Xu Mo had never been so proactive before—or rather, so passive.
So many people were watching.
Several cameras were practically pressed up against him.
It was utterly dehumanizing.
If only he could start over.
He would go easy on the Crooked-Mouth Dragon King.
Why did he have to act so well?
It backfired.
This kind of suffering was truly unbearable.
After all, humans are not saints.
And even more so,
some things are innate.
They can't be controlled just because you want to.
The director didn’t call cut.
So Xu Mo had no choice.
Out of professional integrity as an actor,
he continued.
Though, to be fair, he wasn’t a professional actor.
But he had high standards.
On the other side, Lin An'an's mind was completely blank.
She couldn’t tell which way was up.
This feeling was unprecedented.
Two voices echoed in her mind simultaneously.
One said, "This is real.
The man in front of you is your husband.
No one dares to criticize you for doing this.
No one will point fingers at you."
The other voice shouted, "No!
This is all fake.
An'an, you must hold on, don’t fall for it!
Don’t let this guy take advantage of you.
You need to find a way
to get back at him.
Show him what you’re made of!
Mark this grudge!
And remember, never let a grudge linger overnight, or you’ll miss your chance to get even."
··········
After what felt like an eternity,
the damn scene finally ended.
Once it was over,
Xu Mo and An Youyi quickly left,
not staying to bask in the crew’s praise.
Because the scene they had just completed was more than enough.
The rest would require a change of setting.
And no one in the crew had expected this difficult scene
to go so smoothly.
Liu Yong was beyond thrilled!
He almost wanted to kneel before Xu Mo on the spot.
With this shot in the bag,
it was bound to be a massive surprise!
If handled well,
they were sure to clinch the annual box office championship!
Or maybe they could consider releasing it on New Year’s Day!
It would be an absolute bombshell!
And New Year’s Day wasn’t far off.
Thinking of this,
Liu Yong was over the moon!!!
For a director, a billion-dollar box office
was something worth bragging about to peers!
The best film he had ever made had only grossed a little over nine billion!
The hundred-billion mark was within reach.
But as the saying goes, the last ten percent is the hardest.
If you don’t reach it, you don’t reach it!
No excuses.
So this time, Liu Yong was extra meticulous about the promotional efforts.
He had the timing, the location, and the people—everything was in his favor.
If he didn’t nail this box office,
he’d be letting down the opportunity the heavens had given him.
Meanwhile, as Xu Mo took his leave,
Lin An'an also requested to leave early.
Song Yixue frowned, puzzled.
“An'an, what’s wrong?”
“We can still shoot some of your other scenes here.”
Lin An'an’s cheeks were burning, and she stammered,
“Sorry, Sister Song, I’m not feeling well today. Let’s do it tonight.”
Song Yixue blinked, then looked at her.
As someone who had been through it all, she instantly understood.
She flashed a mischievous smile.
“Granted! An'an, go ahead and rest up!”
Lin An'an nodded in thanks,
then hurriedly left.
She didn’t head straight back to the villa,
as it was still quite a distance away.
Instead, she checked into a nearby five-star hotel.
In the bathroom,
the shower sprayed cold water,
but it couldn’t extinguish the fire in her heart.
Lin An'an’s mind replayed the scene of her and Xu Mo embracing
over and over like a broken record.
The more she tried not to think about it,
the worse it got.
Thump, thump.
Her heart raced faster and faster,
as if it might leap out of her throat at any moment.
Lin An'an was completely flustered,
her face flushed red.
“He’s just a rich second-generation heir, so why does he have such a good body?”
“I’ve never heard of him being into fitness or anything.”
“How did he get such a perfect physique?”
“And... that thing... my god... is he trying to kill me?”
Lin An'an muttered to herself,
her little head under the cold water,
trying her best to calm down.
After all, there were still many scenes left to shoot.
She couldn’t freeze up every time she saw him,
or how would she act in the remaining scenes?
An hour later,
Lin An'an finally stepped out of the bathroom.
This winter wasn’t particularly cold,
and Lin An'an often swam in the winter,
so her body wasn’t too fragile.
She wouldn’t catch a cold from one cold shower.
She lay on the bed,
her chin resting on the pillow, lost in thought.
Her naturally healthy, petite, and delicate feet swayed back and forth toward the ceiling.
Thump!! Thump!!!!
“Is this what love feels like?”
“Mom, I’m in love!”
Lin An'an’s face was still red, and after a long while, she came to this conclusion.
Then, with great shyness, she buried her little head in the pillow!
After a while,
she peeked out again,
her lips pouting.
“An'an! You need to stay composed!”
“This is just an illusion.”
“Even if you want Xu Mo, the competition is fierce.”
Thinking of this,
Lin An'an’s face turned red again.
Just then,
her phone screen lit up.
Lin An'an blinked, picked up her phone.
Because it was on silent mode during filming,
she could only reply to messages after it was over
or during breaks.
Lin An'an glanced at her phone.
It was a message from Li Jiaxin.
Wow!
She had sent over ten messages in a row.
Lin An'an skimmed through the content.
Li Jiaxin asked about how the shoot went,
how Xu Mo performed,
and also mentioned Lin Fan.
Lin An'an rested her chin on the pillow, typing on her phone screen,
sharing the day’s events with Li Jiaxin,
leaving out the specifics of the shoot.
Meanwhile, in an office at Xu Corporation,
Ding dong...
The WeChat notification sound rang out.
Li Jiaxin suddenly paused,
her eyes shifting to the phone on the desk.
She then said to Zhou Ziran,
“I need to check my phone.”
Zhou Ziran, who had been bent to her will, obediently nodded,
not daring to defy Li Jiaxin in the slightest.
Li Jiaxin glanced at the sender,
and her eyes lit up!
“Get dressed,” she said.
“I have something to attend to.”
Zhou Ziran was taken aback.
It was... quite sudden.
The Li Jiaxin in front of him had suddenly transformed
into a heartless playgirl.
Before getting what she wanted, she was all sweet and caring.
After getting it, she turned cold and indifferent!
Who wouldn’t be upset about that?!!!!
Zhou Ziran’s eyes were filled with resentment, like a scorned lover.
Li Jiaxin paid no attention.
After learning that Lin Fan had failed,
she was inwardly overjoyed.
Lin Fan’s failure was exactly what she wanted!
How dare he try to take the woman she had her eye on?
Even if he was the Dragon King of the Dragon King Hall,
that alone wasn’t enough to make her back down.
As for Xu Mo,
Li Jiaxin wasn’t worried in the slightest.
Her boss was full of virtues,
and he was so focused on following the so-called plotline.
How could he possibly compete with her for the actress?
Right?
Moshi moshi, could I ask for some free little gifts?
It’s been a while since I’ve asked, and these past few days have been about the other book, “The Actress’s Escape.”
Please go and give it some likes and support, scroll to the end and give it a little tap. I’m determined to work hard, to be self-reliant, to hunt sharks for eggs to make instant noodles, to stand strong and reject all future arranged blind dates at home.