20
As soon as Qin Jingrun reposted that message, it dominated every major headline in less than half an hour. On Weibo, it shot straight to the number one spot on the trending list.
What kind of influence does Qin Jingrun have? He’s the kind of person who can make headlines just by bending down to tie his shoelaces. So, when he personally posts on Weibo, it’s a huge event.
As a top-tier figure in the entertainment industry, his fans constantly wish upon stars and moons for him to post something—a selfie, for example—so they can feast their eyes on his handsome face.
But Qin Jingrun’s Weibo account was perpetually overgrown with weeds. Most of what’s posted were various promotional announcements, and those were all sent by Lin Xi. Qin Jingrun generally doesn’t touch Weibo. He’s busy every single day, and the little free time he has, aside from resting, was reserved for his precious daughter. He doesn’t have time to follow online gossip.
Fans can usually tell which posts were from Qin Jingrun himself and which were from his staff. Their idol only posts when his agent, Chen Xu, makes him—after all, they can’t just feed the fans broth every day; occasionally, they need a proper feast.
So, when Qin Jingrun reposted that message and added his own comment, his fans immediately recognized that their god, Brother Qin, had done it personally.
This was even more shocking than the earlier rumors circulating online that Qin Jingrun had a girlfriend.
This was Qin Jingrun they were talking about.
Many people hadn’t known about Jiang Mian before, but now they followed the trail straight to her Weibo. The fans who had been viciously attacking her earlier suddenly found themselves in an awkward position.
They had attacked Jiang Mian because they assumed she was a nobody trying to ride on Qin Jingrun’s coattails by claiming to look like him.
Anyone who dared to ride on Brother Qin’s fame was despicable. So, they had eagerly sharpened their claws and come to tear her apart. She was just a rookie—they weren’t afraid to go after even A-list stars.
But with Qin Jingrun’s post, those fans’ faces were slapped hard and left swollen beyond recognition. They had been screaming that she didn’t look like him at all, yet their own god came out and said she did.
If they insisted she didn’t, would that be an insult to their god?
So the narrative quickly shifted. Everyone started scrutinizing their photos side by side. And sure enough, when they looked closely, the nose and the mouth really were alike. The more they looked, the more similar they seemed.
[Jiang Mian, how can you look like Brother Qin and get noticed by him?! What kind of fortune did you amass in your past lives?! I’m so jealous!]
[At first I didn’t see the resemblance, but now I really do. My face hurts.]
[Girl, you’re about to blow up.]
[How did you grow up looking like Brother Qin? I want to look like him too, ahhhh.]
[I want to know what her parents look like, to have produced a daughter who resembles Brother Qin!]
Of course, some malicious comments claimed that Jiang Mian had gotten plastic surgery—specifically, to look like Qin Jingrun.
Many people shot back:
[What’s wrong with you? I’m jealous too, but her face is obviously naturally beautiful. Do you have to be so toxic?]
[Zhang Zhixin never casts actors who’ve had plastic surgery. If she’d gone under the knife, would he have chosen her as the female lead? Trolls, get lost.]
[Heh. You say Jiang Mian got surgery to look like Brother Qin. Do you have a brain? Brother Qin reposted her photo and commented. Are you trying to say he’s an idiot? Bash others all you want, but if you dare bash my Brother Qin, I’ll curse you to death.]
And Qin Jingrun, the instigator of this headline storm, quietly logged out of Weibo after posting, acting as if he had done nothing at all. He had commented, “She does look quite a bit like me.” Actually, he had wanted to write, “She looks very much like me.”
The word “very” is much stronger than “quite,” but he felt that would be too obvious. So he ended up using “quite” instead.
At the time he posted the Weibo, he was in his personal van on the way to a major awards ceremony, where he had been invited as a guest presenter.
Chen Xu was briefing him on the event’s schedule, and Lin Xi was busy coordinating other matters. Neither of them realized Qin Jingrun had posted anything. It wasn’t until he arrived at the venue—his phone now in Lin Xi’s keeping, that Chen Xu’s phone began receiving a steady stream of incoming calls.
Meanwhile, the female lead at the center of this storm, Comrade Jiang Mian, was currently sporting two thick braids and wearing a floral print swimsuit, with a blue towel draped over her shoulders. She was about to film the scene where the male lead teaches her how to swim.
In Green Love Story, the volunteer teacher Song Yun’an was good-looking and learned. The children in the mountains all adore him. The nation has been promoting the idea that knowledge changes one’s fate, so Li Wanjing and Li Wanrong, though girls, were still allowed to attend school. That’s how Song Yun’an and Li Wanjing meet.
They fall into a secret romance. Knowing that Li Wanjing’s family treats her poorly, Song Yun’an often secretly takes her to a small mountain pool, bringing her delicious food and roasting wild game for her. This little pool becomes the place where they pledge their love.
Song Yun’an frequently swims in the pool, but Li Wanjing doesn’t know how. One day, when he goes to the market town with the villagers, he secretly buys a swimsuit for Li Wanjing and then teaches her to swim.
Filming hasn’t officially started yet. Jiang Mian was using her tablet to check online reactions. From the moment Tang An’an excitedly told her, “Mianmian, Brother Qin reposted your photo,” Jiang Mian had a bad feeling.
After seeing Qin Jingrun’s comment, she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
She seriously suspected that if it weren’t for the agreement between her other three fathers and her Film Emperor Dad—that Qin Jingrun must not reveal their relationship, he would have long ago loudly proclaimed their father-daughter bond to the public.
But she understood why her Film Emperor Dad had done it. He had definitely seen his fans attacking her online and felt distressed. So, he used this kind of teasing tone to repost and comment, shifting all the attention onto himself.
Now, because of his repost, Jiang Mian’s follower count had instantly shot up by hundreds of thousands. Moreover, eighty percent of the comments were filled with envy and thrilled exclamations—a remarkably harmonious atmosphere.
Many people also sent her private messages, asking how she felt about being noticed by Qin Jingrun.
Jiang Mian wanted to reply: No particular thoughts, but I do have a deep realization—the fighting power of her Film Emperor Dad’s fans was not to be underestimated.
Director Zhang walked over with Yu Ran. He was there to explain the scene to the two leads. After that, filming would officially begin.
Jiang Mian and Yu Ran had been acting together for several days now, and they’d developed a mutual understanding. Whenever the director called “action,” they could both quickly get into character. This scene was just a mix of swimming lessons and playful interaction. After Jiang Mian had run through it in her mind, she felt there wasn’t much difficulty in filming it live.
Once they were in the water, as Yu Ran supported her and began teaching her to swim, Jiang Mian sensed that his state of mind seemed off. Sure enough, the instant this thought crossed her mind, the director called “cut.”
“I’m sorry,” Yu Ran said immediately. He looked at Jiang Mian apologetically. “My mistake.”
Director Zhang grabbed his megaphone and shouted, “Yu Ran, the woman in front of you is the person you want to cherish and love for a lifetime. But precisely because she’s the one you love, you want to get close to her, to touch her, yet you’re also afraid she might be scared. You have to restrain yourself while also letting yourself go.”
His tone shifted sharply: “But! Right now, you’re teaching her how to swim. Your mind should be pure and free of distractions. Once you place your hands on her waist, don’t pull them away. If you do pull away, do it more naturally. She’s the person you like, not some terrifying monster. Your expression doesn’t need to look so nervous and awkward!”
Jiang Mian, standing close to Yu Ran, noticed his ears turn bright red in an instant. A sudden realization struck her. Could it be that Yu Ran was… shy??? Because they were so close while he was teaching her to swim?
Meeting Jiang Mian’s gaze, Yu Ran instinctively looked away. He said seriously to Director Zhang, “Director, I understand. It won’t happen again.”
“Teacher Yu, just think of me as a piece of wood,” Jiang Mian said, feeling it necessary to help her scene partner out, lest Yu Ran get shy again and she’d have to reshoot the scene.
Yu Ran: “…”
As actors, sometimes they can quickly separate the character from reality. But other times, when they’ve immersed themselves too deeply, it’s hard to step back out.
Every actor has a different way of shaking off a role. Some may seem to snap out of it instantly after filming ends, but only they know that the role’s influence lingers for a long time.
Others may seem unable to exit the role, yet they can completely walk away in just a day or two.
And then there’s the third type: those who can enter a role at will and exit it just as easily, completely unaffected. Actors like that are rare in the industry.
Many actors who play romantic partners on screen, after filming together for a long time, can develop real-life feelings for each other because of the roles.
This was very common in the industry—countless couples got together because they co-starred and clicked on set.
Yu Ran belonged to the third type: quick to enter a role, quick to exit, unaffected by it.
Everyone who had worked with him—co-stars, directors—knew he was a dedicated actor. He could quickly capture the soul of a character while filming, but he was very clear about the difference between a real person and a character.
Yu Ran had filmed many romantic scenes. Because of that, he had never become involved with any of his romantic leads off-screen. To him, they were simply characters in a story, not real people.
But during the scene teaching Jiang Mian to swim, when his hand touched her waist, seeing her porcelain-white skin so close, for some reason, he felt as if his hand were being burned. He involuntarily pulled away, overcome by an inexplicable fluster.
Director Zhang called for a retake. Yu Ran took a quiet breath, cast aside the stray thoughts, and this time, the take succeeded.
Jiang Mian assumed her words had done the trick. She said politely, “Sorry for the trouble, Teacher Yu,” and prepared to get out of the water.
The water in the pool was cool and refreshing. It felt pleasant to soak in on such a day, but the crew were waiting on the shore, and she had another scene to prepare for. So, she had to get out.
Tang An’an stood at the water’s edge, reaching out to help pull Jiang Mian up. Then someone shrieked, “Where’s Teacher Yu?!”
The voice was shrill. Jiang Mian instinctively turned her head. Yu Ran, who had been standing roughly five meters behind her, was gone.
“He was just right there!”
“Where is he? How did he suddenly disappear?”
Everyone on set was baffled. The entire production was divided into four groups—A, B, C, and D. Each group was responsible for different locations. Group A handled only scenes between the male and female leads, and it was a specific, small location, so there weren’t many crew members present.
After this scene finished, the crew would need to move on to setting up for the next one. Director Zhang was still watching the monitor. For the moment, everyone’s attention was scattered. In what seemed like a mere instant, Yu Ran had vanished.
“Maybe Teacher Yu swam underwater?”
Tang An’an was about to pull Jiang Mian up when she saw Jiang Mian turn around and swim back out into the water. Without knowing why, she called out instinctively, “Mianmian!”
And then Jiang Mian sank underwater and disappeared from sight.
Tang An’an: “…”
Everyone: “!!!”
Director Zhang, who had been behind the monitor, was alerted by the commotion. He walked over, and after figuring out what had happened, he erupted in anger. “What are you all standing around for?! Anyone who can swim, get in the water and check on them!”
As he spoke, he started taking off his clothes. If something happened to his male or female lead while filming his movie, the consequences were too terrifying to imagine.
The next second, the sound of someone breaking the surface of the water rang out. Everyone saw Jiang Mian, dragging Yu Ran, swimming toward the shore from about ten meters away. Forgetting their shock, they quickly waded in to help pull them up.
Jiang Mian took the towel Tang An’an handed her and wrapped it around herself. Yu Ran had swallowed some water, but among the crew, there was someone who knew first aid. After some help, Yu Ran coughed and sputtered back to consciousness.
Seeing him awake, Director Zhang let out a long sigh of relief. “Yu Ran, you know how to swim. What happened?!”
“What happened to me?” Yu Ran looked even more confused than anyone else.
Everyone: ???
Yu Ran said in a dazed voice, “It felt like something grabbed my foot…”
Just as everyone was wondering if Yu Ran was joking, Jiang Mian’s voice rang out. “It was weeds. Teacher Yu got tangled in weeds.”
As long as no one was seriously hurt, that was what mattered. The crew went back to their respective tasks. Yu Ran sat in a chair to rest and gather himself. His assistant asked him with concern if anything felt wrong.
Yu Ran’s brow was furrowed and wouldn’t relax. He asked his assistant, “Did Xiao Jiang save me?”
“Yes, Brother Yu. Miss Jiang was incredibly impressive just now. None of us even noticed when you sank underwater. She was the first to realize something was wrong. Without a second thought, she turned around and swam back to save you. If it weren’t for her…” The assistant’s voice was thick with lingering fear.
Then the assistant started complaining about the pool, grumbling that the crew hadn’t done a proper underwater inspection beforehand. If they had known there were weeds, why hadn’t they cleared them out earlier? Then none of this would have happened.
Yu Ran felt even more puzzled. Something about the whole situation seemed off to him.
Meanwhile, Tang An’an was rubbing medicated wine into a bruise on Jiang Mian’s right forearm. Jiang Mian had explained that she had accidentally knocked it against a rock.
Even though it was just a small bruise, Jiang Mian’s skin was so fair and delicate that it looked rather livid in contrast. Tang An’an softened her movements and asked curiously, “Mianmian, how did you know Teacher Yu was tangled in weeds?”
Jiang Mian: “I guessed. Otherwise, why would a healthy person suddenly disappear like that? Most likely he got caught in weeds.”
Tang An’an thought that made sense and nodded. Then she noticed that Jiang Mian seemed to be in an unusually good mood, as if something happy had happened.
Of course Jiang Mian was happy. Her gaze fell on the quiet waters of the pool. She hadn’t expected to encounter a water ghost in such a small, unassuming pool.
The thing had been lurking silently, completely unnoticed. If Yu Ran hadn’t suddenly disappeared, causing someone to cry out, and Jiang Mian hadn’t looked back and sensed something wrong, she might not have detected its presence at all.
Her cultivation had been progressing too slowly lately. This water ghost was essentially free spiritual energy delivered to her doorstep. However, with so many people on the shore, and having to rescue Yu Ran, it wasn’t convenient to act. She would have to let it go for now.
After resting for a while, Yu Ran came over to thank Jiang Mian.
Jiang Mian withdrew her gaze from the pool and smiled. “Teacher Yu, don’t be so formal. If I had gotten tangled in weeds, you would have saved me too, wouldn’t you have?”
Yu Ran was taken aback for a moment, then nodded solemnly. “Of course.”
“Then there’s nothing to it.” Jiang Mian blinked. She truly hadn’t made a big deal out of it. Saving Yu Ran had been a simple matter of a little effort.
In the original book, although Yu Ran was one of Guan Xin’s many admirers, he had no grudge against the original owner and had never targeted her. Moreover, the original book didn’t mention any incident of Yu Ran nearly drowning during filming. She wondered if this was due to her changes to the plot.
After that small incident, no further problems arose. The rest of the scenes went smoothly. When she finished work and returned to her room, Jiang Mian finally received a reply from her Film Emperor Dad.
—Earlier, after seeing the Weibo post, she had sent Qin Jingrun a message, but he hadn’t responded.
“Baby, Dad just finished the event.” With too many people around, it was inconvenient to call, so Qin Jingrun typed quickly. “How was filming today?”
Jiang Mian noticed that her Film Emperor Dad had completely ignored the Weibo screenshot she had sent. After a moment’s thought, she decided to follow his lead. The two of them tacitly agreed to pretend the Weibo incident had never happened.
“I don’t have any shoots the day after tomorrow. How about Dad comes to visit the set?”
Jiang Mian: “…”
Fortunately, Qin Jingrun was just talking. Between the flight, the car ride, and the hike into the mountains, the travel time alone would take a full day. He simply didn’t have that much time to spare. He was about to leave for abroad to film a movie in a few days.
At first, Jiang Mian didn’t react. Then, a few seconds later, she stared at the chat box with her Film Emperor Dad and quickly typed: “Dad, what’s the name of the movie you’re going abroad to shoot this time?”
Qin Jingrun: “Death Plan 3. You used to ask me when the third one was coming out, remember?”
Death Plan was a film directed by a famous American director. It featured two male leads, and Qin Jingrun was one of them. The movie was released five years ago and was an instant hit. It was this film that propelled Qin Jingrun onto the international stage, establishing him in Hollywood.
Five years ago, the original owner was thirteen. That was just when her rebellious phase was starting. She watched every single one of her Film Emperor Dad’s films, and her favorite was Death Plan.
In the original book, while filming Death Plan 3 in the United States, there was an explosion on set. Qin Jingrun was severely injured. It took him two years to recover, but his physical reaction time was never as good as before.
Later, while filming on a domestic movie set, during a wire stunt, the wire malfunctioned and he fell from a great height. If Qin Jingrun hadn’t been injured before, he could have relied on his years of experience to reduce the severity of his injuries—he had encountered wire problems before. But because of his previous injuries, his physical reaction time was compromised. As a result, he was again severely injured and rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment. Her billionaire tyrant father brought in the best doctors and medical equipment, but after three days and nights of resuscitation efforts, they couldn’t save him.
Thinking of this plot, Jiang Mian suddenly felt a sharp pain in her heart. In the original book, her Film Emperor Dad filming Death Plan 3 was supposed to happen next year. She hadn’t expected it to come a full year early.
She took a deep breath, pressed her lips together, and typed one character at a time: “Dad, could you not go film Death Plan 3?”
Qin Jingrun was puzzled. “Why, baby?”
Jiang Mian: “If you go to America, you’ll be filming for months. I won’t be able to see you. I won’t be able to see you even if I want to.” She added a pitiful, aggrieved emoji at the end.
Meanwhile, Qin Jingrun was in his van. Chen Xu had been frowning the whole time, lecturing him about posting on Weibo. But despite all his nagging, Qin Jingrun just smiled an old father’s smile and kept tapping on his phone. Chen Xu was so angry he felt like his heart condition might relapse.
“Old Qin!” Chen Xu knocked on the seat, finally snapping Qin Jingrun out of his reverie—he had been completely immersed in the joy of his precious daughter saying she missed him.
Qin Jingrun held his phone out to Chen Xu. Chen Xu had been working with Qin Jingrun for nearly twenty years and knew about Jiang Mian’s existence. Qin Jingrun looked at him, and though his tone was calm, his pride was practically overflowing. “See that? The baby is being clingy with me.”
Chen Xu: “…”
Chen Xu felt exhausted and pushed his phone away. “Do you have any idea how many calls I’ve gotten because of that repost of yours?”
“And then?” Qin Jingrun said, lowering his head to reply to Jiang Mian’s message as he spoke — but I’ve already signed the contract. How about this: if you miss Dad, just video-call me.
His precious daughter suddenly becoming “clingy” gave Qin Jingrun a flattered feeling.
Chen Xu: “Over the years, your public profile has always listed you as single. You’ve kept your distance from actresses in the industry and stayed clear of any scandals. Now you suddenly post something like this, what do you expect people to think?”
“What’s there to think? I wasn’t wrong.” Qin Jingrun waited for his precious daughter’s reply. “Doesn’t my baby look like me?”
“You don’t have a daughter, so you can’t understand how I feel.”
Chen Xu: “…”
Qin Jingrun looked up: “Because of me, Mianmian’s Weibo comments have been overrun by my fans. As her father, I can’t clarify my relationship with her, I can’t openly protect her so I can’t even repost a comment to subtly defend her?”
“Old Chen, we’re both in our forties or fifties now. Calm down.”
Chen Xu was left speechless. He had come to lecture Qin Jingrun, so why did he end up being the one lectured???
Jiang Mian had no idea that her father, the Film Emperor was simultaneously messaging her and “arguing” with his agent on the other end of the phone. She stared at the messages from her father, her brows tightly furrowed.
The contract was already signed—not filming would mean breaching it. And given her father’s nature, since he’d already accepted the role, he wouldn’t back out unless some special circumstance arose.
Either way, she absolutely could not let Qin Jingrun go to the U.S. to film Death Plan 3. She was currently on set right now. Even if she took leave immediately to rush back and stop him from going to the U.S., by the time she returned to filming, he would still have the opportunity to go anyway.
She had to come up with a way to make her Film Emperor Dad genuinely give up on Death Plan 3 from the bottom of his heart. After thinking it over, Jiang Mian thought of her Celestial master Father. She decided to ask her Celestial master Father to go and stop her Film Emperor Dad.
Her Celestial master Father had already returned. He had used the money he earned this time to buy two dresses for Jiang Mian and had happily rushed back to see his daughter—only to find out that his precious daughter had gone into the mountains to film. He was dumbfounded.
Fortunately, Zuo Xingping was already used to the situation of wanting to see his daughter only to miss her. Anyway, it was the same—he could just give her the dresses when she came back.
After finishing her conversation with her Film Emperor Dad, Jiang Mian immediately called her Celestial master Father. Zuo Xingping was currently sitting by a street stall, having ordered a large bowl of spicy hotpot. After he finished eating, he was going to an apartment to do some cleaning work—another chance to earn a little extra money!
When he received Jiang Mian’s call, Zuo Xingping quickly grabbed some tissue to wipe away the sweat brought on by the chili peppers. He was still gasping for air as he answered the call.
Jiang Mian: “???”
Jiang Mian: “Dad, what’s wrong with you?”
Zuo Xingping felt very embarrassed. He absolutely could not let his precious daughter know that he had been brought to tears by spicy chili. So he hurriedly gulped down some water and said, “I’m eating. The owner’s cooking is just too delicious.”
Jiang Mian: “…”
She felt that her Celestial master Father’s tone was a bit off. What kind of meal was so delicious that it made him keep gasping like that?
**
Criminal Police Dad (smiling): At this very moment, I’m still out on a mission~