The President Comes Knocking -

Unfortunately for Tang Qi, her hopes were dashed. Chu Ziyu acted as though he were blind, completely ignoring the graceful and strikingly beautiful woman standing before him. He glanced at her briefly with indifference before looking away.

Tang Qi almost laughed at Chu Ziyu’s behavior. Just a moment ago, their eyes had clearly met, and based on her years of experience, she was certain that Chu Ziyu was intentionally feigning aloofness to draw her attention.

Confident in her own allure, Tang Qi lifted her chin with pride and turned away, keeping an eye on Chu Ziyu from her peripheral vision. However, to her disappointment, no matter how long she waited or how much she tried to catch his attention from afar, he didn’t glance her way again.

“Qi-Jie, can we go now? Director Zhang is staring at us,” said Tang Qi’s assistant nervously.

Tang Qi had her own studio. As the Boss and someone with a naturally proud disposition, she was fiercely independent. However, her previous agent, despite being quite competent professionally, had an inherently controlling personality. Working side by side, the two of them clashed like firecrackers exploding together. They constantly rubbed each other the wrong way, and neither could tolerate the other.

In defiance, her agent stuck around for two months before Tang Qi could even fire him. He beat her to it, nonchalantly throwing in his resignation and walking away without a backward glance.

While finding an agent wasn’t too difficult, hiring an experienced professional with broad connections was no easy feat. Although her studio was urgently searching for a new agent for her, Tang Qi had little choice but to make do with an assistant in the meantime.

The current assistant by her side was a newly hired young woman named Li Rourou, who had graduated less than a year ago. True to her name, Li Rourou had a gentle and demure demeanor. Her actions, too, carried that same soft and mild quality. While Tang Qi appreciated Li Rourou’s lack of pushback, she was far from satisfied with her professional abilities.

But what could she do? Until a new agent was found, she had no choice but to keep using this assistant for the time being.

Glancing in the direction Li Rourou had indicated, Tang Qi noticed Director Zhang Dong’s face already tightening. His already wrinkled visage now looked even more like tree bark.

Internally, Tang Qi couldn’t resist mocking Zhang Dong for his perpetual scowl. Outwardly, however, she forced what she believed to be a gentle smile-a smile that, in Zhang Dong’s eyes, still seemed to flirt with those around her. Subtly, Tang Qi yanked on the corner of Li Rourou’s sleeve, pulling hard enough that the younger woman nearly lost her balance. With a pointed glance, Tang Qi signaled her to follow.

Li Rourou couldn’t quite decipher Tang Qi’s expression. To be fair, she had only been working as an agent’s assistant for half a month. Many aspects of the job were still a blur to her, and just when she was starting to figure things out, her agent mentor had stormed off, infuriated by Tang Qi.

Taking a couple of steps to steady herself, Li Rourou let out a resigned sigh, lamenting the uncertain future of her career. With no other choice, she followed closely behind Tang Qi to meet Director Zhang.

That morning, she had specifically called Qi-Jie to wake her up, only to be berated by Tang Qi over the phone. Now here they were, arriving at the absolute last minute, and Tang Qi was standing there doing nothing, refusing to greet the director. Even Li Rourou, fresh out of school and inexperienced in the professional world, knew that this was entirely unacceptable behavior. But unfortunately, Tang Qi never listened to anything she said.

Director Zhang, Zhang Dong, made his displeasure known. His expression mirrored his mood-gloomy and uptight. Still, he managed to keep some composure, perhaps because Tang Qi was joining the Film Crew for the first time today and he wasn’t the type to completely disregard basic politeness. That said, his voice was noticeably colder as he addressed her. “I don’t have many rules, just one. I cannot stand tardiness in my crew.”

“I’ve always believed that whether you’re an actor, a director, an agent’s assistant, or even a production assistant, these are all jobs. And punctuality is one of the most fundamental aspects of professionalism in any job.”

What Tang Qi initially thought would just be a quick greeting turned into an outright reprimand. The first few sentences weren’t too loud, and she could still put up with it, but by the time Zhang Dong delivered his final sentence, it was clear he wasn’t just addressing her.

His voice grew louder, and if he had a megaphone, it likely would have echoed across the entire set.

Even after Zhang Dong walked away, Tang Qi could still hear the unmistakable murmurs of people gossiping about her.

It was true that Tang Qi enjoyed being the center of attention, but only when the attention came in the form of praise. Keeping in mind that today was her first day on set and that she had just been scolded by the director, she managed to hold back her temper in public. Instead, she took out all her frustration on her assistant, Li Rourou.

Outside the second makeup room, Chu Qianqian had just walked out of the first makeup room when she heard the sound of Tang Qi yelling. Tang Qi’s voice, like her appearance, was sultry and distinctive-a slightly magnetic pitch that leaned toward a higher register. But now, it didn’t carry even a hint of charm-only a sharp, piercing edge.

Because the palace set featured numerous rooms, the main cast members were each assigned their own makeup rooms. To make it convenient for the makeup artists, the rooms were grouped together in one area.

However, since the makeup rooms also doubled as spaces for costume changes, considerations for gender segregation were made. The male actors’ makeup rooms were located at one end of the hallway, while the female actors’ makeup rooms were at the other end, with several other rooms in between as a buffer. From the left, the first three rooms were designated for the women, while the right side had four rooms reserved for the men.

This kind of arrangement would be considered a luxury in most film studio lots. Those places usually had a constant stream of crews and actors coming and going, and unless given special accommodations, space was typically a scarce resource.

“You tell me-why are you so clueless all the time? You can’t do anything right, and you’re always a step behind. Honestly, just seeing you gets on my nerves!”

Perhaps Tang Qi’s anger was finally wearing out after venting for a while, and her voice softened slightly. Only then could Chu Qianqian make out the faint sound of pleading that had previously been drowned out by Tang Qi’s tirade. It was a soft, timid voice, stammering as it tried to reason with the irate Boss, but it was ultimately futile.

Smirking to herself, Chu Qianqian pretended not to notice anything. She deliberately lightened her steps as she calmly walked past the second makeup room. As expected, the two people inside were too preoccupied-one with her raging anger and the other with cowering in fear-to notice anyone passing by.

Unbeknownst to Tang Qi and Li Rourou, the old-style architecture of the building created a soundproofing problem. Although some areas had been renovated, and heating had been added, the original materials of the structure remained unchanged, rendering the walls poorly insulated against sound.

Naturally, they didn’t realize that Tang Qi, an Artist, had completely disregarded her public image by openly berating her assistant, nor that everything had been overheard by someone who “accidentally” passed by.

Looking at the saved recording on her phone, Chu Qianqian shook her head. After walking a sufficient distance, she muttered under her breath, almost inaudibly, “Hopefully, I won’t have to use this.”