Chapter 34: First Kiss, One Shot Only

“Mr. Tan, please have some water.”

The assistant director handed each investor a cup of hot water, steam rising from the rim.

Sitting in front of the monitor, Hu Su Ling turned around to offer some comfort, “Qi Shen, our conditions are quite simple, please don’t mind.”

“No,” Tan Qi Shen denied.

Not far away, Yan Man and Lin Yi Yang were already prepared. When the sound of the slate board echoed—

“‘First Kiss, One Shot Only,’ prepare.”

Upon hearing these words, Tan Qi Shen’s brows furrowed. He wondered if he had misheard.

The “first kiss” didn’t necessarily mean the kind of first kiss he thought.

The scene in the camera showed rain. Yan Man’s hair was drenched in water, and she was wearing a pure white dress, like a pure jasmine flower.

Seeing her outfit, Tan Qi Shen’s frown deepened.

Why is she dressed like that?

The camera zoomed in on her profile, her eyes still shedding tears mixed with the rain, hard to distinguish between rain and tears. She appeared pitiful, aimlessly walking on the street.

Suddenly, a black umbrella appeared overhead, and the rain slowly disappeared. The tears remained, and her arm was grabbed by someone.

The next shot was a wide-angle view of a man and a woman standing in the rain. The boy’s umbrella was slanted, half of his shoulder soaked, while the girl’s entire body was sheltered under the umbrella.

Lin Yi Yang grabbed Yan Man’s arm, forcing her to turn around.

He bent slightly, bringing his gaze to eye level with hers, full of concern. In a soft and gentle voice, he said, “Feng Xiao Xiao, do you want to walk with me?”

Yan Man didn’t respond. The two exchanged glances, which was when the camera cut back and forth.

Their eyes contained so much emotion. Finally, the camera fixed on Yan Man’s face. She slowly nodded, a tear sliding down her cheek.

In the next second, the boy leaned in and embraced her back.

“Scrape—”

In the director’s room, Tan Qi Shen suddenly stood up, the sound of the chair scraping against the floor was jarring.

His eyes were cold and piercing, his gaze fixed on the monitor, his cup of hot water spilling over, drenching his coat.

Everyone in the room was startled by the noise and quickly asked, “Mr. Tan, did you burn yourself?”

A crowd rushed over, grabbing the cup from his hand and wiping his soaked coat.

Tan Qi Shen’s eyes remained fixed on the screen, watching as the black umbrella covered Yan Man’s face, imagining what might be happening under it. The camera then slowly pulled away.

“Alright, cut.”

After Hu Su Ling called the cut, she turned to Tan Qi Shen, somewhat surprised. “What’s wrong, Qi Shen?”

Tan Qi Shen, realizing he had lost control earlier, loosened his clenched fist and forced out, “It’s nothing.”

Meanwhile, Yan Man and Lin Yi Yang finished shooting, and someone immediately approached with warm clothes and hot water.

Shen Jie wiped the wet hair off Yan Man’s head. It was winter, but the scene was set in summer, and they feared she might catch a cold.

After a brief rest, they planned to go into the director’s room to review the footage. This was their habit—if the actors weren’t satisfied with their performance, they could request to shoot again.

Before entering the director’s room, the staff reminded them, “The investors are inside.”

They nodded and opened the door.

Inside, there were several people, including a few directors—about eight or nine in total, and the room felt a bit crowded.

Yan Man looked up and immediately met Tan Qi Shen’s cold and direct gaze in the middle of the group. She froze and stopped in her tracks.

It was so sudden.

There had been no preparation or defense.

Recalling the earlier shot, Yan Man lowered her head in guilt.

Does that mean Tan Qi Shen had seen everything she just filmed???

Lin Yi Yang, walking beside her, noticed her stopping. He casually grabbed her arm and pulled her forward, thinking she was nervous because the investors were all there and she hadn’t been through such a situation.

Tan Qi Shen’s gaze was sharp as he looked downward, his eyes like a hawk, seemingly aiming to pierce the place where they had touched.

“Let me introduce to everyone, these are our male and female leads, Lin Yi Yang and Yan Man.”

Hu Su Ling stood up and introduced them to the investors.

“This is Mr. Tan from the Tan Group. Man Man, you should be familiar with him since he’s your former employer,” Hu Su Ling smiled.

“…Yes.” Yan Man forced a smile, not daring to look at him. She nodded and greeted him, “Hello, Mr. Tan.”

She felt guilty, but it was all just acting.

Even if it was a real kiss, so what? It was just acting.

“Hello, Mr. Tan. I’m Lin Yi Yang.”

Lin Yi Yang had played the role of a CEO in previous dramas, but standing in front of the real CEO, his presence paled in comparison, completely overshadowed by Tan Qi Shen.

Tan Qi Shen remained relaxed, merely glancing at him as a response.

After greeting the other investors, Hu Su Ling gestured for the two to approach the monitor and review the footage.

The four screens showed the footage from earlier.

The room was quiet except for the sound of the actors’ lines.

When the screen showed the part where Lin Yi Yang was about to kiss Yan Man, Yan Man’s palms started sweating.

She could feel a scorching gaze on her back, inescapable.

“It was good. The emotions were full, but when kissing, Yi Yang, your face needs to get a bit closer. The shot is too obvious in terms of positioning.”

Hu Su Ling gave her feedback and suggestions after watching.

“Shall we do another take?” Lin Yi Yang asked Yan Man.

“…”

Yan Man stiffened.

She couldn’t even imagine what Tan Qi Shen’s expression was like.

“I have no objections.”

But, being professional, she couldn’t refuse.

Just as they were about to go out and try another take, a deep, hoarse male voice suddenly interrupted.

“I think it’s fine like this.”

The voice was too familiar. Yan Man looked up and saw Tan Qi Shen lounging with his legs crossed on the chair, absent-mindedly stroking the ring on his finger—his sign of impatience.

He casually asked, “Mr. Chen, what do you think?”

The person Tan Qi Shen was addressing was the second-largest investor in the film, in his forties. He understood what Tan Qi Shen meant and immediately echoed, “I also think it’s fine this way. It leaves more to the audience’s imagination. Don’t you think, Director Hu?”

Hu Su Ling had the scene replayed once more. After watching, she pondered for a moment and said, “It’s good.”

Hearing this, Uncle Nan, standing beside her, let out a relieved sigh. He was just worried that his young master would get hurt again.

But the next second, Hu Su Ling said, “Let’s keep one take, but it can still be improved.”

Hu Su Ling had high standards for her work, and even the investors’ words couldn’t change her mind.

“…”

Tan Qi Shen tightened his lips, seeing Yan Man quietly lower her presence and sneak out.

His face darkened as he stood up. When the slate called out “First Kiss, One Shot, Take Two,” he strode out of the room.

He didn’t want to watch a second take.

Fortunately, the second take went well. Hu Su Ling was very satisfied, and the afternoon shoot wrapped up.

When Yan Man returned to the director’s room, she found that Tan Qi Shen had already left.

After going out, she quietly asked Shen Jie, “Did you see Tan Qi Shen?”

Shen Jie shook her head, “Mr. Tan left earlier.”

Yan Man sighed and borrowed Shen Jie’s phone to call him. As expected, the call was immediately hung up.

She persisted as usual and dialed again. Four calls went unanswered.

On the fifth call, she had already reached the RV door, and Shen Jie opened it for her.

Just as Yan Man took a step inside, she felt a strong pull.

“Ah—”

Yan Man screamed in panic, thinking it was a crazy fan. The incident happened so suddenly that her phone fell to the ground. The RV door slammed shut immediately.

She felt herself spinning and ended up sitting on someone’s lap.