My Moonlight Overlord

Episode 4

Chapter 4

After the dinner party dispersed, YunHe had a restless night. Memories she thought she had long forgotten surged up from the depths, disturbing her dreams and denying her any peace.

This led to her waking up with a puffy face and dark circles under her eyes, reminiscent of a national treasure.

Fortunately, she had no scenes to shoot in the first half of the day. YunHe skipped breakfast, opting instead for black coffee to reduce the swelling and applied a facial mask. To make things easier for the makeup artist, she even applied her foundation herself, layering on concealer under her eyes as if it were free.

She arrived at the set around one o'clock in the afternoon. Just as YunHe was changing into her costume, without even having time to put on her wig, the assistant director rushed into the makeup room calling for her.

"YunHe, come out with me for a moment," he said, looking serious before heading out first.

YunHe, unsure of his intentions, exchanged a glance with Xiaotang and hurriedly followed, lifting her skirt as she went.

The assistant director waited in a secluded corner outside the makeup room. When YunHe arrived, he awkwardly rubbed his hands and then pulled out several pages of a script from his pocket, handing them to her.

"Your scenes have been altered. Here's the revised script. Take a look."

YunHe skimmed through the pages and immediately understood—the few scenes she had left were nearly halved, leaving her with just a thin stack of pages.

Her expression darkened immediately.

Looking directly at the assistant director, she couldn't hide her distress. "Why has this happened?"

The assistant director, who genuinely appreciated YunHe, felt a pang of guilt, but the decision was out of his hands.

Sighing, he explained, "It's not about you. The production team thinks these adjustments will better suit the storyline."

Clearly, it was a half-hearted excuse.

YunHe lowered her head and after a moment, forced a smile. "Okay, I accept. But, could you at least tell me if it's something I did, or if..."

The assistant director, not wanting to stir up further issues, still gave her a hint out of sympathy. "It's the investor's decision."

After saying this, he walked away without waiting for her reaction.

Among the investors of "Princess's Escape Plan," only one had recently visited the set—Meng Jun from Chengfeng.

YunHe stood still, unsure how to react.

Was this Meng Jun's doing?

Should she be relieved that Meng Jun still remembered her? Or should she feel sad that he still held a grudge?

Confused, YunHe crouched down, burying her head in her arms. Her mind was a mess, unable to understand why Meng Jun would do this.

In the makeup room, the artist assigned to her couldn't find YunHe anywhere.

Xiaotang, trying to soothe her earlier, had just stepped out when she saw YunHe crouching down.

"YunHe, what's wrong?" Xiaotang hurried over.

YunHe shook her head, her voice muffled. "It's nothing."

Clearly, it was not "nothing."

Xiaotang grew more anxious, her eyebrows nearly knotted in worry. "Did someone bully you? What did the assistant director do to you?"

"It's not about him. I'm just... just a bit upset."

"Why would you be upset all of a sudden?"

YunHe looked up, her makeup intact and not smudged by tears, though her eyes were slightly red.

She sniffed and said, "Really, it's nothing. I just ate too much seafood yesterday, feeling a bit off."

Xiaotang was skeptical. "…"

"Let's go back inside," YunHe said, standing up first and clenching her fists with an air of determination.

She had given herself some kind of pep talk because her silhouette as she walked back seemed defiant.

After a week of shooting, with her scenes cut by half, YunHe wrapped up her part.

On the day she left the set, she bid farewell to the director, the assistant director, and several other crew members she knew well, then quietly boarded a plane back to City C with Xiaotang, carrying the bouquet the crew had given her.

YunHe's agency and Du Entertainment were located in City C, not far from the small one-bedroom apartment she rented.

Once home, she informed her agent, Zhu Yao, of her return and then gave Xiaotang some time off. Xiaotang, being a local, was thrilled to take her suitcase and rush home to see her parents.

With no new roles lined up by Zhu Yao, YunHe decided to stay close to home and spent a week lounging in her apartment.

Her days were filled with instant noodles, takeout, and alternating between sleep and playing on her phone or computer, living the blissful life of a happy homebody.

After a week of this foggy existence, Zhu Yao showed up at her door.

Dressed in a professional suit, the agent's first sight was the unfinished cup of instant noodles on the coffee table.

Dropping her professional demeanor, Zhu Yao immediately started scolding, "How many times have I told you to watch your diet? Do you have any sense of being an artist?"

YunHe, startled, responded quickly, "I'm sorry, Sister Zhu."

She was a good and obedient client, except for her uncontrollable love of eating, especially fattening junk food.

Zhu Yao rolled her eyes, "Admitting your mistake without changing, right?"

YunHe shook her head, "No, no, I'll change for sure this time."

Her attire did nothing to help her case: she was dressed in a baggy Pikachu onesie, complete with ears, her hair messily tied back, lacking any semblance of glamor.

Zhu Yao, tired of reprimanding her, pulled several scripts from her bag and placed them on the table.

YunHe didn't rush to look at them, instead pouring a glass of water for Zhu Yao and sitting next to her, looking demure and downtrodden.

Zhu Yao took a sip of the water, perfect in temperature, and began, "These were all roles you could have played."

YunHe caught the past tense, "Were?"

"Yes, were," Zhu Yao said, staring straight at her. "But now, these roles have been snatched by others."

"Snatched?" YunHe echoed, still not fully grasping the situation.

Normally, only leading roles would be subject to such 'snatching' due to financial maneuvers. But for a supporting character like herself, hardly noticed by the audience, this was unusual.

"Yes," Zhu Yao confirmed. "I had secured you a role in an upcoming project that was about to start shooting. They were just waiting for you to sign the contract and join the crew. But suddenly, they called to say they'd hired another actress. I thought it was a coincidence at first, but after it happened with two more projects, I investigated and found it might be connected to Chengfeng."

Understanding dawned on YunHe.

She didn't know how to react, her hands nervously twisting together.

But her agent wasn't done. "YunHe, tell me the truth, did you offend someone at Chengfeng?"

YunHe's first instinct was to play dumb: "No, how could I? I hardly meet anyone from Chengfeng."

She played the part well.

Unfortunately, Zhu Yao was not fooled.

"Really? Then why were your scenes cut almost in half the day after Chengfeng hosted that dinner?"

YunHe was silent, her lips sealed.

Knowing she wouldn't speak, Zhu Yao's frustration grew. "You're clever, I won't ask further. I'll still try to find you work, but you need to figure out your own situation."

YunHe nodded obediently, "Thank you, Sister Zhu. I'll find a way."

Zhu Yao snorted, clearly doubting YunHe's ability to resolve the issue.

After finishing her business, she prepared to leave.

Just as she reached the door, she paused to add, "If you see Song Sisi in the next few days, stay away from her. She's probably not in a good mood."

Song Sisi disliked, even hated YunHe, though there was no major conflict between them. No one knew the exact reason except Song Sisi herself.

Zhu Yao, never a fan of Song Sisi, naturally sided with YunHe, hence the warning.

YunHe was curious, "What happened to her?"

Zhu Yao glanced at her, slightly annoyed by her curiosity, but eventually said, "What else? She messed with someone she shouldn't have, tried to get on the hot search and failed miserably. Serves her right!"

With that, Zhu Yao left, heels clicking loudly on the floor.

YunHe watched her go, then the first thing she did back in her room was to open Weibo and search for "Song Sisi."

The results were mostly leaks from "The Princess's Proposal."

She scrolled through a few posts but didn't find anything interesting.

Just as she was about to exit, she noticed a post from a marketing account.

The comments were few, but the content was intriguing.

【Anonymous tip: In a historical romance drama currently shooting, a second-tier actress tried to toast the investor's boss, was rejected, and even tried to buy her way onto the hot search but was publicly humiliated, lol!】 YunHe stiffened.

Piecing together what Zhu Yao had said, it wasn't hard to guess what had happened.

Song Sisi had been overly bold, even daring to mess with Meng Jun?

YunHe almost laughed.

But before she could, she thought again—she

wasn't much better than Song Sisi.

And just like that, YunHe's spirits plummeted again.