CH 143

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Generally, the first scene of the crew will be the most important plot in the whole play. As long as the first scene is filmed successfully, there usually won’t be any major problems down the road.



Director Bian Tan You had a serious expression as he glanced at his watch. There were five more minutes until it was time to film. Both the male and female lead as well as the second male lead are already waiting on the set.



In the first scene, the female lead, Tao Tao, accidentally saw the male lead being intimate with his concubine and ran away in sadness.



When in fact, the emperor Luan Qing Xiao played as was only hugging a human-shaped dummy.



Inside the room, Yin Chong held a human-shaped dummy with one arm and affectionately reached out to touch the dummy's face, softly whispering, "I seem to have fallen in love with you." The frame was all shot from Luan Qing Xiao's body, the dummy's face only needed to blur afterwards.



When the emperor's personal maid, Tao Tao, brought tea to Yin Chong, from outside the window she vaguely saw Yin Jue holding a concubine-dressing woman intimately and affectionately confessing to the woman.



Tao Tao was heartbroken and the tea set in her hand fell to the ground, making a crisp sound.



Inside the room, Yin Chong heard the sound and released his arm around the dummy. At this time, the camera aimed at the dummy’s face. It turns out the dummy was made based on the shape of Tao Tao, even its face was the same as Tao Tao.



Yin Chong placed the dummy on the imperial concubine's ta before turning around and heading out to check the situation, only to see a broken tea set under the window.



Furrowing his brows, Yin Chong glanced at the fragments of the tea set on the ground. When he suddenly remembered that he ordered his shadow guard to only let Tao Tao in, so no one else was allowed to approach here, his complexion changed.



Yin Chong’s face sank as his face turned pale.



"Where’s Tao Tao?" She asked at the empty palace.



A black-clothed man flew down from the roof and knelt in front of Yin Chong on one knee with his forehead pressing against the stone green ground, "Shadow One has seen the Emperor. Answering the Emperor, Miss Tao ran away in the direction of the peach blossom forest. Shadow Three has followed behind Miss Tao to protect her safety."



"Go and take the dummy on the imperial concubine’s ta inside the room to my chambers, make sure no one sees you." Once he finished speaking, Yin Chong hurriedly chased in the direction of the peach blossom forest.



"Okay, cut! A pass on the first take." Bian Tan You satisfactorily raised his head from behind the camera, "Let’s take a break and prepare for the next peach blossom forest scene." Bian Tan You said on the walkie-talkie and the on-site staff.



After Bian Tan You’s “cut”, Luan Qing Xuan’s assistant, Xiao Lu, immediately came over with some freshly squeezed orange juice, "Teacher Luan, it’s freshly squeezed, have a taste."



Luan Qing Xiao accepted and took a sip. Looking around, she didn't see the person she was looking for and asked, "Where is the female lead?"



Xiao Lu replied, "Behind you."



Luan Qing Xiao turned around and saw Nie Zhen'er next to the festooned gate.



But next to Nie Zhen'er, there was a man standing beside the festooned gate.



The man was so smiling and gentle that even Nie Zhen'er, who’s always been timid, could talk to him while looking straight at him.



"Fu Xing Hua." Before Luan Qing Xiao entered the virtual world, Qu Wei said that the Plot Correction Research Institute didn’t have time to recruit new employees, so they could only temporarily program a virtual character to act as the male lead.



Qu Wei told Luan Qing Xiao to be careful, because the virtual characters don’t have real human emotions. Under the algorithm, they will only use the most efficient means to achieve their goals until the goal is met. If one way is blocked, they’ll find another way. It wasn’t impossible for them to hurt others in the process.



If Luan Qing Xiao dies in the virtual world, it means that her mission has failed. Not only will it affect the bonus, this matter will also have a significant impact on Nie Zhen'er. For all they knew, it could undo all the previous efforts and Nie Zhen'er's attitude towards life will become pessimistic again.



Luan Qing Xiao strode over with her hands behind her back in an imposing manner, "What are you guys talking about?" Her voice was cold as her frosty eyes fell on Nie Zhen'er.



Seeing Luan Qing Xiao, Nie Zhen'er lowered her head awkwardly, not daring to look at her.



"It's nothing, Big Brother Fu is practicing my lines with me." Nie Zhen'er mumbled.



The temperament around Fu Xing Hua was completely opposite to that of Luan Qing Xiao. Whether it be his appearance or demeanor, he gave people the feeling of a spring breeze.



He looked at Nie Zhen'er tenderly, "Zhen'er is very talented. Given time, she will definitely become a great actress."



Nie Zhen'er couldn't help raising her head and looking at Fu Xing Hua with bright eyes, "Big Brother Fu, really? I really have talent?"



Nie Zhen'er has always been cautious and her being an actress was after much careful consideration.



Nie Zhen'er is a peach demon, so she needed to absorb qi or dual cultivation with other demons to improve her cultivation so that she won’t degenerate back into an ordinary peach tree again. Who knew the qi on Origin Star would be so weak that the efficiency of Nie Zhen'er's absorption can't match the speed of qi consumption of her body? With the exception of a plant called the Sea Blue Grass can gather qi around its surroundings.



However, the Sea Blue Grass was too difficult to nurture. The nutrients it needed required tens of thousands of credits to take care. Soon, the savings Nie Zhen'er brought from the earth  couldn't make her ends meet.



Fortunately, when Nie Zhen'er was on the verge of bankruptcy, the gold-rank manager of Origin Star's largest brokerage company took a fancy to Nie Zhen'er and persuaded her to sign in as an actress.



Once Nie Zhen'er learned actors' salaries were incredibly high, she signed under the agency without any hesitation with her Sea Blue Grass.



Her manager had high expectations of Nie Zhen'er. After Nie Zhen'er signed the contract, she hired a posture teacher, etiquette teacher and acting teacher.  One year of learning later, Nie Zhen'er became the female lead in《Tao Zhi Yao Yao》directed by the famous director, Bian Tan You, under the operation of the company.



Because every film of Bian Tan’s aimed to win awards, the casting is always extremely strict. Nie Zhen'er was chosen not only because of her company, but also because of the many similarities between her and the female lead.



For example, the female lead is a peach demon and she’s a carrier of the peach tree gene.



The female lead was sensitive, simple and sentimental, whereas Nie Zhen'er's personality is similar to that of the female lead. It was almost like she was the actual character herself.



Nie Zhen'er didn't know anything about acting, but after a year of training in the agency, she has fallen in love with acting.



Prior to this, Fu Xing Hua has filmed several movies with several of them achieving great results. In one swoop leap, Fu Xing Hua instantly became the newest popular star and was labeled a capable actor and idol by the media.



Being praised by Fu Xing Hua for her talent, Nie Zhen'er was extremely happy and immediately forgot Luan Qing Xiao's existence.



"Of course Zhen'er has talent." Fu Xing Hua explained gently, "Director Bian is notorious for being picky. If your performance was bad just now, you would’ve been scolded by Director Bian pinching you by your ears."



Nie Zhen'er couldn't believe it, "Director Bian swears at people?" He obviously seemed just like a kind uncle.



Seeing the two of them chatting happily and turning a blind eye to her, Luan Qing Xiao couldn't help but snort and deliberately scaring Nie Zhen'er, "He doesn’t only swear at people. If you act in a way that doesn't suit Director Bian, Director Bian is likely to be annoyed enough to hit you."



With a frightened look, Nie Zhen'er’s eyes widened as her mouth hung open slightly, "I don’t have any experience, and-and I’m also afraid of pain." What should I do? If Bian Tan You really beat her, it would definitely be too painful to even control herself from transforming back to her peach tree form. By then, her identity will definitely be revealed.



Fu Xing Hua comforted, "Don't be afraid, Zhen'er. Teacher Luan is just teasing you, Director Bian doesn’t hit people." Seeing Nie Zhen'er didn't believe him, Fu Xing Hua continued, "I’ve acted in Director Bian's movies before/ No matter how the actors behave, Director Bian has never used violence. Besides, with your acting skills this good, Director Bian probably won’t even raise his voice at you."



Hearing Fu Xing Hua's words, Nie Zhen'er felt less scared. She raised her head and cautiously asked Luan Qing Xiao to verify, "Teacher Luan, is this true?"



Because there was a glimmer of trust in Nie Zhen'er's eyes and that light was directed towards her, Luan Qing Xiao's heart was smoothened. So she stopped teasing Nie Zhen'er and answered, "En, Director Bian doesn't beat or curse people."



"Great!" Nie Zhen'er let out a sigh of relief. With a cute smile on her face, her almond eyes and red lips curled up. As the breeze blew, her soft robe rose with the wind.



For a moment, Luan Qing Xiao's gaze stayed on her. By the time the sudden breeze had passed, Luan Qing Xiao had looked away.



"Teacher Luan, Xing Hua, Zhen'er, Director Bian said you guys needed to be the peach blossom forest for the next scene." The staff came to inform them.



"Thank you, we’ll go right away." Nie Zhen'er said.



Besides the film city, there was a mountain with a peach blossom forest. It is currently the late spring season, the peach blossoms are at their peak blossoming. From a distance, it looked like a pink cloud.



Tao Tao sadly ran to the depths of the peach forest, watching the delicate peach blossoms on the branches of peach trees and burst into tears.



When Yin Cong was an unfavored prince, he loved coming to the peach blossom forest the most. Every time he came, he would always sit under these branches and tell her what was wrong.



Because Tao Tao absorbed the qi of heaven and earth all day and night, her divine consciousness was formed a long time ago. Although she couldn’t become a human being yet, she could understand words as well as experiencing the joys, angers, sorrows and happiness of humans.



Amidst Yin Chong's confessions, Tao Tao finally couldn't resist falling in love with him. As a result, she pushed herself to cultivate into human form and approached Yin Jue as a maid in the palace.



But just when she thought she could get Yin Jue's love, she suddenly discovered that he was in love with someone else. Tao Tao felt hopelessness, her heart ached like it was about to split.



Leaning against the peach blossom tree, Tao Yao raised her head and stared at the pale pink cloud above her head, a tear slid from the corner of her eyes.



"I don't want to be a human anymore. It was so much better being a tree."



A gust of wind blew by, making the petals fall one after another.



In plain robes and black hair, the handsome Yin Jue arrived. He walked to Tao Tao and took out a snow-white handkerchief to gently wipe the tears from Tao Tao's eyes.



"Little  Peach, don't you like to laugh the most, why do you hide here to cry today?" Yin Jue's voice was as gentle as his person.



Hearing Yin Jue's voice, Tao Tao's dim eyes finally dyed with some light. Her voice was slightly hoarse, "How did Prince find me?"



"Zhao Xue Fei saw you ran toward the peach forest and noticed something was off, so she found someone to pass me a message."



"Little  Peach, what happened? If something’s wrong, you have to tell me. I’ll find a way to help you resolve it." Yin Jue glanced at Tao Tao’s reddened eyes in distress.



Tao Tao first smiled, then shook her head. The next moment it was as if she couldn’t hold herself back. Her smile disappeared from her face and her head drooped a little as tears fell on the ground, wetting the small area under her.



"He... fell in love with another woman." Tao Tao's thin shoulders trembled.



Yin Jue knew who Tao Tao was talking about. He couldn't help holding Tao Tao into his arms, and pleaded in a low voice, "Little Peach, don't like him anymore. How about you like me..."



At this moment, Yin Jue entered the peach forest.



Seeing two people embracing in the peach forest, one is his younger brother and the other is a woman he likes, Yin Jue's eyes darkened. His hands are clenched tightly, forcing his nails into the flesh of his palms, but Yin Jue can't feel the slightest pain from his hands.



Because his heart hurts more than his hands.



Yin Chong tried his best to restrain his emotions before slowly making his way over. Standing a few feet in front of the two of them, he uttered in a cold voice, "Yin Jue, let go of Tao Tao."



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Notes:

shadow guard (暗卫): basically secret guards for royalty that are supposed to protect from afar and out of sight