Chapter 5

Meng Yian’s expression darkened, and even the driver, who had been with him for some time, felt a chill run down his spine. His hands gripped the steering wheel tightly, sweating from the tension. Fortunately, there was a red light ahead, so he was able to stop the car.

The broadcast continued.

“So, after breaking up, is it really necessary to throw away the gifts that you exchanged with your partner? Listeners, feel free to call in and share your thoughts with us.”

The driver started the car again, and not long after, they arrived at the Meng Corporation building. He stammered, “Mr. Meng, we’ve arrived.” With that, he quickly got out of the car to open the door for Meng Yian, but Assistant Wu had already opened the door before him.

As Meng Yian stepped out of the car, he calmly adjusted his cuff, his voice flat and devoid of any emotion. “What has Shen Yan been up to lately?”

The assistant director hurriedly took a step back, not daring to answer, as he didn’t know.

Glancing at the assistant, Meng Yi’an took a step forward. He didn’t say anything, but the assistant understood what he meant: he wanted to check on what Shen Yan had been up to lately.

The assistant knew about the relationship between Shen Yan and Meng Yi’an, so he understood that Meng Yi’an was probably angry with Shen Yan and might want to do something about it.

An hour later, the assistant stood in front of Meng Yi’an to report, “Shen Yan auditioned for a maid role in the online drama Chen Fei, but because her temperament suited another concubine’s character better, the assistant director decided she would play that concubine role. According to her screen time, she would be the fourth female lead. She will join the cast tomorrow.”

Meng Yi’an simply murmured in response and didn’t say anything else.

At the Chen Fei set, the assistant director was praising Shen Yan, “I wasn’t planning on auditioning for the role of Lan Fei, but when Shen Yan came in, I felt she was perfect for the role. Her looks and temperament are just right, she doesn’t even need to act when she stands there.”

Director Li Jun scoffed before saying, “You don’t need to flatter her. Tomorrow, when she shows up, I’ll judge for myself whether she fits the role. If she’s right, we’ll sign the contract. If not, she can go back.”

The assistant director insisted, “Director, Shen Yan is definitely a perfect fit.”

Li Jun waved his hand dismissively, “Alright, alright, I know. Don’t bother me.” In his heart, he didn’t believe Shen Yan could play Lan Fei. Having her come was just to humor the assistant director.

The screenwriter, who had been waiting to see who would play Lan Fei, was excited, “Did you find the actress for Lan Fei?”

Li Jun replied dryly, “…”

The screenwriter quickly asked, “Director Li, the actress for Lan Fei is coming tomorrow? Great! I’ll head back and revise the script for Lan Fei’s role. I really like this character.”

Li Jun smiled, “Alright, you go ahead and get to work.”

Once the screenwriter left, Li Jun turned to the assistant director. The assistant director was about to continue praising Shen Yan, but Li Jun interrupted, “If the actress you picked tomorrow isn’t suitable, you won’t be assistant director anymore. You’ll be working as a production assistant.”

The assistant director, confident in Shen Yan’s temperament and looks, replied, “I won’t be a production assistant. I’ll remain assistant director.”

Li Jun retorted, “If Shen Yan is as amazing as you say, why is she still an unknown actress auditioning for a maid role?”

The assistant director replied, “Exactly, that’s why I’m giving her a chance, playing the role of a talent scout.”

Li Jun shouted, “Forget about being assistant director! You’ll be handing out lunch boxes instead.”

The assistant director sighed and reluctantly went to help distribute lunch.

The next morning, Zhou Ruo went to pick up Shen Yan for the filming location.

The driver from Zhou Ruo’s team drove a minivan, and Shen Yan sat inside. This minivan was usually reserved for Zhou Ruo’s star artists, so other artists rarely had the chance to use it. At most, they would get a normal company car.

Shen Yan, without makeup, wore a T-shirt and a long skirt. Her thick, long hair flowed down her back, with strands tucked behind her ears. She looked fresh and natural, making her presence very comfortable to behold.

Originally, Zhou Ruo wanted to mention that this drama was a decent opportunity, but she worried that Shen Yan might become arrogant, so she didn’t say anything. Instead, she simply said, “Although this is just an online drama, you should still take it seriously.”

Shen Yan was eager to focus on her career, so she was determined to take the work seriously. Plus, she believed the drama would become popular, so she would give her best effort.

Looking out the window, Shen Yan spoke after a while, “Sister Zhou, I want to act.” After saying that, she remained silent.

Although it was just that one sentence, Zhou Ruo understood what Shen Yan meant. She was now seriously pursuing a career in the entertainment industry.

When Shen Yan first debuted, she had signed with Zhou Ruo’s agency. At that time, she had been dating Meng Yi’an, who was a poor entrepreneur trying to start a business. Shen Yan stayed in A City for him and even turned down a few opportunities. When Meng Yi’an became successful, Shen Yan wasn’t interested in acting anymore. When she had the chance to reconcile with Meng Yi’an, she devoted herself entirely to him.

Now, Shen Yan had lost interest in Meng Yi’an and wanted to focus on acting.

Zhou Ruo looked at Shen Yan, deep in thought. “Mm, good. Focus on your acting.”

Soon, the car arrived at He Han’s place. He Han entered the car and handed Zhou Ruo some snacks she had made herself. The snacks were in delicate packaging. She also gave Shen Yan a portion, and then quietly sat down without speaking. The car was quiet for a while.

Upon arriving at the set, as soon as they got out of the car, the assistant director rushed over to Shen Yan, handing her breakfast, then did the same for He Han and Zhou Ruo.

Shen Yan said, “Assistant Director?”

The assistant director replied, “I’ll keep handing out lunch boxes or return to my job as assistant director. It’s up to you.”

He Han, wanting to greet the assistant director, tried to speak several times, but the assistant director completely ignored her.

He Han held back, thinking that when she became famous in the industry, directors would have to ask her if she was available before casting her.

Once everyone arrived on set, the assistant director dragged Shen Yan to the director. “Director Li, this is Shen Yan. What do you think? Doesn’t she fit the role of Lan Fei perfectly?”

The set was busy filming. When the assistant director spoke, Director Li was slightly displeased, but when he looked over at Shen Yan, he froze. Perfect, perfect, she was especially perfect!

The screenwriter, who had been waiting to see who would play Lan Fei, immediately stood up upon seeing Shen Yan. This was the Lan Fei she had envisioned.

Seeing the expressions on their faces, the assistant director knew that he didn’t need to hand out lunch boxes anymore.

Shen Yan nodded slightly to Li Jun, then said, “Director Li.”

Li Jun responded, “Let’s sign the contract first.”

Because he was very satisfied with Shen Yan, the contract was signed immediately. As for He Han, Li Jun didn’t even pay attention to her, just handed her a contract, and then continued chatting with Shen Yan.

“I originally thought this role would be cut,” Li Jun sighed.

In her past life, Shen Yan hadn’t auditioned, and as a result, the role of Lan Fei in the drama Chen Fei was never filmed.

Since the set still had to continue shooting, Li Jun exchanged a few words with Shen Yan and then told them to check into the hotel. He also handed Shen Yan and He Han the script, advising them to go over the lines. Due to the limited investment and the costs involved in renting the filming location, they needed to shoot quickly. The plan was to finish filming within two months. The assistant director, eager to continue praising Shen Yan to Li Jun, didn’t offer to help.

After Shen Yan and the others left the set, the assistant director said, “How was it? Not bad, right?” He straightened his back as he spoke.

Li Jun responded, “You should continue handing out lunch boxes.”

The assistant director asked, “Why?”

Li Jun replied, “Because I’m the director.”

After leaving the set, Shen Yan was in a good mood.

When they arrived outside the hotel, Shen Yan’s gaze landed on a luxury car — it was Meng Yi’an’s car.

Meng Yi’an had invested in the drama, but he hadn’t come to visit the set yesterday. Why was he here again? And why was his car parked outside the hotel?

Shen Yan looked at the car for a moment before following Zhou Ruo into the hotel.

While checking in at the front desk, Zhou Ruo had a strange feeling, as if something was missing. “Did we forget something?”

Shen Yan glanced at the script in her hand. “We didn’t forget anything.”

“But I feel like we forgot something…” Zhou Ruo paused before asking, “Where’s He Han?”

Shen Yan looked around and realized it was just her and her manager entering the hotel.

The director, assistant director, and screenwriter had all been praising Shen Yan, and as her manager, Zhou Ruo had been chatting with them, not really paying attention to He Han. When they returned, Zhou Ruo was so happy about the signing that she reminded Shen Yan to focus on the filming and simply forgot about He Han. As for Shen Yan, she had been thinking about Meng Yi’an’s car when she got out of the car, so she had forgotten too.

Zhou Ruo twitched her lips. “You go back to your room, I’ll go look for He Han.”

Shen Yan replied, “I’ll go with you.”

When Shen Yan and Zhou Ruo went back outside, they realized they hadn’t left He Han in the car; she hadn’t even gotten in the car at all. Shen Yan couldn’t help but laugh, covering her mouth.

Zhou Ruo frowned. “How could she not know she wasn’t getting in the car? I’ll go find her on set. You go back to the hotel.” She then told the driver, “The luggage will be moved down in a bit.”

Both Zhou Ruo and Shen Yan had missed calls on their phones, but they had set their phones to silent while they were signing contracts with Li Jun on set.

As Shen Yan turned to head back to the hotel, she paused for a moment when she saw something out of the corner of her eye.

Meng Yi’an was walking out of the car.

Shen Yan thought to herself, “Was he in the car when I arrived?” But what did it matter to her? She quickly dismissed the thought, eager to return to her script.

Meng Yi’an stepped in front of Shen Yan, his fingers, with distinct knuckles, pulling a necklace out of his suit pocket. He looked at Shen Yan as he released the necklace.

It was the silver necklace Shen Yan had given Meng Yi’an as a gift for their anniversary.

The necklace fell to the ground, glinting faintly in the sunlight.

Meng Yi’an smiled. “This is the most insincerely given gift I’ve ever received. It’s just as cheap as my relationship with Miss Shen.”