Caught in Affairs with Superstar
Chapter 189 - 157: The Beginning of the Scandal

Chapter 189: Chapter 157: The Beginning of the Scandal

"Ready for the live shoot—"

"Three."

"Two."

"One."

"Action."

...

"Lady He, where are you off to?"

Zhou Yun stood at the doorway, watching Su Yan packing inside the room, already guessing her intentions, yet her face remained tranquil, without a ripple of disturbance.

Su Yan paused her movements briefly, and for a second, it seemed as though she hesitated to continue packing but eventually put her belongings down, turned around, and met Zhou Yun’s gaze.

Su Yan’s eyes seemed to hold a knife.

Not particularly sharp, but with a piercing edge nonetheless.

"Why bother asking when you already know, Ms. Lew? I can go anywhere I want, I just don’t wish to stay here."

Zhou Yun offered a slight smile, but her eyes were devoid of genuine mirth.

She crossed the threshold into the room, yet did not move any further in, standing at the door, she said, "This is the only safe place for you. No one knows you are here, no one recognizes you."

A hint of desperation, like that of someone with nothing to lose, flashed in Su Yan’s eyes as she said, "No matter how safe it is, I can’t stay."

"Lady He, you really don’t need to be so obstinate."

"You think I’m being obstinate with you?" Su Yan’s tone rose, "Deluding yourself with self-importance!"

A flicker of annoyance passed across Zhou Yun’s eyes.

"Lady He, I won’t stop you if you want to leave, but don’t forget about your child. If you leave now, with your child, where will you go? Where will you spend the night? At an inn? Such noisy places full of strangers, not even considering the risk of being recognized by Prince Heng’s Mansion, how many days can a woman alone with her child survive in an inn?"

"I can rent a place on my own; don’t think we can only survive under your roof," Su Yan snorted coldly.

Seeing that Su Yan was serious about leaving, Zhou Yun couldn’t help but feeling anxious, "Where will you rent from? Who will you rent from? How long will your money last? If renting a place on your own could solve the problem, why would He Mu insist on you staying with me in the first place?"

Su Yan turned her head away, remaining silent.

"Lady He, I promised He Mu I would take care of you until his return," Zhou Yun’s tone softened, "At this moment, you wouldn’t want to cause him more trouble, would you?"

"Cause trouble? If only I had known he had such a dear friend, I would never have married him!" Su Yan’s eyes reddened at this moment.

This was Su Yan’s forte, her emotions welling up flawlessly, without need for scripted lines, her performance in a single shot was powerfully moving.

"Liu Rusu, my child and I need none of your charity!"

Zhou Yun watched Su Yan in a daze.

One second.

Two seconds.

Helplessness, embarrassment, urgency, various emotions intertwined and surfaced on Zhou Yun’s face, only to be concealed in a brief moment.

"Lady He, you don’t have to view this as my charity. I do these things solely as a way of repaying the life-saving grace he once showed me."

Su Yan remained silent.

Zhou Yun continued, "Also, you have misunderstood, I have never been He Mu’s intimate female confidant. From the beginning, I was nothing more than a patient he had treated. You may not believe me, but you should trust him."

Su Yan bit her teeth lightly.

From the outside, her jaw just seemed a bit tense. But her entire bearing exuded a clear sense of resistance, which appeared to be hesitating and fading.

"Lady He, if you are safe, if your child is safe, then he can work with peace of mind. Why risk your family’s safety just to get even? Please reconsider."

After finishing her plea, Zhou Yun gazed deeply at Su Yan, then turned and left the room.

...

"Cut!" Kang Xin called out.

The quiet film set remained silent.

Slowly, some noises began to surface.

Su Yan turned her back to pull herself out of the emotional state she just experienced.

Outside, Zhou Yun also raised her hand, wiping away a tear that had just fallen.

She almost cried on camera just now. Knowing she couldn’t cry in this scene, she hurriedly left the room.

Zhou Yun felt aggrieved for Liu Rusu.

The person suffering the most, in order to keep her promise and to ease his worries, had to go against her own wishes and keep the person she least wanted to see.

Liu Zhen didn’t want to live with Liu Rusu, and Liu Rusu obviously didn’t want to live with Liu Zhen either.

Kang Xin watched the footage just now, applauded, and said, "This take is good!"

Hearing this, both Zhou Yun and Su Yan looked at Kang Xin in surprise.

For both of them, this was the first time they got it right in one take since joining the production.

Zhou Yun even felt a little panic and unease inside, subconsciously thinking: Really?

Shock was also apparent on Su Yan’s face.

"Director, are you saying we nailed this scene in one take?" Su Yan exclaimed in surprised joy, dramatically covering her mouth with her hands.

A smile appeared on Kang Xin’s face.

"Let’s keep another take for safety, but you both did perform very well just now, indeed it was a good take in one shot."

Everyone else on the set started clapping as if by agreement.

Zhou Yun felt a surprising sense of disbelief.

Who would’ve thought that her first "one-take wonder" in "Heart Inquiry" would be a scene opposite Su Yan.

Even Jiang Yuzhen looked astonished.

Jiang Yuzhen said to the person next to her with a smile, "What’s gotten into these two today? Their performance is unexpectedly good."

The person beside her quietly responded, "Their real-life discord translates into an edge on screen."

This comment won nods of agreement from the surrounding people.

Neither Zhou Yun nor Su Yan knew that their performance was seen as enhanced by their off-screen tension.

If Zhou Yun heard this, she would actually just smile.

Who cares about the added edge, as long as the final performance is good, that’s all that matters.

What surprised Zhou Yun, however, was that He Yong happened to be on set and saw her performance in that scene.

He Yong looked somewhat astonished.

It was the first time He Yong saw Zhou Yun acting. Before this, He Yong had never witnessed it. After Zhou Yun signed with the company, she had performed and had been evaluated by acting coaches on her development in acting. However, He Yong had never taken it seriously, she wasn’t a prodigy who won the Movie Queen award right after debut, nor had she received professional acting training. Before "The Eighteenth Time of Heartbeat," Zhou Yun had only played one role, an insignificant minor character, which caused no stir at all.

Therefore, when He Yong saw the acting skills Zhou Yun displayed on set, holding her own against Su Yan without falling short, he was stunned.

It was beyond his expectations.

Zhou Yun actually had such impressive acting skills.

With looks so beautiful and acting skills so proficient, how could she not become a star.

There was no worry she wouldn’t become a star.

And Zhou Yun certainly did not lack popularity.

He Yong suddenly realized something, waiting for the day "Heart Inquiry" airs, Zhou Yun’s career would ascend several steps.

She’s not just a pretty face; she could really act.

A play like "Eighth Heartbeat" wasn’t worthy of Zhou Yun.