Chapter 10: Visiting the Set

When Jiang Zhizhou and Xia Yuhe arrived at the film set, the two assistants that the production crew had arranged for Jiang Qingmeng ran out to meet them. Xia Yuhe handed them two large bags of popsicles and told them to distribute them to the production crew’s staff. She then picked up a bag herself and led Jiang Zhizhou over to see Jiang Qingmeng.

Jiang Qingmeng had just finished shooting a fight scene in the rain. She was now leaning back against her chair, completely soaked through, wrapped in a white bath towel with her damp hair disheveled and clinging to her forehead. She looked so fragile and pitiable that quite a few staff members on the set felt sorry for her. They gathered around, fussing over her and asking if she was okay.

“Qingmeng is working way too hard. If it’s not working out, why not reshoot another day?”

“Should we get a stunt double?”

“Where are we supposed to find a stunt double at this hour?”

Everyone was chattering animatedly. Jiang Qingmeng smiled amid the crowd and said, “You’ve all been working hard too. It’s my fault for not nailing this scene today—I’ve let everyone down. I’m fine, really. Just give me ten minutes to rest, and we can keep shooting afterward.”

Every minute of delay on set burned through hundreds or even thousands in budget. On top of that, the art team had started setting up at 4 a.m. for this scene, hiring over twenty extras and filming from morning till night. With production nearing its end, everyone from the crew up and down was eager to wrap as soon as possible—no one wanted to push it off to another day.

It was right then that Xia Yuhe arrived, bringing Jiang Zhizhou with her.

Jiang Zhizhou was dressed in a simple white shirt paired with high-waisted nine-tenths jeans, but she made the outfit look effortlessly stylish and unique. Her presence was so commanding that she seemed like a natural-born superstar, drawing every eye. Even the film set staff, who were used to seeing celebrities, couldn’t help being captivated by her. They parted to let her through, wondering inwardly who this actress could be.

Jiang Qingmeng hadn’t expected her to show up on set, so she froze for a moment. The night lighting was dim, and the burning pain in her arm was making her head swim. In her daze, she thought she must be seeing Jiang Zhizhou.

Jiang Zhizhou, carrying the bag of popsicles, walked straight up to her and said, “Just dropping by to visit. Want a popsicle?”

June weather had turned the set into a sweltering steam bath. Even with little fans blowing constantly, everyone’s eyes lit up when they spotted the popsicles in Xia Yuhe and Jiang Zhizhou’s hands.

Small fans and popsicles were among the ultimate summer lifesavers on set.

The flicker of gloom in her eyes vanished in an instant. Jiang Qingmeng broke into a radiant smile, stood up, and gave everyone a quick introduction to Jiang Zhizhou. She also had Xia Yuhe pass out the popsicles to the group.

Once they saw someone had come to visit, the crowd around Jiang Qingmeng took their popsicles, offered their thanks, and tactfully dispersed, leaving the two of them some private space.

With everyone else occupied, Jiang Zhizhou grabbed an ice pack, intending to help ice Jiang Qingmeng’s strained right arm.

One of the crew’s female actresses wandered over, munching on a popsicle and fanning herself with a small fan. Spotting Jiang Zhizhou’s striking aura, she assumed she must be some industry senior and greeted her warmly with a smile. “Oh wow, Qingmeng, who’s this? Coming to visit so late at night—how thoughtful! Hello, hello.” She even angled her little fan toward Jiang Zhizhou.

Jiang Zhizhou gave a polite smile and replied, “Hello.”

Jiang Qingmeng introduced her: “This is my senior sister, Shen Xinghe. She’s an artist from the same company as me.” Shen Xinghe had debuted a year ahead of Jiang Qingmeng, making her her nominal senior sister.

“Oh…” The actress drew out her tone, her expression turning subtly strange. After all, everyone knew Jiang Qingmeng was the pillar of Star Source Entertainment. Her other labelmates weren’t nearly as successful—only a handful were even well-known. She’d never heard of this one.

She nodded and said, “Little Shen, you’re pretty thoughtful, huh?” Then she sauntered off with her fan.

The whole attitude shift happened in a mere ten seconds.

Jiang Zhizhou didn’t take it to heart. She pulled Jiang Qingmeng down to sit and said, “Let me take a look at your arm.”

Jiang Qingmeng sat there stunned for a moment, baffled by this person’s complete turnaround. The old Shen Xinghe had never hidden her disgust toward her—not even during that visit three months ago, when she’d still been distant and cold. And now, here she was acting like there were no hard feelings at all, visiting the set and even worrying about her injury.

Noticing her confusion, Jiang Zhizhou arched an eyebrow slightly and said, “Don’t overthink my change. Like I told you before, all the stuff from yesterday might as well be dead and buried.”

Jiang Qingmeng fell silent for a moment. She stared at the woman in front of her, as if seeing right through her to someone else.

With no response, Jiang Zhizhou gave her bath towel a gentle tug. “What are you spacing out for? Hurry up and let me ice that arm of yours.”

Jiang Qingmeng snapped back to reality and lifted the right side of her bath towel.

She was angled sideways toward Jiang Zhizhou, her long, seaweed-like hair swept over to her left side. Beneath it, she wore a black shirt that made her skin gleam like flawless white jade—smooth and delicate. The half-dry fabric clung to her body, tracing her exquisite, shapely curves.

Jiang Zhizhou kept her face impassive, thinking to herself that this girl was seriously well-developed.

She turned her attention to Jiang Qingmeng’s arm.

Her fair arm was dotted with small wounds—scrapes, abrasions, cuts… Even her elbow joint was noticeably red and swollen.

She reached out and pressed it lightly.

Jiang Zhizhou’s fingertips felt slightly warm against Jiang Qingmeng’s ice-cold arm. The stark contrast made both of them feel a twinge of unease.

Jiang Zhizhou asked, “Does it hurt?”

Jiang Qingmeng frowned slightly. “No, it doesn’t.”

Her face was still made up, but the pain had drained the color from her cheeks, lending her a fragile, sickly air. The combination created a strange, morbid beauty.

“And you say it doesn’t hurt when it looks like this.” She wrapped an ice pack in a towel and applied it as a cold compress while asking, “How did this happen?”

“A staffer botched the wire rig. It yanked and strained me.”

“Why not go to the hospital?”

“It’s not that bad. I can tough it out a little longer. I’ll head over after we wrap.”

“More fight scenes coming up?”

“Yeah, a big group brawl.”

Jiang Zhizhou glanced at her arm. “You think you can even lift a sword with that?”

That arm of hers had to be throbbing with agony at the slightest exertion.

Jiang Qingmeng just smiled. “It’s manageable. I’ll grit my teeth and push through. I can’t hold up the whole shoot just for me.”

Jiang Zhizhou nodded absently and switched topics out of the blue. “I’ve been shooting here in Hengdian for the past two months too.”

Jiang Qingmeng smiled. “I know. Sister Chen Lin mentioned it. How’s it going? Everything smooth?”

Jiang Zhizhou replied, “Thanks to you, it’s gone great.”

Jiang Qingmeng managed a faint smile. “So you’ve figured it out?”

Jiang Zhizhou went on, “These past two months, the whole crew’s been buzzing that I bought my way in. I didn’t believe it at first—not until I checked the investor list and saw Star Source Entertainment’s name. Turns out, I really did bring the money. But aside from Star Source, there was also someone named He Jia. He Jia’s the PR director at Star Source, right? I didn’t get that wrong. Later, our producer told me that when he went to Chen Lin to pitch extra funding, you were right there.”

“You were there when Chen Lin shot down the additional investment; you’re tight with He Jia, while I’m only on nodding terms; the very next day, He Jia invests out of her own pocket; and the producer says she specifically requested me for the lead. Put it all together, and yeah, I get why the female lead role fell into my lap so easily.”

Jiang Zhizhou spoke calmly, showing neither delight nor bitterness, as if she were discussing the weather.

“I figure the old Shen Xinghe was too proud to accept your help back then, so now you keep quiet about it. No need for that going forward. If you want to help, just help—I can handle it out in the open. I don’t like owing favors, but when I do, I pay them back. I’d hate to settle up with the wrong person.”

Money you could repay easily; favors were another story. In the industry, they could loom large or small. Even a top-tier star might take on a notorious flop just to square one, only to get slammed for chasing cash, milking nostalgia, and selling out their reputation.

By the end, Jiang Qingmeng was nodding slowly. She met Jiang Zhizhou’s eyes, smiling softly as she whispered, “Xinghe, I get it.”

That sweet, obedient smile tugged at Jiang Zhizhou, who couldn’t help wanting to pat her head. She reached out—then caught herself. Their relationship wasn’t there yet. Instead, she gently tucked a loose strand of hair behind Jiang Qingmeng’s ear. “Good. Just as long as you do.”

Jiang Qingmeng smiled again, her gaze growing hazy, exhaustion she couldn’t hide creeping in. Her body swayed forward.

Only then did Jiang Zhizhou realize something was wrong. She pressed her palm to Jiang Qingmeng’s forehead.

“You’re burning up! Why didn’t you say you had a fever?”

Jiang Qingmeng’s mind was a foggy mess, her thoughts drifting like a kite cut loose from its string. She couldn’t string together a full sentence. Her whole body ached unbearably, and in her haze, she could no longer stay upright. She collapsed straight into Jiang Zhizhou’s arms.

Jiang Zhizhou held her close and called over the film set staff.

The assistant and crew swarmed around them. The director, who’d been sipping a cold drink in front of the monitor, jumped up at the news. He didn’t even have time to put on both shoes and came dashing over in just one slipper. “Get her to the hospital! Right now! No more shooting today! We’re done!”

Who was he kidding? She was Star Source Entertainment’s golden girl. If anything happened to her, Star Source would have his hide—even if her fans didn’t string him up first.