Chapter Index

    The scene scheduled for filming the next day included the moment Bai Shuixian steps onto the stage to perform opera.

    Therefore, Shen Lingfeng arrived at the set around five or six in the morning and spent a full two hours applying his opera makeup.

    Just as everything was about to be completed, Gu Yuxin walked into his dressing room holding a cup of water.

    “Xiao Shen, are you ready? Everyone else is waiting for you.”

    “Almost,” Shen Lingfeng replied, looking in the mirror.

    “Wow, Xiao Shen, you’re already handsome, but with this makeup, you truly look like you could topple nations!” Gu Yuxin’s attitude today seemed surprisingly friendly.

    “…” Shen Lingfeng felt that this excessive flattery meant he was up to no good, so he ignored him.

    “Your face is really hard to tell if you’re male or female…”

    Before he finished speaking, Gu Yuxin suddenly stumbled as if tripped by something, and the water in his hand splashed with precise accuracy onto Shen Lingfeng’s face.

    “Ah, sorry, sorry, my foot slipped!”

    “Oh dear!” the makeup artist exclaimed. “The makeup is completely ruined!”

    “…” Shen Lingfeng glanced at his disastrous makeup in the mirror. It was indeed completely ruined.

    Gu Yuxin was walking on flat ground with nothing in front of him. How could his foot suddenly slip? He was clearly doing it on purpose!

    “What’s wrong?” Director Zheng walked in, looking anxious, followed by Su Chenhui. “Why aren’t you ready yet? …What happened to your face?!”

    “…I was ‘accidentally’ splashed by the water in his hand,” Shen Lingfeng didn’t want to cover for anyone and shot a look at Gu Yuxin.

    “I’m sorry, I really didn’t mean to!” Gu Yuxin looked innocent.

    “What is wrong with you two?!” Director Zheng immediately became furious. “How are we supposed to film this scene today if you do this?!”

    “I apologize,” Shen Lingfeng could only apologize to Director Zheng.

    “It has nothing to do with Shen Lingfeng,” Su Chenhui, who had been standing silently behind Director Zheng, spoke up. “Gu Yuxin, what are you trying to do?”

    “Huh? Brother Su, I already said it was an accident! Xiao Shen’s attitude toward me wasn’t very good just now, and I was a little confused, wondering if I had offended him somehow, so I wasn’t paying attention…”

    Shen Lingfeng sneered internally: You make it sound like it’s all my fault.

    Su Chenhui was about to say something more, but Shen Lingfeng cut in first: “Director Zheng, I have an idea that might make up for the mistake just now…”

    Then Shen Lingfeng explained his idea.

    Director Zheng’s eyes lit up after hearing it. “That is definitely worth a try!”

    “Do we really need to change the scene?” Gu Yuxin sounded somewhat disapproving. “Xiao Shen is a newcomer; it’s safest for him to just follow the script. Changing the script might not be a good idea.”

    Su Chenhui sneered, “Someone is trying to find a solution to clean up the mess you made. You should be eternally grateful to him!”

    “…Since Brother Su also agrees, then fine.” A flash of hatred crossed Gu Yuxin’s eyes, but he quickly concealed it.

    And so, an extra scene was temporarily added today.

    “The Time the Narcissus Wilted, Scene 12, Take 1, Action!”

    Shen Lingfeng sat at the dressing table, his back to the camera.

    Gu Yuxin rushed in angrily. Hearing the footsteps, Shen Lingfeng turned his head.

    Before the audience could clearly see his face, Gu Yuxin quickly splashed the water in his hand onto his cheek. “You home-wrecking vixen! Bitch! Shameless!”

    Shen Lingfeng’s makeup, already ruined by the previous splash, instantly became even more smeared.

    But he calmly turned his heavily smeared face toward the camera, looking at Gu Yuxin with a composed expression. “Are you Liu Man, the woman Commander Li intends to marry off to the Young Marshal?”

    “That’s right! I am Li Guoliang’s fiancée, Liu Man!” Gu Yuxin proudly emphasized the words “fiancée.”

    Shen Lingfeng gave a cold smile. “The Young Marshal has never acknowledged this marriage. Leaving that aside, you ruined my makeup. Tell me, what should be done?”

    “You decide,” Gu Yuxin said with contempt.

    “I decide? Do you know what you’ve done?” Shen Lingfeng’s gaze, fixed on Gu Yuxin, suddenly sharpened. “It means two hours of hard work by the makeup artists have been wasted by you! It means all the audience members waiting below the stage cannot see my performance on time, and all of their time has been wasted by you! Now, you must go on stage and apologize to everyone!”

    “Who the hell do you think you are!” Gu Yuxin cursed angrily. “You tell me to apologize and I apologize?”

    “Then, will you apologize if I tell you to?” A cold, gloomy voice suddenly came from behind Gu Yuxin.

    Gu Yuxin recognized the owner of the voice and instinctively shivered. He turned around and saw that the person before him was indeed the formidable Young Marshal whose single word could make enemies tremble.

    “Brother Guoliang! You’re taking his side too!”

    “What if I am?” Su Chenhui abruptly drew his gun and pointed it at Gu Yuxin’s forehead. “Go apologize to all the audience members now! Immediately! Right now! I’m counting to three! Three! Two…”

    “I’ll go, I’ll go!” Liu Man knew that this terrifying Young Marshal was a madman when he lost control. Even though his father was a wealthy businessman whom Commander Li wanted to sponsor military funds, Li Guoliang himself had never agreed to the marriage, and he wouldn’t hesitate to cause a bloody scene!

    “Alright, don’t pull out your gun so easily,” Shen Lingfeng said, looking at Su Chenhui. He reached up and wiped away the glistening water droplets on his face. He looked like a beauty fresh out of the bath, showing a rare vulnerability that made Su Chenhui’s heart skip a beat.

    At this moment, the audience below the stage was growing very impatient:

    “It’s time, why isn’t Boss Bai out yet?”

    “Yeah, I’m a busy man!”

    “How dare you waste my time! Refund the tickets, refund the tickets!”

    Amidst the noisy complaints, someone finally walked onto the stage.

    But it wasn’t the highly anticipated Boss Bai; it was Gu Yuxin.

    “Um… I’m sorry…” Gu Yuxin bowed 90 degrees toward the sea of dark figures in the audience. “I accidentally ruined Boss Bai’s makeup just now, so he can’t perform for you all… Actually, I can sing a bit of opera too. How about I sing a few lines for everyone?”

    “Get lost! Who are you? Who wants to hear you sing opera!”

    “Get off the stage!”

    “Damn you! How dare you ruin Boss Bai’s makeup!”

    The audience began throwing things like water bottles at Gu Yuxin.

    These were real objects being thrown. Even though most of the extras were throwing bottles with little water left, they still hurt when they hit his face.

    “Everyone, please calm down.”

    At that moment, Shen Lingfeng, dressed in white, walked onto the stage. He had washed off the smeared makeup, and his fair, beautiful face looked flawless.

    “I truly apologize that I cannot perform for you in full costume today… But I know that everyone’s time is precious, and you all paid a high price for tickets to support me. How about I sing a few lines for you just like this? I hope you can forgive me.”

    “Don’t say that,” an audience member immediately turned his anger into joy. “This is quite novel and has a unique flavor.”

    “Yeah, I didn’t realize Boss Bai was so handsome even without makeup!”

    Shen Lingfeng’s appearance certainly lived up to that line of dialogue.

    When he wasn’t acting, he never wore makeup. His flawless, jade-like white skin and delicate features had no imperfections, needing no concealment whatsoever.

    Then, Shen Lingfeng began to sing on the stage.

    Although the singing would be dubbed by a professional opera singer, Shen Lingfeng had indeed studied opera to play the role well, and his every glance and smile carried the demeanor of a professional performer.

    “OK!” With Director Zheng’s loud shout, the filming of the temporarily added scene concluded smoothly.

    The subsequent scenes could now follow the original script.

    Gu Yuxin, whose face was still stinging, gritted his teeth in hatred.

    Su Chenhui silently watched Shen Lingfeng, a look of appreciation secretly surfacing on his face—this guy seemed even more formidable than he had imagined. This newly added scene not only heightened the audience’s hatred for the villain Liu Man but also made Bai Shuixian’s character more three-dimensional, perfectly solving the dilemma of being unable to film the opera scene today.

    When Shen Lingfeng’s gaze inadvertently swept over him, Su Chenhui immediately reverted to his icy expression.

    Shen Lingfeng felt he had made a fool of himself and looked elsewhere.

    Note