Superstar's Development Diary
Chapter 54 Investment

Chapter 54: Chapter 54 Investment

When He Jinxia woke up, she was met with Mrs. He’s reddened eyes.

Her eyes widened, thinking she was dreaming.

Seeing her awake, Mrs. He froze, then quickly reached out to touch He Jinxia’s head and asked with concern, "How do you feel, is there anywhere in your body that doesn’t feel comfortable?"

He Jinxia looked dazed and said, "I don’t feel uncomfortable, and I’m in good spirits too."

Mrs. He’s eyebrows furrowed, and she flipped off the quilt covering He Jinxia, smoothing up her loose pants to reveal the starkly visible red and black bruises on her leg, and scolded,

"Still saying there’s no discomfort, look at what you’ve done to your nice legs?"

Only then did He Jinxia realize that it wasn’t a dream.

Seeing that she didn’t respond, Mrs. He thought she wanted to argue, so she deliberately pressed on the bruise on her leg.

The sharp pain that followed made He Jinxia grimace, who couldn’t help recognizing the reality that no dream would bring such a real sensation of pain.

"Mom, I was filming just before, and these are accidental injuries from the set," she hurriedly explained.

Hearing this, Mrs. He’s eyes immediately became moist again, and a flush returned.

"Don’t lie to me, I saw everything, who films scenes just to fall down? You fell over a dozen times, those were real falls, and I heard the thud of your leg hitting the floor loud and clear!"

He Jinxia, seeing her mother’s tearful eyes, felt somewhat of a headache. From ancient times to the present, she hated seeing others cry the most, for once they started, she had to console them, and the more she consoled, the harder they cried.

"Mom, that was just an accident. My previous filming sessions went very smoothly," she explained helplessly.

Mrs. He: "You’re lying again. Your agent already told me that last month you were filming while wearing a down jacket in the scorching heat, so hot that you broke out in a heat rash, and it wasn’t until you took off your clothes that you found out it was terribly itchy. Does that sound smooth to you?"

He Jinxia’s face flushed with slight embarrassment, feeling the awkwardness of being caught lying, and she vaguely said, "It’s very common for actors to film out of season, this really isn’t that big of a deal."

"Not a big deal?" Mrs. He raised her eyebrows, and her voice rose along with them.

"Look at your body, bruises big and small on your legs, some are newly added, some are several days old, you’re not filming some martial arts drama, why are there so many injuries all over your body?"

Seeing Mrs. He’s angry look, He Jinxia suddenly felt a bit relieved that the old ancestor hadn’t seen her back, otherwise things might have exploded.

A few days ago, she had a strength-training mishap and her back was inadvertently strained, still covered with medicated plasters. Once the plasters were peeled off, the bruising was probably as severe as those on her legs.

"Mom, I’ve been trying to lose weight, and that involves a lot of exercises, bumps and scrapes are inevitable, not all injuries are from filming..."

Mrs. He saw He Jinxia’s pale face, her lips not rosy, and her overall exhausted appearance. She looked thinner, but her spirit was not good at all, which made her heart ache, as she grasped her hand and said,

"Jinxia, let’s not diet anymore, okay? And let’s not act either. I’ll find you another job. No one will laugh at you for being fat, and you’ll be well provided for."

"We won’t be actors anymore, we won’t be part of the entertainment circle anymore. What’s so good about this industry? It’s exhausting, tiring, and the environment is a mess. Many people never succeed, and among those who do, not all have real talent. Let’s not be part of this anymore, okay?"

Watching the tears fall from her mother’s eyes, He Jinxia too felt heartache. They say there’s a heart connection between mother and daughter; when her mother cried, she couldn’t help but feel like crying too.

She took a deep breath, held back the tears in her eyes, took her mother’s hand in hers, smiled at her, and said with extreme patience, word by word, "But Mom, I like this line of work."

"It’s not about how much money it can make or how glamorous it can be, but because I like it."

"I like the feeling of being on stage, I like facing the audience, I love acting. If I don’t act anymore, I wouldn’t know what else I could do."

In the end, He Jinxia’s expression became somewhat distant, as acting had been ingrained into her bones in her previous life, something she couldn’t quit even if she tried.

In this life, if she couldn’t leverage the strengths of her past life, then she truly would’ve betrayed the privilege of reincarnation.

And another thing, speaking truthfully, what else could she do if she left this profession?

Mrs. He’s lips parted slightly as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she swallowed her words; her child was just like her father, once their mind was set on doing something, they couldn’t be pulled back.

Wasn’t it this trait in her own husband that she had admired and led her to marry him?

Sigh, her child was grown up, out of her control...

"Bang, bang!" A knock sounded at the door, and Aunt Rui walked in, carrying a basket of fruit.

Seeing that He Jinxia was awake, Aunt Rui hurriedly asked, "Jinxia, what’s wrong? Do you need a thorough checkup? Oh dear, I’ll get you a better hospital room, no, let’s switch hospitals entirely..."

Having persuaded one ancestor, another came along. He Jinxia braced herself to deal with the situation, answering Aunt Rui’s questions in a gentle and soft tone.

While the hospital room was filled with warmth, the atmosphere outside the room wasn’t nearly as friendly.

Dong Qiin had just arrived at the hospital room and was about to enter when she bumped into Aunt Rui in the corridor.

The Dong Family and the Sheng Family were acquainted with each other, and the two had known each other since childhood, so their meeting wasn’t awkward.

Upon seeing her, Aunt Rui frowned and said dissatisfied, "Qiin Qiin, how can you be so rash, even if you’re eager to make a good film, you need to care more about the actors’ health!"

After being scolded by Aunt Rui for a while, Dong Qiin adopted a receptive attitude, sincerely promising there would be no next time, almost stretching out her hand to swear, before she managed to coax Aunt Rui into the sickroom, leaving Sheng Yan standing in the corridor.

As soon as the door to the room shut, Dong Qiin’s expression of self-reproach vanished, and she turned her probing gaze toward Sheng Yan, who was wrapped up tightly, and asked:

"What is your relationship with He Jinxia, why did you bring Aunt Rui to visit He Jinxia’s set, and why was He Jinxia’s mother there too? Why didn’t you tell me when you visited the set?"

Four rapid-fire questions without taking a breath, all aimed to intimidate with sheer force!

However, Sheng Yan merely glanced at her indifferently, his cool eyes void of any emotion, effortlessly extinguishing Yang Qiin’s built-up momentum.

Dong Qiin watched him intently, wanting an answer.

She knew too well just how formidable Sheng Yan was—the man was a thorough capitalist. Her experiences of coming short against him told her that when facing Sheng Yan—one must never back down!

Sheng Yan withdrew his gaze, not looking at her, and asked slowly but forcefully, "As one of the film’s investors, do I need a reason to visit a production in which I’ve invested?"

Dong Qiin frowned, "Since when have you invested in my mo..."

"Now I have," Sheng Yan interrupted.

Dong Qiin looked at Sheng Yan suspiciously, feeling that something was off, and instinctively declined, "That’s not necessary, my funds are alre..."

"Ten million," Sheng Yan interrupted again.

Dong Qiin felt her heart skipping a beat, her speech becoming somewhat labored, "This, really, there’s no need..."

"Twenty million," the man said lightly, as if he was idly waving his sleeve.

"This, I, I..." Consider it.

The last four words were still on the tip of her tongue when Sheng Yan’s voice floated over again, "Thirty million, if you don’t want it then—"

"Deal!" Dong Qiin nearly shouted the words out loud.