Empress of the Entertainment World

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CHAPTER 525

The audition had been a battleground where every glance, every word, and every nuance were scrutinized.

Although Qi Fuyi knew that both actresses had given their all, he felt disappointed in himself, not realizing that Yu Weilan was indeed pushing herself so much.

Now everything made sense to him—her shock, her hesitation, and her wincing.

As soon as they got her to the hospital, she was wheeled in and attended to. While they waited, Qi Fuyi was approached by one of the doctors who had taken care of You Weilan previously.

"Doctor. How is she, please?"

"She's stable now, but I am afraid she really needs to keep off-set for now."

Qi Fuyi briefly exchanged glances with Director Chao before focusing his attention on the doctor.

"I'm told she had an on-set injury, right?"

"Yes, something like that." Director Chao nodded. 

The doctor let out a heavy sigh and continued, "I did warn her. She was told to wait the entire time before returning to work. How come no one examined her to see if she was fit before allowing her back on stage?"

With the way his brows furrowed as he stared at them sternly, he told Qi Fuyi the director wasn't in a happy state. 

"My apologies. Although this wasn't an actual resumption of work, it was more of a test to see if she was fit," Director Chao Jin-Ho interjected quickly. 

He did not wish for things to get messy more than they already did, but thanks to this, it was evident who was keeping the role. 

"My apologies. We should have taken better care."

The doctor sighed. "Alright. I trust you will do better now. Please excuse me."

Both men watched the doctor take his leave before exchanging knowing glances. The second Qi Fuyi could ascertain they were alone, he released a deep breath, one he had no idea he'd been holding in. 

"I know I lied. I had to, or else it would not look good on us. I do not want to have to answer to Liu Jinchen," Director Chao Jin-Ho emphasized. 

"I understand. Thanks for having my back."

"Yes," Choa Jin-Ho exhaled as he rubbed the back of his head, "what are we going to do about Yu Weilan?"

As soon as the words fell out of Chao Jin-Ho's mouth, Qi Fuyi's brows furrowed deeply. He hated to be put in a spot, especially by those under him. 

"Two months shall be two months. And after that, I want her to take one more month of extra rest till I can ascertain she is fit and ready to be on set."

When he said those words, he expected his friend to agree with him, but the strange look on his face made Qi Fuyi arch his brow. 

"Did I say something wrong?"

"Yes. We are currently shooting. Since she failed as Xu Ming, who would take her place as Xu Xing or are you going to scrap out that character altogether?"

Dang!

Everything felt like a big log of wood had fallen on his head. How could he have forgotten the crucial aspect?

Still, Director Chao did not let him go easily. 

"And now you are suggesting three months? Be dreaming."

"It…" Seeing the dejected look on his friend's face, Chao Jin-Ho let out a deep sigh as he placed a hand on his right shoulder. 

"I… Fine. I get you. But you need to make a decision as soon as possible."

A minute passed when suddenly Qi Fuyi lifted his head, his eyes sparkling a bit at the solution he thought of. "If that's the case, then perhaps I can simply cause an accident on the scene. Something…"

He placed his hand on his jaw, thinking of the best incident that would make the film progress greatly. 

"How about perhaps saving her sister, Xu Ming, from an accident but getting injured instead?"

'Hmm, I do not think I want her character to be so good anymore," Qi Fuyi thought out loud.

"What? She isn't supposed to be bad till later when she pretends to be her sister and attempts to kill the fl."

"Yes. But how about creating great character debt? From childhood. She always felt she was in her sister's shadow. And then, on one occasion, she tried to go on a mission without her sister's knowledge since she was away, but that was a trap by the second female lead, and she got into an accident."

"But wouldn't Xu Ming question it once she found out?"

"Not if we make it a situation that she is soft and sometimes unreasonable when it comes to her younger sister. Happy for her health, she forgets to question how things happened exactly. Only to realize much later, when her sister puts her in big trouble, that she hasn't been liked all along."

Smirking, Director Chao Jin-Ho couldn't help but praise him. "Nice."

"Bingo. I can take her character out briefly and have her appear while she is injured on simple scenes that won't cause any problems with her leg till she is all healed."

"Well, I do not know if she would fancy being used like that," Director Chao speculated. 

"It is either that or she stays out for three months. Besides, she has no one but herself to blame. I should take her out completely for what she did, but I pity her situation and I am giving her a second chance."

Director Chao nodded in understanding. They were just about to leave and seek a nurse when another bothersome thought crossed his mind. 

"Wait." Qi Fuyi halted and turned to face his friend. "How do you intend on telling her? Would you do it now or?"

"Later. Even I am not so heartless. Let's ask to see how she is doing first."

With that, they headed for the first nurse they saw on that floor and proceeded with things. 

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Even though the accident on set was bad and advantageous to Andromeda, she still felt sad for Yu Weilan. Basically, she had put herself in Yu Weilan's shoes and saw things from her perspective. 

It truly hurts to lose a role.

"Yes. Okay. I understand." 

She watched Liu Xueyi mutter those words over the phone from where she sat on his couch in his private room in the industry and waited for him to finish. 

Once the incident happened, they waited a while to get news from the two directors who rushed Yu Weilan to the hospital. 

As much as he knew he had so much to do, he could not ignore the accident as the CEO and awaited news first before taking Andromeda home. 

Thankfully, she understood his reasons. 

Not just that, there was the case of him not wanting the other actors and actresses to think Andromeda wished Yu Weilan an ill fate and was happy about her misfortune. 

If there was anything, he knew the kind of person Andy was and how it bothered her about what happened to Yu Weilan.

By the time he turned to face her, the lines of worry on her forehead further increased as she held her breath, waiting for his report. 

"She is safe now." Andromeda released a deep breath, but her watery eyes still betrayed her smile. "Stop it. I know if you were the one who had the accident, she wouldn't have been this bothered about you."

"Huh?"

"Yes. I may not have related well with other actors and actresses back then to protect my identity, but I know most of them deeply. As nice as she was, I believe lately she has been fed with some strange ideas about you, which explains her attitude towards you today."

"Pardon?" 

Liu Xueyi face-palmed She could not tell him she believed Yu Weilan would care about her.

"I mean, you two were literally fighting for a role. I find it hard to believe she liked you. You literally got her role, proving you were better than her. I know most of these actresses; jealousy is easy to sprout."

"Xueyi."

"I am sorry, but I saw how she gazed at you from when we first came until throughout your act."

"And it is okay. I understand her."

He rolled his eyes at her. "You are too good for your own good, Andy. I am afraid that will cost you in this industry if you are not careful."

"That aside," Andromeda brushed off with a smile, "tell me, how is she?"

"Based on what the doctor said, she is okay for now and needs to rest. She had not yet healed before she began straining her ankle."

"I see. It is great. When she returns, she can reaudition and do things better."

Liu Xueyi felt all he had been saying had been falling on deaf ears. Regardless, he thought he should remind her. 

"Andy, that was Director Qi. You have your role back."

"But…" 

Liu Xueyi lifted his palm, cutting her short. His face had no form of smile on it just to prove to her how serious and delicate it was. 

"I am sorry love but this is life. She is not permitted on set for the next two to three months. How is she going to audition for the role? Or do you plan on pausing the production until she recovers just to do an audition?"