A Favor Done, A Husband Won-Chapter 409 - 403: Isn’t Shi Su Already Married?

After a ten-minute break, filming resumed.

The second male lead, Yuan Jun, was even worse off now than he was with the earlier NG takes.

Shi Su was almost numb from running around in this "rain" for so long.

She, being a woman, was prepared to sacrifice her on-screen first kiss for the sake of art and wasn’t thinking too much about it. But Yuan Jun seemed as though he was wearing a mental straitjacket and just couldn’t bring himself to kiss her, no matter what.

"Cut!"

"Cut!!"

"Cut——!!!"

Mr. Li was extremely agitated, on the verge of losing it, barely restraining himself from smashing the walkie-talkie: "Yuan Jun, if you can’t do this properly, don’t bother coming here in the future. It’s not easy to make a living in this business! When we were casting, I thought your acting in the clips was pretty decent, so why are you performing so poorly today?"

Yuan Jun kept bowing in the director’s direction to apologize: "Mr. Li, I’m really sorry. I might not be feeling well today, so I can’t get in the right mood, I..."

"Stop making excuses. Shi Su has cooperated with you countless times! She’s a young lady, but she isn’t as finicky as you are! Who’s waiting for you to get in the mood?"

Mr. Li couldn’t help but scold a few more times, rubbing his forehead as he looked at the script, trying to find other scenes from the same shot to continue filming and postpone this kissing scene for later.

But today’s scenes in the green screen studio were just these, and the kissing scene was the last one.

Mr. Li sighed.

Suddenly, he noticed someone approaching and looked up to see the friendly-looking assistant beside Mr. Jing.

"Mr. Li." Zhou He still smiled like a compassionate Buddha: "I heard that the SAPPRFT’s requirements are very strict now. Any film that undergoes review won’t pass if there’s excessive intimate physical contact. Since this part is so hard to shoot, why not just borrow a position and shoot it aesthetically instead? It would pass the review more easily, don’t you think?"

Mr. Li looked up in surprise at this eager assistant beside Mr. Jing: "According to the original script, these scenes must be shot. When it comes to post-editing and reviewing, we’ll cut it down as needed."

Zhou He handed him a cigarette: "Since the scenes are going to be cut eventually, why not just skip them now? That way, everyone isn’t troubled."

Mr. Li hesitated as he took the cigarette. As Zhou He lit it for him, his smiling eyes seemed to suggest something, meaning that Mr. Li suddenly understood. He quickly glanced over to Jing Jihan’s side but immediately withdrew his gaze, not daring to continue looking.

Turning his gaze again, he saw that the second male lead, Yuan Jun, went back to his assistant’s side and whispered, not knowing what they were discussing. But Yuan Jun kept glancing in Mr. Jing’s direction, not daring to look directly but was clearly a bit guilty.

Could it be...

Mr. Li stood up and walked over to Yuan Jun’s side. When Yuan Jun saw the director approaching, he quickly nodded apologetically: "Mr. Li, I’m really sorry..."

"What’s going on?" Mr. Li asked with a furrowed brow.

Yuan Jun swallowed, glancing at his assistant, before whispering: "Apologies, Mr. Li, I really can’t bring myself to do it. The problem isn’t with Shi Su—her performance every time is great and very engaging... but..."

He paused, then lowered his voice further: "My assistant used to work at a hotel that often handled celebration banquets for film crews. I just found out earlier that at the celebration banquet for ’Yao Platform,’ Mr. Jing was there in person and even... proposed to Shi Su. Although none of the media present dared to take photos or report it, most of the people there that day saw that scene. I just learned that Shi Su is Mr. Jing’s person. Although acting is just a job, with Mr. Jing standing right there... I just can’t do it..."

Mr. Li questioned: "How is that possible? Isn’t Shi Su married?"

Yuan Jun’s assistant whispered from the side: "I’m not sure, but I swear I saw Mr. Jing propose to Shi Su with my own eyes. The news was suppressed back then, but if you ask around among the event attendees from ’Yao Platform’ in the industry, they’ll remember it. But since it involves Mr. Jing, no one dares to spread it."

Mr. Li was silent on the spot.

A few minutes later, Mr. Li returned to his equipment, checked the previous shots, and considered the continuity of the plot, including the deletion issues mentioned by Zhou He regarding the review process. He called someone to get in touch with the screenwriter, and after several negotiations, they finally decided to change this slightly intense kissing scene to a melancholy halo-positioned kiss.

Although directors usually dislike using stand-ins, he suddenly felt as if the words "unpredictable fate" hovered above his head...

Preserving one’s life is more important.

-

The rain scene on the green screen was finally completely shot, and the staff members gradually brought out all kinds of equipment and props.

Mr. Li chatted with Jing Jihan while walking out, casually reminding her, "The weather is too cold. Shi Su was drenched in rain for so long. Let her put on a coat inside before coming out, so she doesn’t catch a cold."

After saying that, Mr. Li turned around again and continued to chat with Jing Jihan with a smile about some other matters regarding the film’s investors.

Suddenly, a figure happily ran over from the side and grabbed Jing Jihan’s arm: "Big cousin!"

Mr. Li was startled, swiftly turning his head to see Ami who had appeared from nowhere.

Jing Jihan also glanced at the abrupt hand on his arm, his gaze carrying a mix of unfamiliarity and scrutiny as he looked at her yellow hair: "Who are you?"

"I’m Zhou Xiaomiao..." Ami wanted to whisper her real name to his ear, but the man’s face was expressionless, with a clear sense of detachment in his eyes, so she didn’t dare to move closer and just softly said, "Have you forgotten? When I returned from South Korea after terminating my contract, it was my mom who sought your help to communicate with the agency there. Otherwise, I couldn’t have come back so smoothly~"

After all, that was the largest entertainment company in South Korea. Without someone with strong means intervening, the matter couldn’t have been resolved so easily.

As she spoke, Ami wanted to lean in to talk, but Jing Jihan coldly signaled her with his eyes to remove her hand from his arm.

Ami hastily withdrew her hand, taking a timid step back and not daring to approach again.

Mr. Li was about to coach other actors and laughed: "Then Mr. Jing, you can catch up with Xiaomi. I’ll be busy for a while."

Seeing Mr. Li leave, Ami quickly turned her eyes to the indifferent man in front of her, who showed no trace of kinship: "Can’t you give me a little face? I’m at least your grandfather’s sister’s daughter’s daughter, a relative with a bit of blood connection. That’s more related than the so-called adopted daughter of Mrs. Jing! Even though we haven’t met for many years, you know I came to the set to shoot, and you even took the time to see me. I’m really touched——"