Chapter 134 The Show Begins

Gao Yifeng felt anxious from the morning onwards.

As people get older, their health is always a bit off. Now that they are filming in the deep mountains and forests, they can't just leave the crew to treat their illnesses on their own, so they asked their assistant to contact a doctor and get a course of traditional Chinese medicine.

That evening, after drinking the Chinese medicine, he not only didn't feel better, but his heart felt even worse, a kind of uneasy discomfort.

I have a feeling that something is about to happen.

At 8 p.m., just as we were about to film the night scene, an old friend from the industry suddenly called.

Gao Yifeng gestured for the art director to stop for a moment, then walked to the side and said, "Brother, it's been a long time since we last contacted each other. What brings you here?"

The two hadn't been in touch for a long time, and they should have exchanged pleasantries first, but the other side didn't even bother with pleasantries and went straight to saying, "Yifeng, I heard that something might happen to you. Be prepared."

Gao Yifeng's heart skipped a beat: "Something happened? What happened?"

"I don't know, but you should think about what to do first."

After saying that, his old friend hung up the phone.

Having been in the industry for so long, Gao Yifeng knew that his old friend must have overheard something, but there were people he didn't want to offend, or multiple interests involved, so he didn't dare to say it outright.

Could it be that Xia Mian couldn't resist going out and exposing herself?

That would be incredibly unwise. The marriage is already dead in all but name. What good would it do him to ruin the business he just got?

Gao Yifeng lit a cigarette and beckoned to Xia Mian: "Xia, come here for a moment."

Xia Mian thought the director was going to give her acting instructions, so she ran over.

Then he was stunned by the barrage of questions: "You contacted the media?"

“No,” Xia Mian explained, thinking the director was afraid he would spoil the plot. “At the beginning of filming, in order to maintain my condition, I turned down all interviews and live broadcasts.”

"Didn't you mention that family matter to anyone?"

Xia Mian then realized what the other person wanted to ask.

He suddenly felt nauseous.

That's enough.

From the beginning of the incident, Gao Yifeng has maintained a conciliatory attitude, which Xia Mian can understand. When interests are at stake, it is understandable to consider one's own interests more.

But now... Xia Mian scoffed: "So what if I bring it up, or so what if I don't?"

Hearing this, Gao Yifeng became anxious: "Did you consider the consequences before you said that? Can you bear the responsibility?"

“I don’t need to know whether I can bear the responsibility or not, I only need to know that I did nothing wrong. I have been the victim from beginning to end, and what about you?” Xia Mian pointed at Gao Yifeng’s nose, “Did you consider whether you were qualified before questioning me? As the perpetrator, you still have the nerve to be right?”

Gao Yifeng, a professionally trained actor, joined a production team as an assistant director right after graduation. He'd spent most of his life being flattered by agents and actors; he'd never been insulted like that before. His face flushed with anger, he stammered, "Xia Mian, you really, really..."

At this point, his heart ached even more, and he turned to get his heart medication. The commotion they made was quite loud, and the other actors, hearing it, quickly gathered around.

"What's wrong? Did you have a heart attack?" Tan Jingcheng was the first to help Gao Yifeng up. "Director Gao, did Xia make you angry?"

"No, it's okay, help me open it." Gao Yifeng pointed to the thermos.

Tan Jingcheng unscrewed the water glass, and while helping Gao Yifeng take his medicine, he turned to Xia Mian and said in a serious tone, "Xia, you have too quick a temper. You know Director Gao has a heart condition. Can't you talk things out properly?"

Xia Mian sneered: "Yes, I should learn from you. If you have something to say, go talk to someone else's boyfriend or husband properly."

His voice wasn't quiet. Just before filming started, it was the busiest time for the crew, and all the crew members were on set, so they naturally heard Xia Mian's words.

Wow, there's new gossip! Everyone basically knows that Tan Jingcheng was having a secret rendezvous with Xia Mian's husband, but what's with the "other person's boyfriend" thing?

The noisy crew instantly fell silent, all waiting for Xia Mian to continue her revelations. Tan Jingcheng sensed the change in atmosphere, his face turning extremely grim: "Xia Mian, don't make false accusations!"

"What? It wasn't you standing in front of my lover's car door wearing a thin shirt?"

Mentioning "thin little shirt" reminded Tan Jingcheng of Zhou Pingchuan's words, and he felt so angry that his vision blurred.

In public, he would never admit it, so he put on a pitiful expression: "Xia, I know the media made up all sorts of news and misled you, but that day I just wanted to say hello to Mr. Zhou. We didn't have anything going on. I swear to God, it's true."

His tone was sincere, and his oath was made with unwavering certainty. Upon hearing this, the onlookers began to waver.

"Could it really be something the media made up?"

"These days, entertainment reporters love to exaggerate and make things out of nothing. They haven't even taken a picture of the two of them together, so where did they meet in secret?"

"Yeah, yeah! If it were true, how could Xia Mian possibly continue to cooperate with Brother Tan? They would have torn each other apart long ago!"

"Why didn't he say anything earlier or later? Brother Tan gave him a couple of words of advice, and he started acting crazy. Brother Tan's in trouble now!"

As expected of a veteran actor, he can turn right and wrong upside down with just a few words. If Xia Mian hadn't overheard Tan Jingcheng admitting it to his agent at the hotel, she would have believed his story.

Xia Mian ignored the onlookers and turned to look at Gao Yifeng.

Gao Yifeng stood there, clutching his chest, having mostly calmed down. They had overheard the conversation together that day, but now, faced with Tan Jingcheng's lies, Gao Yifeng felt no emotion whatsoever!

He never thought of saying a single word for Xia Mian, letting her be criticized by others.

Xia Mian suddenly realized that she had been wrong all along.

This circle can harbor filth and depravity, and it can have many absurd people and absurd marriages, but "existence" does not necessarily mean it is reasonable.

Right is right, and wrong is wrong. If everyone forces themselves to swallow their grievances just because "everyone does it this way," wouldn't this circle become even more distorted?

Xia Mian curved her lips into a smile, a look of relief on her face.

Tan Jingcheng and Gao Yifeng exchanged a glance, but felt a chill run down their spines—was Xia Mian going to drag them down with her?

"Alright, alright," Gao Yifeng quickly called for a stop, as the situation was getting out of control if they continued like this. "We're having a normal discussion, so get back to work. You have ten minutes, and we'll start working on time in ten minutes!"

Tan Jingcheng readily agreed: "Okay, I'll familiarize myself with the positioning."

After saying that, he turned to leave. Upon hearing that work would begin in ten minutes, the staff from each group tensed up and dispersed, preparing to return to their respective work stations.

Summer hibernation is not allowed! The show has only just begun, how can the male lead and the audience leave?!

"Wait a minute." Xia Mian called out to everyone, took out his phone, and found the video he had recorded a few days ago. Luckily, he had a backup plan—on the night he overheard the conversation, after saying goodbye to Gao Yifeng, he went downstairs and, under the pretext of losing jewelry, went to the front desk to retrieve a copy of the corridor's surveillance footage and recorded it on his phone.

The surveillance footage and audio quality of the small hotel were mediocre, making conversations difficult to understand. However, he used his financial resources to hire a professional to repair the audio. As for the video quality, it didn't matter; he and Gao Yifeng were easily distinguishable by their height and build.

Xia Mian opened the video, turned up the volume, and planned to play it for everyone to hear. At this moment, the assistant director suddenly looked serious, rushed over, and whispered something in Gao Yifeng's ear.

After hearing this, Gao Yifeng's eyes rolled back and he fainted!