Chapter 62

Chapter 62

Today only one scene was scheduled, meant to let the newly joined actors warm up and find their rhythm.

Therefore, Feng Chunming wasn’t annoyed. He kindly gestured for them to sit: “Come, I’ll explain the key to pretending to be a couple.”

Pei Chuzhi’s eyelids twitched violently. She suspected Feng Chunming might moonlight as a gossip reporter, trying to probe her relationship with Xing Ye in this way.

The former “contract couple” sat in front of Feng Chunming, listening as he slowly analyzed everything from plot to characters.

When he finished, Feng Chunming said: “Got it? Although they have to act loving to deceive the family in the story, we need the audience to see that they don’t actually have feelings. How to show that? By deliberately pausing, then reacting, showing that sense of awkwardness.”

Although this sounded complicated, Pei Chuzhi and Xing Ye both understood.

Their acting had no issues, but this scene recorded on camera was too smooth, leaving no room for the audience to interpret.

In other words—they acted too skillfully.

Seeing them nod, Feng Chunming clapped his hands: “Okay, take a five-minute break, and communicate a bit. See if you can find a good entry point.”

Pei Chuzhi and Xing Ye walked to a quiet corner, using a row of props as a shield from all eyes. They smiled helplessly, both feeling cruelly mocked by fate.

Previously, they worried others would notice their love wasn’t genuine. Now, filming a movie, they had to make it obvious that it wasn’t genuine.

“Feng Chunming makes sense.” After laughing, Xing Ye composed himself, showing his professional side. “Why not design small gestures as signals? See the other person act, then match it with showing affection.”

Actors weren’t just tools of the director—they needed to contribute creatively to the work.

Pei Chuzhi recalled the script, listing moments she thought required a pause, then said: “My signal will be touching my earring. Yours…”

She let her gaze fall on Xing Ye’s exposed wrist beneath his suit sleeve. “Rubbing your wrist?”

They tried it on the spot, then planned to discuss it with Feng Chunming.

As they turned, Pei Chuzhi couldn’t help but remark: “We’ve never designed small gestures before. We’ve always relied on improvisation, and we haven’t messed up even after so long.”

Xing Ye asked while walking out: “Want to praise your improvisation skills?”

“Shouldn’t I?” Pei Chuzhi said coquettishly. “And I can praise you at the same time.”

Xing Ye stopped, looked down at her deeply, then smiled helplessly after a moment: “Let me teach you another way to say it.”

“Mm?”

“This is called kindred spirits,” Xing Ye smiled, “which is why we’re in sync.”

Pei Chuzhi’s eyelashes trembled.

Back with Feng Chunming, she explained their new idea to the director.

Feng Chunming kept praising: “Yes, yes, yes! That’s exactly the effect I wanted! Thinking of a new entry point in just a few minutes—you two really are reliable actors.”

According to Pei Chuzhi’s usual personality, she would have taken Feng Chunming’s praise as just professional flattery.

But now, for some reason, she smiled demurely and replied softly: “Director Feng, you flatter me. It’s just that Xing Ye and I are kindred spirits, so we’re in sync.”

Feng Chunming was momentarily stunned. Xing Ye burst out laughing beside her.

Realizing what she had said, Pei Chuzhi wished she could dig a hole and crawl in. She pinched Xing Ye’s arm hard, her eyes saying, “Stop laughing and fix this.”

Xing Ye cleared his throat and explained briefly: “Got into character.”

It sounded utterly insincere. Pei Chuzhi doubted Feng Chunming believed him.

But Feng Chunming, experienced as he was, just laughed it off.

The rest of the filming went smoothly, wrapping up before noon.

Pei Chuzhi changed and came out, hearing two crew members organizing props, discussing her silly remark from earlier.

“Can’t tell at all—Pei Chuzhi is actually an affection-showing maniac.”

“Isn’t that usually only in the honeymoon stage? She and Xing Ye announced their relationship ages ago, and their honeymoon stage still hasn’t ended.”

Pei Chuzhi remained silent.

They had only been together for less than half a year!

“Did you see Director Feng’s expression? I died laughing. He probably didn’t expect that this girl looks so cool, but in love, she’s all clingy.”

“But it’s understandable. A girl in her twenties, with such a handsome boyfriend—of course she’s crazy about him.”

“It just sucks that we have to eat months of dog food.”

“Hahaha, later we’ll have Director Feng remind her to tone it down, so she doesn’t torment us poor singles anymore.”

The playful teasing made Pei Chuzhi’s ears burn.

The more she thought about it, the more she felt it was Xing Ye’s fault. If he hadn’t “brainwashed” her when no one was around, she wouldn’t have said that out loud.

Leaving the studio, Pei Chuzhi saw Xing Ye standing outside waiting for her.

The night dyed his figure in ink-black shades, softened by the glow of the streetlights into a serene and gentle color.

He wasn’t a patient man by nature, but today, leaning against the car waiting for his girlfriend, there was no trace of impatience in his expression.

Pei Chuzhi walked over and hugged him, asking: “Where’s Xu Lei?”

“I let her go back to the hotel first,” Xing Ye opened the car door, his tone casual. “You ride with me.”

On the way back to the hotel, Pei Chuzhi repeated what she had overheard earlier.

Xing Ye smiled: “Isn’t what they said right?”

“Still your fault,” Pei Chuzhi whispered. “No more saying weird things to me on set.”

She, a diligent actress, had somehow been labeled an “affection-showing maniac.” If this got out, she’d lose all dignity.

Xing Ye drew out a long, meaningful “oh” before asking: “You don’t want people to know how much you like me?”

“???”

Pei Chuzhi turned, looking at him in disbelief. Is that really the focus here?

Xing Ye rested his elbow on the car window, massaging his brow, seemingly after careful thought: “Alright, then I’ll take over next time. Let everyone on set see that I like you more, okay?”

Pei Chuzhi’s peripheral vision caught the young driver in the front seat twitch.

This driver was hired locally for the crew, younger and less steady than Xing Ye’s usual middle-aged driver.

“Enough, stop talking.”

Fearing the driver might take them and the car into a greenbelt, she deliberately put on a serious face and lowered her voice threateningly: “I’ll deal with you later back at the hotel.”

Xing Ye’s smile widened: “Can’t wait for you to deal with me.”

Pei Chuzhi had only said that casually; Xing Ye didn’t take it seriously either.

They had an early call for filming tomorrow. If they actually did that kind of “couple stuff” after returning to the hotel, that would be losing the basic professionalism of an actor.

At the hotel, they kissed and cuddled in the hallway for a while, then said goodnight and returned to their respective rooms.

The next morning, Pei Chuzhi was assigned to Group B to shoot workplace scenes with other supporting actors.

At lunch, Xing Ye came over from Group A to see her.

“Teacher Xing is here.”

The actress playing the advertising copywriter was sharp. Holding her lunch box, she tried to slip away: “I won’t be a third wheel. I’ll give you two some private space.”

Other actors, seeing her lead, also showed understanding expressions and prepared to leave.

Pei Chuzhi was about to tell them not to make a big deal out of it but suddenly remembered that when filming Quietly Falling in Love With You, Xing Ye also didn’t like eating with too many people.

So she hesitated briefly and ultimately didn’t stop them.

Unexpectedly, Xing Ye pulled over a chair from the side: “No need, let’s eat together.”

Then he placed the chair beside Pei Chuzhi and sat down.

“Won’t we disturb you all?”

The first actress froze mid-step, looking over in surprise.

Being in the same crew as Xing Ye was an extremely precious experience for actors who hadn’t yet become famous.

Many had thought that if they could build a good relationship with him—even just a casual acquaintance—it would be enviable.

But when Xing Ye really appeared in front of them, very few dared to approach him to chat.

For one, he didn’t have a gentle appearance; for another, it was said he didn’t like people clinging to him for connections.

“No need.”

Xing Ye opened his lunch box, picking out the cilantro he didn’t like as usual, and said calmly, “You all were having a great chat with Zizi. When I show up, everyone left. She’ll blame me later.”

Pei Chuzhi popped a piece of green vegetable in her mouth and blinked, signaling everyone to sit back down.

Xing Ye agreeing to eat with so many people was beyond her expectation. After all, he wasn’t a particularly warm person; often, he showed a degree of indifference to trivial people or matters.

But today, sitting beside her, although he didn’t talk much, whenever someone spoke to him, he responded politely.

It was a subtle change, making him no longer display the aggressive, hostile aura he used to.

As lunch was about to end, Xu Lei came over to remind Pei Chuzhi: “The Half a Lifetime of Splendor crew released a promotional video. Do you want me to share it for you?”

Pei Chuzhi took out her phone: “It’s fine, I’ll do it myself.”

She opened the official Half a Lifetime of Splendor Weibo and saw a recently posted pinned post.

The video mainly showed the overall plot, with clips spanning thirty years.

In the video, Pei Chuzhi’s appearance changed constantly. Whether the innocent early years, the mature and glamorous middle period, or the graceful and elegant later stage, each age was portrayed with distinct style.

Among all these differences, she captured the essence of her character Zhuo Wei—always full of hope for love and always giving her all.

As soon as Pei Chuzhi reposted it, eager fans rushed in, leaving comments full of praise.

【What a god-level actress I’m a fan of! You have every version I love!】

【Ahhh I’m running circles on the playground, even her middle-aged version is so beautiful! If I could be this graceful in my forties, my life would be complete!】

【So this is a woman’s love story? Are these men blind? Such a treasure and they’re not marrying her off?】

【Eek, I’m suddenly a bit jealous of Xing Ye.】

【How does that dog Xing Ye deserve to have such a beautiful Zizi?!】

What started as harmless teasing slowly escalated, and some voices in the comments began harshly criticizing Xing Ye.

Many artists encounter such toxic fan groups.

But when Pei Chuzhi saw them criticizing Xing Ye, she felt a wave of displeasure.

She twitched the corner of her mouth, about to leave Weibo, when she felt the man beside her lean closer.

Xing Ye glanced at the screen and calmly smiled: “Your fans are pretty unruly.”

“Should I tell Brother Tang to have someone manage the comments? Or delete the ones insulting you?”

Pei Chuzhi felt guilty and was about to call Tang Dong.

“No need. Deleting comments over something minor just makes people laugh at you later,” Xing Ye stopped her, then asked, “How’s the engagement on this Weibo post?”

Pei Chuzhi reluctantly reopened Weibo: “Pretty good, actually.”

At least compared to when she reposted the Quietly Falling in Love With You promo, the comments and reposts hadn’t grown this fast.

Xing Ye nodded, then took out his own phone, opened her Weibo, scrolled down, and found the comment: “I’m a little jealous of Xing Ye,” slowly liking it.

“Alright, let me ride this wave of popularity.”

Thanks to the little angels who watered me with nutrient shots: Cute Cheap Sale 8 bottles; Lucky Line 3 bottles; deanX 2 bottles; Qing Xiao 1 bottle.

Thank you all very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!