CHAPTER 19: A Kiss

For the first time, Du Yanzhi began to doubt his own acting skills.

As a fellow actor at the peak of his career, he had every reason to be confident—cry scenes, emotional highs and lows, all were things he could pull off with ease.

But no matter how he thought about it after getting home, he still felt stuck, that moment stuck in his throat. Recalling Wen Heng’s effortless performance just now—crying was one thing, choking up wasn’t too hard either—but his transition had been so natural, so quick… he didn’t even seem to need to build up to it??

Du Yanzhi tried it in front of the mirror. He had to prepare for at least a minute before the tears came. And even then, the nasal sound he managed couldn’t compare to Wen Heng’s smooth delivery.

A few minutes later, the room echoed with a long sigh.

“…I lost.”

Du Yanzhi, rarely, felt a little defeated.

It was clear now—there was still a gap between him and Wen Heng.

He would have to push himself even harder from now on.

…

Of course, Gu Sheng had no idea about Du Yanzhi’s later spiral of self-reflection.

At the time, all she felt was secondhand embarrassment, and since she had already made up her mind, she quickly tugged Wen Heng away.

Actually, even during the earlier talk with Du Yanzhi, Gu Sheng had realized Jialai might not be the best fit for her. Only with Bu Wen could she really grow.

Though in some sense, it felt like she was handing herself over to that dog of a man, giving him his personal blood donor on a silver platter—but to be honest, it was a win-win for both of them.

And since her decision was made, the contract process moved forward quickly.

The next day, Wen Heng brought her to the company. Chang Yan personally delivered the contract, ready to officially bring Gu Sheng under his wing.

For the past few years, he had only managed Wen Heng. The reason Wen Heng was a top star wasn’t just his talent—the manager’s capability played a big part. Many companies had tried to poach him to manage their favored talents, including quite a few from Wen’s own company. But Chang Yan had turned them all down.

At Wen Heng’s current status, taking on anyone else would just mean bleeding him dry—using his top-tier popularity to prop up a newbie.

—But Gu Sheng was different, even if she was new.

They were a married couple, legitimate in name and reality. More importantly, the way the “Wen Sheng” CP was trending lately, it was only boosting Wen Heng’s popularity.

So, in the eyes of Chang Yan and the whole team, Wen Heng and his wife should mutually boost each other!

Gu Sheng also respected Chang Yan’s professional skills. While reviewing the contract from Bu Wen, she half-jokingly asked him, “You won’t play favorites in the future, right?”

Chang Yan grinned like a cheerful auntie. “No way, how could I? Both are flesh and blood.”

Besides, Wen Heng was the boss of Bu Wen. That made her the boss lady. And seeing how head-over-heels Wen Heng was acting these days, odds were high the whole company would be biased toward Gu Sheng in the future anyway.

Gu Sheng carefully read every clause of the contract. Everything was reasonable, no tricks. The terms Wen Heng had mentioned before weren’t just sweet talk—they were sincere, real.

She signed her name.

Chang Yan clapped, smiling wide. “Welcome to Bu Wen!”

Wen Heng leaned back, relaxed, and raised his cup in a toast from afar.

“Your assistant will still be Xiao Tang. The company will also assign you a personal assistant, a driver, and a styling team,” Chang Yan said as he put away the contract, still smiling. “I’ll finalize the details with Fu Shan about your collaboration. Once it’s set, both sides will do joint promotions.”

Gu Sheng, enjoying the perks of having a team, smiled and nodded. “Thank you.”

Wen Heng, seeing everything fall neatly into place, turned around and took a leisurely sip of his tea.

Then he looked down at the dark green tea leaves floating in the cup and thought:

Green tea. Not bad.

…

That same day, the official Bu Wen Studio Weibo account posted:

[Graceful and poised, yet full of joy. Talented in song and dance, and able to bring characters to life. Congratulations to @Gu Sheng on officially joining Bu Wen. Wishing you a blooming path ahead! 🎉💖]

The moment the post went up, the replies exploded. Because the fans all knew who ran that account.

[Ahhh she signed!]

[Wen-ge signed his wife to his own studio! 😭😭😭]

[No words. I’m just here losing my mind with joy, folks.]

This marked Gu Sheng’s official start as an artist. “Echoes” (her fan club) celebrated everywhere. Even the “Stars” (Wen Heng’s fans) respected his choice and sent their blessings. CP fans caught the huge candy drop from the heavens—it felt like the CP had been stamped official!

Gu Sheng’s Weibo DMs skyrocketed with messages, countless fans congratulating her.

Chang Yan’s efficiency was top-notch. The contract with Fu Shan was finalized quickly and sent to Gu Sheng.

Shortly after signing, Fu Shan’s studio account also posted a new Weibo:

[New MV for “Lorfel Pa” in preparation. Welcome @Gu Sheng to the team. Looking forward to working together 💗]

[Whoa, dream collab???]

[Fourth wall just shattered! Xiao Shan is working with Sheng-jie!]

[As long as E-Xiao Shan’s happy, I’ll just watch from the sidelines…]

[To be honest, Xiao Shan doesn’t lack popularity. No need to chase heat by working with her, right? orz]

Fu Shan’s comment section was filled with shock—and a good number of skeptical voices. After all, this song had been in the works for a long time, and fans had high expectations. No one expected the MV’s female lead to be someone as unknown as Gu Sheng, practically a rookie.

Gu Sheng naturally saw those online comments too. She didn’t bother responding, just stayed home studying Fu Shan’s MV script. The concept was narrative-based, like he described—somewhat abstract, leaning toward stream-of-consciousness. But if done right, the effect would be stunning. It could be a piece worth showing off.

When Wen Heng returned home safely that evening after finishing work, what he saw was Gu Sheng pacing around the room, humming the melody, her expressions constantly shifting.

Wen Heng leaned against the door, quietly watching for a while before lowering his head to unlock his phone.

Not long after, Seven Million Stars received a notification: “Your special follow @Wen Heng has reposted a Weibo!”

Wen Heng’s Weibo had long been like a ghost account. Aside from collab ads and official drama promos, he only ever posted birthday reminders or level-up notices. No matter how much fans begged for selfies, he always stayed cold and aloof.

So the moment his account stirred, a flood of fans swarmed over. Upon opening it, they saw he had reposted a post from Not Wen Studio, with the caption: [Happy to work together.]

[Aaaahhh gege posted!!]

[This is the first time Sheng-jie appeared on Wen-ge’s Weibo ahhhh!!]

[Why did a simple repost make the corners of my mouth reach my ears?!]

[This “happy to work together” is too sweet ahhhh!]

But that wasn’t the end. Thousands of netizens noticed Wen Heng didn’t log off after reposting. A few minutes later, he even liked a post from Fu Shan that had tagged Gu Sheng.

The power of a top-tier celebrity was terrifying. Within one minute of his like, Fu Shan’s Weibo stats doubled. Everyone saw it.

The CP fans exploded:

[Aaaahhh declar!ing! sovere!ignty!]

[Did y’all see the comments?! Wen-ge came to support his wife!]

[What reminded Wen-ge of his long-forgotten Weibo account? His wife!]

[Wuwuwu top-tier love is so swoony]

[So when are these two finally going to work together?!]

After all that, Wen Heng shut off his phone and picked up the V-drama script for Lorful Pa from the coffee table.

He flipped through it—there were quite a few scenes between the female and male leads.

…And the male lead was being played by Fu Shan himself.

Wen Heng fell silent.

This kid was definitely a little schemer.

Meanwhile, once Gu Sheng had fully settled into the emotional state she was seeking and finished memorizing her lines, she finally noticed Wen Heng sitting in the living room reading her script.

He finished reading, looked up, his deep-lake-like eyes revealing no emotion.

“What?” Gu Sheng glanced at him.

“Nothing,” Wen Heng replied blandly. “Just checking on an employee’s work.”

Gu Sheng: “……”

Look at that, look at that, already pulling rank! Damn boss! Damn man!

She walked over, intending to snatch her script back, but Wen Heng grabbed her hand and stuffed another stack of papers into it.

Gu Sheng was caught off guard. “What’s this?”

Wen Heng lifted his eyes, voice calm: “The script for Recall. Give it a try.”

Gu Sheng: “??!”

He said it so casually, like offering her a dish to taste—but Gu Sheng knew that in the original story, Recall was a massive hit. It not only propelled the male lead’s career to new heights but also launched the female lead straight to the top tier.

But she remembered the female lead in the original was someone the investors directly placed in the cast?

“Let your ability speak,” Wen Heng seemed to see through her doubts, and added, “—Go audition.”

Gu Sheng felt that at this moment, Wen Heng radiated the brilliance of humanity! A fair audition opportunity like this was incredibly rare!

All that pain must’ve forged him into a good man!

System: “?”

Gu Sheng decided never to badmouth the boss again. Wuwuwu.

She took the script, eyes glowing with confidence. “I’ll do my best, Boss.”

Wen Heng raised a brow slightly. For some reason, he wasn’t too pleased with her calling him that.

Gu Sheng solemnly accepted the script, planning to study it thoroughly after wrapping up the V-drama shoot.

Then she heard Wen Heng speak again: “When you’re filming with that green… Fu Shan, be mindful of appearances.”

Gu Sheng looked up: “?”

Wen Heng gestured toward the V-drama script, meaningfully saying, “Remember, you’re a married woman. Beware of people with ulterior motives.”

Gu Sheng: “……?”

When she returned to her room, she cursed loudly in her mind: “Ptui! This damn man thinks he can control everything! From the skies to filming! What a control freak!”

The system whispered: “You just said you wouldn’t curse at the male lead anymore.”

Gu Sheng snapped fiercely: “I didn’t! He’s dead meat tomorrow!”

System: “……”

…Somehow, it was kind of shippable.

—

Outskirts filming studio.

Several hours of shooting had just wrapped up.

Due to Gu Sheng’s packed variety show schedule, filming for the V-drama had been extremely rushed, but neither lead had any complaints.

Once the scene ended, Fu Shan let out a sigh of relief and looked at Gu Sheng with sparkling eyes. “I knew I wasn’t wrong. Jie-jie, you really delivered what I wanted!”

Pain could take countless forms. Whatever feeling he aimed for, Gu Sheng could quickly grasp it. In those peach-blossom eyes of hers, she could stir up a storm of complex, intense emotion, making Fu Shan’s heart race during their scenes.

The director and assistant director had been watching from behind the monitor the whole time, and even they had to admit—Gu Sheng’s expressiveness was seriously impressive.

The most crucial thing was, her face was stunning. Even with dramatic, exaggerated expressions meant to enhance the emotion, she still maintained a refined, high-class beauty. It was textbook-level expression control!

Gu Sheng smiled, wiping the fine sweat from her forehead. “Glad it worked.”

It had been a long time since she’d filmed for so long. She actually felt exhilarated.

In the plot, the female lead couldn’t understand the male lead’s world at first. She thought all he did was play the piano, a black-and-white instrument in a black-and-white world—boring. But one day, she touched his piano, and in the music, she felt the world through his eyes—vivid, colorful, and painful. As they met time and again, they came to understand one another, sharing pain, creating a world together.

Fu Shan really didn’t skimp on production. The set design was lavish, filled with tilted, disjointed elements, creating a spectacular visual impact. Gu Sheng was already looking forward to the final cut.

“Jie-jie, you’re heading to Liancheng the day after tomorrow, right?” he asked, lying on the table and gazing at her.

Gu Sheng nodded. “Yep. It’s time to film episode three.”

Fu Shan’s bright eyes fixed on her. After a while, he finally said, “It sounds really fun. I really want to join your show too.”

Gu Sheng replied casually, “Sure, the last episode even had a guest appearance.”

Fu Shan instantly broke into a charming smile, then suddenly seemed to remember something and asked, “Jie, do you really like Film Emperor Wen?”

Gu Sheng raised an eyebrow slightly. “Why ask that all of a sudden?”

The other immediately looked apologetic. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to pry into your private life… it’s just, I’ve heard a lot of rumors before. Also, I know Jiang Lu Wei—she seems to have feelings for Film Emperor Wen…”

This subtle provocation—if Fu Shan weren’t so cute, and not just a side character stirring up drama in the original novel—Gu Sheng might’ve really thought this little brother was acting like a green tea.

Still, no matter what kind of relationship she really had with Wen Heng, it wasn’t something she could talk about with outsiders.

Gu Sheng smiled lightly and brushed it off. But then, she suddenly heard a system notification:

“Ding—”
“The 19th Pain of Love: Stomachache.”
“Pain Level: 8.”