The Secret of Second Marriage

During a break from filming, Lu Zheng, the award-winning actor and the male lead of our drama, was...

After reading the script, he said, "The female protagonist in this drama initially chose to endure her husband's emotional abuse for the sake of her family and children. Later, after discovering that her husband was having an affair, she also thought about winning him back."

She is a very foolish woman.

However, this seemingly indecisive woman ultimately chose divorce, standing up against her scumbag husband and his mistress. She's a decisive and clear-headed strong woman, which I admire.

I nodded and said, "I think this play has a lot of realistic educational significance. Women should stand up, be independent and self-reliant, and not put all their hopes for life on a man, otherwise they will lose very badly!"

I've been divorced, and the biggest lesson I learned from it is...

Instead of focusing solely on supporting your partner, concentrate on improving yourself. If he becomes successful, he'll feel you're not good enough for him... This is a lesson learned the hard way!

Lu Zheng felt that although this role was a villain, it was also very challenging.

He has already won the Best Actor award. When he was younger, he wouldn't have taken on this kind of role, but now that he's more mature and experienced, he wants to try different roles. He said this is the first time he's played the role of a scumbag husband.

It was only when I was filming with Lu Zheng that I truly understood what a professional actor is.

His expressions, movements, and lines all lived up to his title of Best Actor. His performance was so natural, it was as if my husband was standing in front of me, half a gentleman and half a beast.

The director always praised Lu Zheng's acting.

The atmosphere on set was great, and I worked really hard. I often got so into character while filming that even after the director yelled "cut," my eyes were still red, and I hadn't quite shaken off the role.

Shen Xing watched me silently on set.

When Shen Xing and I had our fight scene, I had just been subjected to domestic violence by my ex-husband and his mother-in-law at his house. I was covered in blood in the middle of the night, wearing a white nightgown, running in the pouring rain, screaming for help!

The police officer, played by Shen Xing, happened to be on night patrol to maintain order when he encountered me. He immediately got out of his police car, picked me up, and took me to the police station.

Because I wanted to highlight how I discovered my husband's infidelity and was tormented by him and my mother-in-law to the point of being covered in blood, and to evoke sympathy from the audience, I acted in the pouring rain again and again. The crew's lights shone on my face, and by the end, I couldn't tell which were tears and which were just snot.

All I know is that during the last NG (no good take), I collapsed weakly into Shen Xing's arms. He held me, took me to the police car, and sent me to the hospital to have my wounds bandaged.

We finished filming at 10 p.m., and I hadn't eaten anything. I was really hungry.

The crew's boxed lunches had already arrived, but we missed the mealtime because we were delayed by filming.

I was thinking of ordering two takeout meals, one for Shen Xing and one for myself, but I didn't expect that after filming was over, my two takeout meals would be taken and eaten by the photography assistant.

I felt too embarrassed to ask for it, because as the female lead, many film crews would buy milk tea, hamburgers, and fruit salad to reward the crew members.

But I don't have the money or the ability.

Some assistants and extras on set secretly complained about how stingy I was. At that moment, I realized that besides filming, the film crew was also a world of interpersonal relationships and social dynamics.

The director and the male lead are already famous. They have their own RV with a private lounge and their own personal chef who specially prepares diet and fat-reducing meals.

Their team's monthly expenses amount to several hundred thousand yuan.

I was just a small-time newcomer actor. I entered the entertainment industry after getting divorced in my thirties. I had to start from scratch. Every time I finished filming, I would carry my little stool and wait in a corner with the extras for my next scene.

My boxed lunch that I just ordered has been taken away, so I'll have to go hungry.

Shen Xing saw me sitting in a chair, hungry, still memorizing my lines.

He said he would ask the staff at the photography assistant's office to get the boxed lunch back for me.

I told him it wasn't necessary, that it's better to avoid trouble, and besides, I'm not the kind of person who holds grudges.

Shen Xing said, "You wait."

He went out and bought me a boxed lunch.

Shen Xing handed me the boxed lunch and fruit. I didn't expect that there was a production assistant in the crew who was quite pretty, but had a terrible temper.

She already had feelings for Shen Xing and had asked him out to dinner several times after filming ended, but he always refused. So she was very angry and annoyed, and now she finally found someone to vent her anger on.

She glanced at me and said, "Jiang Man, right? Everyone knows you're a newcomer with no background, yet you got to act in Director Chen's movies right from your debut."

And she even acts like a diva, refusing to eat the crew's boxed lunches and making Shen Xing, the younger brother, go out and buy her food. Is she that pampered? Haha, if you can't handle hardship, don't come out and act!

I sneered and said, "It's just a boxed lunch, there's no need to make such a fuss! I'm a newcomer, but that doesn't mean I'm easy to bully! You got upset somewhere else today and took it out on me, so you think I'll never amount to anything?"

But you've misjudged me. I, Jiang Man, am a woman who refuses to admit defeat. The more you think I'm no good, the harder I'll work to prove everyone that I'm excellent!

I know she said those things on purpose to upset me, if she had said them to me privately.

I can ignore it, but to say such things to me in front of so many people is disrespectful.

If I don't fight back, others can bully me and step on my head.

The production assistant was also surprised that I, a newcomer actor with no background, had just confronted her head-on in front of so many people, and her expression became somewhat unnatural.

After all, I am the female lead in this drama.

The production assistant retorted, "You're over 30, and you still want fame? It's just making a movie, what's so great about it? I told you you wouldn't become famous, so what? There are so many newcomers in the entertainment industry, it's not your turn to be famous!"

"Then let's give it a try."

I wasn't discouraged by their sarcastic remarks; instead, a courageous strength welled up within me.

Although I'm just a newcomer, as long as I'm determined, with my indomitable and tenacious spirit, I'm sure I can make the film well...

As for whether I become famous or not, that's another matter. I must have a classic role so that the audience will remember me and remember that Jiang Man is a very talented actress.

So I went back to my corner, sat on a stool, and quietly ate my meal and read the script…

Shen Xing frowned and went up to the production assistant, saying, "Is it really worth it for a lunchbox? Man and I are friends, please watch your words in the future!"

"Young Master Shen, I apologize for what you just said. It was just a boxed lunch. I don't think you, as the second male lead in the production, should have bought her a boxed lunch. It would have made people misunderstand your relationship."

The stagehand panicked and quickly tried to appease her.

She wasn't afraid of me because I had no connections, but she was afraid of Shen Xing because Shen Xing's father was a big director in the entertainment industry.

She could lose her job because of something Shen Xing said.

Shen Xing said, "I actually hope people misunderstand our relationship, but you're overthinking it. Jiang Man already has a boyfriend. Her fiancé is very handsome, successful, and a perfect match for her."

Man and I have a completely innocent friendship. I don't want to hear any more gossip about us, or else don't blame me for being ruthless.

"Oh, I see?"

The production assistant was also seeing a serious expression on the face of such a handsome and beautiful young man, a second-generation rich kid from the entertainment industry, for the first time.

She didn't dare say anything more.

Shen Xing came over to me and said, "I'm sorry, Man, I made you feel wronged just now. It was my fault! Let's go out to eat next time!"

It's okay.

I said, "When you're out in the world, you're bound to experience hardships. But I think it's worth it because I'm filming now, doing what I love."

For the next few days, Shen Xing didn't buy me any more boxed lunches separately.

After all, I'm just a newcomer in the crew. With the crew working so hard right now, we're filming day and night. Although it's tiring, I feel a sense of fulfillment and happiness in striving for my dream.

As filming progressed, I realized how important my role was.

However, because I often have to rush to film, I rarely get to receive a proper meal, so I often film on an empty stomach.

No matter how late I finished work at night, Shen Xing would always wait for me on set and then take me out for a late-night snack.

He especially liked to invite me out for hot pot late at night.

We randomly picked a street corner, went into a hot pot restaurant, ordered some food, and started eating hot pot.

I am actually quite grateful to Shen Xing. In this unfamiliar city, on an unfamiliar film set, and facing a group of unfamiliar staff, she remained silent except when filming, completely immersed in her role.

It was really tough.

But Shen Xing always cared about me quietly.

I was quite touched.

……

After filming for more than a week, perhaps because I didn't eat or sleep well and was often caught in the rain, I developed a high fever. The entire crew didn't finish filming until 1 a.m.

This is the first time I've ever felt so exhausted; I feel like I don't even have the strength to walk.

But I still forced myself to finish delivering my lines and filming the scene.

Even so, I greeted everyone with a smile, addressed the directors politely and humbly, and took the initiative to help other actors with their scenes or organize props on set.

Shen Xing saw all this and silently helped me pack up the props, then accompanied me home from get off work...

He said, "Let me go with you to get an IV drip."

I shook my head and refused, saying, "No need, I'll take some fever reducer and sleep until tomorrow morning."

Shen Xing touched my forehead but said, "No, you'll get better faster if you get an IV drip! You're sick, your health is very important."

I don't know why?

I didn't like Shen Xing's concern for me, and said a little angrily, "I don't need you to worry about me. I'm an adult and can take care of myself. This fever is nothing serious. I'm going back to the hotel... All I want to do right now is get a good night's sleep."

"You can sleep even at the hospital. I'll stay by your side while you sleep while you get your IV drip."

Shen Xing suddenly grabbed me with red eyes and said.

"Why don't you bother someone else? Why do you have to bother me? What does my high fever have to do with you?"

I'm a little unhappy.

In front of Shen Xing, sometimes I unconsciously reveal my true emotions, that real, terrible side that no outsider has seen.

Shen Xing, her eyes red, yelled at me, "Jiang Man, you really don't know who's good to you! Stop ruining your health, okay? You have such a high fever, and you still got up at dawn to film. Are you trying to become famous at the cost of your life?"