I was criticized on a dating reality show, but I retaliated and became an internet sensation.

Director Fei followed his gaze, then turned back, shook his head with a smile, patted his shoulder, said something, and then turned and walked back behind the monitor.

Surprisingly, Director Fei had a smile on his face.

Good heavens, Director Fei, who always has a dead fish face on set that says "everyone owes me eight million," actually smiled.

Unbelievable! What a wonderful day it is today?

Now, the whispers on set have escalated into mini-seminars.

Someone who could make Director Fei personally walk over to greet them with a smile must be someone important.

For a moment, various gazes drifted towards the corner, but no one dared to stare too obviously. They could only pretend to adjust equipment, sneeze, or tie their shoelaces, and sneak a few glances at each other.

Others kept glancing at Shuzi, their mouths opening and closing repeatedly, but none of them dared to go up and ask her anything.

After all, although that person wasn't standing next to Shu Zi, his eyes kept glancing at her every now and then, and anyone with eyes could tell what was going on.

Who would dare to go up and risk this trouble?

Qu Xuan had just finished filming a scene and was walking towards the rest area when she noticed that the atmosphere on set was a bit off.

She followed everyone's gaze, her eyes landing on Gu Yan in the corner. She raised an eyebrow and walked over to Shu Zi.

"No wonder the set smelled so good with coffee today, it turns out family members came to visit."

She looked Shu Zi up and down, her tone slightly mocking:

"You were so listless a while ago, but you were all better as soon as your family came. I was so worried about you before, but now it seems like I was the one who was worrying for nothing."

Shu Zi glanced at her helplessly: "Sister Qu..."

Qu Xuan glanced at Qi Yu again.

Qi Yu was sitting not far away, looking down at his phone, but he was clearly distracted, glancing at Shu Zi every now and then before quickly looking away.

Qu Xuan withdrew her gaze and chuckled softly, "No wonder that kid was listless all morning; it turns out the real culprit has come to kill him."

She couldn't help but add, "Tsk tsk tsk, the little brother hasn't even had a chance to exert his strength before he's already out of the game."

Shu Zi closed the script and looked at her expressionlessly: "Sister Qu, have you finished memorizing your lines for today?"

Qu Xuan took a sip of water: "More or less."

Shu Zi nodded: "Then go and practice some more, so you don't forget your lines when we start filming."

Qu Xuan was amused by her old-fashioned tone: "Alright, alright, I won't tease you anymore."

She put down her water glass and adopted a more serious tone:

"Seriously, the scene later is between you and Lin Man, right? That scene isn't going to be easy to film today, so be careful."

Shu Zi nodded: "I know, don't worry, Sister Qu."

Qu Xuan turned and walked towards her filming area, but after taking two steps, she turned back and left with a sentence:

"By the way, please thank Mr. Gu for the coffee for me. I'm so grateful."

After saying that, he smiled and walked away.

Shu Zi shook her head helplessly and lowered her head to flip through the script again, but out of the corner of her eye she felt a gaze drifting towards her.

She glanced up and met Lin Man's gaze.

Lin Man stood by the prop table not far away, holding a bottle of water, looking in her direction.

The moment their eyes met, Lin Man paused for a moment, then smiled slightly and nodded at her as a greeting. She then naturally turned her head and said something to her assistant.

Shu Zi looked away, not thinking much of it, and continued reading the script.

Lin Man plays a character who was one of the people who bullied Shen Ji in the past.

This afternoon's scene was the conflict scene where Shen Ji was cornered in a secluded corner by the bullies.

In the script, the bully relentlessly presses on, verbally humiliates, and finally raises his hand to slap Shen Ji.

Shen Ji did not retaliate, but simply stood there, coldly watching the other party.

The director had communicated with us beforehand, and we used camera angles to create the illusion of a better shot.

The afternoon shoot officially began.

The crew cleared the set, the lights were adjusted, and the director, sitting behind the monitor, picked up the walkie-talkie:

"All departments, prepare—Go!"

Lin Man got into character and aggressively approached Shu Zi, delivering her lines fairly fluently. However, when it came to the part where she was supposed to raise her hand to slap Shu Zi, she hesitated noticeably.

The angle of its descent was off; it stopped several centimeters from Shuzi's face, and she froze there, as if she had forgotten what to do next.

The director yelled "Cut!": "Lin Man, be quick with your movements, don't hesitate, let's do another take."

The second time, Lin Man's emotions were more intense than before, and her lines were more powerful.

But when she slapped Shu Zi, she held back a bit of force, and the slap landed lightly on Shu Zi's face, completely losing the impact that the script should have given.

The director frowned, but before he could speak, Lin Man panicked and waved her hands repeatedly in apology.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'll try again, this time it will work."

The third time, Lin Man gritted her teeth, rushed forward, and slapped him across the face.

With a crisp "smack," it landed squarely on Shu Zi's face.

The set fell silent instantly.

The blow was quite forceful; Shu Zi's head was knocked to one side, and a faint red mark quickly appeared on her face.

However, Lin Man couldn't handle her emotions after slapping him.

Looking at the red mark on Shu Zi's face, she panicked and her eyes darted around. Her subsequent lines were halting and stammering, completely failing to convey the impact of the slap.

The director frowned, neither yelling "cut" nor expressing satisfaction.

Lin Man realized she had missed again, so she quickly stopped and stepped forward:

"I'm so sorry, Ms. Shu! I... I didn't mean to, I really didn't mean to."

Shu Zi didn't respond to her words, but simply raised her hand and gently touched her burning face with her fingertips, her expression not changing much.

She looked up at Lin Man and said calmly, "It's okay, let's do it again."

As soon as he finished speaking, a sound, neither too loud nor too soft, came from the corner.

It is Gu Yan.

Shu Zi turned her head to look at the sound.

Gu Yan had straightened up from the shelf in the corner, his hat brim pulled low so his expression was obscured, but the atmosphere around him had clearly become tense.

Lin Man was intimidated by the aura sweeping from his direction, and subconsciously took half a step back, her voice becoming weaker:

"...I...I really didn't mean to."

Shu Zi withdrew her gaze and said calmly, "Let's continue."

The director remained silent for two seconds behind the monitor before speaking:

"One more take, Lin Man, keep the emotions flowing, don't stop after you finish."

Lin Man nodded, took a deep breath, and stood back in her place.

Begin the fourth time.

Lin Man rushed up and slapped him again.

This time, the force was controlled better than before; it wasn't a solid hit, but the feint looked realistic enough.

Her emotions finally flowed smoothly, she delivered her lines correctly, and the fierceness in her eyes lasted until the very end.

The director yelled "Cut!" and the atmosphere on set finally relaxed.

Lin Man let out a long breath, turned to Shu Zi, and apologized again:

"Teacher Shu, I'm really sorry for what I did just now."

Shu Zi glanced at Lin Man indifferently, then waved her hand: "That's good, go prepare for the next one."

Lin Man wanted to say something, but after glancing at Gu Yan in the corner, she finally nodded, turned around, and left.

Shu Zi raised her hand and touched the faint red mark on her face again, then turned and walked towards the rest area.

I had only taken two steps when my wrist was grabbed.