The Vicious Female Supporting Character Must Die [Transmigration] GL - Chapter 10: Play Within a Play (2)

After getting out of the car, Lu Zhiyu scanned the QR code to pay and then walked straight to the location indicated in the text message.

Inside the temporary tent, many extras were sitting on the ground applying special effects makeup. The executive director held the script, explaining the blocking and cooperation for the scene.

Lu Zhiyu took a glance from a distance, then told Lu Yuan to politely greet them in the tent first. She herself, led by a logistics staff member, went to a dedicated makeup and changing room.

Under the bright, warm lights, a female actress wearing silver-red armor was tying a blue ribbon into her braided hair.

Her perky nose was close to the mirror. A few strands of brownish-red hair fell over her wheat-colored face. She was gracefully leaning forward, her slender forearm visible beneath the wrist guard, and her smooth, elegant body proportions from her waist upwards were pleasing to the eye, exuding the charm of a mature woman.

The actress heard Lu Zhiyu push open the door and enter. Her thumb gently wiped the slightly pale maple-red lip glaze from her full lips, and her bright eyes cast a sidelong glance.

Her eyes were seductively upturned, and a beauty mark at the corner of her long eyes was faintly visible beneath the makeup, giving her a unique charm.

As soon as Lu Zhiyu entered the dressing room, she saw Ruan Suhuai, the second familiar vicious female supporting character from the game. Her gaze swept over her, and she naturally put on a smile. “Hello, Sister Ruan.”

Ruan Suhuai looked at Lu Zhiyu in the mirror, picked up a bottle of mineral water from the table, and took a sip. Her tone was emotionless as she said, “Are you that artist under Prosperous Media that Du Yueze is keeping?”

“I am Lu Zhiyu from Prosperous Media. I look forward to your guidance on set this time.”

Lu Zhiyu put down her handbag. She sensed the hostility in Ruan Suhuai’s indifferent tone and hesitated on how to respond without seeming threatening. She knew very well that before the Du family’s decline, Ruan Suhuai and Du Yueze had an arranged marriage from birth. Their families were close, and they had grown up playing together, essentially childhood sweethearts.

Ruan Suhuai had liked Du Yueze since childhood, and although she was neglected by the male lead, she was still publicly acknowledged as Du Yueze’s current girlfriend in the industry.

It was perfectly normal for her to be hostile towards Lu Zhiyu.

Ruan Suhuai suddenly picked up the open bottle of mineral water with her right hand and splashed the water in a half-arc onto Lu Zhiyu’s face and body. Irregular water stains appeared on her thin top and short skirt.

A few strands of Lu Zhiyu’s bangs stuck together, and her eyelashes were dotted with glistening water droplets. The smile on her face remained unchanged. She took a tissue from her bag, wiped her face, and said calmly, “Excuse me, did I offend you?”

“I’m sorry, my hand slipped. I’m a bit sensitive to those pretentious names. You must think I’m ridiculous.”

Ruan Suhuai’s stunning face smiled apologetically at Lu Zhiyu. She twirled the empty plastic bottle in her hand, walked to the trash can to dispose of it, then turned her head to look at Lu Zhiyu with an expression of concern for a junior. She pointed to a wadded-up, dirty towel in an empty cabinet and said, “The towel’s hanging there. Go wipe yourself.”

Lu Zhiyu glanced at the towel, which had been used to wipe muddy props, and her eyebrows twitched subtly. This was their first meeting, and she was already making things difficult for her, showing her disgust without inhibition. It seemed Ruan Suhuai truly detested her.

Lu Yuan entered the tent with a copied contract file and immediately sensed the tense atmosphere between Lu Zhiyu and Ruan Suhuai.

She didn’t care what happened between the two artists in the dressing room. If they offended a senior actor in the same group, whether they were right or wrong, they would be seen as in the wrong, and it would also give the director the impression that the newcomers were restless and impatient.

Lu Yuan quickly grabbed Lu Zhiyu’s arm and walked up to Ruan Suhuai. Without a word, she bowed and apologized to Ruan Suhuai, saying anxiously, “Sister Ruan, my artist is always muddled in her words and actions. I apologize on her behalf. I’m truly sorry. Please don’t hold anything she did wrong against her.”

Lu Zhiyu was pulled aside by Lu Yuan. Silently, she twisted open a bottle of mineral water placed in front of her seat and drank half of it.

Ruan Suhuai sat on the chair with an alluring posture, her slightly heroic brows subtly arched. Her thick armor somehow gave her the illusion of boundless charm. She slightly raised her leg, extending her foot in front of Lu Yuan. “Fine, perfect. My shoes are a bit tight, and my feet are uncomfortable. Help me take them off and rub them.”

Lu Zhiyu watched Lu Yuan squat down to help Ruan Suhuai take off her tall boots. Her fingers gripping the plastic bottle tightened abruptly, and she directly poured the remaining water down the back of Ruan Suhuai’s neck, outside the thick armor collar, splashing her cotton pants and making them stick to her thighs.

Ruan Suhuai gasped in shock, her body instinctively rising from the seat. She looked angrily at Lu Zhiyu and the empty bottle in her hand, raised an eyebrow, and said sharply, “How could you pour water on me? Lu Zhiyu, don’t you understand the rules, or can’t you read the room?”

Ruan Suhuai, accustomed to a life of luxury and relying on the untouchable position of the Ruan family’s film company in the Kyoto entertainment industry, often bullied newcomers she disliked. This was the first time she had been treated this way, and she was instantly shocked and furious.

The entertainment industry is rife with unspoken rules, involving financial benefits. A small number of producers and casting directors intentionally make things difficult, engaging in sexual hints. Lu Zhiyu had seen it all. In the past, when she was an unknown newcomer, she would endure humiliation and exploitation in silence. But now, as the female lead and with Du Yueze as her powerful backing, even if she had the worst reputation, she would not tolerate bullying from a small star like Ruan Suhuai, who had only just found her footing.

Even with the nationally renowned Ruan Group Film Studio backing Ruan Suhuai, that was nothing compared to the invincible, universally charming male lead in a Mary Sue world, whom all female characters, including the female lead, would fall for.

Lu Zhiyu feigned nervousness. She took a few steps to the empty cabinet, pulled out the wadded-up dirty towel, and her eyes filled with a layer of guilt. Her voice was softer than a mosquito’s, expressing fear: “Sister Ruan, I’m sorry, my hand slipped, and I accidentally spilled it on you. I’ll go wipe it for you right away.”

Ruan Suhuai saw Lu Zhiyu approaching her face with that dirty towel. The foul, sweaty smell turned her face pale. She moved backward, frantically grabbing Lu Zhiyu’s wrist, and reflexively slapped Lu Zhiyu hard across the face.

The slap was extremely heavy, echoing with a sharp *smack* in the air, directly knocking Lu Zhiyu’s head sideways.

Ruan Suhuai’s hand, gripping Lu Zhiyu’s, became still, as a few cool tears suddenly fell onto the back of her hand.

She froze. She saw that half of Lu Zhiyu’s pure, fair face, smooth as tofu, was red and slightly swollen. Under her lowered long eyelashes, her deep purple eyes, like obsidian, shimmered with tears. When she pursed her lips and lowered her gaze, she was like lotus petals shedding dewdrops, delicate and beautiful, truly captivating.

Ruan Suhuai had always prided herself on her beauty, but seeing the person’s affected demeanor before her, the curious eight characters “beauty sheds tears, captivating and touching” actually surfaced in her mind.

Her eyes, when she looked up at her, were strikingly beautiful, making her momentarily lose herself.

“Xiao Huai, what are you doing grabbing Zhiyu?”

A somewhat annoyed, magnetic male voice suddenly came from behind.

Ruan Suhuai instantly understood. She tried to pull her hand away, but Lu Zhiyu held her wrist tightly. Ruan Suhuai’s stunning face immediately darkened, and she glared fiercely at Lu Zhiyu. She was always the one scheming against others. When had someone ever caught her off guard and made the first move?

Lu Zhiyu felt Du Yueze pull her wrist forcefully, and she bumped into his arms. She stubbornly turned her face away, tears welling up in her eyes. She whispered, “Why are you interfering? I don’t need you to meddle, Du Yueze. You haven’t helped me, have you?”

Du Yueze pinched Lu Zhiyu’s chin. Their noses touched, breaths mingling, eyes meeting.

His voice was deep and magnetic. His thumb wiped away the tears on her cheek. Looking at her cold, defiant expression, he said, “Lu Zhiyu, what do you want me to do? Xiao Huai has been pure and straightforward since she was a child, and she’s never suffered any hardship. She’s a bit willful, a spoiled rich girl. Why did you go provoke her? Getting hit by her, getting humiliated, it’s all your own fault, you know?”

Lu Zhiyu saw Lu Yuan hiding behind the door, watching. She secretly thought, clever girl, then pushed Du Yueze away and turned her back to him. “Mr. Du, I need to change. Please step aside.”

Du Yueze’s handsome face darkened, seemingly displeased at being ignored. He grabbed Lu Zhiyu’s arm as she turned to leave, and as she turned her head, he said, “I’ll have Xiao Huai apologize to you. You are, after all, my person.”

“I understand, Mr. Du.”

Lu Zhiyu’s expression remained impassive. She glanced at Ruan Suhuai’s beautiful face behind Du Yueze, which held a cold, hostile glint in her eyes, and inwardly clicked her tongue. She then turned and walked into the changing room.

After changing into several outfits in the changing room, Lu Zhiyu emerged slowly, her hair styled in a coiled bun, jade beads dangling from her ears, her face bright and charming like a peach blossom. She wore a belted white Han-style dress draped with a dark sandalwood outer robe. Her temples were adorned with silver-patterned jade hairpins inlaid with vermillion stones. A silver snake-shaped waist belt cinched her slender waist. As she moved, the slightly long, light skirt cascaded in layers, and the gold embroidery shimmered with faint light, as if imbued with a celestial aura, as if she were treading on clouds.

“Sister, your outfit is too beautiful!”

Lu Yuan, playing on her handheld game console, instantly brightened when she saw Lu Zhiyu. She circled around her, looking her up and down.

Lu Zhiyu held the annotated script, muttering a few lines. Hearing Lu Yuan’s words, she said playfully, “I’m playing a princess of a dynasty, a member of the imperial family. Of course, the clothes are different.”

Lu Yuan seriously observed Lu Zhiyu in the mirror and said, “It’s different. Some people can’t carry off this kind of clothing, but I think you, sister, wear it with exceptional elegance.”

Lu Zhiyu finished muttering her lines and then practiced her expressions, movements, and pauses in front of the mirror, getting a better sense of how well she would perform.

Lu Yuan placed both hands on Lu Zhiyu’s shoulders and offered a mint candy to her mouth, saying, “Sister, I’m counting on you. For this filming, you have to believe in yourself. Don’t always think you’re bad at acting. Just think that you are this character, and maybe you’ll act better.”

Lu Zhiyu patted Lu Yuan’s hand on her shoulder, smiled, and said, “Just watch from the side. I’ve got this.”

She then turned to face Lu Yuan and asked, “You called Du Yueze, didn’t you?”

Lu Yuan crunched the lollipop in her mouth and said, “If I didn’t call him, and Miss Ruan bullied you, then when Brother Yueze found out, it would all fall on me.”

“Thank you, Xiao Yuan.”

Lu Zhiyu’s eyes flickered slightly. Her initial thought of replacing Lu Yuan with another agent wavered a bit. Lu Yuan was young and easy to talk to, and she could subtly train her. If she got a sharp-witted agent, she’d have to be wary, and some matters might become more complicated.

The dressing room door opened, and Ruan Suhuai stood in the doorway holding a prop sword. She seemed to have already entered character, every movement exuding a heroic aura.

“Lu Zhiyu, your scene is about to begin filming. What happened just now, let’s consider it in the past. I won’t hold it against you.”

Ruan Suhuai’s lips quivered slightly, unable to utter the words “I’m sorry” for a long moment. Her stunning, peerless face was taut with humiliation and a hint of anger.

Lu Zhiyu calmly glanced at Ruan Suhuai and walked straight out the door past her. In any case, competition between them was inevitable in the future, so there was no need for false friendliness. And tonight, she also planned to use the Soul Judgment Bell during the scene to test the other party. If she was a target, then Lu Zhiyu would need to consider a new strategy.