Ye Zhi didn't know that Song Lie happened to be in the shooting venue next to her. Unlike Ye Zhi, Song Lie often received advertisement shooting offers from various high profile luxury brands.
For today's shoot, he sported a white T-shirt with a warm smile on his face.
Different from the aggressiveness he showed to Ye Zhi before—when he forced her to cancel the marriage agreement—he now looks like a typical boy next door. When he smiles at someone, it's as if could instantly shorten the distance between them.
After Song Lie finished shooting, he headed towards the dressing room. As soon as he reached the corridor, he glanced upon Ye Zhi who was not far away, walking towards his direction.
Song Lie frowned subconsciously with an obvious impatient look on his face. He didn't know that Ye Zhi was filming next to his studio and only thought that she came here to embarrass him.
He thought that Ye Zhi was playing tricks just like before. In reality, she just wanted to get his attention.
Having thought to this point, Song Lie felt a sense of pride in his heart.
Song Lie lowered his head slightly but didn't leave. He wanted to see what trick Ye Zhi would play so that he could mock her.
Song Lie listened to Ye Zhi's footsteps getting closer and closer, but the next second, Ye Zhi passed straight in front of him without casting a glance to his side.
There was no hesitation, as if she didn't see him at all.
Song Lie felt as if someone slapped his face. He awkwardly opened his mouth and called Ye Zhi's name, "Ye Zhi."
Ye Zhi seemed to have recovered from her daze and her eyes fell on Song Lie.
When Song Lie saw the blank look on Ye Zhi's face, he realized that Ye Zhi had really ignored him just now.
This was unintentional, Ye Zhi had been thinking about other things. Ye Zhi's tone was bland like it was her first time seeing Song Lie, "Is there something wrong?"
Song Lie finally calmed down and laughed, "Gossip about you is now spreading like a wildfire, don't you know anything about it?"
Ye Zhi's face sank as soon as she heard Song Lie's tone. She just couldn't stand Song Lie joking about Gu Ren.
Song Lie continued, "Gu Ren is not here. Who are you pretending for? Gu Ren meets with accidents frequently. At first glance, I can tell he is short-lived. I advise you to rethink your schemes and machinations."
Instead of getting angry, Ye Zhi smiled lightly. But that light smile on her face seemed to be mocking Song Lie. Song Lie noticed this and a fire ignited in his heart.
Song Lie frowned, "What are you laughing at?"
Ye Zhi's eyes were scornful but her voice was sympathetic, "I'm smiling because you may be leaving the entertainment industry tomorrow."
Ye Zhi unhurriedly took out her mobile phone from her bag, which showed that it was recording something a while ago. Ye Zhi pressed the play button and Song Lie's voice replayed on the cell phone speaker.
Song Lie's sarcastic words towards Gu Ren were recorded clearly.
Ye Zhi deliberately pressed the stop button when Song Lie finished his first sentence and saw that Song Lie's expression had changed. What was he compared to Gu Ren?
Song Lie suddenly panicked but he pretended to be calm on the surface, "No one will believe you."
In front of Song Lie, Ye Zhi slowly pressed the save button. She held her mobile phone and swayed in front of Song Lie a few times. "If fans of Gu Ren hear this, will they tear you apart?"
Song Lie knew in his heart that if this recording was put online, his career in the entertainment industry would be instantly ruined.
Ye Zhi continued, "If you apologize to Gu Ren three times, I will consider deleting the recording."
Ye Zhi looked at Song Lie's reluctant expression and began to draw her finger close to the share button. As expected, the next second, Song Lie's voice quickly resounded.
"Gu Ren, I'm sorry." Song Lie repeated it three times. After he apologized, Song Lie pointed stiffly at the phone, "Can you delete it?"
Ye Zhi deliberately pretended to be agonizingly hesitant for a while before deleting the recording in front of Song Lie.
Ye Zhi deliberately hesitated for a while before she deleted the recording in front of Song Lie.
After Song Lie finished apologizing, Ye Zhi pretended to be generous and said, "Then I will grudgingly accept your apology on behalf of Gu Ren."
After that, Ye Zhi turned around and left regardless of Song Lie's feelings.
...
At Sheng Man's dressing room.
Sheng Man had a shooting this afternoon.
As usual, the crew was waiting for Sheng Man in the dressing room. She always showed up late. A few people were already bored and started to gossip.
"Yesterday, I saw Ye Zhi." The stylist said, "She has become a lot more beautiful."
Sheng Man, who had just walked to the door of the dressing room, heard of Ye Zhi's name and suddenly stopped. She raised her eyebrows and leaned against the wall to eavesdrop.
"Maybe it's because make-up can change a person a lot," the assistant said.
The stylist recalled Ye Zhi's appearance when he saw her yesterday. Her face was beautiful like a rose in full bloom, her eyes were as clear as a cloudless sky, her skin was as white as snow, and her temperament was as cold as ice. Her originally bright features were even more highlighted this time.
He shook his head, "Ye Zhi's temperament is different from that of the past. That's not what make-up can do."
Temperament? Hearing this word, Sheng Man knew how ridiculous the words of these people were.
As for Ye Zhi, who was just a former stand-in, Sheng Man clearly remembered being amazed by her facial features when she met her for the first time. But soon, Sheng Man found out that she was nothing but just a vulgar fan.
No matter how delicate the facial features were, coupled with the gaudy taste and crude temperament, it would no longer be outstanding.
Sheng Man, who grew up in the Sheng family, lived the life of a queen. Only those who were truly raised by an affluent family could have her aura.
How could Ye Zhi, a vulgar fan, get in the entertainment circle?
Sheng Man could not bear seeing them boasting about Ye Zhi anymore and interrupted, "What are you talking about?"
The dressing room was quiet for a moment. Several turned their backs and looked at Sheng Man. Her face had no expression but just inherent pride as usual.
Sheng Man only glanced indifferently and no one dared to discuss the topic again. She went into the dressing room and sat in front of the dressing table. After a while, her personal assistant came in and informed her of today's schedule.
"Did you buy the Bulgari limited-edition necklace?" Sheng Man's schedule was packed recently and she couldn't spare time to go to the store.
Everyone knew that Sheng Man loved limited editions. She liked things that are unique and those things must belong to her.
The assistant's voice suddenly dropped, "It has already been snapped up by someone else."
There were only eight Bulgari limited-edition necklaces in the world. People who could buy them must have money and background.
"Speak, who bought it?" At the peak of her anger, Sheng man's voice suddenly chilled, "No matter how much money I have to spend, I must have it."
The atmosphere in the dressing room suddenly became stiff and everyone turned silent, afraid to speak for fear of angering Sheng Man.
At the same time, Ye Zhi received a gift.
The steward knocked on the door and presented it to Ye Zhi. The box had been opened and there lay a Bulgari Serpenti necklace of Bvlgari Serpenti Collection.
The eye of the snake was an olive green gem and its body was decorated with diamonds. Under the sunshine, the diamonds were glittering, while the emeralds were magnificent and full of vitality.
Bulgari Serpenti necklace, a symbol of eternal youth.
This snake-like necklace was limited to only 8 pieces in the world and only one was in Asia, which was bought by the richest lady (Gu Ren's Mother) and given to her daughter-in-law (Ye Zhi) as a gift.
Gu Ren's mother was now living abroad. She hadn't seen Ye Zhi yet so she expressed her feelings with these gifts.
The gift wasn't just the Bulgari necklace there was also a bank card.
Mother Gu's intentions were quite obvious. Gu Ren just had another accident. It seemed that she didn't spend enough money.
Since the money was too little, spend more.
As the richest family, money was the most they had.
Ye Zhi took a deep breath and inexplicably felt the pressure of spending money.
After receiving the Bulgari necklace, Ye Zhi felt guiltier rather than happier. It was clear that she was the one who was responsible for spending money, but she had been receiving gifts instead.
Ye Zhi didn't have the heart to wear this necklace at all so she simplydid was to keep it stored inside the drawer.
Because Gu Ren was injured recently, Grandfather Gu hired a private doctor to check up on Gu Ren's injury every few days.
During the examination, Ye Zhi was present almost every time. Although Gu Ren said that the matter had nothing to do with her, Gu Ren still drove the car she bought so she still felt somehow responsible.
One week before the shooting of his new TV series, the private doctor came over to check up on Gu Ren.
The doctor's eyes were puzzled, "Strange, how could your hand heal so fast? It usually takes a while for conditions like this to fully recover."
Ye Zhi who was sitting aside heard the doctor's words and felt relieved. Fortunately, it did not delay Gu Ren's filming schedules.
However, Grandfather Gu's thoughts were different from those of Ye Zhi's so he confirmed again and again, "Is everything all right?"
The doctor nodded, "The wound on his hand is completely healed without leaving any injury traces nor any side effects."
As soon as the words died down, Ye Zhi felt someone's gaze on her. She turned around and found that Grandfather Gu was staring at her with a smile.
Ye Zhi thought to herself, 'Grandpa Gu is not thinking that it is my doing, right? His recovery really has nothing to do with me. After I bought the Lamborghini, didn't Gu Ren have a car accident right away?'
Ye Zhi's guess was right. Grandfather Gu really thought that the rapid healing of Gu Ren's injury had something to do with Ye Zhi.
Grandfather Gu looked at Ye Zhi with a happy face. 'It seemed that the fortune teller was right. He must give Ye Zhi more money.'
Ye Zhi, who was just silently sitting on the side, wasn't aware of Grandfather Gu's thoughts. After sending Grandfather Gu and the private doctor, she didn't immediately go back to her bedroom and went to Gu Ren's room instead.
After all the people left, Gu Ren couldn't help but lean on the back of the chair. Whether his hand was healed or not, it would not affect his mood. He looked at the script placed on the table and read it carefully.
Hearing the footsteps of Ye Zhi, Gu Ren lifted his gaze at her.
Ye Zhi didn't enter the room but leaned on the door and talked to Gu Ren, "I'm going to be in your film cast."
Meaning, they would meet each other on the set.
Gu Ren understood Ye Zhi's concerns so he answered in a clear voice, "You don't have to worry; we will pretend to be strangers when outside."
"At home, you are Mrs. Gu; outside, we are strangers."
Ye Zhi also thought so, she nodded, "Okay."
Gu Ren's black obsidian eyes stared at Ye Zhi and the end of his mouth curved upwards slightly, "So far, we have cooperated very well. Am I right, Mrs. Gu?"
It was clear that Gu Ren had no feelings for Ye Zhi, but when the words "Mrs. Gu" were uttered by him; Ye Zhi felt that it had a different feeling to it.
Ye Zhi smiled, "Well then Mr. Gu, may we have happy, fruitful cooperation."
Gu Ren raised an eyebrow,"Happy and fruitful cooperation, Mrs. Gu."
Today was the first day of filming for the TV series. After Gu Ren left, Ye Zhi slowly went downstairs to go to the location.
As soon as Ye Zhi stepped out of the elevator, she saw the outside scenery through the glass wall. A black Rolls-Royce was parked not far away from the front door.
However, this had nothing to do with Ye Zhi. Ye Zhi had never taken these luxuries to heart. She avoided the pathway and went to take a taxi to the studio.
After taking a few steps, the sound of the car starting came from behind. Ye Zhi subconsciously retreated to one side, but the Rolls-Royce slowly followed.
Without waiting for Ye Zhi's response, the Rolls Royce stopped beside her, as if waiting for her to get in.
The door of the driver's seat was pushed open and a middle-aged man in his early forties stepped down from the car and stood respectfully in front of Ye Zhi.
Ye Zhi looked at the man warily.
The man went over to Ye Zhi, opened the door of the back seat and made a please-get-in gesture, "Madam, this is the car assigned to you by the Gu family. Starting today, I will take you to the studio."
When Ye Zhi sat in the car, she calmed down. There was no 18th– line star who went to the studio in Rolls Royce yet.
~
When Ye Zhi came to the studio, she saw Sheng Man's car parked outside. She understood that Sheng Man was also here. In this TV series, Gu Ren was the protagonist and Sheng Man was the leading lady.
In this major male lead play, even if Sheng Man was the leading lady it was only considered as a supporting role.
Sheng Man's family was a business tycoon. Due to this background, she always got the leading role ever since she debuted in the entertainment industry. After that, everything went smoothly in her career and she only accepted offers from big productions.
Moreover, knowing Sheng Man's character, how could she be willing to act in a TV series? But for Gu Ren, Sheng Man dropped the movie that was offered to her and agreed to act in this TV series.
There was only one reason, Sheng Man secretly loved Gu Ren.
She once showed a faint affection for Gu Ren but he ignored her. Sheng Man was very upset but she really liked Gu Ren very much.
So this time, Sheng Man would rather drop the movie and act in a TV series just to get closer to Gu Ren.
Ye Zhi no longer thought about it anymore and walked toward the set. Today, she was going to perform a dance scene. She was about to go to the changing room when the assistant director suddenly called her.
The assistant director instructed, "Ye Zhi, don't wear light blue clothes, change it into bright red. Also, you should wear a veil when you dance."
Ye Zhi recalled that according to the development of the story in the book, she would wear a light blue costume for the dance and the assistant director did not require her to wear a veil.
This was not part of the original story in the book. It was intentional.
Ye Zhi noticed that after the assistant had finished saying this, he secretly glanced at Sheng Man, but Sheng Man only looked with complete inddiference towards her gaze.
There was no expression on Ye Zhi's face as she turned around to the changing room.
When Ye Zhi was changing into her costume, she remembered. In the following story, Sheng Man and the assistant director had a private discussion and edited all her dancing scenes that could make her identity known.
When the dance scene was finally shown on the screen, the audience would think that the one who danced under the veil was Sheng Man.
And the person in question, Sheng Man, was indifferent as if all that happened had nothing to do with her.
Ye Zhi sneered. Originally, the author of the novel (before transmigration) wrote that Sheng Man would make the dance scene of 'Ye Zhi' her own, leaving 'Ye Zhi' no chance to counterattack.
The 'Ye Zhi' now was no longer the same 'Ye Zhi' who was merely a substitute for Sheng Man and would always remain under her shadow. Ceasing her thoughts, Ye Zhi blinked her eyes. How could she let Sheng Man be happy?
Soon, Ye Zhi had changed clothes and came out of the dressing room. Everyone looked at her and took a deep breath.
The skin of Ye Zhi was white and the bright red clothes made Ye Zhi's skin look like snow. Her facial features were so exquisite that no one could pick out any flaws.
Ye Zhi extended her hand and took the veil that the staff handed her and covered her face with it.
The beautiful appearance of Ye Zhi was concealed by the purple veil. The more hidden it was, the more one wanted to see what kind of appearance was covered under the purple veil.
After looking at her outstanding temperament and excellent appearance, they could not take their eyes away from her.
While everyone was amazed, they also found it a little strange. They all knew that Ye Zhi was beautiful but she used to be vulgar and often wore makeup that was not suitable for her.
No matter how good your facial features were, you wouldn't be famous without an outstanding temperament.
Their impression of Ye Zhi before was that Ye Zhi was just a beauty with no brain.
But today, it seemed that Ye Zhi had an extraordinary temperament. Right in front of them, she was too beautiful and delicate.
Sheng man didn't leave until Ye Zhi came out. As soon as Ye Zhi came out, she kept her eyes fixed on Ye Zhi and her hands unconsciously clenched.
Ye Zhi was so beautiful. How could she not notice before? The substitute who had been nothing in her eyes was actually such a physically beautiful person.
When did she started to care about a lowly substitute?
Assistant Chen carefully reminded her, "The shooting is about to start, shall we leave first?"
Before she finished speaking, Sheng Man said coldly, "What's the hurry? What will happen if they wait a little longer."
Assistant Chen dared not speak again.
At this point, the lighting props and the characters were all ready and the camera started to roll.
When the surrounding lights dimmed, Ye Zhi closed her eyes and calmed her heart.
Ye Zhi's face was half-covered, looking extremely brilliant. Her red lips looked like blooming roses and her slender snow white neck was very attractive.
After Ye Zhi understood Sheng Man's plan, she came up with an idea to defend herself. She would never sit back and just let Sheng Man bully her.
Ye Zhi knew that she had been selected as a substitute for Sheng Man before because her facial features were almost similar to Sheng Man. But she knew one thing.
There was a small mole at the end of her wrist which Sheng Man didn't have.
Sheng Man was pressing hard to suppress her all this while so she could just use this one small opportunity to retaliate.
During the filming of the dance performance, Ye Zhi slowly raised her hand. The sleeves slipped down her arm exposing a section of her snow-white, supple wrist. Ye Zhi's hands were slender and white which made the mole at the wrist clear and distinct.
This matter was related to Sheng Man. Netizens paid attention to her every move so this dance would definitely be watched many times by the netizens. Even if they didn't find anything wrong at first, they would certainly notice some clues later.
She would let Sheng Man bask in joy for some time. When the dance scene was broadcasted, the untaintend perfect image of Sheng Man would definitely crack.
In this short dance, Ye Zhi 'accidentally' exposed the mole several times.
The camera recorded all the actions of Ye Zhi and the mole naturally was recorded too.
Every action of Ye Zhi was graceful and very beautiful. The assistant director and Sheng Man were thinking about Ye Zhi's acting but they never thought that they had fell into Ye Zhi's trap.
Sheng Man watched Ye Zhi dance while keeping her face calm. Even if Ye Zhi had the most beautiful appearance and the best dancing posture, Ye Zhi was destined to be oppressed in the entertainment circle.
She would let Ye Zhi know that she could only exist as her shadow. It used to be as such and it would still continue to be as such, from the past, in the current times, and forevermore.
Before Ye Zhi finished the performance, Sheng Man got up and left to shoot her part.
When she stood up, Sheng Man's lips had a triumphant smile. She was able to put Ye Zhi in her place as she wanted it to be, lifting up her originally bad mood a little better.
After filming today's scene, Sheng Man immediately got in the car. She leaned lazily on the back of her seat and the first sentence she asked was about the Bulgari necklace.
"Did you try to buy that necklace again? It doesn't matter if the other person wants more money."
Sheng Man extended her hand and looked at the nails that she had carefully taken care of. She thought that there wouldn't be any problem as long as you use money. An average person would surely agree after knowing the price she had offered.
The assistant's face looked bleak, "I tried but I didn't succeed..."
Sheng Man's expression changed, "What about the necklace?"
Her assistant answered, "The necklace has been delivered to Mrs. Gu."
Sheng Man frowned. She now understood that the only Bulgari necklace in Asia was destined not to be hers.
The wealth of the Gu family was several hundred times that of Sheng's. No matter how much price she offered, Mrs. Gu would never give up this necklace.
(This marks the end of the 5th chapter.)
After a few days, Ye Zhi received a call from Grandfather Gu and she immediately picked it up.
"Grandfather," Ye Zhi called politely. Grandfather Gu rarely made a call to Ye Zhi. She couldn't think of a reason why Grandfather Gu would call her.
When Grandfather Gu heard Ye Zhi's voice, he first hummed and then directly went to the point.
"You and Ren are not that familiar with each other yet so I'm afraid you'll forget. In a few days it will be Ren's birthday and there will be a small celebration. Can you buy him a present?"
Grandfather Gu added, "If you don't have enough money, you can ask me."
At the request of Grandfather Gu, Ye Zhi immediately agreed and hung up. After hanging up, Ye Zhi began to worry about Gu Ren's gift.
Ye Zhi had never bought a gift for a man and she didn't know Gu Ren's preference.It gave her a hard time not knowing what to choose as a present.