n

n

n

nGu Xiqiao and Jiang Shuxuan walked together into the community area. Xixi had already gone ahead of them, it had been a long time since it saw Haha, and Xixi couldn’t wait.

nAs they turned a corner, Gu Xiqiao suddenly stopped in her steps, turning slightly to look in the direction behind them with a thoughtful look on her face.

n“What are you looking at?” Jiang Shuxuan lowered his head as he asked.

n“It’s nothing.” Gu Xiqiao flashed a smile at him, before giving him a reluctant look. “I’m just thinking about how big Mama Tang’s ‘welcome’ will be. Sigh, have you told her…”

nWhen she had left, she had only concealed her departure from Jiang Shuxuan, but she had informed Tang Yanling. Only, the older woman had told her to be back in three days, maximum. Now that she counted, it had already exceeded one, two, three, four… five days!

nIt’s over, she could see the countless bowls of soup that would be placed in front of her in the future!

nAnyway, she was the one who was meekly not contacting Tang Yanling in the first place.

n“Yeah, I contacted her while we were on the plane,” Jiang Shuxuan replied. Hearing her words, he was happy. In the beginning, he had thought that Tang Yanling would be an eyesore, but after getting along for a while, he had changed his impression.

nWhen it was just Gu Xiqiao and him, if she didn’t want to drink soup or anything, he would cave immediately every time she gave him a look.

nBut it was different with Tang Yanling, Gu Xiqiao couldn’t bring out her puppy look with the older woman, no matter how much she wanted to. He wondered if she would gain slightly healthier weight while Tang Yanling was staying with them for the month.

nSure enough, as soon as they got home, Tang Yanling’s eyes were on Gu Xiqiao, looking her up and down before starting on her rant.

nGu XIqiao only hung her head pitifully, as though admitting her mistakes.

nJiang Shuxuan couldn’t bear to see her in this state, but as he thought about it, if she wasn’t taught or scolded like this now, she would probably be worse in the future. Hence, he hardened his heart and ignored the scene in front of him.

nHua Youlin was hugging a notebook to his chest, looking at Gu Xiqiao with sparkling bright eyes. When she was done being scolded, he immediately rushed forward to give her a big hug.

nBut just as his fingers touched her, he was dragged away.

n“I will teach you any of the questions that you don’t know.” He raised his eyes, and met a pair of cold ones.

nHua Youlin: “…” Thanks, but he knew everything!

nHowever, Jiang Shuxuan didn’t have any plans to let the kid go. Thoughts of when they were sending this kid back to the Hua family was running in his mind as he led him away.

nHua Youlin wanted to cry, he felt that the look Jiang Shuxuan was shooting him bore no good intentions tonight. So he hugged his books to his chest as he followed Gu Xiqiao around the house like a duckling following its mom the entire night.

nAfter dinner, Jiang Shuxuan went upstairs. Picking up his phone, he dialed a number. The other party seemed to have been waiting for his call, as it was picked up as soon as it went through.

n“Mom,” Jiang Shuxuan said, walking towards the bookshelf and making a turn, pulling out an ancient text and sitting down in the chair to flip through it. “You were looking for me today?”

n“I didn’t see you the last time I went to the city center,” Mama Jiang said, her office neither rushed nor warm. “So I’m going to see you the next time.”

nJiang Shuxuan turned a page before replying, “If you want to see me, I can return home anytime.”

nMama Jiang: “…” Seeing him was just an excuse, she wanted to see what kind of vixen was staying in the same house as him!

n“But son, the last time when I was on my way to see you, I met this very kind girl on the road. She’s very pretty and also has a very good temperament…” Mama Jiang went on and on about this person, the compliments getting more and more exaggerated as time passed.

nJiang Shuxuan responded at the appropriate times, but it went in his right ear and out his left. How could anyone look better than Beauty Gu?

nAfter she was done, Jiang Shuxuan hung up the call, returning to his book.

nBut as he read, he felt slightly uneasy. He finally let out a sigh and stood, walking over to the bookshelf and changing the book in his hand for another ancient text that was about self-cultivation.

n***

nDownstairs, Gu Xiqiao was teaching Hua Youlin his homework after they had eaten.

nShe held her phone in her hands, and opening Weibo, she realized that Cheng Zhou had sent her messages. It had reached more than 99 .

nDirector Cheng: Little Gu! If you’re like this, you’re going to lose the entire crew!

nFor A Millenium: …

nDirector Cheng: Don’t forget you owe me a movie!

nDirector Cheng: !

nGu Xiqiao looked at the rows of exclamation points that were sent by Cheng Zhou, and was silent for a while. Then she thought about the words that have been said the other day, and replied.

nFor A Millenium: Have you found a suitable movie, Director Cheng?

nDirector Cheng: I’ve always had one in my hands, it’s a Xianxia genre. Take me out from your blacklist, this drama has many points that need attention, and needs to be discussed in detail.

n(T

/N: Xianxia 仙俠 is a genre of Chinese fantasy influenced by Chinese mythology, Taoism, Buddhism, Chinese martial arts, traditional Chinese medicine, Chinese folk religion, and other traditional Chinese elements.)

nCheng Zhou was close to tears at this point, okay? Gu Xiqiao is the first artist to have ever blocked him in the many years he had been in this industry. But after he found out that there were in fact many other people on her blacklist, he felt strangely alright, not the least angry, just a feeling of ‘what can you do?’ instead.

nGu Xiqiao thought about it again for a while, and asked him to send her the script before pulling him out of the blacklist, calling him directly.

nThe two chatted on the phone for a long while, mainly because Cheng Zhou was explaining the concept and feel of the movie that he wanted to her. Gu Xiqiao was still a young rookie after all, and although her acting skills were extraordinary, Cheng Zhou was still worried and excited before the auditions were opened.

nThe image of the Xianxia drama was something that Gu Xiqiao had not acted in before, and it hugely differed from her own temperament. He really wanted to see how Gu Xiqiao would interpret the female lead of this movie.

n“Come to the set tomorrow, we’ll find the feel for it first,” Cheng Zhou said.

nGu Xiqiao knew that she had kept the rest of the crew waiting for a long time, and she felt apologetic about it, and she sincerely apologized to him, “I’m sorry, Director Cheng. Some things happened recently.”

nCheng Zhou was fine, and said so, “It’s fine, I didn’t plan to shoot anytime soon as it’s still early. Let the crew take a few days off. The reason I contacted you this early is because I was scared I won’t be able to find you when the time comes.”

nGu Xiqiao: “…” So she was that sort of person in Cheng Zhou’s mind.

n“Oh right, Mr. Yu Ning has already given me the clips for ‘River’s Lake’. I took both ‘River’s Lake’ and ‘Empire Under Siege’ to the film festival. You and Ning Qing are 100% confirmed getting a nomination. It’s a bit difficult for Ning Qing to win the female lead award, because Song Guanjing is there after all, but it’s not a problem for you to obtain the newcomer award,” Cheng Zhou mentioned as he recalled this matter.

nWhen the movie ‘River’s Lake’ was released, he could already imagine how popular Ning Qing would become.

nAn actress who had both the looks and talent weren’t that many, and Cheng Zhou thought about if Gu Xiqiao didn’t exist, then Ning Qing would definitely be his first pick for the female lead for this movie.

nAfter hanging up the phone, Gu Xiqiao looked at the document that Cheng Zhou had sent her. She then went upstairs to the study, and printed out the script.

nJiang Shuxuan glanced at her, then put down his book and left the room quietly.

nAfter binding the papers together, Gu Xiqiao read the script slowly from the beginning. As the female lead, she had a lot of scenes, and the script was a lot thicker than the other roles.

nPreviously, she would just casually flip through scripts, but this time she read each and every sentence slowly. Every scene was also practiced to perfection in the virtual arena.

nTaking out a marker from her inventory, she made notes and marked the lines that belonged to her.

nEven though she slowed her pace, she was done with the script very quickly. After reading it finished, she felt slightly bored.

nThe movie name this time was ‘Divergent Paths’, and it was a tragic movie. The beginning was uplifting and happy, the middle was impressive and imposing, and the end was a tear jerker.

nA cup of milk appeared beside her hand, and Gu Xiqiao sipped from it. She then placed the script down and walked towards the window, and the lights were blinking outside. Gu Xiqiao knew that there was something wrong with her attitude at the moment, she was too involved.

nShe took a deep breath.

n“What’s wrong?” A warmth settled behind her, and there was a breath on her cheek. It was warm, and slightly moist.

nThe steady and powerful heartbeat she could feel on her back slowly eased the tension in her shoulders, and she leaned back subconsciously into the comfort. “I just read through the script that Director Cheng sent to me, and was just lamenting a little.”

nJiang Shuxuan tightened his arms around her. “You’ve accepted another role?”

nHis voice was slightly raised.

n“Yeah, and it’s the female lead.” She had initially wanted to continue and said that she would be busy from now on, when she suddenly recalled that there were two kissing scenes in the movie. She froze up, all thoughts of what she wanted to say suddenly gone from her mind, only one word left—Die!

nShe turned her head slightly, looking at Jiang Shuxuan without a word.

nAlthough she didn’t say anything, it seemed the other had seen something in her eyes.

nA fire lit in him suddenly, and he leaned down to bite her lips. The moment his lips touched hers though, he couldn’t resist as he lowered his head further and deepened the kiss, tightening his arms around her waist.

n“It’s late, go on and sleep.” After a long while, Jiang Shuxuan finally loosened his arms as he gazed at her with slightly narrowed eyes. His expression was… very happy.

n“… Goodnight.” She straightened her clothes before picking up the script and walking out.

nJust as she opened the door, he grabbed her left hand suddenly. She turned, only to find him lowering his head as he adjusted the front of her dress, before giving her a gentle kiss. “Goodnight.”

nTouching her red ears, Gu XIqiao tightened her hands on the script and walked out quickly. She bumped right into Tang Yanling who was in the corridor, holding a glass of milk.

n“…” Gu Xiqiao really wanted to beat the sh*t out of Jiang Shuxuan right now!

nIt was clear that he had done that on purpose!

n***

nWhen the auditions for ‘Divergent Paths’ began, it was quite a grand scene.

nThere were several top actors and actresses who came for the audition, but Cheng Zhou ultimately chose Du Yixin as the leading actor, and Li Yu who had competed against him, also lost out.

nDu Yixin debuted about the same time as Li Yu, and in terms of acting skills, it could be said that he was just a little less talented than Li Yu. However, he was hard working and so far, his reputation was not any less than Li Yu’s. Compared to the others in the industry, his position was already enough for him to be proud of, as he was hard working, and just debuted one year later than Li Yu.

nHe had a different image from Li Yu. Li Yu was a gentleman with a princely aura, and although he was a great actor, the male lead in ‘Divergent Paths’ was a cold and ruthless immortal.

nLi Yu’s image was not in line with the male lead, in fact, it wasn’t a big deal to place him in even if that was so, his acting skills would more than make up for it anyway. However, Cheng Zhou was an extremely picky person, and so he skipped over Li Yu and chose Du Yixin.

nLi Yu was so angry that he wanted to fight with Cheng Zhou directly!

nDu Yixin was also an artist under Tang Enterprise like Li Yu, and they had a good relationship. When they bumped into each other, they would stop and chat.

n“Director Cheng has already picked the female lead beforehand.” Cheng Zhou had notified Du Yixin to head to the crew and set. While he was on the way, Di Yixin bumped into Li Yu, and frowned as he said, “Yesterday, I heard from the crew that he had chosen someone who is quite new, what is he thinking?”

nLi Yu glanced at Du Yixin, a faint hint of envy in his eyes. “You have to believe in Director Cheng’s eyes, since even I didn’t meet his expectations.”

nThinking of this, Li Yu wanted to sigh again. He could probably guess that the female lead Cheng Zhou had chosen would be Gu Xiqiao, ah, the perfect heroine. The entire movie involved fight scenes, he really wanted to push Du Yixin down the sewers!

nDu Yixin looked at Li Yu’s expression, his own indifferent as he said, “You seem to know something?”

n“The female lead has come to set today, you’ll understand when you see it,” Li Yu replied, patting his shoulder lightly. He then put his sunglasses on again, and walked away.

nCheng Zhou, who was with the crew on set with bright eyes, looked down at his phone to see that he had received a WeChat message.

nLi Yu: Director Cheng, don’t you have any other male roles, give one to me!

nCheng Zhou: … Get lost you little boy.

n***

nWhen Du Yixin arrived at the set of ‘Divergent Paths’, he felt that the staff were abnormally… happy? What was happening?

nHe hesitantly walked in to join the rest of the crew.

n“Brother Du,” A gorgeous woman in a black dress and wool coat came over to greet him. This was the top popular artist in the industry right now, Sheng Yin. “Do you see the woman next to Director Cheng?”

nDu Yixin followed her gaze, and saw the person that she was talking about beside Cheng Zhou. The girl had delicate features on her face, but there were countless faces like that in the industry and it wasn’t considered to be very outstanding. He was slightly surprised. “Is that the female lead?”

n“No,” Sheng Yin said, smiling mysteriously. “Do you know Wenxi?”

n“Of course,” Du Yixin nodded. “I grew up watching her movies.”

n“She’s Wenxi’s daughter.” Sheng Yin said, looking over with a flash of admiration in her eyes. Although Baili Wenxi had retired from the entertainment industry for so many years, yet everyone in the circle would still give her face, how could they not? With such a backing, even a flower vase would be able to go a long way. “It’s her first time in the entertainment industry.”

nWhat?!

nDu Yixin’s head snapped up, looking towards Cheng Zhou.

n“Go change your clothes and try this scene.” Cheng Zhou was setting up the camera, and he waved his hand for Fu Xuejun to act.

nHow the h*ck did he know what was going on in this crazy lady’s head, suddenly stating she wanted to act, and even picking his crew out of everyone else’s. Baili Wenxi was someone not easy to refuse, and he had also rejected the cast that she wanted to offer him the other day, so he caved and agreed to give her daughter a supporting role at the end.

nBut since it was Baili Wenxi’s daughter, he couldn’t help but feel slightly anticipating her acting. He turned his attention to Fu Xuejun, aiming the camera at her.

nKachak!

n“Do you know how to act or not? You’re acting as a little fox demon, not some zombie! Can’t your movements be smoother! Didn’t you wake up in the morning? Don’t you know what you’re doing?”

nCheng Zhou’s words were piercing and poisonous as usual, and Fu Xuejun, who had been waiting for his praise under the camera immediately turned sour.

nBaili Wenxi had already instructed her in this scene last night, and she had practiced countless times until her mother had been satisfied with it. Was Cheng Zhou deliberately nitpicking at her, and causing problems?

nDu Yixin took a step forward, “Director Cheng, since it’s someone who has never been on camera before, you can’t be too demanding.” He really was in the opinion that this person wasn’t too bad. Her movements and expressions were on point, compared to the first time he went under the camera, he didn’t even know where his hands and legs went.

n“I’m demanding?” Cheng Zhou’s eyes widened. “Little Gu…”

nBefore saying anything, the person next to him who was arranging the clothes and props raised their head. “Director Cheng, do you think everyone is like Miss Gu?”

nCheng Zhou: Maybe? But mainly because I heard that this girl is Baili Wenxi’s daughter, so there is an inevitable expectation inside.

nOnly, the higher your expectation, the bigger the disappointment.

nHe could have accepted this level when there was no comparison, but with Gu Xiqiao as the bar, he felt that Fu Xuejun was just not up to par. “Fu Xuejun, please polish up the previous scene. Make sure you pass the next time!”

nFu Xuejun’s face flushed with anger, and her face only eased after Sheng Yin placated her by praising her in front of the other supporting artists.

n“Director Cheng, the ‘Little Gu’ that you mentioned just now…” Du Yixin was good at grasping key points in a conversation.

nCheng Zhou raised his eyes to look at him. “What time is it now?”

nDu Yixin looked at his phone. “It’s 8.53.”

n“There are still seven more minutes.”

nDu Yixin: Was there something wrong with his brain? Why didn’t he understand anything that the director just said?

nSeven minutes later, Fu Xuejun shot the scene for the Nth time.

nThe atmosphere in the crew was strangely quiet for a moment.

nDu Yixin raised his head when he realized it, and at the end of the room, there was a thin, petite figure that was walking over.

n“Eyes! Fu Xuejun, your eyes are all wrong! Please, can you not be so stiff? Ok?” Cheng Zhou’s angry voice formed a sharp contrast with the silence that had descended on the area.

nThe person that was arranging the stuff next to Cheng Zhou poked him before the director raised his head and caught sight of Gu Xiqiao, and the anger on his face and in his heart vanished instantly. “Little Gu, you’re here just at the right time. Teach this newbie what it means to be an actress!”

n