Chapter Fifty-Four: A Lamb Entering the Tiger’s Den

The next morning, in the grand lobby on the first floor of an international hotel, Xiaoli stood in the center, feeling almost suffocated. She hesitated about whether to go upstairs, but another voice inside her whispered insistently: Go up, go up—that’s the ladder to a bright future!

Yet deep within, a stubborn resolve battled against that urge: You must become an actress openly and honorably, relying on your own talent to make a name for yourself; you cannot bring shame to your parents.

Thus, a somewhat comical scene unfolded that day in the hotel: a cleaning lady pushed her cart floor by floor, repeatedly encountering the same woman in a long dress in the elevator. At first, she paid little attention—after all, many guests came and went, often forgetting things.

But by the fifth encounter, even the usually taciturn cleaning lady couldn’t help but ask, “Miss, are you looking for something?”

Xiaoli froze. She had actually been riding the elevator up and down multiple times. The building had twenty-four floors, but she was too afraid to press the button for the thirteenth floor, which explained the repeated meetings with the cleaning lady.

“Oh... yes, that’s right!” she replied, flustered. She realized that continuing like this might draw suspicion.

The cleaning lady didn’t press further; she was merely curious. “Which floor are you headed to?” she asked as she prepared to press a button.

Xiaoli hesitated, then said vaguely, “Oh... I’m going to the thirteenth floor,” and absentmindedly pressed the button for thirteen. She quickly tried to press it twice more to cancel, but the elevator had no such function.

Resigned, she stood stiffly, ready to face whatever came.

With a ding, the elevator stopped. Xiaoli hesitated, then stepped out. Her eyes immediately caught the doorplate: 1302. Just as she was about to turn back, the elevator doors slid closed, the arrow pointing upward.

Since she was there, she might as well settle in. Summoning her courage, she dragged her long legs slowly to the door of 1302.

She thought, If anything feels wrong, I’ll run immediately!

To her surprise, the door to 1302 stood wide open, nothing amiss. Peering inside, she saw a large glass window framing a beautiful cityscape and distant mountains.

It was a suite; the outer room resembled a large reception room, with sofas, a tea table, and cabinets, all exuding a formal atmosphere. The furniture was solid rosewood, resembling an office.

Xiaoli relaxed slightly when she saw two men dressed formally seated inside, rather than the pajama-clad person she had imagined.

She quietly exhaled, feeling ashamed of her earlier nervousness.

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One of the middle-aged men teased, “First time meeting, and you’re already late—do you know how serious that is?” It was Hu Wenyi.

Xiaoli hurried a few steps forward and lied casually, “I’m terribly sorry, I’m unfamiliar with this city and got lost just now.” Seeing Hu Wenyi there, she dropped her guard.

The other middle-aged man stood up politely and said with great courtesy, “You must be Ms. Jiang Ruolin. I’m Zhang Jun. Pleased to meet you.”

Only then did Xiaoli recall her assumed identity as “Xiaolin.” Hearing that this was the director of Perfect Lamb, she quickly stepped forward to shake hands, a bit shy.

Director Zhang was considerate, politely urging, “Please, don’t stand—have a seat.”

Xiaoli remained still, prompting Hu Wenyi to chuckle, “Why just stand there dumbly? Scared of meeting the great director?”

Zhang smiled kindly. “How could Hu’s junior sister be intimidated by an old local like me?” He sat back down first and sipped his tea.

Hu Wenyi seemed to see through her thoughts and said while drinking tea, “You think this is Director Zhang’s bedroom and are afraid to enter? Young people these days lack some backbone.”

Xiaoli blushed, unsure how to respond to such bluntness.

Zhang explained patiently, “It seems Ms. Jiang misunderstood. This is our script discussion office. When things get hectic, I sometimes rest here briefly. You’re new, so it’s normal you don’t know. Finding a quiet place nowadays is difficult, and scripts require intense focus.”

His explanation eased Xiaoli’s mind, and she finally sat down on the sofa, moving slightly closer to Hu Wenyi.

Hu Wenyi smiled silently and thoughtfully handed her a cup of tea. Xiaoli whispered a thank you.

Zhang then turned to a briefcase by the desk and pulled out a small stack of papers, handing them to Xiaoli. She took them respectfully, immediately recognizing the script. She wasn’t entirely inexperienced.

Holding the script, she felt a wave of reassurance.

While she immersed herself in the pages, Hu Wenyi finally spoke, “No need to be so obsessed—the script is dead, but the director sitting in front of you is alive.”

Xiaoli suddenly realized she had been somewhat rude from overexcitement.

“Yes, director, do you have any specific instructions?” She carefully placed the script on the sofa, worried tea might spill on it.

Director Zhang noticed her small gestures and nodded slightly in approval.

“Have some tea first. You must be parched after coming all this way.” He paused. “No instructions yet, but I have a habit—any actor must know the script inside out before filming. I don’t allow filming without that, and I don’t give much time either...”

Xiaoli nodded eagerly, politely sipping her tea, indeed feeling thirsty.

Zhang continued, “You might think I’m strict, but that’s my style. After years of insistence, veteran actors are used to it, and it works well. We rarely need to reshoot scenes. You know, production costs keep rising these days...”

Hu Wenyi interjected to ease the mood, “Don’t scare the girl. There’s always an adjustment period.”

Xiaoli anxiously asked, “Director Zhang, may I ask how much time I have to memorize the script?”

“Filming starts at noon tomorrow. That’s all the time you have,” Zhang answered bluntly.

Xiaoli’s smile froze. She stole a glance at the thick stack beside her heart pounding. “I... have to memorize it all?”

Zhang nodded. “This is just two episodes. You’re the second female lead, so you have quite a few lines. But there’s no other way.”

Xiaoli inwardly gasped—this was a death sentence.

Still, she dared not complain and firmly said, “Please rest assured, even if I have to forgo food and sleep, I will complete the task. I’ll take the script home and start memorizing now...”

Zhang’s face showed approval, but he waved his hand. “Time is tight. If you keep going back and forth, you won’t finish. Better stay here and study. Everything you need is here.”

“Ah?!” Xiaoli gasped inwardly—memorizing lines in a hotel room with two grown men? Could she focus?

Hu Wenyi seized the moment, “Filming starts tomorrow. Zhang and I have many things to handle, and we’ll be leaving soon. Don’t get distracted. Just listen to Zhang and memorize the script here. By the way, here’s the room key...”

He pulled out a card from somewhere and placed it firmly before Xiaoli.

Zhang stood, grabbed his briefcase, and motioned to Hu Wenyi to hurry. They appeared genuinely busy.

Hu Wenyi smiled, got up swiftly, and as he closed the door behind him, he called out, “Don’t slack off! Good luck!”

The door shut, leaving Xiaoli frozen in place, unable to react, let alone refuse.

It took her quite some time to calm her racing heart. Turning to the window, she watched Hu Wenyi and Zhang drive away.

Memorize it—there’s no turning back now!

With less than twenty-four hours left and a script estimated at over a hundred pages, the workload was staggering. Xiaoli felt dizzy and drank several cups of tea.

Fortunately, her foundation was solid. The next three or four hours would be the most grueling of her life. Without blinking, she managed to memorize nearly twenty pages.

But soon exhaustion overwhelmed her. Despite drinking two cups of tea to stay awake, she couldn’t fight the drowsiness. Holding the script, she slumped on the sofa, drifting into a deep sleep.

Before long, a sweet smile appeared on her lips.