He Yan was still reciting her lines, but Jiang Mingcheng had completely stopped listening. His mind was filled with the feeling of the young lady’s arms around his waist and her words, “I missed you so much,” laden with so much emotion.
Jiang Mingcheng reached out to put his arm around He Yan’s shoulder. The next second, He Yan pushed him away.
“You’re supposed to push me away, not hug me.” He Yan patiently explained the scene to Jiang Mingcheng.
Jiang Mingcheng lowered his eyes. “Sorry, let’s do it again.”
“No need to start over. Just start from the push. Don’t forget your lines.” He Yan pointed to the script in Jiang Mingcheng’s hand.
Jiang Mingcheng nodded.
He Yan wrapped her arms around Jiang Mingcheng again.
But Jiang Mingcheng just couldn’t bring himself to push her away. He didn’t know how much force to use, afraid of hurting her.
He Yan wasn’t annoyed, after all, Jiang Mingcheng wasn’t an actor. She simply let go herself and continued with the scene.
The young lady was heartbroken by Qin Li’s cold, distant demeanor, yet she couldn’t help but reach out and tug at his sleeve. “Brother Qin Li, did I make you angry?”
The young lady was incredibly delicate, a few glistening tears rolling from the corners of her eyes.
Jiang Mingcheng’s heart felt like it was pricked by a needle, aching slightly.
He didn’t want to see He Yan look wronged. He wanted to wipe away the tears at the corners of her eyes.
But this was acting. He had to control himself.
Yet he still couldn’t bring himself to shake off the young lady’s hand tugging at his sleeve, as the script required.
What if he hurt her.
He Yan, sensing this, let go of his sleeve herself and continued acting.
She had figured it out. Although Jiang Mingcheng had suggested going through the scene with action, he stood there like a statue, not moving at all, relying entirely on her solo performance.
After a while, this part of the scene was finally over.
“That’s it? You’re not doing the rest?” Jiang Mingcheng pressed.
“No, just this section.” He Yan replied patiently, her gaze lingering on Jiang Mingcheng’s waist for a few extra seconds.
Jiang Mingcheng was only wearing a thin shirt. When she hugged him, she could clearly feel the strength in his waist.
It felt pretty good.
“I’m sorry, I acted poorly.” Jiang Mingcheng’s eyes dimmed slightly. He had actually wanted to spend more time with her, go through more scenes together.
“No, no, you did great. The main thing is you’re handsome, so just standing there is enough!” He Yan quickly explained.
Jiang Mingcheng’s eyes brightened, a hint of pleasure creeping into his usually indifferent voice. “I’m glad you don’t mind.”
After finishing the scene practice, it was almost dinner time. Jiang Mingcheng had the chef prepare a meal and send it up. It was mostly low-calorie ingredients that He Yan could eat, with only one extra dish—boiled fish to satisfy her cravings.
He Yan looked at that single dish of boiled fish, the corners of her eyes lifting with satisfaction.
Watching the young lady’s expression, Jiang Mingcheng couldn’t help but curl his lips. “Is the food on set good? Should I arrange for a chef to deliver meals to you daily?”
“No need, no need! The crew meals are fine.” He Yan looked up and waved her hand, just as she caught Jiang Mingcheng’s smile that hadn’t yet faded.
Oh my god, this man smiled again. So handsome!
He Yan was immersed in that handsome face for five seconds, then remembered her one hundred million. She immediately shook Jiang Mingcheng’s image from her mind.
Not worth it, not worth it. The one hundred million was more important.
After dinner, Jiang Mingcheng arranged for a driver to take He Yan back.
Only then did he resume organizing his work matters.
His secretary, Wang Jing, called him.
“President Jiang, Shengwan Films is planning a visit to the “Blazing Flames” set the day after tomorrow. Would you like to go along and take a look?”
“Okay, make the arrangements.” Jiang Mingcheng’s voice had returned to its usual cold and authoritative tone. Wang Jing respectfully acknowledged the instruction.
While He Yan was filming, the drama “True and False Heiress” was about to air.
This melodramatic soap opera, which originally hadn’t garnered much attention, was unexpectedly pushed onto the trending list due to He Yan’s current popularity and her selection by Director Shen.
The director and production team of “True and False Heiress” were overjoyed. Free trending publicity! They had been worried about their insufficient marketing budget!
Netizens were also discussing it animatedly.
Some people, because of He Yan’s courageous act, had changed their opinion of her and wanted to see if her acting had improved.
Others were just waiting to see her fail again and laugh at her.
And there were those who simply wanted to see why Director Shen had chosen her.
[Finally here, another masterpiece from the queen of bad films!]
[Just the title sounds melodramatic. It’s 2020, who still watches this kind of show?]
[Waiting for it to air, let’s see if He Yan can break this year’s lowest Douban score record]
[Haha, I’m strangely looking forward to this. What if she blows everyone away with her acting and pulls off a real face-smack?]
[Don’t get your hopes up for a face-smack. He Yan’s acting is beyond saving.]
[Anyway, I’m not watching it. It’s bound to be an eyesore.]
Amidst all the ridicule and sarcasm, the drama finally began airing.
For the first 10 episodes, the second female lead’s scenes were all filmed by the original owner, and her acting was, as usual, an absolute mess.
Although the second female lead’s screen time was limited in the first two episodes, netizens still clipped together parts of the original owner’s performance into a compilation of cringe-worthy moments.
This clip went viral online. Many netizens even tagged Shen Chengjin’s Weibo, urging the director to take a look.
[@Shen Chengjin, Director Shen, come take a look! Can you please recast? Don’t let He Yan ruin an entire movie by herself!]
[I feel for Director Shen and Brother Pei. Their stellar reputations are about to be destroyed by He Yan.]
[I actually had some expectations for her. I’m going to go reflect in a corner.]
[Haha, told you not to have any expectations for He Yan’s acting.]
[He Yan is still He Yan after all, hasn’t changed a bit. lights cigarette.jpg]
[But to be honest, He Yan is really good-looking. I could stare at this face for a year.]
[It’s because of you appearance-crazed fans that we have so many bad films!]
Meanwhile, on set, He Yan’s mindset was remarkably stable.
As her assistant Yuan Yuan furiously defended her on a burner account, He Yan gently took the phone from her and said earnestly, “Leave them be. Let them say what they want.”
“But they’re being so nasty!”
“Fighting back like this won’t shut them up anyway.”
“But I think your acting is really good now, and they have no idea!”
“What did you think of my performance in the first two episodes?”
“The first two episodes… well… the acting…” Yuan Yuan couldn’t bring herself to say it.
“You thought it was terrible too, right? So, it’s normal for netizens to criticize. We have to accept feedback.”
“But…”
“It’s okay, Yuan Yuan. We have a long road ahead.” She had enough patience to slowly reshape her image.
Yuan Yuan finally managed to calm her anger and, influenced by He Yan, continued working energetically.
While He Yan was getting her makeup done, the director announced that the investors would be visiting the set today.
“Blazing Flames” had multiple investors, not just Shengwan Films. A few smaller investors had arrived early in the morning in a flurry.
Pei Yanchuan had filmed until very late last night and was still resting at the hotel today, so the main focus was on filming the scenes between He Yan and Su An’an.
Watching the two beautiful actresses perform, the eyes of the small investors practically popped out.
A certain Investor Zhao, who had put in a few million, rubbed his chin and beckoned to his assistant. “Call those two actresses over. Let’s have a chat.”
The assistant nodded, walked over to the director, and said, “The investors would like to have a word with the actors. Director, would you consider pausing filming for a bit?”
Director Shen frowned. He detested investors interfering with filming. But since they had provided funding and hadn’t made an excessive request, it was hard to refuse. He stopped the shoot and called the actors over to the investors.
Investor Zhao patted his greasy, protruding belly, his gaze sweeping over the actresses, an ambiguous smile curling his lips.
“Director Shen, it’s hard to gauge the actors’ skills just like this. How about they perform a short scene for us? If their acting isn’t up to par, my investment would be for nothing, wouldn’t it? Let’s start with the one at the front.”
Investor Zhao pointed at Fang Wan, who stood at the front of the group.
Director Shen’s frown deepened. Having been in the industry for years, he knew exactly what these men were thinking. Normally, he wouldn’t interfere with mutually agreeable private arrangements. But forcing his actors right in front of him was far too disrespectful.
Director Shen stepped forward, about to intervene, when Fang Wan spoke first: “Investor Zhao, this is so sudden, I’m not sure what to perform. How about I dance a short piece for you?”
Director Shen wasn’t surprised. The entertainment industry was full of such mutual transactions. As long as it wasn’t coercive, he wouldn’t interfere.
Investor Zhao squinted, giving Fang Wan a once-over, and nodded.
Fang Wan immediately began to move her hips and dance.
She had long heard that this production team had an incredibly powerful investor. If she could latch onto this investor, she would have complete control over her future in the entertainment industry—able to summon wind and rain at will.
Just now, she had observed that the few investors present all deferred to Investor Zhao. He must be the most influential investor of them all.
Even though he was a bit ugly, she could tolerate it. She had been in the entertainment industry for three years, always playing minor roles, and she refused to accept it.
Fang Wan danced with extreme charm, then pretended to be shy as she stepped back twice, giving Investor Zhao a coy little glance.
Investor Zhao chuckled with delight, already thinking about taking her away that very night.
As Investor Zhao was cheerfully getting ready to pick the next person, he spotted He Yan, who was trying hard to shrink herself behind the crowd.
Having already seen He Yan’s acting earlier, Investor Zhao had no intention of letting such a beauty go. He raised his hand and pointed at He Yan. “You, the one in the red dress, come dance a segment too.”
“I don’t know how,” He Yan said, finding Investor Zhao utterly repulsive.
Feeling embarrassed, Investor Zhao said, “Then perform a scene for us.”
“If you want to watch, you can wait until the official filming starts,” He Yan replied, holding back the urge to curse at him. Yet her tone carried an uncontrollable trace of disdain and anger.
Investor Zhao became furious. In the past, whenever he made requests for the films he had invested in, everyone scrambled to satisfy them. He was the one putting up the money—how could he not be allowed to make demands?
Investor Zhao pointed directly at Director Shen Chengjin and snapped, “Director Shen, this actress of yours has no sense. Replace her!”
Having said that, he looked triumphantly at He Yan, waiting for her to beg him.
Director Shen’s face darkened like coal. “Investor Zhao, He Yan hasn’t been feeling well lately. Please don’t make things difficult for her.”
“Make things difficult for her? Hah! Calling you ‘Director Shen’ is me being polite. Do you believe I’ll pull my funding right now?”
“Fine. Whatever amount you pull, I’ll cover.” A cold, clear voice rang out. Everyone turned to look—a man in a black suit, with long, steady strides, walked over step by step, followed by several executives from Shengwan Films.
Investor Zhao and the few smaller investors immediately stood up, trembling as they looked at the newcomer. “J-Jiang, Mr. Jiang, I was just joking. I won’t pull the funding. Of course, I won’t.”
Jiang Mingcheng gave him a cold sidelong glance, his voice carrying a chill that rooted people to the spot. “You’re pulling it, whether you want to or not.”
**