Chapter 400

Once the ten minutes were up, the crew resumed filming.

This scene being filmed was Ji Ruibin rejecting Ruan Ruan's pursuit, throwing away the roses someone had forcibly shoved into his arms, and sprinting away from the crowd.

Jin Li, playing Ruan Ruan, was right in the middle of the crowd. She was beautiful and dressed in an outstanding outfit, making her very eye-catching among the people.

However, Ji Ruibin had been good-looking since he was a child, and there was never a shortage of girls pursuing him, including wealthy second-generation heirs like Ruan Ruan.

Yet, even though his own family background wasn't exceptionally wealthy, he came from a comfortable, middle-class family that never lacked for food or clothing.

Therefore, he looked down upon Ruan Ruan's pursuit and even felt a deep sense of disdain in his heart.

Ruan Ruan shouted through a megaphone in the crowd: "Ji Ruibin, where are you? I like you, please be my boyfriend!"

"Ji Ruibin, I like you..."

"Ji Ruibin, hurry up and be Ruan Ruan's boyfriend!"

Ji Ruibin looked around in shock. He had clearly run away, even reaching the school gate, so how could he still hear the three words "Ruan Ruan"?

Turning his head, he discovered that in many places around the campus, people were holding megaphones, repeatedly playing the same sentence: "Ji Ruibin, hurry up and be Ruan Ruan's boyfriend!"

No matter where he went, he could hear others discussing this matter.

"Ji Ruibin is really lucky. He actually caught the eye of the wealthy beauty Ruan Ruan. Why didn't she notice me? I feel like I'm not any worse than that Ji Ruibin!"

"Who on earth is Ruan Ruan? How did she become the campus goddess in your hearts?"

"She's the daughter of the richest man in the South China region, and an only child at that. When Ruan Ruan turned ten, the richest man announced a dowry of 88.88 million, a luxury villa in Yujing Huating, ten new cars of her choice from the garage as gifts, and at least 5% of the shares in his company. Do you understand the value of that?"

Another person said, dumbfounded: "I don't understand, I just want to experience the feeling of being buried in 88.88 million in cash..."

After these people left, Ji Ruibin quietly poked his head out from a trash can, wearing a trash can lid as a hat. He maneuvered the trash can, which had two holes in the bottom, and moved slowly until he reached a laboratory building that didn't see much foot traffic.

Jin Li didn't need to participate in the following scenes, so she could go back and rest.

But Jin Li felt that the acting styles of the lead actors were different from any actors she had encountered before, and she wanted to learn some experience from them, so she stayed on set.

"Sister Jin Li, why are you sitting on the ground?"

A crew member passed by, saw her squatting directly on the ground, and hurriedly said: "Let me get you a small stool so you can sit more comfortably."

Jin Li was just about to say it wasn't necessary, as she had already wiped the ground, but before she could finish, the person had already run off.

Before long, the small stool was brought over, and not only did they bring one, they even brought one for Chen Qin.

The two of them could only thank the crew member for their kindness.

The new scene had already begun filming, with the male lead Ji Ruibin deliberately sneaking into the laboratory building to hide from the "Ruan Ruan" army outside.

What he didn't know was that this laboratory building was a biochemical research facility, specifically set up by an external company within the school to collaborate on a national-level key research project.

"Senior Sister Su, the R-bacteria have mutated, with a mutation rate as high as 80%. After exposure to oxygen stimulation, their activity surged by 300%."

The female lead Su Yuxuan, played by Xu Ting, was wearing a white lab coat, her hair tied in a low ponytail, and wearing specialized transparent goggles, observing the experimental data with a cold expression.

"Inject nitrogen, lower the oxygen concentration, and see what changes occur in the R-bacteria," Su Yuxuan said calmly.

Ji Ruibin passed by the laboratory door, glanced at the scene inside, and turned to leave.

As he left, Su Yuxuan looked up at the door, but saw nothing.

"Cut!" Director Chu reviewed the footage and asked Xu Ting to reshoot, explaining: "Don't speak too fast. Give people a sense of urgency. You need to be more composed."

Xu Ting replied: "Okay."

As she turned, she glanced at Jin Li sitting outside.

There were some crew members hovering around her, which forced Jin Li to take out her "5-3" study guide and say she still had to do some practice problems to fend them off.

Xu Ting labeled Jin Li in her heart: likes to show off.

After this scene was filmed, she looked at the spot where Jin Li had been sitting, but it was already empty.

Xu Ting didn't let it distract her; she had many scenes with Bai Jiang coming up, and she didn't want the director to think she couldn't handle the role.

On the other side, Jin Li and Chen Qin hid back at the hotel.

Once inside the room, Chen Qin dared to say: "The treatment yesterday and the treatment today are completely different. Isn't it just that the reputation of 'Assassination' has improved and it's trending on many topics? Why are all the crew members swarming around now?"

Jin Li was just sitting there observing, and every dozen seconds or so, a crew member would come over to ask how she was doing.

Jin Li speculated: "The production team Director Chu found this time, aside from the core positions who frequently work with him, the others are likely outsourced personnel."

In the crews she had been on before, only outsourced teams would be so sycophantic toward her. If it were the director's fixed crew, those people would usually be more "reserved."

She said regretfully: "I can't observe the seniors acting on set for the time being. At the very least, I have to wait for the spotlight on me to pass."

With an hour left until dinner, Jin Li continued doing practice problems. Chen Qin thought for a moment and decided to go back to the set first to keep an eye on the catering truck, planning to bring the boxed meals back as soon as they were ready.

Before Chen Qin left, she specifically said: "Sister Jin Li, if you need anything, just send me a message and I'll bring it back for you. Don't go out to buy things alone."

"Sister Fang said that the character Li Feifei is very popular online, and many people are imitating Li Feifei's approach, posting and exposing many campus scandals. It's been a huge uproar online these past few days, and she's afraid that extreme fans might come looking for you."

"If someone knocks on the door, don't open it. Use the peephole to see who it is first, and if it's a stranger, don't open it at all. I've already communicated with the hotel, and they said they would strengthen management on this floor."

Jin Li nodded and replied: "I will be careful."

After Chen Qin left, Jin Li started a livestream in the hotel, intending to do practice problems for an hour first.

In the livestream's chat, everyone was discussing "Li Feifei" and the plot related to "Assassination." Even without looking at the trending topics, Jin Li could feel the overwhelming heat just from the chat.

She briefly greeted the netizens and then lowered her head to do practice problems.

Those netizens who frequently spammed "Li Feifei" and "Assassination" didn't get a response, and other netizens in the livestream didn't pay attention to them either. Finding it boring, they automatically and consciously exited the livestream.

Half an hour later, only the fans who had newly joined to study and the old fans who had been persisting remained in the livestream.

As everyone entered a state of self-study, the chat in the livestream also became very quiet.

Suddenly, a comment popped up in the livestream.

【I think I know which hotel Jin Li is at. I've stayed here before.】

【Jin Li, can I say hello to you? I want your autograph.】

【Li Feifei, you are my god. If only you had appeared earlier, I could have exposed their evil deeds years ago!】

【Li Feifei, I want to see you, give you a hug, and draw strength from you.】

These comments didn't look like they were sent by one person, but because they were so dense, it also looked like they were sent by one person.

【The fans who recently joined the livestream seem to have worrying mental states. They're talking nonsense.】

【Jin Li is Jin Li, Li Feifei is Li Feifei. I hope all fans can distinguish clearly. Don't project the character onto the celebrity herself. The celebrity herself is different from the character. Come out of it early.】

【Holy crap, how did I hear a knock on the door from the livestream!】

【666, could it be that those netizens who sent the comments just now really went to find Jin Li? Jin Li, don't open the door!】

【That's impossible, right? How could it be such a coincidence?】

While the netizens were worried, Jin Li was also disturbed from her focused state by the continuous knocking on the door.

She came back to her senses and turned to look toward the door.

At first, she didn't guess that it was anything serious.

Because her whereabouts were never revealed, and even if fans knew her whereabouts, they rarely managed to sneak into the film and television city.

The few who could get in were professional scalpers who sold photos, who found passes in the film city and had intricate connections with local small film crews.

Jin Li had met them a few times and greeted them, so they were considered acquaintances.

It wasn't until she came to the door of the room and looked out through the peephole, only to find that there was no one outside, that she couldn't help but be stunned.

How could there be no one?

Jin Li looked down at the ground, and only then did she discover that the knocking sound was coming from below the door.

She frowned tightly and called security to explain the situation.

"Someone knocked on my door, but I didn't see anyone through the peephole. You should come and take a look."

【(Terrified) Was Jin Li really followed?】

【Are we witnessing this live on the front lines?】

【I'm most afraid that someone will pop out from under Jin Li's bed now. Could the room have been bugged with cameras?】

【Could that person be the one who sent the comments earlier? Does that mean he might be watching the chat at any time!】

【Stop it, the more you talk, the more it's turning into a horror movie discussion.】

It wasn't clear if the person outside the door had seen the chat or sensed something was wrong, but before long, they stopped knocking.

Soon, the hotel security rang the doorbell, and Jin Li saw them through the peephole before opening the door.

The security guard said: "I didn't see anyone when I came up. Did you hear knocking?"

Jin Li nodded: "Yes, it was quite loud. I recorded the knocking sound."

The security guard listened, but couldn't make anything out of the knocking sounds, so he said: "Do you want to check the surveillance?"

Jin Li: "Let's check it. I'm very curious about who knocked on my door."

The livestream in her room hadn't been turned off, the audio equipment was good, and the room was very quiet, so Jin Li's voice was faintly picked up.

【You really want to see me, so why didn't you open the door?】

【I'll come find you again tonight, you must open the door for me!】

These two comments were mixed in with a bunch of comments shouting "terrifying," which was very eye-catching and was immediately captured by fans.

Fans discovered that the person who sent the comments was the same person who said earlier that they knew where Jin Li was.

So, did that fan run over to find Jin Li!

Could it be any more terrifying, ah ah ah!

Terrified, the fans immediately sent private messages to Chenxi Entertainment, asking the company to protect Jin Li's safety.

Chen Qin had just arrived at the set, intending to wait for the boxed meals to be freshly prepared, when she was called back by Sister Fang's relentless calls.

"Didn't I tell you to follow Jin Li closely?" Chen Qin picked up the phone, and Sister Fang asked aggressively.

Chen Qin's eyelids twitched, and her heart skipped a beat.

"I have been following her, but I saw it was almost dinner time, so I ran to get her boxed meals. Sister Fang, did something happen?"

Sui Sui Lingfang: "A fan knocked on Jin Li's door, but Jin Li found no one outside. Later, she called security, but that person ran away before security arrived."

Chen Qin asked anxiously: "Jin Li is okay, right?"

Sui Sui Lingfang said in a deep voice: "She's fine, but fans suspect that person is also a fan of Jin Li and was watching Jin Li's livestream."

Not long after Chen Qin hung up the phone, Jin Li's call came through, and Chen Qin hurriedly asked how things were there.

Jin Li reassured her: "It's fine, the hotel security is patrolling my floor. I'm very well, you don't need to rush back. Get the boxed meals first and then come over."

Jin Li hung up the phone and returned to the livestream.

Seeing that the netizens were very worried about her safety and kept sending comments like "Are you okay?", Jin Li replied:

"Don't worry, I'm fine. I'm very well, everyone don't worry. Now let's continue doing problems."

【I have to admit Jin Li's courage is amazing. She can still do practice problems after something like this happens.】

【Fearless in the face of danger!】

【Sigh, as celebrities, who hasn't encountered a few crazy fans?】

【Jin Li hasn't forgotten to do practice problems even like this, we can't let down Jin Li's expectations for us either. Study hard and make progress every day!】

Doing practice problems was the most effective comfort. The fans, who were originally very worried, couldn't help but feel relieved as Jin Li calmly and steadily solved one problem after another, and they followed along, studying honestly.

After finishing a set of test papers, Chen Qin also returned with the boxed meals.

Jin Li ended the livestream very calmly.

What the netizens didn't know was that not long after Chen Qin returned, the hotel security also came over.

They checked the surveillance and found that there was indeed someone squatting in front of Jin Li's door.

Jin Li and Chen Qin went to watch the surveillance together and found that the person was thin, wearing a black hat, and kept her head lowered the whole time, so the camera couldn't capture her face.

Judging from her figure, it should be a woman with very short hair, or her hair was deliberately tied up.

Jin Li asked: "Where did she go?"

The security guard said: "We checked the surveillance at the elevator entrance, but didn't see her. We also checked the surveillance at the main entrance, but didn't see her either."

The security guard said with a serious expression: "We suspect she hasn't left yet."

Chen Qin frowned tightly: "She wouldn't have a hotel room key card, would she? Could she sneak into our room after we leave?"

The security guard immediately denied it: "Impossible, don't worry. The hotel's key card management is very strict. Even cleaners can only open hotel room doors within limited times. If you haven't called for cleaning services, the hotel won't grant cleaning staff permission."

Jin Li thought for a moment and said: "Did you check the emergency exit? Could she be hiding in the emergency exit?"

Security: "I'll call my colleagues to search it right now."

Staying in the surveillance room wouldn't yield any other clues, so Jin Li and Chen Qin went back first.