Chapter 02

Having slept soundly without a dream, Shen Li was unusually not woken up by her assistant. She got up early, tidied everything, and walked into the living room, where she saw her assistant, Xiao Yu, coming in from outside with breakfast in her hand.

"Sister Li, you're up so early?" she asked, looking surprised.

"I slept okay last night." Shen Li said, taking the bag from her hand. Inside were hot soup dumplings, eggs, and freshly ground soy milk.

She took out an egg, bent down and tapped the corner of the table, peeling it as she asked, "Why didn't you prepare your specialty sandwich?"

Xiaoyu: "Breakfast was given to me by Luo Mingxiu's assistant."

"Hmm?" A small piece of the eggshell was broken off, and some yolk fell to the ground. Shen Li picked it up with a piece of paper and composed herself.

"They said they arrived late yesterday and were sorry for disturbing Teacher Shen's rest while unpacking." Xiaoyu relayed the original words and then added, "Luo Mingxiu lives next door to us. I guess your bedroom is closer to his room, because I didn't hear any noise from my room."

Shen Li recalled her outburst last night; he must have recognized her. So, she sent her assistant with breakfast as an apology?

Since that's the case, why not come in person? She picked up her phone and glanced at it. There were no new messages. She clicked into Luo Mingxiu's chat box, typed a few words, and then deleted them.

Forget it, I'll wait until I'm done with my makeup and we meet to see what he thinks. It's been so long since we last met, I can't figure out what his attitude is.

In the dressing room, the makeup artist was setting up Shen Li's makeup. After finishing, she couldn't help but exclaim, "Teacher Shen's skin is so good, and the makeup is so perfect."

"Thank you." Even though she was used to being praised, Shen Li subconsciously thanked her. At this moment, she was dressed in ancient costume, her eyes smiling, making her seem as natural and poised as a young lady from an ancient family.

The makeup artist was stunned for a moment. It wasn't until she saw Shen Li's assistant move towards the outer door that she called her assistant and followed them out.

Footsteps echoed down the corridor. As soon as Shen Li stepped out, she encountered someone, their eyes meeting briefly in mid-air, as if they had bumped into each other.

The person in front of me had already finished his makeup in the dressing room next door. He was dressed as a guard in a black outfit, his hair was tied up high with a hair crown, and he stood tall and straight.

Upon seeing him after a long separation, the first thing that came to mind was a sigh.

Good, all four limbs are intact.

Shen Li was momentarily dazed, then looked at his face.

Beneath her thick eyebrows, her deep eyes seemed to be avoiding her gaze; her features had lost their youthful softness and become clearer and more defined.

At this moment, Luo Mingxiu gave her the same feeling as when she was young, yet with subtle differences.

Shen Li recalled the campus movie he starred in, in which he played the sunny and cheerful male lead Qiao Yunfei, which was indeed very different from his real personality. Thinking about it this way, the role of the bodyguard Li Ze was more suitable for him.

Is it because we haven't seen each other for too long, or has he grown taller? I actually feel more tired craning my neck to look at him than before.

Shen Li lowered her eyelashes, looking somewhat dejected.

Luo Mingxiu avoided her burning gaze and lowered his head to say, "Hello, Teacher Shen."

Upon hearing this address, Shen Li frowned briefly.

His assistant also greeted him as "Teacher Shen" and introduced himself, "Hello, I'm Xiao Wen, Brother Luo's assistant. Thank you for helping promote the movie."

This refers to the Weibo post she made four days ago.

The plot of the youth diary movie is simple, but the director's skillful filming techniques and delicate expression, along with the visuals' fresh and youthful feel, evoke a sense of nostalgia and a gentle sense of loss. After watching it, she couldn't resist giving it a rating and recommendation.

"You're welcome. It's a pleasure doing business with you." Shen Li smiled faintly, turned and left, not giving Luo Mingxiu another glance.

The people behind her stopped and watched her walk away.

After the person had walked away, Xiaowen clutched her chest and said, "I almost fainted. It was the first time I'd ever seen Shen Li in person. She was so close just now, and she's so beautiful. Right, Brother Luo?"

There was no response from the side.

"Brother Luo?"

Xiao Wen turned her head to look at Luo Mingxiu, who was staring intently in Shen Li's direction, as if he couldn't bear to look away.

Shen Li's first solo emotional scene was one she knew the plot by heart.

The magistrate of Qinghe Town hanged himself in court. His daughter, Xie Huaixi, rushed to the scene after hearing the news, but found no trace of her father. Sensing that she was in danger, Xie Huaixi chose to feign madness and escaped in full view of everyone.

Following Director Liu's instructions, the scene was rehearsed several times with the crew members on set, and the scene was gradually finalized.

At the entrance of the yamen, Xie Huaixi, played by Shen Li, pushes aside the crowd, and the camera follows her as she rushes in. Inside the empty yamen, the constables and investigators have mysteriously disappeared, and a rope falls from the beam of the main hall, tied with her father's official hat.

Xie Huaixi cried out in surprise, then calmed down and looked around. Beneath Shen Li's tense and frightened exterior lay worry; her expression was very relatable. Director Liu stared at the monitor, holding his breath.

Lord Xie was decisive in solving cases and was deeply loved by the people of Qinghe. No one believed he had committed suicide. Xie Huaixi had learned from her father since childhood and participated in his plans, big and small. She not only did not believe he had committed suicide, but she also did not believe he was dead.

A flash of light appeared in the darkness, and Xie Huaixi's eyes sharpened. He glanced over and saw the token beside the table leg.

She withdrew her gaze from the glint of the blade, walked straight into the shadows, and picked up the token. Lord Xie never parted with his token; he said that no one except Huaixi was allowed to touch it.

Leaving something you cherish here alone is an ominous sign.

Shen Li's eyes went from disbelief to dimness, and she saw a halo of light before her eyes. She cried out as if her heart was being torn apart and then stumbled out the door.

The staff inside remained silent until the assistant spoke up, asking, "Director Liu, is it time for the next scene?"

Director Liu was so engrossed in the film that he was even looking forward to what would happen next. It wasn't until Shen Li came in from outside to ask how it went that he snapped out of his reverie, nodded, and gave her a thumbs up.

After filming the indoor scene with the same outfit, they moved to a street scene. During the scene change, Shen Li passed by another scene.

"Teacher Shen!" she called out, and stopped in her tracks.

The male lead actor happened to be rehearsing his scene. He saw her and immediately ran over. Then, seeing Director Liu and his group walk by, he casually asked, "Ms. Shen, are you changing scenes?"

Shen Li nodded.

The male lead suddenly looked embarrassed: "Teacher Shen, you are too amazing. I'm still working on my first performance."

"The first day of filming is mainly about team cohesion, there's no need to rush the schedule, and also..." Shen Li saw the male lead looking down and picking at his fingers. He had a scene with her today, and he looked very nervous.

"Just call me 'sister,' don't be scared when you see me. Just act like you did during your audition."

Shen Li is older than some of the younger actors in the cast, and her works have won numerous awards, including Best Actress in a TV series and Best Actress in a Film. Because of these honors, she is highly respected in the industry.

She is perfectly deserving of the title "Teacher Shen," but she simply doesn't like being called that. Firstly, it's not affectionate enough, and secondly, it makes her feel inexplicably pressured to teach something, which feels like a burden.

"Thank you, Sister Shen Li. I'll do my best." The male lead smiled, waved to her, and returned to the scene.

Shen Li continued forward, and out of the corner of her eye, she caught a familiar figure in the opposite corridor.

She turned her head and saw Luo Mingxiu holding a prop sword, standing still and looking in her direction. He was patted on the shoulder by the martial arts director behind him before he looked away and walked away.

Hesitant to speak, Shen Li thought she would have to find an opportunity to have a proper talk with him when she finished work.

After filming her scene with the male lead once, Shen Li watched the monitor with Director Liu. Both of them frowned. This was a crucial scene, the first encounter between the female lead and the male lead. The male lead actor had acted in this scene with her during his audition, so he shouldn't have performed poorly.

"Can you be a little more focused? You were stealing a cow last night, come and see what you're acting like? Your eyes are wandering, you're completely suppressed. Teacher Shen has gone through so many takes with you and you still can't find the right state?" Director Liu doesn't care about status or popularity; if someone doesn't perform well, he'll scold them. He's very strict about scrutinizing acting.

This is also one of the factors that Qingli considered when choosing his team. These days, only directors who want to produce good dramas will treat the script and actors with utmost care, not afraid of wasting time. Even if they have to rehearse many times, they will still determine the angle of each scene to bring out the actors' best performance.

"I'm sorry, I..." The male lead lowered his head, staring at the script in his hand. The lines were familiar, yet they made him feel dizzy and powerless.

"Let him take a break, he might be a little tired," Shen Li said to Director Liu. Then she walked up to the male lead, took his script, and flipped through it, marking it with an X.

She roughly understood why the male lead's performance was not as good as his audition performance; the script was filled with dense black text and various colored markings.

You can tell he was under immense pressure during this scene, wanting to annotate every single line, thinking about it so much and so deeply, getting too caught up in the inner monologues of the character.

Having too many distracting thoughts can actually diminish one's purity, but with a little guidance, it can be brought back.

After crossing out the useless ideas, Shen Li returned the script to the male lead. His eyes lit up after reading it: "I understand, thank you so much, Mr. Shen..."

"Hmm?" Shen Li glanced at him sideways.

"Oh, sister, Sister Shen Li." The male lead scratched his head and changed his address.

Shen Li: "Think more about your first impression of the character. It's important to thoroughly understand the character's personality, but you should also choose to incorporate some of your own ideas."

"I've got it." The male lead smiled and quickly regained his form after filming began.

With the director's shout of "Cut!", the staff dispersed.

Shen Li returned to the RV and saw Xiao Yu talking to the second female lead by the door, with Luo Mingxiu standing next to her. Their eyes met, and she quickly walked over, but just as she reached him, he walked away with his assistant.

What do you mean? Didn't you see it?

Or is he avoiding her?

Shen Li felt a sudden surge of anger, but she suppressed it after thinking about it.

If he didn't want to see her, he wouldn't have come to act in her play. Since he's here, and he's playing her bodyguard anyway, there will be plenty of scenes together later. Let's see how long he can hide.

H City has entered autumn, but it's only cooler in the mornings and evenings; the daytime high temperature red alert continues.

The director announced in the group chat that action scenes would be filmed in the evening or early morning, and indoor dialogue scenes would be filmed if the temperature was too high in the afternoon.

Shen Li filmed with almost no pauses and boundless energy, and on the very first day, she was far ahead of the competition. In fact, she often led the director team through the scheduling, leading the staff to exclaim that she truly deserved to be called a grand slam winner in both film and television, her skill was terrifying.

After filming a scene in one continuous take, Director Liu excitedly came over and couldn't help but praise her.

She finished work early, thinking that if Luo Mingxiu's progress in Group B was fine that morning, he should be moved to Group A to work on the dialogue scenes.

She asked Director Liu about the location of the venue, wanting to go and take a look.

Director Liu asked a few questions into the walkie-talkie, then turned to Shen Li and said, "Old Zhang said the progress over there is pretty fast, they're filming the last scene, do we still need to go over there?"

“Go and give them some supervision and guidance,” Shen Li said.

Yes, she provides supervision and guidance, after all, she is also one of the producers.

Although Director Liu looked puzzled, he still agreed with her: "Okay, I'll go take a look too."

After passing through the quaint corridor, we arrived at the filming location's private room. This scene involved Luo Mingxiu being confessed to; after recovering from her injury, the second female lead hugged him and confessed her feelings. He rejected her, and she then questioned him.

"Li Ze, your feelings for Huai Xi aren't gratitude, are they?"

He should portray himself as surprised upon hearing this, but then regaining his composure.

In the drama, he secretly loves the person he protects, Xie Huaixi, the daughter of his savior. The two are of vastly different social statuses, and Li Ze always looks up to her, silently following and protecting her like a star holding the moon.

He never dared to reveal even a trace of emotion, and his restraint kept Xie Huaixi from discovering it until the very end.

"Miss has been incredibly kind to me, and I only feel gratitude towards her in return," Li Ze said calmly.

Upon reaching the monitor, Shen Li bent down to carefully observe Luo Mingxiu's expression. The fleeting look of unbearable discomfort she captured was, undeniably, very well done.

Director Zhang, who was in charge of filming, saw her and was about to speak when Shen Li shook her head, signaling him to continue.

"Can I have a hug?" Actually, the second female lead already knew Li Ze's true answer. She had tears in her eyes and was just asking for some comfort.

Unexpectedly, Li Ze actually hugged her, and the side-angle shot captured the beautiful tears that slid down her cheeks.

From Luo Mingxiu's perspective, he could see the main camera on Director Zhang's side. When he looked up and his eyes swept over this side, he saw Shen Li and his expression instantly became flustered. His hand rested unnaturally on the second female lead's back.

"What's going on?" Director Zhang frowned.

Luo Mingxiu: "Sorry, director, I was daydreaming."