Chapter 15 Exploration is also a ritual
"Oh, right!" Director Liu made his signature forehead-slapping gesture. "Come on, Yuheng, sit next to me. I specially saved a seat for you!"
“Okay,” Shen Yuheng said without refusing, and sat down next to Director Liu.
Directly opposite Jiang Xinglan.
As he sat down, Shen Yuheng's gaze swept across the entire table. When he looked at Li Luo and Jiang Xinglan, he nodded slightly and gave them a polite smile.
After exchanging a few more pleasantries with everyone, and the atmosphere in the private room warmed up again, Shen Yuheng stood up at the right moment, holding a wine glass, attracting everyone's attention.
"Director Liu, Teacher Li, I'm so sorry, I had a call to action and I'm late."
"This toast is to everyone's understanding and for providing such a valuable opportunity for me to participate in such a meaningful project."
Shen Yuheng drank the wine in one swift motion, then poured himself a second glass, glancing at Jiang Xinglan and the other seniors at the table.
"This second toast is to Teacher Jiang and all the seniors present."
"I am well aware that I still have a lot to learn, whether it is in acting or in the professional details of experiments. I will have to be shameless and ask for advice from my seniors and Teacher Jiang. I hope that all the teachers will be generous in their guidance."
He raised his glass again, greeted everyone, and then drank it all in one gulp.
Li Luo, one of the project leaders, smiled and said, "Teacher Shen, you don't need to feel too much pressure. We naturally chose you to star in this role because we trust you."
"As for the professional details you mentioned, with Professor Jiang here, there won't be any problems."
Everyone's attention turned to Jiang Xinglan as Li Luo spoke.
Jiang Xinglan remained calm and composed as always. "Teacher Shen, you're too kind. This is simply my duty. Please feel free to discuss any questions you may have."
"Great!" Director Liu raised his glass, stood up, and laughed, "With everyone working together, we're sure to make a great film!"
Jiang Xinglan followed the others, stood up, and raised her glass.
Before Producer Sun could speak, Shen Yuheng interjected, "I've heard that researchers try to avoid drinking alcohol to ensure their judgment, coordination, and stability."
Shen Yuheng put down his wine glass and replaced it with a teacup, saying, "Then as a 'prospective researcher,' I must also abide by the rules."
Jiang Xinglan wasn't unaware that Producer Sun had glanced at her cup with an ambiguous expression, but she didn't expect that the reason she had prepared would be revealed by Shen Yuheng.
Jiang Xinglan looked at Shen Yuheng and met his gentle, smiling eyes.
She paused slightly, then nodded almost imperceptibly, as if to thank him for his quiet help in resolving the situation.
"You're already in character, kid!" Director Liu chuckled, patting Shen Yuheng on the shoulder. "That's a good thing! Come on! Wish us a smooth shoot!"
Amidst a chorus of well wishes, the dinner party drew to a close.
The actors, having gathered together, naturally had to leave in batches.
In the end, only Shen Yuheng, Jiang Xinglan, and a few others remained.
When the waiter brought Jiang Xinglan's car over, Li Luo said, "I'd like to trouble you to give me a ride, junior sister. I also have something to tell you."
“Okay,” Jiang Xinglan readily agreed. As she walked to the driver’s seat and opened the car door, her gaze met Shen Yuheng’s eyes once again.
Jiang Xinglan nodded slightly and got into the driver's seat.
"Then, Ms. Shen, Agent Wei, we'll be leaving now," Li Luo said.
Shen Yuheng wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt that Li Luo gave him a meaningful look when he got into the car.
Even after the car smoothly drove out of the parking lot and disappeared from Shen Yuheng's sight, he still hadn't figured it out.
"Stop looking, the taillights are completely gone!" Wei Yu stood next to Shen Yuheng and followed his gaze. "What? Envious that your senior brother can ride in his junior sister's car?"
Shen Yuheng did not answer, but instead replayed the events of the day in his mind.
Especially the way Li Luo and Jiang Xinglan interacted, that last look in their eyes, and that word "we".
Whether from the perspective of filming or based on experience, the two should just be friends.
Shen Yuheng told Wei Yu his guess in the car.
After hearing this, Wei Yu rolled his eyes at him without any politeness. "Shen, the great movie star, let me remind you, since your debut, you've only acted in a handful of romantic scenes, and as far as I know, you have never had any romantic experience."
“Of course,” Wei Yu leaned back and spread his hands, “if you’re hiding something from me, then that’s a different story.”
“Brother Wei, you know perfectly well that the only thing I’ve been hiding from you is what’s about her,” Shen Yuheng said quietly.
"So, don't you think your so-called experience is really too meager?" Wei Yu said. "However, in my opinion, these two may really only be related as senior and junior brothers and sisters."
“Look at how open and natural these two are,” Wei Yu said, stroking his chin. “As the saying goes, open and natural relationships are friendships, while only those as cautious as you are are love.”
Wei Yu's words were like a reassurance to Shen Yuheng.
But he still remembered the question Wei Yu had asked.
Are you envious?
Of course he was envious.
She envied Li Luo for being able to stand beside her as a matter of course.
He envied that he could see different versions of Jiang Xinglan.
I envy him for being able to participate in Jiang Xinglan's world.
But it doesn't matter, now he also has a chance to participate in her world.
---
In the car, Jiang Xinglan spoke up, "Senior brother, is there something you want to say?"
“It’s nothing,” Li Luo shook his head, “but I think I’ve discovered something interesting.”
"What?" Jiang Xinglan asked casually.
Li Luo didn't answer, but instead asked a question, "Junior sister, what do you think of Shen Yuheng?"
"Senior brother, you seem to pay a lot of attention to him?" Jiang Xinglan's tone was noticeably hesitant. "You wouldn't happen to be a fan of Shen Yuheng, would you?"
“How could that be!” Li Luo immediately denied it. “Your sister-in-law is the one who’s finished.”
"how?"
"Your sister-in-law is a fan of his and asked me for an autographed photo, but I forgot." Li Luo covered his face, looking regretful.
Jiang Xinglan felt that this situation seemed so familiar.
"Why do you have that expression too?" Li Luo asked, glancing at Jiang Xinglan.
"Song Yu is also a fan of Shen Yuheng."
The two exchanged a quick glance and then laughed helplessly.
Fortunately, the next opportunity came soon.
To avoid actors receiving too much professional knowledge at once, which they might forget during subsequent filming.
Therefore, a method of training while filming was adopted.
Three days later, the crew of "Starlight Never Fails" held a launch ceremony in front of the laboratory building.
When the red silk-covered desk and the huge incense burner appeared in front of the laboratory building, which symbolized scientific rigor, Jiang Xinglan felt an indescribable sense of wonder.
She thought back to her act of forwarding lucky koi fish images that night.
She sees it as a ritual, a ritual of restarting.
And these things in front of us are also a kind of ritual, a ritual to ensure a smooth shoot.
Jiang Xinglan suddenly realized that she had been in a fixed, safe, and comfortable range all these years.
Perhaps now is a good opportunity for her to explore other worlds?
---
That afternoon, the official account of "Starlight Never Fails" released a series of promotional images and tagged all the main actors, including Jiang Xinglan, who was mentioned as a research consultant.
As a result, the hashtag #《Starlight Never Fails》Shen Yuheng# quickly climbed the trending topics list and moved higher and higher.
Fans rushed to the scene upon hearing the news, leaving numerous comments. Under the active guidance of Shen Yuheng's biggest fans, most of the comments were praise and anticipation.
However, some negative comments have also emerged, questioning Shen Yuheng's acting skills and smearing him.
A small number of extreme female fans noticed the name Jiang Xinglan and, fearing that she might use this to get close to Shen Yuheng, clamored for a change of actress.
However, since the production team did not have an account to tag Jiang Xinglan, these people could only frantically comment on the promotional posts.
Although it was quickly removed from the list, the production team noticed it immediately.
"Phew," the PR person breathed a sigh of relief and said to the person next to him, "No wonder Agent Wei specifically told us not to tag Teacher Jiang's account."
"Exactly, otherwise, I can't even imagine what Teacher Jiang's comment section would look like now."
"As expected of a top agent in the industry, they've thought of everything so thoroughly," the publicist said. "It would be disheartening if a research talent like Professor Jiang were to be insulted for this."
“However, we should still talk to Agent Wei about this,” another person said.
"Okay, I'll tell you now."
Actually, Wei Yu had been paying attention all along without them reminding him, since this method was proposed by Shen Yuheng.
Wei Yu showed the comments to Shen Yuheng, "Although you haven't cultivated a boyfriend persona over the years, you still have female fans. But don't worry, I've already arranged for someone to delete the comments in time."
Shen Yuheng frowned as he looked at the comments. Publishing the list of advisors was a strict requirement, intended to demonstrate rigor and sincerity.
The current arrangement—only revealing the name without tagging the account, and arranging for someone to delete the comments promptly—is the best he could do.
Even so, there is still a possibility that Jiang Xinglan will see these comments.
Thinking of this, Shen Yuheng's heart clenched.
“Look,” Wei Yu held up his phone in front of Shen Yuheng, showing him a fan’s profile, “those comments and posts have all been deleted. I didn’t expect them to be so efficient.”
Shen Yuheng looked up and saw that there were indeed no more posts with insults.
Because it only displayed one line of small print: "This user's account will be unbanned after 30 days."
"What's wrong?" Wei Yu was clearly taken aback when he saw Shen Yuheng.
"The account has been banned."
"How is that possible?" Wei Yu withdrew his hand and checked the other accounts. Without exception, they had all been banned. He was also a little dumbfounded. "I only arranged for the comments to be deleted."
Wei Yu pondered for a moment, then said cautiously, "Could it be that the higher-ups felt things had gone too far, so they took action?"
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