Chapter 13: The Kissing Scene

Fu Yumian wiped her fingers clean, one by one, with a handkerchief. A faint scent of burning incense clung to her, making her frown as she decided to return to the hotel for a shower.

Xie Yun, noticing that Fu Yumian and her sharp-tongued assistant had left, turned to Lu Qingzhuo with curiosity. “Lu Lu, did you and President Fu have a fight? I saw her glance at us several times before leaving. Her expression was hard to read—kind of scary, actually.”

“You’re braver than me. I didn’t even dare to look at her.” Lu Qingzhuo shuddered slightly, easily imagining the icy look Fu Yumian had given her. She walked over to Su Lan, who was chatting with Shen Shijun, and smiled. “Sister Lan, did you take care of everything back home?”

Su Lan was Lu Qingzhuo’s agent. As long as Lu Qingzhuo didn’t stir up trouble or make reckless moves that could ruin her career, the two got along just fine.

When Su Lan received Shen Shijun’s email, she had been 2,000 kilometers away. She had wished she could teleport straight to the film set in Hainan. On the flight over, she couldn’t help but marvel at Lu Qingzhuo’s incredible luck—how had she managed to catch the attention of the world-renowned Shen Shijun?

“Yes. I couldn’t stop worrying about you, so I bought a ticket and flew straight here.”

Su Lan smiled and nodded politely at Shen Shijun. It was her first time visiting one of Shen Shijun’s sets. She had managed a few rookie actors before, but none had made much of an impact—let alone landed a role in such a major production.

Rumors swirled that the film’s mysterious financial backer had yet to make an appearance. Shen Shijun was merely following their instructions, and even the island where the filming was taking place had been purchased for billions by this anonymous investor as a private retreat.

---

The current scene was set in a three-story villa—the location for the first conflict between You Su and Bai Yu. Shen Shijun had spent over two hours meticulously explaining the scene. Meanwhile, Fu Yumian remained expressionless, like a proud and aloof jade sculpture.

The afternoon sun blazed overhead, carrying the scent of the sea on the wind.

Beneath the shade of the kapok trees, Lu Qingzhuo felt the heat creeping in. She pulled out a small handheld fan, directing the breeze toward her collar, then tucked her hair behind her ear, revealing a smooth, snow-white forehead.

Her face had striking, bold features that made her stand out. A light layer of makeup could barely contain her intense presence.

Some haters online had accused her of having plastic surgery. Annoyed, Lu Qingzhuo had gone straight to a hospital for a medical examination and posted the results online to shut them up.

No matter how much evidence she provided, her detractors seemed determined to drag her down, as if they wouldn’t stop until they had completely ruined her reputation.

Too bad for them—they had picked the wrong person to mess with.

---

“The first scene,” Shen Shijun explained, “shows You Su being sent away from a major city—somewhere like Beijing—to a remote island by her father. She’s only seventeen, and the sudden displacement makes her angry and resentful. She looks down on everyone around her.”

As Shen Shijun explained the emotional progression of the character, she instinctively reached out to pat Lu Qingzhuo’s shoulder in a reassuring gesture—only to meet Fu Yumian’s icy gaze, as cold and lifeless as if she were staring at a corpse.

“…Alright then. No touching.”

Lu Qingzhuo listened as Shen Shijun spoke about emotional immersion, but at some point, her mind wandered. Her gaze landed on Fu Yumian’s lips as she focused on reading the script.

President Fu’s lips were a soft, pale red—like the petals of a freshly bloomed rose. They must be soft and sweet.

“The techniques have been covered,” Shen Shijun concluded. “The rest is up to your individual performances…”

Fu Yumian turned a page of her script. As if sensing something, she glanced up at Lu Qingzhuo. Caught staring, Lu Qingzhuo clenched her script in embarrassment.

A light sheen of sweat dampened her palms. Whether it was from nerves about the upcoming scene or the weight of Fu Yumian’s knowing gaze, she wasn’t sure.

This scene seemed simple but was actually a long take—one continuous shot. Every actor had to perform flawlessly, with no room for error.

It was the first moment of intimacy between You Su and Bai Yu.

They wouldn’t actually kiss in this scene, but Lu Qingzhuo couldn’t stop thinking about the later script pages that did include a kiss. Her scalp tingled at the thought, and she found herself growing uneasy under Fu Yumian’s gaze.

Why was Fu Yumian insisting on this? As the film’s primary investor, couldn’t she ask Shen Shijun to change the script?

Lu Qingzhuo’s head throbbed. But with everything set in motion, she had no choice but to push forward, hoping she wouldn’t mess up and let Shen Shijun down.

In this scene, You Su, in a fit of spoiled anger, smashes the bowl of fish soup Bai Yu had cooked for her. She threatens that if Bai Yu keeps meddling in her life, she’ll make her suffer. Then, Bai Yu suddenly collapses.

Shocked, You Su hesitates before instinctively picking Bai Yu up and carrying her to the hospital. On the way there, she kisses the corner of Bai Yu’s lips.

Kissing the corner of the lips…

And it was Fu Yumian's lips.

Lu Qingzhuo swallowed, lifting her head to seek help from Fu Yumian. But to her surprise, the other woman wasn’t angry. Instead, she merely cast a calm glance her way.

Lu Qingzhuo: "..."

She froze for a moment, pressed her lips together, and decided to sacrifice herself for the sake of art.

Fu Yumian carried a bowl of milky white crucian carp soup, her steps light and delicate as she ascended the stairs. Through the gap in the door, she saw Lu Qingzhuo curled up in a rattan chair, hugging her knees.

She wasn’t in a rush to enter. Instead, she knocked gently on the door twice. "I made fish soup for you."

"I told you, I’m not drinking it!" Lu Qingzhuo lifted her head, stormed to the doorway, and glared down at the Omega bringing her soup. "I don’t see you as a maid, and you’d best not act like one either."

Fu Yumian’s fingers involuntarily tensed around the bowl. She looked up at the unruly and pampered Alpha before her and spoke softly, "I’ve been friends with your mother for many years. I must take good care of you. You’re staying in my house, and you have nowhere else to go, so you need to listen to me…"

Crash.

The porcelain bowl of fish soup was knocked from her hands, shattering against the doorframe into pieces. Lu Qingzhuo crossed her arms, searching for a trace of anger on the Omega’s face—but the expression she expected never came.

Instead, Fu Yumian simply looked at her as if she were a sick and uncontrollable child. Then, without a word, she knelt down and began picking up the broken shards one by one.

As she picked up one of the larger pieces, a drop of bright red blood slipped from her palm onto the floor.

Lu Qingzhuo was stunned. Her hand instinctively lifted, but before she could react, Fu Yumian had already risen to her feet, glanced at her lightly, and carried the broken shards away.

Lu Qingzhuo quickly followed. Around them, the crew continued filming under Shen Shijun’s direction, capturing everything as it unfolded.

She took the broken shards from Fu Yumian's hands, grasping the woman’s right wrist. Seeing the wound on her palm, where blood was slowly seeping through, she felt an inexplicable pang in her heart.

"Let me rinse your wound first."

Lu Qingzhuo led Fu Yumian to the kitchen and washed the blood from her palm under running water. The cut wasn’t deep but stretched almost across her entire palm.

Of course, with such delicate and soft skin, even the lightest scrape from a porcelain shard would break it.

"Cut! That was perfect! Take a thirty-minute break!" Shen Shijun’s satisfied voice rang out as she watched from the monitor.

"Lu, I have some band-aids here!"

"Fu’s wound looks quite deep. Maybe we should go to the hospital to get it properly bandaged?"

Xie Yun brought over the crew’s medical kit, just about to open a bottle of alcohol when Lu Qingzhuo stopped her, pointing to a bottle of iodine instead. "Use that one. Alcohol stings—it’s not suitable for disinfecting wounds."

Lu Qingzhuo was experienced in handling sudden injuries. Back in the day, she often got bruised and cut during filming, so she was no stranger to minor wounds.

"We should still go to the hospital."

Fu Yumian shook her head, her gaze falling on Lu Qingzhuo’s hands—careful yet gentle as she wrapped her palm. "It’s just a small cut. Some gauze will do."

"The first scene was great." Shen Shijun stood behind Lu Qingzhuo, giving her shoulder a light pat and whispering near her ear, "Your President Fu has suffered. Shouldn’t you comfort her properly?"

Only then did Lu Qingzhuo realize that everything just now had been part of the scene. Shen Shijun never called for a retake, meaning the entire sequence had been kept. And, apparently, her "improvised performance" had rewritten the script.

"President Fu, I don’t recall a scene where we pick up the broken pieces." Lu Qingzhuo carefully wrapped Fu Yumian’s palm with gauze, tying a neat and elegant bow. "Did you add that on the spot?"

Fu Yumian stared at Lu Qingzhuo’s slender, beautiful hands for a long time—her joints defined, nails trimmed cleanly, with a healthy pink hue at her fingertips.

Lu Qingzhuo had to call her name several times before she responded.

"What did you say?"  

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