Chapter 10：History (2)

Naturally, the first name that came into Xiu Ling's mind after she had known about her pregnancy was Lin Kang.

After given the terms of her contract, Xiu Ling contacted her mother, Mrs. Xiu.

Mrs. Xiu, maiden name Chen Ning, had retained her married name as a sign of respect for Xiu Ling's father who passed away when Xiu Ling was still very young.

This meant that Xiu Ling was raised by her mother alone and they were everything each other had during that difficult time where Mrs. Xiu had to work multiple odd jobs to make ends meet.

Things got monumentally better when Xiu Ling managed to procure for herself a scholarship and left the humble village where she came from for her university where she met Joann.

Xiu Ling and her mother shared a vital bond and it was Mrs. Xiu whom Xiu Ling turned to for advice in such a tumultuous moment of her life.

On the phone, she explained to her mother the situation that she was in but she left out the part about the mistress agreement, hoping it would shed a better light on herself as well as Lin Kang.

Instead, like the plot of so many romance webnovels, she blamed her pregnancy on a drunken night. She did fill her mother in on the details of the contract that was offered to her by Lin Kang.

The first thing Mrs. Xiu told Xiu Ling was to leave the city and return to the countryside. She would help her raise the baby.

To be honest, that thought had entered Xiu Ling's mind before but after talking to Lin Kang, she knew that would not work out. The Lin family would not allow a stray child to grow up outside of their observation lest he or she grew up to contest their right to the inheritance. Xiu Ling told her mother that.

Mrs. Xiu was silent on the phone for a long time after that. Then again, what could she have said in such a situation?

In the end, she told Xiu Ling she would respect her decision no matter what it would be.

The pair of mother and daughter talked for a little while longer on the phone, there were more discussions and more tears. After the call ended, Mrs. Xiu went to pray, the only thing she could do for her poor daughter then.

If she had the money, she would hop on a train or plane to accompany her daughter but things were financially hard as it was, so she could only be there for her daughter in thoughts and in prayers.

Back in the city, Xiu Ling was caught in this choice that would realistically decide the rest of her life.

Ultimately, there was one individual who played a key role in influencing her final decision, and that person was her unborn child.

She did not have the heart to abort a life, it would probably kill her should they force her to take away her child. Since she was going to bring her child into the world, she would only want the best for the child, and objectively speaking, the Lin family would provide her child with the best prospect in life. That was why she chose to accept this contract from Lin Kang and landed herself in this hot mess.

…

"Sister Joann, here's a cold bottle of water," Said an innocent-looking young woman to Joann at the movie set, while they waited for the next scene to start.

"Qing Qing, you should not have, you are an actor yourself, you are going to make me look like I am bullying you with my seniority," Joann replied with a good-natured smile.

The young woman by the name of Qing Qing was an aspiring new actor that was signed to Joann's entertainment agency. The young woman took to Joann from the very beginning and Joann felt a certain chemistry with the young woman probably because Qing Qing's innocence reminded her so much of her best friend, Xiu Ling.

In other words, Joann had taken Qing Qing under her wings. In fact, the reason Qing Qing was there on the set was because Joann, the main character helped her negotiate a role from the director.

Speaking of the set, this was for the movie adaptation of Ye Fei Ye's famous romance webnovel, Bringing the Nation's Husband Home. Joann would be playing the role of Qiao Anhao while Qing Qing would be taking the part of Lin Shiyi. In essence, Joann, the actor would be playing herself, an actor.

"Furthermore, Sister Joann is kind enough to let me stay at your side so I can watch and learn from the shadows. For that, I am eternally grateful."

"Silly girl, what I did was merely negotiated for you the opportunity for an audition. You won the part with your own talent and hard work," Joann said but internally she was still flattered.

The director broke their conversation short by calling everyone to attention. The scene was finished set up, and the shooting was going to start soon.

The scene they were going to shoot that day was near the end of the story. It was already at the happy part of their relationship.

The movie was intended for a more mature audience, trying to be as loyal to the source material as possible so there was bound to be plenty of hot and steamy scenes and the scene that day was one of those.

"Joann, what is your opinion with regards to nudity? I know your agency has negotiated the use of substitute but being authentic will definitely boost the tickets sales. A movie can always use more selling point. Of course, I understand if you don't feel comfortable doing it in due deference to your husband," Said the director.