Huo Taitai was modeled after Qin Taitai to write the virtuous wife who murdered her husband.
Speaking objectively, this character has a charming contrast and is one of the most outstanding supporting roles among the few in Demon 2. If played well, it could really show off one's skills.
Jian Jing was waiting for precisely this line.
“You want to play Huo Taitai?” Jian Jing smiled and said, “I thought you and Miss Tao both wanted to play the leading lady—she wants the female lead, right?”
Zhang Xi subconsciously answered, “No, she...” The words were already out of her mouth and flew away like an arrow off its bow, impossible to take back. She had no choice but to admit, “She also wants to play Huo Taitai.”
Jian Jing didn’t want to stir up trouble, so she deliberately changed the subject: “With her status, she’s willing to play a supporting role?”
“Female actors have far fewer chances to make mistakes than male actors.” Zhang Xi was relieved and calmed down a bit, “She’s almost completely disgraced this time, it wouldn’t be surprising if she quit the business altogether. How could she dare think of playing the female lead? It would be a great turnaround if she could land a supporting role.”
Jian Jing was silent for a moment and sighed, “How cruel.”
Zhang Xi: “Who doesn’t think so?”
The atmosphere suddenly became quiet.
In the hazy lantern light, Jian Jing watched Zhang Xi closely. She was almost thirty, but looked about the same age as herself, with not a wrinkle on her face.
But struggling to climb in an environment like this, wasn’t she tired of it?
Jian Jing sighed silently to herself, and got back on topic: “So you went to see Miss Tao before about this, right?”
Zhang Xi was still immersed in sentimentality and took a while to react: “What?”
“Shao Meng's death and Tao Tao's mental breakdown happened too close together.” Jian Jing said.
Zhang Xi's guard immediately went up again: “That has nothing to do with me.”
“Miss Zhang, listen to me.” Jian Jing reached out and gently pressed her shoulder, making her look into her eyes directly. The steam from the hot springs rose in wisps, the white fog swirling around them. She slowed her speech and gently said, “The police are completely confused about Shao Meng's death right now, so they want to investigate from Tao Tao's condition as a lead, and you were alone with her before, which doesn’t look good for you.”
Hitting the snake at its weakest point, she had learned from Jiang Baiyan and the others that celebrities were very reluctant to get involved in cases, for fear of information leaking out and unfavorable rumors. So she started from this point.
It worked immediately.
Zhang Xi was clearly anxious, but she didn't refute right away, and avoided her gaze.
Jian Jing moved forward another half step, and they went from shoulder-to-shoulder to face-to-face. And this was already a rather intimate posture to begin with. The enclosed environment and exposed swimsuits further shortened the distance between them.
“Sis Xi, I really want to help you.” She said sincerely, “But I can't allow someone under suspicion of murder to perform in my work, it would be extremely detrimental to Demon. You understand me, don’t you?”
Previously, Jian Jing had also asked Zhang Xi, but Zhang Xi was very wary of her and could not understand at all—Shao Meng was just Jian Jing's leading actor, was she so concerned purely because of compassion for life?
Zhang Xi was not a cold-hearted person, on the contrary, she often did charity work and was very kind to the staff. But this reason couldn't convince her.
But now it was different.
The previous heart-to-heart brought the two closer, and Jian Jing changing how she addressed her to “Sis Xi” made her feel they had become more intimate. More importantly, the reason was appropriate and relevant to her interests.
Zhang Xi was persuaded.
She didn't want to lose this hard-earned opportunity.
“I did go see Tao Tao.” Zhang Xi admitted, “I know a secret about her that I hoped would make her drop out of the competition this time.”
Jian Jing watched Zhang Xi's expression closely. She seemed somewhat worried, but not afraid.
“Did she agree?”
“Of course she agreed.” Zhang Xi said calmly, “This kind of thing is not glorious, but very common.”
Jian Jing had no intention of pursuing their moral issues, but instead sighed, “I believe you, but I'm afraid the police won't readily believe your statement—she's already disgraced, what could still threaten her?”
Zhang Xi mysteriously smiled and whispered, “She has something she fears more than disgrace.”
“What is it?” Jian Jing deliberately asked.
But Zhang Xi refused to say more.
So Jian Jing smiled, “It seems Sis Xi wants to test me. Alright, let me take a guess.” She pretended to think, “Although Miss Tao’s career has hit rock bottom because of the photos, she’s not ready to give up yet. For someone who has reached such heights before, nothing is more terrifying than fading into obscurity.”
Zhang Xi laughed, “You’re absolutely right.”
“So the leverage you have on her could make her lose hope forever.” Only then did Jian Jing finally lift the veil of mystery, “It’s Xie Wei, isn’t it?”
The water rippled as she moved closer to Zhang Xi and whispered in her ear, “You’ve known their secret for ten years now.”
Zhang Xi's eyelid twitched, and the dissipated fear crept back into her heart. She instinctively wanted to take two steps back, but her shoulder was gripped tightly by the other woman, unable to move.
“Sis Xi, tell me,” Jian Jing said, “What do you know?”
“I don't know anything...” Zhang Xi wanted to break free of her restraint.
But Jian Jing's next words made her hesitate. "You're all about transactions, so can I. Tell me, and I'll recommend you to play Huo Taitai."
Zhang Xi bit her lip, visibly conflicted.
"Miss Zhang." Jian Jing would not give her a chance to go back on it. "If you don't say, others will. Don't blame me for not giving you a chance then."
Under pressure and temptation, Zhang Xi finally gave in: “Yes, I knew their secret ten years ago. At that time, I was still a nurse at the hospital...”
Her account lifted the veil on the secret from ten years ago.
That year, The Legend of the Great Song had an accident on set, and the wires broke. Shao Meng, who played the second male lead, and Tao Tao, who had a minor female role, were both hospitalized.
Because Zhang Xi was pretty, the hospital arranged for her to be in charge of the VIP wards.
At that time, the VIP wards had a separate floor of about ten sickrooms, but only three patients. In addition to Shao Meng and Tao Tao, there was also a man whose face was burned.
His identity was mysterious. He never had any visitors, but could afford the expensive accommodation fees. He was also very talkative and amiable, on good terms with the nurses and doctors.
Shao Meng's injuries were not too serious. During his hospital stay, he would occasionally wander the corridors.
That was how he got to know the disfigured man.
The disfigured man struck up a conversation, saying to him, "Young man, if I were you, I would be discharged as soon as possible instead of wasting time here."
Shao Meng didn't care: “This is a work injury.”
The disfigured man looked at him and sighed.
Shao Meng, bored out of his mind, asked him, "What are you sighing about?"
"I sigh that you are so young and good-looking, yet have such bad luck." The disfigured man actually said that.
Shao Meng was immediately angry: "What nonsense are you talking about?"
"You think I'm being alarmist, but I never lie." The disfigured man said, "Think about it, I'm not some swindler under a bridge, what good is tricking you?"
Shao Meng sneered, "Who knows?"
The disfigured man said, "I was just bored and wanted to chat for a bit, otherwise even if you paid me I wouldn't bother with you. Ha, you don't believe me right? Haven't you been having a streak of bad luck these past two years, with your career and relationships not going well?"
"Anyone can find this out online." Shao Meng still didn't believe him.
The disfigured man stroked his chin and laughed again: "Your ancestral grave is buried nicely, you had someone look at it specially, right?"
While career and relationships could be found out through channels, things about ancestral graves could absolutely not have been reported by the media. Shao Meng was startled that the other party was right—his family had specially invited a feng shui master to look at and relocate their ancestral graves.
"You don't have the fate to become wildly famous and successful, it’s only thanks to your ancestors’ blessings that you’ve made some headway." The disfigured man said, "But the protection of ancestors is limited. Adding descendents will inevitably dilute it, and your fortune will go downhill from now on."
Now Shao Meng believed him about thirty percent. His older sister had gotten married and given birth to a fat baby boy two years ago. Come to think of it, it did seem that his luck started going bad around that time.
"What should I do then?" He asked.
The disfigured man said, "Get discharged as soon as possible and work hard. Every penny counts."
It was a very practical suggestion.
But of course Shao Meng was reluctant. Having tasted fame and fortune, how could he let go: "What else?"
"Live an ordinary life." The disfigured man laughed and casually said, "It's not like a life-threatening problem, you'll just become one of the countless many."
Shao Meng still felt unsatisfied, but the other party said nothing more and turned to leave.
A few days later, Xie Wei, playing the male lead, came to visit him and Tao Tao. Many reporters accompanied him and took many photos for publicity about their friendship.
With things on his mind, Shao Meng's smile was stiff. Among the crowd, he saw the disfigured man again.
This time, the man didn't even glance at Shao Meng, but stared at Xie Wei the whole time, looking surprised. Afterwards, Shao Meng couldn't restrain his curiosity and took the initiative to talk to him: "Why were you always looking at Xie Wei last time? What's so special about him?"
"That guy's called Xie Wei?" The disfigured man laughed and kindly said, "If I were you, I would immediately befriend him. Tsk, tsk, tsk, this guy has a once in a lifetime fortune. He succeeds at whatever he does. He became a celebrity and who knows, in the future he may become an international superstar!"
Xie Wei was just a new graduate, while Shao Meng was already a famous singer. Given such a disparity in assessment, how could he not feel jealous?
"Are you sure? There are tens of thousands of people coming and going in our circle, with only a few making it big." Shao Meng said.
The disfigured man just smiled slightly and said, "People with great luck don't get unlucky easily. Think about it, doesn't he always have amazing luck in his daily life? Dangerous things always turn fortunate for him?"
Shao Meng was startled, and suddenly remembered that on the day he got injured, Xie Wei was originally scheduled to film that scene, but it got changed last minute due to the weather, so he did it instead.
In other words, the person who should have been injured by the glass shards was supposed to be Xie Wei.
He fell silent.
"People have their own fates," the disfigured man patted his shoulder. "You have to accept it."
Shao Meng gritted his teeth, "I don't believe in fate."
The disfigured man didn't reply.
The next day, the news came out praising Xie Wei highly, but criticized him for showing attitude and giving bad reviews.
Shao Meng was furious and unwilling to be a stepping stone for others, let alone fall from fame into obscurity as a nobody.
He wanted success, great success.
So he found the disfigured man and said, "I'll give you 1 million. Can you help me?"
"It's not about money," the other replied. "Fate is inborn and no one can change it. Those who tell you they can change your destiny against heaven's will are all frauds."
In despair, Shao Meng asked, "Isn't there any way at all?"
The other fell silent.
"3 million," Shao Meng said. "Help me."
The disfigured man finally relented, "Fate cannot be changed, but it can be borrowed."
Without thinking, Shao Meng said, "You mean... Xie Wei?"
The disfigured man just smiled mysteriously.
Jealousy burned fiercely in Shao Meng's heart like oil poured over flames. He thought of his dazzling self in the limelight, then imagined the boring life of ordinary people. He gritted his teeth and said, "Deal?"
The other nodded.
Shao Meng was overjoyed, but didn't expect that while coveting what others had, he himself was also being coveted by others - Tao Tao's injury wasn't serious, yet she lingered in the hospital, with the intention of going after him.