Xia Yuan slowly rose from her bed and proceeded to freshen up in silence. When she emerged, her makeup was flawlessly applied.
Descending the stairs, she noticed her brother had returned from his business trip.
“Brother, you’re back.” Xia Yuan approached, lifting a gift box from the table with a smile. “What did you bring me from your trip?”
Xia Ke smiled, affectionately ruffling Xia Yu’an’s hair. “Take a look for yourself.”
Eagerly, Xia Yuan unveiled the contents.
A diamond bracelet.
It sparkled brilliantly. Xia Yuan, delighted, slipped it onto her wrist and flaunted it before Xia Ke. “Thank you, brother.”
Seeing Xia Yuan’s joy, Xia Ke felt his irritation subside. He asked calmly, “Yuan’er, do you have any plans for today?”
Xia Yuan was forthright. “I’m meeting Meng Xiyue for dinner tonight.”
Hearing it wasn’t Li Ting, Xia Ke’s smile widened. He was already aware of the situation.
He hadn’t expected Li Ting to disrespect his sister, a childhood friend, in such a public manner.
Despite his friendship with Li Ting, Xia Ke’s loyalty was to his family. Yuan’er was his only kin, and he wouldn’t allow anyone to mistreat her.
Yet, his sister’s infatuation with Li Ting was a constant worry for Xia Ke.
Observing Xia Yu’an admiring the bracelet, he casually inquired, “Have you booked a place for dinner?”
Xia Yu’an shook her head. “I’ll ask her.”
Xia Ke, with a smile, suggested, “There’s a Western restaurant with a great ambiance I know of. I’ve made a reservation but have a meeting tonight. Why don’t you and Miss Meng go?”
“Okay.” Xia Yuan trusted her brother’s suggestion without hesitation.
Xia Ke, the company president, was always busy. After their conversation, he returned to work.
After her meal, Xia Yuan went to meet Hua Yingying.
This is her first time investing in a movie. To be precise, it’s the first time she’s seriously used money for business.
Wearing sunglasses and driving a red limited edition sports car, she arrived at the set in a flamboyant manner.
…
On the set.
Zhang Yuan, a newly graduated director, is taking charge of filming for the first time. Looking through the camera, he loudly shouted “Cut”.
The actor, who was in the middle of a scene, immediately stopped.
Zhang Yuan, holding the script, clapped his hands as if to vent, “Wang Xuan, you’re supposed to be a domineering young lady, can you stop being so petty?”
The script “The Third Man” revolves around a suspense theme.
The character Yan Zhenzhen, played by Wang Xuan, is a proud and wealthy daughter and an important witness.
Wang Xuan’s demeanor isn’t quite right. Despite having a look of disdain, she fails to convey Yan Zhenzhen’s arrogance and dominance, resulting in a rather nondescript performance.
However, their crew is strapped for cash. Even with an investment of 10 million, they can’t afford to hire second- or third-tier actors.
They can only afford to hire some seventh- or eighth-tier artists or new actors, leading to performances that are unpolished and stiff.
Among them, Wang Xuan is the most problematic. She is considered the most beautiful in the cast, and her role as the high-class young lady Yan Zhenzhen is crucial.
But her acting skills are painfully lacking.
After wasting who knows how much film, Zhang Yuan began to consider replacing actors.
At that moment, the crisp sound of high heels clicked, followed by an exclamation: “Yuan’er, why are you here?”
Recognizing the voice as Hua Yingying, who played the lead actress in the crew and whose acting skills Zhang Yuan admired, he turned around instinctively to see who it was.
With just one glance, he couldn’t look away.
The newcomer was dressed in a tight black dress, her skin snow-white, and her figure graceful. She casually removed her sunglasses, revealing a pair of beautiful eyes.
Her eyes are very beautiful, like peach blossoms, the ends of her eyes are slightly raised, her pupils are light brown, and she is extremely charming at a glance.
The lipstick is rose red, so delicate and beautiful.
A face that is so beautiful and almost meandering that people can’t take their eyes away.
Wearing a pair of seven-centimeter high heels, just standing there was the center of the crowd.
Xia Yu’an didn’t know that her appearance would have such a big impact on the director here. She looked at the slightly shabby rejection and said, “Is this the crew I invested in?” She raised her eyelashes casually, which was full of disgust.
Hua Yingying said sheepishly: “Yes, the crew needs to spend money on too many things.”
Ten million seems like a lot, but the only investor in the entire crew is Xia Yuan. Once it’s spent, there’s not much left.
Xia Yuan thought the crew was having so much fun, but visually there were not many good-looking actors, not even one who could compete with her.
Xia Yuan put on her sunglasses again, and stretched out her hand, which was slender and white, with delicate texture and crystal-clear fingertips, like mutton-fat jade that had been sunk at the bottom of the lake for several years.
“Then I’ll add another 10 million. Don’t make it so shabby and embarrass me.”
If the circle knew that the crew she invested in was so poor, they might laugh at her.
“Then you have a good time filming, I’ll leave first.”
Xia Yuan turned around and left as she was not interested.
Hua Yingying had no idea why the other party came here.
Xia Yuan hadn’t taken a few steps when she heard a voice that was so out of control that it screamed: “Wait, wait.”
Xia Yu’an tilted her head, looked at the tall and thin man running over through her sunglasses, and raised her chin slightly: “Is something wrong?”
Zhang Yuan said quickly: “Hello, I am Zhang Yuan, the director of “The Third Man”.”
To be honest, Xia Yuan was currently feeling psychologically uncomfortable with the director’s profession.
Xia Yu’an said coldly: “Xia Yuan.”
Zhang Yuan didn’t mind Xia Yuan attitude at all. He smiled and said, “Miss Xia, you are so beautiful. Have you ever thought about acting?”
Xia Yuan had never considered it.
Seeing Xia Yuan’s refusal, Zhang Yuan quickly said, “Miss Xia, there’s a role in the crew that’s perfect for you, and it doesn’t have many lines.”
“Miss Xia, as an investor in this crew, you wouldn’t want your investment to go to waste, right? Let’s give it a try.”
Hearing her name, Zhang Yuan knew she was the sole investor in the film crew.
Twenty million.
The thought of her investment going to waste troubled Xia Yuan, as she didn’t have much liquidity.
However, if acting was just for fun, she thought the expenditure might be worth her happiness.
Coincidentally, her brother had been encouraging her to find something to do.
“Okay, but does it involve a lot of lines? I don’t like memorizing,” she said. She was here for fun, not to suffer.
Zhang Yuan breathed a sigh of relief, “No, not many at all.”
…
*
Meng Xiyue snapped back to reality and realized it was already eight o’clock.
She was working from home, claiming it was a holiday for herself, but she couldn’t afford to relax too much, especially during this critical period for NS.
She grabbed her car keys, coat, and mobile phone, and as she was about to leave, she noticed a notification on her phone about light rain expected tonight.
Before leaving, Meng Xiyue took an umbrella.
It was already half an hour later when she arrived at the designated restaurant.
After being escorted to her reserved seat by the restaurant’s waiter, Meng Xiyue found she had arrived fifteen minutes early.
She ordered a glass of water, checked the latest stock market news on my phone, and waited for Xia Yuan.
When Xia Yuan hurried over, she immediately spotted Meng Xiyue in the corner.
The seat her brother had reserved was on the top floor, by the floor-to-ceiling windows, offering a view of S City’s dining scene at night, which was both romantic and poetic.
“You are eight minutes late.”
Obsidian eyes fixed on Xia Yuan, her gaze slightly elevated with an air of indifference.
Xia Yuan’s cheeks flushed. She had a lot of fun on the set today. She never imagined that filming could be so enjoyable.
Yet, she still put on the demeanor of a young lady, and huffed softly: “It won’t happen again.”
Seeing that the other party still regarded her with those cold eyes.
She lifted her chin higher and lowered her eyelashes, not daring to meet Meng Xiyue’s gaze: “I’m sorry.”
Meng Xiyue looked away: “Let’s order.”
