Chapter 15

The crew was large and talkative, and soon, Gao Zhiyong’s incident was exposed online.

Before long, the hashtags #XiaXiangYangAssistantIllegitimateChild# and #NephewBecomesSonMediaExecutiveSlappedByWife# trended. In addition to images and articles detailing the events, there were even animated gifs of Liu Meifang slapping Gao Zhiyong.

Netizens, eager for drama, turned these gifs into memes, adding captions like “I’ll beat you, scumbag,” “Hypocrites are just pretentious,” and “I’ll give you a red slap today,” which the public found amusing.

However, not long after, the trending topics were removed.

When Xia Xiangyang trended, the PR department of Mei Yu Media was as silent as death. Now that a company executive was trending, the PR department immediately sprang into action.

It wasn’t that they lacked PR capabilities, but rather, it depended on whether it was worth spending the company’s money on PR.

Their attitude was clear and straightforward.

Netizens immediately sympathized with Xia Xiangyang.

He had been assigned an unreliable assistant by a heartless company, and that unreliable assistant had tried to frame him. Now, the unreliable assistant was trending for all sorts of scandals, yet the hashtags bore his name. How tragic was that?

Then, the hashtag #XiaXiangYangIsTrulyPitiful# climbed to the trending list.

Netizens expressed their sympathy, and Xia Xiangyang’s fans frantically tagged Mei Yu Media, demanding they come out and face the public.

Even Xin Li sent a long WeChat message to Jiang Shuwan, expressing her sympathy for Xia Xiangyang from multiple angles and levels. She said she could temporarily abandon her admiration for Ji Yingdi and be Xia Xiangyang’s “heartwarming fan” for a day, requesting Jiang Shuwan to convey this when they met in the crew.

Jiang Shuwan replied directly: “Can’t meet, I’m a small extra.”

Xin Li understood: “Oh, I forgot, our H University lab genius is here. Alright, I’ll convey it to Xia Xiangyang through my thoughts.”

Having been in the entertainment industry for several months, Jiang Shuwan remarked, “Why not leave a comment or send a private message on Xia Xiangyang’s Weibo?”

Fake fans!

While the online noise continued, the crew quickly returned to calm.

It was said that Luo Qingyao was furious upon learning that someone in the crew had posted pictures and videos online. He organized a meeting with several heads, demanding stricter management of the crew. Anyone causing trouble would be dismissed immediately.

The “Regent King” crew had sufficient funds and offered good salaries. Moreover, working on such a large production was invaluable experience, making it much easier to find work in other crews in the future. No one wanted to be dismissed.

Everyone quickly regained their composure, and even during breaks, gossiping became less frequent.

A few days later, early in the morning, Jiang Shuwan arrived early at the main makeup room.

It was the same makeup artist who did her makeup, chatting with her while working. She mentioned hearing that the scriptwriter had revised the script, adding a role for a picked-up maid in the Regent King storyline, and encouraged Jiang Shuwan to audition.

The makeup artist had already figured out that Jiang Shuwan’s previous role was just a background character in the emperor’s palace, one whose face might not even be shown.

This was a role that could be fought for, with no worries about exposure.

Jiang Shuwan replied, “I’m not good at acting.”

The makeup artist signaled her to close her eyes, then, while applying eyeliner, said, “Always being a background character, what acting skills can you develop? Although I can’t act, I’ve seen a lot in various crews. Many people start off acting poorly, but they improve scene by scene. It’s like makeup. You watch those online videos and tutorials, and they tell you how to draw eyeliner. Do you think you can really do it?”

Jiang Shuwan thought about it and felt it made sense. Perhaps she could indeed end her background character phase?

She was always open to professional advice, so she said, “Then I’ll ask about it later.”

Nearby, someone chuckled, “Oh, still confident. A background extra really thinks acting is that easy?”

Just as the eyeliner was finished, Jiang Shuwan opened her eyes and saw two young women in their twenties standing nearby. Both were in costume, without makeup, and their hair was loose.

The round-faced girl spoke, smiling but with a hint of disdain. “Why is an extra here getting makeup?”

Jiang Shuwan realized the makeup artist’s name was Gina.

Gina didn’t even look up, calmly applying blush to Jiang Shuwan. “Director Wang arranged for her to get makeup here. If you have an issue, go talk to Director Wang.”

The oval-faced girl immediately fell silent.

However, when Jiang Shuwan finished her makeup and stood up, the girl shot her a glare. Jiang Shuwan, still thinking about auditioning for a role, didn’t notice.

As she walked out, she suddenly heard several girls at the door whispering excitedly:

“Ji Yingdi, ahh, Ji Yingdi is so handsome!”

“Did you hear? There’s a bathing scene with Ji Yingdi today. I want to go to the set and learn from Ji Yingdi.”

“Sis, your intentions are obvious, but you’re right. I also want to learn from Ji Yingdi.”

“Quiet down, be careful or Director Luo will warn you.”

Although Jiang Shuwan had been forced to look at countless photos of Ji Hanzhang during this time, strangely, during her time in the crew, she hadn’t seen him in person yet.

She had never actually run into Ji Hanzhang in person.

Unconsciously, she quickened her pace. As she reached the doorway, she caught sight of a tall, lean figure entering a nearby private dressing room.

As expected of a peerless beauty.

Even just a back view was stunning.

Only at that moment did Jiang Shuwan suddenly remember—that person behind the small screen in the restaurant on the first day of filming seemed to be him.

Just a profile, yet it evoked words like “graceful as orchid and jade tree,” “elegant and outstanding.”

Even though she had seen countless photos of him, Jiang Shuwan found herself a little curious about how he looked in person.

Jiang Shuwan diligently stood as background for a few hours. When it was time for the lunch break, she didn’t go to pick up the provided boxed lunch. Instead, she took out her own food container from her electric scooter and found a quiet corner to eat.

“You brought your own food?” Xia Xiangyang walked over carrying a small stool. “The production doesn’t give extras lunch? They can’t be short by just one box, right…”

But as he caught a glimpse of the neat arrangement inside Jiang Shuwan’s lunchbox—meat and vegetables balanced, clearly delicious and well-prepared—he immediately changed his tune: “My bad. The production’s box lunch isn’t worthy of you.”

Jiang Shuwan gave him a helpless glance.

Actually, the first day’s meal was even more extravagant: six dishes, rice, dessert, and fruit. She had taken the lunch to a nearby bubble tea shop to eat it. Afterward, she spoke to the manager and had the meal standard reduced to four dishes and rice. Still, compared to the crew’s boxed lunch, it was quite luxurious.

She had intentionally picked an inconspicuous spot to eat, but thanks to Xia Xiangyang’s dramatic reaction, several actors and staff nearby, who were quietly eating their boxed meals, turned to look.

Even Liang Hao, seated farther away, glanced in their direction.

Jiang Shuwan averted her eyes.

No one in my eyes.JPG

“This food is from Wan Zhou, right? That braised sea cucumber with scallions is their signature dish. Do they offer meal boxes too?” Xia Xiangyang asked.

Jiang Shuwan gave a quiet “mm.”

She didn’t know about other customers, but they certainly offered it to her.

“Really? I’ve never heard that!” Xia Xiangyang muttered.

Jiang Shuwan looked up. “Do you have something you want to ask me?”

Ever since the nephew-becomes-son scandal, Xia Xiangyang had looked like he wanted to ask something every time he saw her—but never got to the point, always circling around with meaningless chatter.

Jiang Shuwan had been ignoring him. After all, whether he said it or not didn’t matter to her.

But now that he had approached her with a lunchbox in public, she didn’t want to become his “lunch buddy,” so she cut straight to the chase.

Xia Xiangyang hesitated, then asked, “That day, when you told me to hold on for ten more minutes—had you heard something?”

If it was based on something she’d heard, then this enthusiastic citizen Ms. Jiang had a terrifying source of intel—not only knowing about Gao Zhiyong’s situation, but also that Liu Meifang would arrive at the set in ten minutes.

But if it wasn’t based on any information, then that would mean she could literally predict the future.

Which seemed even less likely.

Jiang Shuwan answered calmly, “Haven’t you ever heard the phrase ‘delays bring solutions’? Holding on for ten more minutes gives time for the situation to shift. With a director like Luo, who doesn’t tolerate nonsense, he might’ve just kicked Gao Zhiyong out on the spot.”

Xia Xiangyang: “…Really?”

Impossible.

Back then, when she told him to hold on for ten more minutes, her tone had been completely certain.

Xia Xiangyang glanced at Jiang Shuwan, then at her unusually exquisite and luxurious lunchbox. Got it—she just didn’t want to tell him.

Which made sense. Important people traveling incognito never liked to reveal their true identity or background.

He understood.

Xia Xiangyang said, “Anyway, thank you.”

Jiang Shuwan replied, “You’re welcome,” and then heard him continue talking to himself: “I’ll treat you to a meal sometime. But it seems you’re not very interested in food. Oh, right, just now I heard a few of the actresses saying they wanted to watch Ji Yingdi’s bath scene today. You interested?”

Jiang Shuwan wanted to say no, but the words stopped in her throat.

Because she suddenly realized—she was curious.

She didn’t know if it was the result of Xin Li’s constant “brainwashing” or because of the glimpse of that striking silhouette earlier. But right now, she was very curious what this so-called peerless beauty looked like in person.

Xia Xiangyang added, “Old Wang said you came here chasing after Liang Hao, but I’ve noticed you haven’t been paying him much attention lately. Then again, that’s good—you girls are just in it for the eye candy. And if it’s about looks, you might as well look at Ji Yingdi. You can’t get better than a peerless beauty.”

Jiang Shuwan: “…”

Flawless logic.

But still—

You’re so enthusiastically recommending others to watch Ji Yingdi’s bath scene…

Does Ji Yingdi himself know?