Actresses

Chapter 55 Eavesdropping

"Hey! Sister Ran, what's wrong?" Shi Jiahe answered, her heart pounding with anxiety.

These past few days, she seemed to have become more fragile than before. Whenever He Yuran called, she felt that something unexpected had happened, and that something was supposed to happen in the next few days.

"Come to my house." He Yuran's voice was brief and crisp, devoid of emotion.

"Now? I'm at the company." Shi Jiahe's words were rather subtle, implying to her boss that she was already at work this early and hadn't been slacking off at home. Of course, once she arrived, she was ready to be called upon at any time.

As it turned out, Sister Ran probably didn't catch the subtext at all, and said, "Perfect timing, hurry up and come over. Xiao Zhao is already in the underground parking lot."

"Okay, okay." Shi Jiahe agreed, quickly grabbed her unopened cup of coffee, slung her bag over her shoulder again, and ran out.

Ding Yi said meaningfully from behind, "Oh dear, it has to be the VP, he's so busy with business."

Shi Jiahe didn't have time to retort. Chong Dingyi brandished a gun and then turned and ran towards the elevator.

Because the two buildings are very close, including the time spent waiting for the elevator, it only took less than ten minutes to get there.

As soon as she entered, He Yuran saw the unopened coffee in her hand and naturally took it from her. "Oh! How thoughtful. You brought it for me without me even mentioning it."

Shi Jiahe smiled helplessly. But that was normal; it was standard procedure. "Sister Ran, you woke up so early? Where are you planning to go?"

"Zhuang Pan asked me out," He Yuran said mysteriously.

"Huh? You want to have breakfast with me? Or should I go to her place and take another nap?"

"Pah. She asked me to go paint skin with her." He Yuran shook her head. "She said she's been especially swollen these past few days and asked if I wanted to come along, and I said sure."

Once in the car, after He Yuran explained the whole story in more detail, Shi Jiahe suddenly understood.

The first thing Zhuang Pan did after waking up wasn't to look for Sister Stone, but to look at herself in the bathroom mirror and cry loudly for a while. Because she felt her face was too swollen to go down on its own, the first thing she did after crying was to find He Yuran and say she wanted to get a facial together.

The beauty salon that the two celebrities went to is a long-established beauty institution that is frequently visited by celebrities in the industry.

The female owner of this shop was just an ordinary acne treatment technician when she first came to Beijing over twenty years ago. However, because her skills were more refined and meticulous than anyone else in the shop, and she was extremely patient with her clients, she gradually built up her reputation. Her clientele also stabilized, with many people coming specifically to see her. Later, this young woman went solo and opened her own shop. Over the years, relying on word-of-mouth recommendations from her clients, she even managed to open up a market among celebrities in the entertainment industry. Since celebrities often emphasize referrals when getting cosmetic procedures, it didn't take long for this beauty salon to become a well-known name within the entertainment industry. However, the beauty salon's storefront is relatively low-key. Shi Jiahe had heard from colleagues on film sets that the owner actually wanted to promote it, but she was hesitant to use celebrities as a selling point, so for various reasons, she maintained the status quo.

He Yuran said, "I thought this shop was only frequented by us veteran artists. Turns out, even young people like Zhuang Pan go there."

"I guess it's because of Stone Sister's influence," Shi Jiahe replied.

She now feels that she understands stones quite well. This statement was even made from her own perspective.

"That makes sense. It seems like the people and things in this industry are still the same old ones, coming and going. I've had this feeling of things changing over the past two years, but when she mentioned the shop's name to me today, I had this feeling of, 'Ah? I'm back to ten years ago.'" He Yuran sighed to herself.

"But, Sister Ran, after you finished speaking that day, didn't she get angry with her agent?" Compared to the facial makeup of celebrities, Shi Jiahe was more curious about this matter.

"What did I say?" He Yuran asked, looking puzzled.

Shi Jiahe was also helpless. Well, she forgot as soon as she said it. She didn't know if it was true or not, or maybe she just didn't want to talk about it.

It's common for celebrities to deny what they said a while later. Staff members are often helpless in this situation and can only agree, saying, "Oh, maybe you misremembered."

After He Yuran finished speaking, he laughed again, seemingly without a care in the world.

"Then...wouldn't it be too strange if I went?" Shi Jiahe asked again.

"What's so strange about me taking you to get a facial? Aren't we sisters?"

For some reason, when Shi Jiahe heard the word "sisters," she subconsciously glanced at the row in front of her. She saw in the rearview mirror that Xiao Zhao had also given her a sharp look, and the two even made eye contact, but the meaning was unclear.

"Yes, definitely." Shi Jiahe smiled absentmindedly.

He Yuran yawned, completely unaware of what was going on. "If you sleep in there this early in the morning, you'll be more awake in the afternoon. If I can't sleep, you can chat with me. After we're done, you go back to the company and I'll go home."

"Okay, my sister really knows how to plan things out perfectly."

They drove to their destination as they were talking.

A few years ago, this beauty salon moved from near the Second Ring Road to the innermost part of a street-front shop on the East Fourth Ring Road. Although the building is old, the interior is surprisingly spacious and luxuriously decorated, though it also looks a bit dated. However, this visual appeal actually brings He Yuran a sense of peace.

Shi Jiahe knew that Ran Jie didn't like change. She never had. She had only recently had no choice but to accept it.

In recent years, things have been changing faster and faster, and He Yuran is actually quite uneasy. Now, encountering things that others might consider outdated makes her feel as comfortable as if she's entering her comfort zone.

"Is your boss here?" He Yuran asked excitedly as soon as he entered the door.

"Oh, Sister Ran! Our sister isn't in the store today. It's been a while since you've been here either. Would you like us to arrange a double room for the two of you, or—" The manager happened to be at the front desk and was unusually enthusiastic when she saw He Yuran.

"Which room is Zhuang Pan in? I made an appointment with her; we're going together today."

"Oh, I see! We'll take you there now."

Shi Jiahe muttered softly behind her, "She wasn't late?"

"She's incredibly enthusiastic about getting facials," He Yuran said.

"Hey, Ran-jie! Wait a minute!" Shi Jiahe decisively called out to He Yuran. "I still don't think it's a good idea for me to go with you."

Shi Jiahe knew in her heart that although Zhuang Pan hadn't said anything last night, she must have experienced something unpleasant. If Shi Jiahe had been there, Zhuang Pan wouldn't have said a word.

But He Yuran didn't understand. "Aren't you being overly cautious? It's so convenient to have you do things with me here. Besides, I'm forgetful, and if you listen to me, you can help me remember things."

Shi Jiahe thought for a moment and then suggested, "Ran-jie, how about this? I'll call you, and you can put it on speakerphone and put your phone face down. That way, I can wear headphones and listen to what you're talking about, okay?"

"Alright. Since you insist, I can only shrug."

Shi Jiahe made a WeChat call, and He Yuran answered the call. He then took the phone and, led by the manager, went to the inner room alone.

Shi Jiahe found a seat at the far end of the front desk, took out her headphones, put them on, and then turned off her microphone.

The sound coming through the earphones was all static; there was no useful conversation. Shi Jiahe didn't have much hope, and while keeping an eye on the earphones, she chatted with the young shop assistant next to her.

"I'd like to ask, is Zhuang Pan a regular customer of your store?"

The little girl nodded. "Yes. Not too many people have come recently, but there was a period when it was more frequent."

"Around when?"

"It was more than a year ago. Another guest of ours brought her along; I think she was also an actress."

Another girl next to me said, "Yes, yes, he's an actor. That guy has a new drama coming out soon."

"A man?"

"Yes, that's right." The two girls nodded in unison.

Shi Jiahe searched for photos of Zhang Zhuangpan's boyfriend online and showed them to the two of them. "Is this him?"

At that moment, she felt like an undercover officer investigating a case.

After looking at it, the two girls said in unison, "Yes, it's him. We just don't know his name."

"They're probably a couple, but they haven't made it public," the two whispered to each other.

"Have you all been in the store for quite a while?" Shi Jiahe asked.

"Yes, I've been following my sister for several years."

"So you must have seen quite a bit of celebrity gossip, right?"

"Yes, we do, but there are some whose names we can't remember, and we don't dare to tell anyone. So if you don't ask, you probably really won't remember this."

"Did they talk about anything, or say anything special?"

"Well..." The two girls exchanged glances and whispered among themselves for a moment. "It seems like nothing much. We just did a recent project together. The guy's skin isn't very good, and he always has to spend a long time on acne treatments and skincare. We're not allowed to talk to customers for too long, or we'll get complaints. Besides, when we joined the company, the boss trained us on these things, especially about being extra careful around celebrities."

"I understand, thank you." Seeing that she couldn't get any more information, Shi Jiahe sat back down.

At this moment, the sounds of conversation in the room became clearer through the earphones. Presumably, preparations were complete, and He Yuran moved the phone to a position with good sound reception. Shi Jiahe felt relieved; her boss had indeed become much more reliable.

Sure enough, the two celebrities started chatting.

He Yuran said first, "Where is your skin swollen? It looks fine to me. Your skin is really good. Young people, you're just trying to annoy us old folks."

"Sister Ran, you look about the same age as me, maybe three or four years older," Zhuang Pan said with a grin, almost like she was being coquettish.

Celebrities can easily exchange such pleasantries; just listening to their conversation, you'd never guess that the two had a falling out just the day before.

"You have such a sweet tongue," He Yuran said with a smile. "Then I'll just do the basics today, it's all about brightening and cleaning anyway."

"Sis, let me ask you something, are you getting a shot?"

"I've thought about it, but I don't dare. I wouldn't even touch a hyaluronic acid injection."

At this point, someone from a nearby shop said, "Actually, these techniques are all fine now. Recovery and absorption are very fast, and they don't affect the bones. This kind of superficial injection is frequently used by celebrities, and there are absolutely no problems. In fact, the results are excellent."

"Oh, my sister is a movie actress, she probably wouldn't dare to do these things," Zhuang Pan said.

"Not really. I just think that as we get older, we get older. I do have fine lines now, but I just pretend I don't see them."

Shi Jiahe thought to herself that she didn't need to rely on being on camera for a living. Although she would earn much less money, she wouldn't have to worry so much about her face.

The most common anxiety among female celebrities is not just about their figure, but their face is the most affected area.

This is an unprecedented era that causes celebrities to experience anxiety about their appearance. Everything they do is filmed with high-definition equipment, and passersby with their phones are everywhere. For celebrities, cosmetic procedures have become commonplace to maintain their facial skin. However, all injectable products carry risks, and medical procedures can have unexpected complications. Even with the latest technology, side effects are possible. For example, with Botox, even a slight stiffness after injection is immediately noticeable on camera. Therefore, celebrities are extremely cautious.

Many popular cosmetic injections in the entertainment industry emphasize short-term results. Some celebrities seek out trusted doctors for comprehensive treatment plans, which may involve more than a dozen procedures. It's not simply a matter of a few injections; sufficient recovery time is required. Some artists have even damaged their faces as a result, forced to secretly rest and quietly conceal the damage. This leads to the public often only seeing the positive side of cosmetic procedures, while remaining unaware of the costs incurred by the celebrities. This is because they generally remain silent.

But He Yuran is one of the most conservative among these actors. This is also one of the things that Shi Jiahe is quite sure about regarding her boss, because He Yuran turns her anxiety into acting crazy at home, but she never goes out to get injections on her face.

"Sister, I want to ask you a question," Zhuang Pan said again.

Shi Jiahe held her breath and listened carefully to the sound coming from the receiver.

"you say."

"I want to ask, have you ever used your body to get acting opportunities?"