Chapter 188 - 156: The Beginning of the Scandal

Words : 1411 Updated : Sep 21st, 2025

Chapter 188: Chapter 156: The Beginning of the Scandal As soon as she returned to the hotel, Zhou Yun immediately asked Zheng Xiaojue, "Was I overacting just now?" Zheng Xiaojue shook her head and said, "Not at all, Sister Xiao Yun, your performance was spot on!" Zhou Yun snorted lightly and said, "Let him have a restless sleep tonight." The next day, Zhou Lan sent a message to Zhou Yun: Liang Haiyuan has contacted me; if you agree, the female lead of "Luoyan" is yours. Zhou Yun: Who’s the male lead? Zhou Lan said: There’ll be an audition. Zhou Yun: Audition? Seriously, an audition for the male lead? Zhou Lan said: It’s just a formality. I’ve inquired around, and Liang Haiyuan probably already has someone in mind; it should be our agency’s Li Ci. Li Ci from the same agency, a celebrity that rose from an idol background, had acted in two dramas with not bad achievements. His acting isn’t outstanding but passable, and since no one expects much from his acting, being merely competent makes him stand out like a tall man amongst dwarfs or the king of monkeys in the mountains. Upon hearing this, Zhou Yun couldn’t help but curl her lip. It wasn’t that she looked down on Li Ci for being a celebrity with a large following; Li Ci as a big star wasn’t even eligible for her disdain. Zhou Yun was just surprised that the male lead was also someone from Chengqian. That made it clear that "Luoyan" was a complete Chengqian package. Zhou Yun asked: Has Li Ci been confirmed? Zhou Lan: Not yet; he’s Liang Haiyuan’s preferred choice, but if Li Ci is willing to take it, the male lead will definitely be his. Zhou Yun understood; after all, "Luoyan" wasn’t some serious, evidence-based drama. Although the story made much more sense than the average idol drama, it was still essentially a commercial drama in the strictest sense. With this kind of drama, Li Ci would not be scrutinized for his acting. As long as it was watchable. Pair up with a top-tier cast, sell for a top-tier price. Zhou Yun thought for a moment and then said, "Sister Lan, why don’t you go talk to them on my behalf? I am quite interested in this drama." Zhou Lan: Okay. Zhou Yun’s current focus, of course, was still on the major production "Heart Inquiry." On the set, while Zhou Yun was waiting with Song Chi for their scenes, she talked to him about the "Luoyan" project. Song Chi immediately snorted upon hearing about Li Ci. "What’s wrong?" Zhou Yun asked. Song Chi shook his head and said, "It’s nothing." Zhou Yun pressed, "Can’t you just speak plainly? Why are you so hesitant?" Song Chi replied, "It’s just that there are things that I don’t feel it is appropriate for me to comment on." "Do you have a conflict with Li Ci?" Zhou Yun asked. Li Ci and Song Chi were about the same age and both were A-listers; maybe in many aspects, they were competitors. Song Chi replied, "It’s not a conflict, but the guy is petty, and I don’t like dealing with him much." Zhou Yun looked at him suspiciously and said, "Just because someone is petty, you wouldn’t just snort at that. What did he actually do to offend you? Tell me about it; I might end up working with him." Song Chi warned her, "If I were you, I’d be more cautious and not offend him—you wouldn’t want to face the consequences." Zhou Yun grew more curious the more Song Chi was reluctant to speak, "What exactly happened, just tell me." There definitely had been an incident between the two. But Song Chi adamantly refused to tell. Zhou Yun didn’t know any mutual friends to inquire from, so she had to let it go. Filming. Today, Zhou Yun was to film a confrontational scene with Su Yan. In the movie, the female lead, played by Su Yan, named Yang Zhen, was suppressed by her enemy because of her character’s husband, He Mu (played by Song Chi), and had to live with Zhou Yun’s character, Liu Rusu, to avoid disaster with her child. Facing Liu Rusu, the ex-lover of her husband, Su Yan becomes mentally unhinged. As they live together day by day, her wariness and dissatisfaction towards Liu Rusu deepen, until finally she decides to leave and refuses to stay with Liu Rusu any longer. They were going to shoot this kind of argumentative scene. This scene had a large amount of dialogue, and required a significant range of emotional expression. The more tension in the scene, the more it tests an actor’s ability to grasp the subtleties. Zhou Yun and Su Yan, when on set, are quite standoffish, barely interacting with each other - their poor relationship is well known throughout the crew. Although they actually have many scenes together, they hadn’t filmed any until now. Zhou Yun also didn’t expect that her first scene with Su Yan would be such a crucial one. There was no familiarization process whatsoever. Kang Xin did this on purpose. Being the director, he was very aware of the discord between Zhou Yun and Su Yan. It was precisely because he knew, that Kang Xin wanted to utilize their conflict to first shoot the scenes that would exacerbate the tensions and rigidity in their relationship. This kind of presence is natural for an actor, making the performance all the more real. He called the two actors over to discuss the scene. Now, Su Yan couldn’t complain about Kang Xin being long-winded. At least, not outwardly – she listened intently as if she completely accepted his direction. And the effect of this was clearly evident. Su Yan had acting skills; it was just that her comprehension was a bit slow and she was arrogant. Now, whether she was feigning it or not, she took in all of Kang Xin’s guidance, and this change instantly elevated her performance by a notch. Her acting became more precise and appropriate, which was exactly what Su Yan had previously lacked – the emotional appeal was there, but not the meticulous accuracy. Zhou Yun, thinking about acting opposite Su Yan, felt somewhat nervous. She did not want to be outshone by her counterpart. Kang Xin explained the scene to them, saying, "Xiao Yun, just remember one thing: you promised He Mu that you would take care of Liu Rusu and his child, so you won’t let them go, because you know that once you do, they are likely to be captured by He Mu’s enemies." He then turned to Su Yan, instructing, "Su Yan, remember this: your feelings are more of jealousy than anger, but your jealousy is justified, as He Mu is your husband. Deep down you do not want to live under the same roof as Liu Rusu, this woman who has a past with your husband, and subconsciously, you cannot stand to coexist with her." Su Yan asked, "Won’t this make Liu Zhen appear pettier than Liu Rusu?" Kang Xin replied, "Any woman in this situation would be as petty as Liu Zhen. Su Yan, think about it; if it were you, would you be willing to live peacefully with your husband’s ex-girlfriend? We’re not talking about maintaining appearances here. You shouldn’t worry that the audience will see Liu Rusu as more magnanimous than you. I’m not shooting from Liu Rusu’s perspective; I’m depicting the story of two women, both reasonable from their own viewpoints, whose inevitable collision in the face of an unpredictable fate doesn’t necessarily mean one is the good person and the other is the bad." Su Yan nodded, enlightened, "I understand now." Kang Xin walked them through their positions, checked the lighting, and once everything was confirmed, they did a trial run. Many in the crew were looking forward to this scene. Everyone wanted to see the drama within the drama, how these two already discordant actors would tear into each other using the scene. Even Jiang Yuzhen, who didn’t have scenes that day, appeared on set. Everyone clearly understood why she came. During the trial run, Zhou Yun didn’t bring her real emotions into play, and Su Yan did the same; they read through their lines once and then went through a performance. Even though the emotions weren’t at their peak, the two actors already created an atmosphere teeming with tension.

Chapter 188 - 156: The Beginning of the Scandal

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