The next morning, 9:00 AM.
Same as always, after finishing his martial arts practice in the park, Jiang Nian went home, brushed his teeth and washed up, then headed toward the film set with breakfast he’d picked up from a street vendor.
The set was already buzzing with activity. Crew members bustled back and forth under the director’s commands, the atmosphere lively and chaotic. Jiang Nian found a spot with a good view and ate his breakfast, watching them with a sense of leisurely detachment.
He hadn’t been watching long, however, before someone accosted him.
“Why didn’t you show up last night?”
An imperious-sounding voice came from beside him. Jiang Nian turned his head, bewildered, to see the female lead standing there, faint dark circles under her eyes, looking thoroughly aggressive.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked, frowning as he swallowed a bite of his egg-stuffed flatbread. What on earth is this woman going on about so early in the morning?
“Hah, playing dumb with me, are you?” The female lead laughed bitterly. “I told you yesterday I had my eye on the new Chanel bag. Why didn’t you buy it for me?”
Jiang Nian: “…”
Jiang Nian: “Idiot.”
He had no idea why this woman had zeroed in on him, but if there was one thing Jiang Nian had learned in his short life, it was this: never engage with idiots. So, without sparing her another glance, he simply stood up and walked away, not looking back once.
Seeing his utter indifference only infuriated the female lead further. She was an intensely narcissistic person—a textbook “princess,” in other words. Consequently, she looked down on a no-name actor like Jiang Nian from the bottom of her heart. She saw him as nothing more than a walking wallet, a plaything to be summoned and dismissed at her whim. When she tired of him, or decided he had no more value, she would simply discard him.
She had never anticipated that Jiang Nian would dare refuse her. Worse, he had outright ignored her!
“How dare you!” A nameless fury flared in her chest. She felt utterly humiliated by him. But chasing after him to throw a tantrum felt beneath her perceived elegance. So she retreated to a corner to sulk alone, waiting for someone to come and soothe her bruised ego.
To her mounting frustration, she waited and waited, yet aside from her own agent, not a single person showed her any concern. This made her already fragile state of mind spiral further.
Jiang Nian, the source of her turmoil, remained blissfully unaware. After putting some distance between himself and the female lead, he simply hung around the periphery for a while, watching the scenes being shot. Once filming wrapped up for the moment, he made his way over to the director.
“Director! Good morning!” Jiang Nian greeted him with a cheerful grin.
The director had been about to take a sip of tea, but upon seeing it was Jiang Nian, he set the cup aside, a smile spreading across his face. “Brother Jiang! What’s up? Need something?”
“Actually, yes,” Jiang Nian replied, casually placing a box of premium cigarettes on the table. “Director, do I have any scenes today?” He wasn’t asking out of some burning passion for his work or a deep love of acting. He just figured if there were no scenes for him, he wouldn’t bother with makeup and costume and could just go practice his martial arts nearby instead.
The director thought for a moment. “Probably not for the next couple of days. It’s not quite autumn yet, and the weather’s been good. We need to rush through the outdoor scenes that require this specific light and weather. Once autumn hits and it gets overcast, those shots will be much harder to get.”
“I see,” Jiang Nian nodded in understanding. “Well then, I won’t keep you. Carry on.” He got up and left without a backward glance. The director, meanwhile, naturally opened the box of cigarettes Jiang Nian had left behind, popped one in his mouth, and once everyone had rested up, resumed filming.
“Cut! Cut! CUT!!!”
At three o’clock in the afternoon, the director’s enraged bellow echoed across the set. The shoot had hit a major snag. The director shot up from his chair, hurled his cap onto the ground with a violent thwack, and glared daggers at the female lead, roaring at the top of his lungs:
“Zhang Wen, what the hell are you doing?! It’s a simple scene, and you’ve made me call ‘cut’ ten goddamn times! ‘Eyes full of tender affection’—you don’t know how to do ‘tender affection’?! Do I seriously have to teach you this?! Should I come up there and play the damn part myself?!”
The director had completely lost his cool. He had no idea what Zhang Wen’s problem was. She’d been distracted and out of sorts from the moment she stepped on set. Last night she’d been flirty and vivacious as hell, and now she was trying to play the innocent maiden? What was this about?!
Zhang Wen, her face a mask of wounded innocence, clutched the hem of her costume and bit her lip. “I’m sorry, Director. I didn’t mean to… I’m just a little off my game right now. Could I please have a moment to pull myself together?”
“You—!” The director opened his mouth, ready to lay into her, wanting to ask what kind of actor shows up to work “off their game.” But then he remembered the nature of his personal relationship with Zhang Wen, and the harsh words died on his tongue. He just waved a dismissive hand. “Everyone, take five.” He lit a cigarette, already stewing over how he’d get his revenge on Zhang Wen later that night.
As for Zhang Wen, the moment the director called for a break, she slipped away from the main group. Once she was in a secluded spot with no one around, the mask of the wronged innocent fell away. Her face twisted with resentment as she hissed under her breath, “It’s all your fault! All your fault! If it weren’t for you, the director never would have yelled at me!”
The “you” in question was, of course, Jiang Nian. Zhang Wen had been seething all day.
Just then, a voice called out.
“Wenwen? Wenwen!”
Zuo Yuanliang’s voice approached from not far away. Startled, Zhang Wen immediately pinched her own arm hard, forcing tears to well up in her eyes. She turned, looking every bit the pitiable, vulnerable maiden. “Brother Yuanliang? What are you doing here?”
“I saw you seemed upset, thought I’d come check on you,” Zuo Yuanliang said with a dazzling smile. He walked up to her, his expression oozing with performative kindness. “Wenwen, has someone been bothering you?”
Zhang Wen feigned surprise. “How did you know?”
“Heh, you’ve practically got ‘I’m being bullied’ written all over your face. I’d have to be pretty dense not to notice. Who is it? Tell your big bro here, and I promise I’ll teach them a lesson for you!” Zuo Yuanliang declared, thumping his chest for emphasis.
At these words, a sly glint flickered deep within Zhang Wen’s eyes. She’d been racking her brain for a way to get back at Jiang Nian, and now a convenient fool had just volunteered. Without a moment’s hesitation, the seasoned manipulator Zhang Wen put on her most pitiable, heart-wrenching expression and said, “It’s Du Gao.”
“Du Gao?” Zuo Yuanliang blinked, confused.
“Yes,” she sniffled. “When we were doing our scene yesterday, he kept… touching me inappropriately. I couldn’t stand it, so I told him to stop. But he didn’t stop—he only got worse. And when I tried to confront him about it today, he just cursed me out. Brother Yuanliang… what did I ever do wrong? Why is he treating me like this?” And with that, she burst into tears, the very picture of a woman deeply wronged.
Seeing her like this, Zuo Yuanliang’s temper instantly ignited. Damn it! There was someone on this set even more arrogant than him? And they dared to harass a girl he had his eye on?
“Wenwen, just wait here. I’m going to go teach that guy a lesson right now!”
