Extreme Pampering
Chapter 192: The Female Lead is Absent?

Chapter 192: Chapter 192: The Female Lead is Absent?

After marriage, Shen Zhiyi first went on a month-long island vacation with Pei Yu, and upon returning, she immediately threw herself into the audition process for a new drama. When busy, she inevitably ended up neglecting Pei Yu, but now the situation had improved. At the very least, she had gradually gotten used to working in the same space as Pei Yu—she would read the script while he went over financial statements.

The auditions went smoothly. For convenience, during filming, Shen Zhiyi stayed in the hotel at the film city as usual, and Pei Yu would come over to spend the night when he had the time.

So, when someone knocked on her door late at night after she had finished work and returned to the hotel, Shen Zhiyi unthinkingly opened the door.

"Why have you come so late?"

Accidentally getting facial cleanser in her eyes which stung a bit, Shen Zhiyi didn’t see who it was and immediately went back to the bathroom to rinse out her eyes.

She heard the sound of the door closing, but he didn’t answer her question.

After rinsing her eyes for a while, the pain subsided somewhat. Shen Zhiyi blinked and looked toward the door, "Pei Yu?"

She stepped out of the bathroom and immediately saw the person standing by the sofa. The young man smiled at her, "Sister Zhiyi."

It was a supporting actor from the crew, who, she heard, had just recently graduated.

Shen Zhiyi was taken aback for a moment, her expression turning cold instantly. She gathered her robe around herself, keeping her distance, "What do you need so late at night to come over here?"

This was the film city, where paparazzi were certainly not lacking. Everyone knew how gossip accounts would spin the story of a man and a woman spending the night in a hotel room.

She didn’t believe this man could be so indiscreet.

"Oh," he said with a smile, seemingly oblivious to her cold demeanor, "I was hoping Sister Zhiyi could discuss the script with me. You said I could come to you for help with any problems, didn’t you?"

Shen Zhiyi had a decent reputation on set, and she didn’t mind helping newcomers when she had free time. But anyone with a bit of sense would know not to bother her in the middle of the night.

"If you have a problem, we can talk during the day," her tone was cool, "Now, please leave my room."

"Sister Zhiyi, I didn’t mean anything bad," the man took two steps closer to her, "You spent half of yesterday discussing the script with me, and today you even offered me a drink."

He lowered his voice, "I thought you were interested in me."

"..."

Shen Zhiyi found the suggestion preposterous. She didn’t just discuss the script with him, or just offer him a drink—that was for the whole crew.

"Then let me make it clear, you’ve misunderstood. I’m already married."

Although she was afraid of losing her ring during filming and therefore hadn’t worn it these days, her marriage was a public matter.

"I know," the man said with a suggestive tone, "but something new is always better than something old."

Shen Zhiyi looked him up and down, laughed, and said, "You’re not even a match for one of my husband’s fingers. No matter how new, you’re still flawed goods."

Her words were merciless, leaving the man flushing with embarrassment. He looked at the time, realizing he had been there for several minutes.

"I’ve interrupted Sister Zhiyi," he said as he headed for the door, "pretend I never came here today."

Watching the door close once more, Shen Zhiyi immediately called Wang Feifei to inform her of the incident.

"Okay, I’ll see what I can do with a few media outlets. Don’t worry, not a bit of false information will leak," Wang Feifei assured her.

Working in this industry, one could benefit the most from public opinion, but it was also easy to be destroyed by it. A bit of false information could be taken as truth, and clarifications would be useless. Since Shen Zhiyi’s last live broadcast, her PR team had been entirely replaced. Now they could block any false information in advance, making it impossible for those trying to scheme against her to succeed.

After hanging up, the door was knocked on again, and Shen Zhiyi’s expression wasn’t too pleasant when she opened it.

Pei Yu stood at the door, casual with a jacket draped over his arm. He looked down at her, "What’s wrong?"

"Nothing."

Shen Zhiyi shook her head and stretched out her arms to hug him.

Pei Yu let her hug him, then lifted her chin to look at her, his eyebrows slightly furrowed, "Why are your eyes red?"

After Shen Zhiyi explained once, he showed a helpless expression that suggested he had no way to deal with her, "How could you be so careless."

She hadn’t told him about that incident just now, but Pei Yu quickly found out from Secretary Qin.

Shen Zhiyi was very tired. Seeing him finish the phone call and come back, she burrowed into his arms, "I have to get up early tomorrow."

"Mhm," Pei Yu gently patted her back. She had lost some more weight for this film, and he could feel it most clearly since he held her every day, "I’ll wake you up."

So, Shen Zhiyi went to sleep at ease.

She had to start work early the next day. Shen Zhiyi hurried through her wash-up, gave Pei Yu a good morning kiss, and then immediately rushed to the set.

"Sister," during the filming, Xiaodong brought her phone over, "Sister Feifei is calling."

Shen Zhiyi had just taken a fall and was lifting her dress to check her injuries, "Sister?"

"We found out who wanted to set you up. They have their eyes on your film. I’ll discuss with the public relations department later about what to do. You don’t need to worry. That young actor was just being used; you just stay away from him."

"Alright," Shen Zhiyi replied absentmindedly as she noticed the abrasion on her knee.

Ah, Pei Yu would frown if he saw this.

Xiaodong brought over some medicine, wanting to help her apply it.

"Zhiyi!" Not far away, the director called her, but upon being reminded that she was injured, he gave up on summoning her and instead called other actors.

"The investors are here," the director said, noticing several cars arriving and going up to greet them courteously.

The investors he worked with had a grandiose presence, known for being difficult to please. The director watched them get out of the car but saw they didn’t come over immediately; instead, they turned to look at another car, waiting for someone else to emerge before walking over with polite smiles.

The director was surprised, not expecting the investors to bring someone else this time.

The investor took the initiative to introduce, "This is Chairman Pei. He’s here to take a look at your set."

He was in talks with Pei’s about a partnership, and initially thought there was no hope, but today took a turn for the better as that person even offered to visit the set with him.

It occurred to the director that perhaps they were also interested in investing in the production.

The director and the producer hastened to greet them delicately, meanwhile giving a brief introduction of the few actors beside them.

Pei Yu’s gaze swept over them, and he asked indifferently, "The leading lady isn’t here?"

His tone was cold, causing the director to feel a jolt of fear, worried about displeasing this powerful figure. He said somewhat awkwardly, "She got injured..."

Pei Yu’s brows instantly furrowed, "Where is she?"

The director, in a panic, replied, "Over, over there—"

Before he could finish, Pei Yu suddenly walked in that direction, leaving everyone present confused.

Did they have to see this leading actress no matter what?

Though they couldn’t grasp the situation, they followed suit. They were a few steps behind and just caught sight of Pei Yu crouching by the actress’s side, lifting her skirt, and holding her calf.

The gesture was intimate and natural, as if he had done it countless times.