The daughter of the emperor is beautiful and delicate, and the abstinent boss pinches her waist and

Chapter 62 Past Events
The smile on her once bright face was gone, and even her eyes were empty, as if they were unfocused.

Su Xingmian felt a little sorry for him and was about to say a few words of comfort when Director Xue finished arranging the schedule, adjusting the camera positions and lighting, and shouted "Action!" with a megaphone.

Wen Ni came to her senses and met Su Xingmian's eyes as Su Xingmian, who had just put down her small stool and was about to sit down obediently, blinked her dry eyes, tried to raise the corners of her lips, and revealed a slightly forced smile.

"Sister Wen Ni..."

Su Xingmian affectionately linked arms with Wen Ni, opened her mouth, but didn't know where to begin.

She had never met Duan Yu since joining the crew, nor did she know about their past experiences. She couldn't empathize with him, and no matter how much she said, it all seemed vague.

Wen Ni seemed to understand Su Xingmian's hesitation and patted her hand calmly: "After work, I'll treat you to some fun. Let's relax and talk slowly."

The production is now more than halfway complete and is expected to wrap up in about two weeks, so the daily filming schedule is not heavy, just a few small, fragmented tasks.

After filming a full day's worth of scenes as scheduled, Su Xingmian noticed that while other assistants were helping her put on coats and handing her hot water, Wen Ni was all alone in her thin costume, looking rather desolate.

For convenience, Director Xue recently set up temporary dressing rooms outside the studio, one for each of the main actors, and the other three for other actors to share.

Su Xingmian and Xu Han returned to the dressing room together and couldn't help but ask, "What's the situation with Sister Wen Ni? Where's her assistant?"

Xu Han had become familiar with the crew members during this time, and when Su Xingmian asked, she quickly replied, "Last night, Sister Wen Ni and her agent had a big fight. After the fight, she fired the assistant, and nobody knows why."

She heard this from a stagehand; she shared a double room with Wen Ni's assistant, and heard that the assistant had packed up and left the night before.

Su Xingmian blinked thoughtfully: "Hanhan, help Wen Ni these next few days, and I'll give you a bonus at the end of the month."

-

That evening, at the KTV, Wen Ni ordered hot pot and a table full of alcohol. Su Xingmian picked it up and looked at the alcohol content, feeling a chill run down her spine.

"Sis, I can't handle three cups of wine."

Su Xingmian blinked sincerely and weakly held up three fingers.

"It's alright, let's eat first. Ling Jiayu and Shen Ci will come over after their performance."

Music was playing in the private room, but the volume wasn't high. Wen Ni didn't eat much, but she drank quite a bit of alcohol. Su Xingmian didn't try to stop her. Before long, she heard Wen Ni's calm voice.

"My relationship with Duan Yu is a bit cliché, to be honest." She paused, tilted her head back and drank another glass before continuing, "I signed with my current company right after graduation. I was the first artist he managed, and we're from the same hometown."

“In the beginning, it was really tough. I would run around to different auditions, get rejected, and then run around again. Over the course of a year, I played a lot of minor roles, but I didn’t have a single one that could be considered a real achievement. I was quite frustrated at the time and even doubted whether I was really suited to make a living in the entertainment industry. He was always there for me, encouraging me and supporting me.”

Looking back on the past, Wen Ni still has a smile on her lips.

During that period, she endured hardship, exhaustion, and confusion. Without Duan Yu, she wouldn't have made it to where she is today.

During those dark days, they leaned on each other, and although they never explicitly said it, they both knew the true nature of their relationship.

But this very person she once trusted most has now dealt her a heavy blow.

Later, Wen Ni was fortunate enough to land a supporting role in a big-budget production, and began to make a name for herself. With more film offers and rising fame, Duan Yu also became a well-known agent in the company, signing many new talents. Resources that Wen Ni didn't take a liking to or whose schedules didn't suit were instead allocated to these newcomers.

This kind of thing is normal in the industry, and the quality of the resources she got didn't decline, so Wen Ni had no objections.

Some time ago, Duan Yu used the excuse of returning to his hometown, but in reality, he took the newcomers to audition for the script she had chosen. However, because their acting skills were too poor, the production team directly contacted Wen Ni and subtly criticized her, saying that even if she looked down on their production team, she didn't need to humiliate them like this. Only then did Wen Ni realize what was going on.

But she couldn't get in touch with Duan Yu. If she hadn't run into him last night, she really didn't know how long she would have been kept in the dark.

It was only yesterday that he learned how many transactions Duan Yu had made with others using these resources over the years.

Even her own assistant was actually a spy planted by Duan Yu to keep her company.

If Su Xingmian hadn't given her the tickets at the last minute yesterday, and if she hadn't left in such a hurry after the performance without informing her assistant, she probably wouldn't have bumped into Duan Yu last night, and might even have been deceived by him.

"The new person she brought is the one from last night. They've overcome so many difficulties, and now that everything is getting better, how did things turn out this way?"

Wen Ni gave a helpless, bitter smile.

She could accept Duan Yu leaving for a better job, but she couldn't accept his betrayal.

Indeed, only those closest to you know how to stab someone in the back to make them hurt the most.

Wen Ni recalled Duan Yu's accusations in her ear last night, and in the blink of an eye, tears silently fell.

Wealth can be tempting, and temptations can be overwhelming. In the entertainment industry, a veritable melting pot, Wen Ni remains true to herself, while Duan Yu has already succumbed to temptation.

He can easily pull off unspoken rules and make grand promises; perhaps this is his true nature, only he has never revealed it because he is in a lowly position.

Su Xingmian could think of these things, and Wen Ni naturally understood them as well. What she needed was not comfort, but a trustworthy person to confide in.

"Sister Wen Ni, you deserve better, he doesn't deserve it."

Su Xingmian poured a full glass of wine, gently touched Wen Ni's glass to it, and drank it all down with her.

Once it started, it couldn't be stopped. By the time Ling Jiayu and Shen Ci arrived, Su Xingmian was already drunk.

She held the microphone, curled up on the sofa, her eyes glazed over, but she sang the lyrics perfectly, while the music video for "What Kind of Man" played on the screen.

Su Xingmian was so engrossed in singing that she didn't even notice Ling Jiayu and Shen Ci, or even Sheng Yuheng and Fu Jinglan who came in with them.

"Wow, you know what, Mianmian has a really good voice, she could definitely release a single."

Fu Jinglan leaned close to Sheng Yuheng's ear and whispered something, but before they could get a reply, Wen Ni beckoned them in. After a few bottles of wine, that song was playing on repeat in the private room.

Su Xingmian was held in Sheng Yuheng's arms and stopped singing. She quietly leaned against the wall and watched them play games.

It's unclear whether Fu Jinglan was just unlucky or Wen Ni had some kind of buff that somehow passed on to the others.

In short, he kept losing at the dice game, and Wen Ni, who was thirsty, even clinked glasses with him a few times.