Yun Ni had merely made a passing comment, but she hadn’t expected Dong Menglian to actually be so brainless as to openly trip up Tao Ningchu during filming.
Today’s shoot featured scenes in the Xun manor. Among them was a plot point where Xun Ning discovers that Xun Yu (played by Tao Ningchu) has feelings for General Chu, especially after finding out that Xun Yu sent him a handmade sachet. Xun Ning confronts Xun Yu, questions her, and after the latter admits the truth, delivers a slap across the face, followed by a verbal warning for Xun Yu to stop her wishful thinking.
During the first take, Dong Menglian delivered a real slap.
She put all her strength into it; the moment her hand landed, a crisp, loud “Smack!” rang out.
Within seconds, Tao Ningchu’s face turned bright red, and the faint outline of a palm print began to appear.
The force was too much and the expression wasn’t right, so naturally, it was an NG.
Dong Menglian spoke up at the appropriate moment: “I’m so sorry, I used a bit too much strength.”
The crew was clearly shocked that Dong Menglian had struck so hard; the set fell into a sudden, dead silence.
Yun Ni was the first to snap back to reality. She grabbed Tao Ningchu’s towel and some ice for cooling and walked over. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Tao Ningchu hissed through her teeth. “I didn’t think you’d actually be right.”
Yun Ni tilted her head to glance at Dong Menglian. The other woman happened to be looking back with a smug expression, making it clear that this slap was only the beginning.
Memories of the original owner surfaced in her mind, and she realized that many actors use “slapping scene NGs” as a way to take revenge on others. Clearly, this was Dong Menglian’s plan.
But the scene had to be filmed, and Tao Ningchu couldn’t avoid the slap forever. The only person with the power to intervene was Zhou Sheng.
With that in mind, she looked toward Zhou Sheng. He was frowning deeply, clearly realizing that Dong Menglian was causing “retaliatory NGs.”
By dragging out the schedule like this, Dong Menglian was wasting everyone’s precious time and the crew’s funding.
Yun Ni asked, “Do you still want to film?”
Tao Ningchu nodded. “If she doesn’t care about her own reputation, I’ll play along. It’s just a few slaps; I can take it.”
After the makeup was touched up, Director Zhou called them back to their positions.
Their makeup artist, Ming Rong, pulled Tao Ningchu aside to whisper a warning: “When she swings, move your head in the direction of the force a split second early.”
Tao Ningchu nodded.
However, Dong Menglian had obviously anticipated Tao Ningchu’s plan. This time, she was much faster than before, and she swung her hand before she had even finished her lines.
The sound of loud slaps rang out again and again. It was either forgotten lines or stumbled words. By the time they reached the fifth “accident,” Tao Ningchu’s expression was already a bit dazed.
“Director Zhou, please pause for a moment.”
Yun Ni stepped forward, pulled the dazed Tao Ningchu back to her seat, and then walked toward Zhou Sheng.
The two spoke for a while. Just as Tao Ningchu finished another makeup touch-up, the Director called the main actors over.
Zhou Sheng: “For the next take, Xiao Chu, you will play Xun Ning. Xiao Dong, you will play Xun Yu.”
Before Tao Ningchu could even react, Dong Menglian cried out in shock: “Why? Director Zhou, I’m the female lead!”
Yun Ni spoke up with a smile, her voice full of “consideration” for Dong Menglian: “As the female lead, you’ve had five or six NGs for a simple slapping scene. Director Zhou just wants someone else to demonstrate for you so you can find the right state. How can you not understand the Director’s good intentions, Miss Dong?”
Dong Menglian didn’t believe a word about “good intentions.” She immediately turned her aggression toward Yun Ni, stepping forward and grabbing Yun Ni’s collar. “You must have said something bad to Director Zhou, otherwise he would never do this.”
Beside them, Tao Ningchu snapped out of it and rushed to help Yun Ni.
Yun Ni didn’t care. Her hand rested on Dong Menglian’s wrist, and just as she was about to perform a little “maneuver,” a cold voice rang out, interrupting her plan.
“I think this is a good idea.” A figure emerged from behind the staff—it was Lin Zijin.
Everyone was stunned by Lin Zijin’s arrival.
Zhou Sheng was the first to recover: “President Lin, what brings you here?”
“I have some business to attend to.” Lin Zijin glanced imperceptibly at the person whose collar was being held. Her brow twitched, and she looked at Zhou Sheng with a half-smile. “Uncle Zhou, your set is certainly lively.”
Hearing the dissatisfaction in her voice, Zhou Sheng quickly told Dong Menglian to let go and explained, “It’s just a small disagreement between artists. My apologies for the poor display, President Lin.”
Lin Zijin didn’t respond. She walked a short distance away, pulled over a small stool, and sat down. “I think swapping roles sounds quite interesting. Why don’t you let me see it?”
Her posture made it clear: she was here to watch the role-reversal take.
As the CEO of the company and the primary investor in this drama, Lin Zijin was someone Zhou Sheng, as a subordinate and director, could not refuse. Furthermore, he had no intention of refusing. He raised his hand and told the actors to take their places.
Dong Menglian knew the matter was settled, but her heart was filled with fear that Tao Ningchu would take the opportunity to retaliate, while simultaneously hating both Tao Ningchu and Yun Ni for putting her in this position. If Yun Ni hadn’t said something to Zhou Sheng, he never would have suggested this.
Tao Ningchu was also surprised by Lin Zijin’s appearance and the fact that she seemed to be helping her. Feeling both happy and terrified, she pulled on Yun Ni’s sleeve. “Yun Ni, does your President Lin have some sort of problem with Dong Menglian?”
Although she had Lin Zijin’s contact information, she wasn’t close to her; her manager, Sister Jin, had simply saved the numbers of various big shots to ensure she didn’t offend them. Furthermore, she wasn’t even an artist under Lin Zijin’s company—Dong Menglian was.
Yun Ni shook her head and told Tao Ningchu not to overthink it, but her gaze kept drifting toward Lin Zijin.
After a moment of hesitation, she finally walked toward her.
Lin Zijin looked up as Yun Ni approached. When she stopped in front of her, Lin Zijin blurted out instinctively: “Don’t overthink it, I’m not helping you.”
Yun Ni gave a soft “Oh.” “I wasn’t.”
Then, she pointed to the stool Lin Zijin was sitting on. “You’re sitting on my chair.”
Lin Zijin: “…”
She had intentionally chosen that specific chair, but she hadn’t expected the other girl to come over just for a piece of furniture!
In the end, Yun Ni successfully reclaimed her chair. She moved it a distance away, distancing herself from Lin Zijin while still having a good view to watch Tao Ningchu pay Dong Menglian back.
The crew, seeing that Lin Zijin had no seat, rushed to bring a new one for her. But as Lin Zijin looked at the “Great Wall” of distance between herself and Yun Ni, she felt no joy at all.
Over there, Tao Ningchu finished her makeup. Director Zhou called both women into the frame to take their positions.
With the roles swapped, Dong Menglian stood exactly where Tao Ningchu had been, and Tao Ningchu stood where Dong Menglian had stood.