us to do?”

“It’s a quick job, won’t take more than ten minutes, and the pay is good,” Han Ning said with a smile. “Your outfits are just right for the part. If you’re interested, come with me.”

Hearing about good pay, the four extras were eager to earn some extra cash. After all, if Han Ning said the pay was good, it must be worth it.

They nudged Mai and said, “Let’s go, let’s go! Better than just standing around talking.”

Mai nodded and led the four extras into Han Ning’s spacious van.

The van weaved through the streets and finally arrived at a long alley in the old town.

Han Ning parked, took out a black suit jacket from the car, put it on, and then opened the door. “Get out and follow me.”

The group was confused but didn’t ask questions since Han Ning had already stepped out.

They followed her.

With Han Ning, there were now six people, making the group look quite intimidating in the narrow alley.

They arrived at the front door of Shen Fengmei’s house. Standing behind them, Han Ning instructed, “Knock on the door. When someone comes out, just act fierce, but don’t use violence. Just scare them.”

The group nodded. One of them, a chubby extra with tattoos covering his arms, banged on the door and shouted, “Open up! Open the door, or we’ll kick it down!”

Inside, Shen Fengmei was doing laundry. When she heard the noise, her first reaction was that debt collectors had come again. She quickly wiped her hands, forced a smile, and opened the door. The moment she saw the chubby man, her heart clenched in fear, and she stammered, “You… wait a moment…”

Standing behind the extras, Han Ning listened to Shen Fengmei’s trembling voice. Thinking about the slap mark on Shen Xi’s face yesterday, she felt a sense of satisfaction.

The extras were indeed professionals. Even though they didn’t understand the situation, they quickly went along with it. The chubby man waved his hand and shouted, “Wait? Wait for what?! We’re tired of waiting! Hand it over today!”

“I really… don’t have any money right now. Please, let me talk to my daughter. She’ll give me money. She has a lot of money…” Shen Fengmei was so scared that she was babbling. Since she owed money to so many people, she couldn’t tell which creditor had sent them. Even though they looked unfamiliar, she didn’t dare question them.

The moment Han Ning heard this, anger surged inside her. She pushed aside the extras and walked directly in front of Shen Fengmei with a smile. “Auntie Shen.”

Seeing Han Ning, Shen Fengmei became even more confused. Then, she suddenly realized she had been tricked. These people weren’t debt collectors. Pointing at Han Ning, she yelled, “You hired them?!”

“Of course. Isn’t it obvious?” Han Ning looked at the extras and then back at Shen Fengmei with an amused expression. “Auntie, last night, I heard everything clearly. You were the one who said you wanted to cut ties with your daughter. But now you want money from her to pay off your gambling debts?”

“What’s it to you? Who do you think you are?” Shen Fengmei rolled her eyes and turned to go back inside, but Han Ning stopped her with a serious expression. “It does concern me. Her business is my business. If someone makes her happy, I’ll treat them with respect. But if someone upsets her, I won’t let them off easily.”

Shen Fengmei was intimidated by the number of people and didn’t dare lash out. She clenched her teeth in frustration and glared at Han Ning with hatred.

Ignoring her, Han Ning patted her shoulder, leaned in slightly, and whispered, “Auntie, I suggest you stop now. Otherwise, today will just be the beginning.” Her voice was soft, but every word carried a clear threat.

“You must have heard the rumors about how dark and ruthless the entertainment industry can be, right?” Han Ning gave a chilling smile, then delivered the final blow. “Do you want to experience that darkness firsthand?”

After saying that, Han Ning turned and left with the extras. Watching their backs disappear, Shen Fengmei felt a chill run down her spine. She had no doubt that the girl’s threat was real. Leaning against the doorframe, she took deep breaths to calm herself before trembling back inside.

Back in the van, the extras started showering Han Ning with praise.

“Sister Ning, why did you even call us? You handled it all by yourself! I was so scared just listening, it felt like a horror movie!” the chubby extra chuckled.

“Exactly! We didn’t even do anything, but Sister Ning still paid us… It feels unfair,” Mai added.

Han Ning ignored their flattery, focused on driving, and checked the time. Shen Xi should be done by now. She spoke calmly, “Don’t tell anyone about today. Each of you gets 500 as hush money. If I hear a word about this elsewhere, well…” She left the rest unsaid and just gave a mysterious smile.

“We won’t, we won’t! We’re not gossips,” the chubby extra laughed nervously.

“Yeah, right…” Han Ning rolled her eyes. “Every time a paparazzo comes to the set, you guys spill all the gossip. Good thing I keep my nose clean, or you would’ve sold me out by now!”

The extras, caught red-handed, awkwardly avoided eye contact and fell silent.

Back at the film studio, Han Ning transferred the money to Mai and let them split it. Then she sat on her usual stone bench, waiting for Shen Xi.

Sure enough, in less than ten minutes, Shen Xi texted: ‘I’m done! Let’s go eat. I want hot pot.’

Han Ning smiled and muttered to herself, “Hot pot at noon? Xi Xi, you must be really craving it.” Then she replied: ‘Okay~ I’m waiting at the stone bench.’

Shortly after, she heard Shen Xi’s footsteps approaching. Pretending not to notice, Han Ning waited. Shen Xi, thinking she wasn’t aware, childishly covered her eyes from behind and whispered, “This is a robbery!”

Han Ning grabbed her hands, stood up, and whispered back with a smile, “You can rob my money… or my heart.”