But he couldn’t move, his feet seemingly cemented to the floor.
Xue Chenyan, seeing him frozen, laughed and walked around him into the room, sitting down comfortably.
Looks like we brothers have similar tastes.”
“I’m not like you,” Xie Chi’s voice trembled in protest.
He was not the one who had been following and stalking Xiaoman, making her feel uneasy.
That’s right, Xue Chenyan, his half-brother, was the person he saw by the pool and who had been following Lin Xiaoman.
“Of course,” Xue Chenyan looked at him disdainfully, “I’m the young master of Tianming Group. You’re just a pathetic wretch barely surviving on the little money from our dead father. How can you compare to me?”
“I can invest in her TV series, book an entire hotel for her, buy everything she likes. What can you do? I heard you’re afraid to go out, can’t even stand beside her! What a waste.”
“I…” Xie Chi tried to argue but couldn’t say anything.
Since childhood, his mother had told him to hide in the house and never let the Xue family see him.
To avoid worrying his mother, he obediently hid in the dark attic of their home for six years, playing alone every day, with no friends and no one to talk to.
When he was older and needed to go to school, he still didn’t dare to go out, always afraid to talk to people, even afraid of sunlight.
“You’re just like that fox-spirit mother of yours who no one cares about, both just trash to be summoned and dismissed at will!”
I won’t let you talk about my mother!” Xie Chi was furious, his face turning bright red, “She’s not a fox spirit, and she’s not trash!”
His mother had been with his father early on, but his father later abandoned her and got together with another wealthy woman, who was Xue Chenyan’s mother. At the time, his mother was already pregnant with him, and was almost miscarried due to harm, which made her extremely neurotic. After his birth, she kept him at home, afraid someone would harm him again. After giving birth to him, his mother left his father. To raise him well, she worked multiple jobs. When he didn’t want to go to school, his mother found someone to teach him at home. His mother had always been independent and brave, definitely not a fox spirit or trash.
“I didn’t come today to argue with you,” Xue Chenyan stood up, putting away his smile, “About today’s events, you’re not to tell anyone. Otherwise, just like how I made your mother leave your father, I have ways to make you leave Lin Xiaoman.”
★ Chapter Sixty-One: Cold
After falling into the water previously, Lin Xiaoman had started running a fever, but to keep up with the shooting schedule, she didn’t go to the hospital, just taking medication on time. By the eighteenth scene, the shooting location was an estate. The crew directly rented an estate in the suburbs of C City, with a well-green small forest behind it, and the scenery was quite nice. Xiaoman went over, with Xiaobai and Xie Chi following.
Upon arrival, while Xie Chi went to park, Xiaobai pulled Xiaoman aside: “Don’t you think Xie Chi has been acting strange lately?”
“You mean he’s been staying in his room, not talking much, always in a daze?” Lin Xiaoman had indeed noticed, “He’s been like this since the day of the advertisement shoot.”
“Did I say something too harsh?” Xiaobai reflected.
“I think he might have encountered something.”
“How much trouble can a shut-in have? Did his animation get delayed, or did he fail to grab a figurine?” Xiaobai thought this might be Xie Chi’s biggest worry.
“Keep an eye on him recently, and tell me directly if anything happens—cough cough cough…”
“Hey,” Xiaobai felt helpless, “Everyone around me is giving me a headache. When will your cold get better?”
“Don’t worry, cough cough,” Xiaoman paused, catching her breath, “It’ll be better in a few days.”
“Your complexion looks worse than yesterday. How will you look on camera?” Xiaobai looked at her carefully, looking haggard and making people feel sorry for her, “Your under-eyes are slightly bluish.”
“You’re underestimating our makeup artists’ skills. Just apply more powder,” Lin Xiaoman smiled at him, indicating he shouldn’t worry.
These days while filming with Lin XiaoMan, she realized that the other person’s acting skills were impeccable, giving people an entirely new feeling.
But because she thought about Yue Ding liking her, and ignoring herself because of her, Chu Daizi became very angry and found her increasingly unpleasant to look at.
If it weren’t for hearing the staff say she had a fever, from her shooting state, Chu Daizi hadn’t noticed anything at all.
She felt somewhat guilty and was even more motivated.
She was going to be Yue Ding’s woman, and absolutely would not lose to Lin XiaoMan here.
After finishing the scene on the slope, Lin XiaoMan sat resting on the side, while Chu Daizi filmed the scene of falling into a side pit with others.
“Do you need a stunt double?” Chu Daizi’s assistant asked.
Because the pit was quite deep and falling would be somewhat dangerous, the assistant was worried.
“No, I can do it.”
Chu Daizi took off her coat, and after Qian Yuan shouted “start”, she threw herself into the pit. The first take was too deliberate and needed a retake, the second take was redone because her expression was wrong. After repeating several times, Chu Daizi was covered in dirt and looked extremely embarrassed, but still couldn’t get into the right state.
“Don’t think about what will happen next, imagine this is your first time here, think about something else,” Lin XiaoMan reminded her when she sat down.
She would personally do all her scenes, and after each day, she would discuss with the director or ask the nearby acting coach.
It was clear she wanted to act well.
“I don’t want you to teach me!” Chu Daizi said tsundere-like, turning her head away, though her tone was not as harsh as before.
Lin Xiaoman smiled slightly: “If you don’t know what to think about, think about the bags and clothes you want to buy, and your expression will look much better.”
“Hmph!”
Chu Daizi rested and returned to the set. This time, with Lin Xiaoman’s reminder, she thought about other things and didn’t pay attention to what was beneath her feet. After falling into the pit, she heard “cut” from above and felt relieved.
“Great!”
It seemed Lin Xiaoman’s method was somewhat useful. She felt her impression of Lin Xiaoman was changing. But she quickly realized: she was her romantic rival, absolutely cannot be fooled by her, she’s not that good!
In the afternoon’s scenes by the lake, one segment involved Chu Daizi jumping directly into the water to swim.
Before shooting, Lin Xiaoman reminded her: “Warm up and stretch before entering the water.”
“I don’t need you to teach me,” Chu Daizi felt she was trying to brainwash her, “Don’t think that because you said something this morning, I’ll change my opinion of you!”
Lin Xiaoman didn’t understand what she was talking about and saw her leave angrily.
When filming began, Chu Daizi tried entering the water.
She was using the most basic doggy paddle, looking somewhat comical as she swam into the lake.
Suddenly, she sank into the water, causing everyone’s hearts to skip a beat. Just as someone was about to jump in, she resurfaced.
“I’m fine!” She waved triumphantly at everyone, glancing at Lin Xiaoman as if to show off.
She swam a few more meters, then sank again, this time longer than before. Everyone thought something had happened and were about to jump in when she suddenly emerged from another spot.
“I’m here!” she laughed loudly.
Qian Yuan was startled and angrily shouted: “This isn’t a place to play, start shooting now!”
Chu Daizi made an “OK” gesture, but her expression suddenly changed. She struggled a bit and then sank into the water.
“Stop joking around, get up,” Qian Yuan called.
