NWWNL – Chapter 29

Chapter 29.

Ever since the accidental death of Yi Yang’s father, Yi Yang was basically raised by Old Master Yi. The Old Master had done his best to hand over the future of the whole Yi family to Yi Yang and had made every effort to cultivate him. So Old Master Yi was very familiar with his character. 

Once he saw that Yi Yang could take over the Yi Group, Old Master Yi had retired and started staying home. He gave Yi Yang full power and stopped meddling in the company’s affairs. Despite that, he still heard gossip from those other old guys when he went fishing with his old friends.

It was rumored that Yi Yang spent 30 million yuan to invest in a TV show, just for some starlet in the entertainment industry. And when the rumor was related there were some hints in-between the words.

Of course, the Old Master could guess who the female star was.

Besides Xu Xinyi, who else could it be?

The money didn’t matter at all. What the Old Master didn’t understand was: Yi Yang only married Xu Xinyi because of a marriage contract and he had no feelings for her. When the Old Master had gone to the mountain nursing home for two years, those two children rarely spent any time together, so there was no chance for them to cultivate a relationship. Now, when he came back from the nursing home, their relationship seemed glued together like two lovers deeply in love, and now Yi Yang even spent 30 million for Xu Xinyi.

The Old Master had lived many years and seen much of the world, how could he not see that those two were just putting on a show in front of him for him to see.

Today, he went to talk to Yi Yang mainly about this matter.

“Grandfather, let me explain…” Yi Yang, who was put on the spot by Xu Xinyi, said helplessly, “I was just saying that casually.”

“Just saying it casually? Whatever you say, you have to be responsible for your words. If you can’t take responsibility, don’t say the words.”

Yi Yang nodded. “Yes, Grandfather, I’ll remember.”

“You’re already grown now and you have your own ideas. I shouldn’t have interfered with your life, but there is one thing I want to ask you now. What exactly are your feelings for Xu Xinyi?”

“Grandfather, she and I…”

“Don’t pretend there is a deep love between husband and wife in front of me,” Old Master Yi interrupted. “I’m not old enough that I can’t tell that you husband and wife pair have been acting in front of me.”

Yi Yang was silent.

“Grandpa is already old and sometimes he can be confused. It was my fault that I asked you to marry Xu Xinyi without taking into account your feelings. I hope you can forgive me. Now I just want to ask you how you feel about Xinyi. If you don’t love her, make it clear to her as soon as possible, cut off her thoughts, and stop tying her up and delaying her life.”

“You want me to divorce her?”

“This is a private matter between the both of you. Grandpa has no right to interfere. If divorce can set you both free, of course, I will agree. You should not underestimate me, always thinking that I am old, that my health is not good, and that I can’t stand any excitement. There isn’t much I haven’t seen before. I can still bear it.”

A divorce?

You can’t only look at the surface of a person, this sentence, ever since Yi Yang began to hear Xu Xinyi’s thoughts, his understanding of it had become extremely profound.

When he recalled his unwavering determination to divorce at the beginning, it seemed at some point that the idea had just stopped appearing in his mind and then never come up again.

He had never seen a woman who was as playful and dramatic as Xu Xinyi and his dull life seemed to have an unprecedented amount of color with her in it.

She was always thinking of wanting to divorce him and find some fresh meat to keep. Or thinking, oh, this woman is ugly, especially compared to me this great beauty.

“Grandfather, I used to be so busy with my work that I ignored Xinyi. After this period of contact with her, I have calmly thought that I was not good enough in the past and I should try my best to make up for her in the future.”

“Make it up to her?” Old Master Yi was stupefied, “You want to make things up to her? You aren’t lying to your grandpa, are you? “

“How could I lie to you?” Yi Yang lied with his eyes wide open. “Ever since I got to know more of her inner self, I’ve found that she is very good and completely different from other women, so you can rest assured that I will cherish her in the future.”

When he said this, Yi Yang’s tone was sincere, his eyes were firm, and he didn’t seem to be lying at all.

Old Master Yi smiled and breathed a sigh of relief. “Grandpa is certainly happy that you think so but you can’t force yourself to do anything. But since you have said so, you should consider about the relationship between you and Xinyi and find a good time to make it public. I think the recent online rumors about Xinyi that make something out of nothing are very bad. She is your wife so you should protect her from being hurt.”

Yi Yang knew that as long as he dared to disclose their relationship, Xu Xinyi might seriously begin to study how to kill him.

“This matter, it’s up to Xinyi.”

“OK, then ask Xinyi some other day. I think she will be very happy. By the way, Xinyi said just now that she missed you. You should make time to go to her filming site and see her. She has been watching you with her heart for so many years, her dedication impressed your grandfather. She is a flawless wife. You should also learn how to be a good husband.”

Go to the Film City to see her?

Yi Yang smiled. “Of course, when my work has a break in two days, I will go to see her.”

———–

The film crew of “The Way of the Phoenix” was quite tense, the mood was low, and everyone was miserable.

Fortunately, Xu Xinyi was interested in acting and memorized her lines very well. She never shot a ‘NG’ more than five times and occasionally has fun in her free time to amuse himself, so she didn’t feel tired.

“It takes a talented person to NG a scene 23 times in a row. I could casually point to any of the extras and they would be able to act better than her. I’m really convinced by Director Xu’s words. These days, anyone can join filming.”

Li Hanxing was on set and she had NG’d her scene 23 times already. Xu Xinyi watched from the side while chewing melon seeds and making sarcastic remarks at Li Hanxing on set from time to time.

Li Hanxing gritted her teeth when she heard Xu Xinyi’s harsh words but what she said was absolutely right. She had already NG so many times, she felt like she had no face left.

Towards Xu Xinyi, Director Xu’s feelings were like a head teacher’s love and hatred for a student in their class who excelled on tests but was disobedient to the rules in a way that was difficult to punish.

So he just looked at her and signaled her to tone it down and not to go too far.

“So nowadays, no one is allowed to speak the truth? Whatever, I’ll stop. Can you hurry up and finish shooting? I’ve been waiting for this scene for half an hour.” Xu Xinyi continued to munch melon seeds.

“Hanxing, try to focus. If you forget your lines, just move your mouth and we will dub over it later. Is that alright?”

Li Hanxing’s eyes were misty with tears and she nodded with an aggrieved expression.

Xu Xinyi rolled her eyes.

This Li Hanxing had the little white lotus disease, but sadly didn’t have a little white lotus’s life.

After Li Hanxing had randomly lip-synced for a while but still messed up, Director Xu had no choice but to call cut.

This actress was just too much.

A little fresh meat who was waiting for the next scene off-set leaned over and talked to Xu Xinyi with a smile.

“Ms. Xu, my name is Chen Shu. I have a scene with you later, but there’s something I don’t quite understand. I’d like to ask you about it. Could you teach me?”

Xu Xinyi glanced over.

The guy was sunny and handsome, confident and bright, his facial features were exquisite, the skin on his face seemed tender, and his eyes were amazingly bright.

He was around the same age as the two guys Anya had called back at the club.

Xu Xinyi tossed away the melon seeds in her hand. “Just call me Sister Xinyi, you don’t have to be so polite. What don’t you understand?”

Chen Shu smiled and handed over the script with a smile. “Sister Xinyi, I don’t quite understand how I should act here during this section.”

Xu Xinyi glanced at the paragraph circled in the script.

“Well, although the character’s psychology is not stated explicitly here in the script, it is clear that here your character both loves and hates me. You are burdened with blood and hatred, but you gradually grow attracted to me. You hate yourself for wavering so easily. It’s as if you have two personalities, one says he wants to kill me, but the other feels like he just can’t. You have to show the character’s emotions becoming entangled and the hatred and fury he feels because of that entanglement.”

Chen Shu spoke as if he had suddenly realized something, “I understand Sister Xinyi. Thank you for your advice. Um… would you like to add each other on WeChat? You are my senior and I don’t know anything yet. If I encounter something I don’t understand in the future, I’d like to ask you for advice again. Would you mind…”

“Sure.”

Xu Xinyi generously took out her phone and added his WeChat.

“Thank you, Sister Xinyi. Don’t worry, I won’t disturb you often.”

“It’s nothing.” Xu Xinyi waved her hand gently.

–I won’t mind if you bother me often.

She took a deep breath and breathed in the smell of sunny hormones.

“Xinyi, Han Xiao, are you two ready for the next scene?”

Ever since Xu Xinyi guessed that Han Xiao might be gay, she began to feel a bit more hesitant…. well, how to say, she just wasn’t as bold toward Han Xiao anymore.

After all, the other party wasn’t attracted to women, so if she vigorously flirted with him, Han Xiao might find it disgusting.

So it was better to keep a little distance.

Also, Han Xiao’s maybe-boyfriend Luo Jie was watching.

“Director Xu, can I use a stand-in for the scene between Teacher Han and I later?”

“Stand-in?” Director Xu Ning Mei, “Why do you want to use a stand-in?”

Xu Xinyi pointed out the spot in the script to him, “Right here, where Qi Mingyue and Xiao Jingheng fall into the water together and the two hug each other intimately, and Qi Mingyue’s identity as a woman gets exposed.”

It was a scene where the heroine was dressed as a man while she tried to escape the brothel.

“Is there anything difficult about that scene? Difficult enough to require a stand-in?”

“Director Xu, from the way Teacher Han Xiao acted on the first day of filming, when the heroine was in the brothel and the scene called for him to be close to her body, he seemed very uncomfortable. So please call in the stand-in first, just in case, lest Teacher Han Ying calls for a stand-in again and I will lose face even more.”

Director Xu could direct anyone in the crew but he was afraid to order around Han Xiao, the Movie King.

After all, Han Xiao, was a heavyweight movie star and it came as a surprise when he agreed to shoot this TV series.

“OK, then I’ll have the stand-ins get ready.”

Han Xiao’s makeup artist was fixing his makeup. He looked at the scene he was going to be shooting later on and he frowned at the last scene.

Seeing that his face was twisted in a frown, Luo Jie asked, “What’s the matter? Still can’t get used to it?”

Han Xiao responded with a deep sigh, “I’ll try.”

“If you can’t do it just let the stand-in take over.”

Han Huan did not agree or disagree.

He knew in his heart that he had to get through this today, not only because of his dedication as an actor, but also to conquer his fear of women.

All the staff on set were in position.

Xu Xinyi and Han Xiao stood at the edge of the pool of water built on set that was surrounded by green cloth for later special effects.

“Xinyi, are you ready?”

“Ready.”

“What about you Han Xiao?”

Xu Xinyi was the closest to Han Xian and she could see that Han Xiao didn’t look very well at the moment.

But he took a deep breath and nodded to Director Xu.

“Alright, attention, all departments. We start shooting in five minutes. Everyone double check your equipment.”

Han Xiao looked down at the pool around him and thought about the plot of the drama. The last scene was the scene where he jumped into the pool to rescue Qi Mingyue and drag her ashore.

“Don’t worry, Teacher Han. I just told Director Xu that we’ll use stand-ins for the last scene.” Xu Xinyi smiled at Han Xiao.

Seeing her clear and bright eyes, Han Xiao’s heart was suddenly touched, he subconsciously avoided Xu Xinyi’s pure gaze, secretly adjusted his breathing and said, “No need.”

Xu Xinyi saw Luo Jie looking nervous just off set.

“Teacher Han, are you sure you don’t want to use them? In fact, it’s not a big deal. If you don’t want to have any close contact with me, we can use stand-ins. You don’t have to force yourself.” Xu Xinyi had always been gentle and patient when dealing with handsome men.

During this period of time, all the people around Han Xiao who knew about his phobia all persuaded him to work hard and get through it, but no one had ever told him that there was no need to force himself.

Obviously it was winter and, obviously, Han Xiao felt extremely nervous and at a loss as to what to do when thinking he might touch a woman, but for some reason, Han Xiao felt more at ease than ever under her clear eyes and gentle tone.

His fear also seemed to have lessened considerably.

He forced himself to look at Xu Xinyi. “I’m an actor. That’s what I’m supposed to do.”

“…alright. “

Li Hanxing had finished filming but did not leave the set. She was standing on one side to watch the show.

With the degree of dislike Han Xiao had shown for Xu Xinyi these days, she thought there would be a good show coming up.

“Okay. All departments ready for the first take of the tenth scene of ‘The Way of the Phoenix’, action!”

In the scene, there were many assassins surrounding Xu Xinyi and Han Xiao. The two were fighting hard when an arrow shot out of the dark towards Han Xiao. In order to save Han Xiao, Xu Xinyi violently pushed him away, but she was hit by the arrow in his place and fell into the water.

Han Xiao killed the remaining assassins on the shore one by one and then jumped into the pool without hesitation and swam towards Xu Xinyi.

Xu Xinyi’s eyes were closed under the water and a red flower bloomed around the arrow in her chest.

After he dove in the water, Han Xiao painstakingly opened his eyes and looked for Xu Xinyi. But when he saw her in the water, pierced by the arrow, all of his limbs gradually stiffened.

The two of them both went still in the water.

“What’s going on?” Director Xu, who was beside the camera, saw that Han Xiao wasn’t moving and frowned.

But then he saw Han Xiao suddenly swim towards Xu Xinyi and then scoop her up in his arms and began swimming up towards the light shining on the surface of the water.

The two of them emerged from the surface of the water.

“Cut– Very good! Pass!”

It was early winter and the weather was cold. Xu Xinyi and Han Xiao were both drenched and their assistants hurried to bring them clean blankets.

Han Xiao grasped Xu Xinyi’s hand and felt like he had been shocked so he released it, and asked, “Are you alright?”

Xu Xinyi nodded.

“Xinyi, Han Xiao, today’s scene is done, you two hurry back to the hotel to take a bath and change your clothes. Don’t catch a cold.”

With Director Xu’s orders, the crew quickly surrounded the wet two and hurriedly bundled them up and off the set.

Li Hanxing looked at Xu Xinyi, who had successfully filmed her scene, and stomped away angrily.

After filming that scene Director Xu was very satisfied. Han Xiao had hesitated for a moment just now, which was genius improvisation that made the scene even better.

“Alright, that’s all for today. Thanks for your hard work everyone. Let’s call it a day!”

The crew cheered and began to pack up their equipment and get ready to go back to the hotel.

“Chen Yang, stay here to finish cleaning up the venue. Keep an eye on them, make sure the venue is tidied up and the wages are settled.”

The attendant named Chen Yang nodded, “Understood Director Xu.”

Five people came in and began to clean up the shooting site. The big logs and plastic boulders needed to be moved out. These were all props lent by Film City and other crews would need to use them tomorrow.

Chen Yang stood at the side and supervised. Four of the five men were tall and strong workers, but one was very thin. He silently carried a heavy log on his thin shoulders.

He was a clean and pure looking guy who was very handsome.

He looked familiar but Chen Yang couldn’t remember where he had seen him before.

Half an hour later, the shooting site was cleaned up, and Chen Yang began to settle the salaries. 50 yuan per person.

“Thank you for your hard work, everyone. I’ll distribute the salary now. Zhao Long.”

A man stood up.

“This is yours.”

“Chen Xiao, this is yours.”

“Zhu Yonghui, yours.”

“Jiang Nian,” Chen Yang hesitated, “Have I seen you somewhere before?”

Jiang Nian lowered his eyes and shook his head in silence.

“Maybe I was wrong.” Chen Yang said as he handed Jiang Nian the fifty yuan.

His pair of slender and scratched hands took the crumpled bills. Jiang Nian glanced around the empty set before he silently followed the other three workers.

——–

That evening, Xu Xinyi finally returned to her hotel room and lay comfortably on the bed after taking a bath. She was tired after working all day. She really had no energy to think about anything else. But while she was feeling drowsy the WeChat on her cell phone sounded.

Xu Xinyi opened her eyes vaguely and picked up the phone beside her pillow. It was a photo sent by Chen Shu.

What did he want with her when it was already so late?

Xu Xinyi absently clicked on the WeChat. After seeing the picture her drowsiness was blown away.

Chen Shu sent a picture of himself naked from the waist up. He had wide shoulders and a narrow waist, with toned abdominal muscles that gave off a sense of strength at first glance.

But soon, the picture disappeared.

Then Chen Shu sent a message: I’m sorry, Sister Xinyi, I sent it to the wrong person.

Xu Xinyi contemplated for a moment and there was a trace of disbelief in her heart.

This little fresh meat looked sunny and simple but it seemed his belly was black.

A half-nude selfie. It could be sent to the wrong person but then he didn’t withdraw the photo immediately, instead it was almost five minutes later that it got withdrawn.

Sure enough, there was no one simple in the entertainment circle.

Xu Xinyi replied with “It’s nothing.”

Chen Shu replied, “Sister Xinyi is still up? Am I bothering you?”

Xu Xinyi: No.

Chen Shu: Thank you very much for today. If it hadn’t been for your teaching, I wouldn’t have known how to act during my scene.

Xu Xinyi: You are very capable.

Chen Shu: I’ll treat you to dinner some other day. I really want to thank you and ask you for more advice.

Xu Xinyi: The crew has been busy recently. Let’s talk about it when we are free.

Chen Shu: OK, I’ll make a note of it. it’s getting late today, so go to bed early.

Xu Xinyi turned off her cell phone.

This plot development seemed a little familiar, ah~, if she was right, would his next statement be to recommend a pillow?

Host, you are now Yi Yang’s wife, and you can’t do such a thing.

Xu Xinyi smiled. “Look at what you’re saying. Am I that kind of person? Don’t worry, I hold marriage very sacred in my mind. I just think that this Chen Shu is ambitious and resourceful. He and I are both the type to just take what we need.”

Somehow, Xu Xinyi suddenly thought of Jiang Nian.

She didn’t know where that unlucky child went after he was buried by Tianyu.

Xiao A can’t help but remind you that this person definitely has bad intentions and wants to take advantage of you. Wake up!

“You make it sound like I’m some kind of innocent lamb about to be sheared. Don’t worry, I already know.” Xu Xinyi thought carefully about the photo sent to her ‘by mistake’. “After Yi Yang and I get the divorce, I may be able to communicate with this young fresh meat.”

Then, dozing off, Xu Xinyi yawned and set aside her cell phone and went to sleep.

———–

The filming site was calm for the next few days. Although Li Hanxing showed up in front of her from time to time, acting out of line, Xu Xinyi was never the one suffering losses. Every time she went back, the relationship between the two became more and more intense, almost to the point that the two were like fire and water; irreconcilable.

Xu Xinyi was just waiting for Li Hanxing to make a big move.

“Sister Xinyi, have you heard? Today, the investors of the film may be coming to the set.”

“What are they doing, coming to the crew?”

“It should be to see the progress of the crew.”

Xu Xinyi wasn’t worried. Usually, investors would just take a look at the process and then leave.

It wasn’t like they could really pick out future famous directors or big-time actors.

However, what Xu Xinyi did not expect was that the investor who came this time and Li Hanxing were a little interesting.

At three o’clock in the afternoon, filming was suspended. According to Director Xu, the film and television investors would be coming to have a look at the crew.

This time, it was the investor General Manager Sun, who had invested 10 million yuan, and could be regarded as one of the biggest investors on the show. At the same time, he was also representing the other investors.

“Boss Sun, there you are.”

Although this investor, Mr. Sun, very was rich, he was almost the same as any other fat middle-aged person. Bald, pot-bellied, and with no taste.

In Xu Xinyi’s eyes the man seemed like he dressed in clothes that were covered by three words, ‘I have money’.

“Hello, Director Xu. I hope I’m not interrupting you this time?”

“Of course not.”

“That’s good. Yesterday, I was on the phone with Hanxing. I have just been talking to her alone for fear of delaying the progress of your crew.” Mr. Sun glanced around. “Where’s Hanxing?”

Everyone understood what was going on without a word being said.

“Boss Sun, I’m here.” Li Hanxing came out of the crowd with a smile.

Li Hanxing went all out today. She spent a lot of money dressing up, she wore an elegant cheongsam and her makeup was exquisite. She walked up to Mr. Sun with a smile and said, “I’ve been waiting for you for a long time.”

Mr. Sun smiled and said to Director Xu, “Director Xu, this is the child of one of my relatives. Please take good care of her in the future.”

Every investor always had a few relatives, nephews or nieces, and Director Xu was long familiar with this kind of thing in the entertainment industry.

Director Xu walked Mr. Sun around the crew, accompanied by Li Hanxing.

“Director Xu, I have been monitoring the progress of your crew and I am interested in the process of your filming. I wonder if you can show me a scene being filmed on the spot.”

“Of course.”

Sitting next to Mr. Sun, Li Hanxing said with a smile, “Boss Sun, you don’t know, but apart from Teacher Han, the one with the best acting on our crew is Sister Xinyi. Even I have been learning from Sister Xinyi. You might as well ask Director Xu to direct a scene with Sister Xinyi. Watching her, I will also learn.”

Xu Xinyi looked over. Li Hanxing, the little bitch, was looking to make trouble for her.

With the beauty smiling from the side, Mr. Sun agreed immediately. He smiled and said, “OK, then I’ll have to trouble Director Xu.”

The next thing would be from them to create difficulties.

Director Xu gave Xu Xinyi a look that asked ‘can you do it or not’.

Xu Xinyi said lazily, “Sorry, Boss Sun, I’m not feeling well today. If you really want to see a scene, you might as well let Hanxing act. Her acting skills have improved rapidly recently. From 20 to 30 NG every scene in the beginning, now she only needs to NG a dozen or so times.”

Many people on set chuckled.

“You…” Li Hanxing was slightly angry called out, “Boss Sun–“

Mr. Sun patted the back of her hand and gave her a reassuring look, “It’s alright, I understand.”

He said to Director Xu, “Director Xu, I’m not here because I want to be. You should know, many of the other investors didn’t have time, so I was entrusted to take a look at the crew. We have invested nearly 60 million yuan, it’s a sizable amount, so you have to show us results and give us some confidence. Don’t you think?”

There were investors on the left and actors on the right. Director Xu was in a dilemma.

Seeing this, Xu Xinyi glanced at the dog man and woman pair and said. “Fine, Director Xu, it’s alright. I’ll do it. Which scene should we film?”

“I’ll join you.” Han Xiao stood up and said, “we can just shoot the scene that Xinyi and I were going to do today anyway.”

“Alright!” Director Xu smiled.

With Han Xiao here she believed that Boss Sun and Li Hanxing would not dare play any tricks.

Li Hanxing looked at Han Xiao and secretly clenched her teeth.

“Xinyi, go and change your costume first.”

Xu Xinyi stood up and walked to the dressing room.

The makeup artist followed by her side and looked at her anxiously. “Sister Xinyi, Li Hanxing is just looking to trouble you, how can you really walk into her trap?”

“What else can I do? This is my job, if Director Xu says to film I can only film. Can I just tell him no? Not to mention. The investor also can’t be annoyed.”

“That’s true…” The makeup artist said.

Suddenly came a voice: “There is someone even you cannot annoy?”

“Who’s that?” Xu Xinyi turned around.

Yi Yang, dressed in an immaculate suit, got out of his car. His face was expressionless and cold as usual.

“An investor that you can’t annoy.”

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