Chapter 299 - Get into position!

"Ms. Vivian, I've found out some info about that rude woman," Assistant Ting whispered to Vivian Siew's ear while the latter was glaring at Xiao Lei. 

"What?" Vivian Siew asked as she looked at Assistant Ting. 

"She's a newcomer, that's definite. Her name is Xiao Xiao Lei, and according to what I found out, this was indeed her first role in the entertainment sector."

Vivian Siew narrowed her eyes as she snapped, "Can you tell me something useful?"

Assistant Ting gulped and she quickly added before her boss got even angrier, "According to some of the staff members, President Wei personally welcomed her when she arrived earlier, and from what they could see, they seem to be quite close to each other."

Vivian Siew thought about this for a moment before musing, "Should I call her?" 

"You mean Ms. Fan?" 

Vivian Siew nodded. After a moment of thought, she said to Assistant Ting, "Give Ms. Fan a call and tell her about this Xiao Xiao Lei. She has been wondering about who the female lead is. If she finds out that the female lead is someone with no experience, she would definitely do something." 

Assistant Ting nodded with a smile. "Of course! Ms. Fan wouldn't have agreed to you being in this show if the female lead is a nobody! What if she screws up and brings down the ratings? Your fame, as well as Fan Entertainment's reputation, would be directly affected as well!"

She then looked at Xiao Lei, who was still reading at her script and making notes on it, and she said with a judgmental tone, "I wonder if she sleeps her way up to this role. Tsk tsk tsk... These newcomers always do this to get to the top fast." 

"I'll kick her down to the bottom fast enough," Vivian Siew sneered. "Ting, go and tell others from the Fan Entertainment about this. I'm sure they would think the same way!"

Assistant Ting nodded, and she immediately ran off to talk to the other actors and actresses from Fan Entertainment. As per Vivian Siew's remark, they were furious once they found out that they had to work with an inexperienced actress, and not only that, but this inexperienced actress was also the female lead actress!

They wanted to complain to the director, but at the same time, they were kind of afraid of him as well. This director was famous for his temper, and he would not hesitate to fire his actors and actresses if they pissed him off, especially at this point in time when they hadn't begun to film yet.

In the end, they agreed to Assistant Ting's suggestion and sent their respective assistants to make a complaint to their managers at Fan Entertainment. 

...

"Alright, guys! Get into position!" the director's assistant yelled through a make-shift cone, which he made from some papers stacked together. "In one minute!" 

At the moment, Xiao Lei was looking at a message by Han Ye. 

[Filming started?]

Upon hearing the call, Xiao Lei quickly typed a reply.

[Not yet. One more minute. They just called for us to get ready. I have to go now.]

Just as she was about to move into her position, she received a reply. When she saw the message, she grinned before handing the phone back to her assistant. 

[Alright, break a leg... Figuratively. I'll see you at home in a couple of hours. Have fun.] 

....

"Alright, Xiao Lei, your scene would be the second one, and it's easy. Have you read your script carefully?" the director asked as he glanced at Xiao Lei. He was one of the few judges who were at her audition, and he was impressed by her acting skills despite having no experience in it.

As such, he had more patience with her. Anyone else who tried to get into the cast by backdoor would have been treated a lot worse than this. 

Xiao Lei nodded. "Everything. You can test me."

"There's no need," the director said. He was glad that Xiao Lei actually did her homework, and he could tell from her expression that she was serious about this. "Your character comes home from work after picking up her son and sees her husband with another woman. There-" The director was briefing Xiao Lei when he realized that someone was missing. He looked around before asking his assistant, "Where's the substitute actress for her?"  

His assistant frowned and looked at the arrival sheet in his hand. "She's here, but I don't know where she went!" 

"Then go and find out!" the director snapped. "Do I still have to teach you that?!" 

The assistant shuddered and quickly replied, "Yes, boss!"

However, before he went off, Xiao Lei called out, "Wait!" 

She then turned to the director and said with a gentle smile, "I can do this scene by myself." 

"There's a slapping scene. Like literally slapping scene. President Wei personally mentioned that a substitute should be used for all action scenes," said the director. Even though he thought that President Wei was too protective of this woman, he did not argue with him about this because he knew that President Wei cared more for this movie than anyone else. He figured that President Wei had his own reason.  

"But this is not really an action scene," Xiao Lei retorted. "This is just a slapping scene. I can still handle that by myself. For the small stuff, I feel that I should do it myself, and it would also be better if the audience can see my face instead of mostly my back. Otherwise, there's really no point in me being here." 

The director frowned. He looked at his watch for a second before looking up at her. "Are you sure?" he asked with a serious tone. 

Xiao Lei nodded. "Yeah, I can do this. I have an idea on how to portray the character in that scene. As long as I can finish that particular scene within two shots, I should be fine."

The director looked at her, and after a few seconds, he nodded. "As long as you can act well, two shots is more than enough." 

He then turned to his assistant. "Tell everyone we are ready and get all those who are supposed to be in this scene to be on standby. I don't want someone else disappearing on me! Send a message to everyone who is not here yet. If they aren't here within the next hour, they can consider themselves banned from ever starring in anything I direct."

His assistant nodded and ran off.