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Chapter 15 - A Second Man

After that night, it was like the floodgates had been opened and suddenly, Su Qiao saw Bai Meixin everywhere. She wasn't sure if this was the novel's universe trying its darnedest to rectify the deviations from the plotline or if she was reading too much into it and Bai Meixin's filming schedule just happened to oh-so-coincidentally match hers almost identically.

It didn't help that Bai Meixin had asked the director for permission to sit in on all of Su Qiao's scenes because she 'wanted to learn the ropes from Big Sister, whom she admired so, so much'.

If Su Qiao weren't currently on a strict diet, where she couldn't afford to waste any of the calories ingested, she would throw up breakfast.

"Qiao Laoshi."

Su Qiao looked up from her seat in the corner of the set. The young man who approached her was Xue Junxie, the actor who held the role of the second supporting character. He was a newbie to the industry but had graduated with promising grades from acting school and he had delivered a stellar performance at the auditions, according to the casting director. Su Qiao didn't know him personally but so far, he'd been polite and respectful towards her.

A bit too respectful.

"Please don't address me as 'Laoshi'," she said, not for the first time. That was a term of address that meant 'teacher' but in the industry, was used to refer to veterans with real skill to impart to the younger generation of actors. Although Su Qiao was popular, she was aware that she was too young and too green to be able to accept being called this without backlash from her haters.

This was a common technique entertainment reporters often utilised. She could recall being chased after by them, each one yelling, "Su Laoshi" as they dogged her footsteps and forcing her into a position where she could either cave and acknowledge their address, earning herself a reputation of being conceited or ignoring them and earning herself a reputation of being arrogant.

She was all too familiar with this sort of lose-lose situation. It was why, no matter how friendly Xue Junxie appeared, no matter how well-meaning his apparent idolatry was, she kept her guard up around him.

Xue Junxie rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Sorry, I forgot. Is…is Senior Su okay then?"

She wasn't sure whether she was older than him but because she'd entered the industry before him, she could be considered a senior, there was nothing to fault in that. So she nodded.

"Was there something you needed?" Her speech wasn't cold but it wasn't welcoming either. She'd worked mostly with Xue Junxie these couple of days because their male lead was still wrapping up on another set. From tomorrow onwards, he would be here and Su Qiao would also be starting her first scene together with Bai Meixin.

But despite seeing a lot of Xue Junxie, she didn't have much to say to him. He hadn't done anything wrong to her in her previous life that she could think of but her gut instinct told her that he was someone she ought to be wary of. There was something too enthusiastic in his demeanour whenever he interacted with her that made her feel like he was being fake.

"I wanted to ask Senior Su to run through a couple of scenes with me, would that be all right?"

This wasn't an unreasonable request at all and Su Qiao couldn't think of a valid reason to reject it. Of course, as the female lead and a little red flower, no one would say anything if she put on a bit of airs and refused to land him a helping hand. But this was an industry where tongues wagged for a business and she was certain that if she did that, someone somewhere would leak it to the media before the day was over and she would be trending in a bad way again.

No thank you.

"Sure, take a seat."

They were filming on-site in a corporate building that the location directors had rented and obtained filming permits for. This production had a sizeable budget and the offices were furnished to look like a chic fashion design company. They only had permission to use a couple of floors but one of them was being used as the base where all the action off-set took place. Makeup and wardrobe were here, as well as the catering, which was really just a couple of long tables thrown together for all crew members to eat their packed meals at.

Technically, Su Qiao had privileges such as a private booth that they'd set up for her to change and rest in without being disturbed by others. But she didn't like it and chose instead to sit outside with everyone else. There wasn't much space so the booth was a cramped space that was cluttered with a dressing table and a clothes rack. It made Su Qiao feel suffocated and reminded her of a particularly bad experience she'd had, all the way down to the smell of musty costumes that hadn't been properly aired.

She'd made Peng Lili take them out but the space still didn't feel right.

[Stop. Don't think about it. It's over.]

Su Qiao picked up her script and waited for Xue Junxie to tell her which parts he wanted to go through together. Later on, Director Ma would call them over to block the scenes together before filming began. During this process, he would discuss the characters' motivations and feelings but always left some room for his actors to deliver their interpretations. He would also go through the camera placements with them, like whether they would have a close-up on their face or have a particular positioning they needed to take note of. He was very good at leading them through each shot with a clear ground plan and Su Qiao found herself learning a lot from him now that she was able to focus on the task at hand without mourning for her mother.

Director Ma too seemed to appreciate working with her. With some luck, he would be willing to recommend her to other directors after they wrapped up filming. It was imperative for Su Qiao to launch her career as soon as possible, especially since Bai Meixin was hot on her heels and had the enviable support of a protagonist halo and golden fingers like Su Qiao's father and Su Qiao's ex.

[Some people had all the luck,] she thought wryly.

"Senior Su…"

Su Qiao raised an eyebrow at Xue Junxie's hesitation. "What is it?"

"For this scene, I interpreted Xi Cheng to be aggravated, like he was at his wit's end after verbally arguing with Yuan Siqi. Therefore, although it says here that he held her hand in passing, I feel like he would grab it with more force?"

The scene Xue Junxie was referring to was a fight between Yuan Siqi, Su Qiao's headstrong character and Xi Cheng, her boyfriend for the first three episodes of the story. Xi Cheng was her university sweetheart and they had been together for years, planning on getting married. He was also a high-flying white-collared professional but could not help but feel insecure with how ambitious Su Qiao was about her career. He wanted her to settle down and start a family with him in a nurturing role.

Xi Cheng was supposed to be a foil to the male lead. Although they were both successful young men, the male lead would grow and learn to accept Su Qiao as an equal by the end of the series whereas Xi Cheng would depart alone with nothing but regret.

Personally, Su Qiao loved the script. 'Diamond in the Rough' might just be another popular web novel adaptation but it had so much potential in its themes, a lot of which could set a good example for the young women who would make up its primary audience. Su Qiao wanted to portray Yuan Siqi responsibly, in a way that would make her a good role model.

"Do what you need to," she said. If Xue Junxie thought that a bit of physical aggression was necessary to channel the tension in the scene, she was fine with that and would respect his reasoning. She agreed as well that it would better demonstrate the disharmony between the two characters.

"But I'm afraid of hurting Senior Su," he explained. "Senior Su, if you don't mind, could I borrow your hand for a moment?"

A brief frown flickered over Su Qiao's face but she quickly disguised it and held her hand out. This was still within professional boundaries. They were discussing a scene that had physical contact and this wasn't the 1920s. If she'd refused at this point, it might even be misconstrued as giving him attitude.

Xue Junxie took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Senior Su, I'm going to grab it a little harder now, let me know if it's too painful?" He was watching her face for signs of a reaction like he was checking to make sure that she wasn't in too much pain.

But Su Qiao felt like something was off even if she couldn't place what it was.

"It's fine," she said, tone verging on brusque.

"This is all right?" A harder squeeze.

"Yes."

To her relief, he didn't take long to figure out how much strength he was going to use for the actual take later. "If I cause Senior Su any discomfort later on, please don't hesitate to let me know," he said with a concerned smile.

Su Qiao didn't feel like talking to him anymore. She nodded. "Is there anything else that you need?" she asked, with a subtle hint of dismissal.

Perhaps he was done going through the scenes that were troubling him or perhaps he took the hint because Xue Junxie stood up and gave her a little polite bow.

"No, that would be all, Senior Su," he said with a small smile. "Thank you for your assistance, I'll see you on set later this afternoon."

He left without a backwards glance. Su Qiao's mouth pressed into a thin line and she opened her chat with Peng Lili.

Qiao Jie: Monitor Weibo for my name.