The backstage of the theater was in an uproar. With a "splash," the production manager's tea spilled onto the monitor screen. Only Xiao Liu stood in the corner, revealing a sinister and triumphant smile. The fool finally took the bait. Xiao Liu was not an ordinary assistant. He was Jin Jingyao's cousin. Not long ago, he had used his position to secretly slip his friend Qin Yi's information into the list of candidates for auditions. However, the casting director quickly discovered it and kicked him out. Later, when Qin Yi got into trouble, Xiao Liu was very upset. He decided to avenge his good brother. At first, Xiao Liu didn't dare to act rashly, even thinking that Li Ling was someone not to be messed with. After all, his cousin had made him take a five-hour car ride to personally pick her up from the town's train station. Such a big fuss, even Huang Yingqian didn't get this treatment. But later, from his observations, Li Ling didn't seem to be anything special. Otherwise, his cousin wouldn't have ignored her after their first meeting. He decided to arrange the most tragic death for Li Ling. As everyone knows, the director hates it when someone changes his script. Not even a single interjection. It was foreseeable that a daring and reckless actress like Li Ling would meet an even more tragic end. After lying low for so many days, just for this moment, Xiao Liu's heart was filled with battle songs and the smoke of war, the intense drumming before the battle had already begun. The drumming continued for a while, but the set remained quiet, and the anticipated drama did not unfold. Xiao Liu: ? He looked incredulously at the others behind him: "Do you think she..." "This actress is pretty good," the casting director said. "After reshooting all night, her state is still so good." Xiao Liu: "No, she just pinned the director down..." "Yes, very powerful, very explosive," another person said. Xiao Liu was speechless: "She changed the director's script..." "So what if she changed the script? Isn't improvisation normal for actors? She added more layers to the character's texture." "Is it just me," the muscular assistant cameraman weakly interjected, "or does the director have some chemistry with this actress? Like, there's a bit of a spark..." Xiao Liu: "..." He couldn't bear to listen anymore. He shouted in frustration, "Stop talking nonsense!" "Xiao Liu, didn't you realize?" The production manager held a teacup, smiling reservedly, "They just want to choose someone who dares to hit the director." Xiao Liu: "..." This isn't Gotham. Annoyed, really annoyed, he pushed the assistant director: "Call cut." The assistant director was stunned: "But the director hasn't said anything." "What do you mean? My cousin is too angry to speak!" Xiao Liu said weakly. "Ah, ah, right." The assistant director seemed still dazed, picked up the walkie-talkie— "Cut." The young director, pinned under Li Ling's palm, immediately broke free and grabbed her wrist. He turned his head, staring straight at the camera. Like a cold, sharp wire, piercing through pores and blood vessels. Here it comes! Xiao Liu rubbed his hands, becoming excited again. Jin Jingyao: "Who told you to call cut?"? Xiao Liu thought he must be hallucinating. His limbs went weak, and he turned to look at the others behind him. Some were even more engrossed, while others regained their senses, looking at each other. The assistant director, especially weak and helpless, directly shoved the walkie-talkie into Xiao Liu's hand. Xiao Liu: "..." He dryly said into the intercom, "Director, you misheard. No one called 'cut.' The assistant director's throat is just uncomfortable." Assistant Director: "..." The young director seemed to have lost his patience and smiled, "Is that so." His tone was gentle, and his expression was not much different from usual, but those who knew him well understood that this was a sign of his displeasure. Xiao Liu suddenly felt a tickle in his throat and couldn't bring himself to say "yes." Nervous sweat trickled down his forehead. He was bewildered, his mind blank, and even had an absurd illusion: Actually, his cousin knew everything. He didn't care before because it didn't matter to him. But this was his set. Without his permission, nothing could happen. He was very scared but couldn't speak, stammering apologies repeatedly. Director Jin raised his right hand and slowly pressed his brow, about to say something more, but felt another hand gently tugging at his. His gaze paused, and he turned his face. His left hand was still gripping Li Ling's wrist. His hand was much larger than hers, with long, distinct fingers, the kind fans would praise as "cold and indifferent." But at this moment, it looked very forceful, the pale blue veins on the back of his hand prominent, showcasing the strength of a young man. The hand he was holding was slender, like a white vine or a soft feather. It was hard to imagine that not long ago, this hand had been pressing against his neck. Thinking this, Jin Jingyao unconsciously tightened his grip a bit more. Li Ling probably felt some pain but still bravely pointed to the intercom and awkwardly smiled, "Director, please continue." They were very close. Jin Jingyao lowered his head, and Li Ling raised her face. His gaze was like a deep pool, reflecting her image. He slightly lowered his eyes and suddenly gave Li Ling a faint smile. "How do you think you performed?" he asked her. Li Ling tentatively said, "Still... okay?" "Not enough beating," Jin Jingyao gently commented. Li Ling: "..." So scary. How could he unconditionally shoot down everyone? She forced herself to stay calm and explained, "No, Director, don't misunderstand. I didn't mean that." Then she pitifully added, "I thought you didn't let them call 'cut' because you wanted to see me continue acting..." "I don't like them making decisions on their own," Jin Jingyao said flatly. This "them" who made decisions on their own might also include her. It seemed he was pointing her out. Li Ling's expression froze, and she sadly said, "Okay, Director, I understand what you mean—but the way I acted just now had a reason..." She changed her tone and started talking nonsense, giving a lengthy analysis of the character to rationalize her earlier action of hitting him. Some foolish directors would believe her and praise her for doing a lot of homework and having a deep understanding of the character. Jin Jingyao said, "Just two pages of script, and you can make up so much." Li Ling: "..." This kind of nonsense really couldn't continue, huh. Because she was too sad, she didn't notice that the director still hadn't let go of her hand. Their skin was connected. The unfamiliar, pulsating heartbeat lingered in his palm, like a continuously flowing river. And when she spoke, her lips slightly parted, very red, almost dazzling. It evoked a desire to pluck and destroy. Jin Jingyao's expression was so calm it was almost obscure. He stared at her for a long time before turning and walking off the stage. He walked all the way to the backstage. The atmosphere backstage was still subtly complex, with the main creative team all tightly watching the director. The assistant director sat in front of the monitor and timidly asked, "Director, should we cut out the unused footage from last night first?" Jin Jingyao said, "Send it all to me." - Afterwards, Li Ling learned from the assistant director that last night was not a rehearsal but an official shoot. In other words, she was actually hired right after her first audition. She could really star in Jin Jingyao's new movie. She sent a message to 9787532754335: "I passed the audition [crying][crying][crying][crying][crying]" 9787532754335: "Oh." He was so indifferent. Thinking this, Li Ling accidentally clicked into 9787532754335's homepage. He rarely posted on Weibo, usually just liking her posts, and apart from liking her posts, he liked her posts. But just this morning, 9787532754335 had liked another post. "Hand in Human Sculpture: Pure and Sexy Coexist"? What nonsense. - That evening, Li Ling received the script from the assistant director. The story unfolds in a flashback format, with the first scene being the interrogation from the audition. The male lead, Zhou Jing, had committed murder. After dismembering several actors from the troupe, he buried them in various locations within the theater, as if playing a cruel puzzle game. But in the interrogation room, no matter how the female officer questioned him, she couldn't get Zhou Jing to talk. He remained silent about the case. Li Ling noticed that the small segment she had improvised was actually written into the script. After the female officer pressed Zhou Jing under the light, he did not resist and obediently turned his body, giving her a creepy smile. He finally agreed to speak to her. And the first thing he said to her was, "I want to talk to you about my girlfriend." The story goes back to the beginning, when Zhou Jing was still an obscure actor living in a storage room behind the theater. His ex-girlfriend, A Ling, suddenly had a car accident, became paralyzed, and was kicked out by her family. With nowhere else to go, she came to him. Zhou Jing took her in without any grudge and cared for her meticulously. A Ling had a terrible personality: selfish, irritable, and spoiled. She couldn't accept losing a leg and often beat and scolded Zhou Jing, pouring all her anger onto him. But Zhou Jing never got angry with her. His personality was gentle, quiet, and he seemed like a completely different person from the sinister murderer at the beginning of the film. He seemed to genuinely love A Ling, no matter how excessive her behavior was, he accepted it all. A Ling gave up on herself and didn't want to stand up again. He would massage her, dress her, comb her hair, and even feed her by hand. As Li Ling read this, she suddenly had a strange feeling: Zhou Jing seemed to be indulging, even nurturing her. He didn't want her to stand up either, because if she did, he would lose her again. But they couldn't hide in this dark, sunless basement forever. Zhou Jing was still bullied by others in the troupe, often coming home covered in injuries. They became more and more aggressive, even breaking into the basement. Zhou Jing used the last bit of time to push A Ling into the closet. Through the dim crack of the door, she saw Zhou Jing being beaten, tears streaming down her face, but she couldn't make a sound. When Zhou Jing woke up again, he found that A Ling, who he always kept clean and pretty, was covered in blood, kneeling by the bed, treating his wounds. It was she who, with her incomplete body, had dragged him up. The plot abruptly stops here, and the rest of the content hasn't been revised yet. "Wasn't the script finalized a long time ago?" Li Ling asked the assistant director, puzzled. The other person replied nonchalantly, "Yes, it's been finalized almost eighty times now." Li Ling: "…Alright then." "What do you think of the script?" The assistant director asked her somewhat cautiously. Li Ling praised it enthusiastically, "As expected of a script the director has honed for two years, it's very high quality, a warm and healing pure love story." The other person's eyes lit up, "I knew it! It's so touching, I cried several times reading it. But Huang Yingqian keeps saying it's too twisted..." Li Ling silently gave a thumbs-up in her heart for Sister Huang's insight. This script, without a doubt, couldn't have been written by a normal person. She hadn't forgotten that at the very beginning of the story, Zhou Jing appeared as a murderer. So, no matter how gentle he acted in front of A-Ling, it always gave people a subtle, creepy feeling. Moreover, throughout the script, there seemed to be a constant underlying sense of cold scrutiny. You couldn't tell whether Zhou Jing loved A-Ling as a person or her brokenness. In the past, when she was still whole, he didn't have the courage to love her. But now, he could finally be needed by her. Perhaps he was also using her brokenness to achieve his own completeness. He built a nest for her. She was devoured by his gentleness, like an ignorant prey melting into a glistening spider web. He was obsessed with the illusion of repairing and reshaping her. It was perfectly normal for Huang Yingqian not to want to act in such a play. Thinking this, Li Ling curiously asked the assistant director, "Can you reveal who will play the female lead?" The other person was stunned for a moment, "Isn't it you?" Li Ling: ???? She was so shocked she almost stuttered, "I-I'm not the policewoman..." "It's all you," the assistant director said with certainty, "They are all you.""