Chapter 53: A Rather Unfair Deal

Early the next morning, seeing that Zhu Xueshuang was still sleeping soundly, Chu Luoxi decided not to wake her. Instead, she called Liu Yujia, briefly explained what had happened, and asked her to come to the hotel. Only then did she have the chance to focus on her own affairs.

She had already noticed that Xiaoxue seemed to have some kind of backing. There were certain matters she could let go of, no longer needing to worry. As for the events of her previous life, it was likely she had been coerced by someone who held her weaknesses, leaving her with no choice but to compromise. More than that, Zhu Xueshuang must have kept many truths hidden from her family; otherwise, how could things have ever come to such a pass?

Now, with Zhu Xueshuang maintaining close contact with her family and having nothing to conceal, there seemed little reason for excessive concern. Chu Luoxi believed the family would handle things well. After all, newly rich families are still new money; sometimes, wealth is not omnipotent, and it can burn the hand that holds it…

“Xiaojia, keep an eye on Xiaoxue for me and make sure she doesn’t fall ill. She was soaking in cold water for a long time last night,” Chu Luoxi reminded her, still uneasy about Zhu Xueshuang’s health. “You’re both about to join the crew—filming means your days and nights will be reversed, or you’ll have heavy workloads. Please, be careful.”

“Mm, I understand. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of Xiaoxue. We’ve already agreed that in a few days, our agent, assistant, and several others will join us. We definitely won’t let something like this happen again,” Liu Yujia replied earnestly, clearly aware of the severity of the situation.

“That’s good. I still feel like there’s someone lurking in the shadows behind all this—it’s really unsettling!” Chu Luoxi nodded, her brows still furrowed.

Unable to untangle the mystery, Chu Luoxi decided to set it aside for now. She glanced at the time and just then received a call from Ding Ju, arranging to meet her outside the hotel.

After informing Liu Yujia, Chu Luoxi quickly tidied herself and left.

It wasn’t until she got into the car that Chu Luoxi realized, somewhat belatedly, that Ding Ju had brought a car. Was Senior Xiao being too considerate? Not only lending her a car but even sending a professional driver? Really, wasn’t this a bit much?

Ding Ju shot Chu Luoxi a strange look, her gaze lingering on the hotel Chu Luoxi had just exited. Her heart twisted with worry. The school was right next door, yet she was coming out of a hotel so early in the morning? How could people not speculate?

Originally, Ding Ju had a high opinion of Chu Luoxi: capable, even-tempered, modest, and easy to get along with. As an assistant, working for such an artist would be a blessing. So seeing Chu Luoxi “fall” like this filled her with disappointment and frustration.

Perhaps Ding Ju’s gaze was too obvious, for Chu Luoxi couldn’t help but notice. Leaning her elbow on the car window, chin resting in her palm, she asked coolly, “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Though she’d only worked with Ding Ju for a couple of days while shooting the music video, she found the assistant to be attentive, thorough, honest, and a bit naive—her thoughts always written on her face. She truly was a good candidate for the job.

Well, Senior Xiao and Director Leng have never misjudged anyone. Since Ding Ju had caught their eye, she must have her own unique strengths.

“Uh, well, you didn’t go back to school last night?” Ding Ju fidgeted, stammering, not quite sure what she wanted to say.

“Oh?” Chu Luoxi found it a little amusing. What had she just been thinking? Ding Ju wore her thoughts on her face—how could she not see right through her? Still, she was curious how Ding Ju would broach the subject.

“It’s just… have you heard about Zhou Yuying?” Ding Ju struggled, feeling as if her tongue was suddenly out of her control. She was completely ill at ease.

“With how much gossip there’s been lately, it would be strange if I hadn’t heard!” Chu Luoxi couldn’t help but laugh. This little assistant was quite interesting—trying to make her point by giving examples and taking a roundabout approach. How difficult that must be! It just goes to show that people’s potential only emerges under pressure.

“It’s just… we’re girls, you know. If something happens, we’re the ones who suffer more, so…” Ding Ju almost bit her own tongue. Under Chu Luoxi’s amused, half-smiling gaze, she completely lost her voice.

Suffer more? Chu Luoxi actually thought this was quite reasonable, but hearing it so earnestly from Ding Ju, who looked so serious while trying to give advice, made her want to laugh out loud. This assistant really was unusually adorable!

Seeing Ding Ju so desperate to find a hole to crawl into, Chu Luoxi finally relented and decided to spare her. “What do you mean ‘so’? It’s all in your head. Last night, when I was coming back, I ran into my roommate completely drunk—she couldn’t even walk home, so I just found a place nearby for her to sleep. Getting a room doesn’t always mean something shady is going on!”

As she spoke, Chu Luoxi sighed. She couldn’t blame people for overthinking; nowadays, there were simply too many who lost their way. And that wasn’t limited to women—men were the same.

She remembered when she first entered university, her mentor had warned everyone to keep their eyes open when looking for work and not to be so easily deceived. She’d assumed the advice was about contract terms, but after years in the real world, Chu Luoxi had gradually realized her mentor had been speaking in double meanings, hinting at all the shameful things that went on behind the scenes.

“Really?” Ding Ju let out a huge sigh of relief. She didn’t doubt Chu Luoxi’s words—perhaps not so much because she trusted someone she’d only known for a couple of days, but because she had absolute faith in Senior Xiao’s judgment, plus a bit of that single-celled animal’s super intuition. So her trust came easily.

Though her question sounded like a challenge, her expression was one of certainty. Seeing Ding Ju return to her lively self, Chu Luoxi couldn’t help but be amused. Perhaps it wasn’t such a bad thing to have a sometimes scatterbrained assistant—maybe that was her unique charm?

The journey passed in good spirits for Chu Luoxi, and once the driver dropped them off at their destination, he drove away, proving it really was just a drop-off.

The crew of “Schemes of Beauty and Empire” had already started shooting a couple of days ago. The role Chu Luoxi was vying for wasn’t a lead, so the filming schedule wasn’t affected. As long as the casting change was settled quickly, everything would fall into place.

Since it was an audition, she wasn’t the only one there. After Ding Ju spoke to the crew, they were led to a room where quite a few actresses had already gathered.

Chu Luoxi gave the room a quick scan—there were newcomers and veterans, famous faces and second- or third-tier stars, some who would find fame in the future and others destined to remain forever unknown. For a single role, the competition was fierce indeed. It seemed that even if Director Qiu Xian wasn’t yet a legend, he already had impressive clout.

Pity poor Zhou Yuying. The role had originally been hers, but now, who knew how many here were secretly grateful that her scandal had come to light at just this moment?