The “Dreams of Mountains and Seas” film crew started work promptly at 2:30 PM every afternoon. The afternoon scene involved Lin Yujing’s character trying on a cheongsam at a cheongsam shop.
All preparations before filming were completed, and they were just waiting for Lin Yujing to finish her rehearsal before officially starting.
Not long after, Jiang Xu called “action.”
On camera, Lin Yujing was dressed in a Republican-era outfit, followed by a plainly dressed young girl.
The actress playing the shop owner was a woman in her forties. Seeing Lin Yujing walk in, the owner hurriedly greeted her, “Welcome to our humble shop!”
“Miss, these are our shop’s new styles. Each one complements your skin tone beautifully. You’re so lovely—any of them would look wonderful on you.”
Lin Yujing looked back and forth at the row of cheongsams, reaching out to touch the lotus-colored Su embroidery peony cheongsam. “Owner, I’d like to try this one.”
“Of course,” the owner nodded with a smile, gesturing politely. “Right this way.”
Lin Yujing took the Su embroidery cheongsam into the fitting room. As soon as she closed the door, she heard Jiang Xu call “cut,” and immediately the fitting room door was pushed open.
The person who entered was Lin Yujing’s assistant, holding a lotus-pink cheongsam. “Sister Jing, you took the wrong cheongsam. This is the one you’re supposed to try on.”
“I know.” Lin Yujing gently stroked the Su embroidery cheongsam in her hands. Jiang Xu hadn’t called cut, so it seemed he didn’t realize she had taken the wrong one.
The assistant hesitated, wanting to say more. “Then you…”
Lin Yujing gave her a cool glance. “These two are almost the same color. I’ll try this one.”
The assistant thought for a moment but still said, “But this isn’t the cheongsam arranged by the crew! This belongs to the shop. Without the owner’s permission…”
“Why so much talk? Such a rigid mind,” Lin Yujing’s tone was full of impatience. “Trying it on won’t ruin it. At worst, I’ll just buy it.”
“Alright.” The assistant had no other choice and silently prayed the cheongsam wouldn’t get damaged.
Lin Yujing changed into the Su embroidery cheongsam. It didn’t feel tight around the neck, but the waist was too snug, requiring her to suck in her stomach. It felt so tight it might burst at the seams any second.
The assistant watched helplessly as the cheongsam seams burst on Lin Yujing. Her eyes widened. “Sister Jing, the cheongsam seems to have split.”
Lin Yujing’s face stiffened. Looking down, she saw the right side of the waist had indeed split open, revealing her fair skin. She couldn’t help but curse under her breath, “Damn!”
Someone knocked on the door outside. The assistant turned and called out, “Please wait a little longer.”
“Sister Jing, what should we do now?”
Lin Yujing took a deep breath, turned her back to the assistant, and took off the cheongsam, saying carelessly, “So it’s ruined. Isn’t there another cheongsam in your hands?”
Two minutes later, Lin Yujing walked out of the fitting room wearing the crew’s cheongsam. The shop owner immediately approached her. “Miss, your figure is truly…” beautiful.
“Cut.”
The actress playing the shop owner was interrupted by Jiang Xu before she could finish her line.
Lin Yujing looked at Jiang Xu, puzzled. It wasn’t her fault, was it? She hadn’t even spoken.
Jiang Xu stood beside the camera. “That’s not the cheongsam you picked at the beginning. Reshoot.”
Lin Yujing was instantly embarrassed. She hadn’t expected Jiang Xu to notice it wasn’t the same one.
The two cheongsams really were almost the same color—only the style and texture were different.
The qipao arranged by the film crew was worlds apart from the one Lin Jianxi had made—the quality was poor, and it was unclear what fabric had even been used.
The crew’s costume designer stepped forward to examine the qipao Lin Yujing was wearing. “That’s right, the qipao Miss Lin is wearing is the one we prepared in advance!”
“Ask her,” Jiang Xu said without looking up, his slender, well-defined hands adjusting the camera lens.
The costume designer turned to Lin Yujing’s assistant, who opened her mouth to speak but immediately closed it upon catching Lin Yujing’s warning glare.
Lin Yujing wore an apologetic expression. “I’m so sorry, I must have taken the wrong qipao earlier. I’ll go change right away—my apologies, I’ll change immediately.”
After saying this, Lin Yujing hurried into the fitting room, her assistant quickly following behind.
Meanwhile, Lin Jianxi, back in her studio, had no idea that her qipao had burst its seams on Lin Yujing.
It wasn’t until 5 p.m. that she found out the qipao had been torn by Lin Yujing.
As usual, she took a stroll around the shop. When she passed the row of qipaos by the display case, she paused. The lotus-root-colored Su embroidery peony qipao had burst its seams at the waist—clearly from being stretched too far.
Lin Jianxi picked up the damaged qipao and glanced sideways to see Lin Yujing approaching with graceful steps, accompanied by her manager and assistant.
Tian Chen looked at the qipao in Lin Jianxi’s hands, his face full of remorse. “Boss Lin, I’m Tian Chen, Lin Yujing’s manager. We accidentally damaged this qipao. Whatever you decide, we’ll accept it.”
At the same time, Jiang Xu walked over, followed by the crew’s costume stylist and prop master.
Lin Jianxi pressed her red lips together, her gaze sweeping over Jiang Xu’s cool, handsome face. She paused for two seconds before turning to look at Lin Yujing standing nearby.
Lin Yujing clenched her fists, feeling everyone’s eyes on her. The entire crew knew she was the one who had burst the seams of the qipao.
Lin Jianxi’s delicate, beautiful face turned cold as her eyes scanned the dazzling row of qipaos. “The contract clearly states that my qipaos are not to be touched.”
The costume stylist quickly chimed in, “I’m sorry, truly sorry. It was our oversight. Please state your terms—we’re willing to compensate threefold if needed.”
Lin Jianxi curled her lips into a mocking smile. “What use is compensation to me? This Su embroidery qipao took me two months to complete, and it’s not for sale.”
Lin Yujing instinctively spoke up, “Isn’t the non-sale item the new Chinese-style modified qipao in the display case?” Could this one be non-sale too?”
Lin Jianxi glanced at Lin Yujing before turning her gaze back to the exquisite row of qipaos. “Not just this one—this entire row is not for sale.”
Lin Yujing was taken aback. “If they’re not for sale, why aren’t they displayed in the case? Putting them out like this suggests they’re for trying on, doesn’t it?”
Lin Jianxi’s expression remained indifferent as she bent down to pick up a sign from the floor and reattach it to the edge of the clothing rack. “My display sign says otherwise. It was removed when you were filming.”
Everyone followed her gaze to the small sign on the edge of the clothing rack, which read: “Not for sale. Viewing only. Do not touch.”
Lin Jianxi’s eyes swept over Lin Yujing and Tian Chen. “The qipaos in the display case are rotated daily. My staff is on leave, so they haven’t been changed these past few days.”
Hearing this, everyone exchanged uneasy glances.
The qipao in the display case is changed every day? You might as well put all these non-sale items in the display case.
Lin Yujing knew she was in the wrong and blurted out without thinking, “So how do you want to handle it? It’s just a few threads broken, right? Can’t it just be sewn back?”