CHAPTER 38: CHAPTER 38: NO ONE CAN SNATCH FOOD FROM MY MOUTH

Ye Tong was slightly stunned, immediately understanding the meaning of "sandbag" as Ji Ning mentioned, she sidestepped, quickly grabbing Lin Qing’s approaching wrist.

With a beautiful shoulder throw, she slammed her hard onto the ground.

"Ouch... you little bitch, you dare to throw me? Don’t want to survive here anymore?" Lin Qing clutched her waist, tears of pain streaming down her face, cursing under her breath.

Ye Tong suddenly realized what she had done, a look of regret just about to surface when Ji Ning’s voice reached her ears, "Your movements are too slow, not strong enough, keep going!"

"Ah? Really? Is this right?"

When Lin Qing came rushing again, Ye Tong reflexively gave her another shoulder throw.

"Ah... sorry..."

But Lin Qing on the ground was like an unkillable cockroach, immediately getting up after falling to the ground, pouncing at her, forcing her to act against her time and again.

From shoulder throws to heavy punches, all the moves Ji Ning taught were practiced once through.

"You little bitch..."

Amidst Lin Qing’s painful angry shout, her body finally couldn’t gather the strength to get up again.

Ji Ning stood up from under the tree, dusted off, and said coolly, "Time to audition."

Ye Tong’s eyes lit up, "Can I do it now?"

"Barely enough to bluff people."

Ye Tong instantly felt a surge of confidence, following behind her heading towards the set.

After just two steps, she suddenly remembered Lin Qing on the ground and hesitated, turning back, "And her..."

"She won’t be a problem."

The indifferent voice carried a sense of nonchalance, instantly giving Ye Tong confidence.

Clenching her fist, she loudly threatened Lin Qing, who was gasping for breath on the ground, "If you dare to retaliate, I’ll beat you again next time!"

After she said that, she let out a long sigh, finally releasing the pent-up anger from being bullied by Lin Qing.

She bounced off to catch up with the figure ahead.

"Sister Ning, wait for me."

On the ground, Lin Qing’s dazed gaze gradually cleared, the burning pain in her body driving her mad.

What happened to her?

Why was she here?

An unknown fear rose in her heart, quickly spreading throughout her body, causing her to shiver.

There’s a ghost...

Definitely a ghost...

***

On set.

Feng Zhong was going to have Ye Tong audition with the scene that was shot this morning.

The role of Cui Niang was temporarily filled by Sister Meng, called in at the last minute.

"’Gone with the Wind’, Act 23, Scene 1, 3, 2, 1, start!"

Under the archway, Ye Tong was dressed in a fitted black outfit, her hair tied high, a gun holster slung behind her, looking like she was in a rush.

Her expression was cold, her eyes showed disdain and numbness towards life, but upon seeing the Green Forest Gang bullies tormenting the elderly, her eyes suddenly became sharp, she flew up with a kick...

Initially, Feng Zhong was willing to give Ye Tong an audition because of Ji Ning’s good martial arts.

Unexpectedly, Ye Tong under the camera gave him such a big surprise.

Unknowingly, he got absorbed in the scene.

Yan Fei, under the camera, has a cold exterior but a warm heart, even though disillusioned with the chaotic world, she still harbors a heart inclined towards good.

She doesn’t say much, relying on her eyes and movements to convey the scene.

Ye Tong had completely immersed herself in the role, even though her action scenes weren’t as impressive as Ji Ning’s, she still moved the audience significantly.

Some people are born to act, as long as you give her a chance, she can shine brightly on stage, and Ye Tong is that kind of actress.

Feng Zhong suddenly felt grateful for his impromptu decision, so he didn’t miss such a good actress.

He immediately decided, letting Ye Tong play the third female role, Yan Fei.

The assistant director was a bit worried, "Director Feng, our biggest investor is Xing Yu, Tiansheng is backed by Xing Yu, if we rashly replace Tiansheng’s artist, they might complain to Xing Yu, we’d offend the investors."

Feng Zhong glanced at him and pointed at the playback on the monitor, "Which Yan Fei do you think is closer to the original character?"

The assistant director glanced at the replay, internally agreed with Ye Tong’s acting, but still said, "She’s ultimately an unknown newcomer, if we rashly employ a newcomer, we’re taking on a huge risk. It’s hard to explain to the investors."

"Let me ask you, as an audience, which actor would you prefer to watch act?"

"That’s a different matter."

"No, it’s the same. The investors invest in TV shows to make money, how do you make money if the audience doesn’t like watching? This matter is settled. If there are any issues later, I’ll take full responsibility!"

Feng Zhong looked at the playback on the monitor, effectively silencing the assistant director.

***

In the makeup room.

Ye Tong was despondently removing her makeup, her heart uneasy.

After the audition, the director showed no clear indication.

She didn’t know if she passed or not.

Besides, she was just an insignificant extra, how could they possibly hand over such an important role like the third female lead to her?

She should stop dreaming.

Be grounded, start from small roles, and gradually hone her acting skills.

Her idol once said, "Every drop of sweat during Body Refinement is a medal of our future success."

She ought not to be so impatient...

"If you rub any more, you won’t have a face left."

Ji Ning lifted her head from the phone screen.

At the same time, a big victory appeared on the screen.

Ye Tong looked at Ji Ning in the mirror and sighed.

"Sister Ning, you don’t understand my current feelings, it’s like you’re starving and suddenly a pure meat pie falls from the sky onto you, and just before you take the first bite, you realize the pie is a mirage, it’s all fake..."

"Impossible," Ji Ning glanced at her, "I can tell the real from the fake."

"Then let’s change the scenario, suppose the pie was suddenly snatched away by someone else."

"Even more impossible, no one can snatch food from my mouth."

Ye Tong: ...

Sorry, she shouldn’t have used an analogy.

"Forget it, let’s go home and eat pie."

Ye Tong listlessly washed her face, dried it, packed the makeup box back into the bag, slung it over her shoulder, and prepared to leave.

"Wait a bit," Ji Ning lowered her head again, tapping the start button of a game.

She was playing a shooting game called ’Chaotic World Fire’, a game Bai Xiaotang recommended for her to download.

Bai Xiaotang, not skilled but overly enthusiastic, often got reported, so her ranking couldn’t go up, and no one wanted to team up with her, so she recommended it to Ji Ning and Lin Yuanyang to play together.

Ji Ning had played a few times, apart from the first two times not getting the hang of the rules and getting headshotted, afterward, she almost won every time, carrying Bai Xiaotang along, barely raising her rank while she did nothing.

Ye Tong thought Ji Ning was still absorbed in the game, so she restrained herself, pulling an apple from her bag and started chewing.

At noon, she was busy being surprised, barely had a bite of lunch, then went with Ji Ning for extra training, now she was truly hungry.

Ji Ning, playing the game with one hand, pulled out two chocolates from her pocket and tossed them to her.

"Where’d this come from?" Ye Tong caught them, asked curiously.

This chocolate brand was imported from Outer Continent, usually not available in stores; even the supermarkets and malls they frequently visited didn’t have them.

"Given by Old Man Feng."

"Hmm?"

Are they that close already?

This quickly?

Ye Tong stared at her for a while, even feeling a bit jealous, finally tearing open the chocolate wrapper, angrily stuffing it into her mouth, "If only you agreed to play Yan Fei instead."

Ji Ning glanced at her, "What’s the rush?"

Just as her words fell, there was a knock on the makeup room door, "May I come in, teachers?"