Ning Xi smiled, her eyes curving like crab apples in its first bloom. "Of course not, I trust your evaluation, Director Chen. If he can't even handle this, that won't really hold up well for your name!"

  She was acting normally this time, not even putting in any extra effort and being lenient. That year when she had overshadowed Jiang Muye, she was cruel…


  Chen Mian was almost bedazzled by that smile and he helplessly said, "That's enough, won't you have mercy on me!?"

  "I'm sorry, I haven't managed to adjust myself in time."

  Chen Mian was speechless.

  As the two were speaking, Chen Mian caught Ke Mingyu from the corner of his eye. He seemed to be waiting for them to finish.

  "Mingyu, do you need anything?"

  "I'm here to talk to Senior Ning Xi." Ke Mingyu's usual poker face was unusually tense.

  Ning Xi looked over curiously, unsure what she was needed for.

  Among all of the newbies, she found Ke Mingyu the hardest to read. However, she felt an odd sense of familiarity with him.

  Sadly, she did not get the chance to shoot with him today. They would only meet the next day…


  "Could I have your signature? I'm your fan," Ke Mingyu said without any expression.

  "My fan?" Ning Xi raised her brows in surprise. "Of course."

  Then, Ning Xi picked up the notebook and pen in his hand to give him her autograph and she added on some words of encouragement too.

  "Thank you, Senior." Ke Mingyu pursed his lips, bowed, then walked off without making any small talk.

  Chen Mian looked at Ning Xi, then suddenly asked profoundly, "Do you know how I discovered him?"

  "How?" Ning Xi asked.

  "He is not from the academy, he came up to me by himself. At that time, I had searched for a long time to no avail to find a suitable secondary male lead, so I let him try out. However, he rejected my offer."

  "Huh? Didn't he come up to you himself? Why did he reject you?" Ning Xi could not understand.

  "He wanted to be the male lead."

  "Uhh…" To be frank, his image was definitely not suitable for the male lead in this movie. "Did you manage to persuade him after?"

  Chen Mian nodded. "I let him try a part of the male lead's scenes first, but his image just couldn't fit, so I advised him to try for the secondary lead. He didn't agree, so later I had to invite him personally."

  Ning Xi was a little surprised. "Hmm, to let Director Chen personally invite him…it must not be as simple as getting through with just acting skills."

  Chen Mian smiled mysteriously. "You'll find out later on!"

  Since Chen Mian had put it that way, Ning Xi did not ask further, but she suddenly thought of something. "Oh, Director Chen, are visits allowed? I have a friend who wants to come over and watch me work. I'll make sure the shoot definitely won't be affected!"

  "Sure, if it's your friend, then there definitely won't be a problem!" Chen Mian agreed rather easily.

  As the two spoke, Chen Mian saw another silhouette peeking from not too far away; it turned out that there were more who had stayed back.

  Chen Mian looked helplessly at Ji Yumeng's direction and asked, "Here for Ning Xi too?"

  Ji Yumeng nodded.

  "Sigh, go on! I won't disturb you lot!" Usually, actors would look for the director to chat after work, but this time, they were all here for the female lead…


  "Yumeng, work's over, aren't you leaving yet?" Ning Xi's tone obviously softened significantly when she spoke to Ji Yumeng.

  That lowered tone…


  Ji Yumeng subconsciously pinched her softened ears, "Senior, may I have your phone number?"