After We Broke Up, She Started Pursuing Me [Entertainment Industry] 7

Chapter 7

Although she couldn’t see clearly whether she was in the other’s gaze, Zhou Jinsi averted her face almost instantly, their lines of sight crossing.

“Let’s go,” Zhou Jinsi suddenly said to Shen Nan beside her.

Shen Nan had been watching intently and was taken aback by Zhou Jinsi’s sudden words. She quickly followed up, “Okay, should we go check out the office? It should be open now.”

Zhou Jinsi glanced back at her and gave a faint nod. As she walked away, her gaze uncontrollably drifted toward Shi Qin for a split second before she quickly pulled it back, following Shen Nan straight out of there.

…

“Shi Qin, Shi Qin?”

Hearing her name, Shi Qin retracted her distant gaze. She hadn’t realized she had been staring off into space.

Just now, while holding her red envelope and waiting for the opening ceremony to begin, she had been zoning out when she suddenly sensed an intense gaze from her side. She subconsciously looked in that direction. Although she couldn’t see clearly, she recognized Zhou Jinsi’s tall figure at a glance.

But the other woman had looked away as if to hide, then left with another, unfamiliar woman without a second glance. This couldn’t help but irk Shi Qin.

What’s the point of stealing glances? Zhou Jinsi, you coward…

“Shi Qin, get ready for the photo,” Yin Chenxuan, who was beside her, reminded her again as her thoughts were still on Zhou Jinsi.

She turned to look at him. A smile graced Yin Chenxuan’s gentle, jade-like face, and he even leaned a little closer to her. Shi Qin’s mouth twitched.

“Oh, okay, thanks,” she replied politely, forcing a smile onto her face as she subtly shifted her body to avoid any physical contact with him.

But Yin Chenxuan was momentarily dazzled by her smile. He had worked with many actresses, but none possessed a beauty as striking and aggressive as Shi Qin’s, like a queen looking down on all of creation.

Suddenly remembering their “couple” status, his mind couldn’t help but wander. He lowered his head slightly and whispered intimately to Shi Qin, “The photo you took the other day was really beautiful. I think we have great chemistry; we even took it from the same angle.”

“What day?”
“The day we were trending.”

Shi Qin desperately wanted to roll her eyes at him. Is he an idiot? she thought inwardly. If it weren’t for the sake of publicity, she would have to be out of her mind to post a photo that looked like a relationship announcement.

She curved her lips into a polite smile, but her tone turned cold. “Get in position. They’re about to take the picture.”

With the sound of celebratory poppers, the camera flash captured the entire cast and crew in a single moment. After a cry of “OK!”, the director announced the official start of filming. Shi Qin took her script and headed to the makeup room to get ready.

Shi Qin’s face, with its excellent bone structure and complexion, was already heavenly without makeup. Her skin, in particular, was in such good condition that it needed little enhancement.

The makeup artist praised the beauty in the mirror as she worked. Shi Qin would occasionally look up with a polite smile before refocusing on her script.

This was the second film she had landed since her debut in Wang Jingshan’s movie, and this time she was the lead. The quality and potential popularity of this film were both high. Shi Qin wanted to use this movie to change some people’s impression of her.

In the two short years since her debut, Shi Qin had generated a certain amount of buzz, but she still lacked a truly representative work.

The industry had labeled her as a “flower vase” starlet, but Shi Qin didn’t see herself that way.

In truth, Shi Qin had a natural talent and flair for acting. Even Wang Jingshan had offered some small praise for her during the film’s later promotions. But unfortunately, she had no resources afterward, no opportunity to showcase her skills.

Later, being tied to Yin Chenxuan had raised her profile, and she had landed a few supporting roles in television dramas. But it seemed Chen Ming had no intention of letting her build a career on her acting skills. Not only were the scripts she chose of poor quality, but there was no marketing for Shi Qin’s standout scenes either; the focus was solely on hyping up their “couple” status.

So, when this opportunity finally came, Shi Qin knew she had to seize it.

Although the film was a conventional youth romance, it was an adaptation of a hugely popular novel. It was co-produced by Shen Junnan, a new director who had shot to fame last year and won several awards for his first film, and the novel’s original author. The author had personally overseen the casting, and when the cast was announced, it had been met with satisfaction from the book’s fans.

Shen Junnan’s cinematography was famous for its “beauty.” Paired with the explosive popularity of the novel’s plot, the film had already generated significant discussion before filming even officially began, indicating very high public anticipation.

Once the actors’ makeup and styling were done, the first scene of the film was ready to be shot.

The first scene was the initial meeting between the male and female leads. The female lead, as the student representative, is giving a speech on stage, while the male lead is called up by the administration to be publicly criticized for fighting. The two brush past each other, and it’s in this moment that the male lead falls in love at first sight, setting the stage for his later transformation in pursuit of her.

When Shi Qin appeared before everyone in a school uniform, her hair in a ponytail, and wearing a “no-makeup” makeup look, they couldn’t help but sigh in admiration. The original author, Li Ran, also nodded in satisfaction. A perfect campus goddess image. Shi Qin could represent the very word “goddess.”

As Shi Qin walked onto the stage, she looked at the speech in her hand, which was a prop. For some reason, it reminded her of high school, when she too had stood on stage giving a speech. Time had flown by; so many years had passed.

As Shi Qin was lost in this nostalgic thought, she lifted her eyes and suddenly noticed a tall figure standing in a corner of the crowd. Her heart leaped, but she didn’t look over, quickly adjusting her state of mind.

“Alright, all units, get ready. Action!” Shen Junnan’s eyes were glued to the screen as he spoke into his walkie-talkie from behind the monitor.

…

Zhou Jinsi stood in a corner behind the crowd, watching Shi Qin deliver her speech on stage. Dressed in a school uniform, her hair in a ponytail, she looked just like the sunny, vibrant girl from all those years ago. Time hadn’t changed her much.

For a moment, Zhou Jinsi was in a daze, as if she had traveled back to the year she first met Shi Qin. She was just like she was now, standing below the stage, watching her shine.

Back then, Zhou Jinsi didn’t understand what “love” was. She only knew that she wanted to be wherever Shi Qin was. She yearned, she followed. She had thought Shi Qin was a distant, unattainable star—always visible in the sky, but separated by an infinite distance.

She never imagined that in the years to come, so many stories would unfold between them.

As Zhou Jinsi recalled the past, her gaze began to lose focus. She didn’t notice at all that Shi Qin, on stage, was also looking in her direction.

“Okay, cut!” The filming of Shi Qin’s part of the first scene was over. When Shi Qin came over, Shen Junnan gave her a satisfied nod.

He had heard about Shi Qin before; after all, she was famous for her looks. He had initially worried that while her image fit, she might have problems with her acting. He had never been a big fan of “flower vase” actors, but today it seemed his worries were unfounded.

As a newcomer who had only debuted two years ago, Shi Qin certainly had her shortcomings in acting, but her strength lay in her natural vivacity.

The worst thing in acting was when an actor rigidly recited the script word for word, creating a lifeless character. Only by merging oneself with the role could one truly bring the character to life.

Shi Qin was naturally happy with Shen Junnan’s approval and humbly discussed some acting questions with him, which he was more than happy to help her with.

Next was Yin Chenxuan’s part. As Shi Qin was waiting in the wings, she suddenly remembered the person in the corner. She looked back and happened to see the figure’s retreating back. An idea sparked. She told the director she was stepping away for a moment and then followed the figure.

Zhou Jinsi had just watched Shi Qin’s entire scene. For a moment, she couldn’t tell if she was on a film set or back in her first year of high school.

Those youthful years were indeed beautiful enough. It was just a pity that things and people seemed to have changed now…

Her feelings were complicated. She was about to go to a nearby restroom to wash her face when she heard a familiar voice from behind just as she stepped inside.

“Zhou Jinsi.” Shi Qin was walking behind her. She had called her name.

Zhou Jinsi’s body jolted. She froze for two seconds, then turned to look at her with a slight frown, a confused expression on her face. She didn’t know when Shi Qin had started following her. But the moment she truly saw her, she was once again lost in a daze.

Shi Qin in this outfit made Zhou Jinsi unable to stop herself from remembering the person she used to be. The Shi Qin of that time was the white moonlight of her heart. Perhaps… not even the Shi Qin of today could compare.

“What… are you doing here?” After a few seconds of eye contact, Zhou Jinsi broke her gaze and asked.

But Shi Qin retorted, “I was about to ask you the same thing. What are you doing here? Did you come to see me?”

She raised an eyebrow with a slight smile, the end of her sentence lilting upwards in a purely teasing tone.

Zhou Jinsi was caught off guard. She slowly replied, “This is where I work…”

Shi Qin frowned. She was implying that she was only here for work, and it had nothing to do with coming to see her.

“Is that so?”

Shi Qin asked softly, then began to walk slowly toward Zhou Jinsi, step by step.

Since school hadn’t started, most of the teachers from the meeting had already left. Some of the younger ones had run off to the athletic field to watch the filming. At this moment, the two of them were alone in the restroom. The air was so quiet that even the sound of Shi Qin’s footsteps approaching was crystal clear.

Seeing her getting closer and closer, Zhou Jinsi grew flustered. Not daring to look at her, she could only back away until she was trapped in a corner. The tall, 1.78-meter woman now looked like a small, helpless child, her head bowed.

Shi Qin stopped a step away from Zhou Jinsi. She looked up and asked, “Then what were you looking at from the second floor just now? What were you looking at from below the stage?”

As if her secret had been exposed, Zhou Jinsi lowered her gaze even further, remaining silent. Only the faint blush on the tips of her ears betrayed her inner turmoil.

But Shi Qin was enjoying teasing her. She bent down slightly, matching Zhou Jinsi’s lowered head, and tilted her chin up, just enough to catch her slightly evasive gaze.

“Why don’t you dare to look at me? Am I not pretty?”

“Or should I say, are you just too shy?”