Chapter 47: Actually, I Didn

The effect of the gossip with Qi Hao was excellent, so excellent that Yang Mi was left speechless.

Her career highlight was playing Guo Xiang in “The Legend of the Condor Heroes.”

But that was two years ago.

And it didn’t bring her any good resources; afterward, she mostly just played minor roles in various TV dramas.

Calling her a second- or third-tier celebrity was already stretching it.

Yet, as soon as the gossip about her and Qi Hao spread, her name immediately flooded the internet and major media outlets.

This level of popularity was something many second-tier, almost-first-tier female stars could only dream of.

She now clearly understood why those people sought gossip with Qi Hao.

It wasn’t about changing luck—it was that luck had already changed.

Several decent endorsement offers even reached out to her.

Even if it was just initial contact, landing just one or two deals would cover her marketing costs.

She was lucky.

The media, having angered powerful figures, were actively trying to make amends.

Especially regarding the matter with Ge You’s father.

Even the authorities were paying attention; one misstep could mean the bosses of those media outlets being summoned for a tea chat.

This “tea chat” wasn’t jail—it meant being invited by regulators for a talk due to involvement in certain matters. It seemed like no major loss, but no one knew what might come next.

So the media could only cover up old gossip with new gossip.

This was far more effective than direct clarification.

Thus, Yang Mi spent the least money and achieved the best marketing result.

Uh…

She was so thrilled she didn’t want to stop.

So here’s the question.

According to the original plan among the three of them, they were supposed to take turns with Qi Hao.

But now that Yang Mi wouldn’t stop, Liu Shishi had no chance.

Liu Shishi posted several related news items, even including photos of herself and Qi Hao on set—but not even a ripple.

The previously harmonious relationship among the three instantly cracked, and they soon stopped showing sisterly affection on set.

Eating alone!

It was simply infuriating.

Fortunately, after being rejected by Qi Hao, Tang Ren had already planned a new publicity strategy for Liu Shishi, so they didn’t have to turn on each other.

Still, Liu Shishi wasn’t without counterattacks.

Someone leaked the content of Yang Mi’s chat with Qi Hao that day—the pronunciation of the word “strong”—and in this petty squabble, Yang Mi lost.

CP fans thought they seemed very affectionate.

Learning and improving together.

Yet, some still questioned Yang Mi.

You’re a third-year college student who claims to come from a scholarly family, yet you can’t even read properly—how embarrassing.

It actually earned Qi Hao a wave of goodwill.

Look, this kid only graduated from junior high, but education and knowledge are two different things.

He doesn’t just act well—he also keeps up with his studies.

Several staff members from “Immortal Sword 3” further revealed that Qi Hao often read books on set during free time.

He wasn’t just pretending.

If his scenes that day were light, he might sit reading for hours.

Moreover, Qi Hao hired a performance coach to give him lessons.

This shows that although he isn’t a drama school graduate, he hasn’t abandoned his pursuit of professional knowledge.

It’s truly touching.

Such a proactive, ambitious young man, and yet someone is mindlessly spreading rumors about him.

If you all put in even a third of his effort, you wouldn’t have to compete with such low tactics.

Many young male actors were suspected by netizens of joining the attacks on Qi Hao.

Some were wrongly accused, others weren’t—but the only winner was Qi Hao.

This win wasn’t luck.

You could tell from the slightly bluish circles under Chen Qi’s eyes.

The harder you work, the more comfortable others become.

“Let’s call it a day for now—your boss’s scandals are endless, and you need to pay me more!” Chen Qi took the soy milk handed to him and grimaced as he drank it.

“Don’t worry, you won’t be shortchanged.”

Lao Tian was very satisfied with this outcome, feeling he hadn’t hired the wrong person.

“Aren’t you going to end my probation early?” Chen Qi only learned after joining the company that he had the longest probation period.

Three months had passed, and three more remained!

“You know why you’re on probation—just hang in there. Maybe you’ll quit in a few months.” Lao Tian chuckled.

He now handled studio operations and constantly interacted with Chen Qi.

Once the seal is broken, he might be the first to suffer.

“Lao Tian, you’re really not a decent person!” Chen Qi rolled his eyes and decided to go sleep in the boss’s office.

“Wait a minute—I haven’t told the boss what you did, so don’t go blabbing.” Lao Tian warned.

He meant the scams targeting those big shots.

“Thanks!”

Chen Qi pushed open the boss’s office door and fell asleep again inside.

The boss wasn’t here—that was his privilege.

Talented people, even with three months of probation left, still received some preferential treatment.

Qi Hao wouldn’t say anything if he knew.

In fact, he was now waiting to complete his task.

The system required him to film a “warm scene” with a “female star.”

Fortunately, it was a female star, not a male star.

Otherwise, the black rumors that had just calmed down would likely flare up again.

And fortunately, it was only a warm scene—if it had required filming something like “Lust, Caution,” Qi Hao might have truly struggled.

“Both of you ready?”

There were several directors on set who could handle scenes, but for such an important part today, it was still under the control of Director Li Guoli.

“Almost ready.”

Qi Hao had finished chewing his gum.

He had no bad breath issue, but he still brushed his teeth carefully and chewed gum.

It was a matter of courtesy.

Some in the industry were disgusting—they’d deliberately skip brushing their teeth and eat garlic before filming warm scenes.

Tang Yan was far more nervous than Qi Hao.

Even though she had filmed warm scenes before and had dated boyfriends.

“Don’t be nervous—it’s a TV drama, easy to shoot.”

“Immortal Sword 3” was fundamentally a costume fantasy idol drama; the warm scene couldn’t be overly exaggerated.

In old idol dramas, the entire series might only have lip-to-lip contact.

“Place your hand on Qi Hao’s arm, tilt your head slightly—click—did you strain your neck?”

They were called “cut” the moment they embraced.

Qi Hao suddenly realized his task might not be as easy as he thought.

He’d assumed it was the easiest task ever.

Just as a warm scene was about to be filmed, he got the task—perfect timing, like a pillow dropped right into his sleep.

Yet after five takes, the warm scene still wasn’t finished.

“Tang Yan, didn’t your teacher ever teach you how to act?”

No matter how they coaxed, they couldn’t get it right—it was a disgrace to the Central Academy of Drama.

Li Guoli was annoyed; he even wondered if Tang Yan was deliberately NGing because she wanted to kiss Qi Hao.

“Sorry, sorry, sorry!”

Tang Yan bowed to the director, bowed to Qi Hao, and then bowed to the cinematographer.

“It’s fine, just adjust.”

Qi Hao took a tissue from his assistant and wiped his face lightly—luckily, he hadn’t worn makeup for this drama, or he’d have needed the makeup artist to retouch him.

Last time, Li Guoli said Tang Yan needed to be more proactive, not look so reluctant.

This time, she went all out—she kissed Qi Hao so hard his face twisted.

Life kissed you painfully, and you just stick out your tongue, huh?

During these Shiji minutes of adjustment, Tang Yan was pulled away for a touch-up.

Qi Hao picked up the book and continued reading; he wasn’t trying to learn anything, just to project a relaxed demeanor.

Otherwise, Tang Yan would become even more nervous.

Actually, Qi Hao thought the second take was fine, but Director Li Guoli wasn’t satisfied.

As a result, the third, fourth, and fifth takes got worse each time.

“Teacher Qi Hao, weren’t you nervous when you shot intimate scenes before?” Tang Yan, having finished her makeup, tried to ease the awkwardness with small talk.

She no longer dared call him “Big Brother Qi.”

On set, when they chatted and joked normally, she always called him “Big Brother Qi.”

It was modeled after Yang Mi’s habit of calling him “Big Brother.”

“Not too bad—I learned from watching films,” Qi Hao realized his words might be ambiguous and quickly added: “Hong Kong films…”

“No retakes?”

“Of course there were retakes—plenty of them—but I managed to adjust my mindset in the end and finished it smoothly.”

In truth, Qi Hao nailed it on the first take.

Yeah, mainly because his co-star had more experience, and in the scene, he was the more passive one.

He was now deliberately downplaying his own skill to ease Tang Yan’s nerves.

After chatting for a while, it became clear that Tang Yan was much calmer.

“Teacher Qi Hao, do you think I’m deliberately messing up the takes?” As they were about to begin again, Tang Yan suddenly asked.

“Honestly, I didn’t lose out either…” Qi Hao murmured.

“Huh? Hahaha…” Tang Yan hadn’t expected him to say that; embarrassed but relieved, her tension vanished.

Finally, they pushed through together—and on the sixth take, they finally achieved the director’s desired effect.

“Good. Remember this feeling. You’ll have several more intimate scenes in this drama.”

Li Guoli was finally satisfied.

His greatest pride in this TV series was making Qi Hao look incredibly handsome—definitely no worse than Yang Guo in “The Legend of the Condor Heroes.”

Too bad.

An Feng in “The Legend of the Condor Heroes” was just too extraordinary.

Even if you combined the screen time of all three female leads in “Xian Jian 3,” you still couldn’t match An Feng’s effect.

“Thank you, thank you, Director, thank you, Teacher Qi Hao~” Tang Yan exhaled deeply.

Though shooting intimate scenes with Qi Hao wasn’t unpleasant—even somewhat enjoyable and a huge boost to her vanity, a privilege even his current gossip girlfriend Yang Mi never enjoyed—repeated retakes were still a problem.

As the director said, she and Qi Hao had several more intimate scenes ahead.

“Thank you too—no need to be polite!”

Demoness, thank you for helping me complete this task; from today on, no one can call me “Father-in-Law” again.