Superstar's Development Diary
Chapter 165 Injured

Chapter 165: Chapter 165 Injured

Director Li tugged at the corner of his mouth, seemingly wanting to say something, but ultimately refrained out of civility and simply waved his hand to hurry her off.

"Leave my film crew immediately, and ask your agent to talk to me about the breach of contract."

"Director Li, what exactly happened, I—" Before Deng Zhaoyan could finish, she was forcefully escorted out by the security guards hired by the crew, leaving in a disheartened state without even having time to collect her belongings left on set.

The scene of Deng Zhaoyan being driven away was witnessed by many actors in Director Li’s crew. On the surface, nobody said anything, but secretly, they all sent their assistants to inquire about what she had done.

Their probing ultimately led nowhere—when it comes to superstars, unless one had deep connections with A-list celebrities, the other actors couldn’t find out what went wrong, only vaguely aware that Deng Zhaoyan had offended some higher-ups.

As for the incident in Sheng Yan’s crew, He Jinxia was completely oblivious.

Although she was filming in the same Film City, her schedule was packed. Since the time Sheng Yan brought her food, she hadn’t seen him for a whole week.

Her relationship with Sheng Yan had entered a stagnant phase since the meal delivery. Apart from sending routine "good morning" and "good night" messages, there was no further communication.

Sheng Yan didn’t initiate any conversation, and He Jinxia certainly wouldn’t either.

Still retaining the mindset of ancient times, Jinxia’s nature was imbued with the modesty and shyness of ancient maidens.

Initiate a chat?

Pfft, unimaginable.

"Quick, quick, quick, is the costume ready? Hurry up with the makeup, it has to be beautiful, you know, the kind of beauty that feels ethereal to modern people when they see the attire of ancient times!"

Peng Yufei, the executive director’s shout, reached her ears, his sharp eyes closely scrutinizing the makeup and costume teams.

As soon as He Jinxia arrived on set early in the morning, she heard Peng Yufei’s stringent demands, which were tirelessly repeated every ten minutes, causing the new makeup artist to tremble while applying her makeup from the nerves.

He Jinxia stood in two layers of heavy clothing for a full two hours. She didn’t sit to avoid unnecessary wrinkles on the opulent costume and also for fear that the other garment she wore underneath would be displaced, making it difficult to film.

Although it was winter, He Jinxia was sweltering in the clothes. Seeing the makeup artist’s anxious manner, she thought for a moment and called out, "Director Peng!"

Peng Yufei responded with a sound.

He Jinxia: "Director Peng, I think a ribbon got left out when dressing in the ancient costume. Could you please check with the props department to see if there’s one missing?"

Without a second word, Peng Yufei agreed and turned to look for it.

Seeing him leave, He Jinxia quickly whispered to the makeup artist, "Hurry up with the makeup and don’t be nervous."

The new female makeup artist looked at He Jinxia gratefully, nodded emphatically, sped up her hands, and her shaking ceased.

Twenty minutes later, He Jinxia’s makeup was successfully completed, and with the staff’s assistance, she carefully stepped into the prepared filming scene.

Her task for the day was to shoot two important scenes, and the upside was that neither required intense emotional outbursts.

One scene involved purely her dancing, where she had to dance gracefully and let the outer garment slip off in between to reveal the light, thin dress underneath.

Su Qingwan’s purpose in this dance scene was to seduce the envoy, so every second she had to perform alluringly. For this dance, which would appear for less than two minutes on screen, He Jinxia practiced for five full days, three hours at the base every day.

The second act, following the dance performance, was a dramatic scene. In this act, Luo Dingxin also made an appearance, and an emotional entanglement would arise between the two characters.

Su Qingwan, to achieve her goal, disguised herself as a dancer who voluntarily offered herself to the envoy from Jin Country, who had traveled from afar. Luo Dingxin faintly recognized Su Qingwan and wanted to take her away, but ultimately, Su Qingwan chose the Jin Country Envoy between the two men.

The actors were in place, the lights were set, and the props were arranged; everything was ready.

With the clapboard sound marking the beginning of the filming, He Jinxia’s expression changed, she slightly bowed her head, and the seductive smile at the corner of her lips and her snow-white neck instantly jumped into the camera lens, igniting curiosity about the face that was bowed.

The music began to play, and extravagant tunes filled the air. He Jinxia lifted her long sleeves to her face, and as the broad sleeve fell, it covered half of her cheek, revealing eyes and a smile that barely there yet tantalizingly alluring.

Spinning, flinging sleeves, twirling, bending over... Each lean and shift brought a visual delight while presenting a demeanor both eager to express and yet shy.

The music escalated rapidly, and He Jinxia’s body kept spinning with it, her skirt billowing out and forming a circle.

She spun faster and faster, as if about to take flight!

The actor playing the Jin Country Envoy suddenly reached out and grabbed He Jinxia at a certain moment.

According to the script, he should have grabbed a ribbon tied to her costume, and with a pull, the outer layer of clothing would have come off, revealing the red dance costume underneath. He Jinxia was meant to leap gracefully at that moment, leaving behind a beautiful scene.

But while imagination is pleasant, reality is plump.

This actor missed the ribbon and grabbed the garment instead, and with He Jinxia in full spin, this pull caused her to fall flat to the ground—

"Bang!"

A loud noise echoed, startling everyone who heard it.

Cheng Xiaohua dashed out like an arrow from the bow and was the first to reach He Jinxia, crouching down anxiously to ask where she hurt.

He Jinxia’s lips were pale, and she felt a piercing pain in her ankle, leaving no doubt that she was injured.

Seeing that she pointed to her foot, Cheng Xiaohua immediately lifted her ancient costume to reveal a particularly red spot beneath her snow-white ankle.

Cheng Xiaohua reached out to touch it, and He Jinxia couldn’t help gasping in pain.

The assistant director called out urgently, "Where’s the on-set doctor? Come over and have a look quickly!"

The actor playing the Jin Country Envoy looked extremely apologetic, kept saying sorry to He Jinxia, and attempted to crouch down to massage her slightly swollen foot.

But just as he bent down, Luo Dingxin, who followed close behind, pulled him away. Caught off guard, the actor stumbled backward, looking utterly bewildered.

Luo Dingxin took this opportunity to move in, taking the place of the previous actor, and crouched down, looking at He Jinxia with concern, asking,

"Jinxia, does it hurt a lot?"

He Jinxia shook her head at him.

Luo Dingxin furrowed his brows and said, "It’s swollen so severely all of a sudden, I don’t know if the bone is damaged or not."

He reached out to touch He Jinxia’s swollen ankle but was only halfway there when Cheng Xiaohua’s outstretched arm blocked him.