Huo Yun had always had a sense of impending crisis. Knowing she probably would not be staying much longer, she had also been privately looking for her next company lately.
She had secretly entertained the idea of striking out on her own like countless industry veterans before her. But she had no backing, and she could not go against her conscience to curry favor with the powerful. Her connections were ultimately lacking, so she could only quietly tell herself to wait a few more years.
But after hearing Ye Jin's words, that thing called ambition erupted once more.
Even though reason told her that Ye Jin had no experience working in the entertainment industry, and that her seemingly impressive backing was merely charity from her husband's family, she was still sorely tempted.
During their years of working together, although Ye Jin had shown little ambition in her career, she had never talked big, either. Could she trust her?
Ye Jin knew that Huo Yun always thought things through and never made decisions on a whim. She was in no hurry to press her for an answer, either, and simply said calmly, "Yun, it's perfectly normal not to be able to decide right away. Go home and take your time thinking it over. Besides, I have to finish filming this drama first. There are still over two months to go, so there's no rush."
Afterward, still in a daze, Huo Yun was shown out by Ye Jin. Only after she got into her car and a gust of cold wind hit her did she emerge from her tangled thoughts.
How had this suddenly gone from her urging Ye Jin to be more ambitious to Ye Jin egging her on to start a company? Even more absurdly, she was sorely tempted!
Ye Jin was not one to wear herself down with overthinking. After seeing Huo Yun off, she put the matter out of her mind.
Naturally, it would be best if Huo Yun agreed. If she did not, Ye Jin would simply have to put in a little more effort and find other partners.
Having learned her lesson yesterday, Ye Jin scrolled through her phone for a little while before drifting off to sleep, then appeared on set the next morning looking radiant and refreshed.
In contrast to Ye Jin, both He Cheng and Yang Manhui looked exhausted.
Tsk, looks like Yang Manhui probably had a fight with He Cheng. Anyone who isn't an idiot should be able to sense that He Cheng and his little assistant are a bit too close. Unfortunately, this argument only made He Cheng face up to things with his assistant, Meng Xiaoya.
Let me think. When did those two officially get together? I think it was three days after the fight, just after Yang Manhui finished filming her cameo and left.
In the original novel, those two even flaunted their love on set every day. Just thinking about it burns my eyes. Since they love showing off so much, shouldn't I find a way to let everyone enjoy it together and do their performance justice?
Yang Manhui's thoughts were already in turmoil. Hearing Ye Jin's inner voice left her even more stunned, and the events of last night surfaced in her mind.
As a longtime resident of the film studio complex, Yang Manhui had bought a home there.
To meet her boyfriend in secret, she and He Cheng had bought neighboring homes and even knocked down the wall between them.
She had fewer scenes than He Cheng and had therefore returned to the residence an hour earlier.
He Cheng clearly had not expected her to come to the film studio complex and had not cleared away the traces of daily life in his rooms. Thus, she plainly saw Meng Xiaoya's personal belongings in He Cheng's bedroom.
Had Meng Xiaoya's clothes and belongings not all looked like men's things, she would almost have thought the two were newlyweds.
He Cheng had always been a clean freak who never allowed people he was unfamiliar with to intrude on his private territory. His previous assistants had all stayed at hotels with the crew.
Still, after so many years together, she was unwilling to simply sentence He Cheng to "death." She wanted to confront him in person.
She sat on the sofa, waiting in torment for He Cheng to return. After over an hour, the front door finally opened. Laughter and chatter came from the entryway, only to stop abruptly.
Yang Manhui looked toward the sound and saw He Cheng staring at her in astonishment.
Had He Cheng already completely forgotten that this was her home, too?
But the astonishment on He Cheng's face soon vanished, replaced by indifference as he instructed Meng Xiaoya to help put away the things they had brought back.
A barely perceptible trace of dejection appeared on Meng Xiaoya's face, but he still obediently helped He Cheng put away those personal belongings. He moved with practiced ease. At a glance, it was clear that he had been living there for quite some time and knew the place very well.
Yang Manhui grew even more vexed. "Looks like you're getting along very well with this little assistant. I suppose you won't be changing assistants as often as you used to."
Yet this fairly ordinary remark made He Cheng react like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. His face furious, he snapped, "What? Are you trying to interfere with my work?"
Yang Manhui was startled. Although He Cheng had been somewhat cold toward her lately, he had never flown into such a rage.
She was no pushover, either, and immediately shot back, "I came home and took one look around. Anyone who didn't know better would think this was some newlywed couple's new home."
A guilty look flashed across He Cheng's face, but he quickly stiffened his neck again. "What are you going crazy for? Xiao Meng is a man. You're even jealous of a man? You're utterly unreasonable."
With that, he went straight back to the bedroom.
Yang Manhui naturally saw He Cheng's guilty conscience, and her heart grew colder still. Utterly exhausted, she returned to her own bedroom and lay awake until dawn.
She desperately wanted to believe He Cheng, but everything that had happened was telling her that Ye Jin's inner voice spoke the truth. In just a few more days, He Cheng would even officially get together with Meng Xiaoya and flaunt their love on set!
Yang Manhui sneered inwardly. She had never been one to willingly swallow a loss. She had only yielded so much to He Cheng before because she believed he still loved her.
She clenched her hands, thinking that she would definitely get her revenge!
What had Ye Jin said again? Letting the masses of netizens enjoy their displays of affection together sounded like a good idea. She would not need to trouble herself with doing that part.
Chapter 12
Three days passed quickly, and Yang Manhui officially wrapped filming.
Given her standing in the industry, the crew naturally could not treat her like an ordinary minor supporting actor. Instead, they arranged a grand wrap ceremony.
Her final scene was a solo scene in which the malicious fiancée she played was ultimately abandoned by everyone and died alone of hunger and cold in a world of ice and snow.
Although it was a solo scene, most of the actors who could spare the time came to the set to celebrate Yang Manhui's wrap with her.