Toast

Dai Jia continued laughing for a while before lowering her head. Her long curls fell beside her cheeks, blocking her expression from view. After a long pause, she flipped her hair back with one hand. Her heavy makeup was now visible.

"Why aren't you asking me why I agreed to be Zhao Ruoyun's nude double?"

There was a slight patch of redness on the tip of her nose. She half-lowered her eyelids to mask the look in her eyes, clearly not wanting Jiang Se to see the weak side of her.

"I'm sure you have your reasons." Jiang Se blew into her cup.

Dai Jia said with a smile, "It's because I need the money."

"Who doesn't?"

Jiang Se's reply made her laugh again. "Now, that's a nugget of truth."

She poked the teacup on the table around with her finger with black-painted nails. She hesitated for a while before offering Jiang Se a piece of advice, "You should be careful of Yao Xiang." When she said this, she bit her lip. "He's from Taihe Production, an investor of 'Pretense to Reality', and his reputation in the industry isn't all that great."

Dai Jia ran her hand through her hair again with an irritated expression. "I'm not telling you this because I'm venting my anger at being switched out," she paused before continuing, "but aside from offending Zhao Ruoyun, me offending Zhao Xiang last time must've had something to do with me being switched out as well."

The "Yao Xiang" she mentioned was the producer of "Pretense to Reality". Due to her minor role in this film, Jiang Se had only been with the crew for a day, in which the filming of her part was completed. She had merely met "Brother Yao", as the crew members addressed him, once.

He was the man who had offered them a cigarette when she was chatting with Dai Jia at the production base. Dai Jia had clearly heard about the rumors regarding Yao Xiang. That was why she had not accepted his offer of the cigarette back then.

"He's a narrow-hearted fellow and he doesn't have the best reputation." Dai Jia gave two snorts. "When Zhao Ruoyun wanted the actress to be switched out, the two of them just clicked."

Jiang Se noticed that she had emphasized Brother Yao's bad reputation.

"His cigarettes and booze are spiked. You won't be able to break free once you have them in your system." Dai Jia took the cup of cooled tea and finished it in one gulp. "It's one thing to let him have his treat, but it's another thing to be controlled by him and get caught in the quagmire of his making."

"I get it."

Dai Jia's short statement made Jiang Se realize the other side of this industry, but she was not frightened. The entertainment industry was a minimized society with many facets.

However, precisely because it would not be smooth-sailing, Jiang Se found it interesting. The characters and choices of the people in this industry would determine if they would be able to attain their original goals while maneuvering through the sea of temptations and snares.

Dai Jia remembered the tip Jiang Se had given her when she accepted the cigarette the other day. She gave Jiang Se another piece of information.

"Just be careful. Yao Xiang will also be here at the party tonight." She took the glass teapot and filled her cup. She narrowed her eyes and said, "I think you've made quite an impression on him last time. I'm sure you are aware of your own beauty as well. Don't you go falling for his tricks."

Jiang Se nodded. "I won't."

Dai Jia let the matter drop and she raised her teacup. "You know what? I think we're fated to meet each other. Let's have a toast!"

Jiang Se had never met someone who had a personality similar to Dai Jia in her circle of friends. She found this girl interesting throughout their several meetings. Therefore, she raised her cup and touched hers.

The two of them sat there for a while longer and chatted about other things. By the time they exchanged phone numbers, it was already half-past six.

The production team stated that the party would begin at seven, hence it was almost time for them to head up.

Dai Jia carried her bag and ran her hand through her hair. "I'll let you pay this time."

With the two of them having ordered some desserts and drank two pots of flower tea, it nearly cost $600.

Jiang Se produced her card to pay. When Dai Jia saw that she did not hesitate to treat her to this, her smile thickened.

When they arrived at the restaurant on the seventh floor, as designated by the production team, the other crew members were slowly trickling into the venue.

The script supervisor, Li Yi, who recommended Jiang Se to "The 99th Love Letter" was among the first batch of crew members who came early. When he saw Jiang Se and Dai Jia, he beamed. He excused himself from the company of the person beside him and walked up to the girls.

"I see that you two beautiful girls are here early tonight."

When the two female crew members behind him heard this, they laughed and razzed him, "So, what are we? Hags?"

Li Yi entertained them with a shallow laugh. Dai Jia could tell that Li Yi had something to tell Jiang Se, so she found an excuse to sit at the corner and played with her phone.

"Brother Cao from Director Zhao's crew gave me a call. He said that Director Zhao was all praises about you. He even gave you Brother Qin's number. He told me that he'll give you a call if there's a suitable character for you in Director Zhao's new film." Compared to his attitude toward Jiang Se back at the "Pretense to Reality" shoot, he was much better now.

After all, Director Zhao had taken a liking to Jiang Se, and she was different from the other newcomers. Li Yi continued on with his pleasantries and a smile. "Don't forget to give me a call should the opportunity arise in the future, okay?"

Jiang Se replied naturally, "You created the opportunity for me to join Director Zhao's cast. Brother Li. I'll remember this favor."

When Li Yi heard this, his attitude grew more ardent.

After more pleasantries, the members of the production team slowly filled the place.

The female lead, Zhao Ruoyun, would be late. She was involved in another publicity event and would rush over once she was done. The male lead, Hang Yuyi, brought two assistants to the hotel.

The production team had rented an entire dining hall on the seventh floor. Aside from the crew members, there were also representatives from the investing company, so the dining hall was full of guests.

Jiang Se did not play a major role in the film. Therefore, she acted as if she had not heard anything. Without waiting for the crew members to bring her to her designated table, she joined several other female crew members at another table.

When the others saw her seated at the table, they no longer cared to usher her elsewhere. Dai Jia, on the other hand, was escorted to a table with other members of the cast. She sat opposite the actress who replaced her.

The representative from the investing company exchanged a few words with the director, Gu Jiaer. Jiang Se swept her gaze across the hall and noticed Yao Xiang from afar. He was seated near the podium. With Dai Jia's warning still fresh in her mind, she quickly averted her gaze after seeing him.

The dinner had not started yet, but some of the crew members came over and invited Jiang Se over to toast together with a few tables.

Jiang Se was puzzled. She was not a major character in this film. Why would they need her to toast with the other tables?

Moreover, one of the men who came over to invite her pointed toward a nearby table. It was the table where the investors were seated. There were a couple of such tables, in fact. If she were to toast with every single one of them, she reckoned that she would not be walking home that night.

Jiang Se laughed. She rested her chopsticks down and wiped her mouth with a napkin. "May I go as well?"

There was also a woman who seemed to be in her 40s. She kept her hair short so that it was level with her ears. When she heard the question, she said with half a smile, "Since you're invited, it's only natural that you may."

Jiang Se took her wine glass and stood up. The woman said, "There are important people seated there. Don't even think about fooling everyone with soda. I'll be pouring your drink…" She was standing there and giving instructions. Before she could even finish, Jiang Se raised her wine glass and collided with her.