Setting aside the relationship between Shang Wan and Fang Xinghe, the atmosphere on the set of “Zhao Ming Palace” was quite harmonious.
Shang Wan’s days in the crew were incredibly fulfilling.
Waking up early for makeup, rehearsing scenes, filming, and studying the script in the evenings.
Occasionally, she would also film a few behind-the-scenes clips for promotional purposes and interact with fans on social media—it almost felt like she had returned to her real-life days.
No, it was even better than those days.
Here, there were no debt collectors trailing behind her, nor any exploitative agents forcing her to take on eight gigs a week.
It was so peaceful that Shang Wan couldn’t help but wonder if she was living in a beautiful dream.
Except for one thing—
For some reason, Shang Wan felt that the relationship between Shen Hui and Fang Xinghe was growing increasingly tense.
For example, right now.
Shen Hui pushed through the crowd and squeezed next to Shang Wan, who was taking a break. Pointing to a section of the script, she asked, “Nan Zhi Jie, I’ve rehearsed this part several times, but it never feels quite right. Could you explain it to me?”
Her tone was intimate, almost like she was acting cute.
Shang Wan followed Shen Hui’s gaze to the script. It was a scene where Empress Shen Mingzhu, for the sake of Emperor Li Zhao, confronts Princess Qionghua for the first time.
The script described Empress Shen glancing at her husband, as if finally making up her mind.
She stood up, raised her head, straightened her back, and faced the princess who held the power of life and death—the very person who had once terrified her. With neither humility nor arrogance, she said, “Imperial Sister, even though it was you who supported His Majesty in ascending the throne, he is now the ruler, and you are his subject. I hope Imperial Sister will not disrupt the proper order of respect and hierarchy.”
Shang Wan asked Shen Hui, “What feels off?”
Shen Hui looked a bit embarrassed and whispered, “Princess Qionghua once deposed Empress Shen’s father and brother in front of her, executed her clansmen, and beat her childhood maid to death. Empress Shen’s fear of Qionghua is deeply ingrained. At this point, she hasn’t even fallen in love with Li Zhao yet. Could she really overcome this instinctive fear for his sake?”
Shang Wan understood immediately.
Shen Hui didn’t agree with her character’s logic.
She looked at Shen Hui and asked, “What do you think is the most important thing to Shen Mingzhu?”
Shen Hui thought for a moment. “Li Zhao?”
Shang Wan shook her head. “No, it’s responsibility.”
Meeting Shen Hui’s puzzled gaze, she continued, “Shen Mingzhu’s father was a remonstrating official. She grew up hearing grand principles of loyalty to the ruler and love for the country. Even before falling in love with Li Zhao, she was already firmly convinced, influenced by her father, that only with Princess Qionghua subdued and the emperor ruling independently could the court be set right.
“Love is not the entirety of life. This is the responsibility Shen Mingzhu demands of herself, and it has nothing to do with whether she loves Li Zhao or not.”
Shang Wan’s gaze was gentle, hiding the lesson she wanted to impart to Shen Hui within this scene.
Love is not the entirety of life—
So, whether it’s the male lead or the antagonist, they shouldn’t, as in the original novel, hurt you, use you, or control you under the guise of loving you.
You should be like Shen Mingzhu.
Embrace love, but never submit to it.
This was Shang Wan’s carefully designed Capture plan for Shen Hui.
She wanted Shen Hui to stay away from the harm of melodramatic plots and, like the title of the novel “Star Path,” truly walk a path of dazzling stardom.
Shen Hui listened intently, immediately pulling out a pen to scribble notes on her script.
Nearby, Fang Xinghe, who had also come over at some point, listened intently and couldn’t help but clear his throat before asking Shang Wan, “What about my part…”
He didn’t finish his sentence.
Because Shen Hui had already impatiently cut him off.
Shen Hui: “Fang Xinghe, didn’t you say yesterday that Sister Nan Zhi’s acting was just average? Why are you asking questions again today? Are you having a personality crisis?”
Fang Xinghe: “…”
Is this Shen person some kind of die-hard fan of Shang Nanzhi?!
Shang Wan: “…”
The plot had already spiraled out of control like a runaway horse, heading toward utter chaos.
She couldn’t bear to watch, truly couldn’t bear to watch.
When the filming of Zhaoling Palace reached one-fifth of its storyline, New Year’s Day finally arrived.
That night, after finishing her scenes, Shang Wan lay in her hotel room, gently stroking her arm where the stitches had been removed but a faint scar remained, while chatting with the System.
She asked the System, “Tongtong, are you sure the Bond Points of the other three haven’t changed at all during this time?”
The System, which had repeatedly refused Shang Wan’s attempts to give it a nickname but to no avail, replied resentfully, “Yes, Host.”
Shang Wan: “That’s not right. Something’s off.”
System: “What’s off?”
Shang Wan: “Shang Nanzhi is so beautiful. Even as a woman, I can’t help but want to get close to her. Could it be that these people really haven’t felt any emotional fluctuations at all?”
System: “…”
It shouldn’t have asked.
Shang Wan made a bold guess: “Wait, given Fu Duo’s obsessive and possessive personality as a brother-con, could it be that he’s actually interested in Fu Chen…”
The System screamed, cutting off her speculation: “This is a romance novel!”
Shang Wan: “Oh.”
Shang Wan: “I know.”
Shang Wan: “I just meant, maybe he’s so jealous of Fu Chen that he’s practically green-eyed with envy, leaving no room to appreciate a beauty like me?”
System: “…”
It was tired and didn’t want to talk anymore.
After teasing the System, Shang Wan continued stroking her scar, lost in thought.
Over the past few weeks, thanks to her relentless efforts, Shen Hui’s Bond Points had soared to 32.9, leaving the other four main characters far behind.
Even Fang Xinghe, whose Bond Points with her had fluctuated endlessly, had finally broken into double digits last night, reaching 10.32.
But Fu Duo’s Bond Points had remained stubbornly at 2.1, completely unchanged.
This baffled Shang Wan.
As the ultimate obsessive brother-con in the original novel, Fu Duo’s fixation on Fu Chen had reached a pathological level.
Shang Wan even suspected that he probably counted every strand of hair Fu Chen lost each night.
That afternoon when she left the Fu residence, she had deliberately left so many clues for Fu Duo.
The first member of the opposite sex Fu Chen had personally brought home.
Fu Chen’s exclusive private doctor rushing over specifically to stitch up her wound.
And the highly suggestive bite mark on her collarbone, left by Fu Chen.
According to Shang Wan’s plan, Fu Duo would undoubtedly investigate her in secret.
If Fu Duo believed she had a deep connection with Fu Chen, his Bond Points would surely rise; if he didn’t, they would fall.
This would allow Shang Wan to gauge the progress of Fu Duo’s investigation.
But Fu Duo had shown no reaction at all.
The scar felt uneven under her fingertips, and Shang Wan thought: Something must have gone wrong in a way she didn’t know about.
Shang Wan glanced at her phone. With New Year’s Day approaching, the crew had given everyone two days off.
She had originally intended to use this opportunity to have Fu Duo invite her to the Fu Group’s 60th anniversary gala, hoping to boost her progress in collecting Bond Points from him and his brother.
But now…
Shang Wan’s thoughts kept circling back and forth. The next second, she heard a sudden buzz from her phone.
An unfamiliar email had arrived:
“Miss Shang, remember me?
“We met last time at the Fu residence. I’m Fu Duo, the younger brother of the Fu Group’s CEO—
“Click on this link in the email.”
For a moment, Shang Wan suspected she had been targeted by a scam ring.
Her expression went blank for two seconds. In the end, she didn’t dare click the link and instead sent a “?” in reply.
The response came quickly.
“If you don’t want to click the link, then just accept my friend request! I’ve been trying to add you for a week! Do you never check WeChat?”
Shang Wan fell silent.
Fu Duo, the younger son of a top-tier entrepreneur in City A, clearly had a hundred ways to contact her, yet he chose to add her on WeChat.
And he even sent her a suspicious link that looked like a scam!
As a top-tier female celebrity, Shang Nanzhi received anywhere from eighty to a hundred collaboration requests every day. She never added strangers on social media, okay?!
So the problematic link was actually named “Fu Duo Has Brain Problems,” right?!
Shang Wan took a deep breath, opened WeChat, and spent a full twelve minutes digging through the pile of people trying to add her before finally finding Fu Duo.
Fu Duo’s profile picture was a gray tabby cat eating.
His WeChat name was “My Brother Is the Best.”
His bio read: “LOL, can’t understand financial reports at all.”
The most absurd part was that his friend request message was: “Sis, it’s me, Xiao Duo.”
Shang Wan: “…”
There were so many things wrong with this that she didn’t even know where to start.
No wonder she had blocked him after just a glance back then!
Shang Wan swiftly accepted the friend request from Fu Duo, who seemed to be roleplaying as an idiot on social media, and asked him: “Xiao Duo, what’s in the link?”
Fu Duo: “Click it and you’ll find out.”
Shang Wan fell into deep thought.
She really didn’t dare click it.
Fu Duo: “Sis, you don’t trust me, do you!”
Shang Wan reluctantly admitted: “That’s right.”
Fu Duo: “…”
After a two-second silence, he sent: “Sis, I’m hurt.”
Shang Wan remained unmoved.
A few seconds later, “My Brother Is the Best” sent a voice message: “Fine, if you don’t want to click it, don’t. It’s an electronic invitation for you. My brother asked me to invite you to the Fu Group’s 60th anniversary gala.
“But since you didn’t reply, I already had my assistant deliver an invitation to your film set. He should arrive tonight.”
Shang Wan: “?!”
She took a sharp breath, then pressed two fingers firmly against the corners of her mouth—
to keep herself from laughing too loudly.
What was this called?
This was exactly what it meant to have a pillow delivered when you were sleepy!
Shang Wan declared loudly in her heart: From this moment on, Fu Chen is the male lead who best understands her needs, a walking autonomous Capture machine, and an indispensable companion for every taskmaster, whether at home or on the go!
Two minutes later, Shang Wan barely managed to rein in her wide grin and replied to Fu Duo: “Okay.”
As happy as she was, the unpredictability of the current situation still caught Shang Wan off guard.
The one who should have invited her most was Fu Duo, yet he made no move at all.
In fact, Fu Chen’s inexplicable invitation to this banquet even aroused Fu Duo’s suspicion.
With that kid Fu Duo’s mind, which in the original novel had more holes than a honeycomb briquette, if he started letting his imagination run wild now, he’d probably think Fu Chen was secretly plotting against him.
No wonder not only did the Bond Points not increase, but he was also putting on an act of innocence and ignorance in front of her.
Turns out all his attention was focused on “my brother and an outsider teaming up to harm me.”
He was essentially fighting an imaginary enemy.
Shang Wan hesitated for a long time before finally clicking on the link Fu Duo had sent.
It was indeed an exquisitely designed invitation, with hand-drawn patterns and gilded edges, every detail crafted with care.
It was hard to imagine that it had been sent by the younger brother of the Fu Group’s CEO in a manner almost resembling a scam link.
With a complicated expression, Shang Wan fixed her gaze on the center of the invitation, where her name was written.
This was a banquet the original host had never attended.
In the original novel, it was the beginning of Gu Xun taking a liking to Shen Hui, using her as a substitute, and scheming to take her eyes.
It was also the source of Fu Chen’s infatuation with Shen Hui and his ruthless pursuit.
The entanglement between the male lead, female lead, and antagonist fully unfolded after this banquet.
A fight to the death.
Shang Wan tried hard to recall the original plot, then glanced at the task panel, where Fu Duo’s glaring 2.1 stood out.
If she didn’t raise Fu Duo’s Bond Points to double digits by the banquet the day after tomorrow, she wouldn’t be surnamed Shang!