CH 104

Wedding Destination

Yao Yin, who was standing nearby, was closely observing the situation, seemingly concerned that the reporters might ask some sensitive questions. However, Su Shen simply replied with a smile, “If there is good news, I’ll definitely share it with everyone.”

“There’ve been rumors that you guys developed a relationship while filming Little Sunlight? Is that true?” Another female reporter hurriedly asked. 

At that, Su Shen looked down with a smile before responding unhurriedly, “I guess you could say that. We had worked together before, so we were already familiar with each other.”

“When do you plan to marry Xie Yan?”

“Did Xie Yan pursue you first?”

“There’ve been rumors that you got the role in Path to Sin because of Xie Yan. Is that true?”

Question after question kept coming, but after answering a few, Yao Yin separated those reporters, stating that Su Shen had to go film and couldn’t continue with the interview. 

After returning to the dressing room, Yao Yin instructed her about a few matters, mainly reminding her to maintain a proper distance from other actors to avoid being maliciously photographed and subjected to unwarranted rumors. 

“Oh right, what do you think of that major leading role I mentioned to you before? The production team has been waiting for a long time, and I heard that the supporting cast is not bad, with Tang Xuan as a co-star. It’s considered a top-notch production within the industry, even most A-list starlets can’t get such an opportunity,” Yao Yin said as she sat on the sofa. 

Su Shen leaned back and looked at the script. Since it was a modern drama, the makeup, and styling weren’t too complicated. Upon hearing Yao Yin’s words, she frowned and pondered for a moment. “Alright, I’ll accept it.”

Having a renowned director with such sincerity, it wouldn’t be a loss to take on the role. It would also elevate her status on the silver screen. Besides, she could always take a break after finishing this drama. As for the wedding, Xie Yan wouldn’t likely need her to meddle much. 

Hearing this, Yao Yin smiled and said, “Alright, I’ll go and contact them. Just focus on filming for this while and prepare to become a bride.”

Yao Yin suddenly teased her, and Su Shen pretended to be calm and coughed lightly. After Yao Yin left, she continued looking at the script. In fact, filming was quite fulfilling for her and helped alleviate her nervousness. 

Today’s scene was about the female lead and her mother going to her aunt’s house to borrow money. However, her aunt not only refused to lend them money but also humiliated and insulted the female lead’s mother. At this time, the female lead was still in high school, and this scene would be shown as a flashback. 

Su Shen felt that she didn’t look old at all. Tying her hair into a ponytail and wearing a blue and white school uniform didn’t look out of place either. While the director was giving instructions, the newcomer who played the supporting female lead kept complimenting her on how natural she looked in the school uniform, as if she were 18 again. Su Shen said nothing in response. She was accustomed to such comments from such people. 

The director was satisfied with Su Shen’s makeup and styling. During the audition, the director had chosen Su Shen precisely because she looked younger compared to other popular actresses who often had to portray a forceful youthful image. 

“Su Shen, remember that there will be a close-up shot of your hand later. You need to clench your fist tightly, giving the impression that you’re suppressing your emotions,” the director said conscientiously while sitting in front of the monitor.

Su Shen nodded upon hearing that. Once everyone else was ready, she entered the house with the veteran actress playing her mother, preparing for filming to begin.

After everyone else was ready, the director then shouted “Action!”

Hearing this, the camera panned and focused on the veteran actress, who was playing her aunt, standing in the middle of the living room. With arms crossed, she cast a disdainful glance at the two women in front of her. “Borrow money? Ahaha, have you guys even taken a look at your current situation? Asking for money as soon as you open your mouth, do you think you guys can repay it? You really think my family runs a bank or something?”

“Please, Auntie, please help us. Mom really needs to do the surgery, or her condition will worsen!” Welling with tears, Su Shen suddenly dropped to her knees onto the cold floor tiles, bowing her head to the floor while pleading, “I promise you that I will find a job and earn money to repay you after I finish my college entrance exam.”

Her head hit the floor with a loud thud, and her mom hurriedly rushed forward to help her up in tears. However, her aunt merely glanced at them from the corner of her eye and snickered, “What can a girl like you do? Wait tables? Wash dishes?”

As she said that, she looked Su Shen up and down, her gaze lingering on her face, and sneered, “Or, are you planning to sell yourself?”

The humiliating words caused Su Shen’s eyes to widen, and just as she was about to say something, her mom tightly hugged her.

“Let’s not borrow anymore. Let’s go home, mom’s illness will be fine!” The middle-aged actress hugged Su Shen tightly, wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes, her body trembling slightly.

When the camera focused on Su Shen’s face, her black pupils stared fixedly at the “aunt” in front of her. Tears streaked her face, and her eye sockets were filled with bloodshot veins. Her fists at her sides gradually clenched, the knuckles turning white.

“Cut!”

As the director’s words fell, Su Shen slumped to the floor and couldn’t help but close her eyes, sniffling a bit. The rest of the crew looked at her in astonishment. Her acting was better than many top actresses in the industry.

The actress who played her mother patted her shoulder with a smile. “Well done, well done. The younger generation is surpassing the older generation. Your tears fell even faster than I did.”

What’s more remarkable was the intense resentment and restrained anger expressed in her eyes. It emanated from her entire being. She shed tears naturally without any preparation. Even some of the best actors and actresses would need a few seconds to build up the emotions, but Su Shen didn’t need to at all. From the moment the camera started rolling, her eyes turned red. Her professionalism was truly exceptional.

Facing another’s praise, Su Shen took the tissue handed to her by Xiao Zhou and wiped away her tears, and said with a smile, “Zhang laoshi, you flatter me. I had to take a moment to prepare; otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to cry so quickly.”

In fact, she had practiced the art of crying the most in her previous life. She had no power, so giving the impression of being weak and helpless were always a safe option. She hardly needed any preparation; she had honed her ability to control various crying techniques. However, she didn’t like crying. Who would willingly choose to?

Upon hearing her words, Zhang Mei smiled and continued to praise her a few more times. She genuinely admired her. The quality of acting was best understood by those who work closely together on set. 

The director didn’t expect this scene to go so smoothly and quickly, and Su Shen’s performance exceeded his expectations as well. He felt fortunate that he had chosen her for the role. 

This movie had a tight schedule, so they had to work late almost every day. Su Shen even missed the press conference for the drama with Li Hao. The drama aired with average viewership ratings initially, but it gained the top spot later due to positive word-of-mouth. She had three dramas that aired consecutively within a year, and all of them were hits. Yao Yin mentioned that she had now entered the ranks of A-list starlets without a doubt. As long as she achieved good results in movies, she would be ahead of Yang Zhi and the rest.

Su Shen was busy filming every day and had no time to pay attention to other matters. She didn’t even have time to chat with Xie Yan. However, even though Xie Yan returned home, he didn’t come to visit her either. Su Shen didn’t know what he was secretly planning. He was always so mysterious and liked to keep things to himself.

It wasn’t until the opening ceremony of a film festival that Su Shen finally saw him. This was the largest film festival in the country, and usually, only those with works could attend. Su Shen naturally had works, they just hadn’t been released yet. However, their crew had received an invitation, so on that day, she had to take a day off and walk the red carpet with the Lost crew. Director Li would also be attending. Xie Yan had to walk the red carpet with the crew from the film that he had previously shot in Africa. It was clear that his action film attracted more attention, despite its sensitive topic. However, with the director’s talent, the film wouldn’t disappoint. 

On the day of the opening ceremony, it was a bit chilly with autumn winds blowing. Su Shen was initially sitting in the production crew’s SUV, while Director Li kept discussing post-production matters and Ding Yan was busy doing makeup touch-ups. She was wearing a black fishtail dress, going for a sexy style. Su Shen sat there listening to Director Li until Xie Yan suddenly sent her a message. She used the excuse of having something to attend to and quietly got out of the car, getting into Xie Yan’s car behind them. In any case, they already went public, so if the reporters wanted to take pictures, it was whatever. 

It was just Xie Yan alone inside the car. He was wearing a black suit and was looking at a few papers. Seeing him, Su Shen immediately said with a hint of unhappiness, “You’ve been back for so long, I thought you went into hibernation or something.”

He had actually not come and visited her for such a long time!

Today, Su Shen was wearing a white one-shoulder evening gown, revealing her snow-white collarbone. Xie Yan couldn’t help but put down the paper in his hand and immediately reached out, pulling her shoulder and tenderly caressing her smooth arm. “I’ve been looking at wedding venues.”

Su Shen: “…….”

“You miss me that much?” Xie Yan leaned closer, staring into her eyes. Seeing her wandering gaze, he couldn’t help but chuckle and kissed her cheek. “I miss you too. I’ll send you back to set tonight.”

“No need!” Su Shen could tell that he had ulterior motives at a glance and immediately pulled his hand on her arm away and snorted. “I can go back on my own. You can continue with your preparations.”

Although there were still a few months left, all the preparations added up together would be quite troublesome. She was busy filming, and she wondered if it would be enough time for Xie Yan to prepare everything on his own.

“There are indeed many things to prepare.” Speaking of this, Xie Yan suddenly became serious and took a stack of papers from the side, placing them one by one in front of her. “These are the styles of the wedding bands, these are the wedding gown designs, and here are the styles of the traditional Chinese wedding attire. Also, we have high heels and headdresses. Take a look and let me know your preferences.”

Looking at the pile of papers laid out in front of her by Xie Yan, Su Shen was taken aback. It seemed that Xie Yan had indeed made a lot of preparations.

“After looking into a few wedding venues, I’ve chosen two places with different styles,” Xie Yan said, pulling out a few photos from a document bag. “This is Provence; we can have the wedding at the villa there. And this is a hotel in Beijing, it’s more retro.”

The photos each had their own charm. The flower fields in Provence looked especially beautiful, and it was definitely a popular choice for most girls. As for the retro-themed hotel, Su Shen had heard of it before, as it was quite famous. However, it was super expensive as it was designed to resemble manors from ancient times, complete with wait staff dressed as palace maids, creating an authentic historical atmosphere. After pondering for a while, Su Shen finally handed over the photo of the hotel.

“Let’s go with this one. I like the retro style.”

Xie Yan was not surprised; he felt that Su Shen was different from those girls who were obsessed with romance.

Just as Su Shen was about to continue choosing the wedding gown and traditional Chinese wedding attire, there was a knock on the car window. Su Shen rolled down the window and saw Zhong Quan standing outside.

“Hey, Yan ge, you sure know how to have fun. It’s almost our turn, and here you are secretly having a rendezvous with your girlfriend. You don’t even let go of this bit of time?” Zhong Quan glanced at the two of them inside and felt exasperated. Their honeymoon phase was quite lasting.

Zhong Quan was super tanned, probably due to filming in Africa. Now, seeing him donning a suit looked somewhat comical. Su Shen nudged Xie Yan. “Go over, I also have to go back.”

The red carpet appearances of their respective crews should be scheduled to be around the same time, so Su Shen also needed to head back soon.

Xie Yan held onto Su Shen’s arm and glanced at Zhong Quan, arching a brow. “Do you have a problem with me talking to my wife?”

Zhong Quan: “……..”

Blushing, Su Shen glared at him, and Zhong Quan was at a loss for words. He simply turned and walked away without looking back. He no longer recognized this still waters run deep man.

There were only a few cars left outside, mostly of prominent crews. Su Shen freed her arm from his grasp and glared at him irritably, saying, “Who’s your wife? Don’t talk nonsense.”