Chapter 116: Little Bei Got Slapped
Tian Xiaoxiao saw this, and her temper worsened. Right from the start, Mu Jingzhe had already heard rumors about this child star from the crew members she was familiar with.
It was said that she really knew how to act but didn’t have a good reputation. There were also rumors that she would bully children her age. She would even look down on and suppress some little-known adult actors.
Upon hearing this, Mu Jingzhe made a mental note to stay alert at all times.
She accompanied Little Bei to filming, but unlike Mother Tian, she wasn’t a full-time caregiver. Mu Jingzhe was only doing this part-time. After meeting Director Lu last time, she had created a job in the production team for herself by helping out with costumes and makeup.
Coincidentally, the costumes and makeup person Lu Yuan had previously worked with had left to give birth, so Mu Jingzhe took over.
Although there was a change in the working mode, this was still her old profession. Furthermore, period costumes weren’t used in this movie. Many actors could even wear their own clothes during filming, so Mu Jingzhe easily got the hang of it.
The filming process had started three days ago, and everything was going quite smoothly. Because the filming location was in the county city, the other four kids even came to visit.
However, something went wrong on the fourth day. Tian Xiaoxiao’s character also had a lot of tragic scenes, so she needed to wear makeup.
It was fine with Little Bei and the others, but when it was Tian Xiaoxiao’s turn, she cried out in pain while Mu Jingzhe was applying theatrical blood on her face. “Auntie, what are you applying on me? My face hurts, and it feels so uncomfortable.”
When Mu Jingzhe heard that, she quickly washed her up. After washing her up, she didn’t see any redness or pimples. Everything appeared normal.
However, Tian Xiaoxiao kept crying out in pain. The same happened when she applied makeup on her again. Mother Tian said that it was too dangerous and refused to let Mu Jingzhe touch her daughter’s face again.
Mu Jingzhe had no choice but to stop. “Maybe she’s a little allergic.”
In order to solve Tian Xiaoxiao’s allergy problem, Mu Jingzhe had to make a trip to the city to get new cosmetics.
She had to deliver the goods as well, so she left for two days. Before she left, she reminded Shao Qiyang to take good care of Little Bei.
Mu Jingzhe’s hair ornament business had stabilized, and the number of customers was steadily increasing. It would be fine as long as the business slowly developed.
Ever since Mu Jingzhe had worked with the film crew and interacted with the television station, she’d had a new job designing stage costumes. Many of them were ancient-style costumes.
Mu Jingzhe had found a factory to collaborate with and slowly started this business. Now, there were even clients who came to her.
On the way to the city, Mu Jingzhe had to go to the factory to inspect the goods. If there were no problems, she would hand them over to the TV station.
The factory had a good reputation, and there were no problems with the goods. After Mu Jingzhe handed them over to the TV station, they ordered another batch.
“I want the kind with the cape this time. We all love the blueprints you sent us last time and want to get a set each. My brother-in-law owns a gallery, and their clothes aren’t even as nice as yours.”
Mu Jingzhe blinked. “Sure, I can make more. You can collect them when they’re ready. It’s not expensive.”
In the modern era, there were more and more photography studios, and they all provided clothing. This was also a business. As Mu Jingzhe had worked with a photography studio before, she didn’t feel any pressure.
The TV station staff member’s eyes lit up. “Then I’ll order them!”
Mu Jingzhe nodded with a smile. This was how a business grew.
The TV station was satisfied. Mu Jingzhe also received another piece of good news from the production team of the period drama that she had contacted previously. They replied that they were quite satisfied with her costumes, accessories, and makeup.
Not only did Mu Jingzhe provide fashion design, but she also provided simple hairstyling and makeup services. That production team was tempted.
Mu Jingzhe answered them, feeling satisfied with her new business.
While she was busy, Little Bei wasn’t doing well.
Shao Qiyang had replaced Mu Jingzhe and was following Little Bei around. Even Shao Nan was worried and had come over to protect his younger sister, but when Mu Jingzhe was gone, there were still some changes to the situation.
Tian Xiaoxiao and her mother were very familiar with the production team. Compared to the unfamiliar Shao Qiyang and Shao Nan, they knew how to attract everyone’s attention and pull them over to their side to help.
In the morning, when Mu Jingzhe wasn’t around, it was Little Bei’s turn to start filming, but her makeup wasn’t done yet.
During the filming session in the afternoon, due to an issue with the props, the order of filming was adjusted, and some later scenes were brought forward.
There happened to be a scene when Little Bei would be slapped by Tian Xiaoxiao. Tian Xiaoxiao played the role of Xiao Jiu’s older cousin, who was also neglected by her parents, but she also bullied Little Bei, who was weaker than her.
Usually, there was a trick to slapping someone. It might look painful on camera, but the actor generally wouldn’t slap the other person for real.
The director had even specially instructed Tian Xiaoxiao how to go about doing it and asked Little Bei not to be afraid.
Tian Xiaoxiao and the director had agreed that it would only be loud and clear but wouldn’t hurt. Tian Xiaoxiao had learned before how to slap without hurting anyone. When the time came, they would just apply makeup to make Little Bei’s face appear red and swollen.
However, when it was time to film, Tian Xiaoxiao slapped Little Bei for real. The slap was so crisp that Little Bei’s face hurt.
Tian Xiaoxiao had been in the production team since she was young. She was smart and she had learned to observe things from a young age. She had seen and learned all kinds of open strifes and veiled struggles between men and women in the production team.
To Tian Xiaoxiao, taking advantage of filming to vent her anger was a piece of cake.
Little Bei felt that something was amiss. This was different from what Mu Jingzhe had described before. However, seeing that Tian Xiaoxiao acted as if this was only natural and she hadn’t made a mistake, and because the director didn’t say anything, she swallowed what she wanted to say.
Shao Qiyang had no clue what was going on. Thus, Little Bei was at a disadvantage.
When Tian Xiaoxiao saw that Little Bei didn’t say anything, she knew in her heart what to do. She could have completed this scene smoothly, but she deliberately made a mistake so that the scene had to be shot again.
The face-slapping scene started once more. This time, Tian Xiaoxiao hit Little Bei even harder than last time. The slap was so hard that Little Bei’s ears were ringing, and she couldn’t react for a while. Thus, this time, the scene had to be shot again.
In the end, they filmed two more scenes. Tian Xiaoxiao slapped Little Bei harder and harder each time. Little Bei’s face was red from the slaps. Tian Xiaoxiao was afraid that the director would suspect her, so she even said that Little Bei’s skin was too tender and would turn red with just a touch.
Little Bei, who was standing the closest to Tian Xiaoxiao, could feel the thick malice in her. At this point, everything was clear to Little Bei.
Tian Xiaoxiao was doing this on purpose. She deliberately slapped her so hard and kept messing up so that they could reshoot this scene over and over again.
Each time the scene was reshot, she had to endure another hard slap. If she was slapped a few more times, her face would definitely swell to the point that one wouldn’t be able to look at it anymore.
Little Bei looked at Tian Xiaoxiao and Mother Tian. She held back her tears and looked at Shao Qiyang and Shao Nan.
They were asking around why she had to be slapped like this, but everyone told them that this was what filming was like.
At that moment, Little Bei was certain that her mother had been sent away on purpose. They wanted to deal with her while Mu Jingzhe wasn’t around.
Little Bei was right, but there was more to it than what had occurred to her. Hitting her and bullying her on purpose was only the beginning. Tian Xiaoxiao had bigger ambitions. She hoped that after this incident, Little Bei would be afraid and would leave on her own.
This way, she might be able to get the leading role and kick out a strong competitor.
This was the method that Tian Xiaoxiao had learned to use previously. Some children were very young and foolish. They were unable to endure any hardships or pain. They only had to be tormented a little and they would stop showing up out of fear.
During the next take, Tian Xiaoxiao shook her aching hand and used a lot of strength to give Little Bei a tight slap across the face. However, this time, something changed.