Chapter 2: A Misunderstood Father-Daughter Bond

Because of the sudden workload, while studying the script, Su Xingmian also slowly adapted to life here.

In the blink of an eye, the day she joined the production arrived. Early in the morning, Liang Yin drove her little Volkswagen to the villa to pick her up.

"Yin-jie, morning!"

Quickly and efficiently stowing her prepared suitcase into the trunk, Su Xingmian climbed into the passenger seat and greeted Liang Yin with a bright smile.

"Fasten your seatbelt, let's get moving. We can't be late today!"

The film studio was quite far from here; driving there would take over an hour, and if they encountered traffic, it would take even longer. Liang Yin didn't dare waste a single moment, hovering on the edge of speeding throughout the entire trip.

Su Xingmian wasn't afraid of this; rather, she found it novel and thrilling. This feeling was more exhilarating than running ten laps at the horse ranch.

At the same time, a low-profile yet luxurious luxury car drove out from Xing盛 Entertainment.

Sitting in the driver's seat, Zhou Chi glanced at the man leaning against the back seat, catching a glimpse of him napping through the rearview mirror, and felt a surge of admiration in his heart.

As expected, excellent people are like gold, no matter which industry they are in.

However, before Zhou Chi could finish his thoughts, he saw that the person in the back seat seemed to be sleeping very restlessly. His previously relaxed brow was tightly furrowed, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his temples.

Having followed Sheng Yuheng for over six years, he had seen this situation many times.

But once the man entered a dream, he simply could not be woken up.

Therefore, even after arriving at the film set, Zhou Chi did not speak.

"Su Xingmian, Su Xingmian..."

Sheng Yuheng's voice was very soft. Zhou Chi couldn't hear it clearly, but he knew he had woken up, so he quickly called out, "President Sheng, wake up, we've arrived at the set."

Having been pulled back to reality, Sheng Yuheng clearly hadn't recovered his senses yet. When he opened his eyes, Zhou Chi stole a glance through the rearview mirror and was startled by the deep sorrow in his eyes.

This was the first time he had seen Sheng Yuheng with such an expression outside of acting.

Thus, even though he knew the period drama's makeup and styling were complex and that they would run out of time if they didn't get out of the car, Zhou Chi didn't dare disturb him.

Fortunately, the people in the crew were familiar with Sheng Yuheng's car. After the producer saw the car had been parked for a long time without anyone getting out, he lost his patience and knocked on the car window.

"Teacher Sheng, you have a heavy workload today. It's time to start your makeup."

With Sheng Yuheng participating, there was never any worry about marketability. He was the big star of the entire crew; even the producer had to tread carefully and treat him with utmost respect.

"Okay."

Because he hadn't revealed his true identity, as long as people didn't cross his bottom line, Sheng Yuheng was quite easy to talk to on set.

After smoking a cigarette and calming his mind, when he finally stepped out of the car, he was still that elegant, moonlight-like figure—adored by everyone, yet a sacred, untouchable flower on a high mountain.

As the male lead and a Grand Slam winner of both Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor awards, Sheng Yuheng received top-tier treatment in the crew.

To name one thing, even his dressing room was more spacious than everyone else's.

To ensure he could maintain his best state, the crew had specially converted his dressing room into a lounge, placing a large bed in the inner compartment for him.

By the time Sheng Yuheng arrived, the makeup artist was already on standby. Once he had changed into his cumbersome costume, he sat directly in front of the vanity with his eyes closed, allowing the makeup artist to apply products to his face and fit his wig.

By the time everything was ready, an hour had already passed.

And Su Xingmian, who had joined the crew today, had also completed her preparations before filming.

The role Liang Yin had secured for her was the fifth female lead in *Jiangshan Mou*, a beautiful assassin trained by the male lead. Her ending wasn't very good; she would sacrifice herself to block a sword for the male lead and then "receive her lunch box" (die), following the classic rhythm of a tragic supporting female character.

The scene to be filmed today was the story where the male lead, under the guise of presenting a dance at a banquet, plants her into the opponent's government office.

The original owner of the body had studied dance and had great flexibility. As for Su Xingmian, she was a girl raised by a large family; since there weren't many entertainment activities in her daily life, she relied on her talents for amusement. These things were not difficult for her.

The difficulty lay in the fact that she needed to grasp the character's emotions.

But she was used to being reserved and had never competed for favor; she was extremely "Buddhist" (indifferent/passive) in her approach. Even after studying for three days, she still couldn't quite master the nuances of this dance scene.

Thus, on her way to wait for her scene, Su Xingmian was still clutching her script and devouring it.

When Sheng Yuheng emerged from his lounge, he saw a flash of red clothing before his eyes.

From his angle, he could only see the girl's fair and exquisite profile, but his heart beat quite wildly.

"Su Xingmian?"

He murmured.

Su Xingmian possessed internal strength, making her five senses extremely sharp. Hearing someone call her name, she slowly turned her head.

As their gazes met, it felt as if ten thousand years had passed in a single glance.

That white clothing and the cold, distant temperament—for a moment, Su Xingmian felt as if she had returned to the Great Zhou Dynasty.

That man's favorite attire was a simple set of white robes. Combined with his immortal-like countenance, he was like a solitary green lotus, making countless women in their boudoirs fall for him, yet they dared not approach him even an inch due to his coldness.

Yet, it was that very person who protected her as she grew up, staying silently by her side, guarding her for a lifetime.

Thinking of this again, Su Xingmian couldn't help but feel a sting in her nose.

"Why are you crying?"

Sheng Yuheng slowly approached, desperately restraining his restless right hand that wanted to wipe away her tears, and asked softly.

"Teacher Sheng, I am truly sorry. Our Xingmian is a newcomer at Xing盛; she accidentally offended you. Please do not take it to heart."

As soon as Liang Yin saw that the newcomer she brought had, in the blink of an eye, come face-to-face with the Best Actor and was crying heavily, she feared she was being bullied and rushed over immediately.

This man was the flagship of their company. If Su Xingmian truly offended him, her life in the industry would certainly not be easy.

Liang Yin did not want her highly regarded potential talent to be nipped in the bud like this, so she could only carefully apologize to Sheng Yuheng.

"It's nothing. Junior Sister is very cute; it's just that I look too fierce."

Sheng Yuheng reined in his emotions and took the initiative to diffuse the situation.

But that phrase, "Junior Sister," gave Liang Yin quite a fright.

Su Xingmian didn't understand the Great Best Actor, but Liang Yin understood him thoroughly. There were so many female artists at Xing盛 who, logically speaking, were all Sheng Yuheng's junior sisters, but he ignored them all, only acknowledging Su Xingmian.

Could this be what they meant by "fools have their own blessings"?

"Teacher Sheng, the director is calling you over."

"Then Teacher Sheng, please attend to your business. We won't disturb you further."

Seeing Sheng Yuheng walk away, Liang Yin couldn't help but ask, "Do you know Teacher Sheng?"

Su Xingmian shook her head absentmindedly.

"Mianmian, you are still young; you must keep a steady mindset. We can only go far if we walk with steady steps. Do you understand?"

Knowing her state made Liang Yin uneasy, Su Xingmian adjusted her emotions and explained with a half-truth

"Yin-jie, you're overthinking it! My family has had some trouble recently. Seeing Teacher Sheng just now made me feel sentimental about the past."

Liang Yin understood instantly.

*That's good, that's good. A father-daughter relationship is always better than a romance!*

Following this line of thought, she comforted Su Xingmian a few more times. Su Xingmian's eyelids twitched as she listened, and she subsequently closed her eyes.

*Let it be, this is fine! If I explain any more, I won't be able to clear it up!*

Afterward, fearing that Liang Yin would say even more outrageous things, she quickly used the excuse of reading her script to kick all of Liang Yin's wild imaginings away.

(End of Chapter)