Chapter 167
Chapter 167
Regardless of what others said online, Jun Zishu and Yu Fanshu continued shooting their film peacefully.
During this period, Jun Zishu saw Millie making an update post on her Weibo.
Mili Millie: Goodbye, you motherfucker. 🙂
This post received varying replies, but Millie did not reply to any of them.
Shortly after making her Weibo post, Millie also messaged Jun Zishu and Yu Fanshu to thank them. Simply put, she had realized how foolish she had been to think of ending her life previously. After trying out some extreme sports and bungee jumping, she felt as if her world had opened up, and she realized that she valued her life much more than her one-sided love for a scumbag. Thus, she decided that she would live her life well. She also wished Jun Zishu and Yu Fanshu everlasting happiness.
“This little girl really knows how to speak,” Yu Fanshu said as she placed an arm over Jun Zishu’s shoulders, her words carrying a deeper meaning.
Jun Zishu smiled. Even though Yu Fanshu was younger than Millie, she spoke as if she was the other party’s elder.
In reality, Yu Fanshu wasn’t as old as she portrayed herself. She was only 26 this year. However, possibly because of her life experiences, she had a calm and steady personality. And although she behaved politely and courteously when around others, she would also make sure to keep her distance from everyone around her. Honestly, Jun Zishu thought that Yu Fanshu would continue behaving calmly and steadily for the rest of her life. That was until she saw Yu Fanshu’s angry side one day.
Yu Fanshu had lost her temper, and she had behaved that way for Jun Zishu’s sake.
It happened when they were filming a scene where the imperial concubine was trying to make trouble for Minxi. Before Chaofeng and Minxi arrived, the imperial concubine was the emperor’s most favored woman. However, ever since the two sisters arrived, they had stolen practically all of the emperor’s affection, so the imperial concubine naturally sought to do something about it.
Chaofeng kept a low profile in the emperor’s harem, and she wasn’t one to stay quiet when bullied. After suffering once at Chaofeng’s hands, the imperial concubine gave up targeting Chaofeng and switched her sights to Minxi instead. Unlike Chaofeng, Minxi was much more naive and easy to bully. Meanwhile, the imperial concubine’s first act of bullying was to push Minxi into a pond.
However, the actress playing the imperial concubine seemed to be out of sorts when acting in this scene as she slipped up three times in a row. As a result, Jun Zishu had fallen into the water three times, having to climb up soaking wet and dry off after every failed take. After the third failed attempt, Jun Zishu’s face turned slightly pale from the cold water.
The director had also grown anxious after this many retakes. However, as he had no better options, he could only explain the scene to the actress again before doing another retake.
Meanwhile, Jun Zishu dried her hair while waiting for the next retake.
Jun Zishu could see that the other party wasn’t making mistakes on purpose. In fact, the other party had grown so anxious that she was already on the brink of tears. Jun Zishu wasn’t an ill-tempered person, so she didn’t try to trouble the other party. After the other party was ready again, Chenzi took away the towel, and Jun Zishu returned to the set to do another retake.
Unfortunately, the fourth take was still a failure.
“Cut! What is wrong with you?! That’s not the right expression at all!”
The director yelled “cut” out of frustration again.
Before the director could continue reprimanding the actress, Yu Fanshu walked up to Jun Zishu and asked, “Are you alright?”
Yu Fanshu took over the towel in Chenzi’s hands and used it to wipe Jun Zishu’s face. Then, when her hands touched Jun Zishu’s cold cheeks, her heart ached, and anger surfaced in her eyes.
“I’m fine,” Jun Zishu said as she let Yu Fanshu dry her hair.
After drying Jun Zishu’s hair and wrapping the towel around it, Yu Fanshu turned to the anxious-looking actress and asked, “You. Do you even know how to act? You don’t need to be here if you don’t know. You are wasting all of our time and film.”
Yu Fanshu’s face did not carry her usual smile when she spoke. Instead, her expression was cold, and the aura she exuded was intimidating. At this time, anyone with eyes could tell that she was very angry.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I don’t know why, but I just can’t get into a good state today,” the actress apologized in a panic.
“We will retake this scene on another day. If you still can’t perform well at that time, you don’t have to continue filming.”
Everyone knew that Yu Fanshu could make true what she said. After all, apart from being a Film Empress and this movie’s first female lead, she was also this movie’s investor.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I will try my best!”
Yu Fanshu was always of the opinion that apologies were useless. After all, there was no reversing the damage caused.
The weather recently had already started to turn cold. After falling into the cold water four times in a row, there was a high chance that Jun Zishu would catch a cold. If this actress kept on failing to get into character, wouldn’t that mean Jun Zishu would have to continue falling into the water time and again?
“We’ll skip this scene first, then,” the director hurriedly said, having his assistant arrange for the next set to be prepared to assuage Yu Fanshu’s anger.
Meanwhile, after everyone saw how Yu Fanshu got angry, they had to admit that the Film Empress was very protective of Jun Zishu. Although they had previously noticed that Yu Fanshu and Jun Zishu shared a close relationship already, they didn’t think that Yu Fanshu would pamper Jun Zishu to such an extent.
While the next stage was being prepared, Yu Fanshu dragged Jun Zishu to the changing room. Upon hearing a sneeze from Jun Zishu, Yu Fanshu hurriedly had Chenzi go and buy a hot drink.
“Are you alright? Your body feels very cold,” Yu Fanshu asked while pressing her hands against Jun Zishu’s neck, trying to share her body heat with Jun Zishu.
“It’s okay. Don’t be angry.”
Jun Zishu rubbed her face against Yu Fanshu’s face and caressed Yu Fanshu’s hands.
“How can I not be angry after all that?”
Yu Fanshu held Jun Zishu’s hands, their fingers interlocking.
Jun Zishu looked up and gently kissed Yu Fanshu’s chin, trying to soothe her. Then, she said, “I’ll go and have a talk with her afterward. She really doesn’t look to be in the right state. Maybe something has happened to her.”
“My Lingling really has a good temper.”
Yu Fanshu kissed Jun Zishu’s forehead, imbuing her warmth on Jun Zishu’s skin.
“She didn’t do it on purpose. She has also apologized already, so there’s no need to pursue this matter. But resolving this problem is still a must since I don’t want to fall into the water several more times.”
Jun Zishu’s temper wasn’t as excellent as Yu Fanshu thought. She was, however, very patient. Had she discovered that the other party was messing up deliberately, she would’ve stopped cooperating after the first failed take.
When Jun Zishu changed her clothes and left the changing room with Yu Fanshu, the actress came to apologize again. At this time, her expression was even paler than Jun Zishu, looking frightened and helpless.
Jun Zishu accepted the other party’s apology, patiently chatted with her, and explained what she should do during the scene.
“I understand now, Teacher Jun Ling. Thank you very much.”
“You’re welcome. But you don’t have to call me ‘teacher.’ I am just a small-time actor.”
“But your acting is really good. You are also a very nice person. Rumors really can’t be trusted.”
“People are bound to change,” Jun Zishu said. Of course, not as drastically as my case.
…
However, people really could change. One example was Millie.
Ever since Millie broke character, she thoroughly let herself loose. A week after making her cussing post, she returned to the entertainment circle with a new song.
In the past, most of Millie’s songs were sweet love songs. However, her new song was nothing close to being a love song. The song carried hints of rock and roll, sounding crazed and demonic. She had also dyed her hair burgundy and let it drape across her back. This gave her a mature and sexy look, a stark contrast to her past appearance.
Only if one was confident could one be fearless.
Jun Zishu was very happy to see Millie this way. Shortly after Millie published her new song, Phoenix Dynasty‘s filming was also coming to an end.
The final scene Jun Zishu had to act in was where Chaofeng killed Minxi.
From the previous scenes, everyone could tell that Minxi was Chaofeng’s final compassion. Chaofeng was an ambitious and ruthless person capable of doing anything to achieve her goal of revenge. However, Minxi was the one person Chaofeng would never harm. Even after a rift had formed between them, Chaofeng continued protecting Minxi from the darkness of the palace. Yet, Minxi remained ignorant of her elder sister’s actions and actively worked against Chaofeng.
In the end, Chaofeng couldn’t tolerate Minxi any longer and decided to kill Minxi with her own hands as well as the last shred of goodness in her heart.
The scene was set in the lofty palace. A cold atmosphere permeated the magnificent hall, and Jun Zishu and Yu Fanshu sat in this hall wearing their palace costumes.
After everyone was ready, Jun Zishu leaned into Yu Fanshu’s arms, and Yu Fanshu placed her hands over Jun Zishu’s mouth and nose.
Then, as soon as the clapperboard sounded, Jun Zishu began struggling in Yu Fanshu’s arms.
…
Chaofeng gradually tightened her grip over Minxi’s mouth and nose, an icy expression on her face.
Minxi’s eyes widened, her mouth making muffled noises as her eyes looked at Chaofeng fearfully and pleadingly.
Chaofeng lowered her gaze, her hands continuing to suffocate her little sister.
“You’re tired, Minxi. Sleep. Everything will get better once you fall asleep.”
Chaofeng’s voice was soft and gentle, speaking the same way she did when she coaxed her little sister to sleep in the past.
Minxi couldn’t break free from Chaofeng’s hold, and the struggle she put up grew weaker and weaker.
Sunlight shined in from outside the hall, but Chaofeng remained shrouded in darkness.
Eventually, Minxi’s hands dropped lifelessly to the side as she breathed her last.
Minxi’s eyes remained open when she passed, despair coloring them.
Chaofeng closed Minxi’s eyes and hugged her little sister’s corpse.
Anyone who saw Chaofeng now would think that she was cold-hearted, but her trembling hands and lowered head revealed the pain she suffered.
After some time had passed, Chaofeng lifted her head, a single teardrop rolling down her cheek. Then, after she wiped the teardrop away, her expression reverted to its previous indifference.
After laying Minxi’s corpse to rest on the floor, Chaofeng gently stroked Minxi’s hair.
“Sleep well, my little sister.”
…
Everyone was immersed in the depressing and cruel atmosphere Yu Fanshu created. Everyone woke up from their dream only after the director had yelled “cut.”
This scene allowed everyone to realize Yu Fanshu’s strength once more. However, insiders would also know that Jun Zishu had performed equally well.
Even though Jun Zishu did not say a single line throughout the entire scene, she had perfectly portrayed the tension of her character.
With this scene completed, Jun Zishu had finished filming her first movie.
When Jun Zishu walked out of the stage, the director had stuffed a red packet into her hands to celebrate her finished work and expel the bad luck she might have gathered from roleplaying death.
With her final scene filmed and her salary in hand, Jun Zishu felt that it was time she paid back her debt.
The director had paid Jun Zishu a hefty sum out of consideration for Brilliance Entertainment and Yu Fanshu. After combining her earnings from this movie, the variety show, and the several endorsements she took on previously, Jun Zishu already had enough money to pay back her debt to Yan Jue.
Originally, Jun Zishu thought it would take her much longer to pay off her debt. After all, her mother’s surgery and hospitalization cost around two million yuan, and the previous company she worked for was a bloodsucking vampire. However, her plans were accelerated after she managed to hitch a ride on Yu Fanshu’s bandwagon.
After changing out of her palace clothing, Jun Zishu grabbed the ATM card holding her salary and had Yu Fanshu continue filming while she left to pay back her debt.
“Are you returning it to Yan Jue?”
“Mhm.”
“I’ll go with you. I’ve rejected his invitation to have a meal several times now. I can use this chance to meet with an old friend.”
“No need. I can go by myself. Can you pick me up once I’m done?”
“Alright, then.”
Yu Fanshu didn’t know why Jun Zishu insisted on going by herself, but she felt that it might have to do with Jun Zishu wanting to handle her own matters. Although she liked clinging to Jun Zishu, she knew that personal space was also necessary between lovers.
In reality, though, Jun Zishu’s reason for going alone wasn’t that at all. Instead, she insisted on going alone because apart from paying back her debt, she also planned on picking a fight with the person eyeing her girlfriend this time.
“Fanshu.”
“Hm?”
Yu Fanshu was a little surprised that Jun Zishu wasn’t calling her “Teacher” this time.
“Do you mind letting others know about our relationship?”
“Of course not,” Yu Fanshu said without hesitation. She wanted nothing more than to let the world know that Jun Zishu was her woman.
“Even if it’s your fans and your family?”
“Even if it’s them.”
“Would your parents mind our relationship?”
“They won’t. They will like whoever I like.”
“Good, then. I’ll be waiting for you to pick me up.”
[Good luck, Host! Bring out your aura as the main wife and beat up that little bitch!]
Jun Zishu felt that the internet might have corrupted her system.