Chapter 10: 10

Zhao XinHong founded the Jiang Hua Corporation in the 1960s. He started out by opening restaurants and hotels, and by taking advantage of the times, he was able to seize a market share in the country, allowing the company to develop quickly.

In the same way, Feng ZhongLiang also established Zhong Nan Industries, which was also in the hotel business, in Hong Kong by himself. Due to this, the majority of its focal point and core were on that island; however, this did not deter Feng Jia from wanting to take a stake in the action on the mainland. As a result, they started contacting the Zhao family of Jiang Hua Corporation in an effort to forge marriage-based mutual cooperation.

The Zhao family does indeed possess wealth and connections, though not to the extent Sandy suggested. Although they were well connected in certain areas, they could not possibly be able to pull in the military, especially when it is used to rent out firearms for a movie.

The Zhao family does not have this ability, but the Feng family definitely does.

During the country’s turbulent times, Feng ZhongLiang was a soldier who had actively participated in the revolution. Even if he had immigrated later on to Hong Kong and stayed there for decades, most of his former comrades-in-arms had stayed in the country and were currently in prominent positions in several sectors.

In fact, the connections Feng ZhongLiang holds were also the main reason why the Zhao family became interested in Feng Nan and arranged for their family’s ‘crown prince’1 to communicate with her.

Jiang Se knew all of this, and so she could not help herself but come to a terrible conclusion—that all of this was because of Feng Nan; she surely must have done something.

She immediately thought back to what she had heard Zhang JingAn and Liu Ye discuss earlier; the words ‘Zhong Nan Industries’ and ‘Feng family’ had been mentioned a few times. Jiang Se clenched her hands into tight fists, trying to contain her anger, and her face took on a gloomy look.

It was impossible for Feng ZhongLiang to use his connections in the military just for a movie scene, so without a doubt it must have been that ‘Feng Nan’ who took matters into her own hands.

As for why ‘Feng Nan’ was able to do all this without Feng ZhongLiang’s help—Jiang Se pursed her lips in dismay then let out a soft sigh, “Pei Yi…”

Since they were children, the two of them had been like peas in a pod and had always been as close as actual siblings.

So, no matter the recent disagreement over that dinner date that made him angry enough to suddenly fly to France, Jiang Se believed that ‘she’ only had to make the request and Pei Yi would definitely agree—no questions asked.

The Pei family held a position and status in the military that were unmatched in the country. Pei Yi was not only the eldest grandson of the most recent generation but also the one who was loved the most. As long as he undertook the task, everything would be handled properly.

When Jiang Se considered all of this, she gritted her teeth hard, and the look on her face became even more unbearable. She felt suffocated, confused, and angry all at once—a feeling she was not familiar with.

“What did you say?” Sandy asked, looking inquiringly at Jiang Se. She only faintly heard the two words ‘Pei Yi’ and thought Jiang Se had been speaking to her.

Sandy really could not tell what Jiang Se had said because, despite the fact that the two were standing face to face, she had only muttered under her breath and had not raised her voice.

Jiang Se shook her head, took a deep breath, and slowly unclenched her fists. This was not the time and place for this, she had to reign her emotions in.

“It’s nothing,” she said, even though it clearly was not. Jiang Se’s face was pale, and her brows and forehead were creased together.

Fortunately, Sandy dismissed it as nothing more than the result of Jiang Se being exposed to the sun for far too long and possibly experiencing some mild sunstroke symptoms. In her opinion, Jiang Se must be worried about the upcoming screen test with Director Zhang.

Jiang Se’s role was actually not yet officially assigned to her. Director Zhang merely saw something in Jiang Se and so gave her this opportunity. Whether or not the role ended up being hers in the end would depend entirely on her performance.

“Are you sure you’re feeling all right? The crew has some patchouli oil on hand, so if you’re feeling a little faint, I can go get some for you. I think you’ve been under the sun for far too long, you might be experiencing a mild sunstroke.”

Jiang Se’s thoughts were in turmoil, but she had to consider where she was at the moment. Her actions were limited, so she could only turn to the young stylist and say, “Sandy, thank you,” in an expression of appreciation.

“No need to thank me. I’m just doing this in case you become popular2 one day. So, if you do, please don’t forget us plebeians in your road to success,” Sandy said with a playful smile before giving her a wink.

“Now you wait here, and I’ll go get that patchouli oil. We still need to do some styling for you before you’re finally ready.” Sandy then took a quick glance at her watch and calmly continued, “And we don’t have much time, so let’s step it up.”

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Director Zhang was a very busy man given that he’s technically the head of production. His time was limited, and he would not wait a long time just for her. Jiang Se had to seize the moment.

Jiang Se gave a firm nod of her head and thanked Sandy sincerely again before watching her go out.

After Sandy had gone, Jiang Se inhaled deeply and a hint of rage appeared on her face.

Ever since she became Jiang Se and ‘took over’ her roles as a daughter, sister, and student, she had never once overstepped her bounds and instead scrupulously abided by her principles. She tried her best not to provoke any conflict with her family or at school, afraid as she was to be entangled in all kinds of messes.

Although she was unsure whether she could return to her original body or not, she still made an effort to act as the original Jiang Se would, albeit less impulsive. In this way, even when she was desperately short of money, she still followed the original Jiang Se’s aspirations and took a chance to play as an extra. The original Jiang Se had fervently wished for her to enter the entertainment industry, so she decided she would at least try to fulfill that wish.

She thought about the possibility that she might one day return to her original body, and ‘Jiang Se’ to this one, and that the least she could do was to prevent any problems from being left behind.

She had also wondered what exactly was happening to her other ‘self,’ and speculated a few times whether the original Jiang Se had become Feng Nan or whether Feng Nan had an accident.

She moved to the mainland with Feng ZhongLiang when she was a little girl, abandoning her family and home in Hong Kong. Grandfather had a rather traditional temperament and was a very solemn old man. He had always been strict with her and had instilled in her the virtue of restraint in everything she did. Like her grandfather, she grew up with a cautious personality and kept everything in her heart.

She had grown accustomed to approaching situations with a detached and careful attitude, so when she awoke as Jiang Se that day, she never did anything untoward or acted rashly. As Jiang Se, she only occasionally permitted herself to ponder about her predicament and quietly think of several ways to ‘go back.’

She had considered so many factors and imagined so many scenarios that the only thing she may have overlooked or subconsciously ignored was the possibility that someone might be living inside her ‘own’ body. She also had not expected that person to act so impulsively and in ways that were so totally out of character for her. Now, she was left to wonder what else that person had done!

Feng ZhongLiang was so conservative that even his views on actors and actresses were still the same as they were prior to the revolution: acting was a menial craft, a profession akin to entertainers 3. Now that ‘Feng Nan’ had taken an interest in acting and was actively planning on entering the circle, one can only imagine what kind of changes and trouble it would bring to the Feng family.

That person, whether or not she was recklessly ‘Jiang Se’ was disrupting her life!

When Jiang Se thought of these, her whole body could not stop shaking, and she struggled to calm herself down.

Her heart was in a mess and her mind even more chaotic. She sat there in the dressing room and let everything wash through her. Eventually she stood up and a determined look crossed her face.

She had to find out what was going on and figure out who was inside of ‘Feng Nan’ and if it was ‘Jiang Se’ or somebody else.

A moment later, Sandy stepped back inside the dressing room and handed over the patchouli oil. Jiang Se applied it to herself, but she still could not calm down. Her heart was raging, and she had nowhere to vent.

She sat there and quietly fumed as Sandy blow-dried her hair. A minute later, a makeup artist came in, running his makeup box in tow—unexpectedly, it was an acquaintance, Tony.

Tony flashed a hasty smile at Jiang Se, then deftly opened his makeup box and started examining her face from left to right.

This time, Tony had been told that Jiang Se would not need to blend in with the crowd; as a result, he decided to put on her a CC cream in a shade slightly darker than her own skin.

“Your skin is so pale, it’s even whiter than my palest CC cream,” Tony remarked under his breath. “But given the scene you’re about to film, this should do it. It’s not like I have any other lighter shade anyway.”

Jiang Se’s facial features were very delicate yet also prominent, so Tony only put some of the cream on her face and then lightly started fixing her eyes.

The script supervisor had already told Tony what kind of look the Director was looking for. Jiang Se was to audition for a role that would give her a short amount of screen time. She was to play a brave and stubborn girl who would rather die than submit 4. She would then die in the hands of the enemy, shot point-blank by a gun. 

Tony took out several eye pencils and began drawing on the corner of her eye, making it look less upturned. He also drew on more hair on her eyebrows, so that they appeared sharper and rougher. There was no need to put on lipstick, her lips were already red enough, so Tony opted to blend a foundation with light pink undertones and a silver white lipstick and sketch out some scars on her face.

Footnotes

Crown prince – A moniker that I will retain. It just means that they are the heir of the family with the most prospects. There’s no royal or noble blood involve here.    红 hong – Literal translation is red but here it means making it big/turning popular.    戏子 xi zi – It means entertainer, performer, or a professional opera actor, but it is used here with contempt or in an derogatory tone of voice. Female singers in the ancient times were mostly women from brothels, they often sold their ‘skills’ (singing, dancing, etc) and of course sold their bodies. So xi zi is not a flattering term.  宁死不屈 ning si bu qu – Literally translates to ‘rather die than surrender’

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