Chapter 208 - Protect and Wait

Fu Xiuyuan’s well-defined fingers grabbed at the blanket, his eyes surging wildly.

He wanted to, but he could not, nor did he dare to.

His heart trembled violently at the thought of her resistance and tears back then. He was afraid that she would feel disgusted by him.

He was worried that she would leave.

He fell back into a tangle of reason and emotion. He couldn’t afford to lose her. However, Shi Jin, who was opposite, did not sense anything. She switched off the lights and said in a low voice, “Go to sleep.”

She knew that Fu Xiuyuan hadn’t slept well for several days. Even with the essence of the yao orchid, which could heal his nerves, his stomach had never improved. With Shi Jin around, he could sleep peacefully.

In the dark night, where the eyes could not see, the other senses became clearer.

Shi Jin felt Fu Xiuyuan’s arm around her waist and didn’t move. She smiled slightly.

Actually, she didn’t understand why Fu Xiuyuan had only touched her on the day of her rebirth.

Now she gradually understood. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to, but that he didn’t dare to. He was afraid that he would scare her away before she could fully open her heart.

On the day of her rebirth, he had been so angry that he had lost his rationality. That was why he had done such a crazy thing and left her with a very bad experience.

He was making up for it, and waiting. Guarding her as if carefully protecting a soap bubble.

They were both protecting each other’s safety.

Shi Jin did not expose him. This was fine too.

Fu Xiuyuan wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tenderly, suppressing the restlessness in his heart.

Sometimes, when she wasn’t around, sleepiness would quickly drown out his messy thoughts and drag him down into a calm sea.

***

The next day, Yao Jiahong’s car was parked at the entrance of the Orchid Pavilion flower arrangement hall. He had come early in the morning to wait for Shi Jin.

He had already applied for leave from school. Today, she was going to shoot Grace’s advertisement.

The driver, Li, saw that he was holding porridge in his hand and had not yet eaten it. He could not help but say, “Brother Yao, you specially took such a long road and queued for more than half an hour to buy porridge from this shop. If you don’t eat it, it will turn cold.”

“I’m not hungry yet. I’ll eat later. You can have yours.”

Li didn’t say anything and turned to eat his steamed buns. Compared to the light porridge, he preferred the steamed buns which were full of oil and fragrance.

Yao Jiahong came a little early today. He waited for twenty minutes before Shi Jin appeared at the door.

She always liked wearing white shirts, washed-out jeans, and sneakers. However, even such simple clothes could look indescribably beautiful on her.

By the time she got into the car, Yao Jiahong had already put down the partition, separating her from the driver’s seat.

“Brother Yao.” Shi Jin sat down after greeting him and fastened her seatbelt solemnly.

Yao Jiahong said casually, “I passed by the Five Willows and bought some porridge for you.”

“I’ve already had breakfast. You should eat.”

Yao Jiahong was a little disappointed. Shi Jin used to love this porridge.

She had already put on her headphones and begun listening to something. Occasionally, she would lower her head and write something in her notebook.

Yao Jiahong had no choice but to eat the porridge himself. He didn’t even know how to eat it.

The filming location was on the Shen family’s territory, and the entire crew had been transferred over from the Shen family’s Diamond Music crew. It was much more spacious and bright than their usual filming location, and the equipment was comprehensive. Wen Yongwei and Shi Jin had been assigned a separate changing room and dressing room.

Kang Cheng and Wen Yongwei had already arrived earlier.

As someone who had signed on for Diamond Music and who had been personally requested by Shen Shuangnan, Wen Yongwei could be considered a direct descendant of the Shen family. Since she was unwilling to fall behind others, she naturally had to be more polite and proper than ‘outsiders’ like Shi Jin.

Shi Jin and Yao Jiahong arrived at the appointed time, and Wen Yongwei’s makeup was already done.

When she saw Shi Jin, she took the initiative to greet her. “Shi Jin.”

“Morning,” Shi Jin replied. Compared to Wen Yongwei’s warm and generous attitude, Shi Jin appeared too businesslike.

Wen Yongwei didn’t mind at all. “Let’s get going.”

The director, Luo Qi, was a director at Diamond Music. He had filmed many MVs for Diamond Music’s singers and had also created several advertisements for products under the name of the Shen Corporation. Needless to say, he was very capable.

After Wen Yongwei changed into her costume, she decided to talk to Luo Qi about the shoot.

Speaking of which, even though Wen Yongwei had won the title of ‘Ultimate Singer Songwriter’, she did not have any filming experience. Everything had to be learnt from scratch.

Fortunately, filming advertisements did not require much experience or acting skills.

Besides, Shi Jin was also a newcomer in this aspect. The two of them did not have much of an advantage. So naturally, the person who communicated with the director first could earn an advantage.

Luo Qi knew that Wen Yongwei was a direct employee of his family, so his attitude was quite good. However, when he saw the clothes and makeup she was wearing, he still had some doubts. “Yongwei, your makeup isn’t right, is it?”

Wen Yongwei looked down at her dress. “There’s nothing wrong with it. Director Luo, it’s written in the script that a princess and a poor girl will be in the advertisement. The two of them will use Grace cosmetics together. The advertisement’s theme is that no matter what identity a girl has, she has to protect herself. With Grace, no matter what identity she has, she can live like a princess and become the princess of her own world.”

Because Wen Yongwei was a direct employee of the Shen family and was the champion, while Shi Jin was only the runner-up, and the management contract was in the hands of another company, Kang Cheng and Wen Yongwei naturally thought that Wen Yongwei would play the princess in this commercial. Therefore, she had dressed like a princess the moment she arrived.

The dress was borrowed from a big brand by Kang Cheng. It was extremely elegant and beautiful. The hemline of the dress was decorated with flowers and golden threads, and the imitation diamonds sparkled, broadcasting the princess’ identity and status everywhere.

Wen Yongwei didn’t finish her sentence, but she had already implied so much.

Luo Qi understood. He said awkwardly, “Yongwei, among the ideas we received, the person playing the princess is… Shi Jin.”

Wen Yongwei’s expression remained unchanged, but she couldn’t conceal her embarrassment at all.

Kang Cheng had not expected such a situation. “Director Luo, are you sure?”

Initially, Luo Qi wasn’t sure either. He had thought that his artist would have to use the most exquisite and beautiful makeup. In the original design, Wen Yongwei had indeed been a princess.

However, it was said that this advertisement was very important to the higher-ups this time. The plan was even sent directly to Shen Shuangnan for him to take a look at personally.

Even Shen Shuangnan, who had never cared about the entertainment industry, could see the creativity. It was clear how much the Shen Corporation valued Grace.

The higher-ups didn’t have any objections to the idea, but when they returned the plan, they had circled the word ‘Princess’ and written Shi Jin’s name.

Luo Qi came into contact with the first-hand creative manuscript. He had to trust in it even if he didn’t in his heart.

He confirmed, “This is what the higher-ups want.”

The higher-ups? Who?

Kang Cheng was a little unhappy. He knew that he could not lose his temper with Luo Qi, so he just said, “Director Luo, please wait for a while. I’ll go talk to the higher-ups.”

Wen Yongwei bit her lips frustratedly. It wasn’t like she couldn’t act as a poor girl, but if she was working with Shi Jin, where would she be as the champion?

Moreover, this didn’t match her character profile. She had yet to gain a foothold in the entertainment industry, so it was impossible for her to break her character profile so quickly.

She looked at Kang Cheng expectantly.

Kang Cheng naturally wanted to fight for her, so he went to make a call.

Shi Jin was also preparing her makeup and hair. According to the advertisement’s plan, she would act like a princess. Yao Jiahong had already borrowed a princess dress based on the plan’s sketches, even though the filming team would provide costumes for normal advertisements.

However, if the manager was good enough, she would communicate with the director and filming crew beforehand to prepare suitable costumes for a better effect. Shi Jin changed her clothes quickly and came out.

Luo Qi was waiting. When he saw Shi Jin, his eyes lit up.

She wasn’t wearing a luxurious dress. On the contrary, it was a simple white princess dress. There weren’t many decorations, but the original color was outstanding enough. It matched Shi Jin’s age of just 20 years old.

Pure white was the hardest color to wear, but if one wore it well, they could truly look like an angel falling into the mortal world, or a princess falling from the heavens. Shi Jin was the best example of this.

Luo Qi couldn’t help but give Yao Jiahong a thumbs up. “Brother Yao, you really know your artist well!”

Yao Jiahong smiled, but didn’t say anything. After Deng Yufei’s incident, he had made everything for Shi Jin and had thoroughly matched her unique style.

For a period of time, he had had to listen to Shi Jin’s song all night to suppress the regret in his heart before he could fall asleep. This had given him a deeper understanding of her mentality.

When he worked with her, he naturally felt that it was very easy.

Wen Yongwei was not done yet, so Luo Qi communicated with Shi Jin first. “What we want the most from our advertisement is a feeling of beauty. It’s the feeling of taking care of a woman.”

“I understand.”

“Let’s try it first.” Luo Qi made an ‘OK’ gesture.

Shi Jin stood in front of the camera. Initially, Luo Qi had thought that she would be a little rusty and would at least need to try a few times before she could get a feel for filming. After all, she was only a talent show singer and did not have much experience with acting.

However, she was a natural. As the camera moved along its trajectory, she adjusted her movements and positioning. She was always able to appear steadily in frame. Moreover, her movements were graceful and gentle. It was exactly what Luo Qi wanted.

“Very good!” The first scene flashed across the screen, stimulating Luo Qi’s working state. “This time, you’ve used the skincare product. It’s very tiring to do it in the morning, but you used the Grace product, making you feel a hundred times more energized. Just do as you please.”

Very quickly, Shi Jin followed Luo Qi’s instructions and finished her actions. Her movements were smooth and her microexpressions were perfect. Everything was great.

After changing a few scenes and positions, Shi Jin was able to get into the right state of mind and meet the requirements.

Yao Jiahong looked at her with a deep gaze.

Of course, this was not difficult for Shi Jin. When she had been at her lowest point in her previous life, how many supporting roles had she acted in to earn a living?

At that time, her acting skills had already reached their peak and been highly praised by her collaborative director. It was a pity that she no longer had a place in the entertainment industry. Her acting skills were only so-so in a lousy film, so who could see her?

Today was not challenging at all.

Wen Yongwei stood to one side, and the more she looked, the more shocked she became. She had thought that she was on par with Shi Jin, but when she saw her performance, she realized that she couldn’t act so smoothly and so flawlessly.

Even though Kang Cheng had brought her here two days ago to get used to the camera and set.

How was Shi Jin doing it?

She finally remembered that in order to pursue Chu Ling, Shi Jin had gone to the movies and television shows she was in to gain experience.

With this kind of experience, it would indeed be easier to get started than for a noob like her.

It seemed like she had underestimated Shi Jin.

Kang Cheng was finally back. Wen Yongwei was a little nervous. “Director Kang, how’s it going?”

Although he was her manager, she still called him Director Kang respectfully.

“We’ve communicated. Shi Jin and you will not film together. You will each film your own parts,” Kang Cheng said. “Each of you will film an advertisement and in your own advertisement, you will each play the poor girl and the princess.”

He had argued for a long time, but the higher-ups refused to budge. They insisted that the Big Boss had approved Shi Jin to play the princess, and no one could change it.

Kang Cheng had come up with this plan. He couldn’t possibly stop Wen Yongwei from acting as a princess, could he?

If Wen Yongwei acted poor from the start, how would she survive in this industry in the future? The anti-fans would definitely trample her to death.

She heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing that. This outcome was better than she had expected.

She was already experienced at watching Shi Jin’s shoot. If she were to film with her, she might be suppressed by her until she couldn’t lift her head. However, this problem wouldn’t exist if the two of them filmed alone.

It was pretty good to do it separately.

“Director Kang, you’re the best.” Wen Yongwei was very grateful. “I’ll get to filming now.”

Kang Cheng nodded at her words and waved her off.

Luo Qi finished filming Shi Jin’s princess scenes very quickly. While Shi Jin went to change her clothes, he started filming Wen Yongwei.

After Shi Jin, Wen Yongwei’s performance did not satisfy Luo Qi.

Wen Yongwei took a few bad shots in a row.

Luo Qi said to her, “Just be natural. There’s no need to be so reserved. If you’re too reserved, it won’t feel real. You should stop and think about what you’re best at. What’s your state of mind when you’re doing what you’re best at?”

Wen Yongwei was under a lot of pressure. Luo Qi said, “You should rest for now. We’ll film later.”

Wen Yongwei sat down to one side. Kang Cheng walked over and said, “Don’t be nervous.”

“It’s my first time filming and I’m still not used to Director Luo’s pace.”

Kang Cheng also felt that her performance was not bad.