Chapter 556: The Heavenly Emperor did not save that mother before filming began.

As the mother ran towards the Heavenly Emperor with all her might, he neither dodged nor flinched, but simply stood still. This gave the mother a glimmer of hope.

The mother rushed to the feet of the Heavenly Emperor, trembling as she handed the child to Him.

The Earth has been abandoned for years, becoming a garbage dump and a pool of acid rain. The air is polluted, and the rainwater is corrosive. This mother left in a hurry, without any protective measures, yet her child was wrapped in a high-performance protective material and remained completely unharmed.

When she rushed to the Heavenly Emperor, the mother was exhausted and covered in wounds. She knew she probably wouldn't survive this ordeal and only hoped that the Heavenly Emperor could rescue her child—this was her last hope.

The Heavenly Emperor looked down at his mother and her child, neither helping the mother up nor taking the child.

The mother prayed incessantly, her expression shifting from surprise to pleading, and finally to despair. Throughout it all, the Heavenly Emperor remained silent.

Finally, the AIs of the main gods caught up and took the mother away in front of the Heavenly Emperor.

As for the Celestial Ruler, after scanning him, the AIs found that he was not one of the universe's most wanted criminals, so they stopped bothering with him. They were relatively dull, low-level AIs, only responsible for their assigned tasks and not meddling in other people's business.

The mother, who was being dragged away, let out a shrill scream. Suddenly, her weak postpartum body burst forth with incredible strength, and she managed to break free from the robot's grip!

Through the protective material, the mother gently kissed the baby wrapped in black cloth. Suddenly, she turned her head and looked at the Heavenly Emperor standing not far away with eyes full of despair, hatred, sorrow, and resolve.

The Heavenly Emperor's cold heart was struck hard by that glance.

The rigid AI was startled by the sudden turn of events and froze for a few seconds. In those brief few seconds, the mother suddenly raised her hands, swung them forcefully, and threw the crying baby in her arms into the air!

The baby streaked across the gray sky and the world like a black shooting star. A few seconds later, or perhaps a century later, a muffled thud echoed from the earth.

"I'd rather my child die as a human being than live as a pig!"

As the Celestial Lord watched his mother's retreating figure, he suddenly felt a strange emotion. For the first time, this demigod doubted and wavered in his stance; he even involuntarily took a step forward, wanting to approach his mother…

But it's only one step.

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The plot of the script flashed through my mind in an instant, and I felt dizzy and my vision blurred.

Yang Huanyi looked even more haggard than before. To fit the role, she wore no makeup. Her loose, sallow skin and fine lines around her eyes were particularly noticeable without any concealing makeup. Most female celebrities in their late thirties in the entertainment industry are well-maintained; it's rare to see someone as haggard as her.

Shang Yechu felt her lips tremble, and her blood seemed to freeze.

"Teacher Yang, it's been a long time," she heard her own voice say.

Yang Huanyi's reaction was quite natural. She walked lightly forward and gave Shang Yechu an exaggerated hug—Shang Yechu felt her bones shrink together, and her face was filled with a surprised smile of joy at their long-awaited reunion.

"Hey, Xiao Ye, long time no see!" Yang Huanyi patted Shang Yechu on the back and laughed, "Ever since 'Anna' wrapped up filming, I've been looking forward to acting with you every day!"

Shang Yechu's throat was dry. She dared not return the hug, fearing that Shao Guangji would notice something amiss, nor did she dare to speak, fearing that her voice would give her away. She could only silently let Yang Huanyi hold her, as if too embarrassed to know how to reply.

Yang Huanyi kept rambling on: "I caught a cold a while ago, it was just a minor ailment. It's all my husband's fault, he insisted I stay in bed for a month to recover. He's so dramatic, it made me miss the script reading..."

Shang Yechu shivered and slowly pulled away from Yang Huanyi's embrace. After a long while, she said, "It's good that you're alright... So Teacher Yang got married. Haha."

Shao Guangji coughed lightly from behind: "The news of Xiao Yang's marriage was announced last month. Don't you go online?"

Yang Huanyi covered her mouth and laughed, "Old Shao, there were so many important things last month, who had time for me! Don't make things difficult for the young people."

As she spoke, she patted Shang Yechu on the back and said with a smile, "Old Shao is an old friend of my husband, so that's how he knows about this. Yechu, don't listen to his nonsense."

Yang Huanyi is nearly forty years old, which is far from being considered an early marriage; getting married is perfectly normal for her. Besides, last month the whole internet was focused on the big gossip about Su Ge's family, so it's normal that no one paid attention to the marriage news of Yang Huanyi, a relatively unknown celebrity.

Shang Yechu said as if in a dream, "Haha, Teacher Shao is a very good director. I have benefited a lot from learning from him these days."

Shao Guangji frowned, seemingly unable to bear it any longer: "Alright, let's not talk about off-set stuff on set. Yang Huanyi, you're late, there are some things you don't know, let the foreman show you around."

Before Yang Huanyi could speak, Shang Yechu nodded and said, "The director is right. I'll go change my clothes first." With that, she turned to leave.

"Stop right there," Shao Guangji shouted. "Sit down here, calm yourself down, and read this passage carefully."

Shao Guangji paused, glanced at Shang Yechu, and slowly added the next sentence:

"We'll do a test shoot first... then we'll start the actual filming."