Chapter 12: Surprise

Lu Qingzhuo’s smile gradually froze. She opened her mouth, feeling her throat go dry, and was just about to come up with a reasonable excuse when Fu Yumian, who had been sitting not far away reading a script, took off her sunglasses and looked over at them.

“…”

For some reason, the moment Fu Yumian’s sharp phoenix eyes landed on her, Lu Qingzhuo suddenly felt guilty. She met Fu Yumian’s gaze from afar and gave an awkward nod.

Shen Shijun, however, assumed they were keeping their distance because they had been arguing. Rubbing her chin in curiosity, she glanced between them and asked, “What’s this? Did you lovebirds have a fight?”

As soon as the words left Shen Shijun’s mouth, Lu Qingzhuo’s lips curled up uncontrollably. She quickly hid behind Shen Shijun, too afraid to make a sound. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of Fu Yumian’s expressionless face and struggled with all her might to suppress the grin tugging at her lips.

Oh no… she wouldn’t dock my allowance over this, would she?

Fortunately, Fu Yumian didn’t bother arguing with her. Instead, she calmly rolled up the script in her hand and gave Shen Shijun’s shoulder two light taps—an unspoken warning.

Lu Qingzhuo looked at Fu Yumian with an expression that seemed to say, 'Go ahead, say one more irrelevant thing, and I’ll show you a live demonstration of lightning-fast investment withdrawal.'

Shen Shijun was much older than Fu Yumian, yet she still had to lower her head before her. Whether in the past or now, Fu Yumian was the golden thigh she could only cling to, doing her best to appease this picky boss.

"President Fu, Director Shen was just joking with me."

Lu Qingzhuo’s smile was far from sincere—Fu Yumian could tell she had forced it. Her already expressionless face darkened even further.

"Yes, I just hit it off with Xiao Lu right away and wanted to chat with her more."

Shen Shijun, however, didn’t notice Fu Yumian’s displeasure. Instead, she found it odd—she seemed to catch a faint scent of jealousy coming from Fu Yumian.

Her gaze at Lu Qingzhuo carried a hint of something ambiguous.

Lu Qingzhuo walked into the dressing room with Xie Yun, leaving Shen Shijun and Fu Yumian sitting across from each other. The moment Lu Qingzhuo pushed the door open and stepped inside, both of their gazes fell on her simultaneously.

"Director Shen, President Fu."

Lu Qingzhuo touched the back of her neck, feeling that their stares were a bit strange, but she didn’t feel comfortable asking about it.

"Sit down." Shen Shijun studied Lu Qingzhuo’s face and, noticing that she wore no makeup, nodded in satisfaction. "You know my rules for filming—my actors must appear on camera without makeup. Can you do that?"

"No problem, Director Shen."

Hearing Lu Qingzhuo agree so readily, Shen Shijun became even more pleased with her, far exceeding her initial expectations.

Lu Qingzhuo had striking bone structure. Shen Shijun had seen countless beautiful actresses, but few had truly caught her eye. Before accepting Fu Yumian’s recommendation, she had reviewed Lu Qingzhuo’s profile.

On camera, her appearance was flawless—but that could have been due to makeup. Now, seeing her bare-faced in person, Shen Shijun realized she wasn’t as photogenic as she had assumed.

"Director Shen, I’m almost ready. When do we start the audition?"

Lu Qingzhuo noticed Shen Shijun’s eyes lingering on her. If it were a younger, less experienced actress, they might be sweating nervously by now.

But after years of struggling in the entertainment industry—even in her past life—Lu Qingzhuo had weathered many storms. Dealing with Shen Shijun was nothing to her.

"What audition?" Shen Shijun feigned confusion, eyes twinkling with amusement as she glanced at Fu Yumian. Her smile had the air of a swindler successfully luring someone onto a pirate ship, making Lu Qingzhuo instinctively take half a step back.

Their eyes met. Fu Yumian nodded, making the scene resemble two traffickers conducting a shady deal in private.

"Didn’t your dear President Fu tell you? The lead actress in my mind has always been you. And today is your first official scene."

"Lead actress?" Lu Qingzhuo’s brain felt like an old machine struggling to churn concrete, processing the information at a painfully slow pace. "Director Shen, when did I become the lead actress?"

She had assumed she was playing an important supporting role. When she had discussed acting with Fu Yumian, she had deliberately emphasized that she just wanted to play around because she was bored.

She never expected it to get this serious.

In the bustling set, Shen Shijun’s voice was crystal clear in Lu Qingzhuo’s ears:

"You already are. Do you have any objections?"

"None." Lu Qingzhuo smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Director Shen."

She turned her gaze to Fu Yumian, her voice softening. "And thank you, President Fu."

"Alright, alright, no public displays of affection on set." Shen Shijun rubbed her arms as if brushing off goosebumps, then pressed both of their shoulders down into their seats before taking a sip of coconut water. "Since both of our lead actors are here, let’s get started."

Lu Qingzhuo was momentarily stunned. She instinctively looked at Fu Yumian, realizing that, at some point, she had developed a habit of frequently glancing in her direction without even noticing.

"Director Shen, who is the other lead actor? I haven’t seen them."

Knowing Shen Shijun’s standards, the people she invited to her films were usually top-tier actors. But today, aside from the crew and extras, Lu Qingzhuo hadn’t seen a single A-list star.

"Right there—surely President Fu’s status is high enough, no?" Shen Shijun pointed, raising an eyebrow playfully at Fu Yumian. "Didn’t someone tell you? The role of landlady Bai Yu is hers."

"Oh… so it’s President Fu."

Lu Qingzhuo felt her last hopes crumble.

No wonder Fu Yumian and Shen Shijun had been spending so much time together recently. The other lead had already been decided long ago—she was the only one left in the dark.

Originally, she had just wanted to have some fun with acting, not caring whether the movie won awards.

But now, all her plans were ruined. She couldn’t just act however she pleased. And to make matters worse, her on-screen partner—the one she had to act intimately with—was Fu Yumian.

How was she supposed to survive this?

"See? It’s a little surprise from me to you."

Lu Qingzhuo forced a stiff smile, nodding. "Then thank you, Director Shen. I really… love your surprise."

Surprise? More like shock!

Now, she had no choice but to go all in. Taking a deep breath, Lu Qingzhuo started recalling Fu Yumian’s acting experience.

At seventeen, Fu Yumian had starred in Shen Shijun’s debut film, Cicada Snow. Though she didn’t have many scenes, she still won Best Supporting Actress that year. If she had continued in the industry, she would have had a dazzling career ahead.

There was no denying it—she was truly exceptional, someone Lu Qingzhuo admired.

After the opening ceremony, Fu Yumian took the handkerchief Han Tian handed her, lowering her gaze to wipe the dust from her palm.

Lu Qingzhuo stole a quick glance at her from the corner of her eye, then unlocked her phone to check the island’s geographical location. After that, she searched online to see how much it would cost to buy an island outright.

Upon seeing the eleven-digit price tag, Lu Qingzhuo quietly exited the browser, slipped her phone back into her pocket, and pretended nothing had happened as she idly kicked a small rock at her feet.

This was beyond extravagant.

Spending billions to buy an island—just for the sake of filming a movie? Was this what the rich considered entertainment?

Ever since Xie Yun had followed Lu Qingzhuo to the island, her admiration for Fu Yumian had reached near-religious levels. Every conversation she started inevitably revolved around “President Fu.”

“Lu Lu, President Fu is insanely rich! Do you think someone with that much money ever feels lonely, empty, or cold like us mere mortals? Do you think she’s ever experienced the pain of love?”

Lu Qingzhuo tossed her phone and script into Xie Yun’s arms, let out a helpless sigh, and asked in return, “What do you think?”

Xie Yun, having been deeply influenced by domineering CEO romance novels since childhood, began to seriously ponder the question. “Based on my years of experience reading those stories, President Fu must have an unattainable love interest. And who knows? Maybe that Alpha is you!”

Lu Qingzhuo: “…”

You’re overthinking it.  

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