Starlet Taotie Chapter 30 (Part 1)
Chapter 30.1 The Most Primal Desire
The next day, Shao Zemo looked somewhat listless when he arrived on set.
Out of concern for his actor, Zhou Zhilan asked, “Zemo, didn’t sleep well last night?”
Shao Zemo hesitated, looking like he wanted to say something but couldn’t bring himself to.
Zhou Zhilan suddenly remembered something and a realization came upon him. “Did you take Xiao Jiang out to eat yesterday?”
Shao Zemo let out a heavy sigh.
Zhou Zhilan patted him on the shoulder with the understanding of someone who had been through it himself. “Some things, you’ll get used to.”
Shao Zemo: “…”
Zhou Zhilan looked at Jiang Tao in the distance, happily eating breakfast meant for eight people.
Back then, he had thought signing Jiang Tao had been a bargain. He never expected that, in the end, the rest of that money would be spent on boxed meals.
But what could he do? The investor hadn’t said a thing. In fact, he was even taking advantage of the production crew and eating for free alongside her.
Zhou Zhilan glanced again at Shen Zhiyan, who followed Jiang Tao around every day. He never worked, yet somehow showed up on time for every boxed meal.
He slammed his fist on the table in outrage. Can someone get a producer over here and deal with him?!
Seeing Zhou Zhilan in the same miserable boat as himself finally lifted Shao Zemo’s spirits a little. “Director Zhou, it’s not like I’m worried about the money.
“It’s mainly because Jiang jie eats so ferociously. I had nightmares all night. I dreamed I’d turned into a crayfish, and Jiang jie kept chasing me! She even tore off my claws and ate them! It was terrifying, wuwuwuwuwu…”
Zhou Zhilan: “…”
Shao Zemo was depressed.
He had originally wanted to use the dinner as an opportunity to get closer to Jiang Tao, so she wouldn’t be quite so terrifying during filming.
But nothing was working in his favor.
If anything, he was even more afraid of her now.
Fortunately, the scenes coming up didn’t require him to be brave for the time being.
And after being frightened over and over, he had gradually developed an immunity to it.
When they filmed the scenes where he fled alongside the supporting characters, the others would be trembling in terror while he could at least manage to hold his ground for a moment.
And this unexpectedly suited Xie Wuyan’s character perfectly.
As for Jiang Tao, she had been having a very comfortable time with her scenes lately.
Every day, all she had to do was play herself, scare people, and watch the cast scream and scatter in all directions.
Sometimes, she would even come across a few people who contributed some delicious fear.
For Jiang Tao, fear was her most common meal. She was unusually picky about it and didn’t particularly enjoy the taste.
Her being picky wasn’t a problem.
The ones providing the food, however, were suffering.
They lived in fear every day. They had even quietly created a “Survival Check-In Group.”
【Checked in survived another day.】
【Checked in +1 This is too hard, too hard. When will this end?】
【Checked in! I finally got my lunch break, hahahahahaha! I don’t have to live in fear anymore! Chat, I’ll be going ahead first!】
【fk! jealous!】
【I was actually happy at first, thinking my character would live longer and I’d get more screen time. Now I regret it so much.】
【Checked in. I don’t have many scenes left in the script either. I’ll be escaping this hell soon, hahahahahaha!】
【Poor Shao ge. We’re all going to die sooner or later, but Shao ge has to survive until the very end sigh】
【right? I heard being frightened all the time is bad for your kidneys. I’ll get some kidney supplements or something for Shao ge when the time comes.】
【What?! Shao ge has bad kidneys?!】
【Shao ge is so young but his kidneys are already failing?!】
Shao Zemo replied forlornly: 【I’m still in the group guys】
【……】
….
Filming had been progressing very quickly these past few days, so Jiang Tao was able to ask Zhou Zhilan for leave without any problems.
This week, aside from filming ‘Our Village’, Jiang Tao also had to return to the capital to shoot the cover for MINA.
Previously, Jiang Tao and He RanRan had attended Master Chef Shi’s tasting banquet, where they were photographed by paparazzi and suddenly went viral. After that, MINA approached them about shooting a duo cover together.
As a near-top-tier magazine, a MINA cover carried considerable prestige.
For both Jiang Tao and He RanRan, it was an unexpected surprise.
The photographer in charge this time, Bi Chang, was also a big name in the industry.
As MINA’s go-to photographer, he actually wasn’t particularly fond of working with celebrities. He preferred the wild, uninhibited energy of models, the vitality that came through the lens. Celebrities might be beautiful, but they often lacked that kind of impact. Without it, their photos were nothing more than soulless fashion spreads.
Still, no matter how much he disliked it, he was a consummate professional.
The theme had been decided well in advance, and he had communicated with both celebrities beforehand to confirm the shooting schedule.
What he hadn’t expected was for one of the celebrities, Jiang Tao, to be late on the day of the shoot.
Although Bi Chang wasn’t particularly interested in the entertainment industry, he had still heard plenty of gossip.
For example, that Jiang Tao was a terrible actress, willful, and liked throwing her weight around.
So when he heard that Jiang Tao was late, his impression of her immediately plummeted.
Truthfully, he had heard that this cover was originally supposed to go to Su Yingxue.
Although Su was also a celebrity, Bi Chang had seen the fashion photos Ji Qing had taken of her. He had to admit, her ability to express herself in front of the camera was quite good.
So although he wasn’t thrilled about it, he could at least reluctantly accept her.
He hadn’t expected the editor-in-chief to change the person at the last minute, replacing her with someone who couldn’t even keep track of time.
Bi Chang’s expression was grim.
He RanRan was also beginning to feel restless. She had just finished shooting her solo portion.
She had initially been thrilled to land the October cover of MINA, but by the time she finished the shoot, she was completely drained.
Bi Chang was terrifying!
It wasn’t that he actually insulted people. Somehow, his cold, dismissive tone was even more painful. It was as though he were saying, ‘you simply aren’t cut out for this’.
If He RanRan hadn’t been through so much over the past few years and developed a strong enough mentality, she probably wouldn’t have been able to hold on.
After the shoot, He RanRan felt like she had lost half her life.
And precisely because of that, she was even more worried about Jiang Tao.
So although she was quite afraid of him, she still steeled herself and tried to explain for Jiang Tao. “Mr. Bi, Jiang Jiang has a reason for being late. There’s a typhoon where she is, and it affected her flight…”
Of course, Bi Chang knew about the typhoon. Once they discovered the flight had been delayed, Jiang Tao’s manager had already called him.
Normally, there was nothing anyone could do about something like this. They could only push the shoot back a little as both sides understood the situation.
However, Bi Chang was worried about the quality of the shoot. After traveling all this way, Jiang Tao’s condition would inevitably be affected.
If she showed even the slightest hint of fatigue, the camera would magnify it tenfold, even a hundredfold. For the sake of his work, of course Bi Chang was concerned.
Half an hour later, Jiang Tao and the others finally arrived at the studio.
Bi Chang unhappily led the makeup artist and stylist over, but the moment he encountered Jiang Tao, he froze.
Jiang Tao was barefaced, but her skin was in incredible condition, fair and dewy. Her cheeks were plump and rosy, and her lips had an especially beautiful color. She seemed to glow just standing there.
The makeup artist exclaimed in admiration, “Your natural features are incredible. I’ve done makeup for so many celebrities, and I’ve never seen anyone more beautiful than you. And your lip color... I can’t even tell what lipstick shade you’re wearing!”
Jiang Tao thought for a moment. “The chili oil from the xiaolongbao shop downstairs.”
Makeup Artist: “???”
Bi Chang came back to his senses and snorted.
What use was being beautiful? A fashion shoot ultimately depended on one’s ability to perform in front of the camera.
“All right, hurry up and get her makeup and styling done. We’ll start shooting soon.”
TL Note: Bi Chang is another person whose og surname is spelt the same as our mc's. Again, different cn character, same pinyin. So I’m changing it Jiang Chang -> Bi Chang to avoid more confusion.
