Chapter 48: Tacit Understanding

Sang Zhiyi’s right arm was crooked on the bar counter, her left hand holding a wine glass, her grip somewhat weak, not very tight.

The wine glass was tilted, with only a shallow layer of clear liquor left inside, sliding to the rim, threatening to spill but not quite.

Closing her eyes, Sang Zhiyi pressed her lips downward, as if she had a bit of a headache, and dazedly shook her head.

In an instant, the wine glass in her hand lost its last bit of restraint and fell directly to the floor.

The small amount of liquor remaining in the glass spilled onto the ground, its traces indistinguishable in the dim light of the bar.

The wine glass itself rolled a few times, finally stopping beside a man’s leather shoe.

The camera moved up, revealing the face of the owner of this leather shoe.

It was Yu Zilin’s Shen Yehan.

Sang Zhiyi’s attention, however, was completely not on Yu Zilin.

She craned her neck to look at the wine glass and exclaimed with genuine surprise, “Wow, is the quality that good?

It didn’t even break!”

Her voice was a bit slurred, mumbling.

Listening, Song Ying couldn’t help but want to laugh.

Sang Zhiyi’s line delivery skills were also quite excellent.

Yu Zilin in the play also lacked his usual reticence and indifference.

He glanced at Sang Zhiyi with an unreadable expression, the corner of his mouth curling slightly, then stretched out his foot and stepped cleanly on the wine glass.

With the crisp sound of breaking glass, Yu Zilin spread his hands quite innocently at Sang Zhiyi.

“Now it’s broken.”

The encounter between Chi Jun and Shen Yehan in Feast of the Prisoners was full of the superficiality of debauchery and whimsical coincidence.

After Shen Yehan stepped on the wine glass, Chi Jun, stunned for a moment, applauded and cheered.

But when the two were asked by the bartender to pay for the damages, they discovered that their wallets had disappeared.

Shen Yehan and Chi Jun looked at each other and suddenly developed an indescribable tacit understanding.

Without a word, Shen Yehan grabbed Chi Jun, and the two immediately ran away.

What followed was a chaotic chase scene.

Shen Yehan and Chi Jun’s hands clasped tighter and tighter.

Behind them, besides the bartender, there were more and more security guards, and even a cleaning aunt who was indignant because the two had knocked over her tools.

A long line wound through the bar, causing chaos everywhere.

Finally, Chi Jun took a big step and brought Shen Yehan onto the central stage.

Most of the people in the bar turned their eyes toward them, but the band beside them continued playing diligently with their heads down, the music about to reach its climax.

Shen Yehan’s eyes flickered, he chuckled lightly, made a magnificent gentlemanly bow, and extended his hand to Chi Jun.

“Care to dance?”

The colorful neon lights swirled overhead.

The two embraced and danced gracefully.

Chi Jun stepped on Shen Yehan’s feet a few times at first, but the more they danced, the more tacit understanding they developed, the more coordinated they were, the more elegant.

At the end of the song, Shen Yehan held Chi Jun’s waist with both hands.

Chi Jun took the opportunity to leap up, spreading her arms like an agile butterfly.

Their figures froze.

Thunderous applause erupted throughout the bar.

At this point, this segment of the scene officially ended.

Song Ying shouted, “Cut!”

Yu Zilin seemed not yet to have extracted himself from the emotions of the scene.

He still maintained the posture of holding Sang Zhiyi aloft, forgetting to put her down, his eyes fixed intently upward on Sang Zhiyi, with a layer of playful exterior beneath which hid profound and obscure depths.

Sang Zhiyi placed her hands on Yu Zilin’s shoulders and smiled, softly reminding him, “Mr. Yu, you can put me down now?”

Only then did Yu Zilin reacted.

He paused, then carefully lowered Sang Zhiyi to the ground.

To prevent Sang Zhiyi from losing her balance, Yu Zilin kept his hands protectively around her waist.

“Oh?”

Song Ying quickly strode over, his face wearing a smile that wasn’t quite a smile.

“As expected of the Best Actor, you get so deep into character?”

Still standing there, what’s with the reluctant farewell after filming finished?

Yu Zilin didn’t respond to Song Ying’s sarcasm.

After ensuring Sang Zhiyi had landed safely, he withdrew his hands.

“Your figure is already maintained very well,” Yu Zilin said, looking down at Sang Zhiyi.

“You can eat a bit more.

It’s beneficial for your health.”

He glanced at Sang Zhiyi’s waist.

“You’re too light right now.”

His voice was, as usual, cool, but anyone could tell it was considerably gentler.

This made Song Ying nearly explode.

In the end, it was Sang Zhiyi who intervened in time, pulling Song Ying aside to discuss other matters, preventing the two men from truly confronting each other.

Sang Zhiyi calmed Song Ying down while secretly looking back at Yu Zilin, giving him a wink with her right eye and smiling somewhat apologetically.

Apologizing for not having had time to respond to Yu Zilin’s kind suggestion.

Seeing Sang Zhiyi’s so playful little gesture, Yu Zilin couldn’t help but let a smile appear in his eyes.

The sensation of Sang Zhiyi’s waist still lingered in his hands.

Yu Zilin was a bit distracted.

…Her waist was really very thin.

Over the next month or two, the filming process of Feast of the Prisoners went very smoothly.

Regarding the character design of the male lead, Shen Yehan, there was actually some of Song Ying’s “personal agenda” mixed in.

In terms of personality, Shen Yehan clearly bore the shadow of Song Ying himself: roguishly handsome, casual, moody.

But as the filming progressed, the portrayal of Shen Yehan became more comprehensive and three-dimensional, yet Yu Zilin stubbornly excavated and portrayed many different details from the character as written on paper.

This made Song Ying grind his teeth even more.

However, Song Ying wouldn’t actually let his personal grudges affect the entire production team’s work.

He was an excellent director, and Song Ying knew very well that Yu Zilin’s performance was perfectly fine, even exquisite.

It was just that Song Ying found Yu Zilin increasingly displeasing to the eye.

The relationship between Sang Zhiyi and Yu Zilin naturally grew closer as well.

Zhu Qing saw this, and her attitude toward Sang Zhiyi became more and more kind.

As the chief producer of Feast of the Prisoners, Zhu Qing did not need to come to the set every day.

But since the male lead was her most beloved nephew and the female lead was one of the young artists she most appreciated, Zhu Qing was naturally happy to visit often.

Zhu Qing’s strictness and sharp tongue were famous in the industry.

Every time she came, the crew staff were especially nervous, working at full alert, afraid of provoking the producer.

This also imperceptibly improved the efficiency of the entire production team a bit.

In fact, with Sang Zhiyi and Yu Zilin, two actors of exceptional professional ability, leading by example, the filming process of Feast of the Prisoners could be said to be both efficient and high-quality.

Sang Zhiyi was someone who knew how to reciprocate kindness.

Since Zhu Qing showed her such care, she naturally became more attentive to Zhu Qing.

During her free time, Sang Zhiyi would take the initiative to visit Zhu Qing at home, just like visiting an ordinary elder, helping with some housework and chatting about family matters.

Zhu Qing obviously also greatly enjoyed this, the smile on her face becoming increasingly obvious.

On this day, when Sang Zhiyi came to Zhu Qing’s home, their main topic was still the movie they were currently busy with.

Zhu Qing couldn’t help but praise Sang Zhiyi greatly.

“Back on the Feng Chun set, your acting already made my eyes light up,” Zhu Qing said.

“I never expected that now, on the Feast of the Prisoners set, you could improve even further on that foundation!”

Zhu Qing was truly very satisfied with Sang Zhiyi, feeling she had found a treasure.

She had actually seen quite a few young people with ability, but young people who were so dedicated, constantly striving for perfection, and humbly improving were truly hard to find, even with a lantern!

If the guest appearance in Feng Chun allowed Zhu Qing to give Sang Zhiyi an 85, now Sang Zhiyi would make Zhu Qing give a 99 without hesitation.

The remaining point wasn’t given to make her perfect, in hopes that this child would have boundless prospects, forever without end.

Sang Zhiyi’s cheeks flushed slightly, looking a bit embarrassed.

“I owe it all to Sister Jiang and Mr.

Yu not minding the trouble and teaching me so patiently.”

Zhu Qing shook her head, not agreeing.

“Why do you always push the credit onto others, child?

They just add flowers to brocade.

Without the brocade itself, they wouldn’t be able to do anything!”

Speaking of Jiang Yingru, Zhu Qing couldn’t help but sigh and asked Sang Zhiyi, “How is Yingru’s health lately?”

Zhu Qing had collaborated with Jiang Yingru before.

Apart from the rising star Sang Zhiyi, the person Zhu Qing most appreciated in the current entertainment industry was Jiang Yingru.

Since being harmed by Zhong Yueyi in the fourth episode of Love of a Limited Season, Jiang Yingru had barely appeared in public for these past few months.

The only exception was last month, at the tenth anniversary celebration of the Jade Rui crew, where Jiang Yingru very rarely participated in the event.

However, the drama Jade Rui had such high national recognition that it was a classic replayed on television every winter and summer vacation.

As the actress who played the female lead, Meng Yao, it was perfectly normal for Jiang Yingru to attend such a special commemorative occasion as the tenth anniversary, even though she rarely participated in offline events.

Jiang Yingru’s fans and the fans of Jade Rui were both very excited about this.

Precisely because Jiang Yingru was seldom seen, the reporters on site were particularly eager to ask her questions, some of them quite sharp.

Jiang Yingru didn’t have much experience handling such situations, but having debuted for ten years and step by step achieved her current status in the entertainment industry, she naturally had her own solutions.

Generally, she would briefly answer ordinary questions.

For overly offensive ones, she directly ignored them coldly.

She only needed to stand there, silent, her face expressionless, to hold her own.

That was, until someone asked about Sang Zhiyi.

The reporter shouted, “Everyone knows you have a good relationship with Ren Xiaoqian.

What are your thoughts on the recent widespread rumors that Ren Xiaoqian obtained her role through unsavory means?!”

Jiang Yingru’s previously calm expression instantly changed.

She looked up and stared directly at the reporter.

Jiang Yingru’s face was too serious, making the reporter shiver.

Jiang Yingru held the microphone, her voice much heavier.

“Ren Xiaoqian is an extremely outstanding young actress.

I have great respect for her acting level.”

The normally quiet, soft-spoken Jiang Yingru, this time, put out paragraph after paragraph of support for Sang Zhiyi.

“I know that in the public eye, her image is still that of an artist with stiff acting.

That’s only because you haven’t seen just how excellent she has become.”

“When she first debuted, Ren Xiaoqian did indeed have many immature aspects as an actress, but through two or three full years of continuous effort, she has achieved accumulation leading to sudden burst, stunning the world with a single feat.”

“Not only has she struggled all on her own, building a solid foundation, she is also very studious, many times taking the initiative to come to me to discuss and study, practicing diligently, writing thick notes for it.”

At this point, Jiang Yingru no longer stared fixedly at that reporter, but faced the center, incorporating everyone in the audience into her gaze.

Then, Jiang Yingru spoke, word by word.

“Now, at my level, I can no longer teach her anything.”

At that moment, these words caused an uproar.

Who was Jiang Yingru?

Not to mention contemporary young actresses, even if you broadened the scope to all contemporary actresses, Jiang Yingru’s acting attainments were universally recognized as the uncrowned queen.

And yet this uncrowned queen herself had just said that Sang Zhiyi was now no less skilled than her?!

Even the reporter who had asked the question was so shocked by this answer that he gasped sharply.

There were, of course, many questioning voices, but Jiang Yingru’s reputation had remained excellent for a decade.

She was never one to speak recklessly.

Because she had given such firm support on such a high-profile occasion, many people also began to hold kind expectations for Sang Zhiyi.

After all, didn’t Jiang Yingru say it herself?

Sang Zhiyi had already “achieved accumulation leading to sudden burst.”

Maybe she really had suddenly blossomed?

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