Category: Reborn to Stew Soup (GL)

Chapter 19: Egg Fried Rice

The harem, newly demoted to prisoners, hadn’t yet adapted to the change in their status. Because the Empress had surrendered willingly, the new Emperor allowed the expelled harem members to take some personal belongings with them. In the chaos, some managed to secretly hide small pieces of gold and silver jewelry. The young Empress was one of them.

Although they were confined to the estate, initially it was just a few dilapidated houses in the wilderness, surrounded by a bamboo fence. This was their temporary prison. They were herded in, a few baskets of food were thrown in, and that was it. As for other requests? The guards merely had to show their weapons, and those pampered women were scared into hiding.

The food baskets contained a small amount of rice, a large amount of sweet potatoes, various beans, and some grains and unidentified plants, either weeds or wild vegetables, that were unfamiliar to these women who had lived in luxury.

They were once masters, now prisoners, even having to share maids and eunuchs. Filled with dissatisfaction, worry, and negative emotions, they had argued about the allocation of rooms the day before, and now they were arguing about food. The previous day, upon their arrival, the maids and eunuchs had prepared a simple communal meal, just rice, sweet potato soup, and a strange vegetable dish made with beans. Considering the meager ingredients, this meal was already considered as sumptuous as possible. Of course, those accustomed to being served were very unhappy. However, after the long journey from the capital, and having to clean and prepare their sleeping quarters themselves, even with such simple food, they still ate quite a bit. After the meal, there were endless complaints about who had an extra bowl of rice or an extra spoonful of beans. It was unclear why these people were so fixated on other people’s bowls. It seemed that in the future, their focus would shift from who spent more nights with the Emperor to who ate more spoonfuls from the communal pot. The next afternoon, the young Empress sent her two personal maids to distribute the remaining food and allocate rooms. Upon their arrival, the guards had only provided these meager rations. It seemed that life would be even harder in the future. The young Empress wanted to protect the Emperor’s only heir, but she hadn’t said she would also provide for his concubines.

The young Empress had mixed feelings towards the pregnant Miao Qianye. From the fall of the kingdom to their surrender, the pregnant Miao Qianye hadn’t complained or made a fuss. She followed the Empress, never questioning or complaining about her decisions. Only when she wanted to add some details would she approach and whisper to her, sharing her insights without reservation, regardless of whether the Empress would be offended. It seemed that Miao Qianye’s quiet rise to favor in the harem wasn’t without reason. Now that the situation had changed, Miao Qianye no longer hid her intelligence, showing everything to the Empress, only seeking better arrangements for everyone, which made the young Empress look at her differently. Such a woman, it was only right that the Emperor favored her. Even the young Empress felt a touch of sympathy for her.

Originally, this scene was set on the afternoon of the second day after the harem was expelled to the estate. The Empress arranged for her two maids to distribute the remaining food from the previous day. The Empress, finally free from her tedious duties, intended to take some food from the communal pot to Miao Qianye, who was suffering from morning sickness and hadn’t eaten anything, and persuade her to eat. Unexpectedly, perhaps because after two meals, everyone realized the value of food, the lunch had been completely consumed. When the young Empress went to the kitchen, a young eunuch was scraping the bottom of the pot, which contained the leftover rice for the masters. Seeing the Empress, the young eunuch quickly ran away. So, the Empress only found a bowl of rice. The eunuchs and maids were outside building shelters. People were on edge, and the Empress didn’t want to cause any further trouble by calling someone over. She took the rice, thinking of mixing it with some vegetables in the small kitchen and making some warm fried rice for Miao Qianye.

Of course, to satisfy Ji Junxin’s request, the script had been changed to the young Empress setting aside a few eggs from the food basket when it was delivered the previous day, in order to nourish the Emperor’s heir. She took the rice, returned to the small kitchen, and made egg fried rice for Miao Qianye.

Although it was a last-minute decision for a test shoot, the filming equipment and crew of “Imperial Secrets” had all come over. Everyone knew that this was the investors causing trouble. Seeing them wandering around without offering any constructive suggestions, it was clear that their real intention was to find fault during the filming process. This scene, although a scene between Miao Qianye and the young Empress, actually focused on the young Empress. Ji Junxin, playing Miao Qianye, was just a backdrop sitting in the courtyard. It was obvious who the investors were targeting.

Anyway, after Ji Junxin’s makeup was done, Director Pan waved his hand, the clapperboard snapped, and filming began.

The house where the young Empress and Miao Qianye were staying, although the largest and most intact in the cluster, was still quite dilapidated. The so-called small kitchen was just a three-sided thatched shed built against the wall of the main house in the courtyard.

The young Empress entered through the courtyard gate and glanced at Miao Qianye, who was sitting on a bamboo stool, sipping from a cup. Even in such desolate surroundings, she maintained her palace elegance. Unlike those other women, who, lacking servants, had wrinkled clothes and messy hair, arguing even over meals. It seemed that in a few days, they would probably start behaving like village women. Miao Qianye, looking in another direction, didn’t notice the young Empress entering the courtyard. The young Empress didn’t speak, but turned and went to the small kitchen shed, not forgetting to smooth her hair.

That small action of smoothing her hair, the contrast between her disheveled appearance and Miao Qianye’s elegance even in her current state, that little thought of not wanting to be seen in such a disheveled state, that desire to hide, was captured in a close-up by the cameraman.

In acting, portraying the obvious emotions written in the script—laughing, crying, or getting angry—isn’t difficult. The difficulty lies in capturing the subtle emotions and expressions hidden within the script. Like now, the young Empress’s slightly unnatural expression while smoothing her hair, stemming from the comparison between their appearances, that desire to hide her disheveled look from the other person. Mi Hongdou captured this subtle expression perfectly. Director Pan clutched his notebook, almost unable to resist pulling Mi Hongdou aside to praise her.

Mi Hongdou, immersed in the role, was oblivious to Director Pan’s intense gaze.

Entering the kitchen shed, the young Empress rolled up her sleeves a little higher, pulled a handful of dried grass from the pile beside the stove, bundled it together, and held it in one hand. With the other hand, she took a fire starter from the table, blew on it, and when sparks appeared, she held it under the bundle of grass. The grass caught fire, and small flames appeared. The young Empress waved the burning grass, and soon, the flames spread evenly. She stuffed the grass into the stove, then took some firewood and poked it in, adding a few more bundles of grass. In less than two minutes, the fire was burning.

She scooped a lump of white, rice-cake-like substance from a dilapidated porcelain bowl with a wooden spatula. As she skillfully moved the spatula in the heated wok, it quickly melted into transparent oil, coating the wok evenly. At the same time, a rich aroma filled the set, emanating from the stove.

She took a bowl, cracked eggs, added salt, whisked them, added the rice, mixed well, and poured it into the wok… With deft movements and the skillful wielding of the spatula, the rich aroma of oil was soon joined by the fragrance of eggs and rice. It was just simple egg fried rice, how could it smell so good! The smell made everyone’s stomachs rumble… The crew members seemed to collectively forget the boxed lunches they had eaten just half an hour ago.

Stir-fry, out of the wok, beautiful golden rice with white egg. The young Empress picked up the bowl, grabbed a pair of chopsticks, and walked towards the person in the courtyard.

“Eat something.”

Miao Qianye took the bowl and whispered, “Thank you.” She held the bowl but didn’t eat, just slowly placed it on her lap.

Why did she still look so unhappy… Shouldn’t having something delicious to eat make her a little happier? Mi Hongdou looked at the pale and melancholic Ji Junxin in front of her, as if seeing her for the first time, brought to her by Qiao Rubai years ago. So unhappy, so downcast, that one look made her heart ache, wanting to give her all the best things in the world, just to make her smile. Didn’t she love egg fried rice made this way? Why didn’t she take a bite? One bite, and all her worries would be swallowed and disappear.

Just as Mi Hongdou was about to speak, Director Pan’s “Cut!” pulled her back to reality. She was surprised to find that she had just detached from the role after just one close look at Ji Junxin. Fortunately, she had her back to the camera, so no one noticed. She almost said something she shouldn’t have. How could this be… Mi Hongdou couldn’t understand and felt a lingering fear. Seeing that the take was good, she didn’t care about anything else and quickly retreated to drink some water and calm her nerves.

So, Ji Junxin, who had just looked up and wanted to talk to Mi Hongdou, could only watch her stumbling figure retreat.

“Can I have this prop?” A well-dressed young woman suddenly appeared in front of Ji Junxin, blocking her view.

“What?” Ji Junxin didn’t react.

The woman pointed at the bowl of rice in Ji Junxin’s hand with a disgusted expression.

“…” Where did this person come from? Ji Junxin was speechless. “The props belong to the crew, you can ask the director.”

“I want this bowl of rice! I’ll have someone return the bowl later.” The woman reached out unceremoniously.

In broad daylight! Someone was stealing her food! Ji Junxin was stunned!

Stealing food from someone who had only eaten half a plate of burnt scrambled eggs in the past two days, how heartless!

Chapter 18: Capricious

Just unhappy, not self-destructive. Ji Junxin ate half a plate of the burnt scrambled eggs, and when her stomach wasn’t so uncomfortably hungry, she stopped. She peeled and ate an orange, which masked the bitter, burnt taste in her mouth. She considered dinner dealt with.

She didn’t know why, but after hearing Mi Hongdou’s words about detaching from a role, she felt like going home. Of course, the home she originally wanted to return to was her parents’ place… but Lu Gaoshi was used to dropping her off at the small apartment, and she didn’t know why she hadn’t corrected her. Even though this wasn’t where she wanted to go, in the end, it was fortunate that she came back here…

If she had known, she wouldn’t have come back. At the film set, even if it was bad, she could at least get a boxed meal from the crew… Ji Junxin tidied up the table, just as she picked up the plate to throw it away in the kitchen, her phone, which she had tossed aside, started ringing. She quickly dumped the leftovers into the trash can, closed the lid, and the burnt smell in the air seemed to lighten.

The name displayed on the phone was “Qiao Rubai.” Ji Junxin glanced at it, feeling a little disappointed, yet also slightly relieved. Yes, they were so busy, how could they suddenly call back? Ji Junxin didn’t like this sudden change in herself. She had long been accustomed to this busy way of interacting, she shouldn’t have any expectations. It was all because of what that little empress had said… Ji Junxin felt annoyed.

Qiao Rubai had just finished negotiating a project and was incredibly busy. She had thought that everything was arranged on the set and that it wouldn’t matter if she didn’t go for a few days. Who knew that less than a day later, something would go wrong again. “The location for the confinement scene has been found. It’s not in Shudian, but it’s not far, just in a nearby village, less than half an hour’s drive. The other investors want to do a test shoot tomorrow and check if the location is suitable.”

“My scene?” Ji Junxin hadn’t encountered a situation where a scene was filmed out of order so early in the production.

“Yes, the crew will go to the village to prepare tomorrow morning. In the afternoon, we’ll film your scene with Mi Hongdou, the one where you’ve just been confined, the environment is harsh, Miao Qianye is pregnant but worried and can’t eat, and she manages to find some wild vegetables to make fried rice for you and persuades you to eat.” Qiao Rubai was also very frustrated. She had a lot on her plate, and those people were creating more trouble for her. Did they think she didn’t know that what they really wanted to see wasn’t the location, but Mi Hongdou? From the moment she invited the unknown Mi Hongdou from the small-scale Mengguan to play the empress, those people hadn’t stopped scheming, trying to find ways to replace her. When she signed Mi Hongdou from Mengguan back then, she had watched her debut drama, “Divorce, So Be It.” Based on Mi Hongdou’s acting skills at that time, playing the empress was a bit challenging, but she could handle it. Partly out of a desire to compensate, and partly to place Mi Hongdou by Ji Junxin’s side early, Qiao Rubai had removed Qiong Yu’s own actress and brought Mi Hongdou in. It took a lot of effort to make it happen. The role of the empress wasn’t something those schemers could replace. However, judging from the well-filmed wedding scene and Director Pan’s evaluation of Mi Hongdou, it seemed that her adaptability was even better than she had anticipated. Those people’s schemes were doomed to fail. Still, they were troublesome. If it weren’t for the Qiao family’s business, which she hadn’t fully taken control of yet, how would she need others to invest in this movie?

It seemed that she wouldn’t need to continue filming with the extras tomorrow. Ji Junxin thought about the scene Qiao Rubai mentioned. Although it was brought forward, if she reviewed the script a couple of times tonight, there shouldn’t be any problems.

“Has the little empress been notified? Can her schedule be adjusted?” Ji Junxin hadn’t forgotten the hostility towards Mi Hongdou she sensed on the set of “Divorce, So Be It” that morning. In such circumstances, constantly switching between productions would be even more difficult for a newcomer.

“I’ve talked to them, there shouldn’t be any problems. What about you, do you have enough time to prepare?” Qiao Rubai flipped through the script. Ji Junxin didn’t have many lines in this scene, she just needed to act melancholic and eat. One night to get into character was definitely more than enough. Even so, Qiao Rubai habitually expressed her concern. “By the way, they said they’ll use shepherd’s purse for the wild vegetables. I don’t know how it will be cooked. Anyway, in the script, you’re depressed and have no appetite, you only need to eat a little. Do you have any problems with that?”

She had even eaten burnt scrambled eggs, what other problems could there be? Ji Junxin was about to say “no problem” when she suddenly remembered her frustration from earlier, when, spurred by Mi Hongdou’s words, she had made a series of bad decisions, ending up with no takeout and only burnt rice to eat. Although it was her own overthinking and she couldn’t blame the little empress, still…

“I don’t want wild vegetable fried rice, I want egg fried rice…” As soon as the words left her mouth, Ji Junxin was shocked by her own capriciousness.

“No…” Distractedly flipping through documents, Qiao Rubai assumed Ji Junxin would say “no problem.” She was about to reply when she snapped back to reality, realizing something was amiss. “Egg fried rice?”

The faint, lingering burnt smell still hung in the air. How did those words slip out… Ji Junxin was a little confused…

There was a long silence on the other end of the phone. Qiao Rubai, who had been reborn, always felt that it was her negligence in her previous life that led to Ji Junxin being hurt by that wolf Jiang Duo. Subconsciously, there was a desire to compensate, a feeling she wasn’t even aware of. “Okay, egg fried rice it is… You rest early, I’ll call Mi Hongdou.” Assuming that the little foodie simply didn’t want to eat wild vegetable fried rice, Qiao Rubai agreed without hesitation. It was just eggs, she had money, she could be capricious, fry them!

Huh? Ji Junxin put down the phone. The script had been changed just like that? But she hadn’t meant to… It wasn’t because she had eaten terrible scrambled eggs today that she said such a capricious thing.

So, how many stupid things had she done today? Driving back, making those phone calls, burning the rice, and even changing the script… It was enough. Ji Junxin threw herself onto the sofa, grabbed a pillow, and covered her face. Why was she so stupid today…

Stupid or not, how stupid, she still had to drive for more than five hours the next day to go back to filming. What was it called? Oh, right, the mistakes you make, you have to bear the consequences even if you cry.

Most of the rural houses now were two, three, or even four-story buildings. Some wealthier and well-planned villages, from afar, looked like rows of neatly arranged small villas. Shudian, as a famous filming base, was also a unique tourist attraction. Naturally, it had boosted the surrounding catering, accommodation, and other related industries. The village that the “Imperial Secrets” crew went to had many families who built small buildings and ran homestays and farm stays. Such a village, naturally, couldn’t be used for filming historical dramas. Their destination was a wasteland at the foot of the mountain outside the village. Although it was called wasteland, there were still a few houses there, just dilapidated and obviously abandoned for a long time. It was far enough from the village, and there were no farmlands around, it was truly desolate. In the later part of the script, the empress and Miao Qianye would lead the harem to gradually rebuild the estate. From this perspective, this place was quite suitable.

Although they were prisoners, the empress’s status was still there at the beginning, so she would naturally live in the best house in the estate. Since they all looked dilapidated, the biggest one was the best.

When Ji Junxin arrived, several thatched huts had been sparsely erected around the few dilapidated houses on the wasteland. There weren’t enough houses, so the thatched huts were for the less favored concubines and the few eunuchs and maids. However, there was only one simple scene today, between the empress and Miao Qianye, and the crew members were preparing inside the largest dilapidated house. Ji Junxin looked around, didn’t see Mi Hongdou, but saw Qiao Rubai with an expressionless face, talking to a few investors, seemingly not very happy.

It wasn’t just Qiao Rubai, who had just come from an important project, who was unhappy. Director Pan, who was directing the camera crew with a dark expression, was also unhappy.

In Director Pan’s opinion, filming should be a gradual process. After the script was revised, it was mainly divided into several large sections: the palace, the estate, and the battlefield. They had just started filming the palace section, and he didn’t know what those investors were thinking, dragging them here now. The actors had just found the feeling of palace luxury, and now they had to act as if they were suffering. Later, they would have to return to the palace luxury again. It wouldn’t be good if it affected their performance. Director Pan thought that after filming this test shoot, if he wasn’t satisfied, he would just reshoot it when they were filming the estate section. He didn’t want to argue with those people about things like an actor’s feelings, something they wouldn’t understand.

However, when he saw Ji Junxin, Director Pan’s eyes lit up. That slightly pale face, full of fatigue and unhappiness, was perfect! As expected of a popular actress, she was so accurate in getting into character! Suddenly, he felt a little more confident about this hastily arranged scene.

Before Director Pan’s happiness could fully bloom, he saw Mi Hongdou coming out of a makeshift changing room made of cloth. Her hair was tied up, a little messy, with a strand hanging down from the side of her ear. She was wearing a beige dress with a subtle pattern, her sleeves slightly rolled up, and she was carefully holding a dilapidated porcelain bowl. Wasn’t this the thoughtful little empress who had managed to find something to make for Miao Qianye to nourish her pregnancy? Director Pan’s mood improved even more. It seemed that this test shoot wasn’t so bad after all.

Chapter 17: Scrambled Egg Rice

After pressing the call button, Ji Junxin became even more hesitant. But the call quickly connected, and there was no reason to hang up. Noisy chatter came from the receiver, instantly breaking the quiet of the small apartment, which was only filled with the gurgling of the rice cooker.

Judging by the background noise, the other party seemed to be in a very noisy place. She could vaguely hear people saying things like “a few more bottles” and “this dish is good.” They were eating out… In just a few seconds, Ji Junxin regretted making the call. Should she pretend she dialed the wrong number and hang up? This brilliant idea was interrupted by the voice on the other end.

“Hello, Xinxin.” A deep, mellow baritone voice came from the receiver, speaking standard Mandarin with clear pronunciation. Even just four words were spoken with cadence and charm.

Ji Junxin pursed her lips and softly called out, “Dad…” Then, she didn’t know what to say next. Why did she call again?

The person on the other end didn’t rush to speak. There was the sound of a chair being dragged, and then the noisy background chatter gradually faded, suggesting that the other party was looking for a quieter place. Sure enough, the receiver soon quieted down, and she could even hear the other party’s footsteps.

“Xinxin, what’s the matter?” Ji Yangde, accustomed to being a teacher, spoke with a certain authority.

What’s the matter? There really wasn’t anything… Ji Junxin suddenly felt a little foolish and rubbed her temples tiredly. “Nothing, I wanted to call Sister Lu, but I dialed the wrong number…” She had to use that brilliant excuse.

“Dialed the wrong number? Xinxin, you’re not a child anymore, how can you be so careless? Before making a call, you should confirm the person’s name and number. If you call someone and accidentally address them by another person’s name, that’s very impolite. You’re an actress now, more likely to be in the media spotlight than others. You can’t be so careless. I still say, you should come back to school and be a teacher…” Even without seeing him, Ji Junxin could imagine her father’s serious and disapproving expression.

No matter what excuse she used, the outcome probably wouldn’t be good. Ji Junxin listened to the lecture, her hand on her forehead. Seeing that the topic was about to shift back to urging her to become a teacher, she had to interrupt: “Dad, it sounded a bit noisy just now, are you not at home?”

“I’m eating out. A few former students came back to visit the school and insisted on taking a few of us teachers who taught them out for dinner.” This topic seemed to please Ji Yangde, and his tone changed from disapproval to joy. “We told them it wasn’t necessary, but they insisted that ‘a teacher for a day is a father for life,’ and they wanted to show their appreciation… Hehe, these kids are so persistent. That’s why I say, being a good teacher is the most rewarding thing. Tell me, can acting compare to being a teacher?”

“…” As expected, after just a few sentences, he was trying to persuade her to go back to school and be a teacher. Over the years, Ji Junxin had become accustomed to this kind of conversation, but today, she was particularly unhappy. “Then eat more, Dad… I’ll call Sister Lu first, there’s something work-related.”

So, Ji Yangde happily went back to his meal. In the apartment, the rice cooker beeped, signaling that the rice was done, but Ji Junxin had even less appetite now.

Opening the rice cooker, the rich aroma of rice wafted out. The slender grains of rice were crystal clear and distinct. She scooped the rice onto a plate. While waiting for it to cool, Ji Junxin, as if in defiance, dialed another number.

“Hello, Mom…”

“Xinxin, what’s the matter?”

“Nothing, I just called Dad. He’s eating out tonight, so I called to see if you’ve eaten.”

“I have. Let me see, oh, it’s past nine, I’m still at school. There’s a lot of work today, I’ll be back later.” Liu Shulei flipped through the two thick stacks of documents beside her. It seemed like it would take a while. “Xinxin, if there’s nothing else, Mom will go back to work. We can talk properly when you come home next time, okay?”

“…Okay.”

So, why did she make these calls… Ji Junxin felt tired. Ignoring whether she was hungry or not, she hugged a pillow, leaned back on the sofa, closed her eyes, and fell asleep.

In the eyes of their students, Ji Yangde and Liu Shulei were knowledgeable and rigorous teachers. In the eyes of their colleagues, they were the backbone of the school and friendly seniors. In the eyes of their neighbors, they were cultured, polite, and a model couple. But in Ji Junxin’s eyes, Ji Yangde and Liu Shulei were the busiest people in the world. Their lives seemed to revolve around teaching, passionate to the point of tireless dedication, to the point of neglecting even their own daughter.

Most of the time, they lived at the school. Even when they were at home, their minds were still at school. Reading, grading papers, organizing materials… They had too much to do, so much so that as long as Ji Junxin didn’t speak up, they wouldn’t remember that they had a child at home.

Ji Junxin was a model of self-reliance and independence. Before kindergarten, she had a nanny to take care of her. After kindergarten, she became a latchkey kid with a key hanging around her neck. Although the kindergarten was very close to home, and they lived in a relatively safe university-allocated apartment building, from today’s perspective, letting such a young child be a latchkey kid showed how careless Ji Yangde and Liu Shulei were. If that was the case in kindergarten, it was even more so later.

In the eyes of young Junxin, life was waking up, getting ready, and eating the toast and milk on the table. Sometimes, the toast was burnt, and sometimes, the milk was cold. But it didn’t matter, it was better than having nothing on the table. What did you say? People? Where were the people… When she woke up in the morning, she was alone. Then, she would change into the new clothes by her bed, hang the key around her neck, and go to kindergarten. Compared to forgetting her key and having to wait at the door from three or four in the afternoon until eight or nine in the evening, being scolded by the teacher for wearing slippers to kindergarten because she forgot to change her shoes was nothing. Every day, it was very late, usually after dark, before Ji Yangde and Liu Shulei would come home with takeout boxes. They would scold Junxin for turning on too many lights at home, wasting electricity and not being environmentally friendly. As for whether it was too cruel to leave a kindergarten child alone at home until late at night and not let her turn on all the lights, they didn’t think about it. But that was the extent of their daily communication. After a quiet dinner, Ji Yangde and Liu Shulei would go to the study and continue their work. Their communication with Ji Junxin for the day would end there.

Young Ji Junxin once thought that all families were like this. It wasn’t until she grew up, her mind matured, and she could understand TV shows and books that she realized it wasn’t so. The families on TV had arguments, crying, but also hugs and laughter. It wasn’t like her own home, which only had the same daily busyness. She also wanted to act like the children on TV, clinging to her parents’ legs and acting spoiled. She didn’t need to go to time-consuming places like amusement parks, just playing in the community green space for a while would be fine. Last time, on her way home, she saw several kindergarten classmates flying kites with their parents. The kites flew high, colorful and beautiful. In the afternoon, there would be many food stalls next to the green space, smelling fragrant and looking delicious. Many parents from the kindergarten would take their children there to eat… If only her parents could take her there once… However, perhaps because Ji Junxin was naturally quiet, the idea of imitating the children on TV and acting spoiled to get more attention from her parents lingered in her mind for years, but she never put it into action. Ji Yangde and Liu Shulei would never know that their child was so considerate that even in her wishes, she considered not taking up too much of their time.

Because she was used to this indifferent way of interaction, even as a child, she couldn’t take that step to change things. Whether she couldn’t take that step, or subconsciously felt that she would be rejected and didn’t dare to, the grown-up Ji Junxin could no longer tell.

She woke up close to midnight, having slept for more than two hours. Ji Junxin wasn’t aware that her tendency to fall asleep whenever she encountered something unpleasant or didn’t want to face was a form of escapism. She had slept well, but her mood still seemed a little low.

She hovered her hand over the plate of rice. With enough time, the rice should have completely cooled.

Ji Junxin opened the cupboard, looked at the electronic scale and measuring cup inside, thought for a moment, then closed the cupboard door without taking anything out. Ji Junxin wasn’t a good cook. All she could make was simple fried rice or scrambled eggs. And she needed to use the electronic scale and measuring cup to precisely measure the ingredients according to the recipe to make it taste good. For example, if she wanted to make egg fried rice now, she had to weigh the cold rice, salt, and MSG, then measure the oil and egg mixture with the measuring cup, and finally adjust the heat according to the recipe, down to the second. Usually, when she wanted to cook something herself, she would follow the recipe precisely. It might not be delicious, but at least it was edible. But today, she was really too tired. Especially since she had dreamt of many childhood memories while sleeping, which made her even more tired. So, she would make an exception and deviate from the recipe this time. It was just egg fried rice, she had made it a few times before.

She loosened the cold rice, mixed it with the egg mixture, heated the oil in the wok, and stir-fried it over high heat…

Soon…

The burnt smell quickly overpowered the fragrance of fruit, rice, and egg…

The finished product – a plate of burnt scrambled egg rice.

So, Ji Junxin, who had been a little unhappy, became very unhappy, especially at this hour, when there was basically no food delivery available!

How did her day become like this? Ji Junxin, with a cold expression, scooped a spoonful of burnt scrambled egg rice into her mouth and chewed, chewed, chewed… It was a bit bitter from being burnt.

“What if, in reality, there is nothing you love, care about, or are most reluctant to part with?”

“…Then, in reality, there must be something you want the most. The desire to possess is also a kind of attachment. You can use the desire to return to reality to possess that thing to detach from the immersed state.”

Heh, what if the thing you want to possess can only be possessed in the drama? Ji Junxin thought of that silly little empress. Perhaps, she didn’t realize that some people didn’t like their real lives, didn’t like their real selves, which was why they became immersed in their roles so easily. In the drama, there were people who cared, people who loved, people who hated, how wonderful… It was better than being alone at night, in an empty house, turning on all the lights. It was better than having three people at home but not saying a word to each other. In the drama, she could see love, see hate, feel happy, or sad… Even if it was all fake, it was so attractive.

Ji Junxin ate the burnt scrambled egg rice spoonful by spoonful, her eyes inexplicably welling up. Perhaps… it was the burnt rice, it was too bitter…

Chapter 16: A Thread of Attachment

Acquiring information is often quick; absorbing and applying it is usually slow. Like eating, the more delicious the food, the more you eat, the longer it takes to digest. Ji Junxin felt the same way about her conversation with Mi Hongdou.

After their brief exchange, Ji Junxin returned to her own set. Perhaps because she had something on her mind, the filming wasn’t as smooth as usual. Fortunately, she only had scenes with extras that day. Even with something on her mind, it wasn’t difficult for Ji Junxin, she just wasn’t performing at her best. Director Pan hesitated several times during the process, feeling that compared to Ji Junxin’s previous performances, something was missing. But he couldn’t pinpoint what was wrong, so he eventually let it pass.

“Imperial Secrets” had a huge investment and high standards, so they weren’t too concerned about rushing the schedule. This was also one of the reasons Director Pan accepted the project. If a scene wasn’t good, they would repeatedly rehearse and film it until it was satisfactory. If the day’s filming went smoothly and there was extra time, they could even add scenes from later in the script. The filming that day wasn’t particularly good, but it wasn’t bad either. It was completed, but, as Director Pan put it, it felt somewhat unsatisfactory for some reason. So, although there were no NGs and there was still some time left, Director Pan wasn’t in the mood to film any more scenes, and they wrapped up for the day.

It was only a little past two in the afternoon when they finished. Ji Junxin’s next scene wasn’t until the next afternoon. After a brief consideration, she informed the crew that she was returning to Jiang City and would be back on set on time tomorrow. Driving from Shudian Film City back to Jiang City, even without traffic, would take five hours. She probably wouldn’t get home until eight in the evening, and she would have to leave for the set early the next morning to make it in time for the afternoon scenes… What was the point of such a tiring trip? The distance was long, and driving was exhausting. Lu Gaoshi wasn’t happy, but even after repeatedly trying to dissuade her, she couldn’t change Ji Junxin’s mind.

Although Lu Gaoshi tried to dissuade her gently, her reluctance was written all over her face. Ji Junxin, preoccupied with her thoughts, wasn’t blind: “I’m not going back for company business this time, so Sister Lu doesn’t need to go back.”

“Ah… how can that be? It’s so far, how can I let you go alone? I’ll drive you back.” Hearing that Ji Junxin wasn’t asking her to go back, Lu Gaoshi was secretly delighted, but quickly dismissed the thought of slacking off. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to, but she didn’t dare. She wasn’t qualified to manage an artist of Ji Junxin’s caliber. If it weren’t for Qiao Rubai helping with the tasks a manager should handle, and Ji Junxin’s insistence on keeping her, she wouldn’t have the ability or qualifications to continue being Ji Junxin’s manager. Lu Gaoshi lacked competence, but she wasn’t stupid. It was just that the previous leisurely pace had made her lazy and almost forget her duties. Until a month ago, Qiao Rubai, for some reason, started gradually handing over some of the manager’s tasks to her. Although it wasn’t much, it was enough to keep the incompetent Lu Gaoshi busy and stressed… Lu Gaoshi initially thought that Qiao Rubai was too busy, so she was delegating some of the work. But time and time again, whenever she managed to complete a task with great effort, another one would arrive. Lu Gaoshi didn’t believe that at her age, Qiao Rubai would be trying to train her to become an all-knowing and all-powerful manager… If it wasn’t training, then it was… Lu Gaoshi wasn’t very capable, but she was scheming. Soon, she deliberately messed up a task Qiao Rubai assigned her, a task that wouldn’t cause any real harm even if it was messed up. To Lu Gaoshi’s surprise, Qiao Rubai didn’t scold her, and didn’t even seem to mention it to Ji Junxin. She silently cleaned up the mess, but her gaze towards Lu Gaoshi became deeper, more unreadable. Something felt off. Lu Gaoshi tried to subtly probe Ji Junxin, but this girl whose mind was only on food was really… What made Lu Gaoshi even more apprehensive was that, upon closer inspection, the tasks Qiao Rubai assigned her were all those that wouldn’t cause any real harm even if messed up, but were very complicated, troublesome, and mentally taxing. This made Lu Gaoshi, who had been doing an assistant’s job with a manager’s salary, feel exhausted. Lu Gaoshi couldn’t guess Qiao Rubai’s intentions, but as long as she clung tightly to Ji Junxin, Qiao Rubai probably wouldn’t dare to fire her openly.

Therefore, Lu Gaoshi, who desperately wanted to seize the opportunity and not return to Jiang City, didn’t dare to let Ji Junxin drive back alone. She had to go along, and not only that, but she had to be a good driver, solidifying her seemingly stable but actually precarious position.

Ji Junxin pretended not to notice the flash of joy in Lu Gaoshi’s eyes when she suggested that she stay behind. She just nodded obediently and got into the back seat.

The back seat, not the passenger seat. It was a pity that Lu Gaoshi, after being with Ji Junxin for so long, didn’t understand what this small but significant change meant.

In the rearview mirror, Ji Junxin had closed her eyes and fallen asleep… Lu Gaoshi shook her head as she drove. This girl was so capricious. Didn’t she know that it was very tiring for someone her age to drive for five hours? Going back just like that, becoming more and more capricious, it was all Qiao Rubai’s fault for spoiling her. And that Jiang Duo was useless. After more than a month, she still hadn’t managed to make a good impression. She kept saying that when she became famous, she wouldn’t forget her kindness and would pay her handsomely to come back and work for her. Psh, by the time she became famous and hired her back, after all that effort, the treatment might not even be as good as what she had with Ji Junxin. If it weren’t for her being that person’s daughter, she wouldn’t have helped her get close to Ji Junxin. But now it seemed that Qiao Rubai’s intentions towards her were unclear. If she was really fired, she might really have to support Jiang Duo to secure her own job. Lu Gaoshi started to feel glad that she had agreed to help Jiang Duo out of sentimentality. Perhaps, in the end, it would actually be helping herself. Thinking this, she felt a little more relaxed, a smile appearing on her face as she enjoyed the breeze.

Sleeping while sitting isn’t comfortable, but Ji Junxin managed to sleep soundly. She only woke up once midway, wanting to take over driving for a while. After being refused by Lu Gaoshi, she fell asleep again. Just like that, she slept all the way home, still drowsy when she was woken up.

Although not fully awake, Ji Junxin firmly declined Lu Gaoshi’s offer to walk her upstairs. Then, she watched as Lu Gaoshi, whose worried expression couldn’t hide her joy, drove away.

Why did she have to see it so clearly… Ji Junxin thought of what Qiao Rubai had repeatedly emphasized to her recently.

A soft sigh, only she could hear.

The one-bedroom apartment was clean and tidy, with a faint scent of oranges in the air. The familiar surroundings made Ji Junxin relax. Fortunately, she hadn’t listened to Qiao Rubai and bought a bigger house. Such a big house would be a hassle to clean. Perhaps even Ji Junxin herself wasn’t aware that her insistence on choosing a small apartment was a subconscious territorial instinct. With a small apartment, it was inconvenient for others to visit, and even if they did, they couldn’t stay overnight. Therefore, this was her sanctuary, a place for just her.

There weren’t many people who could come up here in the first place. Now, perhaps there was one less.

Several oranges placed in the fruit bowl for their fragrance had ripened. Ji Junxin squeezed each one, choosing the ripest one to eat. The sweet and sour, refreshing taste washed away the day’s fatigue and awakened her appetite.

Opening the refrigerator, there were plenty of vegetables, meat, and eggs. Usually, Lu Gaoshi would regularly buy fresh groceries and bring them over, often cooking a few dishes for her. Lu Gaoshi’s cooking skills were decent, certainly not as good as a restaurant chef, but better than the average housewife. Looking at the fully stocked refrigerator, Ji Junxin thought of Lu Gaoshi’s kindness and her heart softened.

However, she was gone now, so…

Ji Junxin started cooking the rice and took out two eggs from the pile of ingredients. So, if she had to rely on herself, she could only have egg fried rice.

While the rice was cooking, Ji Junxin had some free time. And with free time, she thought of her conversation with Mi Hongdou that morning. She hadn’t expected that Mi Hongdou, as a newcomer without formal training, would have such a detailed understanding of immersion. Not only that, but her views on how to quickly detach from the immersed state were what truly intrigued Ji Junxin.

“If you consider the world within the drama and the real world you live in as two parallel worlds, then you can try to repeatedly and suggestively memorize the things you love, care about, and are most reluctant to part with in reality. Memorize them so well that even when you’re immersed, even when you enter the world of the drama, even if you can’t recall the real world, even if you can’t recall that specific thing, as long as you remember that thread of attachment, that reluctance to let go, it will be much easier to detach from the drama. After all, even when immersed, even when you truly consider yourself the character in the drama, it’s impossible to develop something within the short span of the script, within the drama, that can rival the love you have in reality.”

The biggest problem with immersion is the blurring of lines between the drama and reality, making it difficult to find your true self after becoming immersed. So, what is your true self? What Mi Hongdou said, identifying one thing in reality that you love, care about, and are most reluctant to part with, repeatedly affirming and suggesting it, establishes a part of your true self. Then, after becoming immersed, if you can’t immediately detach, you can rely on this thread of attachment to quickly find this part of your true self, and thus find yourself before you became immersed. This thing is like an anchor, tying an invisible rope to the immersed person. The more important this thing is to the person, the stronger the pull, the easier it is to detach.

Mi Hongdou’s words were enlightening to Ji Junxin, but they also raised a new question. For Ji Junxin, what was the thing she loved, cared about, and was most reluctant to part with?

The rice cooker gurgled, and the aroma of rice filled the air, quickly overpowering the faint fruity scent in the room. Ji Junxin’s stomach growled in response. Could it be that the thing she loved, cared about, and was most reluctant to part with was food? Thinking this, Ji Junxin almost laughed at her own wild imagination.

Suppressing her laughter, she gently traced the edge of her phone with her fingertip. After a long while, she tapped the screen. The cursor flickered back and forth in the contacts list. Finally, Ji Junxin dialed one of the numbers…

Chapter 15: Immersion

For a fan, being able to see their idol often is a blissful thing. However, Mi Hongdou now felt a little unlucky… because she had just thrown away such a big bag of jerky. Could it be that Ji Junxin came over because she regretted it and wanted the jerky back? What could she give her in return?

Even after the scene was finished, Mi Hongdou still lingered, carefully stealing glances at Ji Junxin, who was standing not far away. There was a strange sparkle in Ji Junxin’s eyes when she looked at her, a keen interest that even delicious food couldn’t elicit. Mi Hongdou became even more hesitant to leave, but the crew members were already changing the set, and she wasn’t in the next scene.

In reality, Mi Hongdou had completely misunderstood Ji Junxin. Earlier, Yang Lianyi had been urgently looking for Mi Hongdou for her scene, but couldn’t find her anywhere, and her phone was unanswered. Yang Lianyi guessed that the “Imperial Secrets” crew might have temporarily changed their schedule and taken her, so she called Qiao Rubai. Coincidentally, Qiao Rubai wasn’t on set that day and could only ask Ji Junxin about it. Before she could get back to Yang Lianyi, Yang Lianyi found Mi Hongdou by the trash can. Afterward, busy with Mi Hongdou’s makeup and pre-scene coaching, Yang Lianyi forgot her phone in her bag and missed several calls from Qiao Rubai. Qiao Rubai was a little worried and couldn’t return herself, so she asked Ji Junxin, who hadn’t started filming yet, to check on the two of them.

This coincided with the second take after the NG. Mi Hongdou didn’t want to be underestimated as soon as she joined the crew, so she put in a lot of effort. It wasn’t until the scene was successfully completed that she snapped back to reality and noticed Ji Junxin. For Ji Junxin, Mi Hongdou’s performance in this scene was even more impactful than her performance as the shy empress the day before. In the previous scene, Mi Hongdou played the shy, newlywed empress. The final look she gave Ji Yan was tender, loving, shy, and joyful, even carrying a sense of fulfillment and the bittersweet feeling of a dream finally realized. That look wasn’t something that could be achieved purely through acting skill. Either Mi Hongdou was looking at Zhang Zijing, thinking of the person she truly loved, and completely substituting Zhang Zijing with that person in that moment. Or, Mi Hongdou was truly immersed in the role, becoming Qin Muxue, the Qin Muxue who loved Ji Yan. Ji Junxin had watched the entire scene the previous day, and while amazed by Mi Hongdou’s performance, she hoped that Mi Hongdou’s success was due to the first method.

However, seeing Mi Hongdou’s performance as Lin Qiao now, Ji Junxin was certain that Mi Hongdou had become immersed in the role. Gone was her usual honest and lively demeanor. The moment she opened the door, she transformed into Lin Qiao. Careful, reserved, clearly caring and yearning, yet masking everything with indifference. She was a young girl who had longed for familial affection for so long that she had convinced herself she didn’t need it. Ji Junxin felt a pang of sympathy in her heart… Fortunately, the scene didn’t last long. After it ended, the young girl in the center of the set instantly switched back from Lin Qiao to Mi Hongdou, the Mi Hongdou who had given her roast pork. Speaking of roast pork, it was crispy this time too… Wait, she seemed to be thinking about something strange. Ji Junxin secretly pinched her palm, pulling her wandering thoughts back.

Truly impressive… For an actor, immersion isn’t actually that difficult. Year after year of acting, there are always a few dramas, a few scenes, where they become immersed. The emotions, state of mind, circumstances, even the environment, and the co-stars… there are too many factors that can influence an actor and lead to immersion. Once immersed, the line between drama and life blurs. Except for a small number of artists, most actors have experienced immersion to varying degrees in their careers. The difficulty has never been in immersing oneself, but in detaching from that state. This is incredibly challenging, so much so that many fail. That’s why so many on-screen couples become real-life couples, even marrying. Immersed in the role, investing genuine feelings, they can’t detach, can’t let go, and can only continue the relationship in reality. Therefore, many actors don’t allow themselves to become fully immersed. Firstly, immersion doesn’t necessarily equate to good acting. Zhang Weiguo’s NG earlier was a perfect example. Immersed in the role, becoming that person, they might not strictly adhere to the script, negatively impacting the filming. Secondly, immersion isn’t just about the love in the drama, but also the grudges, joys, and sorrows—both positive and negative emotions—which can easily be absorbed by the immersed actor. This is why some actors who play overly negative and dark roles become immersed, unable to detach, and develop symptoms of depression, requiring psychological help. For some, immersion is passive, like Zhang Weiguo, like many others. For others, it’s active, unintentional, like Mi Hongdou just now, and also like… Ji Junxin.

Whether during periods of obscurity or fame, Ji Junxin maintained only superficial relationships with her fellow actors. Interaction was more frequent during filming, but once the drama wrapped and promotions ended, everyone went their separate ways, with little lasting personal connection. The industry whispered that it was because her childhood friend, Qiao Rubai, was fiercely protective, but few knew that this was also Ji Junxin’s own preference. The reason was simple: Ji Junxin immersed herself too easily in her roles. Her immersion was different from Zhang Weiguo’s. Zhang Weiguo, influenced by Mi Hongdou, was drawn into the scene. He became Lin Qiao’s father, momentarily forgetting that he was the middle-aged actor Zhang Weiguo. However, when faced with his daughter’s accusations, he reacted with Zhang Weiguo’s usual thought process, leading to that brief hesitation and the NG. Ji Junxin was different. In Qiao Rubai’s words, Ji Junxin was like a dry sponge. Give her a role, and she would absorb everything about it, becoming that character, feeling what the character felt, thinking what the character thought. As filming progressed, she would become increasingly like that character. Precisely because Ji Junxin immersed herself so readily, so easily became the person in the drama, and because, unlike Zhang Weiguo, she didn’t deviate from the script after becoming immersed, this ability allowed her, despite lacking formal training, to quickly rise to fame. However, this came with a significant problem.

She was the type who couldn’t quickly detach from the immersed state. Such a person was both perfectly suited and terribly unsuited for acting. Upon realizing this, Qiao Rubai had advised Ji Junxin to quit acting, but she couldn’t dissuade her. Ji Junxin loved acting, loved experiencing other lives through her roles. So, Qiao Rubai eventually relented, but became even more cautious and protective. After filming wrapped, Qiao Rubai, with her aloof demeanor, would act as a gatekeeper for Ji Junxin. She always scheduled breaks for Ji Junxin after each film or TV series, ensuring she had time to readjust, and never allowed her to take on overly negative roles. Furthermore, for a considerable period after filming ended, Qiao Rubai limited Ji Junxin’s contact with her co-stars, especially those she had romantic scenes with. In her previous life, Qiao Rubai had managed this well, until she inexplicably failed with Jiang Duo. It was unbelievable! Qiao Rubai’s caution stemmed from her concern that Ji Junxin’s immersion would cloud her judgment. So, when that concern became reality, Qiao Rubai was powerless.

The current Ji Junxin, acutely aware of her own weakness, was fascinated by Mi Hongdou’s ability to quickly detach after immersing herself so deeply.

The next scene didn’t involve Mi Hongdou, so she had to leave the set. Unable to ignore Ji Junxin approaching her, Mi Hongdou forced a smile and greeted her. However, to Mi Hongdou’s surprise, Ji Junxin didn’t mention the jerky. Instead, she asked Mi Hongdou if she knew about a phenomenon in acting called over-immersion in a role. Because Mi Hongdou was a newcomer, Ji Junxin explained it in detail. But to Mi Hongdou, it was simply the concept of immersion.

Should she continue playing the newcomer, feigning ignorance, or demonstrate her understanding of the topic, engaging in a deeper discussion with her idol and earning brownie points? Mi Hongdou was torn.

However, she quickly made a decision, one she didn’t realize would have such far-reaching consequences.

Chapter 14: Old Man Zhang

“Oh my, you scared me…” Mi Hongdou, startled, felt dizzy. After seeing who it was, she patted her chest and took a deep breath.

Am I that scary… Yang Lianyi snorted: “I saw you pacing back and forth from afar, called you several times, but you didn’t respond. I thought something happened to you, so I came over to check, and you’re acting like you’re dying. Tell me, did you do something wrong? Don’t be afraid, tell me, and I’ll help you cover it up.” After saying that, she felt even more justified and looked at Mi Hongdou with increasing concern.

Why, after being reborn, did she choose this scatterbrained, lucky person as her boss again? Mi Hongdou sighed silently: “It’s nothing, I just came to throw something away. Aren’t they filming over there? Why are you out here?” Mi Hongdou couldn’t remember how she interacted with Yang Lianyi when she was a complete newcomer, but fortunately, Yang Lianyi didn’t mind her casual attitude.

“Oh! I came out to look for you! You disappeared after the roast pig was distributed. I called you, but you didn’t answer, so I thought you went back to the hotel.” Yang Lianyi slapped her forehead, her face full of annoyance, and pulled Mi Hongdou to leave. After taking two steps, she stopped. “Eh, why is there a smell of meat here too…”

“Where’s the meat coming from? Wasn’t it all eaten? Why are you looking for me? I don’t have a scene until this afternoon, right?” Mi Hongdou glanced at the greaseproof paper package in the trash can. She had used filming as an excuse to quickly take the jerky away from Ji Junxin and the others. In fact, she didn’t have a scene for “Divorce, So Be It” until the afternoon. She had originally planned to go back and take a nap after throwing away the trash.

“Yeah, you have no idea how difficult that Old Man Zhang is to deal with. He insisted on moving your scene to the first one in the morning. I think it’s because I rejected the person he recommended before, he’s deliberately trying to give us a hard time.” Yang Lianyi became angrier as she spoke. “If I had known, I wouldn’t have chosen him. If it weren’t for Mr. Qiu not being available, we wouldn’t have had to settle for second best. Ai, forget it, forget it, it’s all tears. Have you familiarized yourself with the script I sent you a few days ago? Whether I keep my face or have it stepped on depends on you.” She even made a gesture of touching her cheek, as if someone would really dare to tear it off if Mi Hongdou didn’t act well.

Are those tears really not water from your brain? Was it because she was a complete newcomer back then that she thought this kind of boss and this kind of manager were okay? Now, Mi Hongdou only had two words in her mind—hehe. After joining Qiong Yu, she realized how strange it was that Mengguan still existed and even thrived. Not to mention anything else, just take herself, for example. She was picked up from the streets, not from an acting school, with zero acting experience. She didn’t even receive any training, just a few gigabytes of tutorials, and then she was put on set. Mengguan thought it was okay, but that didn’t mean others thought so too. Old Man Zhang, as Yang Lianyi called him, was one of them. Old Man Zhang, whose real name was Zhang Weiguo, was in his early fifties. With makeup, he could play roles in their twenties or thirties, or even seventies or eighties. He was currently one of the mainstays of family, marriage, and ethics dramas. He was a good actor, but he had a bad temper. Originally, Yang Lianyi didn’t want to hire him, but the other person wasn’t available, and she couldn’t hire someone too inferior and lower the quality of the drama, so she hired him to play one of the main roles, Lin Qiao’s father, . But in her previous life, she didn’t see him clamoring to move his scenes forward right from the start…

This was what Mi Hongdou didn’t understand. In her previous life, when Yang Lianyi wanted to sign her, she discussed it with her mother for several days before signing the contract. During those days, Yang Lianyi was constantly bothered by Zhang Weiguo’s calls, asking her to have the girl he recommended audition. After the director and investors unanimously agreed that she wasn’t good, he gave up. So, although he was a bit nitpicky with Mi Hongdou later, he didn’t make things too difficult for her. This time was different. Mi Hongdou signed the contract quickly, and Yang Lianyi didn’t even let the girl audition. Zhang Weiguo felt that he had lost face and was very angry. In addition, to accommodate Mi Hongdou’s scenes in “Imperial Secrets,” the filming schedule of had been adjusted quite a bit, which made Zhang Weiguo even more unhappy.

Arriving on set, seeing everyone in their positions, waiting for her, Mi Hongdou knew that Zhang Weiguo had persuaded the director to move the afternoon scene to the morning. Fortunately, the makeup for a modern family drama was quick. Mi Hongdou quickly got ready, but she still couldn’t avoid the unfriendly gazes from some people who had been waiting for a long time, including, of course, Zhang Weiguo.

While getting her makeup done, Mi Hongdou went through the plot of the scene in her mind again. Lin Qiao’s mother had finally raised her two children. After years of fighting wits and courage with her mother-in-law, their relationship had gradually eased. She thought that a good life was finally about to begin, but then she discovered that Lin Qiao’s father had a suspected mistress. Lin Qiao’s mother had a big fight with her father. Just then, Lin Qiao came home and her mother cried to her daughter. Lin Qiao’s father, feeling ashamed and angry, scolded his wife and daughter for being delusional and overthinking. He then shook off Lin Qiao’s mother’s hand, which was grabbing his sleeve, and was about to open the door and leave. Lin Qiao’s mother lost her balance, and with his push, she sprained her foot and fell to the ground. The three of them froze. Lin Qiao’s father, feeling guilty, stepped forward to help her up, but then stopped, muttering that it was all Lin Qiao’s mother’s fault for overthinking and making a fuss. Lin Qiao’s mother didn’t expect that at her age, her husband would actually lay hands on her. She was stunned and could only cry, unable to say anything in return. Lin Qiao, however, had long felt that something was wrong with her father, who had been hiding in his study, surfing the internet and chatting online. His computer was password-protected, and he had even asked his younger brother to buy a webcam. It was very suspicious. But as a daughter, she couldn’t just accuse him directly. She had hinted to her brother a few times, but he didn’t react. Before she could come up with a plan, she encountered this scene today. Seeing her father scolding her mother like this, she blurted out everything she had observed these days in a fit of anger. Unlike Lin Qiao’s mother’s intuition and suspicion, Lin Qiao’s words were clearly based on evidence. Lin Qiao’s mother was heartbroken. Lin Qiao’s father’s old face was red with shame from his daughter’s accusations. Ashamed and angry, he slammed the door and left.

The scene they were about to film started from the moment Lin Qiao opened the door and saw her parents arguing.

For Mi Hongdou, filming “Divorce, So Be It” was much easier than “Imperial Secrets.” Opening the door, shock, mediating, comforting her mother, trying to help her mother up after she was pushed down by her father, becoming more and more silent under her father’s angry scolding, and finally exploding with accumulated anger. Nervousness, anger, disappointment, she quickly rattled off her father’s recent unusual behavior, and then… NG!

However, it wasn’t Mi Hongdou who was called NG by the director, but Zhang Weiguo. For some reason, Zhang Weiguo, who was supposed to be ashamed and angry and slam the door after Mi Hongdou finished speaking, didn’t react and froze for several seconds, resulting in an NG.

The director’s “cut” startled Zhang Weiguo. He didn’t say anything, just looked deeply at Mi Hongdou, then quickly walked to his resting area and took several large gulps of water. The slightly warm tea went down his throat and warmed his stomach. Zhang Weiguo frowned, put down the thermos, and went to grab a bottle of mineral water from the box next to him. After a few more gulps of cold water, he finally calmed down. What just happened? He was actually brought into the scene by a complete newcomer, and not only that, but he didn’t even follow the script? NG? Unbelievable!

Zhang Weiguo’s reason for persuading the director to move the afternoon scene with Mi Hongdou to the first scene was to see the newcomer’s skill level. The director probably also understood that he was holding a grudge and wanted to give the newcomer a hard time. Holding a grudge wouldn’t help his acting either. After confirming that Yang Lianyi had no objections, the afternoon scene was moved forward. Just as the director had expected, Zhang Weiguo wanted to make the newcomer NG a few times right from the start, to dampen her spirits and show off his seniority. The entire crew’s schedule had been adjusted for her, why? Zhang Weiguo set the stage, but he didn’t anticipate the ending.

From the moment Mi Hongdou opened the door, Zhang Weiguo knew that it would probably be impossible to see this newcomer make a fool of herself. As a veteran actor, Zhang Weiguo was also very dedicated. Every time he received a script, he would read it many times. Besides his own lines, he also had some understanding of the other characters’ scenes, to ensure that he wouldn’t make mistakes in the overall direction. So, as soon as Mi Hongdou appeared, Zhang Weiguo saw that it wasn’t Mi Hongdou, it was Lin Qiao, it was the Lin Qiao in the script. Her parents, who often argued, were having another fight. Lin Qiao, at first, casually tried to persuade them without really paying attention. When she understood that the argument was because her father might have a mistress, she dropped her casual demeanor and tried to persuade her mother that she might be mistaken, while giving her father a look of forbearance. Until, in a protective posture, Lin Qiao stood in front of her mother and told her father, whom she was facing, about what she knew, about his recent unusual behavior. That child, her eyes full of disappointment… No, not just disappointment, but also the slight trembling of her body, whether it was because of the nervousness of confronting her father like this for the first time, or because of the anger towards her father’s possible infidelity… Those slightly moist, but tearless eyes, stubbornly concealing her vulnerability and helplessness… Every word struck Zhang Weiguo’s heart. The panic of having the matter exposed, the guilt towards his wife and daughter, the anger of a man’s pride being hurt, Zhang Weiguo felt a mix of emotions. At that moment, he really became Lin Qiao’s father, the Lin Qiao’s father who had made a mistake, facing his daughter’s accusations, with nowhere to hide. Zhang Weiguo was pulled into the scene by Mi Hongdou. He became Lin Qiao’s father. He wasn’t Zhang Weiguo. He forgot the script. Zhang Weiguo’s instinctive reaction to this was to freeze. So, NG.

He must have underestimated this newcomer. Zhang Weiguo took a few more gulps of cold water and went back on set.

This time, Zhang Weiguo was prepared. He constantly reminded himself not to get too immersed in the role, and it went much smoother. Even so, it was still a bit difficult to film the scene smoothly. That Mi Hongdou, for some reason, acted even better the second time. Those subtle movements and expressions, the slightly trembling, thin but firm tone of voice, she portrayed a girl who hadn’t experienced much family affection, longed for it, was repeatedly hurt, but still wanted to protect and believe in her family, too realistically, too realistically. Several times, Zhang Weiguo didn’t dare to look at her slightly reddened eyes, afraid that he would be pulled into the scene again, forgetting the script and acting on instinct.

Mi Hongdou didn’t know that Zhang Weiguo, who left the set without saying a word after filming, was shocked by her performance. What she was thinking about now was, why did Ji Junxin appear on the set of “Divorce, So Be It”?

Chapter 13: Manager

Successfully handing off a package of roast pork, Mi Hongdou smiled faintly. As expected, she didn’t need to use the tactic of visual impact by opening the greaseproof paper package. The temptation of crispy-skinned suckling pig was truly irresistible to ordinary people.

“Junxin, look what I brought back.” Lu Gaoshi walked over with a happy expression, holding up the bag in her hand to Ji Junxin. “We were just saying that we didn’t know if the roast pig from the other crew was delicious. Well, we can’t have roast pig, but Jiang Duo brought some homemade dried meat, honey-glazed, your favorite. You didn’t eat breakfast this morning, you must be hungry now.”

Lu Gaoshi, nearly forty, was slightly plump. Her hair was tied up, and her face had a gentle and kind expression. As she spoke to Ji Junxin with a hint of joy and teasing, she resembled a kind elder. As Ji Junxin’s manager at this time, Lu Gaoshi’s appearance was reasonable. Mi Hongdou lowered her eyes slightly, concealing the surprise and disdain on her face.

Ji Junxin, holding the package of roast pork, was still shocked by the fact that her mouth said no, but her body was very honest. Lu Gaoshi’s interruption brought her back to reality. Ji Junxin shook the package of roast pork in her hand and pointed to Mi Hongdou: “Our little empress brought roast pork, ordered by Qiao Rubai.”

“…Oh, hello, you must be Mi Hongdou, who’s playing the little empress. I’m Ji Junxin’s manager, surnamed Lu.” Lu Gaoshi, who had been happy, was stunned for a moment, but quickly smiled and greeted Mi Hongdou. “Little Empress is a newcomer. If there’s anything you’re not sure about, just ask me. We’re in the same crew, don’t be polite.” She put on a friendly and approachable demeanor.

“Hello, Sister Lu.” Mi Hongdou pretended not to see the flash of annoyance on Lu Gaoshi’s face and greeted her obediently.

Lu Gaoshi nodded, not continuing the pleasantries, but instead stuffed the bag in her hand into Ji Junxin’s: “This was freshly made by Jiang Duo this morning. I heard it was still a little warm when it was packed, and it smelled delicious. Try it, see if it’s better than the ones you usually buy outside.”

A package of roast pig in her left hand and a bag of pork jerky in her right, what a hearty breakfast…

“Would you like some pork jerky?” Ji Junxin felt a little embarrassed to have taken Mi Hongdou’s roast pork since they weren’t very familiar, so she offered the bag of pork jerky.

“Aiya, this is from Jiang Duo…” Seeing this, Lu Gaoshi quickly reached out to stop her. Unfortunately, she was a step too late. A small, white hand quickly reached out and took the entire bag of jerky. Yes, the entire bag!

“Thank you, I love it.” Mi Hongdou clutched the bag of jerky, pretending not to hear what Lu Gaoshi was saying, and gave Ji Junxin a bright smile. “Then I’ll be going. I have a scene later.” She waved and left with only the bag of jerky.

Lu Gaoshi’s face was flushed with anger. How could there be such a presumptuous person? Such a big bag of jerky, taking a few pieces would have been fine, but she actually took the whole bag, so impolite! Looking at Ji Junxin, who seemed to be in a good mood, waving goodbye to Mi Hongdou, Lu Gaoshi was so angry she didn’t know what to do.

Lu Gaoshi angrily returned to Jiang Duo’s side. After learning that Jiang Duo had only made that much jerky and had already given it all to her, with nothing left, she became even angrier. She was so angry that she didn’t even want to look at the roast pork Ji Junxin handed her. Earlier, knowing that another crew was starting filming in the film city today, she specifically asked Jiang Duo to make pork jerky. She had planned to bring up the topic of roast pig with Ji Junxin after hearing the firecrackers, making her crave it, and then, as if by coincidence, take out the pork jerky from Jiang Duo, which would definitely increase Ji Junxin’s favorability towards Jiang Duo. Then, after exchanging gifts, wouldn’t they become closer?

Speaking of which, it was all Qiao Rubai’s fault. She didn’t know what she had been eating these days, but she frequently came to the set, and every time, she would snatch the food that Jiang Duo had prepared to win Ji Junxin’s favor. If it weren’t for this, would she have needed to bring the jerky so early in the morning? She wouldn’t have encountered that Mi Hongdou either. A little newcomer, she didn’t know what she was relying on to dare to snatch food from Ji Junxin. And that foodie actually looked happy and not upset at all.

When people spend time together, they can more or less understand each other’s temperaments. Ji Junxin offered a piece of roast pork, which Lu Gaoshi refused with a smile, saying she had eaten too much for breakfast. Ji Junxin could see that she was hiding her unhappiness behind that smile. It was her fault, she hadn’t even tasted the food she brought back before giving it away. She felt like she had let her down… Ji Junxin felt a little guilty. But thinking about the little empress’s sparkling eyes when she received the roast pork, and her bright smile when she took the jerky, like a child who had received candy, she felt that it wasn’t so bad. Anyway, she might not even be able to finish this package of roast pork herself, so it wouldn’t be good to keep the jerky as well. Plus… Ji Junxin thought of what Qiao Rubai had said to her earlier, secretly glanced at Lu Gaoshi, who was sitting next to her, playing with her phone and still seeming angry, and her eyes dimmed. The originally crispy and delicious roast pork now tasted bland in her mouth. Perhaps there were some things she couldn’t pretend not to see anymore.

As for Mi Hongdou, she walked out of the “Imperial Secrets” set, took a detour, and chose a trash can far away from both crews, throwing both greaseproof paper packages inside. One was the fake roast pork package number two that she had shown Ji Junxin earlier, which was actually filled with newspapers and tissues, just to pretend that she couldn’t finish it. In her previous life, when she encountered something delicious and wanted to save more for Ji Junxin, she would pretend that she had eaten too much and couldn’t finish it. Then Ji Junxin would always step up and offer to help. It seemed that this tactic still worked. To satisfy a foodie while also saving face for them, Mi Hongdou’s heart was truly devoted. The other package, naturally, was the pork jerky she had just taken from Ji Junxin… Jiang Duo and Zhang Zijing, just looking at them was annoying, how could she possibly eat the food they made?

Want to get close to a foodie with food? This time, don’t even think about it! Mi Hongdou had some idea of how Ji Junxin and Jiang Duo gradually became best friends in her previous life. That big bag of pork jerky must have been specially made to trick the foodie! This time, with her, a super invincible reborn die-hard fan, she would see how those two would try to get close! Mi Hongdou glared angrily at the greaseproof paper package buried deep in the trash can.

However, she didn’t expect that after Qiao Rubai’s rebirth, Lu Gaoshi was still Ji Junxin’s manager. Mi Hongdou couldn’t understand this. Speaking of Lu Gaoshi, she had to mention Ji Junxin’s debut. Ji Junxin and Qiao Rubai were childhood friends who grew up together. They were in the same class until college and had a very good relationship. Ji Junxin’s parents were both university professors and always hoped that their daughter would also become a teacher. So Ji Junxin majored in Chinese Language and Literature in college, while Qiao Rubai went to study management. Although they were in the same university, they were in different classes. In her junior year, Qiao Rubai interned at a magazine under Qiong Yu. Just a few days into her internship, a model stood her up. The frustrating part was that the model had already delayed the photoshoot repeatedly and only explicitly stood her up when the magazine was about to go to print. At two or three in the morning, where could she find someone to take the photos? Moreover, it wasn’t easy to find models for ancient-style photoshoots. Qiao Rubai’s family wasn’t all kind and helpful. There were those who were waiting to see her fail. Qiao Rubai couldn’t bring herself to ask for help. But the magazine couldn’t go to print with blank pages… Qiao Rubai was desperate and prepared to do it herself. But after changing clothes and standing in front of the camera, the photographer took a few shots and finally waved his hand: “You can’t capture the essence, miss, let’s not… let’s not…” In the end, it was Ji Junxin, who had accompanied her, who stepped forward and took a bunch of beautiful photos, saving Qiao Rubai from the predicament. Afterward, it was as if they had opened the door to a new world. One took the photos, and the other managed the business. They went from magazines to television, and then to the big screen. Ji Junxin became famous, and Qiao Rubai established her position in the Qiao family, eventually becoming the head of Qiong Yu Entertainment at a young age.

Judging by the results, Qiao Rubai and Ji Junxin were both successful. But the hardships they went through were not insignificant… At that time, Qiao Rubai had just joined Qiong Yu and was still familiarizing herself with the company’s operations. Ji Junxin had also just signed with Qiong Yu and only had a little experience in magazine photoshoots, so she was considered a newcomer. The company was short-staffed, so they assigned Lu Gaoshi, a mediocre manager, to her temporarily. However, although Lu Gaoshi was Ji Junxin’s manager, it was Qiao Rubai who arranged everything for her. Lu Gaoshi wasn’t very capable, and with Qiao Rubai around, she was happy to do less work and still get paid the same. So, as a manager, Lu Gaoshi mostly did the work of an assistant. Later, when Qiao Rubai established herself in Qiong Yu, she wanted to replace Lu Gaoshi and become Ji Junxin’s manager directly. Ji Junxin was kind-hearted and sentimental, so she didn’t allow it. So Lu Gaoshi continued to do the work of an assistant while receiving a manager’s share of the profits. In her previous life, this situation continued until Ji Junxin retired. What surprised everyone the most was that not long after Ji Junxin retired, Lu Gaoshi went to become Jiang Duo’s manager. Mi Hongdou once heard Qiao Rubai mention that Lu Gaoshi and Jiang Duo had been colluding for a long time. Qiao Rubai didn’t say it explicitly, but what she implied was that Zhang Zijing and Jiang Duo had betrayed Ji Junxin together, and Lu Gaoshi probably played a part in it.

Why did Qiao Rubai let such a person stay by Ji Junxin’s side… Mi Hongdou couldn’t understand.

Mi Hongdou frowned, pacing back and forth by the trash can, the more she thought about it, the more confused she became. Suddenly, someone patted her shoulder, startling her and making her jump to the side, almost bumping into the trash can.

Chapter 12: Roast Pig

As a regular customer of this restaurant, Qiao Rubai’s timing was indeed “good.” The food arrived just as they did. It was just a little too precise… Qiao Rubai glanced at Ji Junxin, whose face was getting redder and redder, and sighed slightly. As expected, even back at this point in time, this person’s mind was still so pure. It was just being overheard talking about someone behind their back, and it was even praise, what was the big deal? If it were Yang Lianyi, after being overheard by the person in question, she might even tease them a few more times, making them blush and want to find a hole to hide in before possibly letting them go. It wouldn’t be like this person beside her.

“You’re here, come in and sit down. The food just arrived, it’s the best time to eat. Where are Director Pan and Xiaoxiang?” Had those two spaced out long enough… Qiao Rubai couldn’t bear to watch any longer and had to speak up to break the awkward atmosphere.

Mi Hongdou was the first to recover. She cleared her throat, “It wasn’t easy to park downstairs, so they dropped me off and asked me to come up and let you know. They’ll be here soon.” As she spoke, she stepped inside, but soon, her legs felt as heavy as lead.

Qiao Rubai had booked a private room with a large round table that could comfortably seat eight people. Qiao Rubai and Ji Junxin were sitting together, occupying the two seats facing the door. There were six seats left… Should she sit near the door or further inside? Theoretically, she wasn’t very familiar with Qiao Rubai yet. Mi Hongdou involuntarily drifted towards Ji Junxin’s direction. No, wait, she shouldn’t be considered acquainted with Ji Junxin yet. It wouldn’t be good to sit so close, especially after that awkward incident just now… Mi Hongdou awkwardly turned her toes towards Qiao Rubai, but she really wanted to sit next to Ji Junxin, so her body turned in the opposite direction… It was only a short distance from the door to the round table, so Mi Hongdou had to sit down quickly no matter how conflicted she was.

“Oh, the food is here! Hello, President Qiao, hello, Sister Ji, what are we eating today?” Pan Xiang sniffed the air and squeezed in through the door, taking the lead and sitting next to Ji Junxin. “Oh, salted pork and vegetable rice, looks delicious! Xiaomi, come and eat! If Grandpa gets here first, he can eat five bowls by himself, and you won’t get any.”

The seat she wanted the most but couldn’t sit in was taken. Mi Hongdou was relieved and sat down next to Pan Xiang. But why was Ji Junxin “Sister Ji,” and she was “Xiaomi”? Even though you’re the Fragrance Master, you’re still younger than me! Call me Sister Mi! Sister Mi, okay! Mi Hongdou complained silently and saw that Ji Junxin, who had been blushing and embarrassed, had recovered after Pan Xiang’s interruption. She was now smiling and patting the little girl’s head: “You, talking about your grandfather behind his back again. When he comes, I’ll tell him and let him eat your share.”

As Ji Junxin was speaking, she caught Mi Hongdou looking at her from the corner of her eye and immediately remembered that she had also been talking about someone behind their back and had been caught red-handed. The blush that had just faded crept back onto her cheeks…

“Aiya, President Qiao is treating us, so there’s definitely enough. Even if Grandpa eats five bowls, we can still have the sixth bowl.” Pan Xiang was sharp-eyed after all. As soon as she finished speaking, she saw Director Pan at the door and quickly added, “Besides, being able to eat is a blessing. My grandma likes it when Grandpa eats more, it’s good to eat more!”

“Hmph.” Director Pan flicked his sleeves, came in, and randomly chose an empty seat. “Did your grandma really say that?”

Pan Xiang stuck out her tongue and stood up to distribute the food to everyone.

The most common clay pot rice dishes were preserved meat, pork ribs, and chicken. Fresher ingredients like eel and bullfrog could also be used. As for salted pork and vegetable rice, it was usually stir-fried in restaurants. Making it in a clay pot was uncommon. Moreover, clay pot rice was usually served with soup, but this was served with steamed egg, which was also rare. Mi Hongdou, even counting her previous life, had never been to this restaurant before, so she felt it was quite novel.

Diced salted pork, chopped green vegetables, and crystal-clear white rice were evenly mixed together. At first glance, it looked a lot like salted pork and vegetable fried rice, but as soon as you smelled it, the unique charred aroma of the clay pot would clearly distinguish the two. Everyone started eating. Mi Hongdou picked up her spoon and tasted a spoonful of rice. The rice had absorbed the juices of the meat and vegetables, yet it was still firm and not mushy, with a great texture. Even just the rice itself was already delicious, and combined with the savory salted pork and vegetables, it was even more fragrant and flavorful, a delightful surprise! After a spoonful of rice, she scooped from the bottom of the pot, along the sides, and dug out a spoonful of golden crispy rice. This was the essence of clay pot rice, the crispy fragrance that could only be achieved with this cooking method, simply addictive. It was incredibly delicious… Compared to the clay pot rice, the steamed egg in the small bowl next to it seemed a bit ordinary. At first glance, it was just pure steamed egg, without any minced meat or seafood. Eating clay pot rice could make you thirsty. Without soup, the steamed egg had to suffice. She took a spoonful, and as expected, it was pure egg. But when she put it in her mouth, she was stunned. There was no eggy smell, it was a little salty, and a little savory. Pressing it with her tongue, the saltiness and savoriness brought out the fragrance of the egg, not only quenching her thirst, but also relieving her fatigue. The smooth, pudding-like texture made her feel relaxed after a long day. Looking at the clay pot rice next to it, she felt like she could conquer more!

This combination of clay pot rice and steamed egg was much more delicious and satisfying than a table full of delicacies elsewhere. Qiao Rubai, who used to just wait for her and Ji Junxin to discover delicious food, had become so proactive after her rebirth. Mi Hongdou tasted the food and secretly glanced at Ji Junxin. As expected, she was eating with a look of enjoyment, a picture of happiness.

So good… Mi Hongdou’s gaze softened. This was the Ji Junxin she was familiar with. In her previous life, Ji Junxin also looked like this when she ate delicious food, but now she seemed even happier. If getting hurt would make her mature, then let her continue to have this simple and innocent happiness.

Mi Hongdou, imitating Ji Junxin, scraped all the crispy rice from the bottom of the pot and mixed it with the rice. One bite, and the soft yet firm rice mixed with the crispy rice was incredibly fragrant. This was Ji Junxin’s habit of eating clay pot rice, and Mi Hongdou also liked it very much.

The portions of both the clay pot rice and steamed egg here weren’t large, just a few bites each. Except for Director Pan, who was finishing his fourth serving, everyone else was full after two servings. Mi Hongdou noticed Ji Junxin secretly glancing at Director Pan and instinctively felt that she wasn’t full yet. It was the same in her previous life. Ji Junxin ate a lot, especially when she encountered delicious food, she would be a bit… ahem… According to Mi Hongdou’s estimation, Ji Junxin could still eat another bowl, but perhaps because there were strangers present, she didn’t let loose.

When they were leaving, Pan Xiang said that the clay pot rice wouldn’t taste good reheated the next day, so she didn’t pack any, only taking several servings of steamed egg. Qiao Rubai, however, packed a serving of clay pot rice and steamed egg. Director Pan said he would drop Mi Hongdou off first. Before getting into the car, Mi Hongdou turned around to say goodbye to Qiao Rubai and Ji Junxin, but she happened to see Qiao Rubai stuffing the packed food into Ji Junxin’s hands, giving her a “you know what I mean” smile. Mi Hongdou’s good mood, which had been lifted by the delicious food, suddenly plummeted.

In her previous life, it was always Mi Hongdou who would notice that Ji Junxin wasn’t full, secretly pack some food, and give it to her. Now that Qiao Rubai had done it, Mi Hongdou felt inexplicably unhappy… Shouldn’t this kind of thing be done by a die-hard fan? What was a childhood friend doing interfering?

So, Qiao Rubai sneezed all the way home, also feeling a little unhappy. Of course, not just because she had been sneezing inexplicably all day. She had originally planned to invite Mi Hongdou out for dinner tonight to let her and Ji Junxin get acquainted. But before they even started eating, the two of them became awkward and didn’t talk to each other during the meal. Pan Xiang chatted with them a lot, but what was the use? And what Ji Junxin said, could Mi Hongdou have a boyfriend at this time? In her previous life, it was only after Mi Hongdou was signed to Qiong Yu six years later, and Qiao Rubai discovered that she was Ji Junxin’s hidden fan, that they became close. Whether Mi Hongdou had a boyfriend now, Qiao Rubai really didn’t know. But Qiao Rubai, based on her experience in her previous life, knew that Mi Hongdou and Ji Junxin would get along, so she thought that if she introduced them early, maybe Ji Junxin would be busy playing with her new friend and wouldn’t be deceived by Jiang Duo. She had originally planned that if Ji Junxin was destined to like women, Mi Hongdou might be a good choice. But now it seemed that Mi Hongdou had a boyfriend, so her feelings for Ji Junxin might just be those of a simple fan, a simple friend, with no further possibilities.

Mi Hongdou, who was unhappy because she couldn’t give her goddess extra food, didn’t know that her biggest supporter might be abandoning her.

The next day, the crew of “Imperial Secrets” didn’t have any scenes for Mi Hongdou because it was the first day of filming for “Divorce, So Be It.” Incense burning, firecrackers, unveiling the camera, group photos, and of course, the indispensable roast pig…

On the set of “Imperial Secrets,” they could faintly hear the sound of firecrackers in the distance. They knew that another crew was starting filming.

“I wonder which crew is starting filming. There should be roast pig, right?” Lu Gaoshi, nearly forty years old, was Ji Junxin’s manager. She had been with Ji Junxin since her debut, and they were very familiar with each other. Hearing the firecrackers, she couldn’t help but tease Ji Junxin, “I wonder which restaurant’s roast pig they ordered. When we started filming, the one President Qiao got was really delicious, wasn’t it?”

When “Imperial Secrets” started filming, the roast pig Qiao Rubai brought was a “crispy-skinned suckling pig,” which was crispier than the usual “smooth-skinned suckling pig.” Ji Junxin liked it very much, but there were too many people at the opening ceremony, and the pig wasn’t big, so everyone only got a small bite. Two weeks later, Ji Junxin couldn’t resist her craving for roast pig and asked Qiao Rubai to get one for her to eat at home. Now that Lu Gaoshi mentioned it, she couldn’t help but glare at her: “It’s that ‘Divorce, So Be It,’ right? Our little empress also has a role in that. You know whether that suckling pig is delicious or not. It’s not like you weren’t among those who went to my house to eat the other suckling pig…” Although she said that, hearing the firecrackers, Ji Junxin felt a craving for roast pig again.

Lu Gaoshi had been with Ji Junxin for so long, how could she miss the small action of her lightly licking her lips? Seeing that she had sufficiently teased her, Lu Gaoshi excused herself to go to the restroom and left.

Ji Junxin closed her eyes and rubbed her temples, wanting to take a nap before her scenes started. She had finished another serving of clay pot rice and steamed egg last night. Perhaps because she ate too late, she felt a little bloated and didn’t sleep well. She didn’t eat breakfast when she woke up, and now that roast pig was mentioned, she was really hungry.

Speaking of roast pig, Ji Junxin seemed to smell roast pig. She had only skipped one breakfast, could she be hallucinating from hunger? She sniffed, it smelled so good… Ji Junxin opened her eyes and saw Mi Hongdou touching the empty chair opposite her.

“You… hello, my name is Mi Hongdou, Mi as in rice, Hongdou as in red bean. Cough…” Mi Hongdou was startled by Ji Junxin’s sudden opening of her eyes and quickly straightened up, but she couldn’t even speak properly.

“Hello, we met yesterday.” Ji Junxin didn’t dare to think about the embarrassing incident of being caught talking about someone behind their back yesterday. She would blush just thinking about it, there was no helping it. “Isn’t it the first day of filming for your TV series today? What are you doing here…”

“Oh, oh, I left something yesterday, I came back to look for it.” Mi Hongdou didn’t wait for Ji Junxin to continue and quickly took out a greaseproof paper package. “They’re starting filming over there today. They cut a huge roast pig, do you want some?”

“No…” When you want a pillow, you get a pillow, and when you want roast pig, you get roast pig. It was such a coincidence that Ji Junxin was a little surprised.

Before Ji Junxin could finish her refusal, Mi Hongdou took out another greaseproof paper package of about the same size from her other hand, with a troubled look on her face: “But there weren’t many people at our opening ceremony, and I got two servings, I can’t finish them all by myself. Can you help me eat one? I heard it was ordered by President Qiao, it’s very delicious.” As she said that, she held out the first package a little further.

The unique aroma of roast pig wafted from the greaseproof paper package… Ji Junxin’s stomach growled slightly, and she lightly licked her lips.

No, I can’t. She ate two bowls of rice yesterday. She should be able to finish two servings of meat by herself. I must refuse. Ji Junxin thought this, then slowly reached out her hand…

Chapter 11: Salted Pork and Vegetable Clay Pot Rice

In the eyes of others, Mi Hongdou was a complete newcomer with no acting experience. Without technique, she could only compensate with immersion and empathy. If even empathy couldn’t be achieved, then, based on the requirement for quality in acting, she could only use Pan Xiang’s method of substituting another person. Professionals might see some flaws, but ordinary people wouldn’t notice them. During filming, they could just minimize close-ups.

For Mi Hongdou, she had experienced countless immersions and empathies, with a full ten years of acting experience. However, she had never tried Pan Xiang’s method of looking at one person while imagining something else in her mind to be able to continue filming. Mainly because, in her previous life, both her old company, Mengguan, and her new company, Qiong Yu, were very protective of their actors. She had never filmed a love scene with someone she disliked so much, so naturally, she never needed to use this less-than-ideal method. Now, it seemed that if she couldn’t look at Zhang Zijing and immerse herself in the relationship between the emperor and empress, and her own acting skills couldn’t break through to completely conceal her feelings, then Pan Xiang’s method might be worth a try.

After two spoonfuls of congee, Director Pan waved his hand, announcing a half-hour meal break. Mi Hongdou didn’t go backstage to find food. Instead, she took the script and found a quiet corner, opening the already familiar script once again.

In the script, Qin Muxue was born into a military family and had been summoned to the palace many times with her mother since she was young. When she was still at an age where there were no strict gender boundaries, she had many interactions with Ji Yan, who was still a prince. They gradually developed feelings for each other as they grew up. Since ancient times, being close to the emperor was like being close to a tiger. The Qin family cherished their daughter and didn’t want to send her into the palace, but in the end, they respected Qin Muxue’s wishes. Many twists and turns were summarized in just a few lines of narration in the script. But if it were a real person, a real life, going through so many twists and turns to marry the person she loved, that high and mighty person, what kind of mood would she be in? Mi Hongdou pondered deeply, as if she could see that delicate little girl, for the sake of the person she loved, year after year, learning to read and understand reason, carefully dressing herself in front of the mirror, growing taller and more mature, finally becoming someone who could stand shoulder to shoulder with him. Qin Muxue was only eighteen years old when she entered the palace, still with a hint of childishness. Marrying Ji Yan was the most wonderful thing in the world for her. On their wedding night, that one glance, seeing the person she had been chasing after finally standing before her, he was not only the person she loved, but also her dream of many years. She had worked so hard to get closer to that person who was originally so far away… What kind of mood was that?

Mi Hongdou tried hard to analyze Ji Yan in Qin Muxue’s eyes on their wedding night. As her understanding deepened, her heart felt like it was suddenly struck by something.

She had also experienced that kind of mood, hadn’t she… Although the reasons were different, thinking about it carefully, the mood was the same! The first time she saw her, she couldn’t forget her. She wanted to see her again, wanted to become a better version of herself, to reach the same level, to close the distance between them, to make herself someone who would also catch the other person’s eye. Mi Hongdou’s eyes suddenly became firm, grasping that clear understanding.

Before dinner, every take was an NG. After dinner, it was done in one take! Director Pan was overjoyed to have captured that close-up, which was even better than he had expected. The other crew members were also relieved. This was the last scene of the night. After so much trouble, they could finally wrap up. Their gazes towards the crew’s new NG queen also softened.

“Since you didn’t eat earlier, how about we go grab something to eat together?” Director Pan walked over to Mi Hongdou, who was packing up and preparing to go back to the hotel to continue thinking, and knocked on the table. “Xiaoqiao just sent a message saying that the late-night snacks at a certain restaurant are good. She’s already there holding a table for us and specifically asked me to bring you along.”

Xiaoqiao? Mi Hongdou was still immersed in the scene she had just filmed and almost didn’t react to the fact that he was talking about Qiao Rubai.

“Let’s go, let’s go together. Last time she asked me to work on the script for ‘Reality On Line,’ I still have some things to ask her. I’ll also pack some late-night snacks for my grandma.” Pan Xiang, carrying a giant backpack from who knows where, said as she patted it.

“Didn’t you say your grandma was asleep?” Director Pan raised an eyebrow.

“But President Qiao doesn’t know that. Aiya, she always finds these strange restaurants. Every time I eat there, I want to eat it again the next day. I’ll be the last to leave, I’ll order some takeout myself, I definitely won’t embarrass you.” Pan Xiang scratched her head, “Or, I’ll share some with you tomorrow morning?”

Hearing the last sentence, Director Pan’s expression softened.

Mi Hongdou was a little confused: “‘Reality On Line’ isn’t a reality show? It needs a script?” That couldn’t be right. Would someone like Qiao Rubai create a script for a reality show, turning a reality show into a staged performance? According to common sense, she should be the type of person who would throw the actors onto a deserted island, set up hundreds of cameras, and leave.

“Oh, you’re also going to participate in ‘Reality On Line’?” Pan Xiang covered her mouth, “I won’t reveal any secrets.”

Mi Hongdou’s face was covered in black lines: “Then let’s go eat…”

Director Pan, Pan Xiang, and Mi Hongdou, just the three of them, got into Director Pan’s car. She had seen Ji Junxin earlier, she wondered if she would also go… Thinking about how Ji Junxin had seen her embarrassing multiple NGs, Mi Hongdou felt a little gloomy. Pan Xiang, sitting next to her, peeked at her several times, feeling a little regretful. Had she hurt her with her overly guarded behavior earlier?

“Aiya, don’t be unhappy. It’s not really a secret. It’s just that President Qiao asked me to revise the script for ‘Imperial Secrets’ before, and we talked about how she wanted to do a reality show after this movie, with the main characters from ‘Imperial Secrets’ participating. Then I was curious about what kind of reality show she wanted to do. Guess what she said… She said, ‘I haven’t decided yet. Maybe find a primeval forest or a small island, the kind where they can find their own water and food, set up cameras everywhere, and then just leave them there?’ It’s just…” Pan Xiang trailed off.

Just as perverted as I thought… Mi Hongdou wanted to break the contract.

“It’s so cool!” Pan Xiang, after all, was still a child, and her face was full of excitement as she spoke, “But later, after planning for a while, she said that this method might be too simple and crude, and might not work in our country, and the safety wasn’t guaranteed either. The participants are all celebrities, and even if they aren’t all pampered, they definitely won’t last long if it’s too difficult. They’ll probably go on strike in the end. Also, because they are celebrities, bonuses and prizes won’t be very attractive to them. They care more about their image, so President Qiao’s previous plan of turning everyone into cavemen definitely won’t work. So don’t worry, although I can’t tell you the specific content now because it’s confidential, I guarantee that the ‘Reality On Line’ that I helped improve will be so fun that you won’t be able to stop!”

Please stop! Please stop your brain from running wild! Mi Hongdou couldn’t look directly at Pan Xiang’s sparkling eyes. Did she think that by wearing big, round glasses and acting cute, she wouldn’t recognize her as the Fragrance Master who could create worlds with her imagination? The meticulous and realistic Qiao Rubai, combined with the overly imaginative Fragrance Master… Mi Hongdou felt that it would be better to just throw them onto a deserted island.

Hearing the news, Mi Hongdou’s face became even more gloomy, and she temporarily forgot to dwell on the fact that she had just channeled her years of fan love for Ji Junxin into Qin Muxue’s devotion to Ji Yan in the drama.

In the restaurant, after receiving the message that Director Pan had left, Qiao Rubai ordered the food. Calculating the time, it would be ready just as they arrived.

“Here.” Qiao Rubai took out several pieces of peanut candy and peanut brittle from her pocket and placed them in front of Ji Junxin, “The actress who plays the little empress, Mi Hongdou, will also be here later. If you like it, you can ask her how she made it.”

“I don’t know why, but I always feel that you’re treating this little empress differently. I heard from Director Pan that this is her first drama, and you recommended her to join the crew. Now you’re specifically asking her to join us for dinner.” Ji Junxin skillfully put the candy into her pocket.

“It’s not really her first drama. The one she signed with Mengguan, ‘Divorce, So Be It,’ is her first. It’s just that we’re filming ours first. That one starts filming tomorrow, and the set is not far from ours. I think she’s a good actress. You just saw her acting with Zhang Zijing, what do you think?” Qiao Rubai had already heard from the crew members that Mi Hongdou had many NGs today, but seeing that she finally got the last scene right, she still hoped that Ji Junxin would give her a good review.

Speaking of this, Ji Junxin, who wasn’t used to gossiping behind people’s backs, hesitated a little: “I think… does she dislike Zhang Zijing?” “After we arrived, she had three NGs. I think her look at Zhang Zijing was a bit unfriendly. But the last scene was very good. I was standing by Director Pan and saw the close-up shot of her. The empress’s love for the emperor, you could even see the satisfaction of a wish fulfilled. If it were me, I probably couldn’t have acted it out. Because the change in her eyes between the two takes was so significant, I asked Director Pan what he had said to her earlier. Pan Xiang told me that she asked the little empress to substitute someone she liked for Zhang Zijing, to act as if she was looking at that person. That makes sense.” At this point, Ji Junxin smiled faintly, “I think this little empress must have a boyfriend she really likes to be able to portray that kind of love and admiration so vividly.”

Just as Mi Hongdou reached the door of the private room and was about to knock, she happened to hear the last two sentences. Her face flushed, and she froze!

No… Goddess, you seem to have misunderstood something! Goddess, listen to my explanation…

Suddenly, a huge tray floated past Mi Hongdou, pushing open the door of the private room. Mi Hongdou, whose brain had crashed, and Ji Junxin, who was feeling guilty about talking about someone behind their back, locked eyes. One red face became two…

“Five servings of salted pork and vegetable clay pot rice, five bowls of steamed egg, your order is complete!” The tray was unloaded and floated away.

Oh, what did you say? The tray wasn’t floating, it was being carried by a waiter? Don’t be ridiculous, at this moment, there was no one else in their eyes~

Chapter 10: Scallop and Pork Rib Congee

Before joining the crew, Mi Hongdou had imagined many scenarios of meeting Ji Junxin again. For example, meeting her during introductions when joining the crew, and she could ask for an autograph like a little fan. Or, meeting her at the snack table in the break room, and starting a conversation about the delicious peanut candy. Or, during a scene together, showing off her acting skills as a newcomer and leaving a good impression on Ji Junxin.

Various scenarios like these, but Mi Hongdou never expected that Ji Junxin would come when she was so embarrassed and flustered. Didn’t they say she didn’t have any scenes tonight!

Qiao Rubai, who was backstage, sneezed again. Her stomach was full of osmanthus rice balls, and sneezing was extremely uncomfortable.

If she had known, she wouldn’t have dragged Ji Junxin out so late. She wondered if she had seen that guy’s acting.

Qiao Rubai and Yang Lianyi both had a good eye for people. Aside from already knowing that Mi Hongdou would become more and more popular, when Qiao Rubai first saw Mi Hongdou at Yang Lianyi’s place, she felt that even the inexperienced Mi Hongdou from ten years ago could handle the role of the empress. Of course, she didn’t expect that the person was the same, but the core was, like her, from ten years in the future. Qiao Rubai had previously hinted to Dajin Entertainment to replace Jiang Duo, and it was going quite smoothly at first. But she didn’t know which part of Dajin’s internal process went wrong, and in the end, it still didn’t work out.

So she had to take a roundabout way, find someone to change the script, and put a lot of effort into convincing the investors that the revised script would be more popular and profitable. Only then could she bring Mi Hongdou to Ji Junxin ahead of time. However, during the meal with Mi Hongdou and Yang Lianyi last time, she pretended to chat casually and mentioned Ji Junxin, but she didn’t see any special reaction from Mi Hongdou. She wondered if she hadn’t become a fan of Ji Junxin yet. Qiao Rubai felt a little depressed. If it were Mi Hongdou from ten years later, no, even six years later, she was confident that she would cooperate to take down Jiang Duo and Zhang Zijing. But now, there was no other suitable candidate for the time being.

She just hoped that Mi Hongdou would still become a fan of Ji Junxin. A die-hard fan with such good cooking skills would definitely be able to defeat that hypocritical Jiang Duo, who looked like she had someone else cook for her.

She was really worried about that stupid foodie. Qiao Rubai thought this as she went to the break room and grabbed two more pieces of peanut candy to put in her pocket.

“Come on, let’s do it again! Xiaomi! Xiaomi! Your expression is good! When you look at Xiaozhang in a moment! Hold it! Hold it!” Director Pan, who had been languidly waving his notebook, suddenly saw Mi Hongdou looking towards him. That somewhat dazed look in her eyes, the surprise, the unease and struggle within that surprise, a little timid, but also an irrepressible joy, that was the look he wanted. No, it was even better than what he had hoped to capture! At Director Pan’s age, he didn’t need more money or fame.

He took on projects mostly to satisfy his own interests. It made him happy to come across a few talented individuals.

Mi Hongdou’s expression at this moment made Director Pan feel that he hadn’t misjudged her!

Huh?

Director Pan’s loud voice pulled Mi Hongdou out of her chaotic thoughts, which included things like, “The real Ji Junxin from ten years ago is even cuter than in magazines,” “I’m so nervous to meet the goddess of ten years ago,” “If I keep NGing, will my first impression on the goddess be so bad that I can never recover?” “I’m so happy, I want to look at her a few more times,” “I’d better not look, if I don’t act well, it will be even more embarrassing.”

Huh? Huh? What’s good? What? Are we filming again?

The goddess is still here, I don’t want to…

Director Pan, who was immersed in his joy, wouldn’t care if the little crying person in Mi Hongdou’s heart was about to pass out from crying.

“Yes, that’s the kind of flustered shyness, very good, but where’s the joy, the joy?”

“No, no, no, it’s a wedding, where’s that feeling of happiness? Why is there only fluster left!”

“Aiya, be happier!” After a few rounds, Director Pan was exhausted. Where was that look from earlier! By now, even without Mi Hongdou saying anything, Director Pan could see it. The problem was that the person Mi Hongdou was looking at was Zhang Zijing. Although he didn’t know what the problem was between them, Director Pan felt that Mi Hongdou’s best look earlier was when she was looking in his direction, which meant that she just couldn’t be happy when looking at Zhang Zijing. This was not a small problem. After all, there were many love scenes between Mi Hongdou’s empress and Zhang Zijing’s emperor.

If Mi Hongdou couldn’t get into character when facing Zhang Zijing, then needless to say, even if she was brought in by Qiao Rubai, she would be the one to go, and Zhang Zijing would stay.

Director Pan was reluctant to let go of such a promising talent like Mi Hongdou, so he had to take her aside again for a private talk.

They had NGed three more times. In total, the number of NGs for this scene was about to break the record for an entire previous drama of his. Mi Hongdou felt terrible.

She lowered her head, not daring to look at Ji Junxin’s expression.

“Xiaomi, if it’s just this scene that you can’t get past, then we can skip it today and film other scenes first. We can reshoot this scene later. We can even skip it or change this close-up, and with some editing in post-production, this scene will be fine. But the problem is, your issue isn’t just with this scene. I don’t want to ask what the problem is between you and Xiaozhang. But you have to understand, in this drama, you have a lot of scenes with him.

If you can’t get past this scene, can you get past the next one?” Director Pan paused, “Although you were introduced to the crew by Xiaojiao, because you’re a newcomer and don’t have any previous work, and I heard you’re not even from an acting school, she took on a lot of pressure.

If you can’t get past the scenes with Xiaozhang, I’m afraid she won’t be able to help you either.”

She had already tried her best to control her emotions, but she didn’t expect to be seen through so clearly. Mi Hongdou also understood that if she continued like this, she probably wouldn’t be able to play the empress.

Being able to film with Ji Junxin, with so many scenes together, and with such a cute script… Mi Hongdou was really unwilling to give up.

“You just don’t like that Zhang Zijing, right? Just pretend he’s not Zhang Zijing.” A voice suddenly interjected from the side, startling both Director Pan and Mi Hongdou.

“Why are you here?

You scared me to death, appearing without a sound!” Director Pan blew his beard and glared, “Didn’t you have to accompany your grandmother to have congee today?”

“Why can’t I come? I’m half the screenwriter of this drama now. I have to come and see my work. I wasn’t being silent. I’ve been here for a while. It’s just that you two didn’t see me and started talking about that Zhang Zijing. Speaking of which, I don’t like that Zhang Zijing either. I think the plot should be that the emperor died during that expedition, and then the child raised by the empress and Miao Qianye was smuggled out, raised by loyal officials, and came back to take revenge. What does it have to do with Ji Yan? But the crew won’t let me kill him off early.

Besides, look at the time. I already accompanied my grandmother to have congee. She’s probably asleep by now. Is it okay for you to film without looking at the time?

You’re not hungry, but others are probably starving.” A little girl with big, round, black-rimmed glasses and her hair in a bun said as she climbed down from a tall stack of prop boxes. Then, as if performing a magic trick, she pulled out a large bag from beside the prop boxes below and handed it to Director Pan, “Grandma asked me to bring this.”

Director Pan, who had been sternly scolding her, immediately broke into a smile when he saw the bag and took it to open it.

Open, open, open, open, open it! Inside the bag was a thermal lunchbox, filled with congee.

Soft scallops, tender pork ribs, fragrant mushroom slices cooked in meat broth, and chopped green celery sprinkled on top of the white congee. It was cooked to perfection, just waiting to be eaten. A late-night bowl of love… Director Pan took out a spoon with a look of bliss, stirred it, and a rich aroma of meat congee wafted up, making him finally acknowledge his growling stomach. “Ahem, Xiaomi, if you’re hungry, there are pastries in the break room, or you can ask them to order you a boxed meal.” Director Pan was a little embarrassed to eat alone, but he didn’t want to share his wife’s loving gesture with others, so he was a little awkward.

“You eat, you eat…” Mi Hongdou wasn’t blind. The bad-tempered Director Pan was known for loving his wife. He dared to offer, but she wouldn’t dare to accept this love-filled lunchbox.

“Hello, my name is Pan Xiang, Pan as in Director Pan, Xiang as in fragrance.” The little girl glanced at her suddenly spineless grandfather and extended her hand to Mi Hongdou with a mature air.

Qiao Rubai, this person, really… Mi Hongdou didn’t know what to say. Pan Xiang, the Fragrance Master who should have debuted as a screenwriter five years later, the Fragrance Master whose every script was a big hit, the key was that every script was full of ambiguous BL undertones, had been brought in early, and brought in to change the script! Was she even twenty yet? Probably not! “Hello, Mi Hongdou.” As Mi Hongdou shook her hand, she quickly went through the plot of in her head. It didn’t seem like there was much room for BL speculation. Had the early debut of the Fragrance Master changed her style from BL-filled to something else?

Something seemed off…

“Grandpa was right. There are many love scenes between Qin Muxue and Ji Yan. If you can’t film this scene, the trouble is still ahead.” The little girl pushed up her big, round, black-rimmed glasses, looking serious, “I think you should try to imagine that the person who pushes open the door, Ji Yan, is someone else, like your boyfriend or something. Wouldn’t that be more loving?”

“Isn’t that kind of substitution likely to break character?” Director Pan interjected between bites of his pork ribs.

“Even if it’s likely to break character, it’s better than not being able to get into character at all.” The little girl looked suspiciously at Mi Hongdou, who hadn’t responded, “Don’t tell me you’re this old and don’t have a boyfriend?”

That’s right, I don’t! Is that a problem! Studying is hard work, okay? Acting is hard work, okay? Cooking is hard work, okay? Being a fangirl is even harder work, okay?

As an older single woman (still single ten years later) with no boyfriend, she had no one to imagine as a substitute. Mi Hongdou shook her head silently.

“Then what about someone you have a crush on, or a male celebrity you like?” Faced with Mi Hongdou’s repeated shaking of her head, Pan Xiang was a little speechless, “If all else fails, just imagine someone you have a good impression of. If that still doesn’t work, imagine a cat, a dog, flowers, grass, anything you don’t hate!”

Someone she had a good impression of… A figure quickly flashed through Mi Hongdou’s mind, but something seemed off?