Author: plum

Surprise Attack

When all the lights focused on her alone, Su Shen was stunned momentarily before she smiled and got up to go on stage. Her dress was not long this time, so she soon arrived on stage. The female presenter smiled and presented her with the award.

The host over there was still warming up the crowd and said, “This year, Su Shen still has two more dramas to bring to you all. We look forward to her continuing to bring better works to everyone.”

The music’s rhythm was very bright and cheerful, which was especially suitable for this scene. Su Shen held the trophy and stood in front of the microphone, facing countless pairs of eyes below before diplomatically saying, “Thank you very much to all the friends who have been supporting me, and I also want to thank the committee for the recognition. I will continue to work hard to improve myself and strive to bring better results to everyone.”  

“Clap clap!”

Suddenly, there was a wave of applause from below. Although it was all for show, Su Shen still smiled and held the trophy as she walked down to sit in her seat.

The award ceremony resumed handing out the other awards. Ye Qianqian continued chatting with her about some hilarious things, deliberating ignoring Mu Yao at the side. Su Shen knew her intentions and still went along with it. Even if there were no grudges between female artists, they could become enemies if there was a conflict of interest.

After the awards ceremony ended, Su Shen sat in the car waiting for He Hua while scrolling through her phone. Fans of Yang Zhi and Mu Yao accused her of winning the award through foul play, which caused their fan bases to start attacking one another.

Netizen A: This b***h used a water army to manipulate the voting, being rich is so great. 

Netizen B: Mu’s dogs should stop barking around. [vomit] Your idol’s drama flopped, stop throwing mud at others. [vomit] Already 30 and still acting in idol dramas, yes, our Su Su should respect her elders and give this award to her. [smiley face]

Netizen C: If it wasn’t for He Hua, would this b***h have such good resources? She would’ve still been acting in web dramas in some corner. [smiley face]

Netizen D: No matter how much the antis envy and hate, it’s useless. My Su Su has good resources and opportunities. Hardworking people will always get corresponding rewards. [smiley face]

After reading some of the comments, Su Shen became calm because it was the hype of the drama that helped her win the award. If it was usually, she might not have such a high popularity, but it was alright, she still had two dramas this year to strengthen her popularity.

It wasn’t until someone knocked on the window twice that Su Shen opened the door and got out. She saw He Hua standing outside with a woman wearing a black blazer dress. The woman appeared to be in her 30s and had an ordinary appearance, but she had a great aura, looking very smart.

“Let me introduce you, Yao Yin, she’s also a partner in our agency. She had been managing several new talents in our agency, but she will be your new manager henceforth. I have already transferred most of your matters to her in the past few days, so you can go to her if you need anything,” said He Hua solemnly.

The parking lot was empty. Looking at her new manager in front of her, Su Shen smiled and extended her hand, “Hello, Yao jie.”

“No need to be so polite,” Yao Yin smiled and shook her hand, with a slight smile on her face. “I’ll be responsible for your matters henceforth. When I get back, I’ll send you your recent schedule.”

“Okay, thank you.” Su Shen replied politely with a smile.

Seeing that she was still so polite, Yao Yin couldn’t help but look at her teasingly. “It’s rare for Xie Yan to have a girlfriend. A few days ago, he was so petty that he didn’t even let me accept any kissing scenes for you. I didn’t expect him to be so jealous.”

Hearing this, Su Shen cleared her throat. No wonder the scripts that He Hua gave her didn’t have any kissing scenes; it turned out that it was all because of Xie Yan.

He Hua was already accustomed to this and glanced at his watch before saying to Su Shen, “I need to fly to Europe to find Xie Yan later. If you have any issues, just contact Yao Yin.”

Hearing this, Su Shen just nodded before getting into the car. She also had to rush back to set overnight.

Sitting in the car, she searched Yao Yin’s name and found that she had indeed managed many big stars, including an international award-winning actress. However, most of them had already semi-retired. Before, she was a manager for another entertainment agency and later started an agency with He Hua and them. Naturally, opening one’s agency would definitely make more money.

After returning to the hotel, she took a shower and sat on the bed, opened her laptop, and found that Yao Yin had sent her a schedule. Looking through it, Su Shen found that she didn’t have too many engagements, but there would be a bit more in the last few days of the month because she and Xie Yan’s drama would begin promoting. She also had an audition for that movie in a few days, so she needed to carefully look through the script in the next few days.

Just as she was about to go to sleep, her phone rang. Seeing that it was Xie Yan, Su Shen deliberately took a long time to answer before lying in bed and said muffledly, “What do you want?”

The other end of the call went silent for a moment before a deep and mellow voice sounded, “I miss you.”

In an instant, Su Shen’s face turned red. She didn’t expect him to be so straightforward. Before, he would go around in a circle, but now, he had become like this.

“I don’t believe you. You used to come visit me, but you don’t anymore.” Su Shen muttered as she turned over in bed, putting her phone next to the pillow.

Hearing this, a chuckle came from the other end of the call, followed by a deadpan tone, “Do you miss me then?”

“I don’t miss you at all,” Su Shen immediately retorted, stretching her slender and fair arm over the blanket before closing her eyes. “I don’t want to talk to you anymore. I’m going to sleep.”

Every time, he would steer her to say that she missed him. She refuses to say it this time.

“Su Shen.”

“Do you know what you seem like right now?” sounded a deep and mellow voice from the other end of the call.

As soon as she heard that, Su Shen knew that he wasn’t going to say anything nice, so she turned over and said to the phone, “I don’t wanna hear.”

At this, the person on the other end chuckled lightly, “You’re like a child who says one thing but means another.”

No one had ever said that to her before. Su Shen also realized that she had become a bit childish recently, no, it should be said that she became childish since she started dating Xie Yan. 

“You’re the child here. I don’t wanna talk to you anymore.” Su Shen said and then immediately hung up the phone before covering herself with the blanket.

It’s a state that Su Shen had never dared to imagine before, but she didn’t know why she had become like this. Just as Xie Yan said, she now acted like a child who needed to be coaxed.

It was all because of Xie Yan’s influence. He was always teasing her even though he knew that she was too shy to say those words. Men were always so playful, especially someone like Xie Yan who was both cunning and playful.

……

On the day of the audition, Su Shen took a day of leave. Director Li knew that she was going to the audition and had even encouraged her. Su Shen was grateful and felt that if she didn’t perform well this time, it would be a letdown for Director Li’s recommendation. 

When they arrived in Zhejiang, it was already 1:00 pm. Su Shen had to rush to the hotel where the audition was held immediately, and Yao Yin accompanied her, explaining the current situation to her.

“The audition for this movie has all newcomers. They don’t have much acting experience, so don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Director Li mainly likes the freshness and vitality of newcomers who have the courage to innovate. During your audition, try not to leave too many traces of your acting. Otherwise, there should be no problem.”

Sitting in the rear, Su Shen looked at the gloomy weather outside and felt that there might be a thunderstorm today. She took note of Yao Yin’s advice, knowing that sometimes a small detail could change many things.

When Su Shen arrived at the hotel, she immediately went up to the 8th floor wearing a cap and sunglasses. At the same time, two service staff seemed to have noticed her, but since Su Shen walked so quickly, they only took a few curious glances at her. The biggest con of increased fame was that it made going out inconvenient, but there were gains and losses, and there was nothing that could be done about it.

When she arrived on the 8th floor, there were young faces in the corridor discussing something, all of whom were there for the audition. When they saw Su Shen, two of them seemed excited, but most of them were wary. After all, they were newcomers and didn’t have much advantage compared to Su Shen.

Yao Yin led the way and Su Shen followed after her to the dressing room. Several newcomers who were also auditioning for the female lead were already seated inside, and they fell silent when they saw Su Shen. However, Su Shen spotted an acquaintance she hadn’t seen in a long time.

“Tong Le?”

The woman sitting in front of the dressing table in a blue dress was none other than Tong Le. Su Shen didn’t expect to see her here and immediately sat down next to her and said, “I forgot that you graduated this year.”

Seeing her chatting with an acquaintance, Yao Yin simply glanced at Tong Le and then walked out of the dressing room.

Tong Le also didn’t expect to see her here. The woman sitting beside her was still as beautiful as ever. Even an ordinary person would know that Su Shen’s name had been the talk of the town lately, not to mention people in the entertainment industry. Her life seemed to have been a cheat, with good resources and such a great boyfriend, which would make anyone envy her. 

“You’re so busy that I’m afraid to even freeload a meal anymore.” Tong Le laughed, but her expression was not as cheerful as before.

Su Shen noticed that she seemed to have altered her nose, but there were other people in the dressing room, so she didn’t want to ask anything and just started talking about something else.

“When do you have time? I’ll treat you to a meal.” Su Shen said with a slight smile, sitting there with her head turned and looking at the person next to her. 

This was a modern movie, so there was no need to be styled for the audition. The staff would directly inform them to go to the audition room later. However, Su Shen knew that everyone sitting in this dressing room was auditioning for the female lead. She also noticed that Tong Le seemed different from before.

“Sure. If you pass the audition, remember to treat me to a meal.” She smiled and sat there nonchalantly looking at Su Shen.

The latter smiled and said, “Perhaps you might be the one to pass the audition. After all, Director Xu likes to use newcomers.”

Hearing this, Tong Le brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and said expressionlessly, “My acting is not as good as yours. How can I be better than you?” 

Looking at her, Su Shen paused for a moment before smiling again, “You make it sound like my acting was great before.”

Knowing that she was referring to her acting in web dramas before, Tong Le just smiled. The two of them didn’t chat for long before a staff member notified them to go to the audition room, with Su Shen being the first one.

As she walked out of the dressing room, Su Shen looked back at the people inside, and then entered the audition room, thinking about the script’s plot. There were four people inside, the super-tanned middle-aged man was the director, and the other three were the producer, screenwriter, and assistant director.

Seeing her, the director in the middle smiled and handed her a sheet of paper. “Here are three scenes. You can choose which one to audition for.”

It was basically an improvisation. All three scenes were internal monologues without much dialogue. After looking through them, Su Shen said to the director, “I’ll audition for the first one.”

This was a scene where the female lead was moved by the male lead and suddenly doubted whether she should use him for revenge. But when she returned home, she found her mother writhing in pain in bed. She stood at the door, staring at the scene inside, and was suddenly determined to take revenge.

There was no dialogue, and it all relied on the expression in her eyes. The director and the rest didn’t seem to expect her to choose this scene, but they also didn’t say anything and just watched her performance silently.

The room was large, without any props; it was basically a performance without any physical objects. Taking a deep breath, Su Shen walked to the east side of the room. Then, her expression changed as she looked down slightly and walked forward aimlessly, not knowing what she was thinking. Suddenly, she looked up at the ceiling, pursed her lips, and continued to walk forward with a perplexed expression. Not knowing what she had heard, she suddenly widened her eyes and took a few steps forward to the wall, looking in the direction of the door with one hand propped on the wall.

From the director’s point of view, all that could be seen was Su Shen’s fingers gradually tightening on the wall, her lips tightly pursed, her face expressionless, only her eyes gradually turning red. As her five fingers clenched into a fist, tears started to trickle down her cheeks. She stared at the door fixedly, and after a while, she calmly wiped away the tears from her face with her hand before turning around and leaving.

After the scene ended, the female screenwriter immediately handed her a tissue, and Su Shen walked over and took it while thanking her.

“What’s your interpretation of the ending?” The director suddenly asked.

The director’s sudden question about the ending caught Su Shen off guard. She stood there for a moment before calmly replying while holding the tissue, “I think the female lead is a person who values relationships. Throughout her life, the only person who treated her well was her mother, so she also yearned for love. The male lead treated her very well, so she wavered and considered giving up her plan to use him. However, because she grew up with a seed of hatred, it was not easy to remove it completely. But she knows how good the male lead is to her. She loves him, even if she doesn’t want to admit that she fell in love with her enemy’s son. When the misunderstanding was resolved in the end, she still couldn’t get over the mental barrier in her heart. However, she still yearns for him, hoping that he will wait for her, even though in reality, he may have started a new family for other reasons.”

Hearing this, the female screenwriter laughed and said, “Your interpretation is exactly what I wanted to express. However, I have written it to be an open-ended ending. Why the male lead would start a new family is up to each person’s interpretation. What do you think is the reason why the male lead didn’t wait for the female lead?”

Facing their intense gazes, Su Shen pondered for a moment before answering earnestly, “People are realistic. As long as his love for the female lead isn’t the first priority, he won’t wait for her forever, and realistic factors will not allow him to wait for her forever.”

The director had heard that Su Shen didn’t come from a traditional performing arts background, and he liked that about her. He felt that actors who came from a traditional performing arts background had too many limitations in their acting styles, so he preferred to work with newcomers. The approach that some newcomers had toward acting was still not fixed, so there was a lot of room for development in their acting. Su Shen’s performance just now without any props or lines really moved him. Before, he had thought that Li Xun was exaggerating when he said that Su Shen was the top-rising female actress among the new generation. However, with what he had just witnessed, he believed that Su Shen’s potential was far greater than that.

“Okay, you can leave now,” the director suddenly said.

The director didn’t show whether he liked her performance or not, and Su Shen didn’t hesitate to bow slightly before turning around and leaving the audition room. Perhaps still immersed in the emotions from the scene, tears continued to fall from her eyes. Yao Yin came over and hugged her, leading her back.

After coming down and getting in the car, Su Shen then slowly came back to her senses. However, she realized that she hadn’t said goodbye to Tong Le. She asked Yao Yin, who was driving in front, “Do you know Tong Le?”

She had noticed that the way Yao Yin looked at Tong Le earlier was a little weird, even though it was a small movement, she still noticed it.

“Tong Le? The girl you were chatting with?” Yao Yin continued to turn the steering wheel, appearing calm without much emotional fluctuations before saying calmly, “She’s Yunxing Entertainment Fang zong’s woman. That Fang Kun likes these young girls the most. Although he has a wife, his wife turns a blind eye to it. It’s common in the industry. But Fang Kun has always been generous to his women. He gave her a role not too long ago. It’s worth noting that a starlet like Yang Zhi would normally be invited to play it..”

As for these unspoken rules, Yao Yin seemed to have become accustomed to them, as they were the norm in the entertainment industry. However, Su Shen still felt somewhat uncomfortable after hearing about it. Many people would choose this shortcut to fame, but she didn’t expect that Tong Le would also go down this path in just over a year.

This was just every person’s choice. So, all along, Su Shen felt very lucky. She had her sister to help her, and later, there was Xie Yan to help her. Otherwise, she might’ve still been just an extra in some drama. Su Shen would not dislike Tong Le for this. Although she wouldn’t choose this path, she also had no right to judge others for right or wrong, because Su Shen had also experienced the plight of relying only on herself. So, in the past, she had been climbing up the ladder. It was just that this life she was fortunate enough to have such a great family. 

Despite this, she still felt a bit perplexed. By the time they returned to Shanghai, it was already 7:00 pm. There was no night shoot tonight, so she didn’t have to go to set and went straight back to the hotel. Yao Yin just had her wait for the news. Generally speaking, as long as the other newcomers didn’t stand out particularly, the role was hers.

The thunderstorm also started in Shanghai. Su Shen forgot to bring an umbrella, and she got quite wet when she rushed into the hotel after getting out of the car. In any case, she had to go back and take a shower.

Su Shen made her way to her room and swiped her room card. As she pushed open the door, she was surprised to see the lights on inside. Sitting on the sofa was a familiar figure who turned to look at her before saying, “Didn’t bring an umbrella?”

Seeing him, Su Shen immediately felt awkward and closed the door. The man got up from the sofa and walked towards her. Su Shen took only a few steps before she was grabbed by the waist and pressed against the wall. “Not bringing an umbrella when you go out, you don’t know to have someone fetch you one?”

He was too tall, and Su Shen found it exhausting to keep looking up at him, so she looked down and softly snorted, “Leave me be.”

Her face was still dotted with a few tiny raindrops, and her red lips pouted slightly, just like a sulky child. Xie Yan pursed his lips and couldn’t help but look down, his gaze piercing as he stared at her. “This matter can’t just leave you be.” 

“So you knew it was raining outside, but you didn’t bother to call and ask if I had an umbrella. Instead, you sneakily launched a surprise attack. Didn’t you say you wouldn’t come back to see me?” Su Shen looked up and glared at him.

Her arms were covered in raindrops, and Xie Yan reached out to hold her round and soft shoulders with one hand while lightly stroking the damp strands of hair at the back of her head with the other. “Okay, I was wrong. I’ll come see you openly in the future,” he said with a chuckle.

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Previewing the Relationship

The silver screen industry was actually a small circle. If you offended a bigshot director and you didn’t have a strong background, it was basically equivalent to being blacklisted by the mainstream silver screen industry. You would not have the chance to participate in some big productions and work with famous directors. However, if someone was willing to help you get into this small circle, it would definitely be helpful for your future opportunities because these big directors all liked to use acquaintances or people recommended by acquaintances. They rarely used unfamiliar actors because they didn’t need big-name stars to carry their movies. On the contrary, their movies could make actors famous. Therefore, they always chose actors based on their own preferences rather than their fame.

Upon hearing that Director Li recommended her for the audition, Su Shen was also surprised. With this, he was slowly leading her into the circle of famous directors, which was an opportunity that many people could not even dream of.

Hearing what He Hua just said, Su Shen simply responded with a soft “en”.

“By the way, you guys’ drama will start airing at the beginning of next month. I think we should warm up your guys’ relationship in advance so that when it’s announced, it wouldn’t be abrupt. Moreover, it can provide free publicity for the drama. What do you think?” He Hua suddenly suggested.

Hearing this, Su Shen was speechless. This guy really knew how to cut promotion costs. But she didn’t have any strong opinions on the matter, as she believed that someone as experienced as He Hua would handle things appropriately.

“What kind of hype do you have in mind?” Su Shen asked as she closed her laptop and crawled into bed.

Hearing this, a solemn voice sounded from the other end of the line. “What do you mean by hype? You guys aren’t hyping a CP. This is just making the most of the situation. When the time comes, as long as you guys interact more on Weibo, show a little ambiguity, such as posting couple outfits and couple phone cases, and leave the rest for others to guess. Do you still need me to teach you, youngsters, this kind of thing?”

He Hua’s voice was full of doubt. These two didn’t even know how to flirt properly. All they knew was getting caught by the paparazzi. They didn’t have any of the romance that youngsters should have.

Upon hearing his words, Su Shen didn’t know what to say. She and Xie Yan didn’t have any couple outfits or phone cases at all. It was too cringy.

“I… I’ll consider it with Xie Yan. Alright, I need to rest now,” said Su Shen and hung up soon after as the person on the other end went silent.

She lay in bed, with one arm out and exposed to the cool air blowing from the AC. After a moment of contemplation and feeling that Xie Yan must still be awake, she decided to send him a message, telling him what He Hua suggested.

Su Shen: What do you think of buying the same phone case?

After a while, a message was sent over by the other end.

Xie Yan: I prefer matching rings.

Turning off her phone, Su Shen blushed and pretended not to have seen the message before going to sleep. This man really didn’t miss any opportunity to tease her.

A few days later, Su Shen heard from He Hua that Xie Yan had gone abroad to film. Su Shen didn’t contact him, but she looked forward to him coming back to see her. This must be what it feels like to be in love, right?

—Mid-Month—

When the awards ceremony came around, He Hua accompanied Su Shen to attend the event. In the past, she would walk the red carpet with the rest of the cast, but this time, she walked alone. It wasn’t toward the end, walking after Li Xue, but before Yang Zhi. Ultimately, although her popularity and clout weren’t bad, it was still not stable. If her next drama was a hit, only then could she be considered to have truly entered the ranks of A-list starlets.

“I asked you guys to flirt, didn’t I? How come there’s been no interactions? Don’t tell me that I have to teach you how to do it?” said He Hua, turning back to look at her as they waited in the car for the red carpet.

As their eyes met, Su Shen looked down in embarrassment. What could she do? Right now, Xie Yan enjoyed teasing her, asking if she missed him every time they talked. She was afraid to even chat with him now.

“This… no need to rush, I know what to do,” replied Su Shen calmly.

Hearing this, He Hua just glanced at her without saying anything. These two really made him feel exasperated. When they should show PDA, they didn’t; when they shouldn’t, they insisted on doing so. In the end, he’s the one who has to worry.

Since it was quite boring, Su Shen wanted to take a selfie and post it online. She was wearing a white cocktail dress today. Although it was simple, it was well-fitted. It was styled by the top styling team that He Hua had hired, and the outfit was tailored according to her opinions and figure. Su Shen was quite satisfied with the result, so after taking a selfie and adding a filter, she posted it on Weibo.

Su Shen V: Entering the venue soon~ [photo]

After posting the selfie, a staff member outside informed them that it was almost her turn, so Su Shen had to put away her phone and get out of the car.

Walking the red carpet alone for the first time, Su Shen could clearly feel that there were more reporters calling out to her to look their way. She kept smiling, and when she reached the middle, the hostess asked her to go over for a bit.

“Su Shen, your hit drama just recently finished airing, and I heard that you have two more dramas to be released this year. You’re gonna dominate the screen~” The hostess laughed jokingly.

Facing so many cameras around her, Su Shen just smiled slightly, then held the microphone and joked with the hostess, “That’s why sometimes I think I’m going crazy.”

At this, the hostess laughed again and said, “Everyone says that your acting has improved so quickly. Are you happy to see it yourself?”

The cameras around her were still flashing, and occasionally, there were cameramen asking her to look at the camera. However, with so many cameras around her, Su Shen could only answer the hostess’ question for now, “I don’t think it’s the best, only better. I will continue to work hard and not let myself stay stagnant.”

Afterward, the hostess asked a few more questions before leaving Su Shen to pose for some photos alone before making her way toward the inside of the venue.

She was sitting with Li Xue and Ye Qianqian. Beside Li Xue was Yang Zhi and beside Ye Qianqian was Mu Yao. As Mu Yao and Yang Zhi didn’t get along, they could not sit together. Li Xue and Mu Yao also couldn’t sit together because they didn’t get along. Ye Qianqian and Yang Zhi didn’t get along either, so they couldn’t sit together. Su Shen and Yang Zhi had conflicting interests, so the production team separated their seats. Just with these few seat arrangements, the intricate and complex relationships and conflicts could not be fully described. As the seats were close to each other, it was inevitable that people would compare who was more beautiful, and this would lead to catfights among fans.

Li Xue’s look today was unremarkable but not ugly, while Yang Zhi went for a more mature look with a blazer dress, giving off an intellectual vibe. Ye Qianqian opted for a girly girl look, wearing a pinky A-line dress that looked quite ethereal. On the other hand, Mu Yao’s look was a bit of a failure, exposing her thick calves, and her black lace dress appeared somewhat outdated. However, she would probably photoshop later. Each studio has a dedicated photo editor, and the salaries of top photo editors were also quite high.

When Su Shen took her seat, Li Xue was already sitting there. Shortly after, Ye Qianqian also arrived. Su Shen had met Ye Qianqian on the reality show before, they were not close, but they could still chat.

“Su Shen, what kind of mask do you usually use? You’re so fair.” Ye Qianqian started chatting with her out of boredom.

Women usually chatted about these kinds of topics, especially in the entertainment industry where appearance was highly valued. Su Shen just smiled at the question and whispered, “I usually don’t use masks, but I pay attention to applying sunscreen. The effect of most sunscreens is average, but I know of an Australian brand of sunscreen that’s not bad. I’ll send it to you later.”

“Ok, I thought you had some brightening methods too. Look at how tanned I am, I even want to go get a whitening injection,” joked Ye Qianqian. She really envied people with fair skin, especially those like Su Shen who were both fair and slim, which made others jealous.

Su Shen just smiled upon hearing that. By this time, Mu Yao and Yang Zhi had also arrived. Once they had all taken their seats, Yang Zhi seemed to strike up a conversation with Li Xue in order to avoid being alone. This left Mu Yao somewhat isolated, but she wasn’t one to sit idle. She immediately began chatting with an actress in the row behind her. 

There was drama even if women weren’t speaking. People sitting around them could clearly feel the invisible war between these women.

After the award ceremony began, Su Shen stopped chatting with Ye Qianqian and instead went on her phone. She noticed that Xie Yan had commented on her Weibo post.

Thinking it was a fake account, she clicked on it to check. But with that 70 million follower count, it was evident that it was his real account. For a moment, Su Shen even suspected that it was He Hua who had commented. However, from the tone of the comment, she knew it was Xie Yan himself.

Xie Yan V: Got it. //@Su Shen: Entering the venue soon~ [photo]

Netizen A: This…. scared me, I thought it was a fake account. [joy]

Netizen B: OP, you’re not alone. This awkward chatting tone of Yan ge’s, it must be him. [joy]

Netizen C: They actually… interacted???

Netizen D: Xie Yan and Su Shen have worked together in a drama. They are great friends, thank you. [smiley face]

Netizen E: AHAHAHA, with that awkward chatting tone, Yan ge, you can easily lose friends. [joy]

Su Shen felt helpless. She knew from the tone that it was definitely Xie Yan himself. He actually had the time to comment on her post, he really did as He Hua instructed. However, Su Shen was very worried because she didn’t fully trust Xie Yan, and had a feeling that he might post something unexpected. After all, he was a repeat offender.

At this time, the award ceremony had started awarding awards, and the camera would sweep a shot of the audience from time to time, so Su Shen put away her phone and watched the stage.

Wang Cheng was also in attendance, but he sat on the other side and received the award for “Media’s Most Noticed Actor”. When it was time for the “Outstanding & Popularity Award”, the camera would sweep a shot of their row of people from time to time.

The award presenter was still warming up the stage. Ye Qianqian, on the other hand, jokingly whispered to her in a good mood, “If you win it, you’ll definitely anger a lot of people to death.”

Knowing who she was alluding to, Su Shen smiled and said nothing. Li Xue, beside her, remained indifferent. Since her news media index wasn’t high, she knew she wouldn’t have a chance at the award. On either side, Yang Zhi and Mu Yao also remained indifferent. This award was actually just for the fans, so they would have more confidence when arguing with other fans in the future.

“The winner of the 28th TV Drama Outstanding & Popularity Award is…” The female presenter glanced at the winner card and then looked down at the group of actors below before saying into the microphone, “Su Shen!” 

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New Script

As their eyes met, Su Shen pursed her lips and glared at him, pushing his shoulder gently. “Don’t… think that I don’t know what you want to say.”

Xie Yan always liked to set her up like this. She didn’t understand it before, but she definitely understood it now.

“What do you think I wanted to say?” Xie Yan arched a brow as he fixed his gaze on her.

Su Shen remained silent, pursing her lips. She realized that Xie Yan was becoming more and more mischievous, always teasing her.

“It turned green.” Seeing that the light turned green ahead, she immediately pushed his shoulder.

Just at this moment, a honk sounded from behind them. Xie Yan smiled and pinched her soft cheek before returning to his seat and stepping on the gas pedal.

Su Shen glanced at him before closing her eyes and resting. She was exhausted from yesterday and wished she could sleep for a day and a night. 

It wasn’t until they arrived at the airport that she woke up in a daze. By this time, the scene outside was already bustling with people. Rubbing her temples, Su Shen sat up straight before reaching for the door. As if she had just thought of something, she turned to look at the person beside her.

“I’m going abroad soon.” He said, with one hand on the steering wheel, gazing at her. “You won’t see me until a month later.”

A month later would be at the premiere for their drama. Xie Yan would definitely be back for it. But at the thought of not seeing him for a month, Su Shen felt a little strange. 

“Well… you won’t come back to see me?” She said softly as she blinked her eyes, with one hand still on the car door.

Looking at her eyes full of his reflection, Xie Yan’s eyes darkened. However, he resisted his impulse and turned away from her. “You don’t miss me at all. Why should I come back to see you?” 

There were people coming and going under the bright sunshine. She didn’t know if there were any paparazzi following them this time or not, but she didn’t think too much of it as she muttered under her breath, “I won’t miss you at all.”

Seeing her push open the door and get out of the car just like this, leaving him sitting in the car watching her disappearing figure in the crowd, Xie Yan couldn’t help but smile wryly. Why did he fuss with someone who was so thin-skinned?

Just before turning the car around to go back, his phone suddenly made a sound. Glancing at it, he saw it was from Su Shen and immediately picked up the phone and opened the message.

Su Shen: I probably will miss you.

Looking at the message on the screen, a smile that couldn’t be dispersed appeared on Xie Yan’s face, but the message was soon unsent by the sender.

He cleared his throat and immediately sent a message over.

Su Shen was queuing to go through security. She deliberately pulled her cap down even more and looked at her phone in a hurry as soon as it sounded.

Xie Yan: What did you unsend?

Realizing that he didn’t see her message, Su Shen didn’t know whether she felt relieved or disappointed. Nevertheless, she replied with “It’s nothing” and decided to wait a little longer before unsending a message next time.

Checking-in went pretty smoothly, but after getting on the flight, she was recognized by the flight attendants, so she signed some autographs and took several photos with them before finally resting. 

When she returned to set, it was already 6:00 pm, and the crew was still having dinner. Su Shen took the opportunity to go and have her makeup done.

Perhaps due to her recent small hits, some of the crew members would ask her for autographs. However, Xiao Zhou had some ready-made ones in her bag. These were all signed by someone that the agency had hired, as it was impossible for her to sign hundreds of photos alone when giving fan service to fans. Hence, people in the industry would use people like this to forge their signatures, it was practically a perfect imitation. However, Su Shen would still sign a few photos herself. 

When Su Shen returned to the hotel after wrapping up work, it was already 11:00 pm. She took a shower and laid down in bed exhausted. He Hua said that he had sent her a few scripts and asked her to look through them.

Su Shen leaned against the bed and opened her laptop to check the attachments in her inbox. These were all movie scripts. Perhaps, He Hua thought she should focus on entering the silver screen. After all, she still had two dramas waiting to be aired, and movies were the best way to improve her status in the industry.

Among the scripts, two of them were commercial movies with the role of the female lead. The production crew was average, but for someone like her who had just entered the silver screen, it was almost impossible to land this kind of role. However, with He Hua’s ability, it wasn’t uncommon to obtain such opportunities.    

However, these two commercial movies were too mainstream, and the scripts were average, not particularly outstanding. Su Shen was more interested in this modern and realistic movie. 

It was a story about a girl seeking revenge. Her father was a senior executive of a corporation but was reported by someone for embezzlement, leading to his arrest, where he eventually died in prison. The person who reported her father took over his position and lived a colorful life, continuously getting promoted. Meanwhile, the girl’s family fell apart after her father’s imprisonment. Her mother suffered from a serious stomach illness that required hospitalization, but they had no money. As she needed to raise her daughter, she had no choice but to go work as a dishwasher, writhing in pain every night. The girl could only stand outside the door silently crying. Relatives avoided them because of her father’s embezzlement, and her mother did not want to ask anyone for help. She struggled to raise her daughter to adulthood and told her that her father was wronged and was framed by someone. 

The seed of hatred sprouted in the girl’s heart. She worked part-time to support herself through college, and that was where she met the male lead. After discovering that the male lead’s father was the one who reported her father, she began planning her revenge.

She began to get close to the male lead, who already had feelings for her, so soon enough, they got together. He treated her very well, and she had moments of wavering, but every time she saw her mother, whose temples were filled with gray hair, the seed of hatred grew again. When the male lead took her home to meet his family, she hid her true feelings and his family all liked her a lot. However, in order to take revenge, she intentionally snuck into his father’s study when he wasn’t at home and leaked confidential business information to the male lead’s father’s rival. Moreover, when she was staying over at the male lead’s house one night and taking advantage of his father coming home drunk, she put on an act that he was trying to force himself on her, which caused the male lead to come down from upstairs to witness this scene, causing him to hate his father and bringing the female lead away. 

The male lead had a falling out with his family. He didn’t expect his father to be this kind of person. The female lead started to soften her heart. She didn’t expect the male lead to break ties with his family for her. The female lead didn’t feel happy at all even when the male lead’s father accepted to be investigated for leaking confidential business information, and his mother had a car accident while running to and fro. 

At this point, the male lead finally became aware of the female lead’s plot. He questioned her, and she admitted that she was behind everything, revealing everything and saying that everything was his father’s fault. If it wasn’t for him, her family wouldn’t have fallen apart.

The male lead, however, didn’t hold it against her and instead, brought a recording from his father. It turned out that the female lead’s father was indeed involved in embezzlement, and the male lead’s father reported him in an attempt to climb up the ranks. He didn’t blame her and only hoped that she could let go of her hatred. 

However, the female lead couldn’t let it go and couldn’t accept the truth about her father’s embezzlement. Despite the male lead’s repeated efforts to persuade her to stay, she still left with her mother to another city. The male lead’s mother underwent surgery and recovered. His father was also cleared of his name. Many years later, the male and female leads met once again. By then, he already had his own family, while she remained alone in the entire world.

This was a heavy story. Hatred could really destroy a lot of things. The one who loved first was the one who left first. The one who claimed to not have loved ended up being the one who couldn’t forget. 

The director of this movie was a super well-known one. Not understanding how He Hua got hold of this script and thought that some things needed to be said, she gave He Hua a call. 

The call rang for a bit before finally connecting. It was clear that the person on the other end still hadn’t slept as he said after connecting, “How was it? Did you meet Xie Yan’s parents today?”

Leaning against the bedhead, Su Shen rubbed her temples and felt that her vision was a bit blurry after looking at her laptop for too long. “Not bad. By the way, I’ve read the scripts you sent me. I think that the revenge one is not bad, but why would they come to me for this kind of production?” 

This was what puzzled Su Shen the most. This kind of big production usually sought actresses who had won a Best Actress. Could it be that He Hua has some connection with that director?

Hearing this, He Hua replied slowly, “It was Director Xu who came to us on his own initiative. He wants to use all newcomers for this movie. Plus, it seems like Director Li recommended you to him, so he sent over the script. But, you still need to audition. As long as your performance is not too bad, you should be able to pass.”

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Satisfied

Su Shen looked at Xie Yan somewhat awkwardly as the latter sat there indifferent and saying calmly, “Good things come to those who wait.” 

Su Shen: “……..”

She sat blushing in the corner of the sofa, while the Chinese opera was still singing in a high-pitched voice. Mama Xie glanced at Xie Yan in shock, as if she hadn’t expected that after only a few months of not seeing him, her son would say such corny words. 

Xie Quan also looked at his son strangely before turning to smile at Su Shen. “Xiao Su, you’ve been shooting a film with Li Xun lately, right?”

“That’s right.” Su Shen nodded slightly.

Xie Quan looked a bit older than the photos online, with white hair on his temples and deep wrinkles on his forehead. When looking at Xie Yan, he immediately exuded an aura of authority, like those directors who directed and gave commands without compromise. However, he appeared friendly and kind when he stood up. 

“Not bad. To be able to be chosen by him means that you’re definitely capable.” Xie Quan smiled, picked up the hot tea on the table, and took a sip before continuing, “But I’ve watched your performances, and your acting is too harsh sometimes, which is your biggest flaw.”

Hearing this, Mama Xie couldn’t help but glare at him. “How could you say that? Do you think you’re still directing?!”

“Auntie, it’s okay. I’m grateful to have the opportunity to hear Uncle’s opinions,” said Su Shen in a hurry.

It was rare to have a veteran director give her advice, which was a fortune that she couldn’t get even if she wanted to. Naturally, Su Shen wouldn’t refuse.

Xie Quan glanced at Mama Xie and said, “Do you know what art is?”

With that, Mama Xie coldly snorted and said, “I don’t! You’re super amazing!”

After saying that, she turned around and went out to water the flowers. Su Shen didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Some veteran artists could be quite persistent about certain things.  

After seeing her leave, Xie Quan suddenly picked up the remote and switched to Hunan TV. Just at this time, her drama was being rerun. It just so happened to be airing the scene where Su Shen was being chased and driven to the edge of a cliff. The cliff was created through CGI, so Su Shen had to imagine the scene in order to deliver her performance. 

“From a professional perspective, there are no flaws in your performance in this scene, and in the eyes of the general audience, it is indeed good acting. However, on a deeper level, your acting is limited to just that – acting,” said Xie Quan as he switched to a movie channel. Just at this moment, a foreign blockbuster was playing, with the female lead having won an Oscar for her performance. The movie had once swept the world.

“Look at this, where do you think the difference lies between your performance and hers?” Xie Quan asked as he looked at her solemnly.

She noticed that he became very serious whenever he talked about acting. This was a scene where the hero was injured, but the heroine couldn’t go to his aid. The female lead cried very movingly. After observing the female lead in the movie and putting herself into her shoes, Su Shen’s initial thought was to cry even harder. But after being questioned by Xie Quan, she realized that she was making a mistake. She had been too focused on how to act, and not integrating herself into the reality of the scene. If she was the female lead, she would definitely have cried harder and more movingly. Contrastively, the female lead didn’t cry excessively, she just covered her mouth to stop herself from calling out the hero’s name, while tears filled her eyes. Although she didn’t cry hard, her sorrow was conveyed more effectively.

“However, if we truly immerse ourselves with the character, it would be hard to get out of character.” Su Shen’s expression also became serious. When it came to acting, they were now just a senior and a junior.

There were many classic movies both domestically and internationally, but the effort behind each classic was more than what people imagined. Acting was one thing, but immersing with the character was another. Getting out of character was not something that you can just smile and do.

Many comedians were classic on screen, but most had depression behind the scenes. There was an actor in the industry who became famous after winning three Best Actors awards for a single movie, but it was also because he immersed himself too deeply in the role that he often talked to himself in real life. He had to undergo treatment for a long time before finally recovering. However, he has since switched to working behind the scenes. Strong-willed people would know how to adjust their state of mind, but for those who weren’t, immersing themselves too deeply in a role could be harmful to them. In the Republic of China film that Su Shen was currently shooting, every time she immersed herself in the role, she would think of her past life, and there would be a myriad of emotions. At times like this, she felt just like the supporting female lead and really wanted to smoke a cigarette. However, she always sat alone for a while, adjusting her emotions before breaking out of character. It was an unpleasant feeling. As the saying goes, if you play other people’s lives too much, you wouldn’t be able to tell which one was truly yourself.

“If you want to win an award, you must have the heart to bear that award. But, you’re already great. It’s not easy to have such insight at such a young age,” said Xie Quan, smiling as he pushed his reading glasses up. “I’m just falling back on old habits. I can’t direct anymore, but I’ll still be able to make a documentary for when the two of you get married.” 

Hearing this, Su Shen felt embarrassed and looked down, her ears turning red.

Others may not know that she was shy, but Xie Yan knew. He deliberately put his arm around her shoulder before saying softly, “Ignore him. We’ll find someone to film ourselves.”

At that, Su Shen couldn’t help but glare at him and felt that Xie Yan was definitely the biological child of Director Xie.

Seeing that the two of them were still being so lovey-dovey, Xie Quan got up and went to his study. He felt that his son would be able to win his wife home soon. 

Seeing him leave, Su Shen still wanted to say something, but Xie Yan embraced her shoulder tightly and said earnestly, “Don’t listen to his rambling. You can treat acting as a hobby, but not as everything.”

As their eyes met, Su Shen felt that this sentence from Xie Yan contained a deeper meaning, but she didn’t think too much of it and just nodded. Naturally, she wouldn’t put all her energy into acting. After all, she still had other aspects of life to live. 

Xie Yan must’ve been influenced by his dad to enter the entertainment industry, but he didn’t choose to follow the same field as his dad in dramas, instead opting for movies. These two fields were completely different. If he had relied on his dad’s connections, he could have easily picked the best opportunities for dramas, but he chose to enter the film industry. Thus, Xie Yan’s first role was a male lead for a low-budget production. It’s worth noting that he was already under He Hua at that time, and an opportunity like this was ordinary. However, the film unexpectedly became a hit, possibly due to its originality and good box office performance at the time. Afterward, Xie Yan’s resources gradually improved, but he was too lazy and only filmed a maximum of two movies a year. The idol drama he filmed with her last year was an unexpected variable.

During lunchtime, Su Shen helped around in the kitchen, even though Mama Xie insisted that she didn’t need to. However, Su Shen insisted on staying and gradually took over the cooking. After making a table full of food, she went to the living room to call the father and son who were chatting to come and eat. 

“Shen Shen is truly the most talented girl I’ve ever seen. Not only can she cook well, but that piece of Su embroidery was also actually done by her. Goodness, I’ve hired professional embroiderers before and their work wasn’t even as good as hers. I can’t believe she did that herself,” Mama Xie said, her face filled with disbelief as she looked at Su Shen. Despite being shocked, she regained her composure and couldn’t believe that such a perfect girl was her son’s girlfriend. 

Feeling a bit embarrassed by her praises, Su Shen slowly took a bite of rice and smiled. “Auntie, you’re too kind. I usually don’t embroider so well. I outdid myself this time.”

The five dishes and one soup on the dining table smelled, looked, and tasted great. After taking a sip of wine with satisfaction, Xie Quan looked at Su Shen in admiration and said, “When you have time, I would like to have a meal with your parents.”

Hearing this, Su Shen nearly choked on her food. Just at this moment, someone handed her a glass of water. Without hesitation, she took it and slowly took a sip. She then looked at Xie Quan with embarrassment and said, “Um… I’ll let my parents know.” 

Her voice was soft and gentle, and her fair face held a hint of shyness. At a glance, one could tell that she was an innocent child. As Mama Xie looked at her more and more, she became increasingly satisfied. She had never expected her son to find her such a good daughter-in-law. Fortunately, she hadn’t pressured him to go on any more blind dates, or else they might’ve missed out on such a good girl.

“Do you want a drink?” asked Xie Yan, who was beside her and leaned over.

Hearing this, Su Shen simply shook her head and said, “No, water is fine.”

After saying this, she then took another sip of water. Meanwhile, Xie Yan picked up a few pieces of food into her bowl, seemingly worried that she wasn’t eating enough.

Watching this scene, Xie Quan could only shake his head slightly. His son seemed to have changed into another person since he started dating. He used to never make small talk with them, but now, he knew how to show concern for his girlfriend.

Su Shen was forced to eat a large bowl of rice. As she had to return to set in the afternoon, she had to go to the airport early. Before leaving, Xie Quan also left her his phone number, saying that she could come to him if she encountered any problems in the future. Nevertheless, he still had some connections in this industry.

Having been in the industry for decades, he had more than just a few connections. However, Su Shen just smiled and expressed her thanks. She naturally wouldn’t really come to him, but the pleasantries still needed to be said. 

After getting into the car, she was still a little muddleheaded. She felt like she had discovered a secret and wondered if He Hua knew about it.

“Does He Hua know about you and your dad?” Su Shen couldn’t help but ask.

As the car sped on the highway with Xie Yan holding the steering wheel, his expression remained indifferent. “No.”

Hearing this, Su Shen was somewhat still in disbelief. There should be some traces of it, unless Xie Yan never contacted his dad, or maybe they hid it well. If his childhood photos were not leaked, it would be difficult to tell as an adult.

“Are you going abroad sometime in the middle of this month?” Su Shen asked, turning her head and quietly gazing at his side profile.

Hearing this, the latter just uttered a soft “en” as the sunlight outside shone on his face, making his handsome features even more defined.

Su Shen quietly gazed at him for a while before eventually closing her eyes and leaning back to rest.

As the car slowly came to a stop at a red light, Su Shen opened her eyes slightly and saw that the light was red. Just at this moment, Xie Yan suddenly leaned over and grabbed her shoulders. “My parents really like you. What to do?”

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Meeting His Parents

Su Shen didn’t want to talk with him at all. This man was too cunning, appearing to be unassuming on the surface. No wonder He Hua had not been able to take advantage of him.

After breakfast, Su Shen went to change her clothes into a simple and elegant blue dress. If she overdressed, she would definitely appear too lofty. It was better to be down-to-earth and friendly. 

After getting in the car, it suddenly occurred to her that she still didn’t know what Xie Yan’s parents did, but she didn’t want to talk to him, so she just sat there and went on her phone.

The drama starring her and Jiang Yin was not broadcasted weekly, so the ending would already be airing next week. The viewership rating was steady at Top 2. Simultaneously airing, the popularity of Immortal Road had been dropping because it aired weekly. He Hua said that she had been nominated for the annual most popular actress of the year award at one of the small screen award ceremonies. Other nominees include popular young starlets such as Yang Zhi, Li Xue, Mu Yao, and Ye Qianqian. This was also a kind of affirmation of one’s fame, mainly based on various news media rankings of artists. Although their drama was not a huge hit, it was definitely a small hit. It was just that Zhu Qinqin had too many scenes in the latter part of the drama that wrecked the overall feel of the drama.

Netizen A: Poor Su Shen, only appearing for a total of 5 minutes in 3 episodes combined. Did this supporting actress join the production with investment? [smiley face]

Netizen B: Zhu Qinqin’s shitty acting has consistently been the same for the past decade. Whenever I see her, I just want to [vomit].

Netizen C: This drama’s to prop the supporting actress, right? Poor Su Su. [aggrieved]

Netizen D: The female lead is reduced to a supporting character. The supporting female lead won’t end up with the male lead later, right?

Netizen E: It’s said that Su Shen has a powerful background. If she really did, would her scenes be deleted to this extent?

Netizen F: I used to like Jiang Yin a lot, but after watching this drama, I’m suddenly repulsed by him. Why did he choose a scumbag role? [vomit]

Nowadays, people were all criticizing the latter part of the drama. He Hua must’ve enlarged the fact that her scenes were cut to gain the public’s sympathy. This was the best time to gain popularity since people generally sympathized with the underdog in unfair situations. 

Su Shen’s Weibo fan count has also increased to 15 million. Now, even a casual selfie could get tens of thousands of comments. Having experienced being attacked all over the internet, this feeling of being famous overnight did not excite her too much. The entertainment industry was ever-changing, and who knew if she would fall again tomorrow? it was better to keep a calm mindset. 

“We didn’t seem to use any protective measures yesterday.”

Su Shen: “…….”

His sudden words made her look up blankly. Looking at the man who was still driving, her face gradually warmed up. 

Turning his head slightly, he looked at her in all seriousness and said, “It’s alright. I’m not young anymore, and my parents have been wanting a grandchild.”

As their eyes met, Su Shen couldn’t help blushing, and for a moment, she didn’t know what to say. In the entertainment industry, getting married in your 30s or 40s was common, and getting married before 30 was already considered early. In the eyes of ordinary people, Xie Yan was at the right age to get married. However, in the entertainment industry, there were many people his age who had not yet gotten married. 

“But.… what if I’m not pregnant?” Su Shen couldn’t help but glance at him, feeling like she had already been subtle enough with her words. 

Hearing this, Xie Yan’s expression remained unchanged, and said in a deep voice, “We can get married first, then have a child.”

Su Shen: “………..”

Looking down, she didn’t say anything, but her cheeks were slightly flushed. Regarding marriage, she had always thought it was better to go with the flow, and she hadn’t even met Xie Yan’s parents yet, so she didn’t know if they would like her. 

Perhaps sensing her thoughts, Xie Yan turned to look at her and chuckled, “You weren’t so unconfident when you rejected me back then.”

At that, Su Shen immediately looked up and frowned. “When have I rejected you?”

She clearly agreed so quickly. Where was the rejection?

“I hinted at you so many times, but you ignored it. Isn’t that a form of rejection?” said Xie Yan, his voice tinged with inquiry as he turned the steering wheel. 

At that, Su Shen blushed and coughed lightly, keeping silent. She did notice Xie Yan’s feelings for her, but she didn’t want to date so early. However, Xie Yan had been persistent for so long that even if she was made of stone, she should have figured things out by then.

Under a weird atmosphere throughout the drive, the car eventually stopped at the entrance of a small mansion. Su Shen was a little nervous. Regardless, she still hoped to receive the blessings of both parents.  

After getting out of the car, she saw many kinds of flowers planted in the garden at the front, blooming beautifully in this season. There were beautiful purples and brilliant reds blooming gorgeously. The trees and branches were neatly trimmed. It could be seen that there was someone taking good care of them regularly.  

Su Shen didn’t not have any preparation at all. Upon hearing that Xie Yan’s mom liked Su embroidery*, Su Shen prepared a piece of embroidery showcasing various flowers in bloom that she had previously started when she was bored. Although she had only embroidered half of it, she recently fished it out again and had been working on finishing the other half whenever she had time. Su embroidery required a lot of time. If she hadn’t already embroidered half of it, she wouldn’t have been able to finish it in such a short amount of time.

Su embroidery* – one of the four major traditional styles of Chinese embroidery that originated from Suzhou; it is known for its delicate and intricate stitches, which are often used to depict natural scenery, flowers, and birds

For Xie Yan’s dad, she prepared some tea, as Xie Yan said that his dad did not particularly like anything, which made it somewhat difficult for Su Shen to decide what to prepare. 

“What should I do? I’m a little nervous.” She stood at the door and suddenly felt hesitant to go in.

This was the first time seeing her being so nervous. She wasn’t even so nervous at the awards ceremony last time. Xie Yan lowered his head and planted a kiss on her cheek. “Still nervous?” 

Su Shen widened her eyes and glared at him. The latter then held her hand and slowly led her inside. 

In the living room, there seemed to be Chinese opera playing, more specifically Peking Opera. The decor of the whole living room was reminiscent of the old generation, even the sofa was made of leather. On the wall hung a framed landscape painting, which was clearly the work of a famous artist. Upon closer inspection, Su Shen felt that she could paint something similar if she put in the effort. 

Just at this moment, a middle-aged woman wearing purple athletic clothes suddenly walked out of the kitchen. She looked very young and had a great temperament. She was holding a plate of fruits. When she saw the two of them, her complexion immediately changed, and came over with a smile. “You heartless brat, you’re finally willing to bring your girlfriend home.” 

Approaching them, Mama Xie inadvertently glanced at Su Shen from top to bottom. Looking at her pretty face, she immediately smiled happily and said, “You must be Su Shen, right? What a beauty! Auntie has been abroad for a while. If I had known earlier, I would’ve come back to see you two earlier.”

As she spoke, the person sitting on the sofa watching Chinese opera also turned around and coldly snorted at the sight of Xie Yan. However, upon seeing Su Shen, his expression softened and put on his glasses before walking toward them.

“Uncle, please have a seat.” Su Shen hurried forward and gave her greetings. She couldn’t help feeling a bit surprised upon seeing him, who was in his 50s or 60s. 

Xie Quan was a well-known director for his expertise in producing works set in the Republic of China era and during the Anti-Japanese War. He had won three Best Director awards but had remained low-profile over the years as his works were mainly fictional historical works. Su Shen had heard of him before because her dad enjoyed watching these types of works, so she also followed the director in passing. However, Xie Quan hasn’t directed any work in recent years. Su Shen didn’t expect that he was actually Xie Yan’s dad!

“No need to be so formal, just sit down and make yourself at home,” said Xie Quan, pushing up his glasses and sitting across from her with a kind expression.

“Right, right, make yourself at home. Xiao Su, what kind of fruit do you like? Auntie will go get it for you,” said Mama Xie with a smile.

Su Shen immediately got up and said politely, “Auntie, it’s alright. I’m not very hungry.”

The TV was still playing Chinese opera. Mama Su kept smiling at Su Shen, becoming more and more satisfied as she looked at her. This girl had a beautiful smile and a great temperament. She had heard that she was also skilled in the four arts*. It turned out that her son also liked girls with classicality. 

four arts – guzheng, Go, calligraphy, painting

Speaking of which, seeing that Xie Yan was still looking at Su Shen, Xie Quan, who was sitting on the sofa, glanced at him and frowned. “You still know how to find a girlfriend! I thought you wanted to be single forever!”  

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Softhearted

“Hmph, do you think I will believe you?” said Su Shen, turning her head away from him. 

After glancing around, Xie Yan suddenly leaned over and kissed her slightly pouted lips before saying mellowly, “You have to believe me.”

Su Shen covered her mouth subconsciously and looked out the window, only to see He Hua staring toward them, frightening her to push him on the shoulder immediately. “Quickly drive!”

Seeing her panic, Xie Yan couldn’t help but chuckle. He stepped on the gas and slowly turned the steering wheel. 

When the car was far away from that street, Su Shen looked back at the TV station which was getting farther and farther before finally glaring at him. “You’re still saying you didn’t do it on purpose? You knew that He Hua was outside, but you still …”

Speaking of this, she blushed and turned her head away from him. She found that Xie Yan was getting more and more bad now. 

“He didn’t see it.” Xie Yan pursed his lips, but a faint smiling expression couldn’t help appearing on his face. 

“How could he not see it? You’re doing it on purpose, aren’t you? The phone call today was also on purpose. You sleeping during the day? Xie laoshi, your acting’s so great!” Su Shen frowned and turned to look outside the window. She didn’t believe Xie Yan would sleep during the day. 

Slowly turning the steering wheel with both hands, Xie Yan looked at the road ahead and explained insipidly, “I had a headache, so I rested for a bit.”

Hearing this, Su Shen immediately turned around and stared at him seriously. “What’s wrong?”

Glancing at her from the corner of his eye and seeing her concerned expression, Xie Yan smiled. “It’s nothing, just a chronic thing.”

Xie Yan wouldn’t use something like this to lie to her. It turned out that he really was unwell. Su Shen blinked and just stared at him. 

Perhaps being stared at by her made him somewhat uneasy, Xie Yan reached out to caress her head suddenly. “If you look at me like this, we might get into a car accident.”

The scenery outside the window was ever-changing. Su Shen looked at him helplessly and then continued to look at the road ahead. At this time, there weren’t many cars on the road, but if it was during the day, they would’ve been stuck in heavy traffic. 

“You didn’t have to come pick me up. The chauffeur would’ve sent me back,” said Su Shen suddenly lightly. 

He glanced at her from the corner of his eye and asked, “Back to?”

Su Shen: “…….”

Blushing, she turned her head away and ignored him. Xie Yan was getting more and more cunning now. No wonder even He Hua couldn’t do anything about him.

They kept silent throughout the drive. At last, the car stopped at the door of Xie Yan’s mansion. Su Shen could only unfasten her seatbelt and get out of the car. After he parked the car, they then entered the mansion together. 

When the lights in the living room were turned on, the whole living room was shrouded in light. After changing her shoes, Su Shen came to the kitchen and opened the fridge. Since Xie Yan has a headache, he should eat something light, so she decided to make a bowl of women. 

But before she could take out the cabbage, a pair of hands suddenly appeared on her waist and a weight rested on her shoulder. A deep and magnetic voice instantly sounded in her ears, “I haven’t eaten all day.” 

Her neck itched. Blushing, Su Shen closed the fridge and waved the cabbage in her hand. “I’m making something for you right now.”

She didn’t have time to remove her makeup. The first thing she wanted to do was to cook dinner for him. Her bright eyes reflected his figure as if he was the only person in her eyes at this moment. 

He suddenly pulled her into his arms, burying his head into her neck and saying, “I want you to cook for me for a lifetime.”

The light overhead was so dazzling that it felt unreal. A certain area seemed to be throbbing. Blushing, Su Shen felt a little uncomfortable in his arms. “You’re too wicked. If I’m old to the point of not being able to move, you’re still gonna have me serve you?”

At this, Xie Yan chuckled and said cheerfully, “I’ll serve you then.”

After saying that, he released her and caressed her head. “I’m gonna take a shower.” 

Su Shen: “…….”

Looking at his figure going upstairs slowly, Su Shen felt that he was simply too wicked. If he was gonna go take a shower, go shower. Why did he need to tell her!

Holding the cabbage, she went to find some noodles. Since she had already eaten at the TV station, she only needed to cook a portion for one for Xie Yan. 

As she was afraid that the noodles would stick together, Su Shen didn’t pour any broth into the bowl until Xie Yan had come down. Then, she sprinkled some green onions into the bowl and served it to him. 

“Take your time. If it’s not enough, I’ll come down and make some more for you later.” After saying that, Su Shen went upstairs. After a whole day of work, she needed a bath. 

Seeing her disappearing figure from upstairs, Xie Yan turned his gaze to the fragrant bowl of noodles in front of him. It seemed that no matter what she made, it all looked very appetizing.  

When she came upstairs, Su Shen took out her clothes from the closet and specially checked if there was a towel before entering the bathroom. Fortunately, there were all kinds of towels this time. 

After washing her hair, she filled the bathtub with hot water before entering and laying down. When the hot water enveloped her whole body, the tiredness of the day seemed to completely disappear. 

After soaking for about ten minutes or so, Su Shen got up and put on her clothes. When she came out after blow-drying her hair, Xie Yan was still sitting downstairs watching TV. Looking at the finished bowl of noodles on the table, she couldn’t help but ask, “Do you want more?” 

Although it wasn’t good to eat too much at night, Su Shen still wanted him to eat more. 

She just took a shower, so her hair was still slightly wet. Under the loose nightgown, her fair slender legs seemed to be so lustrous. Xie Yan placed his laptop down, reached out to grab her fair wrist, and pulled her to sit on his legs. Without waiting for her to contest, he buried himself in her fragrant neck and muttered, “My head hurts.” 

Su Shen stopped her struggling movement. Seeing his frown, she reached out to touch his forehead and said worriedly, “If it hurts, let’s go to the hospital.” 

He should feel better with some prescribed painkillers. 

“No need,” said Xie Yan hoarsely, wrapping his arms around her soft waist and leaning against her neck with his eyes closed. “It’s a hereditary thing. I’ll be fine after a while.” 

Hearing this, Su Shen’s heart ached even more. She could only hug him, silently sitting there with him. 

She had thought it was a condition caused when Xie Yan was filming, but she didn’t expect that it was a hereditary thing. However, this kind of hereditary condition was the most difficult to cure, and the relapse was not regular either. Clearly, He Hua didn’t know about this either. Of course, it could also be because Xie Yan didn’t tell him. 

After a long while, Xie Yan then looked up and rubbed his temples. “I’m fine, you can go to bed first.” 

Su Shen was still sitting on his legs. Seeing his slightly relaxed frown, she paused before gathering her courage to put her arms around his waist. Feeling his body freeze, she said softly, blushing, “I… I’m scared that something might happen to you.” 

Feeling the slightly trembling petite figure in his arms, Xie Yan suddenly felt somewhat hopeless, so he held her shoulders and said fervently, “I’m fine now. If you want to sleep with me, then something will happen.” 

As their eyes met, Su Shen immediately evaded his gaze in a fluster. “I… I trust you.”

Hearing this, Xie Yan just wanted to laugh bitterly. He didn’t have the self-control to conduct himself in a proper manner. 

“Remember, my self-control is not that good.” As he spoke, he stared at her. Suddenly, he pressed her down on the soft sofa and kissed her red lips impatiently. He couldn’t tell whether he was in pain or in ecstasy. His hand slid along her snow-white leg to her thigh, wandering and caressing. 

Su Shen looked up and panted. Staring at the dazzling light ahead of her, she couldn’t help but ask, “Don’t … don’t you have a headache?”

“That’s why I need to divert my attention,” said Xie Yan hoarsely, as he trailed his kisses downward. Her faint fragrance attacked his nerves, making it impossible to ignore.  

He had given her a chance, so the fault was not on him. 

……

From the living room to the bedroom and then to the bathroom, Su Shen didn’t remember when she had fallen asleep. She just hated herself for being too softhearted!

When the alarm rang near her ears, Su Shen was still really sleepy, but she knew that she had to get up because she was going to meet Xie Yan’s parents today. 

As she slightly opened her eyes, a few rays of sunlight shone through the cracks in the curtains. Su Shen reached out to grab her phone, only to feel her whole body exhausted. It hurt last time, and it was exhausting this time, to the point where she wanted to sleep for another day and night. 

When she opened her phone and found that it was already half past eight, Su Shen immediately sat up on the bed. Just at this moment, a tall figure suddenly came in. Seeing him, she immediately pulled a long face. Men were all liars, and Xie Yan was the biggest liar of all!

“We can go in the afternoon if you’re still sleepy. I’ll let them know.” Brimming with vigor, Xie Yan seemed to be in a good mood as he came to the bedside, about to make the call as he spoke. 

Su Shen snorted and said hoarsely, “Who’s fault is it that I’m sleepy? What would your parents think of me if we delayed it to the afternoon when we had clearly planned it for the morning?”

Her hoarse voice was still so sweet-sounding. Looking at her lethargic face and seeing how she couldn’t even open her eyes, he couldn’t help but lean over and caress her head before saying softly, “Sorry, I couldn’t hold back.”

His self-control was never good, and he’s been trying his best to control himself. 

Glancing at him from the corner of her eye, Su Shen ignored him. This man was a big liar, promising that it was going to be the last round … 

“Go away! I’m going to brush my teeth!” Blushing, Su Shen tried not to think about what happened last night. 

The blanket perhaps was too smooth, so it slipped down, revealing the hickey bites all over her fair collarbone. With a slight cough, Xie Yan’s eyes darkened, and immediately looked away. “I bought soy milk and youtiao*. Make do with this for now.”

youtiao – Chinese fried doughnut sticks, a breakfast staple

He then turned around and walked out of the room. As soon as he left, Su Shen rolled around in bed again. At last, she had no choice but to get up with all her effort and get dressed.

When she came to the bathroom, she noticed that there was nothing on her neck, but there were hickeys elsewhere. She felt that Xie Yan was really too wicked. Knowing that she was going to meet his parents today, no wonder he didn’t leave anything on her neck.

After washing her face and brushing her teeth, she went downstairs and saw that Xie Yan was sitting there reading the newspaper all dapper. With a long face, Su Shen walked to the table and sat down before taking a sip of the soy milk. 

Seeing her poor complexion, Xie Yan put down the newspaper apologetically and said gently, “I’m sorry, I didn’t consider that you’ve been filming nonstop.”

Glancing from the corner of her eye and seeing the worry on his face, Su Shen’s heart softened again. “Forget it, just pay more attention next time.”

After saying that, she blushed all over again. Why did she have to say “next time” again!

Seeing that she looked down and didn’t dare to look at him, Xie Yan couldn’t help but lean over and stare at her with a smile. “Don’t worry, I’ll definitely pay more attention next time.”

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I’m Hungry

Hearing this, Su Shen just took a sip of the coffee in her hand and nodded slightly. 

Many people in the entertainment industry had quarrels with production teams over these sensitive questions. Thus, no matter which shows, the staff would divulge the general scale of the questions. However, Su Shen didn’t think it was a big deal since they were going to go public sooner or later.

“There may be a phone call segment later. Is that okay?” The staff asked. 

At this, Su Shen thought for a bit before nodding in the end.

Seeing that she was so cooperative, the staff quickly finished going over the rest of the itinerary with her and left, leaving only Su Shen and Xiao Zhou in the entire dressing room. 

Su Shen wanted to let Xie Yan know beforehand in case he would give it away later. After sending a message over, there was no reply from him even after a long while. God knows what he was doing.

It was not until a staff informed them that the dress rehearsal was about to begin that she stepped foot into the recording studio. The makeup for the rehearsal didn’t need to be that good, it was a different case for the official recording though.

The design of coming onto stage was rather cool. Su Shen would come onto stage with Jiang Yin, and Zhu Qinqin would enter with one of the supporting male leads. The assistant director and crew members were sitting below the stage, and the audience had yet to enter the recording studio.  

“Wow, Jiang Yin, you’re here again!” The hostess laughed teasingly.

Jiang Yin appeared on the variety show once when he was promoting his new album, and it was not long ago either. He came once again, so the hostess couldn’t help but tease him.

“If you’re not welcoming of me, I’ll go home then.” Jiang Yin pretended to be angry and walked back. Several of the hosts immediately laughed and pulled him back. Zhu Qinqin, who was closest to him, held his arm familiarly, but the latter inadvertently broke away from her. 

“How can we not be welcoming of you? You guys’ drama has been so popular lately, even my mom has been chasing after it. Can you divulge a little of the ending?” The host took over the conversation and chatted away. 

Jiang Yin just smiled mysteriously and said, “The ending is that the protagonists are all dead.”

“Omg, you’re so bad. At that time, the audience may send blades to the scriptwriter.” The hostess looked at Su Shen with a smile, “It seems that it is the first time for Su Shen to work with Jiang Yin. What kind of person do you think he is?”

There were no cameras below, only the director and some staff were watching the dress rehearsal. He Hua was also sitting below the stage. Standing next to Jiang Yin, Su Shen replied with a smile upon hearing this, “He’s a great singer and rather humorous sometimes. In private, he doesn’t maintain the image of an idol, which is pretty good.” 

It was a civil response, but Jiang Yin couldn’t help but glance at her, not knowing whether she was telling the truth or not. 

“I heard that Jiang Yin, you’re going to hold a concert soon. Can you give us a little live performance?” The hostess said with a microphone in her hand. 

This must’ve been scripted with Jiang Yin, so he nodded. The OST of their drama began playing. Jiang Yin held the microphone and looked at Su Shen as he slowly sang.  

“The rays of sunrise shone lightly on your fingertips. I miss your dimple-like smile. I remember the dazzling sight of when I first met you, wishing that time could stop…”

The OST was originally sung by Jiang Yin, and the performance just now was pretty good. When the other hosts saw this scene, they all had an intriguing expression, and even He Hua was watching the fun below. He should’ve brought Xie Yan here.   

Jiang Yin’s gaze focused on her, but Su Shen felt uncomfortable, so she stared at the audience with no expression on her face.  

As soon as the music stopped, several of the hosts shouted, “Jiang Yin, have you ever thought about inviting Su Shen to be a special guest at your concert?”

Before Jiang Yin could speak, Su Shen suddenly said with a smile, “I’m tone deaf. His fans might refund their tickets if he asks me.”

“You can sit in the audience and listen to me sing.” Jiang Yin suddenly turned to look at her.

All of a sudden, the atmosphere became awkward. Thankfully, a host quickly reacted and asked, “We all want to go. Are you gonna send us the tickets?”

Su Shen just kept a smile on her face and said nothing. On the other hand, Jiang Yin just said yes with a smile. 

After this topic passed, the hostess looked at the script and continued to the next topic. She looked at Su Shen and asked, “You’ve worked with so many actors. Who do you think is most like your ideal partner?”

This was a question that they had already gone over before, so Su Shen quickly replied with a microphone in hand, “I don’t really have an ideal type, it depends on the feelings.”

“I heard that you introduced Xie Yan to his girlfriend. Is this true?” asked the hostess curiously. 

It was just a rehearsal, and there were no cameras, so Su Shen couldn’t help laughing and nodded a bit. 

The hostess looked at the script and said, “But, there were also rumors that you guys’ relationship was not good before. They said it was because of your poor acting, and that Xie Yan also declined “Little Sunlight”. What do you think?” 

Hearing this, Su Shen held the microphone and said solemnly, “This is actually just everyone’s groundless speculation. Xie laoshi is one of my great seniors. He has taught me a lot, and we are not on bad terms.”

At this, the hostess immediately said, “Since you guys have a good relationship,  do you want to clarify it on the spot?”

“This… isn’t good, right? We haven’t contacted each other in a long time.” Before Su Shen could finish speaking, a staff asked Xiao Zhou to hand over her phone.

She didn’t know if she could call Xie Yan or not, but she could do nothing if the call didn’t connect. Anyways, it was just a rehearsal. Holding her phone, Su Shen scrolled through her contacts.

Fortunately, she just saved his number as “Xie Yan”, so she was not afraid of it being seen by others.

“Actually, I’m also single. Su Shen, you can also introduce a girlfriend to me if you have time,” said jokingly by one of the hosts. 

Hearing this, Su Shen couldn’t help laughing. Just at this moment, the number had been dialed, and that host even specially asked her to put it on speaker. 

Zhu Qinqin, who was standing to the side, watched this scene coldly and felt a little scornful in her heart. She used Xie Yan for clout in the end anyways. She always pretended to be so noble, yet was such a b***h!

“Brr!”

The phone rang a few times, but no one answered. Su Shen didn’t know what Xie Yan was doing, so she could only say to the hosts, “He’s probably busy with something.”

After saying that, the phone was suddenly connected, and a languid male voice sounded from the other end, “When are you coming back? I’m hungry.”

Su Shen: “…….”

With the speaker on, almost everyone on stage heard it, and everyone was stupefied. Below the stage, He Hua frowned and ran up to the stage. 

To her surprise, he was sleeping. Before Su Shen came to her senses, He Hua, who rushed onto stage, snatched her phone and hung up the call. He then waved to the executive director. “It’s an accident. You guys can continue!”

In any case, they were all hosts, so everyone quickly reacted. They had heard of the news through the grapevine, but it was not as shocking as witnessing it with their own eyes. They acted as if nothing happened, and the director asked them to continue rehearsing the other small games. 

Zhu Qinqin, on the other hand, stared at Su Shen. She had never thought that this b***h would hook up with Xie Yan. No wonder she had such good opportunities and resources lately and even signed under He Hua. It was clear as day what was going on!

Although the atmosphere toward the end of the rehearsal was somewhat awkward, everyone pretended that nothing had happened. However, Su Shen was a little embarrassed. She didn’t expect that Xie Yan would be napping at this time. He had never napped before!

After the rehearsal, He Hua was waiting for her in the lounge sullenly. Needless to say, he must’ve had a quarrel with Xie Yan just now, but it seemed that he didn’t win. 

“You guys better go public as soon as possible, so I won’t be on edge all day every day. Xie Yan must’ve done it on purpose, napping during the day. Does he think he is in his seventies and needs a noon break?!” He Hua got angrier the more he spoke. If the news leaked now, people would definitely attack Su Shen for hyping. This was simply asking for trouble!

“Actually, this can’t be blamed on him. I told him I was recording at night, so he must’ve not thought too much about it. You also know that he doesn’t understand variety show tapings.” Su Shen couldn’t help but explain. 

Hearing this, He Hua took a deep breath of his cigarette. Forget it. He’s used to this zuzong’s* willfulness. In any case, this wasn’t the first time.

zuzong – literally means “ancestor”, this term is used by someone to address/refer to another person who is hard to deal with, but they would be willing to satisfy their demands to make them happy

“There are so many people at the TV station. One person spreads to ten, ten spreads to a hundred, and the news can’t be blocked. Forget it. Just take it as a warm-up to you guys going public.” He Hua sighed helplessly and exhaled a smoke ring. 

Ordinary staff would definitely not break the news, and even if someone did, it was useless if there was no evidence. This kind of scandal was basically a norm in the entertainment industry, and everyone was accustomed to it. 

In the afternoon, they rehearsed again. By the time of the recording, the phone call segment had been cut from the rest of the show. Even if Xie Yan already knew that it was part of the show, He Hua still didn’t want him to be a part of it.

Su Shen understood He Hua’s feelings. When the recording ended at 10:00 pm, just as Su Shen was about to call Xie Yan, he happened to call her. 

After the call connected, Su Shen put on her sunglasses and followed He Hua out of the TV station. “En, I just finished work.”

Hearing this, a deep and mellow voice sounded from the other end, “Where are you?”

“I’m at …” Su Shen suddenly saw something and stared at the familiar Bentley parked by the road. Beside her, He Hua snorted, “Such big balls to park here. Is he looking down on the TV station for not having enough reporters?” 

The night breeze blew, and the lights under the building were dazzling. From time to time, staff members of the TV station went in and out of the building since it was common for them to work overtime. 

After hanging up the call, Su Shen glanced at Xiao Zhou behind her. “Go take a taxi home. I have something to do tomorrow.”

“Got it!” Xiao Zhou nodded tacitly. 

Looking at the car parked by the road, Su Shen immediately put on a mask and jogged over. After looking around, she opened the door and got in. 

Xie Yan was dressed in all black, blending into the dark sky. After seeing her enter, he turned to look at He Hua. He Hua was standing outside, seemingly waiting for the chauffeur and seeing if there were any paparazzi around in passing. 

With him on the lookout, Xie Yan turned back to look at Su Shen, who was taking off her mask, and asked tenderly, “Did you eat yet?”

It was better if he hadn’t mentioned this. At the mention of this, Su Shen couldn’t help but frown and looked at him solemnly, “Did you do it on purpose today?”

He Hua was almost angered to death.

Hearing this, Xie Yan’s expression remained the same, and said earnestly, “I didn’t.”

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Real or Fake

Su Shen kept silent and sat there pondering for a while before replying, “I have to discuss this with Xie Yan.”

“You don’t need to discuss it with him. You can make the decision,” said He Hua firmly. 

Taking a sip of the soymilk, Su Shen glanced at Xue Zhixin, who was eating luosifen, and said insipidly, “I have to discuss it with him first.”

Since this kind of matter involved both parties, Su Shen naturally couldn’t make the decision alone. Although Xie Yan wasn’t a xiao xian rou idol, he still had a lot of female fans. If they suddenly went public, there would definitely be fans who would leave his fandom. Although she didn’t think Xie Yan liked to engage with fans, it was better to discuss it with him first. 

“Okay, okay. You guys can take your time discussing this matter, but remember that you have to attend a variety show on the 1st. Has Liu Min informed the production crew about this engagement?” asked He Hua.

This variety show had been booked a long time ago, and it was also one of the promotion activities with the cast. When they signed the contract for this movie, they had already informed them about this, so she just needed to let the director know. 

“Yes.”

Thinking of Liu jie, Su Shen felt a little helpless. There were no banquets in this world that did not end. There was no way around it. 

After hanging up the call, Su Shen sat there alone, drinking the soymilk slowly and biting into the xiao long bao* slowly. She noticed, however, that Xue Zhixin was watching showbiz news over there. 

xiao long bao – often referred to as a kind of dumpling, most noted for having soup with a piece of meat as its filling

“Following Xie Yan’s passionate kiss, our reporter specially contacted a staff of Xie Yan’s studio. The staff said that the authenticity of the video has yet to be confirmed, but they will definitely put an end to some of the false rumors online.”

It was the voice of a female reporter. Sitting there, Su Shen glanced at Xue Zhixin, who was still watching the video, and said, “The said person is here. Why are you still watching the news?”

Xue Zhixin, who was looking at her phone, suddenly turned down the volume and leaned against the sofa helplessly. “Those people married old and ugly rich people. You’re lucky. Not only is Xie Yan handsome, he’s also able to give you a lot of resources and opportunities. Moreover, he doesn’t womanize either. You’ve already reached the peak of life!”

Most of the female stars in the entertainment industry only had two endings. One was to marry rich, then retire from the industry. If it became an unhappy marriage, resulting in divorce, then they would come out of retirement. The other was to marry someone from the entertainment industry because they empathized with each other more. However, most of the people in showbiz were wilder, and there were too many temptations. Thus, there were very few men who would stay faithful, so many couples appeared to be united but were already separated at heart. This was why Su Shen didn’t want to find someone from the industry at the beginning.  

“Maybe I’m just luckier,” said Su Shen with a smile before picking up the script and looking at it.

She originally didn’t believe in love, but she was indeed lucky to have met Xie Yan.

……

It seemed that He Hua had asked someone to remove the headline from Hot Search as it couldn’t be seen at night. Although Xie Yan doesn’t engage with his fans, He Hua was an expert at it. He quickly contacted Xie Yan’s superfans and asked them to inform the other fans to control the comments, trying not to give the antis a chance. 

When fans were made good use of, It was much more effective than buying a water army. He Hua was super familiar with this kind of integrated process. He was originally responsible for Xie Yan’s matters, so he was able to deal with these kinds of matters quickly every time. 

When Su Shen returned to the hotel at night, she took a shower before sending a message to Xie Yan.

Su Shen: He Hua said it’s not a solution to keep our relationship a secret and wants us to go public on the day of the Dragon Boat Festival. What do you think?

She didn’t know whether Xie Yan had fallen asleep or not. Just when Su Shen was about to post a selfie onto her Weibo, a notification sounded on her phone. 

Xie Yan: En, I have no objection. 

Seeing that he had agreed so readily, Su Shen suddenly felt helpless. Xie Yan was really not afraid of losing fans!

Su Shen: Okay then. I have to go attend a variety show on the 1st. He Hua said that there would be fans waiting for me at the airport, so you don’t have to come pick me up. I will go see you at night. 

After sending the message, she felt it was improper, so she immediately sent another one. 

Su Shen: Or you can come pick me up in the morning on the 2nd. 

It was better that she went home. After all, all her clothes were at her condo. However, it seemed that Xie Yan had sensed her thoughts as he quickly sent another message over. 

Xie Yan: Your clothes are still here.

Seeing this, Su Shen subconsciously thought of that night and immediately closed her phone, snuggling into bed abashedly. 

At the thought of that night, Su Shen’s heart beat faster, and she didn’t know when she had fallen asleep. When she woke up in the morning, she saw a message from Xie Yan sent last night, telling her to come back earlier that day. The auntie had taken a leave, so he had been ordering takeout for the past two days.  

Su Shen didn’t know what to say. She had already seen through Xie Yan’s scheme. When she went over to his house the first time, he said that the auntie had asked for a leave. Later, she asked the auntie and was told that Xie Yan specially gave her two days off, deceiving her to go over and cook for him. It must be the same this time too. 

She didn’t reply to Xie Yan. For the next two days, she continued to shoot, and the matter of Xie Yan’s passionate kiss gradually subsided under He Hua’s manipulations. On the morning of the 1st, He Hua came over to pick her up to go to the airport. 

There would be fans waiting for her at the airport today. He Hua had also brought a few bodyguards. Since the drama was currently being aired, when photos of fans picking her up at the airport were published, it would add more hype and create the image of her being very popular. The times now competed with influence. Although He Hua could promote her, there was one bad thing. He was a man, so he couldn’t give some styling advice to Su Shen for some engagements and could only hire a stylist. However, Su Shen had heard that He Hua was in touch with a top styling team for her.     

“Look at what kind of engagements Liu Min accepted for you before. They’re all worthless commercial appearances, just for that little amount of money. Do you know how much you’ve lost right now?”

As soon as he got off the flight, He Hua couldn’t help but complain. Although it was unnecessary for him to accompany Su Shen to the variety show, showing up with her now would thoroughly reinforce that she was an artist under him.  

“Who knew at that time? My schedule was empty then, so Liu jie accepted it.” Su Shen couldn’t help but explain. 

A large number of fans holding up Su Shen’s name could be seen outside. He Hua could only lower his voice and said, “Forget it. I’ve canceled the ones I could, and for those that couldn’t be canceled, let’s just treat it as a loss. Your popularity is on the rise now, and your value will increase. I’ll wait until you’re stable before accepting any endorsements and commercial appearances.”  

He Hua’s plan was all about profits, but Su Shen only hoped that she could film at ease during this time, leaving everything else to He Hua to handle.  

“AHHHHH! SU SHEN!”

“SU SHEN, LOOK HERE!!!”

“AHHHHHHHHHHH! SU SHEN, I LOVE YOU!”

As soon as they exited the arriving gate, the group of fans crazily surrounded them. Su Shen lowered her head and pressed down her cap. The bodyguards opened and led the way, with He Hua protecting her at her side. Those fans crazily surrounded them, holding their phones and taking photos fervently. 

This group of fans was all from her fan club, all of which were diehard fans. The photos they took wouldn’t be posted online so wantonly unless He Hua asked someone to publish a post of them picking her up at the airport, only then would they post a few photos. There were also some professional fans part of it, who specialized in managing and controlling the comments under posts of their star’s engagements. Every fan club basically had one. 

When they finally got in the car, those fans surrounded the car and were reluctant to leave while yelling for her to take care of herself, be mindful of her health, etc, which all sounded really heartwarming.

“Your matters and Xie Yan’s matters are coinciding lately. The contract for his Hollywood project is still in the midst of negotiations, so I’ll find a new manager for you as soon as possible. She’s also a partner of our agency. I’ll introduce you guys probably in the middle of the month. She produced many household names before, so she should be more suitable for you,” said He Hua suddenly from the front. 

Hearing this, Su Shen just uttered an “en” and said nothing else. After all, He Hua was a man, and sometimes it was indeed inconvenient. A female manager could help her with makeup and straighten her dress when she attended engagements. 

“By the way, I heard that you’re going to see Xie Yan’s parents tomorrow?” He Hua suddenly turned around with a smile. 

At this, Su Shen just coughed blushingly and said, “En.”

In the entertainment industry, Su Shen was definitely the shyest female artist that He Hua had ever seen, but perhaps Xie Yan liked this kind. He just laughed and said nothing else.  

When they arrived at the recording studio, Jiang Yin and Zhu Qinqin had already arrived. Seeing Su Shen being surrounded by people as if she was the apple of their eyes, Zhu Qinqin immediately walked aside unhappily and played with her phone, pretending not to see her. 

In the afternoon was the dress rehearsal, and at night was the live recording.  Before the rehearsal, Su Shen had to go to the dressing room to get her makeup done. It seemed that He Hua had gone off to chat with the program director.  

This kind of indoor variety show required going over the script. Not long after, a staff came in to go over the itinerary of the show. When they saw her, they greeted her politely. Su Shen remembered that no one had paid her any attention when she went on this show the first time, let alone going over the script. 

“Later, the host may ask questions summed up from some netizens’ questions.” The staff sat on the sofa looking at the script while saying, “For example, there was a rumor that you introduced Xie Yan to his girlfriend. Is that true?”

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Photographed Again

Su Shen closed her eyes and snorted discontentedly. “I’m worried that you lost too little, and my dad is unhappy.”

Hearing this, Xie Yan smiled and said nothing, continuing to look at the road ahead. 

Su Shen, however, suddenly remembered that they were discussing something at first, so she looked up and said, “What were you talking about with my brother-in-law just now?”

They didn’t seem to be familiar with each other, yet they chatted so happily.

“We’ve met before. It was just about some collaborative investments, nothing much.” Xie Yan continued to turn the steering wheel and suddenly turned to look at her, “I’ll come pick you up on the 2nd.”

At this, Su Shen suddenly remembered that he was going to take her to meet his parents. Thinking about it now, she instantly felt a little uneasy.

“Your parents… what kind of girls do they like?” Su Shen asked nervously. 

She had never been so unsure, but when faced with matters about love, she had no confidence at all. 

Glancing at her from the corner of his eye and seeing how apprehensive she looked, Xie Yan just smiled. “They like what I like.”

Hearing this, Su Shen couldn’t help blushing and grasped the corner of her jacket. She turned to look at the scenery outside the window and said nothing. 

When they arrived at the airport, the car stopped at the side of the road, and many people came and went. It was sunny today and somewhat hot. With one hand holding the door handle, Su Shen turned to look at Xie Yan. “I’m going.”

She was wearing a blue plaid dress today. Her sleeves were to her elbows, exposing her snow-white slender arms. Her long black hair was tucked into her ears as it fell down her back, making her exquisite face even smaller. Turning around, Xie Yan held her shoulders and stared at her fervently. “Don’t you have anything to express?”

He was too close, and there were people coming and going outside from time to time. Afraid of being seen, Su Shen could only quickly plant a kiss on his cheek and said, blushing, “I really have to go.”

“What does this count?” Lowering his head, Xie Yan suddenly sealed her lips. Feeling that the person under him froze, he slowly pried open her teeth, and his big hand slowly wandered to her soft waist and gently squeezed it. 

There was a little itch on her waist. Dodging her head, his kiss fell on her sensitive neck. She panted slightly and said, “Xie… Xie Yan… don’t do this…”

Between laughter and tears, she stopped his hand on her waist. Ever since he knew she was afraid of being tickled, Xie Yan liked to torture her like this the most. 

Hearing her soft panting, Xie Yan’s eyes darkened and finally stopped. He just nibbled her neck. Hearing her gasp, only then did he look up and stare at her. “I’ll come pick you up on the 2nd.”

Su Shen didn’t dare say no and just nodded in a hurry. Afterward, the door was unlocked by him. As the sunlight came in, Su Shen immediately got out of the car and put on her cap and mask. Then, she turned around and waved to the person in the car before quickly walking into the airport. 

There were a lot of people at the airport. Without incident, she was recognized when she went through security. Fortunately, she quickly passed through. When she returned to set, it was already 5:00 pm. The paparazzi had been waiting outside. Su Shen pretended not to see them and walked in. 

She had several scenes at night. Movies were all like this. Although they filmed a lot, the scenes after post-production would be little to none. After all, there was only so much time. 

After airing for a few days, the viewership of the drama gradually increased. The hype of the drama was being maintained well, and Su Shen also gained a number of fans. However, the number of CP fans of Jiang Yin and her were becoming more and more. It seemed that no matter how they clarified it, it was useless.

As her fame rose, He Hua still didn’t accept any of those meaningless engagements for her. In his words, time should be spent on valuable places, and there was no need to attend activities that have no money and no benefits.  

At night, however, Wang Cheng would complain to her that she had stolen his viewership. Otherwise, his xianxia drama would’ve dominated this season. 

Thus, there were often no friendships because of one’s interest in the entertainment industry. However, Wang Cheng was also sanguine. If it was another person, they would’ve definitely remembered it in their heart. 

On the 28th, a video suddenly broke out online. As soon as Su Shen got up that day, she saw that #Xie Yan & His Mysterious Girlfriend Kissing Passionately in the Car# trending #1 on Hot Search.

At the sight of this, Su Shen was shook for a sec. When she clicked on the video, it was very blurry and was taken from the back of the car. Through several layers of glass, Xie Yan’s face could vaguely be seen, but not her face. 

Netizen A: NO! THIS IS NOT MY HUBBY!!!

Netizen B: I just want to know who this woman is. [joy]

Netizen C: As soon as I saw this news in the morning, I was so shaken that I immediately went to grab a jiuxin* pill, but there’s no face again. Thumbs down!

jiuxin – literally “save heart”, it’s a pill that improves blood circulation and relieves chest pain

Netizen D: If you have the ability to photograph, then have the ability to show the woman’s face. [rolls eyes] 

When Su Shen arrived on set, she noticed that those people were looking at her differently, so she immediately entered the dressing room. Inside, Xue Zhixin was eating luosifen* when she entered, and her gaze said everything. 

luosifen – literally “snail rice noodles”, is a Chinese noodle soup and specialty of Liuzhou, Guangxi, it is most famous for its pungent smell from the pickled bamboo shoots in the dish, it does not contain snail meat

“I was wondering why you asked for leave that day, so it turns out it was for a date.” She slurped a mouthful of noodles and shook her head. 

Su Shen coughed and came to the sofa with soymilk in hand before sitting down as she fixed her hair and said toward her, “I didn’t. It was my dad’s birthday that day.”

“Got it. And have a date in passing.” Speaking of this, Xue Zhixin suddenly placed her chopsticks down and leaned over curiously with oil all over her mouth. “Have you guys met the parents? When are you gonna get married?”

Su Shen: “…….”

She looked down somewhat embarrassedly. She then picked up the soymilk on the table and took a sip. It was still too early to talk about these things, it’s better for nature to take its course. 

“We don’t have a plan yet. We’re not in a hurry.” After saying that, Su Shen thought of the video again. She wasn’t certain whether the paparazzi hadn’t photographed her face or not, so she could only pick up her phone and give He Hua a call. 

If it was Liu jie, she would definitely come find her if there was such a thing. However, with He Hua, he would definitely go find Xie Yan first, to tell him to be more careful. 

The phone rang several times before being connected. The other party raised his voice and said without any nonsense, “The follow-up video is already in my hands. You don’t have to worry that it will be leaked. But also, how could you let Xie Yan run wild? It’s in the day, do you not know how many people are at the airport?”

Hearing this, Su Shen felt a little sorry. Both she and Xie Yan were in the wrong. There were indeed many people at the airport, and they didn’t know that they had been photographed either.

But before she could reply, the person on the other end of the call said, “But, you guys have to go public sooner or later. It’s not a solution to continue like this either.” 

Hearing the words from the other end of the call, Su Shen took a sip of the soymilk and said nothing. Meanwhile, Xue Zhixin was slurping the luosifen, making the whole room smell like pickled bamboo shoots. 

Su Shen knew what he meant, but for He Hua to suddenly say this, he must’ve had an idea, so she asked probingly, “What’s your plan then?”

“It’s nothing much.” After a pause, he continued, “This is my plan. You guys’ modern drama will air at the start of June and will end in the middle of the month. I’m thinking of having you guys go public on the Dragon Boat Festival. What do you think?”

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Playing Mahjong

Looking at her mom’s face full of suspicions, Su Shen blinked and plucked up the courage to say, “He… He’s my boyfriend.”

As soon as her words fell, Mama Su’s eyes opened wide, and she immediately looked toward the sofa. She could only see his side profile, but his appearance did not seem bad. As she was about to walk a bit forward, she walked a few steps back as she thought of something and angrily dragged Su Shen to the kitchen with a scowl. 

As soon as the kitchen door closed, she looked outside with a frown. “When did you suddenly get a boyfriend? You’re not lying to us, right?”

Isn’t it often seen on TV that the female lead would find someone to pretend as her boyfriend to deceive her parents?

Su Shen was shocked by her mom’s imagination, so she could only answer honestly, “His name is Xie Yan, and he’s also in the entertainment industry. But, he’s different from others. He doesn’t even film kiss scenes. He’s absolutely different from the people in the entertainment industry you thought of.”

Xie Yan?

The name sounded familiar to her. Frowning, Mama Su stared at her. She suddenly remembered that on Chinese New Year’s Eve, this Xie Yan had called Su Shen. So these two had kept it a secret until now!

“Hmph! He’s great just because you said so? You naive girls are the best to deceive!” Mama Su snorted. Knowing that she still had two dishes to make, she glanced at Su Shen again and said, “Get out quickly! I’ll go and take a look at your sudden boyfriend later!”

Seeing how angry her mom was, Su Shen was a little scared, so she slowly opened the kitchen door and walked out. When she walked towards the sofa with hot tea, she saw that her dad, Xie Yan, and several relatives were playing mahjong!

It seemed like they were playing big just by the lofty amount of cash on the table. Her uncle was frowning, and it seemed that he had lost a lot, while her dad was just smiling and couldn’t tell whether he lost or won.

Su Shen walked over and placed the tea cups on the stool beside everyone. She then pulled a stool and sat next to Xie Yan. Looking at his hand, he was one tile away from winning, but there already appeared two tiles of one dots*, and it wasn’t certain that there would be more in the wall*. 

dots – in Chinese or Japanese mahjong, the standard set of tiles for Mahjong has 36 Dots/Circle, 36 Bamboos, and 36 Characters, numbered from 1 – 9

wall – in Mahjong, the wall is the stack of tiles stacked in front of every player, usually in two rolls on top of each other, waiting to be drawn by each player to create a winning hand

“This tile can’t be thrown. If I throw it, you guys will win.” Her uncle deliberately showed everyone a glimpse of his tile and then proceeded to see if the other three’s expressions changed or not. 

It was a one of bamboos and hadn’t appeared on the table before. No wonder her uncle didn’t dare to throw it. However, the other three people’s expressions remained unchanged, and sat there without saying anything. Seeing this, her uncle pressed his luck and threw the tile out!

“Pong*!”

Pong – three identical tiles, if you have two of the same tiles and another player throws away the same tile onto the table, you can pong it, which helps you get closer to winning

Her brother-in-law immediately turned over two one of bamboos, and her uncle also breathed a sigh of relief. It was good that no one ron* him.

ron – the call when the winning tile is discarded by another player

However, when it was her brother-in-law’s turn to throw out a tile, he also hesitated for a bit before suddenly throwing out a one of dots. 

Just as Su Shen wanted to say something, she saw her dad turning over his hand suddenly. “Ron!”

According to the order, it should be Xie Yan who won, and her dad wouldn’t be able to. However, Su Shen didn’t say anything, and Xie Yan also just calmly mixed and shuffled his tiles with the other tiles on the table, as if nothing had happened. 

Her brother-in-law was just playing along to make her dad happy, giving him a large wad of cash without blinking an eye. 

In Su Shen’s opinion, Xie Yan’s acting was so good that he didn’t even blink an eye when he saw his winning tile. He threw away the game so naturally, poor him. 

“Do you want some tea?” asked Su Shen softly. 

This was an automatic mahjong table, so everyone was already taking their tile. Xie Yan turned his head to look at her and nodded slightly. Su Shen then immediately took the teacup on the side and fed it to his mouth. The tea shouldn’t be scalding hot by now. 

Seeing this scene, Lin Yuanjin drew his tile while smiling, “Shen Shen, when will you invite uncle to drink your wedding liquor?” 

Hearing this, Su Shen’s hand trembled and the tea almost spilled out. She placed the teacup down blushingly. Just as she was about to say something, her dad began his daily scolding ramble, “Look at her, she’s still a child and doesn’t understand anything. It’s hard for anyone to want her.” 

“Why wouldn’t anyone want me?” Su Shen couldn’t help retorting. 

Xie Yan smiled and looked at her tenderly, “There is someone.”

As their eyes met, Su Shen couldn’t help but blush and suddenly got up. She didn’t want to watch them playing at all. In the end, only her dad won from this kind of deceptive playing, and both Xie Yan and her brother-in-law were just giving money away.  

Far away from the mahjong table, Su Shen was sitting on the sofa and watching cartoons with the group of children. Her little nephew naughtily asked her to hold him again. 

It was finally dinner time after a long wait. The mahjong table was also dismissed, and the dinner table was full of people. After Su Shen sat down, Xie Yan sat next to her as expected. Facing the pairs of eyes looking at her, she felt restless and nervous. 

Finally, after her mom sat down at the table, she looked at Xie Yan with a smile and said, “You’re Xiao Xie, right? Auntie didn’t cook much today, please make do, ahaha.”

There were at least a dozen dishes on the table. But, Su Shen knew that her mom was also a smiling tiger. She looked polite on the surface, but no one would know what she was thinking.

“Auntie’s too courteous. If this is considered make do then I might’ve not made do before,” said Xie Yan politely. 

Hearing this, Mama Su waved her hand with a smile and said, “You’re too kind.”

For these sorts of dinners, drinking was inevitable. Su Shen didn’t drink, but for the men, they have to drink. However, as Xie Yan had to drive, he couldn’t drink. Her dad began to probe as soon as he drank. 

“Xiao Xie, what are your plans for the future with Shen Shen?” Papa Su took a sip of wine and said unhurriedly.

Sitting there, Su Shen felt as if she was sitting on pins and needles, so she just focused on eating. Frankly, she hadn’t even thought about any plans, just letting nature take its course. 

“Su Shen’s still in the midst of developing her career, so it depends on when she wants to get married. However, after marriage, I will transition to working behind the scenes and won’t take on many projects, so we won’t be separated for too long,” said Xie Yan earnestly.   

Hearing this, Papa Su nodded with satisfaction. Although he didn’t know if Xie Yan would continue to be so good to Su Shen in the future, this could still be observed for a while longer.

“As for marriage, this matter doesn’t need to be rushed. Su Shen’s still in the midst of developing her career right now. It’s good for you youngsters to get to know more about each other, in case you can’t bear some of this girl’s shortcomings,” said Papa Su with a smile.

Su Shen naturally knew that her dad was testing Xie Yan. Although her parents often told her to find a boyfriend, they would be very strict if she really found one. 

Xie Yan nodded slightly and said, “Uncle is right. These matters can be planned slowly.”

At this, Papa Su smiled and said nothing, continuing to drink. After eating a little, Su Shen held her little nephew to go play. 

She was actually somewhat moved. It was the first time that she had seen Xie Yan be so respectful and polite. Unlike before, when they first met, he seemed to not even bother to say an extra word. Now, he was not as aloof as before. 

After dinner, her dad, brother-in-law, and several others sat on the sofa and chatted. Meanwhile, Su Shen and her mom were washing the dishes in the kitchen. But this time, her mom was not so aggravated. 

“Xie Yan’s not bad. There was no artful talk, and he was polite and reasonable. Moreover, he treats you well. Unlike your brother-in-law, who is a shrewd businessman. If he hadn’t treated your sister so well, I wouldn’t have agreed to their marriage!” Mama Su said as she washed the dishes while frowning. 

Su Shen was washing the dishes, and when she heard that, she just smiled and said nothing. It was just that Xie Yan was good at acting. He was not so easygoing in private, else he would’ve been oppressed by He Hua over the years.

“As for marriage, he still needs to be observed for a while. Time reveals a person’s heart. Whether he will always be good to you or not depends on whether he will show his true colors in the future,” said Mama Su seriously. 

Hearing this, Su Shen nodded without saying anything. She just didn’t expect that her mom would let him off so easily. 

When she walked out of the kitchen, most of her relatives had already left. Her brother-in-law was talking to Xie Yan about something, with a smile of a businessman on his face. When Su Shen walked over, the two shook hands again. Then, her brother-in-law and her sister walked towards the front door. 

Su Shen didn’t know where her dad had gone to, so she came to Xie Yan’s side, and after looking around, she looked at him and whispered, “What did you talk about with my brother-in-law?” 

Seeing her, Xie Yan couldn’t help but put his arm around her shoulder, lowered his head, and said softly, “Did you miss me these past two days?”

Su Shen: “…….”

Blushing, she didn’t say anything. However, even without asking, Su Shen could guess what it was about. They were all part of the entertainment industry, so there were many opportunities for the two of them to work together. A businessman like her brother-in-law would definitely not miss a chance to collaborate. 

“Who missed you? You brought a present for my dad yet didn’t bring one for me. When my brother-in-law chased after my sister, he sent her breakfast every day and picked her up and off from work. I received nothing.” Su Shen frowned and suddenly felt that she was too easy to chase after. 

Hearing her words, Xie Yan almost laughed from anger. He caressed her head and said helplessly, “You’re the most heartless person I’ve ever seen. You really think I’m lacking money to act in an idol drama?”

Su Shen: “…….”

Thinking was one thing, but him saying it aloud was another. Su Shen subconsciously blushed and looked down before coughing, “I… I didn’t know you would do that.”

When she thought about it now, Xie Yan was actually quite crazy. In order to chase her, he specially went to act in an idol drama. At that time, many people in the industry were confused, with many concluding that he must’ve been lacking money.

“Cough cough!”

Hearing this, Su Shen trembled all over and immediately took two steps back. Her dad, wearing a pair of glasses, came over with a pot of tea in hand. When he saw the two of them, he walked over to the sofa and sat down with a smile. “It’s a good thing when youngsters are in love. Don’t feel embarrassed.”  

Facing her dad’s teasing eyes, Su Shen coughed and immediately said solemnly, “Dad, it’s late. I have to go back to set later, I’m gonna go first.”

At this, Papa Su nodded. “Go, go. Be careful on the road. Bring Xiao Xie back more often in the future.”

Su Shen nodded blushingly. She then immediately turned around and went back to her room to grab her purse. When she came out, her mom nagged her to eat more. Su Shen then left the mansion with Xie Yan. 

As soon as she walked out of the mansion, she immediately breathed a sigh of relief. She went through a rollercoaster of emotions for the latter half of the day, but fortunately, nothing happened.  

After getting in the car, Su Shen looked at Xie Yan and asked, “How’s the discussion with your next project?”

That Hollywood project had been repeated by He Hua endlessly. 

“Not bad,” said Xie Yan, turning the steering wheel and backing the car. 

As the car gradually drove away from the mansion, Su Shen leaned against the seat and rested exhaustedly. She couldn’t help but ask, “How much did you lose today?”

Speaking of this, Xie Yan couldn’t help but turn to glance at her. His handsome face had a hint of tenderness. “Are you worrying about my money?”

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