Chapter 130: Chapter 130: The Art of Instigating Others
“I was wondering who that could be, turns out it’s Wei Ruolan. She really can’t sit still,” Mu Lingyun said, corners of her mouth lifting in a smirk. “Miss Zhang is truly a friend of Wei Ruolan? I don’t think so.”
Zhang Xinwan frowned in displeasure. “If I’m not Ruolan’s friend, what am I then?”
Mu Lingyun sneered. “Miss Zhang, perhaps you’re just a mad dog Wei Ruolan let loose!”
“You…” Zhang Xinwan trembled with rage, lifting her hand to slap Mu Lingyun.
Mu Lingyun caught her swinging hand and shoved her to the ground, speaking lightly, “Miss Zhang, it would be better if you didn’t resort to violence. Otherwise, I’m afraid you won’t be able to walk out of this restroom. It would be quite unseemly to have others carry you out.”
Having said that, Mu Lingyun walked away in her high heels.
...
Zhang Xinwan was left sitting on the ground, her face turning from pale to purplish in quick succession.
–
As soon as Mu Lingyun came out of the restroom, Zhai Yuewen chased after her, “I saw you go in there, and then Zhang Xinwan followed. Did you see her?”
Mu Lingyun nodded.
“What did she say?” Zhai Yuewen continued to ask.
“It was all incited by Wei Ruolan. She thinks I bullied her friend, so she came to seek revenge on her friend’s behalf, not realizing she’s being used,” said Mu Lingyun indifferently. “Wei Ruolan isn’t the brightest, but she seems quite adept at instigating others.”
Zhai Yuewen had also come to dislike the name Wei Ruolan by now.
“After today’s incident, there will inevitably be some unfavorable comments about you online. Do you want to deal with them?” Zhai Yuewen asked.
“No need to bother, at most they’ll say I don’t meet the expectations, I’m not the best, or that my acting is poor. Let them talk. This kind of negative press won’t cause a big stir,” said Mu Lingyun.
Zhai Yuewen also felt that if it were just this kind of remark, there was no need to bother. That’s because the publicity photos had already set the expectations for Mu Lingyun’s portrayal of the Empress very high.
There’s a saying that the higher the expectations, the greater the disappointment.
Sometimes the audience’s expectations are too high, and even if the performance is decent, they still won’t be satisfied because it didn’t reach their anticipated level.
As expected, it didn’t take long for topics about the start-up press conference to appear on Weibo.
Among them, Zhang Xinwan and the theme song were the hottest subjects, followed by some disparaging Mu Lingyun.
#MuLingyunFallsShortOfHighestStandards
#MuLingyunPoorActing
Some netizens felt that Zhang Xinwan’s apparent concern for the show indicated that Mu Lingyun’s acting must be poor.
Others agreed with Zhang Xinwan that the director of “Shengshi” was known for having high expectations and, even if Mu Lingyun had potential, she might not meet the director’s standards.
Of course, there were also those who believed that Mu Lingyun’s costume photos already showed that her acting was quite good, and that she would definitely do a good job with the drama.
Since public opinion wasn’t one-sided, the impact on Mu Lingyun was minimal, so Zhai Yuewen didn’t take any action.
–
In the following days, Mu Lingyun busied herself with her matters, and on Wednesday she went to the film city, officially joining the crew.
Because there was a shoot scheduled for Thursday.
The initial filming went smoothly, until the fifth day when it was time to shoot a scene with the Guqin.
This scene was scheduled for the evening. She had just woken up when she saw a screenshot sent to her by Zhai Yuewen.
It was a screenshot of a Weibo post by Zhang Xinwan.
Zhang Xinwan V: Heard that “Shengshi” is filming a Guqin scene today, and I volunteered to be the music advisor. After all, I don’t want the show to falter on the details. And as for certain actors, we naturally don’t expect her to be able to play, since the Guqin isn’t something one can learn well in a few days or half a month, but at the least, she should learn the motions, right? [image]
The image showed her practicing the Guqin on her schedule.