Hi, Wifey! [Entertainment Industry] - Chapter 4

The next day at the film set, since it was the first day of shooting, almost everyone had arrived by 7:30 am. The summer morning still carried some lingering heat as people casually prepared equipment while chatting.

Fu Xia arrived precisely on time—Zhou Wen had instructed her not to arrive too early or too late. Just be punctual, no need to complicate things.

The first scene was an outdoor shoot. Many were still drowsy in the early morning when they were jolted awake by a delivery of iced coffee.

As the delivery guy handed over the drinks, Zhou Wen counted them before announcing to the crew and actors, “Fu Xia is treating everyone to coffee! Don’t hold back—let’s all do our best on the first day!”

Hearing about free coffee, everyone happily gathered around, accepting the cups from Zhou Wen with smiles and thanks.

“Thanks, sis!”

Zhou Wen, petite and infectiously cheerful, stood by the crate of iced coffee, handing them out. No one could resist a summer treat, and everyone enjoyed their drinks.

Once all the coffee had been distributed, Zhou Wen grabbed two cups and ducked into the car, one foot inside and the other still outside. Leaning in, she said to Fu Xia, who was playing a game inside, “All the coffee’s been handed out. Take these two to Director Chen and the assistant director.”

Fu Xia nodded, exiting the game and adjusting her cap. “Where are they?”

Zhou Wen pointed toward the crane camera nearby. “Over there.”

Fu Xia glanced in that direction, then headed over, greeting Director Chen before setting down the coffee.

Truthfully, Fu Xia wasn’t one to cozy up to directors. She was naturally awkward with words, yet her agency had insisted on branding her as a “social butterfly” in the entertainment industry. At first, it had led to plenty of embarrassing moments—some even joked that Fu Xia wasn’t a social butterfly but more like a wrecking ball at social events.

After exchanging a few strained words with Director Chen, Fu Xia went to get into costume and makeup, preparing for the shoot.

The first scene required Fu Xia to stand outside an apartment building in high heels and a sleek red designer dress, sunglasses on, waiting for her landlord—played by Cheng Wanyu, the elite female lead—to return home.

It should have been a simple meet-cute between the two leads, but Fu Xia needed three takes to get it right. Not the smoothest start.

It wasn’t entirely her fault—she was nervous, especially since this was her first time acting opposite Cheng Wanyu. As the morning progressed, she gradually found her footing. Whether her acting was good or not, at least the number of retakes decreased.

At lunch, everyone took a rare break, retreating to the air-conditioned apartment to eat their boxed meals.

The crew had rented a two-story duplex, each floor about 60-70 square meters. Fu Xia rested upstairs, picking at her food half-heartedly. Seeing her exhaustion, Zhou Wen gave her own chicken drumstick to her.

“I have to go back to the company this afternoon,” Zhou Wen said between bites. “I’ll pick you up at 4 pm. If you wrap up early, call me, and I’ll have the driver take you back to the hotel first.”

Fu Xia nodded weakly, shoving a mouthful of rice into her mouth.

In the afternoon, Zhou Wen left, leaving Fu Xia alone in the crew room with the air conditioning on. At this time, everyone was downstairs filming Cheng Wanyu’s scenes, so Fu Xia had nothing to do. She curled up on a chair, scrolling through her phone while waiting for her next scene to be called.

Bored with Weibo, Fu Xia remembered the fan community she had discovered the night before. Quietly switching to her alternate account, she searched for the “ChengFu Ship” super topic.

Yesterday, she had only glanced at it briefly, but today she took the time to browse through it properly. She found that this fanfiction community, dedicated to the pairing of Cheng Wanyu and Fu Xia, had actually been around for nearly two years. It had tens of thousands of followers, with several influential fan accounts posting beautifully edited photos of the two of them.

Some were from years ago, when they had attended the same event, while others were more recent—like the time they had coincidentally been on the same flight and encountered fans at the airport. Fu Xia remembered that incident clearly. At the time, their respective fanbases had gotten into a physical altercation, pulling hair and tearing clothes.

Fu Xia only learned about the incident after seeing it trending. Both of their studios had issued statements urging fans to support them rationally and avoid illegal behavior.

Now, as she looked at the edited airport photo, she zoomed in and noticed Cheng Wanyu standing in the background, barely visible in the corner of the frame.

The figure was too small to make out clearly, but Fu Xia could see she was dressed entirely in black—long sleeves, pants, and a cap—almost like a ninja.

Fu Xia didn’t recall Cheng Wanyu walking behind her at the time, but she didn’t dwell on it. Instead, she admired the edited version of herself in the photo—wearing a crop top, a knitted cardigan, and flared jeans that made her legs look long and slender. One hand held her bag while the other pressed down on her hat. Though her face wasn’t clearly visible, her confident stride made her look effortlessly stylish.

No one could resist appreciating a well-edited photo of themselves. Satisfied, Fu Xia saved the image.

Just as she did, she heard a voice call out.

“Teacher Cheng, you’ve worked hard. Come take a break.”

Fu Xia looked up just as Cheng Wanyu reached the top of the stairs. Their eyes met. Today, Cheng Wanyu was wearing a purple blazer over a white blouse, her makeup accentuating her refined features.

Her sleek black hair added to her polished, professional aura.

As their gazes locked, Fu Xia noticed the deep, ink-black pupils and wondered: Is she wearing colored contacts again today?

A crew member noticed Fu Xia and said, “Teacher Fu, they’re still filming the supporting cast downstairs. You can keep resting—I’ll come get you when it’s your turn.”

“Oh, okay,” Fu Xia replied politely. “Thank you.”

“No problem. Teacher Cheng, please have a seat. Is the AC too cold? Should I adjust it?”

“No need, it’s fine like this.”

“Alright, then rest well. I’ll head back down.”

“Mm.”

Watching the crew member go downstairs, the second floor was suddenly left with just Fu Xia and Cheng Wanyu. Holding her phone, Fu Xia suddenly felt nervous. To be honest, she was especially afraid of being alone with Cheng Wanyu, even feeling that breathing the same air was sinful.

After all, Cheng Wanyu’s fans were notoriously vicious when it came to online attacks.

The air carried a faint hint of cool fragrance—Fu Xia guessed it might be the perfume Cheng Wanyu had worn today. Unlike her own orange soda scent, it had an intellectual, sophisticated quality.

“Thank you for the coffee.”

Seeing Fu Xia looking down at her phone, Cheng Wanyu spoke first: “The coffee was very good.”

Hearing her speak, Fu Xia looked up with a smile: “That was Assistant Zhou’s idea. She insisted on buying it, saying yesterday’s trending topic caused a lot of trouble for the crew, so the coffee was meant as an apology.”

Cheng Wanyu’s dark, bright eyes looked at her, seeming to hold amusement: “An apology?”

Fu Xia instinctively shut her mouth. Although Zhou Wen hadn’t told her to keep it secret, she felt this wasn’t something she should say to someone she ‘wasn’t close to’ like Cheng Wanyu. Hurriedly she added: “As long as you liked it. I can buy more tomorrow if you want.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Cheng Wanyu said. “With so many people in the crew, you’d go broke buying coffee every day.”

“No I wouldn’t,” Fu Xia said. “I have plenty of money.”

Cheng Wanyu looked at her with interest: “Oh? Is this how Teacher Fu normally speaks?”

Fu Xia closed her mouth again. She could sense Cheng Wanyu’s ‘malice’—probably thinking she spoke without thinking, having revealed too much in just two sentences, further cementing her ‘useless pretty face’ persona.

Under Cheng Wanyu’s gaze, the little voice in Fu Xia’s head screamed: Didn’t they say less talk means fewer mistakes? You’re not even close with Cheng Wanyu, why can’t you think before speaking?!

Long ago, Zhou Wen had warned Fu Xia to speak less and do more—if she didn’t need to talk, she should keep quiet. If she could convey meaning through actions, she shouldn’t speak. In short, just stand there and definitely don’t talk.

Fu Xia suddenly missed Zhou Wen terribly, realizing what a wise and rare treasure of an assistant she was!

“I’m not usually like this,” Fu Xia said with a bitter smile. “I just feel very comfortable around Teacher Cheng, so I ended up talking more.”

The corners of Cheng Wanyu’s lips quirked—whether in mockery or amusement was unclear.

Feeling the air in the room had grown stifling, Fu Xia stood up: “Teacher Cheng, please rest here. I’m going downstairs to the restroom.”

“Alright.”

Fu Xia practically fled in panic, her footsteps thundering down the stairs until irritated glances from crew members made her tiptoe the rest of the way before slipping into the bathroom.

Unexpectedly, the bathroom was already occupied—it sounded like two people changing clothes inside.

With so many crew members and limited changing areas, bathrooms often doubled as dressing rooms, especially during apartment scenes when every room was in use. Many personal items ended up stored in bathrooms where people changed.

“The shooting schedule is moving so slowly. A whole day just to get this far—much slower than other crews I’ve worked with.”

“Right? Modern dramas usually shoot faster than period pieces, but who knew this one would drag on like this.”

“It’s all because of that Fu Xia. The whole morning was spent filming her scenes, and everything got delayed.”

“Ugh, speaking of Fu Xia, seeing her once is worse than hearing about her a hundred times. She has zero acting skills—no idea how she even got into the crew.”

“How else? That’s just how the entertainment industry is—a complete mess. She’s just lucky, with her looks, otherwise how could she have gotten to act opposite Cheng Wanyu?”

“Shh, keep it down. There are people outside.”

“What’s there to be afraid of? Fu Xia’s upstairs. These big stars are all the same—won’t lift a finger until it’s time to work. She’s glued to her phone all day, doesn’t even read the script, relies entirely on cue cards. And this morning, buying coffee for everyone? Just a way to buy our silence. Probably a regular tactic for her.”

“Really? I thought she was just being nice, treating the crew to coffee. So it was just preemptive damage control?”

“What else did you think? People like her—I’ve seen plenty.”

Rustle—

The two changed their clothes and pulled back the curtain, only to run straight into Fu Xia standing right outside. They froze, breath caught in their throats as they saw her standing there, silent and composed, watching them.

Getting caught badmouthing the person in question—now that was a real problem!