CHAPTER 3

The camera quietly turned.

The location was still in the dining room.

"Sister, I had the kitchen make Soufflé for you," Zou Yirui said with a smile, speaking in an affectionate tone. "Oh, have you never had this dessert before?"

This time, she put effort into it, not using the ordinary Mandarin accent from Taiwan to deliver her lines. She slowed down her speech, sounding gentle and without any aggression.

"Never had it." Xiang Xiaoyuan replied indifferently, not looking at her, slowly cutting into the steak and chewing slowly.

"Then you should eat more later, it's really delicious. It used to be my favorite." Zou Yirui's voice rose slightly, putting more emphasis on the word "favorite."

Xiang Xiaoyuan didn't respond, still looking down and avoiding Zou Yirui's gaze. The knife and fork made a soft "scrape" against the porcelain plate.

Zou Yirui's unease grew stronger. This script had a lot of dialogue, and many character actions had to be portrayed by the actors themselves. She had to think about her lines while also reacting to her scene partner.

In her understanding, after her sister finished the second line, her sister should have glanced at her. Then, she would sweetly smile at her, expecting a close-up shot from the camera, which would be more favorable for herself, showing her sister's affection while the sister remained indifferent.

But Xiang Xiaoyuan's response was indifferent, she didn't look at her or engage.

"Director, could we pause for a moment? I think at this point, the sister should look at me, we need some eye contact." Zou Yirui raised her hand toward the monitor. "With how Xiaoyuan is acting now, I'm having trouble responding..."

Wei Jiabao thought for a moment and nodded. "Alright, Xiaoyuan, let's try that again."

Indeed, having connections made things easier.

Cai Juan rolled his eyes, wanting to sigh.

This was the second time the female lead had called for a stop. The first time, she had clearly forgotten her lines but claimed it was due to sweat dripping down. Now she was saying she couldn't respond to Xiaoyuan's performance...

Did she really think the set was her own?

Did she have no sense of professionalism as an actor?

Cai Juan suppressed his emotions, glanced around, everyone seemed accustomed. He sighed internally, the capital truly is evil yet omnipotent. He gazed at Xiaoyuan, who kept her eyes down, showing little expression.

'Very good, still within the emotions, unaffected.'

'Oh, Little ancestor, hold it in, hold it in, don't protest, This isn't difficult for you, for the sake of the character, just endure it a little longer.'

One more take.

Zou Yirui continued with her lines, and for some reason, Cai Juan felt that her tone was sharper this time, her smile more exaggerated, appearing somewhat fake.

"I used to love eating this the most! I want sister to taste it too."

Upon hearing this, the muscle in the left side of Xiaoyuan's cheek twitched subtly, and the knife and fork made a scraping sound as they stopped in the plate. At the same time, she raised her eyelids and looked at her calmly and indifferently.

Zou Yirui's previously prepared smile suddenly froze.

The look Xiang Xiaoyuan gave her, devoid of warmth, extremely indifferent, yet her shoulder muscles visibly tensed, in a guarded stance.

Ah, even trying to show goodwill is not allowed.

It was too awkward.

"Cut, good! Very good!" Wei Jiabao exclaimed, praising, "Xiaorui, this way of handling it is definitely better, you're amazing!"

Chen Yunxiu beside him nodded, and the camera captured the moment when Zou Yirui was about to smile but suddenly became stiff, perfectly reflecting the younger sister's mindset at that moment.

"Shall we do another take?"

Chen Yunxiu nodded.

Wei Jiabao excitedly rubbed his hands together, the shoot going smoother than before making him happy, "I think we should give Xiaorui a close-up."

Chen Yunxiu suggested gently, "The camera panned over just now, Xiaoyuan and Miss Zou both did well, and there's more content ahead." Hinting that there's no rush.

"Yes... right, I was thinking the same." Wei Jiabao didn't insist.

"Director Wei is in the zone!" Chen Yunxiu praised.

"Hahaha. Yes. You know what, this Xiaoyuan you found is really good, she looks great on camera!"

Zou Yirui could feel the relaxed and joyful atmosphere on set, along with a sense of excitement, but she had an indescribable sense of frustration in her heart. Since the beginning of her scenes with Xiang Xiaoyuan, she had felt suppressed the entire time and it didn't sit well with her.

She stared in the direction of the monitor, where Wei Jiabao and Assistant Director Chen were engrossed in conversation, completely unaware of her, which made her even more frustrated.

"Director, I need to take a break, feeling a bit uncomfortable." she spoke up.

Usually, the "discomfort" of actresses on set boils down to a few common issues, which directors typically understand.

"Oh, okay, let's take a break then." Wei Jiabao waved his hand dismissively, agreed, and after speaking, he continued talking to Chen Yunxiu, ignoring Zou Yirui's repeated attempts to catch his eye. Angrily, she stood up and left the dining room, her assistant hurriedly following her.

Wei Jiabao still didn't notice, his attention focused on Xiaoyuan, "Hey, Lao Chen, have you noticed that since the beginning of the shoot, Xiang Xiaoyuan hasn't left her seat, hasn't spoken, and her expression hasn't changed, it's quite interesting."

"Yeah, she's really getting into character, trying to maintain her emotions..."

"Oh, I see. Yeah, haha, quite a technique she has. Which school did she graduate from?"

"I think it was from Huaxi."

"That's interesting..."

...

Zou Yirui didn't go to the restroom but headed to her dressing room, with her assistant following.

She paced around the room and suddenly asked her assistant, "Do you think she's pretty or am I prettier?"

The assistant was confused, blinking in surprise. "Of course, you're prettier! Much more than her!"

Zou Yirui's frustration eased a bit, "What do you think of her performance?"

Observing her expression, the assistant cautiously replied, "Um, it's... okay, I guess?"

Zou Yirui then asked, "How do I compare to her?"

"Um..." The assistant quickly changed her response, "You're the female lead! She's just a supporting character. Plus, your role is more likable, not so gloomy and tragic..."

"Don't worry, even if she acts well, we can always have the director cut her scenes..."

The shoot continued.

"Sister, hurry and eat! This soufflé should be eaten while it's hot. Uncle Wang is best at making this dessert, I used to eat it all the time..." Zou Yirui's plate had already been cleared. As she spoke, her tone paused for a moment, and she seemed a bit downcast, lowering her gaze and letting out a soft sigh.

She subtly shifted her face slightly towards the direction of the camera, knowing that this angle presented her best side. With light makeup and only a touch of lip gloss, she exuded a fragile vulnerability that evoked pity.

The people on set were not blind, this was the best state the leading actress had been in after filming for so many days.

The attention of the crowd involuntarily shifted towards the actress opposite her.

Seeing her just scooping a bite of dessert, glancing around, trying a mouthful, then proceeding to eat continuously, oblivious to her surroundings.

So cold...

Thinking about it, it made sense. She wasn't very familiar with her sister. Should she encourage her to eat a little? But what if she couldn't? It seemed a bit unsympathetic, especially since this was her biological sister, the sister they had finally reunited with. Did she really have no feelings at all?

The actress in the black dress, right from the start, portrayed a sense of detachment with a chilling and eerie demeanor.

Surprisingly, it makes people anticipate how she will act next...

Zou Yirui paused, her gaze suddenly turning cold.

"Cut!"

"Um... Miss Zou, your expression..." Chen Yunxiu behind the monitor said to Wei Jiabao, "The expression doesn't quite fit. Even though the younger sister has some resentment towards her sister and repeatedly doesn't get the expected response, she feels defeated but still actively and warmly tries to communicate with her..."

Before he could finish, Zou Yirui stood up angrily, impatiently saying, "I can just do another take!"

Chen Yunxiu didn't say anything more.

"Alright, alright, let's do it again, come on, another take. Xiaorui, great job, you got this." Wei Jiabao finally sensed Zou Yirui's inner restlessness.

Among the onlookers, some exchanged knowing glances in silence.

Tsk, the lead actress's state had improved, but so had her temper.

"Hey, have you noticed? It's been two or three hours since we started, and she hasn't moved at all. She's just sitting there, eating when it's time to film and stopping when we take breaks. The food must be cold by now, has it really been three or four hours?"

"Yeah, the lead actress has taken more than half an hour to rest in between..."

Cai Juan overheard two staff members whispering quietly beside him, and two emotions intertwined in his heart: pride and worry, alternating back and forth. He wasn't worried about Xiaoyuan being unable to perform, he feared that Xiaoyuan couldn't endure it. Her opponent was too inexperienced and kept causing trouble, with a poor attitude that was clearly stepping on Xiaoyuan's nerves.

When Zou Yirui returned from her break, she rushed directly to Wei Jiabao. "...Director Wei, aren't we done filming for today?" Her gaze was pointedly fixed on him.

"Oh..." Wei Jiabao glanced at the monitor briefly, then looked towards Xiaoyuan, and finally at Chen Yunxiu, who nodded knowingly. "Director Wei, we originally had two scenes with four shots today, but we've only completed one shot so far."

Zou Yirui gave him a glance and ignored him, "Director Wei?"

Wei Jiabao cleared his throat. "One shot is indeed a bit too few. Xiaorui, just hold on a bit longer, let's finish that next shot, and then you can take a break!"

Zou Yirui felt the restlessness that had just subsided reignite within her. "But..."

Wei Jiabao cleared his throat again, asserting some director's authority. "Go on."

Confused by his sudden seriousness, Zou Yirui could only reluctantly return to the camera.

"Sister, is there anything you like to eat? By the way, I know too little about you. Can you tell me more about your past?"

Zou Yirui was growing increasingly anxious, and she could even sense the crew members gossiping amongst themselves, as if she could hear them saying:

"All the NG takes are from the leading actress, the supporting actress is much more stable than the leading actress."

"She really is relying on her connections, her skills just aren't up to par."

"She's really bad."

Unable to focus, her performance was getting worse by the minute.

"Miss Zou, one more time, and please make your tone a bit more sincere."

"Miss Zou, your voice is too soft."

"Miss Zou..."

Chen Yunxiu walked over to discuss the scene with the leading actress. Xiaoyuan subtly adjusted her posture, gently swayed her neck, giving the impression that she had been sitting for a while and was stretching her muscles. However, she executed the movement in a particularly graceful manner, like a gentle breeze brushing over willow branches.

"Xiaoyuan was doing great just now, maintain the emotion, and pay attention..."

After finishing her notes with Zou Yirui, Chen Yunxiu casually reminded Xiaoyuan a few things.

"Okay, Director, I understand." It was the first time she responded, her eyes curving slightly. "We will nail this next shot."

"Wow, she's really nice and dedicated. If I had been NG'd this many times, I would have been affected long ago."

"Yes, and she hasn't even taken a break."

Cai Juan was no longer paying attention to what others were saying around him. He was shaken by the leading actress's NGs, and when he heard Xiang Xiaoyuan's words, his heart skipped a beat.

Oh, it seemed like things were about to get serious.

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