I Became the White Moonlight’s Ex-Wife (GL) - Chapter 13

The netizens’ attitudes were surprisingly kind. The angry fans of the book who saw the post immediately calmed down after reading the analysis from “rational netizens” and even started making jokes.

“Zhaoyang actually dared to make Wen Su do 27 takes. I suspect this Weibo post is from a fake fan trying to stir up trouble.”

“Hahahahaha, if it’s true, it makes the show even more exciting! The director actually dared to make her do 27 takes. That shows how high the director’s standards are for the actors, so the final product won’t be bad.”

“Excited +1. To be blunt, Wen Su is already confirmed to be in the show, so there’s no point in protesting. This also proves Zhaoyang’s strict standards for actors.”

“Is Wen Su justified in playing on her phone on set? Everyone else is reading their scripts, but her acting is so bad, and she’s not even reading the script. Of course, she’s going to mess up. They haven’t even talked about how she’s slowing down the other actors. The ones who say they’re excited must have been paid.”

“Where’s the evidence for 27 consecutive reshoots? Believe everything you hear without a shred of evidence. These gossip accounts just post a few pictures and call it evidence. Are netizens that easy to fool?”

“I don’t want to say anything, but the audience’s standards are getting lower and lower. Wen Su doesn’t work hard. She constantly messes up during filming, which slows down the other actors. And yet, everyone thinks this is a good thing. It’s pathetic.”

“If you don’t want to say anything, then shut up. Stop with that nonsense. What’s the point of saying that to the audience? Are those popular actors really the audience’s choice? At least now things are starting to look up, and you people are just killing it. I don’t understand what you’re trying to prove.”

“I think it’s pretty good. At least they’re making her do 27 takes. I’m about to become a fan of Wen Su now. /laughs”

“I can’t wait for the final product!”

Wen Su, who was scrolling through her phone out of boredom, naturally saw the Weibo post. She didn’t know what kind of face to make. She had messed up at most three times. The post made it sound like it was about another actress.

Not only Wen Su, but the other crew members also saw the post. The atmosphere on set became subtly awkward, especially when Wen Su and Shen Manhui were filming a scene together. The feeling was particularly palpable.

If they hadn’t seen it with their own eyes, they wouldn’t have believed that the actress who messed up so many times was Shen Manhui, while Wen Su, who was usually described as a blank-faced robot by the public, got it in one take.

Even Shen Manhui, who had been focused on studying her script, found out about the post from her assistant. Her face felt hot, and she was incredibly conflicted. Because of her embarrassment, she felt sorry every time she saw Wen Su looking down at her phone.

Perhaps it was her guilt acting up, but Shen Manhui studied her script even more diligently. The already high filming efficiency increased, and the number of filming days was shortened. Wen Su’s scenes, which were supposed to take two months to film, were now scheduled to be finished in a month and a half.

Her scenes as Princess Anning were the first to be completed. The director threw a wrap party for her and gave her a big red envelope.

The filming schedule was already set according to the actors’ availability. Now that her role as Princess Anning was finished early, Wen Su would still stay on set to film her later scenes as the young lord.

It wasn’t a formal wrap party, but a chance for everyone to relax.

After spending so much time together, everyone was much more familiar with each other. Even Wen Su was pressured by her co-stars to drink, but she mostly just drank tea instead of alcohol.

The director, Su Qiao, who was a little tipsy, pulled Wen Su aside and said earnestly, “I don’t care about what happened before, but after working with you, I think it’s a shame to have an actor like you in an idol drama. You’re very famous. You should go into movies or legitimate TV shows. Don’t waste your youth.”

Wen Su found it a little funny, but she also knew that Su Qiao was being sincere. Other actors wanted to get into these kinds of shows but couldn’t because they weren’t commercially valuable. But Wen Su had the looks, the acting skills, and the commercial value. It was a waste for her to stay in idol dramas.

“I know. Thank you, Director Su,” Wen Su said with genuine gratitude.

Su Qiao waved his hand, then lowered his voice slightly. “I know you don’t seem to be lacking in resources, but you know what’s going on between Wanyuan and Yueqi. If you want to get into movies, I can help you with that.”

Yueqi was a major entertainment company in the industry. Ten years ago, it was a small, unknown company. But then it suddenly rose and acquired and merged with several old media companies, eventually becoming the giant it was today.

Because Yueqi had two famous directors, Liang Zhou and Qiu Yiming, they were like a brand.

Wen Su had also heard about the conflict Su Qiao was talking about.

Wanyuan controlled the largest theater chain in the country. It had invested in a few movies before. At one point, one of their movies was released at the same time as a new film by Qiu Yiming. Both movies were submitted to an international film festival. Qiu Yiming’s film wasn’t selected, but Wanyuan’s won several awards. Wanyuan naturally had high hopes for this movie, but Yueqi played a trick, and the film, which had already passed its review, was held up for another review.

Because of the delay, Wanyuan suffered significant losses and the movie was never released. The director went bankrupt and never made another movie.

Since then, Wanyuan and Yueqi have been at odds. Wanyuan would give Yueqi’s movies a very low screening rate. Recently, Liang Zhou’s new film, Dreaming of the Ancient City, was given a screening rate of only 5%, which resulted in the 70 million yuan investment only getting a little over 100 million yuan at the box office, not even making its money back. The two giants have had several arguments.

Yueqi didn’t want to be controlled by Wanyuan, so it acquired and merged with small theater chains. Now, it was a considerable size and had a big impact on Wanyuan.

As the only daughter of Wanyuan’s chairman, Wen Su couldn’t possibly cooperate with Yueqi. Otherwise, her mother would jump up and hit her.

Thinking about this, Wen Su had some ideas for her future career. She could invest in directors to make movies. If all else fails, she could even make them herself.

After the wrap party, Wen Su returned to her hotel room smelling of alcohol. Shen Manhui also returned with her. Wen Su was about to open her door and go inside to rest, but Shen Manhui stopped her.

Shen Manhui had a lot to drink but wasn’t so drunk that she couldn’t walk. The look in her eyes was surprisingly bright. For a moment, Wen Su felt like she was going to be burned.

“I’m sorry,” Shen Manhui said, slurring a little, her pretty face flushed red. “I didn’t do what was posted online. I’m sorry I caused you a negative impact.”

A hint of surprise flashed in Wen Su’s eyes. She didn’t expect Shen Manhui to come and apologize to her. It was true that Shen Manhui didn’t do it. Shen Manhui’s company was different from Yueqi’s. The former didn’t like sensationalizing and was a rare exception in the industry. Yueqi, on the other hand, believed that any publicity was good publicity and would often throw shade at their artists just to create a buzz.

Even so, Wen Su remained expressionless. “It’s fine.”

Those netizens couldn’t hurt her no matter how angry they were. She just had to focus on filming. Her work would be the best response.

Shen Manhui was still feeling uneasy, especially after realizing how bad her acting was. She couldn’t help but wonder if the awards she won in her previous life were rigged. Why was she so utterly crushed by Wen Su in this life? If she hadn’t caused that scandal in her previous life, she would have wanted to transition into movies. Now, she saw that she needed to work on her acting skills.

“You—” Shen Manhui started, then hesitated for a moment before asking, “I remember you’re not a professionally trained actor. How can you be so good?”

Why?

Wen Su suddenly remembered what her mentor had said about her. A subtle smile appeared in her eyes. “Because I’m a born actor.”

Her tone was nonchalant but with a sense of certainty. Her pride was almost palpable.

Even Shen Manhui, who knew how arrogant she was, was stunned.

Did she hear that right?

Wen Su said she was a born actor?

Before Shen Manhui could ask any more questions, Wen Su said, “If there’s nothing else, you should go back.”

Just kidding. No one would know that she wasn’t the original Wen Su. Everyone knew how arrogant the original owner was. Saying this, no one would be able to find fault with her. Even if they brought up her previous works, she could just ignore it. From Chronicles of Yunling onwards, she would put her all into every role. The public would only see the result and wouldn’t be curious about the process.

Shen Manhui’s steps were shaky as she walked back. She stumbled and fell forward. Shen Manhui let out a surprised cry.

Wen Su’s brain hadn’t caught up yet, but her body had already reacted. She rushed forward in a few steps and grabbed her.

The pull almost dislocated Shen Manhui’s shoulder. Shen Manhui, who was now steady with Wen Su’s help, let out a deep sigh of relief. A grateful smile appeared on her face. “Thank you.”

Seeing that she was standing straight, Wen Su let go and said, “Watch your step,” before turning back to her room.

The scenes as Princess Anning were done, so Wen Su didn’t have to switch between the two roles, which made her feel less pressured.

Wen Su’s head was much clearer after her shower. She casually wrapped her wet short hair in a towel and lay on the bed, scrolling through Weibo to find her daily dose of entertainment.

She had just scrolled past two funny posts when her manager, Sister Jing, called her.

“I heard your scenes as Princess Anning are done?” Sister Jing’s voice was filled with a joy she couldn’t hide. “You’ll be back on the twenty-fifth. At the end of the month, you have to do a promotional photo shoot for Camille.”

Wen Su knew. She was filming her scenes early because of this promotional photo shoot. After she was done with the photo shoot, she would return to the set to film the final scenes.

“Yeah,” she replied lazily.

Xiao Sheng had been with her all this time. Sister Jing had some family issues and wasn’t on set.

Sister Jing thought for a moment and said, “Don’t pay attention to the things on the hot search. Just let your work speak for itself. Netizens have short memories.”

If even Su Qiao hadn’t told her how amazing Wen Su was, she wouldn’t have believed that Wen Su was the one-take wonder and that the one with all the reshoots was Shen Manhui, who was known for her good acting among the young actresses.

“Mhm.”

Sister Jing was used to her short responses and continued to comfort her. “Director Su also called me yesterday to praise you. You have to stay consistent. Once Chronicles of Yunling is released, you’ll have a comeback.”

“Mhm.”

“Also, I have two TV show offers. Both are for the female lead. One is Graduation Love Manual, a new film by director Zhao Wanyue. It’s about a few girls who just graduated and their love and work lives in the capital. The female lead is a top student who has a smooth journey. The other is a spy war drama from the Republican era called Killing Intent. This is a big production by director Kong Yuxiang. We are the third investor. The original novel is excellent, and director Kong Yuxiang is a master of spy war dramas. Although it’s not as big of a role as the female lead in Graduation Manual, the female lead has a lot of scenes, just slightly less than the male lead.”

Wen Su perked up at this. The original owner had such bad acting skills, yet she was able to get such good resources, and for the female lead role, no less.

Wen Su asked, “Which one do you think is better?”

Sister Jing pondered. “Both are adaptations of novels. I’ve read both, and I recommend Killing Intent.”

Wen Su wasn’t in a hurry. “I’ll read the novel first and let you know.”

Sister Jing reminded her, “You’d better do it quickly. Both of these are excellent opportunities.”

After hanging up, Wen Su planned to skim through both novels. Before she could find the first one, a WeChat message popped up at the top of her screen:

Chu Jingshu: I have a problem. It’s a little tricky.

Chu Jingshu: Can you help me with some advice?

This was the first time Chu Jingshu had ever asked her for help. Wen Su didn’t hesitate and asked her what was wrong.

The other side replied quickly. Wen Su could almost see her anxiously waiting.

Chu Jingshu: Do you remember Fang Yingru? She was my bridesmaid when we got married, and then she went abroad to work.

Chu Jingshu: She came back a few days ago, asked me out for dinner, and then confessed to me.

Huh???

Didn’t they agree it was going to be Shen Manhui?

Where did this Fang Yingru come from?

Author’s Note:

Chu Jingshu: Just as planned. Check.