Chapter 49: Inspiration.

The director rushed to finish filming that day, and the next day, Sheng Yi saw on his WeChat Moments the news that he had welcomed a daughter. Back from his vacation, the film crew's pace quickened once again.

People joked privately that the director was in such a rush because he was eager to go home to his wife and children.

The director chuckled upon hearing this, "Yes, good to know." Then, he deliberately put on a stern face, "Don't think I'll go easy on you."

Knowing his temper, no one dared to try to fool him.

There was a veteran actor in the crew before. It's said that he had to beg and plead with him three times before the actor finally agreed to do him a favor and make an appearance. But when he didn't express himself well with just one look, the director coldly made him do it three times over.

Everyone is on edge, working from dawn till dusk.

After a week of continuous work, Sheng Yi's dark circles under her eyes became more prominent. The makeup artist had to cover them up repeatedly to make her look more energetic in front of the camera.

The rest of the scenes were mostly with Zeng Shaoguang. Jingjing would hold her camera and squat on the set every day to shoot behind-the-scenes footage.

Occasionally, when their scenes didn't overlap, she would come over and say, "Sis, want to go for a walk on set?"

Sheng Yi had heard her draft of a CP (couple pairing) plan, which was so detailed and elaborate that Zeng Shaoguang almost slapped his thigh in disbelief. He wondered where he had found such a treasure and whether he could adopt her.

Jingjing warned with a dark face, "Don't use words you don't know how to use."

Unfortunately, the director is intolerant of any imperfections, so leaks can only be made by following the production team's pace. Private "leaks" combined with official behind-the-scenes footage have amassed a small following online over the course of a month, with fans eagerly awaiting more content.

"You only realize how little material you have when you need it. If we don't shoot now, when will we?" Jingjing said confidently. "Besides, look at how much promotional material there is now. We're only at the beginning."

Sheng Yi sighed, somewhat convinced by her words. She put on her clothes and went to the set. After Zeng Shaoguang finished filming, they had another "enthusiastic conversation".

Finally, after taking a satisfactory picture, Jingjing gestured for them to do as they pleased, and then walked to the side to fiddle with the camera in her hand.

"Seriously, why don't I borrow your assistant for a bit?" Zeng Shaoguang swung his hoe for the 101st time.

Sheng Yi spread his hands, "Let's see if you're sincere by offering a salary first."

No one heard her, but Jingjing muttered quietly to herself, "This can't go on like this."

As the year draws to a close, year-end summaries are about to be released, and invitations to various galas are being bombarded one after another. When the pop-up message for "Best On-Screen Couple of the Year" appeared, Cao Jun was reporting on his recent work progress to his studio team via video call.

He glanced at it briefly and clicked the "X" button. However, these days, with so many ads, you almost want to uninstall them altogether, making the chances of getting away with it on the first try extremely slim.

So when the link redirects directly to the information page, he's already numbly holding the mouse, ready to close it casually.

But... in the center of the screen, there's that familiar silhouette...

No way?!

"No!" he cried out, his eyes covered, looking back in terror.

Ten seconds, nothing. Twenty seconds, not her.

Good, hang in there a little longer.

As Cao Jun watched the progress bar nearing its end, he breathed a sigh of relief, only to be slapped hard by the author.

Kid, you're overthinking it.

That flawless face, so perfectly framed on the screen, now looked like a ghost to him. Especially since, right afterward, that out-of-touch ghost, Zeng Shaoguang, started haunting him again.

My heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally died.

In the next few scenes, the scissorhands is completely immersed in his own art and cannot extricate himself.

With a perfect rhythm and a sweet, romantic background sound, even creatures from different species can find themselves drawn to it, let alone two people who are even slightly attractive.

"Oh no, oh no." Cao Jun quickly took out his phone and checked Weibo. Sure enough, the same topic appeared on the trending list again. He clicked on it and found a bunch of people in the comments section gushing over the names of their ancestors.

"Brother Cao, about this..." someone reminded him.

"Wait, let me calm down for a bit." Cao Jun held his head and rewound the progress bar, finally letting go in despair. "No, I have to talk to Brother Li..."

"But..." the little girl who had just started to speak raised her hand timidly, "Brother Li just left."

What? Didn't you say you weren't going to participate? When did you sneak up here again?

When bad luck strikes, even drinking water can cause problems. Cao Jun opened WeChat, then closed it again, waving his hand dismissively, "Let's adjourn the meeting."

"Did you see the trending topic? The annual on-screen couple roundup, and someone actually included us in the discussion!!" Zeng Shaoguang, who had just finished filming, ran happily to Sheng Yi with his face still covered in makeup.

He had thought that perhaps one day in his lifetime, his name would also rank so high on the list. Of course, that is, assuming his house doesn't collapse.

But isn't it a bit too early?

Sheng Yi had already discussed this with Lao Qian; such a high-profile trending topic must have had people pushing it behind the scenes.

Upon hearing this, Zeng Shaoguang unconsciously leaned forward and asked suspiciously, "Did you arrange for someone to take care of things?"

"How could that be?" Sheng Yi felt insulted. "You overestimate me. I'm still waiting to suck up to you."

"That's strange." Zeng Shaoguang had completely run out of clues.

Just as I was about to back away, I suddenly heard Jingjing's voice behind me, "Hey, good, don't move, yes, just like that."

He had no choice but to remain in that close position, letting her do as she pleased.

Jingjing took a picture of the material she wanted and nodded to indicate that the alarm was off. Unfortunately, she could only keep it for herself for now.

Her account's traffic has been absolutely terrible lately. No matter how many alternate accounts she switches to, they're all being throttled. If she casually shares something, she sees the low view count and decides not to post it at all. It's like she's being targeted and precisely attacked!

Who would have thought that a chance encounter could lead to such a wonderful outcome?

She hummed a little tune and leisurely returned to her room.

Sheng Yi learned about her CP name with Zeng Shaoguang from Wu Simin.

"I searched for ages before finally finding this organization. What's with this 'ten thousand light-years' thing? It's too obscure, and the meaning doesn't sound very good either. If you ask me, the straightforward and direct 'Victory' from next door would be much better."

"When I checked this afternoon, there were already 800 fans. Do you know what 800 means? Last time we filmed a large war scene, we only found about 300 extras."

Wu Simin read the script and vividly recounted it to her, occasionally offering a few comments. When she got excited, she even picked up her phone to retrieve data for her on the spot.

When I clicked into the CP (couple) supertopic, I was completely stunned. "It didn't rise this afternoon, it actually dropped? No way! What happened?!"

Sheng Yi ignored her exaggerated reaction, "She probably left because there wasn't anything interesting to talk about."

She had seen the video too; it was exactly the kind of video where people were lured in and then killed.

Wu Simin was highly suspicious that she might be an undercover agent sent by the rivals. She scrolled down a few screens on her own, then stared at the screen, her mouth agape, looking at the other party who seemed completely unaffected.

"Be normal, you're making it sound like you're going to eat people." Sure enough, Sheng Yi said as soon as she opened her mouth.

"You really are..." Wu Simin couldn't find the right words to describe it, but before hanging up, she reminded him, "Go check it out, it's trending again."

"?" Sheng Yi's eyelids twitched when she saw the words on the trending search, and she immediately dialed Lao Qian's number.

There seemed to be quite a few people on Lao Qian's end, with everyone clinking glasses and having a lively time. Sheng Yi realized that she had indeed acted a bit impulsively and said she was going to hang up. Lao Qian said to wait a moment, and then found a quiet place for her to continue speaking.

Once the noise on the phone subsided, Sheng Yi got straight to the point: "We didn't buy any trending topics, did we?"

Old Qian was caught off guard. "Trending topics? What trending topics? The one from before hasn't even dropped off the list yet!"

The answer was obvious. Sheng Yi, holding her phone, told him, "With Wen Shili."

"Why would I reheat leftovers?" Old Qian chuckled. "It's not like I'm wasting money."

He's been mingling outside under the name of Sheng Yi's agent lately, and he's also come into contact with some people he couldn't reach before. He's slowly come to understand that in this industry, some people have the potential to ride the coattails of fame but not the life to use them.

Nobody knows which side is backing whom, so it's better to just stay put and guard your own territory.

Actually, it's quite good to be like Sheng Yi, who is eager to get ahead and isn't inherently a bad person. They can cooperate with each other, and it will be easier to untie each other later.

As for Wen Shili, having more friends means having more options; who would deliberately make enemies when they have nothing better to do?

Sheng Yi nodded after hearing this, "Yeah, I wonder who's so bored."

When she first saw that trending topic, she thought someone had fabricated something again. But after clicking in, she realized it wasn't a new topic at all; the content was pretty much the same old stuff.

Netizens who had heard the news and were eager to hear about it looked at each other in bewilderment, coming in with a blank expression and leaving with the same blank expression.

Some couldn't hold back and filled the screen with question marks. Others dug up old materials and started clamoring for the organization to take them in.

"Wake up, you're eating expired candy," a kind person reminded you.

"The Seungri CP fans haven't woken up yet. It seems we, Yi Wan Guang Nian, haven't stood high enough." Someone seized the opportunity to promote the pairing.

Of course, more people started discussing whether her rumored affair with Wen Shili was true or false, with each side holding their own opinion and arguing endlessly.

Despite the awkward situation, Sheng Yi still explained the situation to Wen Shili, and the reply was simple: "I know."

Judging from this, they must have some idea. Could it be that his competitor did it? But does he even have a competitor? Sheng Yi's thoughts couldn't help but wander, but he quickly stopped himself.

Just as she was trying to find a topic to end the conversation, the other person clearly had no intention of getting entangled with her either, "Is there anything else?"

That's all, goodbye. Sheng Yi typed a couple of sentences casually, then suddenly remembered the news she had seen a few days ago, and deleted them one by one.

Send it to him again, "Wishing you great success with your album."

The reply was as concise as ever: "Yes, thank you."

For the next two weeks, Sheng Yi was so busy that she couldn't even distinguish between work and off-get off work hours. She was barely hanging on by drinking coffee every day.

Even a chatterbox like Zeng Shaoguang shut his incessant mouth after work, only occasionally trying to tease her. Whenever this happened, Sheng Yi would just twitch the corners of her mouth and put on a smile.

"Go to sleep early, your eye bags are practically falling off the floor," Zeng Shaoguang said sarcastically from the side.

Sheng Yi retorted, "Hurry up and go back to memorize your lines, or you'll get yelled at by the director again tomorrow."

Yes, the director criticized everyone on set indiscriminately; if anything was not done well, they had to accept his on-the-spot guidance.

Sheng Yi only learned later that Wen Shili's album had seen its data steadily rise from the day of its release, and within just a few days, it had broken all the data records that he had previously created and held.

As the popularity soared, fans went from praising to marveling to feeling proud, while those in the industry were even more aware of the significance of the event, showering praise with one chorus after another, all pointing to the fact that Wen Shili's career had reached new heights.

Yes, when Sister Hong told her this, Sheng Yi was also in a daze for a moment. It turns out that some people's career journey is about breaking the benchmark again after they have already become a benchmark, telling future generations that I have never stopped and I am never satisfied.

The two main tracks were released on the same day. One has an extremely unrestrained style, as if roaming through the wilderness, or as if seeking an emotional outlet for a restless heart.

Another piece, according to a music critic, is characterized by a subtle quality that permeates its entirety, yet upon closer listening, it leaves a slightly sweet aftertaste.

When Sheng Yi first heard it, she didn't recognize it. It wasn't until the same melody kept playing in every corner of the film crew that she realized it was the song she had heard in the recording studio before.

The officially released version has been revised again, making it more in line with his own style.

One day during a break, she took a moment to open Weibo and found his interview page.

Wen Shili was dressed casually and sat opposite the host, creating a rather informal interview atmosphere.

The host asked him what his creative inspiration was.

He smiled, seemingly lost in thought, before slowly explaining to the other person that it was a fleeting thought that he desperately wanted to grasp.

"Urgent." The host raised an eyebrow upon hearing this.

Sheng Yi thought she probably understood the meaning behind this action.

Wen Shili gives the impression of being polite, yet also distant and indifferent. Even now, when facing the promotion of his album, he still looks lazy.

What would be urgent for him?

He did not continue the conversation further, as the host had suggested.

The conversation then turned to the behind-the-scenes aspects of other songs. No matter the topic, Wen Shili could talk at length, which was quite different from his usual self.

Sheng Yi stared blankly at the drifting white clouds in the sky for a long time before she realized that it was a sense of firm control over her work and life.