Ye Zhiwei has already asked someone to keep an eye on Qin Manshu, but it's impossible for her to keep track of Qin Manshu all the time; she can only know a general idea of Qin Manshu's activities.
Qin Manshu eventually invested in Edward's "The Wall". She usually shuttled between the research center and the Qin family. Of course, the research center she visited was not only the Qin family's research center, but also the research and development department set up by Jiang Shichu's company.
Besides running between these two places, she would also go to the film set to find Ye Yingying under the guise of being Ye Zhiwei's friend. Sometimes it seemed like she was just looking for Ye Yingying to chat, and other times she would just look at Ye Yingying without saying a word. When others asked, she would just nod and say, "The young lady's acting skills are very good."
No one seemed to notice that Qin Manshu was acting strangely, except for Ye Yingying, who could sense that Qin Manshu was recalling something through her.
When Qin Manshu came to visit the set as an investor, no one found it strange. In fact, Lin Chaomu was always trembling with fear whenever she saw Qin Manshu. Whenever Qin Manshu was in her scene, Edward would make her do several takes. In the end, Edward probably realized that Lin Chaomu was doing this because of Qin Manshu, so he made Lin Chaomu leave whenever Qin Manshu was around.
Qin Manshu frequently appeared on set, while Yu Jingchen visited much less often. In fact, there were already rumors on set that the two seemed to be preparing for an engagement, but it seemed to be purely a business engagement, with little affection between them. Even when Qin Manshu and Yu Jingchen visited the set together once or twice, they were always very polite to each other.
Ye Yingying's position was much more delicate. Others could sense that Yu Jingchen seemed to be paying attention to her, and Ye Yingying could as well. Even Qin Manshu, besides staring at her, would occasionally look at her with a meaningful smile and say, "I wonder why Jingchen has come here so many times—"
Looking at her smiling like that, what else could be the reason behind her words?
She was clearly about to get engaged to Yu Jingchen, and it was said that the two had attended some business events together. Although they hadn't officially announced their engagement, everyone could tell that the Yu and Qin families wanted to form a marriage alliance.
Qin Manshu's seemingly joking remark could actually cause Ye Yingying to capsize if she wasn't careful.
Ye Yingying's greatest skill was playing dumb. If Yu Jingchen came alone, Lin Chaomu wouldn't even need to say a word; she would already be looking at Yu Jingchen with tender affection, hesitant to speak. Although she dared not make any movements or say any words, her demeanor was more powerful than words. If Qin Manshu and Yu Jingchen appeared together, she would always be polite and courteous. If Qin Manshu occasionally said something, she would pretend not to understand, looking at Qin Manshu with a blank expression. After this happened many times, Qin Manshu would just give Ye Yingying a deep look and say nothing more.
During this period, Jiang Jianian would go to the company with Ye Qingcheng, and Ye Zhiwei would also visit Ye Yingying on set when Qin Manshu was on set.
Because Edward's film crew was in a remote area and there wasn't much to bring there, Ye Zhiwei had someone prepare cakes, coffee, and milk tea in advance to take with them.
When Ye Zhiwei went over, she saw Qin Manshu looking surprised. Qin Manshu, on the other hand, was much calmer when she saw Ye Zhiwei. She composed herself and smiled as she accepted the cake and milk tea that Ye Zhiwei personally handed her. "Desserts are delicious, but they are very sugary. It's fine to eat them occasionally, but you can't overdo it."
Ye Zhiwei explained, "I didn't bring these over because I thought everyone had worked hard. I brought Tang Xinxin's new low-sugar, low-fat cake, the coffee is bitter coffee, and the milk tea is handmade milk tea with only 30% sugar, because I know that artists can't drink anything too sweet."
"You're so kind, Zhiwei."
Ye Zhiwei's arrival was coincidental, coinciding with a break. Furthermore, everyone in the industry knew that Ye Zhiwei was a beloved cousin of the heir of Huayu Times. Upon seeing Ye Zhiwei, they all greeted her warmly. Edward, in particular, expressed his welcome, saying with a smile, "I've worked with some of the staff from Yu Shishu's previous production team. They were quite envious when they learned that Ye Yingying was also on our set. They said that everyone would be lucky to have her sister here, and now I'm finally enjoying that blessing myself."
Qin Manshu smiled and asked the director, "It's a blessing that she's here, but what about if I'm here?"
"You," Edward shook his head, half-jokingly and half-annoyed, "You're probably here to supervise the project. Sure enough, capitalists' money isn't easy to get. Even Boss Yu isn't as meticulous as you. It's only been a short time since filming started—"
Ye Zhiwei said with a smile, "Well, I also have my own purpose. I hope everyone can take better care of my sister."
Ye Zhiwei often went to Ye Yingying's film set, so Qin Manshu was not surprised that she came here. She even guessed that she would run into Ye Zhiwei on set.
As Ye Zhiwei talked to the director, she looked around. The location was rather desolate. It was probably an abandoned old building that Edward had temporarily renovated. The atmosphere was very strong, probably because Edward wanted to present the greatest sense of realism. Even during the break, the set was completely sealed off, and the atmosphere was somewhat eerie.
Actually, this place is only used for filming during the day. Edward is a Buddhist and avoids ghosts and spirits. He comes to film during the day and rarely stays at night, unless necessary to take a few shots at night. But before leaving, he always has someone prepare something to pray for him.
Ye Zhiwei asked the director, "Where's Yingying?"
Edward laughed and said, "She's probably still touching up her makeup in the dressing room. We might be filming some nightmare scenes later, so she needs to get her makeup done first. It'll probably take quite a while. Maybe I should let her come out first."
This only applies to Ye Zhiwei; if it were anyone else, she wouldn't be allowed to delay filming.
But Ye Zhiwei knew it wasn't appropriate, so she shook her head and smiled, "No need, no need. I'll stay a little longer today so she can have a good time to do her makeup."
Because the subject matter is quite sensitive, the costumes and props for the actors are rather dark, and their makeup is very simple. Edward must have specifically selected the actors, as they are all basically bare-faced. The actresses only have a base makeup, and they don't wear lipstick or eyebrows. Those who dared to participate in this shoot are really going all out. Movies are meant to magnify facial flaws, and with the fact that they are basically bare-faced, sometimes they even have to ruin their image and look disheveled.
Although it's a break time, most of the artists are still nervously rehearsing their lines.
Ye Zhiwei stopped disturbing the crew's work and found a place to sit down and wait for Ye Yingying to finish her makeup. She noticed that there were Buddha statues and similar items placed outside the filming location, which seemed to be arranged by the director. She felt a pang of sympathy and couldn't help but sigh, "I remember the director is from the South and seems to believe in these things."
Hearing Ye Zhiwei's words, Qin Manshu sat down next to Ye Zhiwei, took a deep look at her, and then slowly asked, "Little cousin, don't you believe in these things?"
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