How to capture the evil villain? I choose to be his mother!

Chapter 453 The Most Disliked Actress's Mother in the Entertainment Industry (65)
waste……

waste……

These few words, just over ten, pierced Zhai Ling's heart, leaving her deeply wounded.

She read through all the similar comments almost self-destructively, repeatedly asking herself the same questions—

You want to argue?

What right do you have to refute this?
Did they say something wrong?

Did you inherit even a fraction of your mother's talent?
Are you... qualified to be Zhu Wen's daughter, and to share her name?

Zhai Ling kept ruminating on this bitter emotion, and her self-loathing almost reached its peak.

Snapped.

Zhu Wen gently slapped the top of her head.

"Silly girl."

Zhu Wen changed the shot to a ruffle, directly ruffling Zhai Ling's hair into a messy, bird's-nest state.

Zhai Ling looked rather foolish and didn't know how to resist, so she asked:

"Mom, what are you doing...?"

Zhu Wen chuckled.

Why didn't you dodge?

Zhai Ling blushed.

Is she going to say that she particularly enjoys this intimate feeling?
"I...I...I'm telling you something important!"

Zhai Ling emphasized her words, as if she were a little angry.

Zhu Wen leaned against the railing, the wind ruffling her hair.

She narrowed her eyes and, mimicking Zhai Ling's earlier gesture, gazed into the distance.
"Who cares what they say? Can those words change the fact that you are my daughter? We share the same blood and the same DNA. You are my daughter, and no one can deny that!"

Zhai Ling felt a warm glow in her heart.

He was clearly overjoyed, but he deliberately asked:

"Then why is my acting so unlike yours? They used to criticize me for acting badly, saying I was brainless, and that I had no talent and should just go home and get married..."

"Who said that? I'm going to yell at him!"

Zhu Wen made a move to settle scores with someone.

Zhai Ling quickly grabbed her arm, her eyes sparkling:
"No need."

Like a real little girl, she couldn't help but jump around excitedly a couple of times.

Clearly, Zhu Wen's reaction was exactly what she wanted.

Zhai Ling is just insecure and anxious.

This is a mark left by her childhood, an indelible stain on her unfortunate life.

Perhaps we can change things little by little over time.

But it's definitely not something that Zhu Wen can easily comfort them with a few empty words.

All Zhu Wen needed to do was repeatedly tell Zhai Ling through words and actions—

I'm on your side.

I stand by your side absolutely, unconditionally, and without time limit.

Making Zhai Ling feel safe is enough.

Zhu Wen turned around, his elbow resting on the railing, facing Zhai Ling:

Are you any happier?

Zhai Ling nodded vigorously.

Zhu Wen thought for a moment:
"Actually, you don't need to compare your acting skills with mine."

Because she's got some kind of cheat code, there's no comparison whatsoever!
Zhai Ling's eyes widened slightly:

"So, is this how I'm supposed to be?" Thinking about it, I still felt a little unwilling.

Zhu Wen shook his head:

"Of course not. I'm going to an audition tomorrow. Come with me and be my assistant."

Zhai Ling's eyes widened even more:
"Assistant? Me?"

Zhu Wen tilted his head slightly:

"What's wrong? Don't you want to do it?"

Zhai Ling hurriedly denied it:

"Of course not! I... I just can't be an assistant..."

She racked her brains trying to figure out what her assistant should do.

Serving tea and water? Massaging backs and legs?
"Those were maids from the old society."

Zhu Wen reluctantly denied it.

Zhai Ling realized that she had spoken her true feelings.

She thought for a while:

“But my former manager made me delegate everything to my assistant… Of course, I didn’t have her serve me tea and water, massage my back and legs! Mom, don’t get me wrong! I just had her help order food, receive packages, and buy things…”

Zhai Ling felt increasingly guilty as she spoke, realizing that she might have gone too far with her assistant.

Zhu Wen listened and nodded in agreement:

"Yes, it was a bit too much."

Zhai Ling's face paled, fearing that Zhu Wen would scold her.

However, Zhu Wen did not mean that:
“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with you having your assistant do these things. There are different types of assistants: personal assistants and work assistants. If it’s a personal assistant, then taking care of your daily needs is fine. But Lingling, you can’t rely on others for everything in your life. Every second you have these daily interactions is a source of inspiration for you as an actress. Have you ever seen anyone living in a glass case who can understand the joys and sorrows of life and then truly portray those emotions?”

To be honest, Zhai Ling isn't the kind of person who treats her assistants badly. Her assistants are basically equivalent to nannies, taking care of all the trivialities of her life.

In the past, when Zhai Ling was busiest, she would even forget the exact time of her period, until her assistant, who remembered the date, put sanitary napkins in her bag a day in advance, packed in a separate bag.

Zhai Ling only realized what was happening when she saw the bag: "Oh, my period has started."

...All of these arrangements seemed to be telling Zhai Ling a fact: apart from acting, she didn't need to worry about anything else; she only needed to be a mindless vase or puppet.

As a result, Zhai Ling will only gradually lose her perception of life and eventually become a useless person who knows nothing. How could she possibly act well then?
To give a simple example, when she plays the role of an ordinary girl, she doesn't even know what actions are appropriate for poverty. Instead of buying a bunch of instant noodles, self-heating pots, etc. when she's broke, she eats a handful of noodles and vegetables for less than ten yuan, which can last her for three days.

Therefore, Zhai Ling can only play those unrealistic and detached roles, and in that unrealistic and detached world, she continues to go further and further down the path of being a complete idiot in life.

……

After hearing Zhu Wen's explanation, Zhai Lingcai suddenly realized what she had been doing all these years.

"I can change it! I'll try it out!"

Zhai Ling hurriedly expressed her sincerity and determination to strive for success!

Zhu Wen nodded:

"That's why I'm asking you to come with me to the audition tomorrow. Putting everything else aside, let's step away from the actor's perspective and look at this production team from other angles. Let's start by being a good assistant and doing what an assistant should do."

Zhai Lingcai realized that Zhu Wen was referring to a work assistant, not a personal assistant.

She nodded vaguely, feeling as if she understood something.

So that night...

The person who was most focused on watching the movie in the home theater wasn't Zhu Wen, who was auditioning, but Zhai Ling.

She watched the movie while researching information on her phone, and occasionally jot down her inspirations.

When the movie ended, Zhu Wen yawned and prepared to go back to sleep.

Zhai Ling clenched her fist, as if making a vow:
"Mom, you go to sleep first! I still have a lot of things to do!"

Zhu Wen was somewhat puzzled. Looking at the computer and paper/pen that Zhai Ling was holding, he could only nod.
"Then remember to get some rest."

The result is——

Zhai Ling didn't sleep all night.