Ye Zhou felt helpless and speechless.
‘Vice President, why didn’t you say beforehand that this improvised passionate couple scene was meant to be serious? I thought it was… improper, so I didn’t respond to her advances with anything inappropriate in broad daylight.’
Jiang Yingxue couldn’t help but press her hand to her forehead in complaint. “The Vice President is right, baby Ye Zhou. You should have just hugged me tight and given me a French kiss out of nowhere. Wouldn’t that have solved everything?”
Ye Zhou’s eyes twitched. If he had actually done that, the problem would likely be even bigger, wouldn’t it? After all, the worst thing for an actor was getting too deep into a role; otherwise, once you were in, it was hard to get out.
Shen Yuzhen pushed her black-rimmed glasses up her nose, her beautiful brows knit into a knot.
“President Jiang, stop blaming him. You’re not much better. You said you wouldn’t take it easy on him, but you didn’t just take it easy — you practically let him drown in your leniency.”
“But as a senior, shouldn’t I pull my punches a little to look after a junior?” Jiang Yingxue twirled a strand of hair by her ear and smiled slightly.
Shen Yuzhen crossed her arms, her tone brook no argument. “There was still no need to hold back that much, was there?”
Seeing the two of them locking eyes across the distance, with the conversation clearly heading in a bad direction, Ye Zhou quickly stepped between them and raised his hands high.
“Ah! I—I’m very sorry! It’s because my acting skills are too poor.”
“So, could you please give me one more chance? Ideally, give me a little more time to adjust my state of mind. I promise there won’t be any problems this time.”
Shen Yuzhen sat back in her original spot with an expressionless face. Her legs, clad in black stockings, were pressed tightly together, hiding the Absolute Territory that invited infinite imagination from view.
“Su Zhihan had three chances. Since you’re also a candidate, you naturally have three chances as well. However, I can only give you three minutes to adjust. Make it count.”
Jiang Yingxue hummed and pulled the edges of her white shirt together, fastening the buttons to cover her rounded, snow-white Northern Hemisphere and the faint hint of black lace underneath.
Ye Zhou moved away from them and walked to a corner. He closed his eyes and took deep breaths, trying to soothe his racing, burning heart.
Being blindsided by President Jiang earlier had made his blood boil. He hadn’t been able to concentrate at all, so what he needed to do now was calm down!
‘Calm down, calm down… Little Ye Zhou, wait, no! Big Ye Zhou—forget it! Ye Zhou! Show them the acting skills you’re supposed to have and act seriously! You can do this!’
With that thought, Ye Zhou snapped his eyes open, his gaze bright and spirited.
Step, step, step, step—
With his hands in his pockets and a composed expression, he walked toward Jiang Yingxue and Shen Yuzhen one step at a time. A faint smile played at the corners of his mouth.
“President and Vice President, I’ve adjusted my state. I’m ready to begin the second chance.”
Both Jiang Yingxue and Shen Yuzhen were momentarily stunned.
Shen Yuzhen turned her head away and snorted coldly.
‘He’s all show. I just don’t know what kind of scheme that girl Chen Yuhe was cooking up when she made an exception to recruit this Ye Zhou into the club.’
“Wow~ our baby Ye Zhou is even more handsome now that he’s composed. Mwah~ here’s a reward from your sister~”
As she spoke, Jiang Yingxue unhesitatingly blew a kiss toward Ye Zhou.
Ye Zhou immediately began to tremble uncontrollably — as expected, his composure shattered in a single second.
But how could he be expected to endure that? Jiang Yingxue’s level was too high; Ye Zhou wasn’t even in the same league as her.
As a veteran actress, even her simplest smile or glance was, without exaggeration, something a novice like Ye Zhou completely failed to handle.
“Cut! Cut! Cut!”
The veins on Shen Yuzhen’s forehead bulged. She grabbed a newspaper rolled into a makeshift microphone, jumped onto the stage, and gave Ye Zhou a sharp thunk on the head.
“Ye Zhou, I’ve had enough of you! You’re not focused, and you’re not putting in any heart. You’re treating acting like a joke!”
“I really don’t know what kind of spell you cast on Chen Yuhe to make her break the rules and recruit you, even if she is a total idiot!”
Ye Zhou scratched his head, breaking out in a cold sweat.
“No, that’s not it. I’m just too nervous. Please trust me one more time, Vice President?”
He felt a pang of guilt. ‘What’s going on? Why does nobody believe that Senior Chen actually saw my true talent and recruited me because of it? There was no exception at all. Or is Senior Chen’s credibility in this club so low that no one trusts her judgment?’
“Heh, a chance? This second chance ended before it even started. Do I really need to give you a third?”
Shen Yuzhen let out a couple of cold laughs.
Ye Zhou was left speechless, standing there shivering, not daring to move.
“Now, now, Lady Vice President. Our baby Ye Zhou is a freshman actor, so being nervous is unavoidable. Let’s be a bit more inclusive.”
At that moment, Jiang Yingxue stepped in as a mediator with a squinting smile. She walked up behind Shen Yuzhen and began massaging her shoulders and back.
“Besides, Vice President, didn’t you say you wanted to be fair and avoid favoritism? Since you gave Su Zhihan three chances, why give Ye Zhou only two? Are you going back on your word?”
With that, Jiang Yingxue leaned down slightly and lowered her voice near Shen Yuzhen’s ear.
“Also, my rule-abiding Vice President, I know exactly what you’re thinking. You don’t want any of the opposite sex in the Drama and Film Club, which means you want to kick Ye Zhou out, right?”
Shen Yuzhen’s posture stiffened slightly, finally showing a reaction.
“Don’t—don’t be so quick to argue with me.”
“Listen to my proposal first. If Ye Zhou still performs like this on his third chance, fine. But on the other hand, if Ye Zhou passes, you must immediately drop this dangerous idea that’s harmful to club unity from now on. Okay?”
Shen Yuzhen frowned slightly. “Are you serious?”
“I’m serious,” Jiang Yingxue replied readily. “If you’re still worried about me taking it easy on him, you can be the one to act opposite Ye Zhou this time while I act as the judge. You’ll believe it then, won’t you?”
Shen Yuzhen gave a faint smile. “Heh, President Jiang, you’re the one who said it. I just hope you don’t end up regretting it.”
“I should be the one saying that to you.”
Jiang Yingxue stepped down from the stage and sat in the front row, crossing her long, fair legs. A black, red-bottomed high heel hung precariously from her toes, creating a hazy beauty that was both revealing and concealed.
Her beautiful eyes were full of mirth as she gave Ye Zhou a wink.
“Baby Ye Zhou~ the Vice President was very against giving you one last chance, so I had to pay a great price to get this for you. Don’t let me down~”
Ye Zhou immediately returned a finger-heart to the President and Vice President to show his gratitude, his voice loud and powerful.
“Love you guys! Thank you, President and Vice President, for this final chance. I definitely won’t fail you!”
“Put your hands down! Stop that grinning!”
Shen Yuzhen placed one hand on her hip, her brow furrowed deeply. Her eyes behind the black-rimmed lenses were filled with coldness, and her lips were pulled into a tight, straight line. She was clearly genuinely angry.
With her other hand, she took a sheet of A4 paper she had found in her handbag, rolled it up, and pressed it against Ye Zhou’s chin.
“This is the script for a short play. Memorize it first.”
“I’m going to get a simple prop. We start as soon as I get back.”
“If you dare to slack off this time, you’d better watch out!”
***