Chapter 183: Chapter 165

After entering the studio, the first thing Yu Fanshu did was to greet the director, the assistant director, and the screenwriter.

All three people smiled when they saw Yu Fanshu. However, when their eyes turned to Jun Zishu, their friendly gazes immediately turned into a scrutinizing gaze.

“You should’ve familiarized yourself with the script already, right?” the director asked as he looked at Jun Zishu.

“Yes.”

“Let’s try two acts, then. The first act will be when the country falls, and Minxi asks Chaofeng what to do. The second act will be when Minxi decides to strike at Chaofeng and poison her.”

“Okay.”

Jun Zishu nodded and stepped onto the stage. Yu Fanshu also followed her and stood facing her, her eyes giving off an encouraging look.

Before getting into character, Jun Zishu looked down and took a deep breath.

When Jun Zishu looked up again, her expression had changed into one of anxiety, and her eyes looked like they were about to empty their reserves of tears. Then, she stumbled her way forward and grabbed onto Yu Fanshu’s hands in a panic:

“Sister…! They’re…They’re inside the palace! Father Emperor… Father Emperor has… What should we do, Sister?”

Jun Zishu’s expression looked jittery, and her body shook to express her fear. She also tightly clutched onto the person before her, her behavior making it look like this person was her only reliance. At the same time, her face also expressed her blind faith in this person.

“Don’t be afraid. I will protect you,” Yu Fanshu said as she gently stroked Jun Zishu’s head. However, her eyes were not looking at Jun Zishu. Instead, they gazed into the distance as she wore a heavy expression on her face.

The director was very surprised and somewhat stunned by Jun Zishu’s performance.

Jun Zishu’s expressions and voice were perfectly on point. Even the way she held onto Yu Fanshu’s hand perfectly conveyed her feelings of fear and anxiety. Yu Fanshu’s performance was similarly flawless. Even though they were standing on an empty stage, they managed to vividly outline the scene they played with only a few words, their performances complementing each other wonderfully.

“Next scene,” the director said.

Yu Fanshu stepped off the stage and watched Jun Zishu’s performance from the side.

Meanwhile, Jun Zishu straightened her clothes and tilted her head sideways, seemingly listening to someone speaking. Then, a moment later, a cold smile appeared on her face.

“In the end, which of us is the one who can’t tell the difference?” Jun Zishu murmured as she stared at the empty space before her. Then, she waved her sleeve, making it seem like she was sweeping off the contents of a table as she said, “Sisters? Ha! What a sister you are.”

The smile on Jun Zishu’s face disappeared, and her eyes looked like they were quenched with poison and sinister intent.

Yu Fanshu nodded in satisfaction when she saw this scene. Jun Zishu’s performance was impeccable, in her opinion. Her girl was just that good.

Afterward, Jun Zishu took a deep breath and neutralized her expression. Then, she bowed in the director’s direction before reverting to the usual calm and gentle look.

“Wonderfully done!” the director stood up and applauded. Then, he looked toward Yu Fanshu and said, “No wonder you wanted to bring her here! We’ll proceed with the filming!”

Yu Fanshu nodded in response.

“Thank you, Director,” Jun Zishu thanked.

“Young people really do improve quickly.”

“It’s all thanks to Miss Yu’s excellent guidance.’

“I dare not take credit. It’s the student who’s talented,” Yu Fanshu said, her lips curling into a smile. She really didn’t have much to do with Jun Zishu’s excellence. Afterward, Yu Fanshu turned to the director and asked, “Has the male lead been decided yet?”

“Yes. It’s going to be played by Fan Qing, the one who won an award last year. Do you know him? He’s quite the good actor,” the director said. He had quite a few people come and audition for the role, and only Fan Qing managed to win his attention.

“This isn’t our first time working together, so you should know my temper,” Yu Fanshu said. She had worked with this same director when she was filming her second movie, so the two of them could be considered acquaintances.

“You can rest assured.”

The director was well aware of Yu Fanshu’s personality and her conditions for working together with other actors. In addition to needing to be skilled in acting and having an earnest work ethic, Yu Fanshu also required her co-actors to behave sensibly since she detested posers. Meanwhile, so long as Yu Fanshu got angry, she was more than capable of calling it quits without having to worry about the repercussions. He had waited a long time for Yu Fanshu to return, so he naturally made sure to research Fan Qing’s behavior off-camera.

After successfully passing her audition, Jun Zishu kept quiet and watched as Yu Fanshu interacted with the director, her mind occupied with her own thoughts.

In reality, Yan Jue had constantly invited Yu Fanshu out for meals or entertainment during this period. Meanwhile, aware of Yan Jue’s feelings for her, Yu Fanshu rejected all of his invitations and made sure to keep her distance from him.

However, Jun Zishu knew that Yan Jue still hadn’t given up. If he did, he wouldn’t have gone around sleeping with several women who looked like Yu Fanshu during this period.

Although Yan Jue had stopped keeping mistresses after Yu Fanshu returned, that didn’t mean he had stopped sleeping with women who resembled Yu Fanshu. According to Little Fairy’s monitoring, Yan Jue had already slept with three different women during this period. Of the three, one of them had a profile similar to Yu Fanshu, one had similar eyes, and one had similar lips.

Jun Zishu grew annoyed just thinking about Yan Jue’s actions. After all, Yu Fanshu was currently her girlfriend, and it felt incredibly unpleasant to know that someone constantly desired her girlfriend. Fortunately, Yu Fanshu had never once accepted Yan Jue’s invitation. Otherwise, she might have had to bring her plans forward.

Moreover, Yan Jue’s actions of seeking replacements for Yu Fanshu were also incredibly disgusting, no matter how Jun Zishu looked at it. Jun Zishu believed that Yu Fanshu would share her sentiment should she learn of Yan Jue’s actions.

…

The director acted swiftly. After finalizing the cast list and signing all the necessary contracts, he decided to begin filming half a month later.

In the meantime, filming for the variety show continued. However, subsequent filming sessions became more hurried due to everyone’s tight schedules.

Of course, despite their busy schedules, everyone still displayed their best when in front of the camera.

Off-camera, Jun Zishu could still see Millie smoking from time to time. Moreover, it seemed that the woman had started smoking more aggressively as time passed, her face constantly carrying hints of depression. However, when Jun Zishu asked if everything was alright, Millie would always say everything was fine.

Jun Zishu had a feeling that something must’ve happened, and sure enough, a problem had cropped up during the filming for the fifth episode—Millie did not come, and the director wore a gloomy expression after contacting Millie’s company.

“What happened?”

“We will try to find a replacement as quickly as possible. For now, though, I’m afraid you won’t be able to remain in this show, Tongtong,” the director said. Then, he called for the cameramen to stop recording.

Meanwhile, Tang Tongtong took out his phone and gave his manager a call. His expression remained neutral throughout the call. Then, after hanging up, he said to the director, “We’ll discuss the contract on a later date. I’ll be taking my leave now.”

“Okay.”

Afterward, Tang Tongtong bid goodbye to Yu Fanshu, Jun Zishu, Lemon, and Jiu Xi before leaving the filming site.

Nobody talked about what happened. Even though everyone present was more or less aware of what had transpired, they tacitly agreed to keep quiet about it.

“I wonder who will be our new coworkers? You and Jun Ling will have to start filming for your movie, right, Miss Yu?”

“Mhm.”

“Everyone is so busy,” Lemon commented.

“You are the only one who’s idle,” Jiu Xi habitually retorted.

“Who said so? I’m a very busy person. I’m very busy with a major undertaking,” Lemon said as he wrapped an arm around Jiu Xi’s waist.

Although Jiu Xi tried to hit Lemon’s arm away, he simply let it be after failing to do so.

Jun Zishu naturally noticed this little detail, and noticing that she had noticed this, Lemon winked at her meaningfully as they reached a mutual understanding.

Yu Fanshu didn’t care who would replace Millie and Tang Tongtong. She simply fiddled with Jun Zishu’s fingers while watching Jun Zishu play with her phone.

The reason for Millie’s absence quickly spread all over the internet.

Smoking, casting couch, being kept as a mistress… All sorts of misconduct were exposed. These accusations even came with photographic evidence, so there was no way to write them off as mere rumors.

The response to these revelations was terrible, to say the least. Millie had always had a lot of haters. Many people constantly criticized her for pretending to be young even though she was already nearing her thirties. Some people had even exposed her younger photos, subtly implying that she had plastic surgery done.

The revelation of Millie’s many misconducts was the straw that broke the camel’s back. These revelations had essentially shattered her cute persona.

Honestly, though, Jun Zishu didn’t think there was anything wrong with Millie smoking. Celebrities were people, too. There was no way Millie could avoid stress, and her way of relieving stress just so happened to be smoking. While smoking wasn’t healthy, it was still better than abusing drugs. Not to mention, Millie had always made sure to always smoke outside of the camera.

However, the problem was the persona Millie had operated under throughout her career.

Jun Zishu had a rather good impression of Millie, so she messaged Millie via WeChat to express concern.

Millie replied very quickly, and the surprise in her message was obvious.

[Millie]: I didn’t expect you to be concerned about me. Everyone else is doing their best to avoid me.

[Jun Zishu]: Your health is more important than everything else.

[Millie]: It doesn’t matter. Did you know? I started in this circle just like you. I used to think that what I had was happiness, but reality constantly reminded me how naive I was.

[Millie]: Ha. Do you know why I keep wearing pink clothing and pretending to be cute? I used to find these things repulsive. But he liked them, so I persisted with them. I liked him for ten years, and this was the outcome I got in return.

[Jun Zishu]: Love isn’t the only thing in life.

[Millie]: Indeed it isn’t, but it is capable of crushing a person.

[Millie]: Whatever. I’m going offline. You best take care of yourself and manage your heart well. At the very least, make sure you still have some dignity when you get dumped.

Jun Zishu sat close to Yu Fanshu, so Yu Fanshu naturally saw Millie’s messages.

“I won’t abandon you,” Yu Fanshu said, frowning. Rather than her dumping Jun Zishu, she was more concerned about getting dumped instead.

In response, Jun Zishu smiled lightly and held Yu Fanshu’s hand.

“You don’t believe me?” Yu Fanshu asked when she saw Jun Zishu’s reaction.

Yu Fanshu knew that Jun Zishu had a very tough mindset. Jun Zishu seemingly lacked emotional security, so she had decided not to rely on anyone altogether. Despite having a soft and amiable personality, Jun Zishu’s heart was, in reality, tougher than anyone else.

“I just don’t believe in vows. Time will prove things, Teacher. You are a very nice person, and I hope to be with you for the rest of my life,” Jun Zishu said.

Jun Zishu had always been a very direct person. She would believe in things she wanted to believe and like whoever she wanted to like. She wouldn’t choose to delude with wishful thinking, and she refused to believe in vows. Sweet words were the most unreliable thing in this world. What she did believe in was time.

Yu Fanshu sighed when she heard Jun Zishu’s reply. She didn’t know what she should do to earn Jun Zishu’s trust. Moreover, despite saying that she didn’t love her, this little rascal was constantly flirting with her and seducing her. Also, if she didn’t believe in her, why would she want to spend the rest of her life with her?

In the end, Yu Fanshu decided to give up thinking. All she needed to do was hold onto Jun Zishu’s hand forever, making sure that she couldn’t leave.

A few minutes later, Jun Zishu refreshed her Weibo page and saw that Millie had made a new post.

…

Mili Millie: Smoking? Yes. I did it because of stress. Make sure not to mimic me, everyone. It’s not good for your health.

Plastic surgery? No. I wouldn’t look so ugly if I did. I don’t even rely on my face to make a living.

Casting couch? Do you think I’m sick in the head? I don’t even act in films. Why would I sleep with bald, middle-aged men?

Thank you, Little Mi’s who have supported me all these years, but I’m tired, so I’m afraid I can’t continue accompanying you any longer.

I sincerely wish all my good friends a prosperous future and a good death to those who wish me harm.

Also, hey, I’ve liked you for so many years, yet all I got in return was a broken reputation. I do not believe that you didn’t notice my feelings. You simply didn’t care that I liked you. As you wish, then.

[Image]

…

The attached image was a picture of Millie smiling brightly. Unlike her usual clothing, she wore a black shirt and black pants in the picture. Her lips were also colored a flirtatious red.

Jun Zishu’s heart sank with a bad premonition when she read the end of Millie’s post, and she hurriedly called Millie’s phone.

No one answered.