Sang Yu made up her mind no longer to be held back by Song Yunsheng and threw herself entirely into the script. Once she joined the production and physically severed all contact, she unexpectedly rediscovered the joy of acting.
The drama Sang Yu had accepted was highly rated, but in reality, it was a typical “idol” historical drama with a relatively straightforward plot. It primarily told the story of a bickering couple forced together by various entanglements, evolving from mutual dislike to gradual romantic feelings.
In this story, Su Miao played a willful young lady of high birth who loved the character played by Jiang Xin. Sang Yu’s antagonist was a silent, “white-cut-black” (seemingly innocent but dark-hearted) character who appeared on the surface to be a loyal guard silently following Jiang Xin.
Driven by jealousy, she would use various schemes to drive a wedge between the protagonists’ relationship and cause misunderstandings. However, the ultimate conclusion for her was a moment of sudden realization, leading her to die a tragic death while saving Jiang Xin.
Sang Yu’s character was initially designed as the “beautiful, strong, and pitiful” type, and the final ending felt a bit like a “death by plot convenience.” Fortunately, the script was not limited strictly to the romantic lines; the second female lead also had high-light moments in other areas that were no less impressive than those of the protagonists.
This was also the reason why Sang Yu had accepted the role.
The majority of the drama’s tragic elements were concentrated on the portrayal of her character; based on that point alone, it was impossible for the character’s highlights to be few.
Consequently, Sang Yu was exceptionally dedicated. After joining the cast, she spent her time deeply researching the character. Coincidentally, Jiang Xin was afraid her acting skills wouldn’t keep up, so she had specifically brought a performance coach into the production with her.
Since Sang Yu was not from a professional acting background herself, she curiously went to observe a few times. Gradually, she and Jiang Xin unexpectedly became well-acquainted.
The two often discussed the script together and were mutually inspired. Originally, Jiang Xin had feared her acting wouldn’t be up to par, but she never expected Sang Yu to be so kind and approachable in private. For a time, she enjoyed staying with Sang Yu even more, being happy even if they were just chatting about nonsense.
While things were harmonious on their side, Su Miao was clearly not as pleased.
There was a reason Lu Lingxi looked down on her. Although both female leads in this drama were popular “traffic” starlets, Jiang Xin was clearly more ambitious and hardworking.
Despite the filming tasks not being particularly difficult, only three days after joining the cast, Su Miao was unable to handle an emotional outburst in a scene with Sang Yu. Because she couldn’t “catch” Sang Yu’s performance, they spent an entire day filming that single scene without passing.
This was considered a serious delay to the production’s progress. Even though Su Miao had brought her own funding into the project, it inevitably annoyed the director—especially since her scene partner was Sang Yu.
Quite a few people in the crew knew that the female lead Jiang Xin had originally wanted to introduce was Sang Yu, including Su Miao herself.
Otherwise, it couldn’t have been such a coincidence to run into each other on the day of the audition.
She had originally only wanted to humiliate Sang Yu, but she also subconsciously felt that Song Yunsheng would never let Sang Yu play her supporting role. Who would have thought that Sang Yu would grit her teeth and agree to it?
Initially, Su Miao felt happy, thinking her status was higher. Who knew that the first scene against Sang Yu would expose her shortcomings?
Su Miao’s acting skills truly couldn’t be called good. If it were just an ordinary idol drama where everyone’s acting was mediocre, they could have just made do.
But she was pitted against Sang Yu.
The director’s rebukes toward her always revolved around Sang Yu’s performance, which was unbearable for the vindictive Su Miao. She forced herself to finish the scene, and upon returning to her room, she smashed a cup, viciously thinking of giving Sang Yu a lesson.
On Sang Yu’s end, she had long guessed that Su Miao would pull some stunts, even though she hadn’t acted poorly on purpose and was simply performing according to her interpretation.
However, she had experienced Su Miao’s temperament many times over the last three years and was long used to it. Therefore, when she received notice of a schedule change, Sang Yu was not at all surprised.
After the staff left, Sang Yu looked at the plot: it was a scene where Sang Yu’s character frames Jiang Xin to cause a misunderstanding with Su Miao. Of course, that wasn’t the focus—the point was that the young mistress quickly discovers Sang Yu’s mistake, realizes she was deliberately schemed against, and rushes over in a rage to settle the score.
A willful young mistress must act like one; having suffered such a great grievance, she naturally wouldn’t swallow her pride. Upon finding Sang Yu, the first thing Su Miao would do was slap her across the face.
So, moving the scene up in the schedule was a lie; in reality, Su Miao simply wanted to retaliate.
Sang Yu didn’t see a problem with it. This plot point had existed since the beginning, and Su Miao wasn’t bold enough to change the script only three days into production.
The next day, other scenes proceeded as usual, with the addition of the slapping scene. As expected, Su Miao “failed” again. The director was somewhat exasperated, but Su Miao was unexpectedly well-behaved this time.
She apologized sincerely, blaming herself by saying she hadn’t found the right feeling and that her state of mind was poor today.
Hearing this, the director couldn’t scold her too much and could only cooperate by shooting another take. After all, the drama was paramount. Sang Yu quickly took her position.
Su Miao, who had just claimed she was in a “bad state,” suddenly found her form the moment she saw Sang Yu. That slap was delivered fast and accurately; Sang Yu didn’t even have time to react before her face turned red.
Sang Yu wouldn’t break character at a time like this. As long as the director didn’t call “cut,” she would continue. Unexpectedly, Su Miao was the one to call out to the director first.
She looked extremely guilty. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I was just a bit anxious and I… Sister Sang Yu, I’m really sorry, let’s do it again.”
Anxious about what? She was probably just looking for an excuse to slap her a few more times to vent.
Sang Yu complained inwardly, thinking that if Su Miao put this talent for pretending into her acting, she could at least be considered a “skillful” actress. Why was she so obsessed with these petty tricks?
But since she had spoken up, the previous footage indeed couldn’t be used because it wouldn’t transition well to the next part, nor did it capture the feeling the director wanted.
So, they had to continue with another take.
Taking advantage of the fact that the set was closed to the public and paparazzi rarely snuck in, Su Miao showed no restraint. Take after take, Sang Yu’s face wasn’t made of sponge; half of her face became visibly swollen.
In the end, even the director couldn’t stand it anymore. With a dark expression, he called a halt to the farce, telling Sang Yu to go back and rest and that she wouldn’t need to do pickups that evening.
Seeing this, Su Miao apologized to Sang Yu even more hypocritically, her tone full of self-reproach, yet the sidelong glance she threw at Sang Yu was filled with triumph.
For the sake of the drama, Sang Yu had originally intended not to hold it against her. But when someone took advantage and then acted like a victim, being so two-faced in front of everyone, it was more than she could bear. Without changing her expression, Sang Yu raised her hand and fiercely slapped Su Miao back.
The production crew, who were already preparing to pack up, were stunned by the commotion. Su Miao was also struck dumb, staggering a step and falling to the ground. Only after a good while did she cover her face and begin to cry. Sang Yu simply beat her to the punch by speaking first with a smile.
“The second female lead is vindictive and vengeful; simply taking slaps isn’t her style. Since the young mistress’s martial arts skills aren’t as good as hers, I suggest modifying this part of the script.”
These words left everyone stunned, and the nearby screenwriters began to discuss it.
Generally speaking, there aren’t many screenwriters who stay with the crew, but it just so happened that the director and screenwriter for this drama were a husband-and-wife team.
Once Sang Yu made the suggestion, the screenwriter also felt it made sense, and the director had nothing left to say. After a brief discussion, the director made the final decision to revise the script for this cycle and adjust the overall progress accordingly.
The originally scheduled evening shoot was postponed. Jiang Xin was with Group B at the time, and when she heard the news, she immediately went to find Sang Yu.
Upon entering, she found Sang Yu holding an ice pack to her face, grimacing in pain. Jiang Xin froze for a moment; her first reaction was actually, “As expected of my idol, even when she’s this disheveled, it doesn’t diminish her beauty.”
Wait… no… that seemed wrong.
Jiang Xin snapped out of it and rushed over to take the ice pack from Sang Yu’s hand. While helping, she asked curiously, “Sister Sang, where is your assistant?”
Hearing this, Sang Yu instinctively wanted to give a wry smile, wanting to say that she currently had no money and no team, so how could she have an assistant? However, before the smile could form, the movement tugged at her injury, making it hurt even more.
Jiang Xin was startled and didn’t dare ask more. She frowned, feeling deeply for her idol, while also unable to stop complaining about Su Miao having a “problem in the head.”
Listening to her words, Sang Yu glanced at the door which hadn’t been closed and felt a bit of a headache. Her face was too swollen to speak, so she could only pat Jiang Xin.
Although she didn’t guess exactly what Sang Yu was trying to say, Jiang Xin was sensible enough to shut her mouth.
Unfortunately, it was too late. This seemingly ambiguous scene was captured by Su Miao, who had been lurking nearby and secretly extended her camera. Back in her room, her face was twisted with malice. Her foolproof plan for revenge had been overturned by Sang Yu, and Su Miao couldn’t swallow that resentment, which was why she had wasted time lying in wait.
Now, it turned out exactly as she expected. Even if nothing was going on between Sang Yu and Jiang Xin, there was something going on. Su Miao believed firmly in the power of public opinion, especially since rumors about Jiang Xin and Sang Yu had already surfaced before.
She had a plan in mind. She found someone she trusted to maliciously edit the footage and wrote a short essay to completely flip the narrative.
The post pointed directly at Sang Yu, claiming she was acting out of revenge because she felt Su Miao had seduced Song Yunsheng. Thus, under the guise of “staying in character,” she had forcibly changed the script to add a slap that wasn’t originally there, accompanied by photos of Su Miao’s swollen face.
As for why Sang Yu, a Best Actress who had been retired for years, could successfully change the script? That had to involve the drama’s other investor, Jiang Xin.
It was common knowledge that Jiang Xin was a “rich second generation” who liked to bring her own funding into projects. Because she was good-looking and her acting wasn’t too bad, netizens generally had a good impression of her. But once the “mistress” scandal broke, the outcome was entirely different.
Even if the relevant news had been suppressed by Song Yunsheng, because of that, Jiang Xin lost her chance to explain herself, making Su Miao’s “late-night tryst” photos look exceptionally credible.
Once the trending topic went live, it was almost considered “solid proof” that Jiang Xin was a mistress and Sang Yu was “stepping on two boats” (cheating).
Su Miao looked at these messages with smug satisfaction, though she also felt pained for her own beautiful face that had actually been hit by Sang Yu.
She thought about it and called Song Yunsheng, pretending to be very afraid as she asked if Song Yunsheng knew Jiang Xin.
At that moment, Song Yunsheng had just received news from the PR department. Looking at the two names linked together on the trending search, Song Yunsheng’s face was icy. Maintaining a final shred of patience, she asked, “Why are you asking this? Did you see something?”
Before her voice even faded, Su Miao quickly denied it, yet while crying aggrievedly, she said: “…Sister Yunsheng, did Sister Sang Yu really not misunderstand anything? When we were rehearsing today, she slapped me several times… I understand that Sister Sang Yu wants to act well, but… but those hits were really heavy, it hurts so much…”