AD Chapter 20
However, in the middle of the night, Su Ning was suddenly awakened by an earth-shattering sound. When he realized that the female lead of the show was Fan Xin, his first reaction was to turn and look at Chu Zichen.
Su Ning wasn’t sure if Chu Zichen knew, but Fan Xin, like him, had once been a lover of Gu Lingfeng.
Chu Zichen was glaring unhappily at Fan Xin from a distance. When he noticed Su Ning staring at him, he shot him an irritated glance. “What are you looking at? Did I say something wrong? This woman is old and ugly. If it weren’t for her connections, would she have achieved anything?”
Compared to the nineteen-year-old Chu Zichen, Fan Xin could hardly be considered "old," but she was one of the few actresses in recent years with both acting skills and looks. Plus, her natural elegance made her nowhere near "ugly."
What was more frustrating for Su Ning was that Chu Zichen himself had only reached this point because of Gu Lingfeng’s backing. He didn’t understand how Chu Zichen could say such things so confidently.
However, it seemed that Chu Zichen didn’t know about Fan Xin’s past with Gu Lingfeng, which made Su Ning’s expression turn a little strange. If he didn’t know, then Chu Zichen’s comment would be completely nonsense.
— Was it resentment over losing his position in the cast?
Meanwhile, Fan Xin finally finished greeting the relevant people. She asked her assistant to distribute some small gifts she had bought for the crew members as a gesture of apology for her late arrival.
When comparing the two, it was clear that Fan Xin was far more tactful than Chu Zichen, and no wonder everyone liked her. After cutting ties with Gu Lingfeng, she built up her career from the ground up with her talent, eventually achieving the success of a top-tier actress.
In contrast, Chu Zichen, who rose quickly from a talent show, had many fans but couldn’t compare to an actress like Fan Xin, who had several representative works.
Chu Zichen’s entry into the crew was purely due to the director’s favor toward Gu Lingfeng, the investor. Although he played the male lead, this was a female-dominated drama, so the male lead’s role wasn’t that important. As long as the actor was good-looking and had acting skills that matched a decorative vase, it was enough.
— Of course, Chu Zichen didn’t know this and might not fully understand it if he did.
Fan Xin, with her assistant in tow, made her way over, handing out gifts until she reached Su Ning and Chu Zichen. When she saw Su Ning standing next to Chu Zichen, she was pleasantly surprised.
“Su Ning, is that you? Long time no see, I didn’t expect to run into you here.”
Su Ning smiled. “Xin Jie, long time no see, you’re looking even more beautiful.”
Fan Xin covered her mouth and laughed. “It’s been years, and your words have become even sweeter. I never knew you could talk like this.”
Seeing how familiar they were, Fan Xin’s smile became even more genuine. Her assistant, curious, glanced at Su Ning and asked, “Xin Jie, do you two know each other?”
“Yes—” Fan Xin was about to explain that Su Ning had once been her assistant, when a cold snort interrupted her.
Su Ning inwardly cursed. Here it comes again, the little tyrant is about to get upset.
Sure enough, feeling ignored, Chu Zichen’s expression turned as cold as ice, and his snort made the air tense. It was Fan Xin who quickly reacted. She grabbed a gift from her assistant and handed it to Chu Zichen, smiling.
“You must be Zichen, right? You look even better in person than in the photos.”
Chu Zichen forced a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Not at all, Xin Jie’s maintenance skills are unparalleled.”
This was a jab at Fan Xin’s age, implying that she could only stay youthful thanks to good skincare. Fan Xin’s smile remained, though it faded slightly. Her assistant was immediately displeased and wanted to retort, but Fan Xin stopped her.
Chu Zichen, used to doing whatever he wanted, wasn’t concerned with the assistant’s reaction. After saying that, he turned his cold gaze to Su Ning. “What are you still doing here? Did I invite you to stand around? Do you need me to tell you what to do?”
Without even acknowledging Fan Xin, he ignored her entirely and walked past her with his head held high.
Fan Xin watched him walk away and then turned to Su Ning, whose expression was equally complicated. “... Is it him now?”
She only asked half a question, with a meaningful look.
Su Ning understood immediately. He shrugged helplessly and nodded. He didn’t have time to explain much and quickly followed after Chu Zichen.
Fan Xin’s assistant, sympathizing with Su Ning, muttered quietly, “I’ve only heard about Chu Zichen before, but seeing him in person... being his assistant must be so miserable.”
Upon hearing her assistant’s comment, Fan Xin suddenly smiled, as if pondering something. “Miserable, you say? Maybe... but I wonder who will end up miserable.”
The assistant was confused and looked at her. Isn’t it obvious? The one who’ll be miserable is Su Ning, the one working for Chu Zichen—constantly running errands, and still having to endure all his moods.
Fan Xin simply smiled faintly, not explaining further.
After spending just half a day with Chu Zichen, Su Ning felt more exhausted than after being tormented by Gu Lingfeng for an entire night. Well, comparing the two wasn’t quite fair—at least when Gu Lingfeng tormented him, there was some satisfaction. But after only half a day with Chu Zichen, Su Ning felt as though he had lost all will to live.
Once the actors officially joined the crew, meals were provided by the production. Sometimes, when filming in places with poor conditions, the crew would sit on the floor and eat instant noodles from a bowl. When you’re in this line of work, there’s no room to be picky.
But when Chu Zichen first arrived, he had yelled at a crew member over a box lunch, and not long after, he almost caused a scene over a bottle of water.
The crew provided everyone with bottled mineral water, and some actors brought their own drinks. When their own water ran out, they’d just drink some of the crew's water. But Chu Zichen refused. He claimed he couldn’t drink regular mineral water because he was allergic to it.
Su Ning was too tired to even criticize him. Was "allergic" the excuse for everything with Chu Zichen? He complained about being allergic to clothes, food, and even water.
He clearly wasn’t suited for life on Earth—he should live in a vacuum-sealed environment instead.
Though exhausted, what could Su Ning do? He was just an assistant.
In the end, Su Ning drove around the city, found the brand of water Chu Zichen wanted, and brought back an entire box.
By the time he got back to the hotel, it was already late, and Su Ning didn’t even have time to eat. He took a quick shower and collapsed into bed, only to be disturbed by his photographer roommate snoring.
Since joining Chu Zichen’s crew, Su Ning hadn’t had a single good meal or a full night’s sleep. In just a few days, he had visibly lost weight. He later learned from other crew members that he had originally been assigned a single room, but Chu Zichen insisted that he not get special treatment, making him share a room with the crew, even mentioning the photographer's name.
From the way things were going, Su Ning became more certain of his suspicions.
— Chu Zichen was deliberately targeting him.
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