Upon arriving at the set, a production assistant was already waiting for them.

After Yuan Xi stepped out of the car, Cheng Xiaoke, still carrying the suitcase, followed along with a few others behind the assistant as they were led to their rooms.

The first day on set always began with a kick-off ceremony where all the lead actors, the director, and producers would gather. Although Yuan Xi wasn’t one of the leads, his role carried enough weight that he needed to join the group downstairs after unpacking.

Before he even got close, Yuan Xi spotted a very familiar figure. Unable to contain himself, he tapped Cheng Xiaoke on the shoulder.

“Xiaoke, look! Isn’t that Qi Yunrou over there?”

Following Yuan Xi’s pointed finger, Xiaoke looked in the direction he indicated. As a celebrity assistant, she had already done her homework and instantly recognized Qi Yunrou, the trending rising star. Nodding, she confirmed. “Yes, that’s Qi Yunrou. Why? Are you a fan of hers, Brother Yuan?”

Taking a deep breath, Yuan Xi quickly shook his head. “No, definitely not.” I have a grudge against her, not admiration.

Cheng Xiaoke didn’t notice the subtle change in Yuan Xi’s tone and nodded again. “Should we go over? It seems like all the leads have already gathered.”

Though Yuan Xi had no desire to meet Qi Yunrou, he reminded himself that this was work. With the director and the rest of the cast waiting, he could only nod and steel himself to face the situation.

At the same time, a question nagged at his mind: Why is she the female lead in this drama? According to the original storyline, shouldn’t the female lead be starring in Beauty’s Makeup?

“Director Yu, hello! Hello, everyone!” Yuan Xi approached, greeting the group with a polite and obedient demeanor.

Faced with someone as seemingly obedient and well-mannered as Yuan Xi, most of the people present responded with friendly smiles.

With the main cast and director already assembled, Director Yu glanced around and began preparations for the opening ceremony.

The ceremony’s process was typically elaborate, but Director Yu Xinglong wasn’t fond of unnecessary complications. He skipped over most of the speeches, keeping things concise. Within ten minutes, the formalities were complete, and they moved on to incense offerings and the official launch.

The entire ceremony lasted just forty minutes—remarkably short compared to other productions, where such events could easily stretch to an hour or two.

Once the opening ceremony concluded, it was time to begin filming.

Director Yu beamed as he turned to Yuan Xi and Qi Yunrou, his expression brimming with enthusiasm. “Yunrou, Yuan Xi here is your junior colleague. In the drama, he even plays your boyfriend’s younger brother. Since you’re both from the same company, make sure to support each other and work hard together!”

Qi Yunrou maintained her composed smile as she looked at Yuan Xi, her gaze feigning concern. “Xiao Xi is Brother Chen’s new talent. He’s still unfamiliar with many things. Director, if he makes any mistakes, please guide him patiently and don’t be too harsh.”

Director Yu glanced at Qi Yunrou, then at Yuan Xi, smiling faintly but choosing not to comment.

After the director left, Yuan Xi finally turned to Qi Yunrou, confusion written across his face. “Shouldn’t you be with the Beauty’s Makeup crew right now? How did you end up as the female lead here? I’m pretty sure you weren’t originally cast in this role.”

Now that they were alone, Qi Yunrou dropped her gentle facade. Her expression turned cold, and a trace of mockery curled at the corners of her lips. “You sure seem well-informed. After cozying up to Ah Shen, you’ve gained quite a few perks, haven’t you? Signing under Chen Yang? Yuan Xi, you really are lucky.”

Yuan Xi frowned, his displeasure evident as he retorted. “I have nothing to do with Fu Yushen, and I definitely didn’t ‘cozy up’ to him. My signing with Brother Chen has absolutely nothing to do with him.”

“Do you think I’d believe that?” Qi Yunrou’s eyes were full of mockery and jealousy. “You worked as an assistant at Xingyao Entertainment for over a month—that’s true, isn’t it? And your office was on the top floor—that’s also true, right? Sharing the same office, and you still dare to claim you have nothing to do with Ah Shen!”

Yuan Xi had no idea that the top-floor office at Xingyao Entertainment belonged to Fu Yushen. Qi Yunrou’s accusations left him completely baffled, making her words feel like baseless nonsense.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Yes, I worked as an assistant, and yes, my office was on the top floor. But I was working under Yunzhou, not anyone named Fu Yushen!”

“Yunzhou? Since when does Xingyao Entertainment have a manager named Yunzhou? Yuan Xi, if you’re going to come up with an excuse, at least make it believable.” Qi Yunrou’s expression was one of absolute certainty—she was convinced Yuan Xi was lying.

Unbeknownst to her, Fu Yunzhou rarely involved himself directly in Xingyao Entertainment’s operations, so it never occurred to her that “Yunzhou” could actually be Fu Yunzhou. Besides, Qi Yunrou found it hard to believe someone like Yuan Xi could have any connection to Fu Yunzhou.

Yuan Xi, irritated by Qi Yunrou’s disbelief and assumptions, finally lost his patience. With a terse, “Believe what you want,” he turned and walked off with Cheng Xiaoke.

Cheng Xiaoke, who had been silently observing their interaction, followed closely behind Yuan Xi. Once they were far enough away and no one else was around, she leaned closer and whispered. “Brother Yuan, do you have a grudge against Qi Yunrou or something?”

“Would stealing someone’s boyfriend count?” Yuan Xi blurted out without thinking.

“What?” Cheng Xiaoke blinked, momentarily stunned. “Brother Yuan… you like men?”

Realizing what he’d just said, Yuan Xi quickly slapped his mouth a few times and stammered. “No, no, that’s not it! Sorry, I misspoke. It’s Qi Yunrou who’s misunderstanding things. I have nothing to do with her boyfriend, but she somehow convinced herself otherwise and got jealous.”

Yuan Xi’s explanation was a bit convoluted, leaving Cheng Xiaoke nodding in a daze, only partially understanding the situation.

Noticing her confusion and wanting to avoid further discussion about his preferences, Yuan Xi quickly changed the subject. “By the way, Xiaoke, do you know why Qi Yunrou became the female lead in this drama? I thought she was supposed to be with the Beauty’s Makeup crew.”

Cheng Xiaoke pulled out her phone and began searching for news about Qi Yunrou. “It looks like Beauty’s Makeup finalized Wei Qiqi as the female lead. A lot of people thought Qi Yunrou was more suitable, but for some reason, the director went with Wei Qiqi from Dahai Media. As for why Qi Yunrou ended up in our drama, there’s nothing mentioned in the news yet—probably because the director hasn’t announced it publicly.”

Yuan Xi glanced at the information Xiaoke had found but saw nothing conclusive about Qi Yunrou.

“Well, whatever. If she’s part of the cast, she’s part of the cast. I’m not going to stop filming just because of her.”

As a newcomer, Yuan Xi didn’t know anyone else in the crew and wasn’t skilled at socializing. Watching the others gather in small groups to chat and mingle, he retreated to a quiet corner to snack and drink water by himself.

The opening ceremony had taken place in the afternoon, followed by a group dinner that evening. Filming was set to officially begin the next day.

Eager to learn, Yuan Xi spent his free time observing other actors’ scenes, hoping to expand his understanding of performance. He paid close attention to how others interacted on set and tried to internalize techniques for portraying a character effectively.

Quiet and reserved by nature, Yuan Xi watched silently from the sidelines, blending into the background without drawing attention.

Through careful observation and subtle eavesdropping, he eventually discovered the real reason Qi Yunrou had landed the lead role in With You for the Rest of My Life. In short, it was all thanks to connections!

After seeing the name of the male lead, Yuan Xi instantly understood—this was the classic effect of a protagonist halo. The male lead, Liang Hao, was none other than Qi Yunrou’s secret admirer. While Liang Hao wasn’t particularly famous among male actors, he was a second-generation heir with a modest fortune.

With money, opportunities abound—scripts, roles, and projects were never in short supply for someone like him.

When Qi Yunrou was dropped from Beauty’s Makeup, Liang Hao took the initiative to secure her the female lead role in With You for the Rest of My Life.

After all, Liang Hao’s father was one of the investors in the drama. Additionally, the director was well-known for modern romance dramas. While the production didn’t match the grandeur of Beauty’s Makeup, its script and potential for popularity were more than enough to make it appealing.

After much deliberation, Qi Yunrou chose to settle for the lead role in With You for the Rest of My Life.

Now with her fame and influence, combined with the recommendation from Liang Hao, Qi Yunrou’s presence in the drama was inevitable. The decision was further influenced by her rumored connection to Fu Yushen. Even though the truth behind the rumor was uncertain, the mere fact that Fu Yushen had never denied it was enough to spark speculation. This ultimately swayed Director Yu Xinglong’s choice.

Through observation, Yuan Xi had already formed a rough assessment of everyone’s acting skills.

Qi Yunrou’s performance, while not particularly dazzling, wasn’t terrible either—mediocre and unremarkable, with no glaring flaws or standout moments. In contrast, Liang Hao’s acting was genuinely impressive. Though Yuan Xi inwardly scoffed at Liang Hao’s questionable taste in women, he had to admit the man’s acting skills were commendable.

Over time, Yuan Xi picked up quite a few techniques from watching Liang Hao’s performances.

After spending about three days wandering around the set and observing others, it was finally time for Yuan Xi’s first scene.

As Yuan Xi entered the makeup room and sat down to wait, he couldn’t shake the feeling that the atmosphere was a little off. The makeup artist assigned to him kept glancing at him with an expression that seemed to hold some hidden meaning.

Before Yuan Xi could figure out what it meant, the makeup was finished, and the artist quickly left without a word.

Things felt even stranger once filming began. No matter where Yuan Xi stood, there always seemed to be a small empty space around him, as if people were deliberately keeping their distance. To make matters worse, there were groups of people whispering to each other while occasionally glancing in his direction, some even pointing subtly at him.

Although Yuan Xi couldn’t hear what they were saying, their looks were enough to tell him it wasn’t anything good.

He couldn’t help but curl his lips into a bitter smile. It wasn’t hard to guess what was going on. It had to be the female lead stirring up trouble behind his back again. The simplest explanation? She was probably spreading rumors about how he had “seduced her boyfriend” and landed this role entirely through connections.

Cheng Xiaoke walked over with a thermos in hand, glancing cautiously at the people around them before leaning close to Yuan Xi’s ear and whispering. “Brother Yuan they’re all saying you got your role through connections… and that you’re…”

“…that I’m the ‘male homewrecker,’ right?” Yuan Xi took the thermos, sipped casually, and finished her sentence without the slightest hesitation.

Cheng Xiaoke stared at him in shock, her eyes wide. “Brother Yuan, you knew?”

Yuan Xi smiled and shook his head. “Not exactly, but it wasn’t hard to guess. And I can even figure out who’s spreading these rumors.”

“Oh…” Cheng Xiaoke, recalling their previous conversations, immediately realized who Yuan Xi was referring to.

Before she could say anything else, Yuan Xi interrupted her.

“It’s my turn now,” he said, standing up. “Don’t worry about these things. The truth always comes out eventually. Besides…” He smiled lightly, exuding confidence. “I did land this contract through connections. And let’s be honest—Brother Chen is my biggest connection, isn’t he?”

=^_^=

Author has something to say: Yuan Xi: Brother Chen is my strongest backer!

Fu Yunzhou: Hm?

Chen Yang: …boss’ spouse, please don’t mess with me, QAQ