Lin Qinghe was incredibly excited for the day of the commencement ceremony. Unexpectedly, the day before, You Rong had a realization and belatedly called Gu Wensheng to inquire about his on-screen romantic lead.
He had assumed it would be someone as unknown in the entertainment industry as himself, or perhaps a contract actress under Shang Hua Pictures. He never expected it to be Lin Qinghe.
Upon learning it was Lin Qinghe, You Rong's intuition told him something was amiss.
Ultimately, You Rong said nothing and hung up Gu Wensheng's call.
He would not breach the contract because Lin Qinghe was the female lead of "Ask the Heavens"; he couldn't afford the breach of contract fee.
On the day of the commencement, Lin Qinghe finished her makeup in the dressing room and eagerly stepped out. Her eyes immediately fell upon You Rong, who, having completed his ancient costume styling, looked even more dashing and refined.
Lin Qinghe walked over to greet him, "You Rong, what a coincidence! We meet again."
You Rong glanced at Lin Qinghe, his brow furrowing slightly.
Too many coincidences happening together were no longer coincidences.
You Rong nodded indifferently, "...Mm, what a coincidence."
Lin Qinghe's lips curved upward. She could tell what You Rong was thinking and was about to continue speaking when a young woman approached. Her voice sweet, she called out, "Sister Qinghe, Brother You Rong, hello. I am the actress playing the second female lead, Qin Tiantian. I hope you two seniors will guide me in the future."
You Rong nodded politely, "Hello. Guiding is too kind. I wouldn't call myself a senior; we should all learn from each other."
Qin Tiantian smiled and nodded, "Okay, thank you, Brother You Rong."
Lin Qinghe's expression, however, changed.
She recalled that the female lead, Qin Tiantian, had been an extra in the drama where You Rong and the original host had acted. How had she suddenly become the second female lead? And also... this was the heiress of the Qin Corporation. If Qin Tiantian took a liking to You Rong, she could easily help him make a brilliant comeback. If You Rong was moved by her... wouldn't she be out of the picture!
Thinking this, Lin Qinghe's expression darkened considerably.
Seeing Lin Qinghe's somber silence, Qin Tiantian felt a little apprehensive. "Sister Qinghe, why aren't you speaking? Did I... say something wrong just now?"
Lin Qinghe composed herself, "It's nothing. Hello. As You Rong said, we'll be filming together in the same crew from now on, so let's learn from each other."
Qin Tiantian seemed a little surprised and sheepishly scratched her head. "But... Sister Qinghe is a very talented senior. To say we'll learn from each other is too humble. I... I will definitely work hard to learn from Sister Qinghe!"
Lin Qinghe subtly glanced at You Rong from the corner of her eye. Seeing him standing with Qin Tiantian made her uneasy. She found an excuse, "The commencement ceremony is about to start. I think the director is already waiting for us. Let's go, we shouldn't keep the director waiting too long." From the Su Dan Novel Network.
Qin Tiantian nodded vigorously, "Okay! Let's go."
Lin Qinghe, who had been walking ahead, realized that You Rong and Qin Tiantian were matching her pace behind her. She subtly slowed down and then positioned herself between You Rong and Qin Tiantian.
Qin Tiantian blinked in confusion, "Sister Qinghe... is there something you want to tell me?"
Lin Qinghe's face remained unblushing, "No."
"Oh... really? Hehe..." Qin Tiantian forced a smile, still finding it strange. Lin Qinghe had slowed down and walked to her side; it really looked like she had something to say to her.
After the commencement ceremony ended, the first scene to be filmed was between You Rong and Qin Tiantian. Lin Qinghe's mood could not have been more depressed.
The plot involved You Rong playing Gu Fan, a dissolute young man who secretly defied his family to go to Qi Yue Peak to learn martial arts. His childhood sweetheart, Ye Xue'er, discovered this and insisted on following him. Qin Tiantian played Ye Xue'er.
The scene being filmed today was Gu Fan sneaking out of his home, being caught by Ye Xue'er, and the two of them heading to Qi Yue Peak together.
Lin Qinghe's scenes had not yet started. She didn't return to the dressing room to wait; instead, she stood at the filming site to watch You Rong and Qin Tiantian shoot their scene.
As she watched... Lin Qinghe became lost in her thoughts.
She had been chasing after You Rong, doing so much for him, yet he knew nothing. She had never directly confessed her feelings for him... Should she find a suitable opportunity to confess to You Rong?
Even if he didn't agree immediately, he should at least know that she liked him.
This suitable opportunity... Lin Qinghe pondered it carefully but couldn't find one for now.
"Sister Qinghe, Sister Qinghe..."
Lin Qinghe was startled back to reality from her thoughts and looked at Yuan Xiaoai, who was calling her, with a frown. "What is it?"
"It will be Sister Qinghe's turn to film in the next scene. We should go back to the dressing room to touch up our makeup." Yuan Xiaoai looked around and whispered, "Sister Qinghe, do you dislike Qin Tiantian? I see you staring at her, and you seem unhappy..."
Lin Qinghe instinctively looked up at You Rong and Qin Tiantian who were filming. Seeing Qin Tiantian arm-in-arm with You Rong, and You Rong joking with her, her frown deepened.
Lin Qinghe withdrew her gaze and lowered her eyes, "...No! Let's go, we need to touch up our makeup in the dressing room!"
"Ah? Oh... okay."
When Lin Qinghe returned to the dressing room to touch up her makeup, she thought about it and sent a message to Zhang Shanghua, asking if he could replace Qin Tiantian as the second female lead. Although it was a less than honorable move, it was the most direct way to avoid the risk of mission failure.
Unfortunately, but also as Lin Qinghe expected, Zhang Shanghua said Qin Tiantian could not be replaced because she was a candidate designated by the investor.
Lin Qinghe put down her phone and sighed.
Indeed... As the heiress of the Qin Corporation, Qin Tiantian couldn't just be replaced so easily.
Lin Qinghe shook her head, telling herself not to care about Qin Tiantian. After all, You Rong's attitude towards Qin Tiantian wasn't particularly good, and they might not develop feelings for each other.
Although she thought this way, Lin Qinghe still couldn't truly stop caring.
When it was her turn to film a scene with You Rong, where she played the senior disciple of Qi Yue Peak and they were supposed to dislike each other, she couldn't get into character. The director repeatedly called cut. Lin Qinghe became increasingly annoyed, especially with Qin Tiantian observing from the side.
Seeing Lin Qinghe's obvious agitation, You Rong frowned and said to the director, "Perhaps we should take a break and ask unrelated personnel to leave the set. It might be too noisy, and Qinghe can't get into character quickly."
The director followed You Rong's suggestion and asked the other actors who weren't filming to leave. This time, Lin Qinghe's state improved significantly.
However, after filming a few scenes, Lin Qinghe became erratic again, constantly causing minor issues. She would accidentally step on her costume and fall onto You Rong, or accidentally hit You Rong with a prop in her hand, then hastily pull him to apologize profusely.
You Rong's expression changed, and he finally proposed to the director to end the filming for the day early, saying Lin Qinghe was tired and should go home to rest.
Seeing that Lin Qinghe was truly not in the right state, the director reluctantly agreed and announced that filming would conclude for the day.
At the end of the day, Lin Qinghe approached You Rong. Just as she was about to say something, You Rong glanced at her indifferently and dropped a pointed remark, "Focus on your acting," before turning and leaving without looking back.
Lin Qinghe watched You Rong's retreating back, grinding her teeth in anger.
She had deliberately tried to throw herself at him just now, but You Rong, that blockhead, showed absolutely no reaction!