Director Wang was a demanding person.
When filming this movie, it could be said that no one was scolded by him except Song Xingjia. Jiang Mian was quite severely reprimanded by him.
As the end was nearing, Director Wang happily asked her at the end of a day's shoot, "Little Jiang, do you get angry when I sometimes get impatient and scold you? You know my temper."
"What's there to be angry about? Director Wang scolding me is just holding me to strict standards, and it's for my own good. It's not personal." Jiang Mian didn't care. To receive guidance on acting from such a renowned director was worth two points of improvement, so why be angry.
Director Wang was relieved and nodded, "It's good that you understand."
Song Xingjia walked over, "What, Director Wang feels guilty after scolding the young girl?"
Director Wang shot him a glare, "Xingjia, I'm scolding Jiang Mian for her own good. Jiang Mian is a malleable talent; jade cannot become a useful tool without being carved. If you want me to teach with gentle guidance, I can't learn that."
Song Xingjia raised his eyebrows and smiled, "She's indeed very good. This role has given me a great surprise."
Speaking of the role, Director Wang nodded, "I originally thought she might not be able to keep up with you, but I didn't expect her to get into character more easily with you guiding her. Have you two been secretly communicating behind my back?"
"Not really, she just has high comprehension."
Jiang Mian, praised, was flustered, "No, no, it's Xingyang and Director Wang's good teaching, good teaching."
Director Wang smiled, "Laugh now. You won't be able to laugh in your last scene the day after tomorrow."
Jiang Mian frowned upon hearing this, her brows and eyes lively, "Director Wang, you're really ruthless, putting the most heartbreaking scene at the end."
"Be happy about it. You'll wrap up after filming, while Xingjia still has to continue shooting."
Jiang Mian looked at Song Xingjia, "I'll offer my spiritual support to Xingyang."
The few of them smiled in unison.
When Jiang Mian returned to the hotel, Li Laidie greeted her, "Sister, this is a script Ning Jie picked out for you. She said you should go for an audition immediately after finishing this shoot."
Jiang Mian took it, "What script?"
"It's a Xianxia drama, adapted from a popular IP. You'll be playing the fourth female lead." She chuckled.
Jiang Mian opened it and looked, her eyebrows slightly raised, "If I remember correctly, the rights to this drama were bought by Luo Shi, so Luo Shi is investing in it?"
"Ning Jie wants you to think long-term. Rumor has it that the male and female leads for this drama have already been cast, they are Ling He and Zhao Xinxin."
Jiang Mian knew both of them; they were acclaimed powerhouse actors in the industry.
"Originally, the role of the fourth female lead was already cast, but rumor has it she can't make it last minute. Luo Shi contacted Ning Jie proactively. Ning Jie's intention is for you not to miss this opportunity."
Jiang Mian nodded, "I understand."
Of course, she wouldn't make things difficult for herself. With Luo Shi investing, the production team would surely be good. And the cast was so grand; even being a pretty face would be good.
She pondered for a moment and asked, "When did Ning Jie schedule the audition?"
"Next Monday."
"Okay."
She placed the script on her bedside table and asked casually, "Laidie, have you been getting quite close to Xiang Long recently?"
Li Laidie was startled and became a bit flustered, "Sister... it's just that when you're filming, we're quite idle, so we chat. Are you unhappy?"
She didn't expect Li Laidie to be so nervous and smiled, "I'm not unhappy. Relax, I'm just asking. Actually, if you two were to develop something, it's fine, you don't need to worry about me."
Li Laidie blushed, "Sister, where are you getting that from? He doesn't have any intentions towards me."
Jiang Mian caught the loophole in her words, "It's *he* who doesn't have intentions towards you, not that *you* don't have intentions towards him?"
"Sister, stop teasing me!"
Seeing her shy, Jiang Mian stopped there and didn't say more.
On the day Jiang Mian wrapped up filming, the weather in Hainan was not good; it was gloomy. Director Wang had checked the weather forecast and chosen this day to film the final scene.
After Director Wang called "Cut!", Song Xingjia presented a bouquet of flowers, "Happy wrap!"
Jiang Mian held them, her eyes still red from crying in the scene just now. She smiled with joy, "Happy!"
Director Wang waved, "Come, come, let's take some photos to celebrate Jiang Mian's wrap!"
Everyone gathered around, "One, two, three, cheese!"
"Another one!"
"The two leads stand together for a photo!"
After finishing each role, there was always a sense of loss. The life of this character, with all its joys and sorrows, Jiang Mian had deeply experienced. After filming, she needed to quickly detach herself from Chen Wenya's emotions.
Her eyes curved, and on the way to the airport, she took out her phone and took two pictures of the flowers, then two selfies.
Suddenly, the car bumped. The driver apologized, "Miss Jiang, I need to get out and check."
Jiang Mian nodded, "Go ahead."
After a while, the driver opened the car window and said, "Miss Jiang... the car suddenly had a flat tire for no reason. By the time I fix it, you'll probably miss your flight..."
Jiang Mian frowned slightly. These were people sent by Director Wang. No one wanted such an accident to happen. She got out with Li Laidie, "You fix it first."
She stood by the roadside. This place was far from the city, and it was indeed difficult to get a taxi anytime soon.
Just as she was worrying, Li Laidie looked behind them, "Sister, there's a car! Should we flag it down?"
Before she finished speaking, a flashy purple sports car stopped in front of Jiang Mian. The window slowly rolled down, and Ye Yi propped his forehead with his hand, showing a harmless smile, "What a coincidence, sister, we meet again."
"It's you."
Ye Yi looked her up and down, "Are you going to the airport? What a coincidence, shall I give you a ride?"
Jiang Mian took her luggage from the trunk, "Don't worry, I won't shortchange you on the ticket fare."
She walked around to the back seat and opened the door. Ye Yi stopped her actions, his tone lazy but unyielding, "Sister, you should sit in the front passenger seat. Otherwise, it'll look like you're treating me like a driver. Let your little assistant sit in the back."
Since he put it that way, Jiang Mian obligingly sat in the front passenger seat.
"My flight is at a quarter past two."
"Don't worry, we'll make it. What a coincidence, I'm on the same flight, sister. Are you returning to Kyoto?" His voice was still unhurried, but he was driving very fast.
Jiang Mian fastened her seatbelt and reminded Li Laidie, "Laidie, fasten your seatbelt."
"Okay, Sister."
Although they had met before, she didn't know the man's background and didn't want to chat much. She smiled slyly, "What? It's too windy to hear you—"
Ye Yi pressed his tongue against his jaw, chuckled maliciously, and slowly reduced his speed, "I said, my name is Ye Yi. This is our second meeting, sister. You should remember my name."
Jiang Mian looked out the window, "You still haven't said why you illegally entered the Shen residence last time. Looking at your car, you don't seem to be after money."
"To be honest, I've been secretly in love with Miss Shen for a long time, and I wanted to take this opportunity to meet my future mother-in-law."
"Alright, if you don't want to say it, you don't have to. There's no need to lie through your teeth." She didn't see a trace of love in his eyes when he met Shen Tingyu.
Ye Yi chuckled softly, "I knew you wouldn't make things difficult for me, sister."
When they arrived at the airport, Jiang Mian was bewildered to see him following her. Ye Yi raised his eyebrows and understood her meaning, "What's wrong? I told you I'm on the same flight as you."
Jiang Mian was speechless, "It's nothing."
On the plane, Jiang Mian put on her eye mask, clearly indicating she didn't want to talk to him.
Ye Yi was tactful and sat in the row behind her, not disturbing her.
Stepping onto the soil of Kyoto again, Jiang Mian stretched lazily. After getting off the plane, Jiang Mian hadn't seen Ye Yi again.
Xiang Long had returned to Kyoto a day earlier, so today it was just Jiang Mian and Li Laidie. Patting Li Laidie's shoulder, Jiang Mian said, "I've already applied to the company for your accommodation. Just bear with it for a few more days."
Li Laidie was very touched, "Thank you, Sister. But I don't want to live in the dormitory for now. I want to wait until I have money to bring my mother to live with me..."
Jiang Mian respected her choice, "That's good too, you decide."
Jiang Mian returned to Shengshi Huating with her luggage. Since she returned to the film crew last time, Ji Zhixiu hadn't contacted her.
Jiang Mian also hadn't contacted Ji Zhixiu. They had entered a strange silent mode.
Returning to this familiar place, the plants on the balcony hadn't withered, and the goldfish in the living room were still swimming. Jiang Mian collapsed on the large bed, her whole body suddenly relaxing. She knew Ji Zhixiu must have come.
She had to go to school tomorrow to finish her graduation thesis and submit it to her advisor. Thinking about it, there was still a lot to do, so she didn't have time to think about Ji Zhixiu.
She rolled off the bed, opened Weibo, posted a wrap-up essay, and accompanied it with nine welfare photos. Then she put away her phone.
Just as it was ringing, her phone rang. She closed her eyes and answered, "Hello."
"Mianmian, come out for maocai. A super, super, super delicious maocai restaurant just opened here in Central Plaza. We know you're back, so we're having a welcome feast for you. Our whole dorm is here." Wen Su's voice came from the other end.
"Mianmian, hurry up and come!" Ji Lanruo shouted into the microphone.
"Coming." Jiang Mian got up.
Half an hour later, on the twentieth floor of Central Plaza, at the maocai restaurant.
Ji Lanruo picked a private room, which offered good privacy.
The four reunited, "Mianmian! How was it acting with Song Xingjia?" Zhang Duoduo asked with wide eyes.
"What's so good about acting with an old man," Ji Lanruo said unhappily. This statement carried a strong personal emotion.
Clearly, Ji Lanruo had liked Song Xingjia a lot before.
Jiang Mian was puzzled why the change was so drastic in such a short time, "Lanruo, how did Emperor Song offend you?"
Ji Lanruo said indignantly, "I sent him a private message confessing my love, and he actually asked if I wanted to hook up. A hypocrite in a righteous guise!!"
She was truly heartbroken, never expecting that the person she had liked for so long was like this.
Everyone was shocked, "No way, Song Xingjia isn't that kind of person."
"Could it have been sent by mistake?"
"Why would I lie to you?" Ji Lanruo took out her phone. She covered the part where she confessed her love with her palm and showed Song Xingjia's reply to everyone.
Jiang Mian leaned closer and glanced at it. Her brow furrowed. Having worked with Song Xingjia for so long, she knew in her heart that Song Xingjia was definitely not that kind of person.
Generally, celebrities' Weibo accounts are managed by their studios or personal assistants. Jiang Mian pursed her lips, "Lanruo, it's not that I don't believe you. But I don't think this was sent by Song Xingjia himself. Think about it, Song Xingjia is an Emperor of Film who debuted many years ago. Even if he was two-faced and wanted to hook up, he would do it privately, not on Weibo. Moreover, his Weibo should be managed by his assistant."
"I think Mianmian is right."
"I think his assistant took advantage of their position and, believing that you fans wouldn't dare to speak out, dared to brazenly use Song Xingjia's Weibo to sleep with fans." She analyzed it logically.
Ji Lanruo began to waver, "I also don't want Song Xingjia to be this kind of person. The thought of the person I've liked for so many years being like this makes me sick."
Zhang Duoduo patted her chest, "You scared me! I was really afraid Emperor Song would collapse."
Jiang Mian smiled gently, "He won't. I have his WeChat. I'll ask him to clarify this matter and give Lanruo an explanation. Don't spread it around for now."
"Of course."
"Let's eat first."