Chapter 37

The final scene of Ji Jian's filming went very smoothly. Perhaps to make his wrap-up more enjoyable, the director specifically arranged for his and Wen Feifei's scenes to be done last.

Both of them are skilled actors, and even with various machines and equipment around, their performance in their scenes together doesn't feel out of place.

Zuo Mingran finished her lines and stood beside them, wrapped in a thick down jacket, watching.

In this scene, as the second male lead, Ji Jian finally realizes his true feelings after going through hardships and chooses to confess his love to the second female lead, Wen Feifei.

Wen Feifei and Ji Jian have known each other before and have spent several months together. They often joke around, play games together, and have a clear understanding of each other's personalities. Now, they have to act romantically and confess their love to each other.

Zuo Mingran, holding a hot water bottle, thinks to herself that this is probably the difference between her and a professional actor. If she were to act in this scene, she might end up breaking character and laughing several times.

The crew had prepared a wrap-up cake in advance. As soon as the director called for it, Zuo Mingran pushed a small cart and rushed over.

After spending three to four months working together day and night, everyone, except for Ren Luning, who is always trouble, gets along well with each other, whether it's the actors or the crew members.

Before Ji Jian could finish filming, he was surrounded by a group of people. Zuo Mingran pushed the cake in front of him and said with a smile, "Happy wrap-up, Young Master Fu."

Fu Yang is Ji Jian's character in the drama, a useless second-generation rich kid. When they joke around, Zuo Mingran and Fan Zhenzhen would call him Young Master Fu.

The crew had booked rooms in advance, and by the time Zuo Mingran arrived, most of the people were already there. After a lively dinner, it was already 11 PM. Those with commitments the next day left early, while the remaining people moved on to another location.

Ren Luning, as the male lead, didn't show up. Although Ji Jian was present, he had work the next day and had to leave early to catch a flight. Everyone knew that his attendance was already squeezed into his schedule, so no one said anything about it. 

So, Zuo Mingran and Wen Feifei became the only two main leads left and couldn't avoid being toasted by everyone. Fortunately, everyone knew their limits, and with the help of hangover pills, they remained slightly tipsy but not excessively drunk. It happened that both of them didn't have work the next day, so they followed the rest of the group to the next venue.

For safety reasons, they didn't leave the club but went directly to a KTV room upstairs.

Zuo Mingran couldn't sing, but Wen Feifei dragged him into singing two songs, almost rupturing his eardrums.

Having had a few drinks and with the dim lights in the room, Zuo Mingran sat for a while, realizing that everyone was busy having fun and no one was paying attention to him. So, he quietly opened the door and walked out.

Outside was a long corridor, and once the door was closed, the sounds from inside were completely muted.

Grabbing a passing waitress and asking her where the restroom was, Zuo Mingran went there and started fixing his makeup in front of the mirror by the entrance.

The curtains of the adjacent men's restroom were repeatedly lifted and dropped by someone, but Zuo Mingran didn't pay much attention. After turning off the faucet and preparing to leave, a male voice came from behind.

"Madam Yan."

Zuo Mingran looked up and saw the reflection of a person in the mirror.

It was Ren Luning.

Narrowing her eyebrows imperceptibly, Zuo Mingran asked, "Is there something you need?"

Ren Luning looked strange, but smelling the strong scent of alcohol, it was clear that he had been drinking quite a bit.

It was impossible for him to arrive just a few minutes after Zuo Mingran had left the dinner table. He couldn't have hurriedly come over with a bottle of alcohol to force her to drink like that. It must have been a coincidence that they ran into each other.

Sighing about how narrow the road between enemies was, Zuo Mingran coldly said, "If there's nothing important, please step aside."

Ren Luning tugged at the corner of his mouth, revealing a mocking smile. "Step aside? Zuo Mingran, who do you think you are? Just because you climbed into a good bed, do you really think you're part of a prestigious family? You're nothing more than..."

He abruptly stopped his words, but since there were no surveillance cameras in the restroom, Zuo Mingran discreetly sent a message to Anqi. Then, she swiftly raised her hand and slapped Ren Luning.

As the second male lead wraps up, being one of the most significant characters aside from the male lead, it is inevitable that there will be photos taken and microblogs posted, so Ren Luning couldn't help but come out to join the celebration.

The cameraman took the camera and went in front to take pictures, and a group of people surrounded Ji Jian, with the smiling director Wang beside him.

The center position is the focus. Ren Luning originally wanted to stand on the other side of Ji Jian, but Director Wang called for Wen Feifei to come out and said reasonably, "Feifei, why are you two standing so far apart? It's as if we're breaking up the official couple. Quickly stand over there."

With the director's instructions, Ren Luning, who was planning to show a good relationship with Ji Jian by standing shoulder to shoulder, reluctantly stepped aside. When Wen Feifei moved over, she naturally pulled Zuo Mingran to her side. Zuo Mingran and Ren Luning both disliked each other, but no one mentioned the official couple matter, so they stood on the left and right sides respectively.

As the second male lead wraps up and leaves, the remaining plot mainly focuses on the interactions between the male and female leads. Wen Feifei holds a small piece of cake, which she fought for from Xiaofei, and mumbles, "Fortunately, he has been behaving recently. His acting skills haven't improved much, but we shouldn't have any expectations for such things in the first place."

Zuo Mingran flipped through the script, jotting down the scenes they were going to shoot later. He casually said, "We two rookies peck at each other, but no one minds."

"You can't say that," Wen Feifei stuffed the last piece of cake into her mouth and let out a long breath. "At least when I act against you, we won't ruin the scene. But when I act against him, I feel like I'm back in elementary school math class!" 

She was referring to the incident when Ren Luning replaced his lines with numbers, which led Wen Feifei to nickname him "Mr. Numbers".

The next scene they were shooting was an emotional one. Considering their relationship, Zuo Mingran silently put down the script and started to prepare for the scene, hoping to achieve self-hypnosis before the actual shooting.

Wen Feifei had nothing better to do and couldn't stop herself from sarcastically commenting, as if she had become a critique machine. "We're adults, yet we still need to report to the parents in order to behave well. I stopped playing this game since elementary school. She acts like a diva on set, acting all superior when she sees her manager, not knowing that Wen Shikai is such a powerful manager, and I don't know how he managed to bring up such an artist."

Zuo Mingran thought to himself that she just didn't know Wen Shikai's true colors. Ren Luning was just a cash cow to him. As long as the popularity lasted, he would keep exploiting him. However, Ren Luning lacked the ability to transform into a serious actor and had no future prospects. Naturally, there was no need to care about what kind of person he was.

After Wen Feifei ranted for a while, Xiaofei called her away. Although she had few remaining scenes, they were arranged quite randomly, and she would need to be on set almost every day.

After listening to her complaints for so long, Zuo Mingran gave up on preparing for the emotional scene. Regardless of how well his emotions were developed, they would disappear as soon as she saw Ren Luning.

..........

The filming of the TV series finally wrapped up half a month later. In order to make the ending more beautiful, the director even arranged the last scene as a confrontation between Zuo Mingran and Wen Feifei, with Ren Luning, the male lead, seemingly nonexistent.

But Ren Luning didn't mind at all. It didn't matter who acted in the last scene; it had no impact on his performance. After finishing the wrap-up photos, he couldn't wait for the director to announce the dinner plans and left the set with his assistant.

After more than four months of filming, everyone breathed a sigh of relief after wrapping up. After all, this drama had been criticized by the original readers since the casting announcement. Then the originally planned second female lead got blacklisted due to drug use, and Wen Feifei was brought in as a last-minute replacement. After that, there were rumors and conflicts between Ren Luning and Zuo Mingran instead of love rumors. Despite the chaotic online discussions, the drama unexpectedly gained attention even before it aired, gaining quite a bit of traction in terms of popularity and viewership.

Whether it was a blessing in disguise or something else, now that the TV series was finished, the burden on their shoulders had been lifted. As for post-production editing, it had nothing to do with them.

The wrap-up banquet was arranged at an upscale club, rumored to be owned by a celebrity in the industry. They could have dinner, sing, and play games there. The confidentiality was also well-maintained, so there would be no media lurking around.

As an artist for a long time, one would constantly worry about being photographed and pay extra attention to their behavior. In general, if it's possible to resolve things through words, physical violence is rarely seen, unlike someone like Zuo Mingran who doesn't hesitate to raise a hand and slap someone.

Ren Luning never expected Zuo Mingran to immediately resort to physical violence without saying a word. The clear sound of the slap echoed in the quiet environment, leaving him stunned for a moment before finally reacting. He angrily cursed, "You dare to hit me? You're asking for death!"

He lifted his hand, but Zuo Mingran was already prepared and kicked him directly.

Ren Luning had been drinking and was already unstable on his feet, so Zuo Mingran's ruthless kick sent him crashing to the ground.

"So what if I hit you? I just hit you, do you have any objections?" Zuo Mingran's kick was precise and powerful, leaving Ren Luning unable to get up from the ground for quite some time. He could only glare angrily at her. If looks could kill, Zuo Mingran might have died hundreds of times by now.

Casually washing her hands, Zuo Mingran looked down at him and calmly said, "If you have a mental problem, it's your own business. Don't involve others. I hope this will be the only time I have to deal with you. Otherwise, every time I see you, I'll hit you. It's up to Mr. Yan to decide whether to protect me or sacrifice you."

Ren Luning gnashed his teeth in anger, while Zuo Mingran finished washing her hands and threw the tissue into the trash bin. She then walked out.

Obviously, the commotion here had alarmed others, but the people who worked here were experienced. At least, Zuo Mingran didn't see any staff members on her way out.

However, she did see someone unexpected.

"Yan Yunyang?" She was surprised and asked, "What are you doing here?"

Perhaps having heard her earlier remark, Yan Yunyang smiled lightly and replied, "I came to take you home."

Realizing that her grandiose statement had been overheard by the person involved, even someone as thick-skinned as Zuo Mingran couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed. With Ren Luning still lying on the ground behind her, she coughed and reached out to grab Yan Yunyang's sleeve, continuing to walk forward. "Everyone's here, and Angel is with me."

Yan Yunyang lowered his gaze to his sleeve being pulled and smiled, "Understood, Mrs. Yan."

Zuo Mingran stumbled a bit, and the hallway remained quiet. After thinking for a moment, she suddenly turned around, looking at Yan Yunyang and said, "I just beat someone up."

Yan Yunyang replied, "And then?"

Zuo Mingran looked into his eyes and said seriously, "What if he comes looking for trouble?"

Yan Yunyang also replied seriously, "You are Mrs. Yan. With me around, no one will dare to trouble you."

The corridor was lit by warm yellow lights, casting a halo of warmth around each person. Perhaps due to the effects of alcohol, there was a bit of tipsiness in the air. Zuo Mingran said, "But I also said that I'll keep hitting him every time I see him."

Her sleeve was being twisted out of shape, and Yan Yunyang struggled to free himself before she finally let go. But in the next moment, her hand was held by Yan Yunyang, their fingers intertwined.

"Then you shall always be Mrs. Yan," he said.

The surroundings fell silent, as if even the air had stilled. The temperature in their palms gradually merged, as if they were becoming one. Zuo Mingran curved her lips into a smile and turned away. "Then I'll have to think about it."

Just a few minutes later, the private room seemed to have transformed into a different world. When Zuo Mingran pushed open the door, if it weren't for seeing Angel, who was closest to the entrance, she would have thought she had gotten drunk and walked into the wrong place.

The music in the room hadn't stopped, but it was no longer the howling and screaming from before. It had been replaced by gentle and soothing songs. If it weren't for the presence of karaoke machines and the like, Zuo Mingran would have thought they were at some high-class music concert.

After surveying the room, even the usually lively Wen Feifei was sitting obediently on the sofa. Zuo Mingran couldn't help but ask curiously, "What's going on? Is everyone drunk?"

Wen Feifei used her eyes to signal for Zuo Mingran to look behind her. After a moment of thought, Zuo Mingran immediately understood. Yan Yunyang had come with their drama crew, and when she went to the restroom earlier, he didn't know about it. In other words, he had arrived at the private room first, confirmed that she wasn't there, and then went to the restroom.

Thinking about this group of people who were currently in a state of chaos, she fell silent.

However, the party was only halfway through. They couldn't just let it be abruptly interrupted. Zuo Mingran turned to look at Yan Yunyang, about to say something, but he suddenly took off his jacket and grabbed the microphone from the table. "Why isn't anyone singing? How about I sing a song?"

Zuo Mingran: "???"

Others: "!!!"

Before everyone could react, Yan Yunyang swiftly picked a song and started singing. He chose a song that easily set the mood. Zuo Mingran had never imagined that Yan Yunyang could sing, and he sang so beautifully. He sang two songs in a row, and slowly, the others began to come alive. Some of the bold and lively ones even started treating Yan Yunyang as a brother, with hints of wanting to become sworn brothers on the spot.

By the time they were leaving, Wen Feifei was taken away by her manager. Initially only slightly intoxicated, Zuo Mingran couldn't control herself and held onto Yan Yunyang's arm, refusing to leave.

Angel was worried about her work, so she refrained from drinking alcohol. Seeing Zuo Mingran in such a state, she felt a bit helpless. She couldn't forcefully separate her from Yan Yunyang.

The others had already left, as nobody wanted to be a third wheel, and after drinking too much, they quickly scattered.

Zuo Mingran clung onto his arm and refused to let go. Yan Yunyang couldn't even pry her off and could only coax her into letting go.

Drunk, Zuo Mingran couldn't comprehend anything that was being said. Yan Yunyang was about to forcefully pull her up when he heard her murmuring, "Who do you like?"

Yan Yunyang: "..."

Angel quietly distanced herself, staring at the mural near the door.

Not getting a response, Zuo Mingran furrowed her brow and grabbed the collar of Yan Yunyang's shirt, staring at him intently. "Who do you like?" Knowing that she was drunk and probably wouldn't remember anything after sleeping, Yan Yunyang lowered his gaze, his eyes revealing a hint of confession. "I like you."

Zuo Mingran paused for a moment, confused. "Me? Which me? Is it this Zuo Mingran or that Zuo Mingran?"

Drunk people usually lack logic, so Yan Yunyang deliberately replied, "Are there several Zuo Mingrans?"

However, this question didn't receive a response. Zuo Mingran seemed to be fixated on the distinction between this and that, asking again, "This one? Or that one?"

It seemed like there was no way to avoid answering this question. Yan Yunyang whispered softly, "This one, the one by my side."

Upon receiving the answer, Zuo Mingran raised her eyebrows, the light shining in her eyes like a starry sky. She smiled at Yan Yunyang and said, "I knew it."

Without waiting for Yan Yunyang's reaction, she grabbed his collar and kissed him passionately.