As Fang Xinghe’s Bond Points soared, Shang Wan’s gaze toward him also changed.
Her eyes sparkled as she looked left and right at the fully immersed Fang Xinghe, as if she had discovered a gold mine waiting to be excavated.
Fang Xinghe felt unnerved by Shang Wan’s stare, and his Bond Points immediately dropped by 2 points.
Shang Wan: “…”
Seriously, what’s wrong with him?!
Seeing that Fang Xinghe was now in the right state, the director called for action once again.
Shang Wan touched up her makeup and was escorted back by the armored guards to kneel in her original position.
She straightened her back, and even the distinct bloodstains on her sleeves seemed not to be proof of her defeat in battle, but rather medals of her struggle against the emperor.
The armored guard reported, “Your Majesty, the criminal Qionghua has been subdued.”
Fang Xinghe nodded calmly, yet his gaze did not fall upon Princess Qionghua for even a moment.
At this moment, he had finally become the true Li Zhao.
Li Zhao had achieved his great ambition, yet there was no trace of joy from victory in his eyes, nor any reluctance toward his blood-related elder sister—only ambition refined through trials.
He no longer needed to divert his attention to Qionghua.
He and Qionghua were indeed the same.
In the face of true power, they had never been able to see anything else.
The imperial guards and generals who had fought bloody battles for two days and nights knelt down below, hailing him as “Long live the Emperor.”
Beside him, Shen Mingzhu gently took his hand.
Shen Mingzhu, his empress.
She softly called him “Your Majesty,” her tone carrying the relief of having survived a calamity.
Li Zhao slowly tightened his grip on Shen Mingzhu’s hand, thinking that he was now the true Son of Heaven.
The sole master of the realm.
No one would ever again stand above him, mocking him as a weak and incompetent puppet emperor, nor would anyone dare to trouble his empress or seize his authority.
Li Zhao slowly raised his eyes to look at the corpses strewn across the palace steps.
A general’s success is built upon ten thousand bones.
He lowered his gaze, listening as the general escorting Qionghua knelt and reported to him, “Your Majesty, Princess Qionghua first usurped authority like a hen crowing at dawn, then showed contempt for ancestral laws, and today she raised troops in rebellion, utterly devoid of human ethics and moral principles. She is condemned by both gods and men. I humbly request, how does Your Majesty wish to deal with this criminal woman?”
Li Zhao’s mind, swept into the clouds by the exhilaration of holding great power, paused for a moment upon hearing the name Qionghua.
He looked at Qionghua’s disheveled, bloodstained face.
Li Zhao thought dazedly that the person kneeling before him was his defeated opponent.
And also, his elder sister.
His gaze lingered on Qionghua’s face for only a brief moment.
No love, no hatred, no pity.
Only a faint sense of daze, like a gentle breeze.
He recalled a distant past.
It was a memory buried beneath mountains of corpses and seas of blood in the deep palace, a time that belonged solely to his youth.
Looking at the face before him, he couldn’t help but wonder: How did he and his elder sister come to this point?
But Li Zhao only remained dazed for that fleeting moment.
Because the woman kneeling before him gritted her teeth against the pain of her dislocated arm and sneered at him.
She said, “Li Zhao, do not think you have won. If I were a man, you would never have had the chance to ascend the throne and imprison me beneath these steps!”
Word by word, her voice seemed to carry overwhelming resentment.
And endless hatred.
In the face of Qionghua’s accusation, Li Zhao once again transformed back into the emperor standing above all others.
He actually smiled at that moment.
He retorted sharply, “Why deceive yourself, Imperial Sister?”
Looking down at Qionghua from his superior position, he said, “If you were a prince, our late father might indeed have made you the heir, but could you truly be a good emperor?
“You formed factions in court, acted with cruelty and murderous intent. The father of Mingzhu merely held a slightly different political view from yours, yet you issued an edict forcing him to personally execute his two sons. Minister Liu, who had his limbs severed, and General Qiu, who had his ears cut off and eyes gouged out—which of these lives did you not casually dispose of without a second thought?
“Even if you became emperor, you would only be a tyrant whom everyone would seek to overthrow.”
Amid the pervasive scent of blood in the palace, Li Zhao withdrew his gaze.
He no longer wished to say more to the person before him.
“The Eldest Princess has committed treason and defied authority. Death by decree.”
His tone was stern and merciless.
The scene ended, and the director called cut.
The next second, the director immediately gave Fang Xinghe a thumbs-up with an approving look, praising, “Xinghe, you performed that scene exceptionally well! The pacing was spot on!”
Shang Wan seized the opportunity to boast to the System, “See? This is the art of my teaching!”
The System: “…”
The Host is really deep into her role.
Shang Wan lifted her head proudly, ready to receive Fang Xinghe’s worshipful admiration. But when she turned her head, she saw Fang Xinghe staring at her intently, lost in thought.
His expression was even more complex than Li Zhao’s in the scene.
Shang Wan: “?”
She quickly asked the System, “Hey, Tongtong, is there something wrong with Fang Xinghe?”
Why does his gaze toward her grow more unsettling each time?
The System: “…”
Shang Wan felt unnerved by Fang Xinghe’s stare and was about to slip away while there were still people around when Fang Xinghe suddenly spoke up, calling her by name.
He said, “Shang Nanzhi, you acted very well just now.”
So well that even now, Fang Xinghe’s mind was still filled with the final glance Qionghua had given him.
So full of unwillingness, so full of resentment.
Despite hiding so much relentless ambition until death, he still caught a fleeting glimpse of the gentle elder sister who had once treated him kindly.
So well that Fang Xinghe had to admit that, in terms of acting skills, he truly couldn’t compare to this once-disdained “traffic vase.”
Shang Wan fell silent for two seconds.
She complained to the System, “Isn’t that stating the obvious? Anyone with eyes can see how good my acting is. Does he really need to point it out?”
The System: “…”
So narcissistic, this Shang.
As soon as she finished speaking, Shang Wan heard the System’s notification sound.
The 2 Bond Points that Fang Xinghe had inexplicably lost earlier had actually increased again.
Shang Wan immediately changed her attitude: “I admit, I spoke too loudly just now. Fang Xinghe does have good taste.”
The System remained silent on the surface but sneered inwardly: Hah, women.
Changing expressions faster than flipping a book!
Hearing the notification of the Bond Points increase, the smile on Shang Wan’s face grew even more genuine.
She looked up at Fang Xinghe. The dignified and elegant makeup of the Eldest Princess should have made her appear unattainably noble, but in the blink of an eye, with just a shift in her gaze, she transformed into a reliable and considerate senior colleague on set.
She smiled at Fang Xinghe and said, “You acted very well too.”
Her tone was so sincere it was impossible to doubt.
Fang Xinghe’s eyes flickered slightly as he heard Shang Wan continue, “Your acting skills are excellent; you just need a bit more understanding of life. Fang Xinghe, you deserve the director’s praise—so, don’t doubt yourself unnecessarily.”
Shang Wan wasn’t lying.
Fang Xinghe was not without acting skills.
He was just too young.
He couldn’t grasp those profound feelings of love and hatred, nor understand the subtle and complex emotions in life, because they had left no traces in his youthful body.
Even for a method actor, a touch of genuine feeling is indispensable as a pillar for performance.
Having been called “cut” multiple times by the director in the middle of the night, Fang Xinghe, who was beginning to doubt his own acting abilities, met Shang Wan’s eyes and once again heard the violent beating of his own heart.
It was a rhythm that had never before appeared in his chest.
He instinctively pressed his hand against his heart, feeling as though something was wrong with him.
It seemed—
It seemed he had never truly known the real Shang Nanzhi.
Fang Xinghe’s breathing grew uneven. He lowered his head, a sentence lingering on the tip of his tongue several times before he finally managed to utter it with a hint of unnaturalness.
He said, “Shang Nanzhi, how about I add your contact info?”
Shang Wan: “Huh?”
From the moment Fang Xinghe suddenly spoke up, his eyes shining as he praised her acting skills, Shang Wan had already grasped this person’s method of collecting Bond Points.
Fang Xinghe was an acting fanatic.
In truth, there was only one type of person who could make him form bonds and strive to pursue them.
A dazzlingly brilliant actor.
Just like Shen Hui in “Star Path.”
And now, her.
Shang Wan decisively pointed out Fang Xinghe’s hesitation throughout the entire night and, in that moment, resolved to debut as the entertainment industry’s ultimate senior, guiding Fang Xinghe all the way to the peak of his life.
Until his Bond Points reached 100!
The plan was formulated quickly and executed smoothly.
Shang Wan had only spoken a few words before Fang Xinghe’s Bond Points surged wildly by another 12 points, soaring to an astonishing 52.
Just as she was immersed in the joy of how effortlessly the Capture Mission was progressing, she suddenly heard Fang Xinghe ask, “How about I add your contact info?”
Shang Wan: “Huh?”
She asked the System incredulously, “Tongtong, are my ears playing tricks on me? The crew has been filming for two months, and as the female lead, I actually haven’t added the male lead’s contact info?”
System: “You did.”
Shang Wan didn’t believe it: “You’re talking nonsense.”
System: “He blocked and deleted you.”
Shang Wan: “??”
Shang Wan rarely found herself at a loss, so the System continued to twist the knife:
“It was on the night the original host drugged Fu Chen—
“Before setting out, the original host sent a message to Manager Yang, saying she had a date that night and asking Manager Yang to come up with some excuse to fool the crew. After all, skipping work was something she was familiar with, so there was no need to worry about the consequences. But the original host drank too much, her mind wasn’t clear, and her hand slipped, sending the message to Fang Xinghe’s phone instead.”
Shang Wan: “…”
Social death often happens in an instant!
She swallowed hard, deeply grateful that she had arrived in time.
If Fang Xinghe had truly witnessed Shang Nanzhi’s terrible acting skills, combined with her arrogant and overbearing attitude when throwing her weight around, she probably would never have been able to collect Fang Xinghe’s Bond Points in this lifetime!
Before her, Fang Xinghe’s expression carried a hint of barely noticeable embarrassment.
Shang Wan took out her phone, unlocked it, and smiled at him. “Sure.”
Fang Xinghe let out a sigh of relief.
But he didn’t expect that just as he finished scanning Shang Wan’s QR code and clicked to add her, Shen Hui, who had long sensed something off about the atmosphere around them, suddenly leaned over and asked in a deep tone, “Fang Xinghe, what are you doing?”
Fang Xinghe: “…”
Where did this inexplicable feeling of being caught cheating come from?
He took a deep breath and replied with feigned calm, “Nothing, I was just asking Teacher Shang some questions about acting.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, he saw Shen Hui grit her teeth.
Fang Xinghe instinctively felt something was wrong.
Sure enough, the next second, Shen Hui had already quickly stepped to Shang Wan’s side.
She reached out and linked arms with Shang Wan, gently swaying as she spoke in a coquettish tone:
“Nan Zhi, Fang Xinghe said just last month that you were completely unprofessional as an actress, and he often gave you attitude. Now he suddenly says he wants to ask you about acting—he’s definitely up to no good!”
Shen Hui grew more and more certain as she spoke: “Also, just two days ago, he was calling you ‘that Shang woman,’ and now he needs something from you, so he’s calling you Teacher Shang. Can you really trust anything this kind of person says?!”
Fang Xinghe: “…”
He and this Shen woman are mortal enemies!
Shang Wan: “…”
Wait, did I pick up the wrong script?
Why is this harem rivalry drama suddenly revolving around me, the villainess?