The director sat in front of the monitor and called for the start of filming. The staff on set fell silent.

Lin Simeng pushed a large trash can through the hotel lobby. When she passed by Shen Mingyou, she accidentally slipped and lightly bumped into her, causing Shen Mingyou to fall.

Lin Simeng didn’t use much force because she didn’t want to hurt anyone, so the bump was barely noticeable. Most of the staff didn’t see the touch.

The director noticed on the monitor that Lin Simeng’s bump seemed too weak to make someone fall. He was about to call for a reshoot when, unexpectedly, Shen Mingyou fell to the ground as if she had been hit hard.

Shen Mingyou, showing some disbelief and anger, looked at Lin Simeng, who was a hotel cleaner, and said coldly, “Don’t you have eyes?”

Lin Simeng was scared and apologized, saying she didn’t mean to hit Shen Mingyou. She was puzzled why Shen Mingyou fell despite the light touch.

The on-set staff began to suspect Shen Mingyou might be pretending. If not, her fall was incredibly realistic, and her reaction seemed too convincing.

Then they realized Shen Mingyou’s lines seemed to come from the script. Was she acting?

The director was impressed. Despite the weak bump, Shen Mingyou’s performance was so real. Her fall, expression, and tone perfectly matched the spoiled rich girl in the script.

Everyone was surprised by Shen Mingyou’s acting skills, including her boss, Geng Feng, who questioned how the artist he thought had poor acting skills could perform so well.

Shen Mingyou got up, smiling, and asked Lin Simeng if she thought she acted well. Lin Simeng, relieved by Shen Mingyou’s kindness, said she thought the fall looked painful.

Shen Mingyou reassured her that she used a technique to make it look realistic without hurting herself and offered to teach Lin Simeng the trick.

The director, excited, asked everyone to get ready for another take. This time, Lin Simeng used the right amount of force. Shen Mingyou’s fall and lines were perfect.

After filming, Geng Feng, handing Shen Mingyou water, asked if she had suddenly become a great actress. Shen Mingyou explained that despite retiring from the entertainment industry for five years, she continued to study acting and movies.

Geng Feng was thrilled and decided to get more scripts for Shen Mingyou, believing her newfound skills deserved more opportunities.

Looking at Geng Feng’s departing figure, Shen Mingyou smiled.

After a break, the crew moved all the filming equipment from the hotel lobby to a luxurious penthouse suite on the top floor to continue filming.

When the staff arrived at the suite, their eyes widened with amazement.

“Wow, this is my first time in the penthouse suite at the European Emperor Hotel. It’s so luxurious.”

“I heard that staying here for one night costs more than six figures. It really is something!”

“It’s so expensive! I wouldn’t be able to afford it.”

“I heard Guan Qian might be staying next door. She booked this hotel for her stay while filming in Ouhuang. Now that she’s stopped filming, I wonder if she’s checked out.”

“She should have checked out. She doesn’t need to stay here anymore.”

…

“Alright, stop chatting and let’s get to work.” The director was pleased with the suite, despite the high cost. Although it was exciting to shoot an idol drama in such a lavish setting, as a less affluent director, this was a new experience for him!

If Guan Qian hadn’t been unhappy with the previous hotel, and if the producer hadn’t worked hard to secure additional investment to keep her, they wouldn’t have rented such an expensive place.

Every minute here cost money, so the director wanted to use the time wisely.

The equipment was set up, the staff were ready, and just as they were about to start filming, an uninvited guest walked in.

“Director, have you found the second female lead yet?” Guan Qian entered, looking at the director with a smile, “Who will be replacing me?”

“It doesn’t matter who it is. Since the contract is terminated, there’s no need for you to come here,” the director said, still focused on the monitor. He ordered, “Everyone not involved with the filming, please leave immediately.”

Guan Qian smiled and said, “Irrelevant personnel? Soon, you might find yourselves irrelevant too.”

Just then, a man in a European Emperor Hotel uniform walked in. He approached the director and producer and said, “Director Shi, we are only renting to your crew because Miss Guan Qian is a close friend of our chairman’s daughter. Now that Miss Guan Qian has terminated her contract, the rental agreement is void.”

He added, “All irrelevant people must leave immediately. If you stay longer, we will call security.”

“Wait a minute, you’re breaching the contract. It’s clearly written and signed,” Shi Yan protested. Finding another hotel on short notice was challenging, and they were satisfied with the European Emperor Hotel. The drama they were filming, a CEO drama, required a luxurious hotel to reflect the CEO’s wealth.

Even though Guan Qian arranged the hotel, the producer had invested extra to afford it. With the contract signed and paid for, they couldn’t just cancel it now.

The producer tried to negotiate, “We need just five more days to finish filming. We won’t ask for a refund for the extra two days. Can we work something out?”

The contract didn’t include liquidated damages, so if the hotel breached the contract, they wouldn’t owe any compensation.

The producer pleaded, but the hotel staff remained unmoved.

Guan Qian had originally not intended to be so harsh. She thought if the director apologized, she might return to filming. But the crew had already found a replacement for her, so she decided to make trouble. Coming from a well-off family, she had never faced such an issue before. After speaking with her friend Zhao Qi, she decided to confront the crew.

Zhao Qi is the daughter of the chairman of the Zhao Group. The European Emperor Hotel is a subsidiary of this group, and Zhao Qi had agreed to help her with this matter.

Guan Qian said, “You better leave quickly. It will be embarrassing if security has to remove you.”

The director and producer were unhappy, and the staff were angry, but they had no choice but to leave. They packed up their things.

“Wait a minute,” Shen Mingyou, who had been watching nearby, stepped forward and addressed Guan Qian, “Are you friends with Zhao Qi?”

Guan Qian recognized Shen Mingyou, realizing she was the one replacing her as the second female lead.

“Do you know Zhao Qi?”

Shen Mingyou replied, “Tell Zhao Qi not to get too involved. It’s not her place to control the European Emperor Hotel.”

“What do you mean? The European Emperor Hotel is part of the Zhao Group, and Zhao Qi is the chairman’s daughter. If she can’t interfere, how can you?” Guan Qian knew Shen Mingyou was called a wealthy lady online and recently became the Asian spokesperson for a brand. Although she wasn’t sure about Shen Mingyou’s family, she doubted Shen Mingyou was on par with the Zhao family.

Even Guan Qiang had to show some respect in front of Zhao Qi, the daughter of the Zhao family.

As Guan Qian was about to ask more questions, a few people hurried in from outside. One of them was a senior manager from the European Emperor Hotel. When the hotel staff member who had chased the crew away saw him, he immediately greeted him and shouted, “General Manager.”

The general manager walked up to the director and apologized, “I’m sorry for the hotel’s mistake. Since we have a contract, we need to follow it. If time is short, the crew can rent the hotel for a few more days.”

Director/Producer: “…”

Afterward, the hotel sent in some food carts with afternoon tea for the crew as an apology.

When everyone left, the director and producer looked at Shen Mingyou and asked quietly, “Mingyou, what is your connection to the Zhao Group?”

After Guan Qiang left, she immediately called Zhao Qi.

Zhao Qi asked on the phone: “Have you seen Shen Mingyou?”

“Yes, do you know her?” Guan Qian was curious about why Shen Mingyou seemed so bold and interfered too much and that it’s not your place to get involved with the European Emperor Hotel. What does that mean? Who is Shen Mingyou?”