CHAPTER 15

Days passed one by one.

Fang Hao, with Lu Jingnian by his side, visibly improved his acting skills at a rapid pace, becoming adept at performing alongside her. The two of them developed a tacit understanding, igniting sparks when portraying a couple.

However, the most exciting scenes to act in were those involving Xiang Xiaoyuan and Lu Jingnian. The budget for "Their Little Affairs" was substantial, with significant investment. The girls' costumes were all branded, youthful and beautiful, complementing each other perfectly.

During the performances, the two girls seemed to be testing each other, subtly comparing and contrasting, yet maintaining a harmonious surface.

But when it came to the scenes between Xiang Xiaoyuan and Wang Ji, it became a disaster.

Anyone on set with functioning eyes could see that Xiang Xiaoyuan was doing her best, putting in all her effort to carry the scene, but unfortunately, the other party remained unmoved. Having a blank expression or a cold demeanor might be standard for runway models, but it didn't work well for TV dramas.

To onlookers, she appeared as nothing more than a very attractive but lifeless prop, leading to aesthetic fatigue even in the most beautiful of appearances.

Initially, the pairing of Xiang Xiaoyuan and Wang Ji caught a lot of attention, but the more they were seen together, the more it felt like pairing fresh flowers with a block of wood—a wasted opportunity.

In the entertainment industry, there are unspoken rules that revolve around relationships and benefits. The members of this production team were all pre-selected, and everyone's abilities were now clearly evident.

Some unexpectedly excelled, while others surprisingly fell short.

However, even the director and producers remained silent, or perhaps lacked the authority to make decisions, so others had even less say.

Still, many people remembered Xiang Xiaoyuan as an actress. Wang Ji was unwilling to act with her, so she kept honing her skills. Every time the director called for an NG (and everyone knew the problem wasn't with her), she would try a different approach.

She was too stubborn, too dedicated, too... unfortunate!

During a break in filming, Xiang Xiaoyuan felt exhausted, slumped in the dressing room, reluctant to move, drained both physically and emotionally.

"I did some digging, that guy is quite mysterious." Cai Juan said to Xiang Xiaoyuan. He no longer viewed Wang Ji as particularly charismatic, just a decorative pillow—looks good but not very useful, making him itch with frustration. "I wonder what his background is."

Having been away from Boyi for quite some time, having distanced himself from his previous circle, and not making much progress over the past few years, some information had gradually become inaccessible to him.

"It's certain that he isn't from Warner." Lu Jingnian had previously stated, not knowing much about his background. "I don't think he's from Boyi either. I saw his manager and assistant, they are from the modeling agency he signed with."

Xiang Xiaoyuan hadn't slept well for several days. She yawned wearily, saying, "There's no need to look into it anymore. Anyway, the background is just bigger than ours, there's nothing we can do about it. We still have to..."

She paused, suddenly thinking about the upcoming kissing scene with Wang Ji. She couldn't even bring herself to mention it, feeling a chill down her spine. How could she manage to act it out?

"Hey, just bear with it." Cai Juan said, genuinely unable to help but side with Xiang Xiaoyuan this time. She had really grown up, in the past, she would never have taken on such a script or acted with someone like him—she would have just walked away.

The child had grown up, she would endure even when wronged.

"What else can we do but endure?" Xiang Xiaoyuan said softly, lowering her eyelashes. She bit her rosy lip with her small white teeth and then pressed her lips together. "I don't have any other roles to shoot..." Her voice trailed off sadly.

Cai Juan felt a pang of heartache, unable to find words to comfort her for a moment.

A shadow fell over them, and when they looked up, it was Lu Jingnian approaching.

"Xiaoyuan, Brother Cai!" Having spent a long time on set, the two had grown familiar with each other. Lu Jingnian sat down with a smile, "What are you two talking about?"

Cai Juan smiled and said, "Xiaoyuan is worrying about her scenes with Mr. Wang."

"Ah," Lu Jingnian clicked her tongue, a sympathetic look on her face. "That's true..." She hesitated, not wanting to directly critique Wang Ji, then smiled and added, "But Xiaoyuan, I think you can do it! I have faith in you!"

Xiang Xiaoyuan reined in her genuine emotions and smiled back, saying, "Are you overestimating me? To be honest, being called to stop by Director Sun has left me with some aftereffects."

Cai Juan's eyes flickered. Ah, this child has learned to conceal her sharpness.

"You just love to joke. I watched your movie last night, that one called 'Xiao Wen,'" Lu Jingnian said. "You were amazing in it! And it was directed by He, wow, it's incredible."

Director He Kewen is one of the top directors in the country, nine out of ten of his films make it to international film festivals, and he was also Xiang Xiang Xiaoyuan's mentor.

"That's Director He indeed. Many people might never get to meet him in their lifetime, let alone work with him. I envy you so much!" Lu Jingnian's sweet appearance made her words less envious. "How did you manage to work with him?"

"When I was in my sophomore year, Director He came to our department to pick actors for our batch. Our department head and he are senior-junior brothers, and all the students in our department went for auditions." Xiang Xiaoyuan said lightly.

All the students in the department went, including the senior sisters, but in the end, only she was chosen.

Cai Juan blinked, about to comment on how she had learned to hide her brilliance, but she inadvertently revealed her pride again.

Lu Jingnian's smile subtly faltered, "Director He made the right choice in selecting you."

Xiang Xiaoyuan smiled faintly.

At that time, while filming "Xiao Wen," they were in a rural area of Shanxi, and she played a rural girl. To meet Director He's requirements, she lived in the village for an entire month, learning to feed chickens and ducks, herd cattle, and plant rice. She didn't mind any of it, it was all for better character development. Eventually, she found it quite interesting and felt she had acquired new skills.

What was harder to accept were the poor sanitary conditions in the village. In the summer, the outdoor latrines were swarming with flies and mosquitoes, making every trip to the bathroom or shower a torment.

Later, when it came time to perform, she had her long hair cut off. The director thought her hair color was too dark and had the makeup artist dye it blonde, forbidding her from maintaining it, aiming for a malnourished, yellowed look.

Director He even complained that she wasn't dark enough from the sun and had the makeup artist apply two shades darker foundation. She suffered from skin allergies due to the local climate, with red rashes all over her face and body.

Unable to see a doctor, she had to cover the red rashes with even darker foundation. She couldn't eat well, couldn't sleep well. From start to finish, she stayed there for almost half a year and endured it all.

Walking that short stretch of red carpet at Cannes, surrounded by reporters from around the world, even if they didn't know who she was, they raised their cameras to focus on her. In that moment, all the flashes of the world's spotlight were directed at her.

That was her initial glory, her first ray of light, forever recorded.

She deserved such honor.

"So, someone like that..." Lu Jingnian gestured towards a certain direction, her voice lowered, "has somewhat wronged you."

Cai Juan's heart subtly tightened.

Xiang Xiaoyuan looked at Lu Jingnian and after a two-second pause said, "...it's all for this drama, it's what I should do."

Cai Juan's heart eased.

"Hey," Lu Jingnian said with the demeanor of a gossiping best friend, her voice still low, "I'm curious about his background too. I asked my agent to look into it, and guess where he's from..."

Xiang Xiaoyuan couldn't help but respond with a soft "Hmm."

Lu Jingnian glanced around, lowered her voice even more, and continued, "They say he's the lover of Tonghua's CEO."

"No way," Xiang Xiaoyuan chuckled at Lu Jingnian's mistake, laughing softly before lowering her voice, "Wei Zhuang—his sister is the president of Tonghua."

......

Why is it again someone with the surname Wei? Why can't they just go away?

Are these siblings their bad luck charm?

Cai Juan exchanged a glance with Xiang Xiaoyuan.

"Oh, do you happen to know Wei Jiabao?" Lu Jingnian leaned in to ask her.

"...Actually, I don't know him, just heard of him." Xiang Xiaoyuan replied.

Lu Jingnian studied her for a moment, then resumed her smile, chatting a bit more before leaving.

After she left, Cai Juan rubbed his forehead, feeling a sense of foreboding rising in his heart.

Perhaps it's just a coincidence?

But it's also quite unfortunate...

Not sure if it was due to this news, but filming after the break became even more difficult. This time, Sun Xin hadn't said anything yet, but Wang Ji, unexpectedly, said, "Hey, aren't you a top student from Huaxi? Can you even act? I don't sense any emotion from you towards me."

Xiang Xiaoyuan didn't expect someone to have such thick skin, "..."

The whole room was shocked, and for a moment, there was silence.

Wang Ji acted as if he had been tolerating Xiang Xiaoyuan for a long time. His agent was already desperately signaling him to stop, and only then did he seem to realize it wasn't appropriate to continue, mumbling under his breath, "No wonder you're not famous..."

Cai Juan was so furious he felt like he might explode. "Who do you think you are..." He rolled up his sleeves and was about to step forward when Xiang Xiaoyuan stopped him. Cai Juan turned to look at her. Xiang Xiaoyuan was unexpectedly calm, very calm. She said, "I'm sorry, Director Sun, I need to take a break."

Sun Xin was silent for a moment before nodding.

Xiang Xiaoyuan pulled Cai Juan away, and once they were outside, the deep winter wind hit her flushed cheeks, filling her heart with anger and humiliation. She tugged at Cai Juan's sleeve until it was deformed, while her other hand clenched tightly, her nails digging into her palm.

Cai Juan gritted his teeth, cursing under his breath, his eyes were even burning. "We're not filming anymore, Yuan'er. We're done. I'll talk to Brother Zhishi."

He took out his phone, glanced at Xiang Xiaoyuan, who stood stiffly, staring blankly ahead. If it weren't for the slight rise and fall of her chest, one might think she was a statue.

"Yuan'er, Yuan'er..." Cai Juan sounded a bit concerned.

"I'm fine." Xiang Xiaoyuan said, only to realize her throat felt a bit choked. She lifted her head. The sky was already dimming, the crescent moon appearing thin and lonely.

"I'm fine." she repeated.

But it seemed as if the heavens were playing a joke on her. That night, after finishing work and returning to her place, her phone lit up with a call from an unfamiliar number.

She answered, and a strange male voice chuckled, "Hey, how have you been lately?"

"Don't you remember me?" There were two light chuckles from the other side, "I'm Wei Jiabao."

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