CH 107

Marriage Registration

After saying that, there was suddenly silence from the other end. Su Shen glanced at her phone and then softly said, “Or you can go to your mom’s place for a few days. You’re often away from them, so you probably haven’t spent much time with them.”

She felt that if Xie Yan went back to stay, his parents would definitely be thrilled.

After waiting for her to finish speaking, an insipid voice came from the other end of the call, “They went on a trip.”

Su Shen: “…….”

Clearing her throat, she said softly as she snuggled in the covers, “Then order some better takeout for yourself. In any case, you’ve been eating takeout for several months while on set before.”

After saying that, Su Shen felt sorry for him and quickly added, “I’m going to sleep now. Take care of yourself and rest well. Goodnight.”

After hanging up the phone, Su Shen sent a message to Zhao Tong, asking him to bring some nutritious food for Xie Yan. There were some nutritious soups and dishes from outside that were not bad. 

In mid-September, Su Shen went on set. The production team had also officially announced the drama. It was also the first time that Su Shen learned about the cast of the drama. Previously, she had only heard from Yao Yin that the cast was not bad. After all, the production team and director were well-known for their reputation. The actor chosen to play the male lead was one of the hottest rising stars on TV in recent years. He had even won a Best Actor in Drama award and was not plagued with scandals. Thus, he was well-liked by the public.

The supporting male lead had a substantial amount of scenes, and the actor chosen for the role was a popular young actor. Despite having a xiao xian rou face, his acting was solid, and he had never starred in idol dramas before. He had always been in serious dramas. The other supporting male roles were also mostly known for their acting. 

For someone like Tang Xuan, she must’ve been cast as a special cameo because it was unlikely for her to be a supporting character given her stature. Thus, in the final cast list, she would be credited as a special cameo. Tang Xuan played the daughter of the Grand Tutor and was eventually betrothed to the male lead. However, neither of them harbored any affection for each other. They were forced into marriage due to an imperial decree. Meanwhile, the supporting female lead also had someone she liked, but circumstances prevented them from being together. At that time, the female lead was still young. When she grew up, an unexpected incident occurred where the supporting female lead’s beloved died due to someone’s scheme, wrongly framing the female lead for this. This sparked the supporting female lead’s hatred toward the female lead, leading her to plot against her. 

As for the actresses playing the supporting roles, their acting was pretty good, and their appearances didn’t seem to have been altered excessively with each of them having their own unique characteristics. However, once the official announcement of the cast was made, it was not surprising that the antis online would once again start ridiculing her.

Netizen A: Having a boyfriend to pave the way is too nice. To have a bunch of talented actors support Miss Su while overshadowing Tang Xuan, Meng Jiao, and others, Miss Su’s career is truly reaching new heights. [smiley facts]

Netizen B: To even overshadow the male lead, forgive me for saying this, but Miss Su’s status on the small screen isn’t that significant yet. [joy]

Netizen C: For those saying she’s overshadowing the male lead, can you please read the synopsis? In a female-centric drama, what’s wrong with the female lead taking the spotlight?

Netizen D: The antis are hilarious. All three of Su Su’s dramas have exceeded 2% viewership ratings this year, okay? And Little Sunlight had even surpassed 5%. Among the starlets, who else has such achievements?

Netizen E: As a passerby, I have to admit that Su Shen’s resources are too amazing. However, there’s no denying that her acting is impeccable. [joy]

Various catfights started again online. Su Shen was already used to it. On the day of joining the set, she was accompanied by Yao Yin. The opening ceremony was held at the Shanghai Film Park, and there were once again many reporters waiting outside. After Su Shen arrived, the rest of the cast also arrived one by one. It wasn’t until 10:30 am that they officially began the incense offering ceremony together.

The production team didn’t grant any interviews and neither did Su Shen, but a few other artists accepted some interviews. Meanwhile, Su Shen went to her dressing room to get her makeup and styling done.

Nowadays, things were different from before. She could have her own dressing room, and her costumes and styling were of high quality. The female lead in this drama had a substantial role, and a child star would play as her in her childhood. However, as the female lead grew up, Su Shen would have to portray the whole role on her own. She signed a four-month filming contract with the production team because her role was indeed quite demanding. However, she didn’t demand high remuneration. The production team offered a package price of 25 million RMB. Considering her current booking fee, some idol dramas would offer 30-40 million RMB for a single drama, but she didn’t ask for a higher remuneration. She would rather have the production team invest more in costumes and set designs.  

Today’s scene was the first meeting between the female and male leads. The female lead’s dress was torn by the supporting female lead’s dog, which led her to hide behind a rockery, intending to wait for a palace maid to find her. However, she unexpectedly encountered the male lead. The male lead was surprised that she didn’t fear him and became curious about her identity. He then helped her find a palace maid. The female lead finally put on a cloak brought by the palace maid and returned. 

Once her makeup and styling were done, Su Shen went to the set to take a look at the film site. The director was sitting in front of the monitor, speaking with the assistant director. Su Shen was actually quite curious as to why the director was so insistent on having her play this role.

“Su Shen, come here.”

Hearing someone call her, Su Shen immediately ran from behind the rockery to the director’s side by the monitor. The director was sitting there looking at the script while emphasizing, “When the camera pans from your right later, you then stick your head out.”

After glancing at the script, Su Shen nodded in understanding. When the scene was almost set, she took off her jacket and handed it to Xiao Zhou. The cool wind penetrated through the gaps in her clothes. Taking a deep breath, Su Shen then snuck behind the rockery. Only after the director shouted “action” did the camera slowly pan from outside the rockery.

Su Shen pressed her body against the stone wall, her eyes darting around. Suddenly, she reached out and grabbed onto a piece of rock, slowly sticking her head out. As the camera swept across her face, two figures also appeared on the cobblestone path on the other side. Upon seeing them, she immediately pulled back, but a loose stone in her hand accidentally rolled to the ground.

Startled, Su Shen remained huddled behind the rockery, afraid to make a sound. Meanwhile, the people outside continued to approach, step by step, getting closer.

“Your Highness?” The attendant glanced at the man.

The man waved his hand as his gaze fell behind the rockery. “Just a stray cat.”

Despite his words, he continued to stride toward the rockery, while his attendant remained in place and did not follow after.

As the camera focused on Su Shen’s face, she heard the voices from outside and slowly closed her eyes, as if relieved. 

“What are you doing?”

The sudden voice startled Su Shen, and she pressed her back against the stone wall. Blinking, she looked at the man who appeared outside the rockery. Her gaze swept over his exquisite attire before looking down and softly saying, “My… my dress got torn, I’m waiting for a palace maid.”

This scene was difficult to portray because it could easily turn into the female lead intentionally acting weak after sensing that the male lead’s identity is unordinary. However, Su Shen’s tone did not convey a sense of intentional weakness. It was more like a slightly embarrassed tone of a young girl mixed with a hint of stubbornness. The director sat in front of the monitor, watching the screen intently.

Meng Jiao glanced at the exquisite face of the girl in front of him. He had heard of Su Shen’s name before, considering she was so famous this year, constantly appearing on the screens. However, he hadn’t expected her acting to be quite impressive. Her acting could be considered one of the best among the young rising starlets he had encountered.

“Oh? You’re a princess? How come this prince has never met this royal sister before?” He crossed his hands behind his back, arched a brow, and fixed his gaze directly on her.

With her back still pressed against the stone wall, Su Shen slowly looked up and blinked as she explained straightforwardly, “I’m not a princess. Who said that living in the palace means being a princess?”

Her last phrase was as quiet as a fly. As Meng Jiao glanced at her again, he was about to take a step forward when Su Shen immediately reached out her hand in resistance. “Don’t come closer. My clothes are in disarray right now. My maid will be here soon.”

After speaking, as if she truly had heard the voice of a maid, Su Shen immediately looked straight at him and said, “See, someone is coming to find me.”

At that, Meng Jiao stared at her for a moment before turning around and disappearing from the frame.

“CUT!”

As the director’s word fell, the makeup artist immediately stepped forward to fix Su Shen’s hair and touch up on her makeup. The other actors of the crew couldn’t help but look at Su Shen in a different light. People had previously praised Su Shen’s acting, but they had thought it was just a marketing ploy. After all, the acting of the new generation of young rising starlets was mostly limited to idol dramas. However, they didn’t expect that upon closer observation, her acting was indeed impressive.

This scene was pretty much flawless and smoothly executed. Su Shen and Meng Jiao were also meeting for the first time, so the sense of unfamiliarity in this scene was perfectly portrayed. The director had previously watched one of Su Shen’s movies and had felt that she would be perfect for this role. It was a bold decision, but clearly, his intuition was right on the mark. 

After getting her makeup touched up, Su Shen went over to the monitor where Meng Jiao was also present. The director was watching the playback on the screen and said to both of them, “This scene was great, but there’s still a small flaw. You guys’ eye contact was a bit superficial. When the camera pans to you, treat it as if it’s the other person. At that moment, your gaze should linger a bit longer, capturing the atmosphere of the scene. However, it’s understandable that you guys may not have developed enough chemistry yet. It will improve with time.”

Upon hearing the director’s words, Su Shen nodded in agreement. Meng Jiao, who was standing beside her, said with a smile, “It’s my fault for not guiding her properly. It’s normal for her to miss these details.” 

Seeing him taking responsibility, Su Shen also smiled at him and said, “It’s my own oversight. I’ll take note next time.”

As she walked away with the script in her hand, Meng Jiao’s gaze darkened slightly. This Su Shen was quite his liking in many ways, but it was a pity that she already had a boyfriend. 

Su Shen took note of the director’s instructions for the subsequent scenes, but there were still two scenes that NGed. The director had high demands, striving for perfection in every shot. By the time she returned to the hotel, it was already 10:00 pm.

There were many actresses in this drama, and conflicts occasionally arose among them, such as disputes over costumes and makeup artists. There was even one who had tried to snatch Su Shen’s makeup artist. The other party was an actress past her prime who had once been very famous and perhaps felt that her fame was still as it once was. However, Su Shen firmly refused. What’s hers were hers.

However, big-name actresses like Tang Xuan were not interested in such petty matters, and she would occasionally even offer advice to Su Shen on some acting techniques. Su Shen would also engage in discussions with her about various matters.

On September 27th, Su Shen took half a day of leave and started packing her things in the afternoon to prepare to return to the hotel. She hinted at what she would be doing the next day but didn’t explicitly say. Seeing her energetically leaving with her belongings, Tang Xuan, sitting in a chair and drinking coffee, couldn’t help but smile and say, “Radiating with happiness.” 

Surrounded by crew members coming and going, nobody knew what Tang Xuan was referring to. Su Shen, feeling a bit embarrassed, looked down and quickly walked ahead.

After returning to the hotel and packing her belongings, Su Shen and Xiao Zhou headed to the airport. On the way, they stopped to take a few photos with some fans before entering the waiting lounge. By the time she arrived home, it was already 9:00 pm. Her mom saw her return but didn’t say anything, simply relaxing on the sofa with a face mask put on. 

Upon returning to her room, Su Shen took a shower and noticed her household registration placed on a cabinet. It must’ve been her mom who had put it there.

Feeling an itch in her nose, Su Shen didn’t know what to say. She lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep before picking up her phone, unsure of what to say to Xie Yan. She continued to toss and turn until she finally fell asleep in the middle of the night.

Woken up by her mom’s yelling the next day, Su Shen checked her phone and realized it was already 8:00 am. She could still hear her mom’s yelling from downstairs. After responding to her, she quickly got ready and headed downstairs. As she descended, she caught sight of a familiar figure sitting on the sofa, engaged in a conversation with her dad. Su Shen suddenly felt a bit nervous and quickly went back to her room to change into a nice outfit and applied some light makeup before finally making her way downstairs. 

“Look at what time it is, not even meticulous with marriage. This child is so thoughtless.” Mama Su shook her head while placing a plate of fruit on the coffee table.

Sitting on the sofa, Xie Yan smiled. “It’s alright. The appointment is at ten-thirty, we still have plenty of time.”

“It’s still unacceptable. Who knows if there will be traffic on the way with all this delay?” Mama Su continued to glare disapprovingly at Su Shen. 

Su Shen shrugged and then went to the dining area to have breakfast. She didn’t know what Xie Yan was chatting with her parents about. After finishing her meal, she went over to ask him to leave.

“Let’s go, let’s go. Look at how my mom is even more anxious than me,” Su Shen said, which caused her to receive a knock on her head from her mom. “Say that again and see what happens!”

As Xie Yan stood up, Su Shen quickly hid behind him, clutching his sleeve. She peeked out and looked at her mom, saying, “Alright, I won’t say it again. When I come back, I’ll personally cook a delightful meal for you guys, okay?”

Hearing her words, Mama Su had a dismissive expression and coldly snorted, “If you’re going, then hurry up. Don’t dawdle. As for cooking, it would be a good thing if you don’t burn down the kitchen.”

Hearing this, Xie Yan couldn’t help but turn around and glance at the helpless Su Shen. He didn’t understand why his mother-in-law would say such things. Could it be that his in-laws’ tastes were so picky that even the dishes made by Su Shen weren’t to their liking?

Seeing him staring at her, Su Shen quickly tugged at his sleeve. “What are you looking at?”

Snapping out of his thoughts, Xie Yan quickly gave his pleasantries to her parents before leaving with Su Shen.

The weather was a bit gloomy today, and the cold wind made Su Shen feel chilly. As she tilted her head, she noticed that Xie Yan had even styled his hair today. Despite the cold weather, he was only wearing two layers of clothing. However, his hand felt warm in hers. Su Shen looked down and found herself at a loss for words.

“From now on, you should move your things in with me,” Xie Yan said, gripping her cold hand tightly.

Su Shen looked up and stared at his distinct side profile, saying, “But we haven’t even had the wedding yet though?”

Hearing this, the person next to her looked down and looked at her intently.” Who said so?”

Seeing his serious expression, Su Shen immediately looked down and said compromisingly, “Okay, okay, I’ll move in then.”

Actually, there wasn’t much to move. Most of her things were already at Xie Yan’s place, she just needed to move herself there.

Hearing this, Xie Yan didn’t say anything else, holding her hand as they walked toward where the car was parked.

After getting into the car, Su Shen saw that He Hua was also inside. It seemed that he was afraid that there were many people at the Civil Affairs Bureau and that a hiccup may happen. He sat in the driver seat driving the car while Su Shen and Xie Yan sat in the rear. Upon seeing Su Shen, he said with a smile, “Congratulations, congratulations.”

Blushing, Su Shen turned around to look at the scenery outside the window. However, her heart was racing, feeling as if she were about to face the executioner’s block. She had never been this nervous before.

Su Shen was wearing a beige trench coat today, paired with a black and white checkered long skirt. Despite wearing multiple layers, her figure remained slender, especially her waist, which seemed unusually slim. Xie Yan didn’t know if it was his eyes or not, but he felt that Su Shen had become even thinner.

“Are there flowers outside?” He leaned over, staring at her fair and radiant face.

“Ah?” Su Shen turned back in confusion, only to meet his dark gaze. Instantly, she quickly cleared her throat and said, “No, it’s because I feel that the weather is nice today?”

He Hua: “…….”

“Really?” Xie Yan arched a brow before closing his eyes and leaning back to rest. “Continue looking then. It’s rare to have such good weather today.”

Outside was gloomy and dark, and Su Shen felt like slapping herself. But she was genuinely nervous, so nervous that she felt her heart might jump out of her chest.

The Civil Affairs Bureau was only a 40-minute drive from her house, but Su Shen felt that those 40 minutes felt like a blink of an eye. She wasn’t ready yet, but the car came to a stop.

“I’ll go inside and check if there’s a lot of people. You two come out quickly,” He Hua said, pushing open the car door and stepping out.

Sitting there, Su Shen felt tense all over, as if her heart was about to jump out of her chest.

Sensing her nervousness and unease, Xie Yan simply embraced her shoulder, leaned in, and planted a kiss on her lips before saying in a deep voice, “Trust me.”

As their eyes met, all she could see in his eyes was her own reflection. Surprisingly, Su Shen relaxed at that moment and was pulled into the Civil Affairs Bureau all muddleheaded. As they had made an appointment in advance, they didn’t have to wait in line for long. However, some of the procedures were still a bit complicated. It took about an hour to complete everything, and in the middle, one of the staff members excitedly took a few pictures with them. 

When Su Shen emerged from the Civil Affairs Bureau with the marriage certificate in hand, she noticed that the weather outside had cleared up. Standing next to her, Xie Yan glanced at the sky and smirked, “Indeed, the weather is quite nice today.”

Sighing, He Hua found it unexpected that the perennial bachelor had gotten married so fast. Since it didn’t concern him anymore, he decided to hail a taxi and head back. Meanwhile, Su Shen and Xie Yan got into the car and drove off.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Su Shen placed the marriage certificate in her bag. Surprisingly, she didn’t feel nervous anymore and was just calm throughout. Just at this moment, her phone rang, and she saw that it was her mom calling. Su Shen quickly answered the call. 

Upon hearing the voice from the other end, Su Shen responded slowly, “En, Xie Yan and I just finished. We’re heading back now.”

After a couple more sentences from the other end, Su Shen hung up the phone and fastened her seatbelt. She then turned to the person next to her and said, “Hurry up, Mom is waiting for us to have lunch.”

At that, Xie Yan put down his hand on the steering wheel and leaned in, asking, “What did you just call me?”

“What?” Su Shen looked at him puzzledly. 

With his hand resting on her shoulder, Xie Yan stared into her eyes and said, “Call me hubby henceforth.”