The Queen's Rise to the Top

Chapter 219

Nan XiangWan, Cheng Xue and Xiao Dong, the three women, were not going to go looking for any Gu BeiHuai. They went to the canteen to eat.

It was Nan XiangWan's suggestion.

She said they didn't need to worry about their comrade. He was their comrade, not an idiot. He wouldn't get lost.

Seeing the canteen full of air force personnel, Cheng Xue and Xiao Dong finally realized why they hadn't seen anyone when they first arrived.

It was meal time!

The huge canteen was filled with people, but it was very quiet with almost no one speaking.

The self-discipline of the soldiers was evident at this moment.

Just then, someone in the distance waved at the three women.

Nan XiangWan looked over and saw a familiar face.

It was Hua Ying!

They had met the actress playing Nan XiangWan's second lead while playing paintball guns in Sichuan.

The canteen was so quiet you could only hear the sounds of the soldiers eating. No one was talking.

Even Hua Ying didn't dare call out loudly. She had run over specially to fetch them.

Hua Ying said softly, "Nan XiangWan, come eat!"

Nan XiangWan: "Teacher Hua Ying, you're here too?"

Cheng Xue gave her a look and reminded: "She's your second lead!"

Nan XiangWan: "Oh right, the whole cast is here for training?"

Hua Ying: "Yes, it's a rare opportunity, I had to come! Are you eating? Come with me."

She led Nan XiangWan and the other two to a table in the corner.

The table was filled with actors, more than ten people.

It was obvious they were not soldiers at a glance.

The officers at the next table sat ramrod straight, finishing every grain in their bowls.

Cheng Xue whispered: "No wonder you need training. Although your movie is a big sci-fi production, at its core it's a war film. To portray soldiers convincingly, you have to start from the basics like sitting, standing and walking properly. Only then can you portray the bearing and military prestige."

As she spoke, Cheng Xue looked towards Nan XiangWan, originally intending to remind her to sit up straight. But to her surprise, Nan XiangWan was already sitting very straight!

Sitting among the huddled soldiers, her straight backbone was a sight to behold.

Glancing down the row, Cheng Xue felt Nan XiangWan could enlist right away!

She was instantly extremely proud.

Xiao Dong also noticed this. Of their table, only Nan XiangWan sat the straightest.

Hearing this, Hua Ying immediately started sitting up straight too, comparing themselves to the soldiers at the next table. The actors at their table felt rather embarrassed and began adjusting their postures.

Tan Shen was also there. He originally had the best posture among them, but was clearly inferior to Nan XiangWan.

He gave a faint smile: "It's fine, training hasn't started yet. Today's just assembly, we can relax a bit, right?"

The other actors immediately laughed, each preferring to slack off rather than work hard.

Tan Shen's words gave them a reasonable excuse.

"Senior Tan Shen is so easy-going!"

"The manager is too demanding!"

"Yes, our sitting postures haven't been properly coached yet, no need to fuss over it now."

"Teacher Tan Shen is right."

Cheng Xue frowned slightly but said nothing.

She was only here to take a look, not participating in the training. But these people's subtle put-downs were quite something.

With just a few words, they boosted Tan Shen's image while implicitly criticizing Cheng Xue.

Cheng Xue kept her head down and continued eating, declining to argue.

She only hoped they wouldn't provoke Nan XiangWan later...

Xiao Dong was even less likely to voice her opinion. She was just an assistant.

But just then, Nan XiangWan put down her bowl and chopsticks with an audible clunk!

Instantly, all eyes at the table turned to her.

Even several officers at nearby tables had their attention caught by the sound, turning to look.

What was going on?

Were these actors trying to make trouble as soon as they arrived?

Nan XiangWan took a deep breath and said, "Sitting, standing and walking may be a soldier's discipline, but it also reflects every Huaxia citizen's self-worth. As descendants of the dragon, something as simple as sitting properly, yet we delay and make comparisons?"

"Straighten your backbones and start from now!"

Having said that, Nan XiangWan continued eating.

Clap clap clap!

Xiao Dong immediately started clapping!

Well said!

Cheng Xue was stunned. What was going on?

From her understanding of Nan XiangWan, she was absolutely not the type to meddle in other people's business.

She wouldn't even glance at them if they were lazy.

What happened today to make her so fired up after arriving at the military region?

The other actors' faces turned red from embarrassment. Compared to Nan XiangWan's grand vision for Huaxia, their earlier subtle put-downs now seemed petty.

Hua Ying: "Excellently put."

She continued sitting straight along with Nan XiangWan, backbone erect.

Across from them, Tan Shen's eyebrows knitted before he gave another faint smile without speaking further.

Hmph!

Not bad...

The officers at nearby tables exchanged glances, surprise in their eyes.

This young actress spoke beautifully!

Among them were several senior officers who knew some inside information. Their gazes towards Nan XiangWan now held a trace of scrutiny.

Was she the one the higher-ups sent to observe?

Her posture and words were not bad.

But they still had to see what she was truly capable of!

The Lingshan Military Region did not tolerate useless people!

Of course, Nan XiangWan was unaware of the subtext. After speaking, she was simply in a good mood and heartily tucked into her meal.

She had randomly felt irritation towards Tan Shen for no reason.

His words and actions triggered an instinctive desire in her to retort!

Actors have high appearance standards. Many ate little before putting down their bowls and chopsticks.

In the end, only Nan XiangWan kept heartily eating more and more.

She ate until the officers at several nearby tables were shocked.

Nan XiangWan had a grain of rice stuck at the corner of her mouth.

Xiao Dong immediately took out a tissue: "Wipe your mouth."

At this time, Tan Shen across from them spoke up, a trace of hesitation in his voice: "Uh, assistants are not allowed at military training."

Hearing this, the other actors immediately looked towards Nan XiangWan.

"I think Nan XiangWan is a newcomer right?"

"Just debuted, yet already has both a manager and an assistant. It'll be seen as acting primadonna if word got out."

"First time acting, and in such a major production too. Best not have extra thoughts."

"I didn't even dare bring an assistant when I heard it was army training. I came alone."

Tan Shen quickly added: "Don't say that about her. After all she's the female lead, plus she didn't know assistants weren't allowed, right?"

"Senior Tan Shen is too kind-hearted."

"Can't be too nice or you'll be taken advantage of!"

"Teacher Tan Shen is always speaking up for others! Such a good person..."

Cheng Xue took a deep breath.

This was starting already?

Nan XiangWan glanced up at Tan Shen: "Oh."

If assistants weren't allowed then so be it, no big deal.

Cheng Xue: "Xiao Dong, come with me tonight. We only came to take a look at the venue."

Xiao Dong: "Okay."

What could she say?

She was speechless!

They weren't even told it was military training before coming!

And Director Luo didn't say anything about it either!

Xiao Dong was unusually angry, but she knew her status. She couldn't speak up, much less stand up for Nan XiangWan.

Otherwise these people would probably accuse Nan XiangWan of acting primadonna even over an assistant.

Xiao Dong felt wronged, her chubby cheeks flushed from anger.

Nan XiangWan bowed her head, a faint icy smile on her lips.

Itching to act.