Han Xingyan thought to himself, he had not kept a mistress but rather that bank card was Shen Chuchu’s. On the matter of keeping a mistress then it was Shen Chuchu…

“I have not kept a mistress and she is also not my girlfriend.”

“Ah, not a girlfriend?” His mother disappointedly said. 

His father looked disapprovingly at his glance then coldly looked at his son and said, “Really or are you lying to us? Don’t think that I can’t investigate this.”

Faced with the distrust of his parents, Han Xinyan recalled that day at the cafe and explained, “That day I did indeed meet an actress at a cafe but it was to return her card and not the other way round. Previously, I helped her so she gave me this card. I wanted to give it back to her but she refused.”

His mother was very interested and asked, “Who is this actress? What’s her name? Have I heard of her before?”

Han Xingyan felt a bit helpless and bit down his lips. He just knew if he mentioned anything, his mother would undoubtedly thoroughly investigate the matter. 

“No, just a small-time actress.”

His father found the matter weird but was still willing to believe his son. After all, his son had never had this kind of thing in all these years so this must have been a misunderstanding. 

“Okay, as long as you were not involved in this immorally unacceptable behaviour. The family is not against you marrying an actress but would never accept this method of having a relationship!” 

Han Xingyan solemnly nodded, “Yes, I will remember, Dad.”

His mother curiously asked on the side, “She actually repaid you, how much was it?”

Now that her son was in charge of the business at home, he would have plenty of money in his hands but someone actually repaid him? This was the first time I heard of such a thing especially as it was given by a woman.

When Han Xingyan heard these words from his mother, a blush appeared on his face. He looked at his curious mother and his father who was listening carefully, though not looking at him, stood up and said, “Dad, Mom, if there is nothing else then I am going upstairs to rest.”

His mother disappointingly replied, “Oh, alright.”

That night in bed, his father thought about the matter and said, “You should arrange a blind date for Xingyan as soon as possible. He is not so young anymore. He doesn’t date or get a girlfriend and only manages the company affairs every day. He doesn’t seem as quick-witted as before.”

His mother was a bit speechless, “Do I not arrange it for him? He needs to listen to me. Every time I mention this, he ignores it. If you want to say something then you go, I am not going to.”

His father choked and said, “You…” Upon seeing his wife no longer paid attention to him, he sighed heavily.

***

After that day, under the guidance of Director Chang, Shen Chuchu went home and pondered for two days and seemed to understand somewhat.

She practised her expression in front of the mirror at home for a few days and finally understood Director Chang’s meaning. Her expression was indeed a bit too exaggerated. Many times, it felt the expressions only appeared because of deliberate performance. The marks in the performances are too heavy. She also found that sometimes when your heart is smiling, the expression on your face would also be joyful.

A person’s inner voice does not deceive so the expression on one’s face can clearly display the sound of the heart.

However, after practising this way, Shen Chuchu’s eyes were swollen and even her smile was slightly stiffer but the effects were there. After ten days, there was a clear improvement in her acting. Her acting value also increased rarely by two points that day. Shen Chuchu smiled with satisfaction as she looked assuredly at the system.

Nowadays, each upgrade required more and more experience and took a long time to upgrade. Not to mention, it also took a long time to adapt to the disparity between the actual acting skills and acting value. Instead of upgrading, she now relied on her studies and exercises.

Therefore, before entering Director Chang’s crew, her acting value had reached fifty. Although it was not a passing score, it was much better than before. As a result, she looked forward to joining the crew to listen to the guidance of Director Chang.

The moment she arrived at Hengdian, Shen Chuchu could not wait to join the crew to test the results of her recent practices. 

After a day of excitement, it was finally time for Shen Chuchu to enter the stage. Shen Chuchu was naturally very beautiful but was now even more breathtaking after putting on peach blossom style makeup and the silk gauze dress. Even the makeup artist said, “Chuchu, you look so different after you put on makeup.”

Shen Chuchu looked at the stranger self in the mirror and did not know whether it looked good or bad. She nervously asked, “What’s different?”

The makeup artist carefully examined and said, “Your temperament is different especially when you smile. It feels as if your entire energy flow has changed.”

Shen Chuchu bit down her lips and smiled, “It is all thanks to Zhao-jie’s skills.”

“You’re welcome.”

An hour later, it was finally time for Shen Chuchu.

This was Shen Chuchu’s first appearance on set. The main character was Xiao Yi, an important general in the dynasty who had a younger sister at home. However, the sister was lost when she was young. When he noticed that one of the dancers looked similar to his mother at a banquet, the man was completely stunned.

Shen Chuchu has been practising the dance for a long time now. There was no need to interact with others or show off her acting skills. She just had to dance in front of everyone. Previously, when she was in the company, she had already practised in front of many trainees so there was nothing to fear.

Therefore, the irregular beating of her heart quickly returned to normal after the dance. 

Unexpectedly after the dance, Director Chang frowned, “Zhou Feng, the eyes were not in place. Pay attention later.”

Afterwards, Director Chang called upon a few of the supporting actors’ names, “Also you guys, remember to pay attention. It’s not easy for the little girl to dance so don’t tire her out and get her to do it a third time.”

After a break, Director Chang said, “Okay, everyone remember to pay attention and let’s go again.”

When the dancers stepped out again, Xiao Yi was sitting there without a smile. When he looked up and saw one of the dancers, he was stunned on the spot.

The nearby officials saw Xiao Yi’s dazed expression and somewhat dubiously said, “General Xiao, did this particular dancer caught your eye. Shall I…” 

Xiao Yi cut him off, “No need, Mister Wang. I only felt this girl looked familiar.”

Mister Wang broke into a cold sweat when he heard this but naturally did not forget to say, “These girls are all from Wangchun Pavilion so if General Xiao is interested then you can go have a look.”

Xiao Yi nodded and replied, “Thank you, Mister Wang.”

***

This time, Director Wang was satisfied with everyone’s expressions in front of the cameras and nodded. When Shen Chuchu came out for the first time, several actors looked at her unconsciously. This was incorrect. This scene mainly highlighted Xiao Yi’s surprise when he saw his sister and not on the dancer.

After this shot and a few more angles, Shen Chuchu could finally get some rest.

In the afternoon, Shen Chuchu saw a strange middle-aged woman sitting beside Director Chang when she returned to the set. Director Chang’s attitude towards her was very gentle. His face carried a smile and they seemed very intimate.

Someone beside Shen Chuchu saw her curious look and explained, “That is the wife of Director Chang.”

Shen Chuchu glanced curiously, she indeed was very classy! Director Chang has a good eye as she probably was a great beauty when they were young. 

“Thanks, Feng-ge.”

Feng-ge smiled, “No worries, Sun-jie is often here so we are all familiar with each other. We even want her here because Director Chang’s mood is better when she is here. You’ll be scolded less.”

Feng-ge showed a pitiful expression when they thought back to this morning.

Shen Chuchu laughed, “Yes, good luck. Hope Director Chang is happier in the afternoon.”

Afterwards, Zhou Feng went to shoot.

In the afternoon, Shen Chuchu had no parts to film but the company has not yet hired a car for her and she did not want to rent one. She sat on the set and watched as the other actors performed and waited for the evening set. As she watched, Shen Chuchu figured she might not have time in the evening so she decided to do some matchmaking on Taobao.

After matchmaking, Shen Chuchu wanted to open her own marriage system to have a look but found it could not be opened. A message was displayed: System Upgrading.

Her marriage system can be upgraded? Shen Chuchu had never thought this to be possible. She had been very busy with the new film recently so she did not have the time to look or know when the system began to upgrade. But she saw that the experience bar was about to end so it should be almost finished.

With nothing to do, she went to check her Weibo again. After browsing Weibo, she opened her own system again and found that the upgrade was complete.

Shen Chuchu quickly opened it to have a look and wondered what new things will appear after the upgrade. However, after several times, she still could not see any differences. The experience value has not decreased, the level has not increased and the chance value was exactly the same. Ah, so disappointing.

“Whose cup is that and why is it in front of the camera. Take it away quickly!”

Director Chang’s roaring voice startled Shen Chuchu so much that she nearly dropped her phone onto the ground. However, Shen Chuchu suddenly had an idea when she saw the big red heart on top of Director Chang’s head. Perhaps the upgrade was connected to other people’s marriage systems? At this thought, Shen Chuchu walked a bit closer to Director Chang and found a place within three meters then sat down. 

Sun Biyun helplessly laughed a little when she saw her husband’s irritated expression as he directed the film. She even saw an unafraid little actor sit a bit closer and curiously looked over.  

Shen Chuchu did not happen to see Mrs Sun’s gaze. She looked at Director Chang then silently whispered to herself “open” and turned away.

Status: Married

Marriage Partner: Sun Biyun [Photograph]

Marriage Date: February 14th 1988

Marriage Rating: Five stars (Conjugal Bliss)

Red Thread of Fate: [Open]

She did not notice anything before but when she opened the Red Thread of Fate, her phone fell to the ground not because of Director Chang’s roaring voice but because of the content inside. 

Because she discovered an extra bit of detail had appeared [Bereavement Time].

Chapter 32 | Index | Chapter 34