Chapter 24: Bitches Are Hypocritical
Chapter 24: Bitches Are Hypocritical
Wendy was starting to feel sleepy.
Then all of a sudden, Carter's assistant trotted over to where she rested.
"Miss Finch, the director asked you to come to him."
"Okay."
That certainly woke her up.
She stood and followed the man to the shooting site.
Carter was waving at her from a distance.
"Wendy, come over here!"
"Yes, yes.Here I am."
She stopped in front of him.
"Director..."
With a serious expression, he pushed his glasses on the bridge of his nose and pointed at an imposing figure nearby.
"Do you see that person? You've just returned from abroad so you probably don't know who he is.He is the president of the largest agency in the country, Kane Evans from Glory Media.He was present during your audition a few days ago."
Wendy nodded along.
Of course she knew Kane.
"Mr.Evans has especially come today to see your acting."
Carter patted her on the shoulder and leaned close to whisper, "Seize the opportunity!"
It came as a pleasant surprise to her.
She was quite knowledgeable about the layout of the local entertainment industry.
Somewhere in the past, the dominating brokerage company had been Starlight Media.
It was known among specific circles that the head of Starlight Media had relied on the financial resources and connections of his wife's family to turn his business from a small, unknown entity into the largest and most successful one throughout the country.
But Glory Media had later surpassed Starlight Media and emerged stronger.
Despite being registered mere five years ago, Glory Media had the Oliver Group at its helm.
That being the case, they had managed to poach most of the most sought after actors and actresses in the industry within a year.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration now to say that half of the celebrities in the country's show business all came from Glory Media.
With that said, they already had a heap of A-lister stars under their company, so why was the CEO here to see Wendy's performance in particular? : She didn't think it was some special favor because he had recognized her as Rosie's cousin.
No, Wendy's relationship with Rosie had never been anything special Eris and Rosie were probably more intimate with each other.
Moreover, she had only met Kane once, when she had come to his wedding as a bridesmaid.
Even with that, she doubted he remembered her after all these years.
Then, could it be that he had truly been impressed by her audition? Well, whatever.
Either way, Director Williams was right - this was a rare chance that she couldn't miss.
"Is that okay, Wendy?"
"It's no problem at all."
Carter nodded and asked his assistant to call Eris in.
He gave her instructions to change her makeup and costumes to accommodate a different scene.
The scenes and episodes weren't necessarily shot in order, so the filming process was often adjusted according to the situation.
The setting they were preparing for now was supposed to be the second time that Lady Faye slept with the emperor.
At this point of the story, Lady Ivanka had already been promoted and she was residing in Frangrance Pavilion.
As the day unfolded, Lady Faye did not pay her respects to the queen.
Instead, she went straight to Frangrance Pavilion to visit its lady resident.
Lady lIvanka's father had been the military counselor for General Miller, who was Lady Faye's father.
To put it bluntly, Ivanka's father was General Miller's most trusted confidant.
A new emperor had ascended the throne, and he did not put as much trust in the general as his predecessor had.
And so, Faye's father kept a low profile.
Nevertheless, the emperor sent his spies, and eventually coerced Ivanka's father to file a false report accusing the general of rebellion.
Faye's family had been destroyed in the aftermath.
And the person who had carried out the sentence was none other than the trusted counselor, Lady lvanka's father.
Given their history, the Concubine Ivanka was the person that Lady Faye hated the most.
The actresses got into position, and when their eyes met, the air crackled with animosity.
"Action!"
The screen showed a shot of Wendy as Lady Faye.
She entered Frangrance Pavilion and lounged at a chair, sipping a cup of tea casually.
From time to time she would look around and eye the decorations in the room, as if she had nothing else better to do but appreciate the view.
Eris' appearance now consisted of a darker dress, and her makeup was a little heavier than before, too.
She walked into the shot as Ivanka, frowning the moment she spotted Faye.
"Faye"
"Wow, it's so beautiful here!"
The other woman interrupted with a smile.
Then Faye slowly stood and walked over to where several pots of expensive plants were on display.
She reached out to touch a flower and stroked its petals lovingly.
"It seems that the rumors were right,"she said, her smile still in place.
"Seeing as there are still such beautiful flowers even in this season.
You are indeed the Emperor's favorite concubine.
Is it how you supposed to enjoy your life when you're favored by the Emperor? By attending to these delicate expensive exotic flowers? Bitches are indeed hypocritical!"
The camera zoomed in on Wendy.
She was still smiling sweetly, but her hand was crushing the flowers it held with unmistakable vitriol.
"Ah.I apologize.I've accidentally damaged your precious plants.Well, I heard that you are the kindest and the most considerate woman in the palace, so you won't blame me for my blunder, will you?"
Wendy raised her eyebrows as she spoke, and her demeanor shifted when she finished talking.
Her eyes narrowed, and she threw a sideways glance at the other actress.
The air around her vibrated with intimidating pressure.
"I...the-the flower...it..."
The rest of the cast and crew who had been watching felt shivers run down their spines as they continued to look.
Then it was Eris's turn to say her lines.
But the moment she met Wendy's malicious gaze, she lost her train of thought and was unable to say a word.
"Cut!"
Carter yelled, so furious he almost spat out blood.
He hadn't expected Eris to lose her focus at such a critical moment in the scene! He was always serious when it came to work, and everyone knew it.
He raised his head from behind the camera screen and turned to the actress.
"Eris! What the hell are you doing? !"
"I'm sorry, Director Williams!"
Eris said, biting her lips.
Carter struggled to suppress his anger and finally said, "One more time!"
Wendy was still in full command of her emotions, and performed even better during the second take.
She said her lines like she was a demon from hell, her eyes cold and horrible.
"It's just...just...a pot of plant...If you like it, just take it."
Despite herself, Eris felt like a giant python had just curled itself around her body and was slowly constricting.
She had gone cold, her mind went blank, and she kept stuttering.
She couldn't deliver her lines at all.
"Cut!"
Carter was livid this time.
"Eris! Lady Ivanka is always calm and composed when dealing with matters at hand.Why are you wearing a frightened expression? Do it again!"
They went for another take.
And another one after that.
And yet another one.
All of their takes failed to pass muster.
Wendy glanced pointedly at Eris before turning to Carter.
"Director, why don't we take a break?"
"Fine, ten-minute break, everyone!"
The staff dispersed at once.
Eris rushed to Wendy with gritted teeth.
"What the hell did you do to me?"
Why had she kept forgetting her lines the moment she met Wendy's eyes?! "Eris, as long as I don't let you go today, you will always be like this.Believe it or not?"
Wendy smirked at the other woman.
"Shut up!"
Noticing that other people had been looking at them, Eris immediately held her tongue and left in a huff.
She proceeded to rehearse her lines over and over with her assistant.
And each time, she managed to say them perfectly.
"Break is over! Let's commence the shoot!"
Eris was confident after acing her rehearsals, but when they resumed filming, she forgot her lines again.
And she just kept making mistakes.
They ended up with eighteen takes of the same scene, and Eris had failed in all of them.
She couldn't even say a word during the last one.
Carter halted the shoot and the whole site fell into silence.
All eyes were on the director, who was obviously on the verge of an angry outburst.
The staff cowered among themselves, not daring to make a single noise.
"Stop! Stop this right now!" Carter had taken off his hat and thrown it on the ground, and was even stomping on it.
"You can't speak a sentence? Do you even know how to act? There's no room in this project for people who can't act, so if you don't know how to, then leave!"
Eris had never been so humiliated in all her years in the entertainment industry.
Her eyes turned red with unshed tears and her jaw tightened.
Beneath the long sleeves of her costume, her hands clenched into tight fists, her long nails biting hard into the skin of her palms.
‘Wendy Finch! Wendy Finch!’ She swore to herself she would make Wendy pay for this!