On set.
Seeing the pain and helplessness on Lin Chen’s face, Lin Nuonuo’s heart tightened along with his.
“It doesn’t hurt at all……” Lin Nuonuo whispered to him. “Really.” As if afraid he would worry because of her, she finally struggled to free her hand from the tubing, raised it, and held the hand he had placed lightly on her forehead. She even gave him a small smile.
This part, of course, was not in the original script.
The director simply forgot to call ‘cut’, and the camera ended up capturing the whole moment.
By now, the staff at the side of the set had long been stunned by the performance of this pair, who looked every bit like a real father and daughter.
“My gosh, that was too good……”
“So moving.”
“I almost cried.”
People whispered among themselves.
They had always known Lin Chen’s acting was decent. After all, for an actor with a middling reputation and little popularity to survive for so many years in the industry, he had to have some skill.
But they never expected this sudden, explosive performance to be this good.
And the little actress performing opposite him was just as natural, her reactions precise and controlled.
Not only the staff, but even the director, staring repeatedly at the monitor, found his gaze deepening. The scene wasn’t long, but the acting was exceptional.
Originally, the roles of Mo Hai and Mo Bei were only a short sequence in 《Attending Physician》. In the full drama, the two characters weren’t even supporting leads. Once edited, the segment might only amount to a fleeting dozen seconds. Yet the director felt a strong instinct that once aired, this moment might become the highlight of the entire arc— perhaps even the whole drama.
The director’s belated “Cut” finally came.
With him saying it was nice, the staff and stagehands followed with applause.
Lin Nuonuo’s scene was finished.
What remained was a scene between Lin Chen, the male lead, and several major characters.
Because they were all veteran actors with reliable skills, the director didn’t spend much time explaining the scene and simply told all departments to prepare.
Lin Nuonuo stood quietly beside Zhang Qi outside the filming area, watching.
The first shot of this scene was a confrontation between Lin Chen and the drama’s male lead.
The actor playing the male lead looked roughly Lin Chen’s age, but his fame far surpassed Lin Chen’s. He had a huge online fanbase and was considered one of the ‘dual peaks’ of looks and acting skills among male actors in the industry.
The male lead now wore a sharp, professional doctor’s uniform, while Lin Chen was still in his shabby hoodie and jeans.
Yet standing side by side, Lin Chen’s presence didn’t lose to the male lead’s at all.
“I think my dad is still more handsome.” Lin Nuonuo whispered from the side, clinging to the edge of the set.
Zhang Qi, hearing her call Lin Chen ‘dad’, froze for a moment, but decided she had probably just gotten used to saying it from the scene, so he didn’t correct her.
Then he heard her mutter even more quietly, almost like breaking the fourth wall, “It’d be great if he weren’t a scumbag……”
“What did you say?”
“I said if he could be better— less of a scumbag— he wouldn’t end up so miserable.” Abandoned by the entertainment industry, by the audience, and even by the Lin family.
Zhang Qi: “……”
Whether Lin Chen was really a scumbag, Zhang Qi had no idea. But miserable? Where?
An actor who drove a multi-million-yuan car, stayed in luxury suites at his own expense, took projects when he felt like it, didn’t have to participate in variety shows, didn’t have to rush schedules, didn’t have to maintain a public persona, and didn’t have to fake enthusiasm?
Where was the misery?
If anything, he wished he could try that kind of ‘miserable’ life.
Zhang Qi complained silently.
They watched until the final scene of the day wrapped.
Lin Chen returned to the dressing room, removed his makeup, and changed out of his costume. By the time he came out, Lin Nuonuo was already waiting at the studio gate.
She had also removed her makeup and changed back into her own clothes. She still looked rather plain, but far more comfortable than her appearance in the drama. At least Lin Chen no longer felt the suffocating heaviness he had felt when looking at her on set.
However, she didn’t look very presentable at the moment.
Children sweated easily. After a full day of shooting and running around, the strands of hair on her forehead stuck to her face from sweat, making her look sweaty and grimy.
Even from a distance, Lin Chen felt like he could smell the sour, musty odor coming off her.
With that thought, he shot her a look of distaste and instinctively took two steps away, pure reflex from his obsession with cleanliness.
Not only that, he even had to repeat in his mind, over and over, Good thing she isn’t my child.
Dirty or not, that wasn’t his problem.
But then he remembered she had only one set of clothes on her, not even a change of clean clothes. That made his mood plummet again.
He had packed ten full days’ worth of clean clothes. This little ‘stowaway’ had nothing but one outfit, and after wearing it for two days, it was filthy. Yet she still had to stay another day and even share the room with him!
The more he thought about it, the more unacceptable it became.
Finally, unable to tolerate it any longer, he had Zhang Qi stop the car when they passed a quieter side street.
“Brother Chen?”
“Wait here.” Lin Chen got out with his phone.
The day’s filming had ended early. It wasn’t yet rush hour, so the street wasn’t crowded. Lin Chen scanned the storefronts and walked into a small shop selling cheap miscellaneous clothing.
He was wearing a mask, so his face wasn’t visible, but the shop assistant immediately recognized that he was handsome and approached him enthusiastically.
“Handsome, what can I help you find?”
“Just pick two sets of clothes.” Lin Chen said curtly.
“Uh…… we have a lot. Men’s, women’s, adults’, kids’……”
“For a child.”
“Children’s wear? Sure. How old is the child? What size?”
Lin Chen: “……” He had never bought clothes for a child in his life. How would he know?
“About this tall.” He gestured vaguely at Lin Nuonuo’s height.
“Is the child chubby or slim?”
“……” Lin Chen’s brows twitched with impatience.
Seeing that, the shop assistant continued, “For that height, size 120 should work. To be safe, you can go a bit larger.”
“Fine. Two sets.”
“……” Now she was speechless. She had seen customers unsure about children’s sizes, but never someone this casual. If he didn’t look like a decent man, she’d suspect he was there to cause trouble.
“Boy or girl?” She asked again.
“Either.” Noticing her skeptical look, he added, “Girl.”
“For a girl? Here, look at these dresses. They’re new arrivals, very popular. Several sold as soon as we hung them.”
She took down a few princess dresses.
They reminded Lin Chen of the skirts Lin Zixin usually wore, but the cheaper versions.
They weren’t ugly.
But picturing Lin Nuonuo in them felt wrong, no matter how he imagined it.
“Get boys’ clothes.” He pointed at random. “These are fine.”
As perfunctory as humanly possible.
The shop assistant: “……”
Now she was certain he was there to make trouble.
Still, she professionally bagged the clothes he had pointed at.
“The total is 198. With that pair of socks, I can make it 200.”
“Scan.”
…..
Back in the car, Lin Chen tossed the plastic bag to Lin Nuonuo. “Wash them first before wearing.”
She accepted it with visible delight.
She hadn’t expected that his little detour had been to buy clothes for her.
This was the first time anyone had given her a present, and it was from her father.
Her heart bubbled with joy.
“Thank you, Da—” Remembering Zhang Qi was in the car, and that Lin Chen didn’t want her calling him ‘dad’ at the studio, she swallowed the word back and instead said, “Thank you!”
Lin Chen had no idea why the child was so happy. He just didn’t want to smell her anymore.
Up front, Zhang Qi couldn’t help glancing back. When he saw Lin Nuonuo clutching the plastic bag like it was a sack full of cash, his lips twitched.
He had no idea why she loved the clothes so much. Judging from their random colors and prints, he fully believed Lin Chen had chosen them without the slightest care.
Still, seeing Lin Nuonuo’s blissful expression, he decided not to say anything.
“Aren’t we leaving?” Lin Chen’s voice sounded.
“Ahem. Right.”
……
Back at the hotel, Lin Nuonuo immediately washed the new clothes and used the hotel dryer.
By the time Lin Chen saw her again, she was freshly cleaned, wearing her new outfit.
“Look! Isn’t it nice?” She ran to him, eyes shining.
His gaze moved over her.
A dark green long-sleeved T-shirt with a huge knockoff Ultraman face on the front……
Pants of an indeterminate mix of blue, black, and gray……
These were the clothes he bought? This ugly?
Seeing her brimming with joy, a thought flashed through his mind, Kids really did live carefree.
Because of that, he couldn’t bear to tell her the truth.
“Passable.” He said, looking away.
Hearing that, Lin Nuonuo beamed.
“Let’s eat dinner! I’m telling you, you haven’t eaten there yet, but the food downstairs is super delicious, especially the pastries.”
Lin Chen didn’t move. “No need. We’ll order room service.”
“Why?”
He stayed silent, thinking hard about how to gently convey that he didn’t want to take someone dressed that hideously downstairs and embarrass himself.
Maybe he should send Zhang Qi instead.
But faced with Lin Nuonuo’s eager eyes, he eventually put on a mask and took her down to eat— quickly.
Along the way, hotel staff and guests inevitably stared at Lin Nuonuo’s outfit.
Only she remained oblivious, loving her new clothes with all her heart.
Even when it was time to sleep, she refused to take them off. “I want to sleep in them!”
But after a while— whether from heat, discomfort, or fear of wrinkling them— she took them off, folded them carefully, and placed them by her pillow.
Then, in her absentminded way, she whispered, “Good night.”
────ρя
Please only read this translation at S h a n g h a i f a n t a s y . c o m to support the translator
The next morning, when Lin Chen saw Lin Nuonuo, she was already dressed, this time in the other set of clothes he bought.
It has a different color and a different knockoff pattern, but it was equally hideous.
He was still trying to figure out how to prevent her from telling others he was the one who bought the clothes when, upon reaching the set, she immediately began to ‘show off’. She walked past people slowly, two seconds each, as if terrified they might not notice her new outfit.
When the director finished greeting the crew and spotted Lin Nuonuo, he froze for a moment.
“Those clothes……” Surely they were not from the wardrobe?
“Good morning, Director! These clothes were bought by my da—” She instinctively looked at Lin Chen, then quickly corrected herself, “my uncle!”
Zhang Qi: “……” Another pot landed on his head.
“I see.” The director glanced at Zhang Qi, then smiled at Lin Nuonuo. “Not bad. Looks good.”
But inwardly, he was already considering whether he should give the child a few outfits from the drama’s sponsors once her scenes wrapped. He was genuinely fond of this little actress.
Hearing the director’s praise, the assistant directors exchanged looks, silently thinking, Deceiving a child like this…… Director, doesn’t your conscience hurt?
Still, as a director, he recovered quickly from the shock of Lin Nuonuo’s outfit and calmly resumed arranging the day’s shoot.
He also specifically instructed the wardrobe department to find a more suitable outfit for her.