Five years ago, in a cramped, less - than - ten - square - meter rental apartment.
The sky outside was just beginning to lighten when the alarm clock on the bedside started blaring like crazy, one shrill ring after another. Anna Bruce jolted awake from her sleep.
"Shit!"
She quickly reached up to steady her head.
Due to staying up late filming the previous night, her head was still groggy, and her eyes were sore and bloodshot.
But the moment she thought of her mother in the hospital bed and her younger brother still in school, she instantly sobered up.
"Anna Bruce, come on! You can definitely become an Oscar - winning actress!"
She carried out her daily pep - talk ritual in front of the chipped and blurry mirror.
She tried to force a smile, but the reflection showed a pale - faced girl with heavy dark circles under her eyes and bloodless lips.
On the film set, the sun was blazing hot that day, and the temperature was extremely high.
It made people feel dizzy.
At the moment, Anna Bruce, dressed in a palace maid's costume, was kneeling on the cobblestones...
Beads of sweat the size of soybeans rolled down her cheeks continuously, soaking her collar and back.
Ellen Lincon, wearing a gorgeous imperial concubine's costume and high - heeled flower - pot shoes, "clacked" towards her, her eyes filled with contempt and disgust.
"Greetings to the Imperial Concubine. May you live a long and prosperous life!"
Anna Bruce recited the lines as per the script.
Suddenly, "Slap!"
Ellen Lincon raised her hand and landed a hard slap.
"You slut! How dare you seduce the Emperor? I'll teach you a lesson!" Her shrill voice echoed on the set.
Anna Bruce's face was slapped to the side, and her cheek burned with pain.
A trickle of blood oozed from the corner of her mouth.
"Damn it!" The crew members on the set gasped.
They were all wondering why Ellen would hit so hard.
Hadn't it been agreed that they could use a fake - hit technique? Ignoring the pain, Anna Bruce was about to continue with the scene when Ellen said, "Director, I don't think my emotions were intense enough just now. How about... I give it another try?"
As she spoke, her eyes fluttered, sending a flirtatious look towards the director.
"Sure, Ellen. Get ready, and we'll shoot this scene again."
By now, Anna Bruce understood that the director was in cahoots with Ellen.
It seemed that the torment she was about to endure today was inevitable.
Ellen Lincon's delicately - made - up face was filled with smugness. She took a step closer and taunted, "You think you can compete with me for the role? Look at yourself! What do you think you are?"
Anna Bruce held back her tears.
She was in desperate need of money.
If she lost this role, she didn't know when she'd get another chance to be in a movie.
For the sake of her family, she had to swallow her pride.
The second time, the third time...
Ellen Lincon kept deliberately making things difficult, hitting her harder each time.
"What, can't take it anymore? If you can't stand it, get the hell off the set!"
Ellen sneered as she kept slapping.
Anna Bruce's cheeks were now swollen, blood was seeping from the corner of her mouth, and her body was swaying unsteadily.
Sensing that things might get out of hand, the director finally called out, "Cut!"
Anna Bruce stumbled to a corner of the set.
It was the actors' meal time.
She picked up the work - meal filled with cheap vegetarian dishes. Suddenly, she felt an intense sense of being watched, which sent a shiver down her spine.
She spun around and looked around, but all she saw were the busy figures of the crew members on the set.
Maybe she was just too tired these days and was hallucinating.
Ha! A nobody like her, who would pay attention?
Anna Bruce shook her head with a bitter smile, mocking herself...
