The movie was filmed in the village for a month, and once all necessary shots were completed, it was time to move to a new location.
Filming in the village had been conducted under strict lockdown.
Paparazzi and reporters couldn't get even the slightest whisper of information. Naturally, they were growing anxious. The moment the cast and crew returned to the city, they eagerly pressed Lin Muxu for details about the filming.
"Xiao Ci, did your movie shoot go smoothly?"
"I heard Qian He came to guest star for you again? Has he been with you all along?"
"When he proposed last time, when are you planning to have the wedding?"
These people badgered Lin Muxu incessantly, but she skillfully deflected their questions, her answers watertight.
"These are our private matters. The movie shoot went very smoothly; everyone will be able to see it when it's released. Everyone put in a lot of hard work…"
As she adeptly handled the reporters, she walked forward with the young actor.
They had a pivotal scene involving an argument to film today.
In a dilapidated flat, she squatted by the boiler, tending the fire. Her hands emerged, no longer the slender and soft hands of her youth, but rough and calloused. She patiently waited for the rice to cook.
Then Xia Zhiqian burst in.
His eyes were bloodshot.
He rushed in, shoving her. She hadn't expected a child to possess such strength, almost losing her balance and being pushed into the furnace. He looked up dazedly, his voice thick with tears.
"You're not my real mother!"
"You're the kidnapper who stole me!"
"I'm clearly the son of a wealthy family! They say my family is in the mining business, with plenty of money. What are you? You have no skills, only dragging me through a life of hardship. But I'm telling you, I've had enough of this hard life!"
"I don't want to live this hard life… sob sob…"
The boy covered his face.
Tears streamed down his cheeks. He cried heartbreakingly, shoving Lin Muxu forcefully. Lin Muxu, playing Meng Dongqing, stumbled to her feet.
She tried desperately to stand straight, to defend herself.
"It's not like that…"
She looked up at Meng Pingping opposite her.
"Listen to me, it's not what you think…"
"I worked hard… Your tuition fees, your living expenses, I earned them all with my own hands. I brought you out of the village for a reason…"
But no matter how she tried to explain, the youth opposite her paid no attention.
This young boy just gritted his teeth, his gaze towards Lin Muxu filled with deep-seated hatred. His voice was so cold it almost froze into ice.
"What reason could you possibly have?"
"You shameless woman, it's because you stole me that I can't have a good life."
She panicked.
She had almost fallen into the fire moments before.
Her palms had been instantly scalded.
Blisters had formed.
But she couldn't care about that. She hurriedly stood up, her lips moving, desperate to offer a word of explanation.
"It's not like that… I did it for your own good…"
"The village wasn't a place for you to stay."
But the young boy just glared at her fiercely, staring at her and panting, his voice icy.
"Nonsense! You are the worst and most disgusting person!"
His eyes were filled with a terrifying ferocity, enough to make one's heart pound. Then he shoved the woman opposite him fiercely.
"Why did you steal me? I was meant to be a young master."
"It's all your fault! It's all your fault I have nothing now!"
The youth sobbed, as if about to cry.
But he took a deep breath and held back.
He just stared coldly into her eyes, his gaze devoid of any emotion. He felt no gratitude for the girl who had raised him.
He looked at her as if she were trash, wishing he could just cast her aside. The coldness at the corners of his lips sent a shiver down her spine, and then he said:
"I am utterly ashamed of you!"
Meng Dongqing gasped, staring blankly at the young boy before her. His face was clearly delicate and handsome, but his eyes were filled with resentment and hatred. Her heart felt as if it were being gnawed by countless ants, a feeling that made her wish for a thousand arrows to pierce her. She stumbled to her feet.
Wanting to grab his wrist.
To comfort him.
"No… it's not like that…"
Her voice choked with sobs.
"Listen to me… even if I'm not your birth mother, your mother entrusted you to me. She went through a lot of hardship…"
But how could this young boy listen?
"I hate you! I want to go back, I want to be the child of rich people."
"I never want to see you again!"
He turned and ran out.
Leaving behind a distraught Meng Dongqing.
She seemed to have lost her soul, completely becoming a walking corpse. Her breathing was painful, a pain that seeped into her very core. She stared blankly at the stove before her, her eyes empty.
She longed to cry her heart out.
But in the end, she just straightened her back and picked up the rice she had spilled.
Then, sobbing, she shoveled it into her mouth.
She couldn't waste the food that had been bought with money.
But… why did it turn out this way?
She had never harmed anyone.
She had only been entrusted by someone.
Had she truly done wrong?
Lin Muxu's performance in this scene moved the director to tears. The director called "cut," but Lin Muxu remained in her spot. The young actor rushed over, wiping the dust from her hands, his care gentle and tender.
Seeing the blisters on her hand from the scene, he looked quite pained.
Lin Muxu, in turn, comforted the young actor.
"It's okay, it's okay, it's all fake."
"It's just filming. This little hardship is nothing."
Hearing Lin Muxu say this, the young actor gritted his teeth. After a moment, he let out a low hum, his voice deep and resonant. Da Feng Novel Network.
"Why do you have to be so strong… What's so good about being an actor…"
"There isn't only this way."
"What's so good about Ling Qianhe…"
"A wolf in sheep's clothing…"
His voice was very, very quiet, so quiet that Lin Muxu couldn't quite hear it clearly. She only vaguely heard him mention Ling Qianhe, and she was momentarily taken aback. After a moment, she relaxed her brow and couldn't help but laugh.
"What did you say?"
"You don't like him? He's your senior."
The young boy with delicate features opposite her mumbled.
"There's nothing likable about him. If it weren't for him…"
"I wouldn't have…"
His words suddenly cut off. Then he looked up at Lin Muxu and said:
"Enough, enough, let's continue filming."
He seemed to be hardening his resolve.
"This movie is definitely going to win an award! After acting this well, it would be unreasonable not to win!"