After selecting the product, Jiang Tian didn’t feel anything at all—just a sweet taste in her mouth. Nothing else. She couldn’t help but click her tongue in disappointment, thinking to herself: Sure enough, it’s a scam. Not only is the system’s task issuance unreliable, even the stuff it sells is unreliable.
She snorted dismissively.
Closed the light panel.
When she looked up, she noticed Gu Jinyan staring at her.
Jiang Tian was taken aback for a moment, then raised an eyebrow, “What?”
“…”
Gu Jinyan snapped out of his daze and shook his head, “Nothing.”
Then, somewhat awkwardly, he turned away.
Annoyed: It’s only been a twenty-minute ride without seeing Jiang Tian’s face. Why did I suddenly feel she looked a bit prettier just now?
Gu Jinyan, you must have a ghost clinging to you!
Seeing Gu Jinyan acting strangely, Jiang Tian couldn’t be bothered with him. After getting out of the car, her luggage was carried into the villa by the servants.
She had a designated room in the Gu family villa. Neither spoke along the way. After entering the villa, they each went to their own rooms, as if unwilling to spare the other a glance. This made the servants, who had been enjoying the drama all night, quite curious.
But none dared to ask.
Because the Gu family servants knew that most of the online hype was fake. The relationship between their future madam and the master was not good at all. However, everyone working in the Gu household had signed contracts, so no one dared to say a word.
…
Early the next morning, Gu Jinyan woke up at exactly 6 a.m., got ready, and went downstairs for breakfast. He remembered he had scenes to shoot today and had to be on set, and Jiang Tian apparently had scenes too.
Passing by Jiang Tian’s room at the corridor corner, he saw the door still tightly shut and sneered coldly.
A newcomer, even if she had decent acting skills and managed to land a role, if she slacked off on set, she would only be criticized. It would be hard for her to get a second or third drama later.
Glancing at the time—it was already 6:50. Gu Jinyan grew impatient. He reached out and knocked on the door.
No response.
The disdain on Gu Jinyan’s face deepened.
The old Jiang Tian had always been dramatic, causing trouble everywhere. Despite having no background, she still acted like a spoiled young lady. Even in the entertainment industry, she only wanted fame but never put her heart into acting.
He had thought she had changed a lot after their interactions over the past couple of days, but it seemed old habits died hard. Frowning, he knocked hard on the door.
“Jiang Tian, you have ten minutes to get downstairs, or face the consequences. Don’t think just because we’re pretending to be a couple now that I’ll indulge you. Cut the drama!”
“…”
But the response was silence.
Gu Jinyan knocked a couple more times. Still no response. Frowning, he pushed the door open and saw an empty room.
The bed was neatly made, the floor spotless, the cosmetics on the dressing table arranged orderly, even the hairdryer cord neatly coiled. It looked as if no one had ever stayed there.
“Sir, Madam went to the set an hour ago. She asked me to tell you that since you were still sleeping, she wouldn’t wait for you,” a servant holding new toiletries said at the door.
Gu Jinyan: …
Face stinging.
…
In fact, this was a habit Jiang Tian had developed since entering the industry in her past life. No matter how late she slept the night before, if she had work the next morning, she could always wake up promptly at 4:30 a.m. Shower, skincare, makeup—everything in one go. After getting ready and having breakfast, she would head to the set.
Even if she didn’t need to film immediately, she liked staying there to watch others act.
When Gu Jinyan arrived, he happened to see Jiang Tian already in costume, holding the script, sitting on a low stool, intently watching the male and female leads rehearse. She watched while jotting something down in her notebook.
…
Gu Jinyan couldn’t help but sneer coldly: Hmph, hypocrite! If she were really that dedicated, why sit right next to the director? This is clearly just for show. Putting on an act!
He straightened his collar and walked over.
When the crew members saw Gu Jinyan appear, they all cast glances his way, whispering among themselves. Especially when they saw Gu Jinyan heading toward Jiang Tian, their eyes sparkled, anticipating some juicy gossip!
Jiang Tian was still studying the emotional arc of the male and female leads. Although it wasn’t directly related to her own scenes, since it was the same script, adjustments sometimes had to be made for the overall story.
It wasn’t until the male and female leads had to pause and the director called “Cut” that Jiang Tian snapped out of her focus. Looking up in confusion, she saw Gu Jinyan standing beside her.
Jiang Tian: Eww~ Disgusting~
When she first arrived in the morning, the crew had been looking at her strangely. Helpless, she had squatted next to the director just to get a bit of peace. But now, here he comes, stirring up another storm. Annoying~
Gu Jinyan, now being disliked: …
Still, they had to keep up appearances—after all, publicly they were a couple!
Jiang Tian flashed a smile, utterly fake: “A Yan, you’re here~”
Her sickly sweet voice was as nauseating as could be.
Gu Jinyan raised an eyebrow, leaned down gently, and tenderly brushed the stray hair behind her ear: “I didn’t see you after waking up this morning. I didn’t expect you to come so early. Why didn’t you wait for me?”
As the male lead who charmed thousands in the original story, his deep voice was truly something else.
The crew members around them were already exploding with excitement, their eyes shining with hearts, but afraid to disturb the two, they covered their mouths to keep from squealing.
Jiang Tian: …
She forced a smile and responded just as hypocritically: “I didn’t want to disturb your rest. After all, your knees must still be hurting.”
“It’s fine, last night—not tiring. Your knees need attention too.” Gu Jinyan smiled gently.
Huh?
My knees?
I don’t need to kneel… I…
Jiang Tian was momentarily confused.
But the crew members around were looking at her suggestively. Jiang Tian suddenly felt something was off. Knees hurting?
Holy shit!
[○｀Д´ ○]
Gu Jinyan, you bastard, what nonsense are you spouting?!
After successfully angering his little fiancée, a certain award-winning actor strutted triumphantly toward his private dressing room.
He even instructed Li Xia: “Move Jiang Tian’s things to my dressing room. We’ll share one.”
Li Xia, following behind: …
Award-winning actor, you’re not serious, are you?
Since your debut, when have you ever shared a dressing room with anyone?
Li Xia suddenly felt that this award-winning actor before him was no longer the aloof, proud actor he had once known.
Sob sob~
The morning’s brief storm lasted only a few minutes before being replaced by the busy life on set. The crew got back on track, and after a short break, the male and female leads dove back into intense work. Jiang Tian also seriously prepared for her scenes.
Lu Xin arrived right at 8 a.m. Their scenes were scheduled to start in half an hour.
Seeing that Jiang Tian had already prepared notes for both of their scenes, Lu Xin felt deeply ashamed.
“Sorry, I had some matters yesterday, so…”
“It’s fine, let’s focus on work now.” Jiang Tian didn’t mind at all.
But Lu Xin still felt ashamed. In fact, many actors arrived at 8 a.m. for an 8:30 start—arriving half an hour early was normal. But compared to Jiang Tian, Lu Xin felt his face had nowhere to hide.
The two rehearsed for a bit, got their makeup and costumes done, and prepared to start filming. Also joining the scene was Gu Jinyan…
…
Today’s scene was simple: during class, the female supporting character rushes in anxiously due to family issues, gets reprimanded by the teacher, and then the top student steps in to help.
With the director’s command,
“Action!”
Filming began.
Inside the classroom.
The homeroom teacher stood at the podium conducting the new semester’s class meeting when someone hurriedly burst in through the door.
The girl’s hair was a bit messy, her high ponytail slightly askew, and her school uniform wrinkled. She kept her head down.
Her hurried steps faltered the moment she saw the teacher, and she took a slight step back.
The camera zoomed in.
It seemed you could see the girl lowering her head, her hidden eyes closing briefly in frustration and shame. But when she looked up again, those bright eyes no longer held panic or embarrassment—instead, they were aloof and proud.
“Report.”
The moment she lifted her head, the entire class erupted.
Not for any other reason, but because of the distinct marks on the girl’s face. The left side looked as if she had been slapped hard, with five red fingerprints swollen high and scratch marks from fingernails. Under her right eye was also a bruise, making her appear utterly miserable.
Whispers rose, but the girl surrounded by gossip seemed unaware. After the teacher nodded, she raised her head, slung her backpack over her shoulder, and walked to the back of the classroom.
The female teacher frowned in disgust, tapped the podium to signal for quiet, and continued explaining the requirements.
In the entire classroom, besides the homeroom teacher’s voice, only the sounds of the female supporting character, Su Zhuang, arranging her things could be heard—completely out of place.
The homeroom teacher on the podium frowned unhappily and shouted, “Su Zhuang! Get out! Showing up so late and making noise while I’m talking—are you doing this on purpose?! Look at those injuries on you—have you been out fooling around again?”
Su Zhuang froze in place, her hand gripping her backpack tightening. She lifted her head and stared coldly at the teacher.
The teacher, glared at like that, grew even more displeased. She grabbed a piece of chalk and was about to throw it.
Just then, someone suddenly stood up and intercepted the chalk.
“Teacher, Su Zhuang might be having a hard time. Don’t you think that’s a bit too much?”
A boy’s clear, somewhat shy voice rang out.
Su Zhuang was taken aback and looked over.
The camera also shifted.
There was Lu Xin, lowering his head, a bit embarrassed yet indignant. He pushed up the thick black-rimmed glasses on his face and spoke up bravely.
Since last semester, this female homeroom teacher had disliked Su Zhuang. Now she was clearly seizing an opportunity to vent. Lu Xin was just a studious, well-behaved student, but at this moment, he actually felt sorry for the girl sitting behind him.
The homeroom teacher, confronted like this, felt resentful.
After cursing a few times, she continued the lesson.
But Su Zhuang, showing no regard for anyone’s feelings, picked up her bag and walked out.
“Cut!”
The director quickly called for a stop.
Beaming, he praised repeatedly, “Good, good, very good! Jiang Tian’s expression was spot-on, and even Lu Xin performed well. Excellent, you have potential! Let’s move to the next scene! All departments, start preparing.”
Lu Xin and the others breathed a sigh of relief, but Jiang Tian didn’t get to relax. She merely adjusted her emotions slightly before starting again.
Most people, if their emotional flow is interrupted, need a long time to readjust. But Jiang Tian got into character almost instantly.
Her expression instantly reverted to an icy, aloof demeanor.
In the shot, Su Zhuang, carrying her bag, walked toward the scenic lake on campus, casually tossed her backpack aside, and slumped onto a bench.
The small grove by the lake was quiet, making even soft footsteps sound particularly abrupt.
Gu Jinyan stood by the bench, also gazing quietly at the lake.
“Did your mother hit you again?”
“…”
“How long are you going to stay like this?”
“…”
“If you’re having trouble, I can apply to the school…”
Su Zhuang abruptly stood up, turning to glare at him: “What I do is none of your damn business!”