CHAPTER 482: CHAPTER 473: ACTRESS 40

Although Ning Shuangshuang is still too young to possibly win the Best Actress award even if she competes for it, getting a nomination is not bad either. As long as she gets nominated, the Best Actress crown is almost within reach.

However, Ning Shuangshuang doesn’t care about this and leaves Jin An to busy himself with finding scripts for her. She instead ponders over the fact that her hands have now gained a lot more income, which is just enough to finally establish the pet rescue center she had planned before, and also the pet hospital in the city is about to open.

Pet medical equipment is no less needed than those used for humans, and the price is not low either. It’s not easy to procure. As expected, after Ning Shuangshuang opened the pet rescue center, she only managed to buy some small pet medical equipment and ran out of money again.

What to do when there’s no money? Go act in a film, shoot a profitable one. Ning Shuangshuang urgently finds Jin An, asking him to first help her secure a profitable script before looking into those artistic films destined to have poor box office returns.

Jin An looked at Ning Shuangshuang, who appeared as though she was going to die of poverty and urgently needed to make money, unable to suppress a twitch at the corner of his mouth. He thought Ning Shuangshuang was the most extravagant yet least extravagant artist he had ever managed.

Extravagant because the speed at which Ning Shuangshuang spends money is too fast; money vanishes in an instant, all spent on stray animals. It’s said that the pet rescue center that Ning Shuangshuang hasn’t even built yet has already housed hundreds of stray cats and dogs.

Ning Shuangshuang is considered the least extravagant because she never likes luxury goods, doesn’t eat at expensive restaurants, or waste money on branded bags or cosmetics. She doesn’t care about how others perceive her wealth.

She usually wears ordinary clothes, carries a nice but non-branded bag, and doesn’t feel inferior to others, nor does she envy other celebrities adorned with various luxury brands. She shows no desire to compare, just being herself, walking her path resolutely.

Jin An picks out scripts for Ning Shuangshuang, contemplating which one has the potential to be profitable and sell well. Yet, his face unwittingly shows a gentle smile.

Although Jin An has managed many artists and supports them wholeheartedly during collaborations, there’s no personal affection involved; however, Ning Shuangshuang is the only artist he truly likes from the bottom of his heart.

Ning Shuangshuang is smart but likes to be grounded, believing in giving to receive, and she is kind-hearted, not vain, not competitive. Just take her charity activity of setting up a pet rescue center; if Ning Shuangshuang used this for promotion, she could attract a large following.

Despite the rescue center running out of funds earlier, if Ning Shuangshuang leveraged her fame and influence to solicit donations, she would certainly receive generous funds, but she preferred to rush to make money through filming rather than take such a route.

Jin An once asked Ning Shuangshuang why she did this, and Ning Shuangshuang told him that she rescues these stray animals because she wants to do something for them. Her philanthropy is following her heart, not for fame or money-making.

She believes that the path she chooses, she should be responsible for, especially since she can earn money to support them. Naturally, she shouldn’t occupy the donations meant for other kind-hearted people.

Kindness is extremely precious, and it shouldn’t be exploited or calculated. People’s goodwill should be directed towards those truly in need. If she has the ability to support these stray animals, she shouldn’t consume others’ kindness, as it’s unfair to those who donate.

Ning Shuangshuang firmly expresses that unless one day she has no money left and cannot earn any more, she would never accept donations from others.

In the face of Ning Shuangshuang’s persistence, Jin An couldn’t help but be moved by her. Sometimes Jin An felt curious, how could there be such clear and pure people in the world? Pure to the point where he wants to help Ning Shuangshuang retain this original mindset as much as possible.

Therefore, Jin An expends even more effort to help Ning Shuangshuang find scripts, expand her network, cautiously grow her reputation, ensuring Ning Shuangshuang’s name remains spotless and without blemish.

Luckily, Ning Shuangshuang has always carried herself well, spending her free time reading books or going through scripts, busy with her current pet rescue center. Even if paparazzi watch Ning Shuangshuang every day, they can’t find any negative news to report, making it much easier for Jin An to maintain her reputation.

Very soon, Jin An helped Ning Shuangshuang select a box-office guaranteed commercial movie. The directors were familiar faces to Ning Shuangshuang; one was the chief director, Fang Jian, and the assistant director was the equally renowned Li Bo’an.

It wasn’t that Li Bo’an’s directing ability was inferior to Fang Jian’s, but this time the movie was primarily about large-scale scenes as a commercial film, whereas Li Bo’an excelled in poetic, delicate, and soul-stirring art films.

Li Bo’an came to be the assistant director at Fang Jian’s earnest invitation because Fang Jian suddenly had the idea of combining grand scenes with lyrical beauty in this movie.

However, Fang Jian is great at overseeing the big picture and capturing grand scenes, but falls a bit short on the detail and beauty aspects. Coincidentally, Li Bo’an’s nature, which strives to arrange even the angle at which a leaf falls, was perfectly suited for these beautifully detailed shooting scenes.

Nonetheless, this time, Ning Shuangshuang’s role was the second female lead, not because Fang Jian was unwilling for her to play the main female lead, but because after reading the script, Ning Shuangshuang instantly favored the second female lead’s character.

It turns out this was a film Ning Shuangshuang acted in during her past life. At that time, it was Zheng Mingjing who introduced her to Fang Jian, which led to the opportunity to participate.

Back then, Ning Shuangshuang auditioned for the second female lead; little did she expect that in this life, the script would reappear before her through Jin An’s hands.

This film once catapulted Ning Shuangshuang to the rank of a second-tier celebrity in a single leap, with everyone praising her acting as bringing the second female lead character to life. Bringing it to life is the highest praise for one’s acting ability in the entertainment industry, but no one knew Ning Shuangshuang had regrets about this role.

The movie is called Nine-tailed Heavenly Fox. Just from the name, you know it’s a fantasy drama, telling the story of Lian Qianqian, a Nine-tailed Heavenly Fox cultivating deep in the mountains, who, before achieving Perfection to become a deity, enters the mortal world for further cultivation and ends up falling in love with a mortal.

The mortal in the story is deeply infatuated with Lian Qianqian, and although Lian Qianqian initially refused due to her goal to become a deity, unaffected by worldly love, she was eventually moved by the mortal’s deep affections. Touched, Lian Qianqian unhesitatingly gave up her dream of becoming a deity, deciding to stay with the mortal for eternity.

A Nine-tailed Heavenly Fox aiming to become a deity naturally cannot fall in love with a mortal. For Lian Qianqian and the mortal’s love, Lian Qianqian’s parents and clan elders, of course, couldn’t accept it. They sent Lian Qianqian’s sister, the second female lead, Lian Xianxian, to break up Lian Qianqian’s relationship with the mortal.

After entering the mortal world, Lian Xianxian persuaded her sister Lian Qianqian to separate from the mortal, but Lian Qianqian drove Lian Xianxian away, stating that Lian Xianxian did not understand love, and steadfastly refused to part from her mortal husband, with whom she had secretly married.