The Entertainment Industry in Turmoil: Young Actresses All Want to Rise to the Top

"You're the trash!"

Wang Churan lay on the ground without moving, rolling her eyes at Tian Xiwei.

There was no annoyance in his tone, only a hint of bluffing and the intimacy that followed their playful banter.

"Hey! Still being stubborn!"

Tian Xiwei pretended to tickle her again, and Wang Churan quickly shrank back with her hands and feet, but couldn't help but laugh out loud again.

Shen Mo had already walked to the side at some point, bent down slightly, and reached out his hand to Wang Churan on the ground.

"Alright, stop fooling around, the ground is cold. Get up."

Wang Churan stared blankly at the hand extended in front of him.

Her face still had a lingering blush and a light sheen of sweat, and her hair was a mess.

She hesitated for a second, but still offered her hand.

Shen Mo grasped her hand and, with a slight effort, easily pulled her up.

As soon as Wang Churan regained his footing, he immediately withdrew his hand and bent down to brush the dust off his clothes.

Her gaze was somewhat unfocused, and the heat that had just settled on her ears seemed to be returning.

"...It's all your fault."

She muttered something under her breath, unsure whether she was blaming Shen Mo for his story or for his watching the commotion earlier.

Shen Mo pretended not to hear and turned to look at Tian Xiwei, who was standing with her hands on her hips with a smug expression.

"You should tone it down a bit, look what you've done to Chu Ran."

Tian Xi chuckled and leaned over to help Wang Churan remove a small piece of grass from his hair.

"Oh dear, this is great for us girls, it strengthens our bond!"

"Look how loudly Chu Ran laughed just now!"

"Right, Chu Ran!"

Wang Churan tried to dodge but failed, letting her knock away the grass clippings, but he still refused to admit defeat.

"Yeah, unlike you, whose threshold for laughter is practically nonexistent."

"He's always grinning like an idiot."

"So what if I have a low threshold for laughter? I'm happy!"

Tian Xiwei spoke with a straight face, then looked at Shen Mo, pouting as she began to complain.

"Brother Mo, look at her, all she does is provoke me!"

Shen Mo watched the two bickering, shook his head, and gently apologized to the stagehand who was already tidying up the crooked plastic stools next to him.

Then he slapped each of the two girls on the back, gently patting them towards the distance.

"Once you've had your fun, go over there and rest for a bit, have some water, and then prepare well for the next scene."

Tian Xi cheered and ran over first.

Wang Churan was a step behind, glanced at Shen Mo as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she just pursed her lips and followed him over.

Shen Mo stood still and waved to his assistant, Zhou Xueting.

He asked her to order a cup of milk tea for everyone in the crew, as a way to make up for the quarrel between the two girls earlier.

Under the shade of the tree, Tian Xiwei deftly opened a case of chilled drinks, took out a bottle, and tossed it to Wang Churan, who was walking over.

"Here you go, caught it!"

Wang Churan reached out and grabbed it, pinching it tightly.

She unscrewed the cap and took a sip; the cool liquid slid down her throat, relieving the heat.

Leaning against the tree trunk, watching Tian Xiwei drink heartily with her head tilted back without any regard for her image, she suddenly spoke up.

"……Thanks."

"Um?"

Tian Xiwei put down the bottle and looked at her with a puzzled expression.

I said, "Thank you."

Wang Churan repeated it, looking away.

"I was quite happy just now."

She spoke these words in an extremely soft voice, almost drowned out by the noise on set.

But Tian Xiwei heard it.

She was taken aback at first, then a bright smile bloomed on her face, and her right dimple became prominent.

She reached out and poked Wang Churan's cheek, creating a dimple.

Then, with a smirk in her eyes, he chuckled.

"Hmph, you stubborn tsundere!"

"Follow me, and I guarantee you'll be happy every day!"

Wang Churan slapped her hand away in disgust.

"Who wants to follow you?"

But the corner of his mouth twitched upwards involuntarily.

Shen Mo also came over and picked up a bottle of water.

Tian Xiwei immediately moved closer and gently bumped her shoulder against Shen Mo's chest.

"Brother Mo, Brother Mo, wasn't I awesome just now?"

"Doesn't she have a real boss-like aura?"

Shen Mo chuckled, "Powerful, extremely powerful."

"The entire crew saw you bullying Wang Churan just now."

"You'd better praise Chu Ran well, otherwise she might tell others that you bullied her on set."

Tian Xi stuck out her tongue, showing no remorse, and raised an eyebrow at Wang Churan.

"Does she dare?"

"If she tells me, I'll rush to her house and beat her up again!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Churan pouted, wanting to retort indignation, but fearing she would be suppressed again.

Suddenly, he reached out and slapped Tian Xiwei's bottom hard, then ran up behind Shen Mo.

Amid Tian Xi's slightly surprised expression, he even made a provocative face.

"Hey! Wang Churan! You've got guts!"

Seeing that Tian Xiwei was about to rush over again, Shen Mo quickly grabbed her arm and gently patted her back to help her catch her breath.

"Okay, okay!"

"If this continues, it will really become bullying!"

"She spanked me!"

"Chu Ran apologizes!"

"Oh……"

Wang Churan reluctantly agreed, but still made a face at Tian Xiwei behind Shen Mo's back when Shen Mo couldn't see her.

Then he stood next to Shen Mo, nodded slightly, and apologized.

"sorry!"

Seeing her so self-righteous, Tian Xiwei was furious and was about to raise her hand.

"sorry!"

Seeing her so self-righteous, Tian Xiwei was furious and was about to raise her hand.

Wang Churan leaned closer and then reached out and put his hand on her buttocks.

"I'm sorry, did it hurt? Let me rub it for you."

A strange sensation came over her, startling Tian Xiwei so much that she jumped three meters away.

He covered his hands behind his back, staring wide-eyed at Wang Churan with an incredulous expression.

"Wang Churan!"

"I never imagined you were this kind of person!"

Shen Mo glanced at Wang Churan speechlessly. Her awkward, silly smile made it impossible for Shen Mo to criticize her.

"Alright, you two are not allowed to cause any more trouble. Get some rest and don't delay the filming later."

Tian Xi glared at Wang Churan angrily, then dejectedly agreed.

-----------------

After more than ten days of hard work, the school scenes have been filmed and the scene has now been moved to a street alley on Xiamen Island.

Today's scene is about Shi Miao, played by Tian Xiwei, who has had enough of her brother Shi Fen's unreasonable behavior and wishes to take him away.

Shi Fen becomes the older brother of her best friend Miao Miao, and she learns from the side that the reason her brother was being unreasonable before.

This scene wasn't difficult.

There is no overly strong emotional expression; it is more of a simple narrative of this moment.

And the change in Tian Xiwei's eyes after she learned the truth.

With a shout of "A!"

Tian Xiwei immediately lowered her head, walking alone in the alley with a complex feeling of unease.

Not long ago, Shi Miao's "wish came true"—her brother was indeed "taken away," and he became her best friend Miao Miao's brother.

As she passed a stairwell, she caught a glimpse of a familiar figure out of the corner of her eye.

Miaomiao, played by Wang Churan, is squatting in the shadows of the stairwell with her knees drawn up, idly drawing circles on the ground with her finger.

"Miaomiao?"

Shi Miao stopped and approached, puzzled.

What are you doing here?

When Miaomiao saw it was her, she pouted, her tone a mix of helplessness and resignation.

"My brother insisted that I play hide-and-seek with him, so I had no choice but to play with him for a while."

When she spoke, there was no complaint in her eyes, but rather an indulgence of her brother's childish behavior.

Tian Xi rolled her eyes, perfectly capturing Shi Miao's speechlessness.

He scoffed, "Hide and seek? How old are you!"

"You've definitely been fooled by him again. He's probably off somewhere having fun and has already forgotten about you."

"I'll go find him for you!"

The scene shifts, and Tian Xiwei begins to walk briskly through the alleys, looking left and right.

Finally, they found Shifen at a mahjong parlor.

Shen Mo, who plays Shi Fen, is holding a phone in his hand, staring intently at the screen, his fingers tapping away rapidly.

Tian Xi walked over angrily, but suddenly burst out laughing halfway there.

"CUT!"

"Hahaha!" Tian Xiwei, who was laughing so hard she almost couldn't stand up straight, quickly got up and apologized to everyone on set.

It's one thing for Shen Mo to pretend to play the game, but he even swayed his body from side to side. It was just too exaggerated.

"Brother Mo! Who plays games like you?!"

"You're hilarious!"

Shen Mo rolled his eyes at her. "You just don't understand!"

"Boys get really immersed in games."

"Besides! Isn't the effect great? Look, you're smiling!"

"Alright, alright, get ready to do it again!"

Tian Xiwei had barely managed to suppress her laughter when she saw Shen Mo pretending to start the game again, and she almost laughed again.

Fortunately, after studying acting for so long, she managed to control her expressions.

With a shout of "A!", filming for the second take began.

Shi Miao stormed over and snatched Shi Fen's phone.

"Why are you playing tricks on me again?!"

Her voice suddenly rose, and the surrounding noise instantly fell silent.

"You said it was hide-and-seek, but did you even go looking for her? What's the point of playing this game with her?!"

When Shi Fen saw it was her, he paused for a moment, then put on his usual nonchalant expression again.

"How did I mess with her? I just started a game, I'll go find her after this one."

Shi Miao tossed the phone back to him and turned to leave.

"Okay, you keep playing, I'm taking Miaomiao home!"

"Hey—no!"

Shi Fen's expression changed instantly. He stood up too quickly and fell off the stool.

He quickly got up, rushed forward, and grabbed Shi Miao's wrist.

The nonchalant look on Shi Fen's face vanished instantly, replaced by an almost earnest anxiety.

"My parents are arguing at home... Just give me half an hour, please? Please."

Shi Miao stared at him, then her eyes suddenly widened in surprise.

Realizing he had lost his composure, he let go of her hand and scratched his head.

Shi Fen walked straight to a roadside sausage stall not far away.

"Boss, four grilled sausages."

He took out some change, smiled, and added it on purpose.

"Add more chili peppers, my sister loves spicy food."

Behind him, Tian Xiwei's expression was extremely complex.

Because he always remembered that she loved spicy food, he would specially prepare spicy dipping sauce when eating hot pot, and he would choose spicy snacks when buying them...

It's not just about minutes versus seconds, it's also about Shen Mo versus Tian Xiwei.

He took the sausage from the shopkeeper and turned to walk into the alley. That was the direction where Miaomiao was hiding. Clearly, Shifen knew where his sister was hiding.

"My sister isn't as smart as you; she won't doubt what I say."

He turned his head and glanced at Shi Miao in a seemingly relaxed manner.

"My parents have had a bad relationship for a long time, and my dad... also has an alcoholism problem."

"So that my sister wouldn't find out that my dad comes home drunk every day and smells the whole house of alcohol."

"I would deliberately tease her by setting her alarm later so she would wake up later..."

"That way, I'll have time to clean up my dad's empty wine bottles."

"You are my sister's best friend."

Shi Fen didn't notice Shi Miao's blank stare as she recalled the past, and continued talking to herself.

"As long as you're willing to cooperate..."

"Given my sister's intelligence, it would be very difficult for her to discover it."

"...Why didn't you tell Miaomiao the truth?"

Tian Xiwei deliberately spoke in a hoarse, dry voice to convey the complex emotions Shi Miao felt upon learning the truth.

Those so-called "unreasonable demands" were actually just the older brother's way of protecting Shi Miao.

Shen Mo remained silent for a long time before raising his head and looking at the small building in the alley where Miaomiao was hiding.

"In my sister's world, everything is beautiful. I can't bear to shatter her imagination of the world."

He twitched the corners of his mouth and smiled in a forced, relaxed manner.

"Didn't our parents get together because they loved each other?"

"Then why don't you love them anymore?"

"What if he doesn't love me anymore in the future?"

"I can just imagine what kind of questions are going through my little sister's head."

After reciting a long string of lines, Shen Mo took a deep breath and looked at Tian Xiwei.

His eyes held struggle, helplessness, and a profound weight that transcended his age for Tian Xiwei's two lifetimes.

This complex emotion instantly resonated with Tian Xiwei and everyone observing in front of the monitor.

Shen Mo continued reciting his lines.

"Actually, I understand the logic. Rather than forcing two people who don't love each other to stay together and make each other unhappy, it's better to separate sooner and be happier."

"But... I still hope it can be one day later if I can delay disappointing my sister."

Just then, they reached the alley entrance, the place where Miaomiao was hiding.

Wang Churan peeked out from the shadows of the stairwell at just the right moment, a delighted expression on her face.

Shen Mo's expression changed instantly, and the heaviness and fatigue from before vanished.

He ran a few steps, a bright, slightly smug smile returning to his face, and raised the sausage in his hand.

"Ta-da! Extra spicy, extra toppings, the perfect girl's favorite!"

Miaomiao, played by Wang Churan, had a bright look in her eyes and snatched two sticks from his hand.

Just as she reached out to offer a stick to Shi Miao who was approaching, Shen Mo suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

With lightning speed, he suddenly lunged forward, bit into the sausage in Wang Churan's hand, tossed his head and pulled the sausage off completely, then turned and ran.

"Ah! Brother—!!!"

Wang Churan was stunned for a moment, then screamed.

Why are you doing things outside the script?!

She immediately chased after Shi Fen, who was already laughing and running away.

"You've gone too far! Give me back my sausage!"

As Shen Mo ran, he kept turning back to make faces.

"Come and chase me! If you catch me, I'll give you back—no way!"

The two chased and fled, their laughter and curses instantly filling the once quiet alley.

Tian Xi stood there, slightly stunned, holding the grilled sausage that Wang Churan had handed her.

Silently watching Shen Mo and his "new little sister" chase and play.

She lowered her head and took a bite of the grilled sausage.

The spicy flavor spread in her mouth, causing a sudden pang of sadness in her nose.

Her eyes instantly welled up with tears.

"CUT!"

Director Zheng Fenfen's voice brought everyone back to reality.

"very good!"

Director Zheng stood up from behind the monitor and clapped enthusiastically.

"Xiwei's last look was amazing!"

"Shen Mo, your impromptu performance just now, and Chu Ran's reaction of surprise, were spot on."

"Thank you for your hard work, everyone!"

The staff on site breathed a sigh of relief, applauded, and then began to pack up their props to prepare for the next scene.

Tian Xiwei was still immersed in that complex mix of emotions, and the redness in her eyes hadn't subsided.

Shen Mo walked over with Wang Churan, who had run away, and casually ruffled Tian Xiwei's hair.

"Well done."

Tian Xi looked up at him, still somewhat confused about whether she was in the play or not.

Time was "snatched" away by Miaomiao, and then she looked at Wang Churan standing next to Shen Mo.

It seems like my brother Mo is about to be snatched away too.

She gave a muffled "hmm".