The filming in the morning went very well. The filming crew was able to wrap up before 11:30 and have lunch.
Xiao Yuan grabbed the female lead's lunch box, happily went back over to Xu WanZhi, and said excitedly as she unwrapped her disposable chopsticks, "WanZhi-jie, your acting was so good this morning! I was totally mesmerized."
"Such flattery," grumbled Xu WanZhi casually but was very happy about it.
Xiao Yuan giggled as she wrapped her arms around hers and said, "Your little fox had just became the latest star on the internet!"
Xu WanZhi paused for a second and asked, "What did you just say?"
Xiao Yuan fished out her phone and quickly opened up WeChat, searched for Jiang YueXian and showed her. "Remember how Jiang YueXian took away your little fox this morning? He took a few selfies with it and also some video clips and posted them onto WeChat. They have already been reposted some 20,000 times!"
Having said that, Xiao Yuan pushed over her cellphone to show her.
Xu WanZhi glanced down at it:
@Jiang YueXian: [The little fox that my dog brought back. It won't let me kiss or hug it. It was a little tsundere.]
Below that, there was a collage of 9 pictures. 8 pictures on the outside with an animated one in the center. The animated one was in slow motion where the little fox kicked Jiang YueXian on his face with its black and fuzzy little leg. Jiang YueXian only smiled in the most pampering way and nuzzled it with his nose, all in perfect harmony.
Xu WanZhi was completely baffled. She scrolled down and saw that this had been the style of this film emperor. Using the warm filter with little animals, show off his love for them, adopting cats, dogs, and bunnies. Sure enough, the character of a warm man.
But him in his flesh and blood… she didn't even know what to say.
All the top comments under the WeChat were about the little fox.
[Oooooo! It's soooo cute. This little fox can smile!]
[Judging from its fur, it's already an adult fox. How is it still the size of a baby fox?]
[I have been looking at the center video for the last two hours. The tsundere little fox was too cute!]
[This member of the cat party wanted to switch sides already.]
[I have looked through all the other stars who had interacted with JiangJiang and didn't find the little fox. Speak, whose fox is it? I need to go get my fill of that fox!]
[First reaction: So jealous of the little fox, touching JiangJiang with its little foot. After watching it a few more times… so jealous of JiangJIang. I want to pet the fox too!]
Xu WanZhi couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Who would have thought that the day the film emperor was leeching off of my popularity would come, huh?"
Xiao Yuan nodded nonstop like she was smashing garlic. "WanZhi-jie, your fox is really cute. How come I have never seen it before?"
"Ugh…" Xu WanZhi's eyes darted around and finally was able to make up an excuse. "Mu ZhenYu won't let me keep pets at home."
"Oh, is that so?" Xiao Yuan nodded profoundly then, sticking her head over closer to Xu WanZhi, asked, "Should we post some pictures of the little fox on WeChat as well? Maybe we can purify you overnight with its help?"
Xu WanZhi smiled and shook her head. "It's not time yet."
Xiao Yuan lowered her eyes in disappointment. After a little while, she seemed to have recalled something else. She looked up. Her eyes were lit up. She asked, "Then… if you need someone to take care of it, I can always take it. I will work hard on learning all about raising a fox."
Raising… Xu WanZhi chuckled a little and didn't comment.
Right then, Chang XiaoYa had finished her lunch and walked over with her juice in her hand. She glanced over at Xiao Yuan's cellphone screen and said in an odd manner, "Hey, WanZhi was following Jiang YueXian's activities as well? I saw that he posted pictures of a little fox today. I've heard that you have an unusual relationship with him. Do you know who that fox belongs to?"
Currently, let it be within or outside of the entertainment circle, actors or fans, everyone knew that Xu WanZhi had been leeching off Jiang YueXian's popularity. In reality, the two of them hardly even talked with each other. Chang XiaoYa was obviously mocking her with the word "unusual".
Coincidentally, how could Xu WanZhi not know who the fox belonged to?
In the original novel, Chang XiaoYa has the setting of a bad temper girl. She was blunt and Liang ZhiQuan was sweet, soft, and silly. Many times, when Liang ZhiQuan was bullied, it was Chang XiaoYa who'd stand up for her, including right now.
Xu WanZhi was left speechless: This little dynamite. She didn't even know that she was being used like ammunition by Liang ZhiQuan. She smiled and kicked the bomb right back at her, "Of course I do, but Jiang YueXian wouldn't let me share that information. Sorry, XiaoYa."
Chang XiaoYa shook her head with contempt and hrumphed. Her eyes seemed to be saying that, I knew you didn't know. Stop pretending.
Unfortunately, Xu WanZhi couldn't be bothered with so much as to look at her. She kept her head down and kept on eating slowly.
Chang XiaoYa, feeling unsatisfied, asked again, "That little fox is so cute. Are you itching to get one for Jiang YueXian too? It looks to me that he is really into foxes. He was never like that with his cats and dogs in the past."
Xu WanZhi pushed her food around with her chopsticks as she shook her head nonchalantly and said, "I have been pooling all my time on focusing on the filming and studying the script so that I don't let the female support character outshine me. Which is to say that I don't have time to do what everybody else is doing right now. Since you care so much about Jiang YueXian, why don't you get one for him? That way you will have more excuses to get close to him. Maybe you will be able to get more female lead roles then. You can't always just play female supporting characters."
During their first rehearsal after their filming has started, Chang XiaoYa implied that Xu WanZhi's acting was so bad that she will be outshined by her. At the end of the day, three of the nine pictures in the promotional collage was Xu WanZhi in the center with Chang XiaoYa squeezed in the corner of one of them. Xu WanZhi brought that up intentionally right now to take her down a notch.
That taking down struck Chang XiaoYa where it hurt most.
Everybody knew that Xu WanZhi was the queen of negative publicity with zero acting skills or family background to speak of. She never would have measured up to someone like Chang XiaoYa, who possessed formal acting training.
Somehow, everything had flipped after the start of this filming.
Chang XiaoYa flustered. She stuck her head in front of Xu WanZhi and whispered, "Xu WanZhi, my advice for you is not to be too showy. Humans do; heaven watches. I have dirt on you too."
"Dirt?" Xu WanZhi snickered. "Are you talking about what's between me and Mu ZhenYu? You call that dirt?"
She was so straightforward when she mentioned Mu ZhenYu that Chang XiaoYa was completely thrown off. Chang XiaoYa's eyes widened. Her lips moved, but she wasn't able to force a word out after a long while.
What Xu WanZhi thought had been confirmed; she was right that Chang XiaoYa. Chang XiaoYa knew all about the matters between her and Mu ZhenYu, Qin Sheng, and Liang ZhiQuan. But she didn't know that her identity as a close friend of Liang ZhiQuan had also been exposed.
Xu WanZhi gave her a slight smile and said to her in a low voice, "Yes, I accepted Mu ZhenYu's money to be his lover for 6 months. He even dropped me off here this morning. Sooo what?
First of all, Mu ZhenYu is a businessman and rarely ever stepped foot in the entertainment circle. Many know of Huanyu, but few know him. Secondly, even though Mu ZhenYu was engaged to Liang ZhiQuan previously, Liang ZhiQuan was the one who broke it off to be with Qin Sheng. Should Mu ZhenYu remain single and wait around for her while she cheats on him? Thirdly, Huanyu has bankrupted, and I am still here by his side.
Miss Chang, are you really calling this dirt? I would have to disagree. If you want to write this all out and post it to WeChat, I would have to thank you for making me seem like such a kind person. But my advice to you is, you don't want to get mixed up in this and put your own future on the line. Just because you have some information doesn't make you the know-it-all in the entertainment circle."
By the time she was done talking. Chang XiaoYa's face had already turned green from anger. She stopped talking, flung her arm, and walked back to her parasol to cool down.
Xu WanZhi leisurely had a sip of her coconut juice and went back to eating her lunch – you've gotta be kidding. She had read the original novel. That Chang XiaoYa thought she could one up her in her home court?
That entire afternoon, Chang XiaoYa was very out of it. Her role in the show was Xu WanZhi's best friend, but every time they were in a scene together, she'd need tens of retakes before she'd make it through. Naturally, she was yelled at by the director after the day's filming.
Xu WanZhi, on the other hand, slowly changed back into her own clothes. When she was on her way out, she even purposefully walked past them and said bye to the director as though she was bragging. Chang XiaoYa was so angry that she almost dropped dead right then and there.
With the exception of asking her for a ride during the first week of the filming of "Blossom", Mu ZhenYu was gone for the next few days. The filming went very well and Chang XiaoYa finally started behaving herself and left Xu WanZhi alone.
That night, it was already past 8 PM after they were done. After she had changed and walked out, she saw a brand-new Porsche parked by the entrance of the studio. When she was just a few meters from the car, she could see a small red glow in the dark. It was Mu ZhenYu leaning against the wall, smoking.
Everybody at the studio was used to seeing all sorts of handsome men and beautiful women, but whether it was men or women who walked past, all of them couldn't help but cast a few extra looks at him – his wild look and his sturdy body were quite outstanding even in this circle.
Xu WanZhi had good hearing. She could hear the whispering around them even from a distance.
"Which team is he on? I don't think I have seen him before?"
"Oh my gosh. He's so good looking!"
"I am going to have to ask around…"
Mu ZhenYu had bad temperament. He couldn't stand the few women talking about him so he tossed the cigarette that he had only taken a few whiffs of on the ground, stomped it out ominously, and looked over at those who were discussing softly with a look that was vicious and sharp like a razor.
The girls, who had just felt a budding romance in their hearts, quickly lowered their heads in fear and walked away quickly.
He gently exhaled the remaining cigarette smoke in his mouth, turned, and saw Xu WanZhi.
In his eagle sharp eyes, there was a shred of almost indiscernible tenderness.