Chapter – 56
After successfully smoothing her mistress’s feathers once again, Bai Wenxi felt pretty good about herself.
“Go tell the director to shoot other people’s scenes first and move all of mine to the afternoon. I have something to take care of—I’m heading out for a bit,” Lin Qingyi instructed.
Heading out? Where to? What business? Bai Wenxi didn’t recall her mistress having any sudden important plans today. Could it be… going to the neighboring set?
“Are you going to visit President Qin’s shoot next door?” Bai Wenxi asked cautiously.
“I taught that idiot woman so carefully yesterday, and she still can’t act properly. She really is exhausting. Since I’ve already played the role of a living Bodhisattva once, I might as well see it through to the end,” Lin Qingyi said, looking exactly like a parent whose child refuses to live up to expectations—wanting to give up, yet unable to.
“That makes sense,” Bai Wenxi echoed obediently.
Skipping her own shoot to visit the neighboring set and putting someone else’s work before her own—this was the first time Bai Wenxi had seen Lin Qingyi do something like this in all the years she’d followed her.
The narcissist had started to fall for her.
Bai Wenxi had originally thought her mistress was just attracted by the other woman’s looks, but now it seemed it was far more than that. She couldn’t help wondering how long Lin Qingyi had been paying attention to Qin Shiyue. Had she already been interested back when Qin Shiyue was still married, but held herself back because of that status—only to act immediately once the divorce happened?
The more Bai Wenxi thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.
Suddenly, a slightly sour yet fitting phrase came to her mind: Love begins without warning, and once it does, it runs deep.
Bai Wenxi quickly went to inform the director, then followed Lin Qingyi to the neighboring set to visit the mistress’s not-yet-married wife.
This time, Lin Qingyi didn’t even need to say anything. Bai Wenxi bought the same drinks as last time and headed to Qin Shiyue’s set.
After all, you couldn’t visit a future wife empty-handed—that would be terribly improper.
When Lin Qingyi arrived, Qin Shiyue was still struggling through a scene with the male lead. Qin Shiyue was now fully experiencing the karmic backlash of having looked down on the male lead—her own acting had regressed back to square one.
If Lin Qingyi knew that all the scenes they’d rehearsed together last night were now useless, she’d probably regret spending that time on her. Qin Shiyue felt a little guilty for wasting Lin Qingyi’s earnest guidance.
Speak of the devil—and there he appears. But who ever heard of thinking of someone and having them appear?
Unable to fully focus on her role, Qin Shiyue—who had just been thinking about Lin Qingyi—suddenly felt like she saw her.
No, that couldn’t be right. Wasn’t Lin Qingyi filming next door? Why would she suddenly be here?
And why was she smiling at her like that?
It made Qin Shiyue feel unbearably embarrassed—both ashamed that her terrible acting was once again being witnessed by Lin Qingyi, and guilty for squandering her serious instruction.
Shame and shyness—sometimes, the two emotions are surprisingly similar.
Director Song Chengmu noticed that Qin Shiyue, who had previously been as stiff as a block of wood, suddenly seemed possessed. Emotion appeared on her face out of nowhere.
Once emotion was added, the CP chemistry immediately came alive.
Yes—this was exactly the reaction he wanted. Please, please let it last, Song Chengmu prayed silently. But he didn’t dare celebrate too soon, afraid Qin Shiyue’s sudden acting improvement might vanish as quickly as it appeared.
Fortunately, her performance stayed solid all the way through the foot-massage scene.
Song Chengmu decided to strike while the iron was hot and quickly shoot the remaining scenes between Qin Shiyue and the male lead while she was still “online.”
Perhaps because Lin Qingyi was watching, Qin Shiyue recalled the feeling from rehearsing with her the night before. The next two or three scenes with the male lead went unexpectedly smoothly.
After three consecutive scenes, Qin Shiyue finally felt like a battery that had run out of power—she couldn’t go on anymore. Luckily, it was already noon, and filming could pause for lunch.
Song Chengmu was more than satisfied. Today had been the best shooting day since filming began.
Just as they were wrapping up, an assistant informed him that Lin Qingyi had been there for quite some time.
“When did she arrive?” Song Chengmu asked.
“About an hour ago.”
Wasn’t that exactly when Qin Shiyue’s acting suddenly improved?
So her performance boost had been thanks to Lin Qingyi’s guidance? If that were the case, everything made perfect sense.
With the teacher present, the student had confidence—and thus performed better.
If that really was the reason, Song Chengmu only hoped that this Film Queen would guide Qin Shiyue more often. If Qin Shiyue’s acting stabilized, the show’s ratings would be secure.
“Teacher Lin, here to visit Teacher Qin again?” Song Chengmu greeted her warmly. Among directors, he was neither top-tier nor insignificant. Actors’ status often matched directors’ status, and he knew he wasn’t quite qualified to work with someone like Lin Qingyi yet.
“Yes, I’m here to see Shiyue. Director Song, please go ahead and handle your work—no need to entertain me,” Lin Qingyi said politely, clearly uninterested in further conversation.
“I didn’t realize Teacher Lin and Teacher Qin were so close. Alright then, I’ll get back to work. You two have a nice chat,” Song Chengmu said tactfully and took his leave.
“Here.” The moment Qin Shiyue came over, Lin Qingyi handed her the strawberry slush, wondering if this decorative vase would try to make excuses and refuse again.
“Aren’t you filming today? Why did you suddenly come over?” Qin Shiyue asked after naturally accepting the drink and taking a sip.
As the female lead, Lin Qingyi should have plenty of scenes herself.
Watching Qin Shiyue place the straw between her lips, Lin Qingyi curved her mouth slightly—clearly pleased that she hadn’t been rejected this time.
“I finished my scenes for the morning, so I came to see how someone was doing. To check whether her acting is still as bad as ever,” Lin Qingyi said casually.
So Lin Qingyi wasn’t at ease and had come specifically to watch her act?
That realization stirred something restless deep inside Qin Shiyue. She couldn’t help wondering—could she take this as a sign that this woman cared about her, at least a little?
