Chapter 2: Clinging to Power

This morning, Tang Xin had a scene where she was slapped by the female lead.

The shoot was taking place in a studio.

The series was a modern workplace drama called White Collar. Tang Xin played the female lead’s high school classmate and assistant. In the story, Tang Xin’s character, He Meng, was a classic “white lotus” type—manipulative and deceitful, the kind of antagonist who made audiences want to slap her.

Today’s scene was a confrontation between the two characters. The female lead discovered that He Meng had sold her clothing designs to a rival company, resulting in a heated argument where He Meng was slapped hard and fired.

By the end of the series, Tang Xin’s character faced complete ruin, ostracized by both the male and female leads and unable to find work, leaving her no choice but to flee the city.

In other words, He Meng was nothing more than a disposable foil to make the female lead’s triumph more satisfying.

The current set depicted an office scene where He Meng, played by Tang Xin, was exposed and about to be slapped by the female lead, Tan Yu, portrayed by Yang Sisi.

The actors were in position. The director signaled readiness and shouted, “Action!”

Tan Yu flung the rival company’s stolen design documents onto the desk. “He Meng, my designs were known only to me—and you. How is it that Red Outfit Co. has designs that are 90% identical to mine?”

The studio was part of a larger film complex in Beijing. This particular set was open-plan, with a viewing area upstairs reserved for VIPs or executives visiting the production. From the upper walkway, one could oversee everything on set.

At the best vantage point on the upper level stood a man, his posture straight and commanding. He wore an impeccably tailored suit, and his handsome, icy face remained stoic.

“Boss, it’s Miss Tang,” remarked his assistant, Fan Bei.

The man, Yue Yuze, said nothing, taking a sip of red wine from the glass a server had just handed him. The vivid liquid stained his already alluring lips, making them even more striking.

“He Meng, it really was you who sold them out! You’re despicable!”

Back on set, after a few lines of confrontation, the scene reached its climax.

Tan Yu, visibly furious, raised her hand and slapped He Meng hard across the face.

Smack!

The sound rang out loudly.

Yue Yuze’s eyes remained fixed on the scene below. Though his expression didn’t change, his hand holding the wine glass tightened slightly.

Down on the set, Tang Xin was stunned by the slap.

In the next second, with everyone waiting for her next line, she suddenly raised her hand and slapped “Tan Yu” back—harder.

Smack!

This time, the sound was even louder.

Yang Sisi, the actress playing Tan Yu, staggered back several steps in her high heels, nearly losing her balance.

Upstairs, Yue Yuze choked slightly on his wine.

Cough.

“Boss, are you okay?” Fan Bei asked, equally stunned by what he had just witnessed.

Having overseen the production, Fan Bei knew the plot of White Collar. This part of the scene definitely didn’t include Tang Xin slapping back.

“Tang Xin, what are you doing?!” The director exploded.

Yang Sisi clutched her face, her eyes welling up with tears of grievance.

Shouted at by the director, Tang Xin rubbed her stinging palm and blinked innocently. “I… I didn’t mean to… She hit me first…” She had momentarily forgotten they were acting.

“Are you out of your mind?!” The director was livid. “This scene has a slap in it! You knew that!”

“I think she did it on purpose! Look at Sisi’s face—it’s all swollen!” Yang Sisi’s manager, Lin Ye, stormed over, ready to grab Tang Xin.

Before Lin Ye could touch her, someone pushed him away and shielded Tang Xin.

“Director Chen, let’s not jump to conclusions. The slap was supposed to be staged, but Yang Sisi actually hit her. That slap was hard! Our Tang Tang must’ve been startled and reacted instinctively with a light tap in return,” said Qi Shu, stepping in to defend her.

The crowd collectively winced at the audacity of calling that retaliation a “light tap,” considering Yang Sisi’s now red and swollen face.

Hearing this, Director Chen looked somewhat guilty but still tried to maintain his stance. “Filming requires adjustments for realism. This scene is critical for showing He Meng’s complete villainy and Tan Yu’s resilience. Sisi and I discussed it beforehand. Using a real slap adds more impact. It’s also beneficial for Tang Xin’s acting experience!”

Qi Shu snapped, “Good acting and directing don’t rely on physically harming actors! How can you justify this?”

“What’s the problem? That’s how it works here! If Tang Xin doesn’t like it, she can leave! Acting? What acting? She doesn’t even have the talent! God knows whose sugar daddy she’s clinging to for this role—midway through casting, we suddenly had to swap out the original actor for her!”

“Director Chen, it’s not that our Tang Tang is unwilling, but shouldn’t there be prior communication for everything? Even if it’s a real slap, with prior discussion, Tang Tang could tilt her face slightly to lessen the impact. That way, she wouldn’t feel much pain, and she wouldn’t reflexively slap Yang Sisi back,” Qi Shu explained.

Director Chen’s face darkened. He was clearly in the wrong for not discussing it beforehand, but he didn’t want to admit his mistake. Instead, he impatiently said, “Whatever, that’s how it is. Whether you continue or not, it’s up to you. If you don’t want to, we’ll skip this part, write He Meng out, and call it a wrap on her role!”

Although He Meng had several more scenes planned—her character would continue to cause trouble until her final downfall—she was still just a disposable villain. They could easily wrap her story early and reassign supporting characters to drive the remaining plot.

“You’re going to slap me again?” Tang Xin looked at them, then at Yang Sisi, who was still sniffling. “What if I lose control and slap her back again?”

Everyone: …………

Yang Sisi turned pale with fright at this and hurriedly said, “Director Chen, let’s just use camera angles to fake it. Let’s fake the slap.” Then, she shot Tang Xin a venomous glare.

This Tang Xin—awful at acting but undeniably beautiful, with enviable flawless skin.

Yang Sisi had planned to use the scene as an excuse to slap Tang Xin hard on purpose. She never expected Tang Xin to dare slap her back.

Tang Xin, just wait. You’re done for.

Director Chen had no choice but to relent. “Fine, we’ll fake the slap. But now both of your faces are swollen… well, Tang Xin’s swelling works to make her post-slap appearance more realistic. Sisi, go put some ice on yours.”

However, Qi Shu quickly took Tang Xin aside to have her face treated with an ice pack as well.

Director Chen was livid. He silently vowed that Tang Xin would never work on any project of his again and that he would spread the word to his industry connections to blacklist this “trash actress.”

Despite the tension, the rest of the scene was completed smoothly.

Tang Xin’s acting had always been mediocre. Replacing her with another “Tang Xin” would make no difference, so no one suspected anything unusual.

The morning was spent filming the series, while the afternoon was dedicated to shooting a face mask commercial.

By evening, Tang Xin and Qi Shu had dinner together before she returned home. After showering and removing her makeup, her pale, tender face still bore a faint red and swollen handprint.

It was late spring, and the evening air carried a slight chill.

Dressed in a set of cotton long-sleeve pajamas, Tang Xin sprawled out on the living room sofa after eating some fruit prepared by the housekeeper. She lay in an ungainly position, playing a mobile game.

She sat when she wanted to sit, lay down when she wanted to lie down—after all, in this house, she was the boss.

As long as Yue Yuze wasn’t home.

But he rarely came back.

Tang Xin sucked on a lollipop, engrossed in her game Plant Defense, and secretly hoped Yue Yuze would never return.

That way, she could continue enjoying his luxurious mansion, bossing around his hired staff, and indulging in his wealth—eating, sleeping, and using everything of his as she pleased…

“Tang Xin.”

A cold, deep voice interrupted her thoughts. It was emotionless yet maddeningly magnetic.

Tang Xin looked up and locked eyes with the man’s sharp, seductive gaze as he loomed over her.

“You… you… why are you back?” she stammered, scrambling up from the sofa to sit properly, her wide, watery eyes staring at him.

Yue Yuze’s lips curved into a faint smirk—a cold one.

What, he thought, was he not allowed to come back to his own home?

She was genuinely surprised by his return, and it seemed… not particularly welcoming either?

He remembered how she used to be ecstatic when he returned once every two weeks, going out of her way to please him. On several occasions, she even shamelessly tried to seduce him.

Now, Yue Yuze found himself staring into her clear, watery eyes, which held a hint of disdain amidst her surprise. He narrowed his own eyes slightly.

Eyes are the windows to the soul.

As a businessman, Yue Yuze had long honed his ability to read people. Over the years, he had encountered all sorts. Tang Xin’s gaze had always been filled with admiration and greed—overwhelming desire and avarice reflected plainly in her eyes.

But now, something seemed… different.

“What are you looking at?” Tang Xin raised her hand to touch her face before realization dawned. “Oh, you’re looking at the handprint on my face, aren’t you? Let me tell you, I was filming this morning and… I slapped her right back! It wasn’t intentional, but let me tell you, I didn’t lose out. I hit her even harder!”

Talking about the morning’s altercation, Tang Xin couldn’t help but grow animated, chattering non-stop.

Her vivid expression, the glow of her delicate face, and the sparkle in her eyes…

Yue Yuze, inexplicably, found himself mesmerized by her rambling.

If she had misunderstood him, thinking he was staring at the handprint on her face, he had expected her to act pitifully to gain his sympathy. But instead, she was proudly boasting to him, as if showing off a victory.

Was there something wrong with her brain?

Oddly enough, though, it wasn’t just her.

He himself—he found this spirited woman, who was like a lively little squirrel or a prideful little peacock, not as intolerable as before.

“Well? I didn’t let myself get taken advantage of, right?” Tang Xin finished in one breath, tilting her face up at him with anticipation.

Yue Yuze cast her a cold glance and said indifferently, “Even at home, Miss Tang, please mind your manners. That unruly posture of yours just now—keep it confined to your own room.”

With that, he turned and walked away.

Tang Xin blinked. After all that she had just said, couldn’t he at least show a little acknowledgment?

Oh, right, she had forgotten—Yue Yuze didn’t care about her at all.

Whether she was slapping someone or being slapped, it wouldn’t even register in his mind.

With an awkward laugh, Tang Xin retracted her gaze, picked up her phone, and prepared to resume her game.

Suddenly, a sweet, robotic voice echoed in her mind: “Random task: As a transmigrator, Tang Xin, within five minutes, hug the male lead Yue Yuze for 10 seconds. Complete the task to unlock a reward pack.”

What??

What kind of absurd task was this?!

“The task must be completed. Failure will result in a corresponding penalty,” the voice reminded her.

“Wait—” Tang Xin cried out, throwing her phone aside as she sprang off the sofa and dashed toward Yue Yuze. Without hesitation, she flopped onto the carpet and wrapped her arms tightly around his leg. “President Yue, actually, everything I just said… I was leading up to a favor I wanted to ask of you!”

Startled by the sudden assault on his leg, Yue Yuze’s face darkened. “Let go!”

But this damn woman clung to his leg like her life depended on it. “I hit Yang Sisi, and now she’s definitely going to cause trouble for me behind the scenes. Please, President Yue, help me! I still want to survive in this industry! Please, I beg you!”

Has it been 10 seconds yet? His face is so scary, ahhh!