Chapter 42 Part 2

Because of Leng Xiang’s calf injury, the next two weeks’ schedule shifted to interior shoots, focusing on Su Qing’s romances with the three men in the early segments.

Although Li Guchuan was the nominal male lead of Luxury Goods, in terms of screen time, the thickness of his script wasn’t much different from the other three male supporting actors.

This scene was from the first segment. Leng Xiang clicked her high heels “clack clack clack” as she strode from one end of the set to the other, chasing after a man. He impatiently shook her off, and she chased again, got shaken off again, chased again—repeating back and forth.

Logically, this scene should have been easy to shoot. After Jiang Sisi’s massage on her calf bruise the night before, Leng Xiang woke up that morning to find it miraculously didn’t hurt much anymore. She walked without much effort, moving a bit faster as the script required, with a hint of a jog. Her expression panicked and anxious as she grabbed the man and hurriedly said, “Listen to me explain!”

The man turned back coldly, his eyes full of sorrow, and said, “I won’t listen. Just go! We shouldn’t see each other again!”

Li Guchuan watched the scene from the side, stifling a laugh while whispering to the deputy director, “I tell you, I’ve been looking forward to this scene ever since I read the script. It’s hilarious. How did the screenwriter come up with such a brainless scenario?”

The screenwriter suddenly popped up from nearby and said gloomily, “To cover up that this script is a subtle same-sex romance, do you know how hard I worked to add all these comedic bits?”

The deputy director hit the nail on the head. “Actually, no matter how many laughs you add to cover it up, you can’t hide the fact that it’s a subtle same-sex romance film.”

The screenwriter was utterly devastated.

Jiang Sisi watched the footage transmitted from the camera intently and made a pause gesture, signaling them to shoot it again.

After the previous day, Leng Xiang had gotten used to reshooting a scene multiple times and had no objections. She got into position and started over from the beginning.

It looked normal, but in reality, they’d been shooting for most of the day, and the two of them hadn’t made eye contact at all, let alone spoken.

Li Guchuan glanced at the two of them, then turned to the deputy director and asked, “Are those two in a cold war?”

The deputy director looked at Jiang Sisi, who was focused on the screen, and Leng Xiang, who was professionally dedicated. Always laid-back and plump, the deputy director didn’t notice anything off and said puzzledly, “Jiang Sisi is the type to cold war with someone? She’s so shrewd—what cold war? She’s probably just teasing to keep her on the hook.”

Jiang Sisi was someone who got whatever she wanted in the entertainment industry—wind when she desired wind, rain when she desired rain. Legends said her harem had three thousand beauties, men and women alike. Was there anyone she couldn’t get along with?

Li Guchuan looked at Jiang Sisi, the smile on his lips gradually widening as he said, “Not necessarily.”

On the third take of this scene, they went almost all the way to the end without Jiang Sisi calling cut. Leng Xiang and the male supporting actor both breathed a sigh of relief.

The male supporting actor was a newbie with little experience, and although walking wasn’t an issue for her, her calf was starting to ache faintly after so long.

Not to mention she was wearing high heels.

They continued the chase across the set. Leng Xiang got shaken off impatiently by the man, chased again, got shaken off, chased again.

Jiang Sisi never signaled to stop and reshoot. It was the male supporting actor’s first scene of the day, so he was inevitably nervous. Seeing that this take might finally pass, his suspended heart slowly relaxed. Caught off guard, his foot paused.

Leng Xiang hadn’t expected him to stop suddenly and couldn’t adjust her direction in time. At that moment, a sharp pain shot through her calf again.

Leng Xiang let out a cry of alarm and tumbled toward the ground.

The male supporting actor didn’t notice her situation until it was almost too late to react.

Wang Linlin also spotted Leng Xiang’s predicament and shouted, “Sister Leng Xiang! Be careful!”

Leng Xiang felt that ever since meeting Jiang Sisi and joining her crew, nothing good had happened in her life.

Yesterday it was her calf; today this fall might twist her ankle.

She closed her eyes, bracing for the pain. Before she hit the cold ground, a pair of strong hands steadied her.

Leng Xiang’s eyes snapped open wide, staring in disbelief at the person holding her.

It was Jiang Sisi.

Wasn’t she watching the camera lens? How had she gotten here so suddenly? When did she come over?

Leng Xiang hadn’t recovered from the shock and froze in Jiang Sisi’s arms.

There was a familiar scent on her, like that night at Jiang Sisi’s house when they watched a movie. Jiang Sisi had just showered, wearing loose pajamas with no bra underneath, carrying that same fragrance.

Did Jiang Sisi even bring her own shampoo and body wash when going out to shoot films?

Though the hotel’s were high-end, with Jiang Sisi’s style, it wasn’t impossible.

For a moment, Leng Xiang felt a little dizzy, maybe from the scent. But with her other wits still about her, she realized it was purely from the shock she hadn’t recovered from.

The whole set fell silent.

The deputy director covered their face with hands like banana leaf fans. After a moment, they tremblingly pointed a finger at the two and whispered to Li Guchuan, “What cheesy idol drama trope is this? Are those two the kind of relationship I think they are?”

Li Guchuan wavered between spreading unfounded gossip and telling the truth. To say Leng Xiang and Jiang Sisi were really a couple—but they definitely weren’t, and it was debatable if they could even be called friends.

But to say they really weren’t—well, facts spoke louder than words, and Leng Xiang still hadn’t left Jiang Sisi’s embrace.

Li Guchuan looked at their position and suddenly remembered: after some dinner party back then, who was it that told him they would never fall for Leng Xiang? How long had it been? Was Jiang Sisi about to slap her own face?

Li Guchuan decided to follow his heart and said gravely, “I don’t think so yet.”

The deputy director noticed the “yet” in his words and nodded knowingly.

On the other side, Wang Linlin and Pei Shuang were much calmer. Pei Shuang thought coolly, This is nothing—they’re just hugging. Have you seen them kiss?

Wang Linlin raised an innocent question. “How did Director Jiang ‘whoosh’ over from the camera to Sister Leng Xiang’s side just now? So fast!”

Pei Shuang looked at her fondly and said, “Because Director Jiang has been watching her the whole time.”

The camera feed did sync directly to Jiang Sisi, so Wang Linlin nodded. “Oh, that’s how it is.”

It took Leng Xiang a good while to snap out of it. Her body stiffened, and she immediately pushed Jiang Sisi away.

Jiang Sisi didn’t explain how she’d gotten there. Pushed away, she graciously stepped back two paces. The two separated from zero distance to a polite one-and-a-half meters.

Jiang Sisi said, “Be more careful next time. If you hurt yourself again, we won’t be able to continue shooting.”

Leng Xiang said, “Got it.”

Leng Xiang paused, then added, “Thank you.”

Leng Xiang didn’t want to linger. She had no patience for people she disliked and couldn’t even be bothered to hide it.

After saying that, she turned and left. Jiang Sisi stayed put for a moment, smiled, and then left too.

An angry one is really hard to coax.

The next scene was still Leng Xiang and the first male supporting actor’s. They took a lunch break midway.

The Luxury Goods crew was quite lavish—their boxed meals came from the hotel’s buffet, delivered daily at noon. When not busy, they ate buffet there. Those wanting extras could add on at their own expense.

Shooting went smoothly that day. After finishing the planned work, they realized it was one staff member’s birthday. With night scenes ahead, the whole crew decided to have lunch together, buy a cake, and celebrate a little.

The large crew headed to the hotel in batches. Leng Xiang and Wang Linlin walked together, Tan Ya silently following beside Wang Linlin for some reason. Jiang Sisi was surrounded by the deputy director and other staff up ahead, seemingly discussing something.

Unlike other crews that prioritized actors, Jiang Sisi’s team had an ironclad production staff and revolving actors. No matter how actors came and went, her core team rarely changed.

Everyone in the team knew each other well, with deep bonds. They chatted and laughed as they walked to the hotel.

Jiang Sisi was never short of company.

Jiang Sisi and the staff walked ahead, while Leng Xiang, Wang Linlin, Pei Shuang, and others trailed behind.

Leng Xiang hadn’t given Jiang Sisi a proper glance all day—not even when held in her arms. Their eyes had merely brushed past, and she’d left after speaking. Yet now, she couldn’t help staring at Jiang Sisi’s back.

Jiang Sisi seemed to sense it and turned to look at Leng Xiang walking behind, smiling at her.

Leng Xiang turned her face away, ignoring her.

Jiang Sisi withdrew her gaze and turned back. A moment later, she turned again to look at Leng Xiang.

Leng Xiang turned away again.

Pei Shuang watched the whole thing and couldn’t help rolling her eyes discreetly. What kind of silly couple spat is this?

Li Guchuan walked beside Jiang Sisi, noticing her frequent glances back. He exchanged a look with the deputy director, smiled without speaking—both understood.

Just as they neared the hotel, in a shadowy corner nearby that no one noticed, came two faint “click click” shutter sounds.

Li Guchuan, famous for years, was sensitive to shutter noises. He frowned and scanned the hotel surroundings warily but found nothing amiss.

Jiang Sisi had chosen a filming location in B City’s outskirts, an open area usually a small tourist spot for visits. Fans often dropped off gifts.

Though her crew wasn’t open to the public, paparazzi were inescapable.

Li Guchuan said to Jiang Sisi, “Seems like paparazzi.”

Jiang Sisi replied, “Snapping what? Us eating together, then saying our crew is all harmonious and buddy-buddy?”

Li Guchuan thought about it—nothing too outrageous had happened, so nothing juicy to snap. He let it go.

Li Guchuan didn’t take it seriously; Jiang Sisi even less so.

That afternoon, Jiang Sisi’s crew trended on Weibo again.

This time, it wasn’t the whole crew’s harmony—it was just Jiang Sisi and Leng Xiang.

Jiang Sisi watched the props team assemble a wooden rack on-site, sawing it amid flying wood shavings. While chatting with them, the makeup artist pulled out her phone, scrolled Weibo, gasped in shock, and hurried over to show Jiang Sisi.

The makeup artist marveled at the paparazzi’s fabrication skills. “What on earth are they saying?!”

Jiang Sisi scrolled through the Weibo post while recalling the shutter clicks at noon.

The writing speed is impressive, angles sharp, content eye-catching. All fabricated, but talented. Maybe poach them tomorrow.

The Weibo hot search title was blunt and brutal.

#Jiang Sisi Leng Xiang Feud Confirmed#