How About A Divorce? - Chapter 17
Chapter 17: Sang Yun Duo
Lin Yanqing finished explaining everything in detail, but she found that Wen Yu was spacing out.
Lin Yanqing: “…”
She flicked Wen Yu’s forehead. Wen Yu’s eyes darted to her face, looking at her as if she were a ghost. “You don’t like Yuan Yiyang?”
I talked until my throat was dry, and all this person remembers is that sentence?
Lin Yanqing: “That’s not the main point.”
She was worried that Wen Yu would think she was trying to get her to stay away from Yuan Yiyang for personal reasons—which was partly true and a big part of it—but the reputation of their families was more important. So she wanted to bring up that point again to emphasize the main issue, but she didn’t expect Wen Yu to say loudly, “That’s the main point!”
Lin Yanqing: “?”
Wen Yu clicked her tongue. “You should have said so earlier. Why did I have to go through all that trouble?”
She had originally planned to stay with the crew for the entire time, but now Wen Yu just wanted to stay for two days to get a feel for it and then leave.
Wen Yu’s mood visibly improved. She even found the uninvited Lin Yanqing much more pleasant to look at. “I know. Don’t worry. I have a plan.”
Lin Yanqing didn’t know why Wen Yu was so happy. She also didn’t trust her plan. She wanted to say a few more words, but she heard Wen Yu say, “After the opening ceremony, I’ll watch for a bit, and then I’ll go home.”
Only then did Lin Yanqing let out a sigh of relief.
“So you came all the way here in the middle of the night just for this?” Wen Yu said. “Are you afraid that Yuan Yiyang and I will be photographed?”
Being photographed was secondary. Lin Yanqing was more afraid that Wen Yu, this insulated person, would spark a guilty flame with someone else.
But Lin Yanqing just nodded.
“Making a big fuss,” Wen Yu said. She then remembered a serious matter. “Where are you sleeping tonight?”
“Make some space for me on the bed.”
Lin Yanqing took off her jacket and walked toward the bathroom without any formalities. Wen Yu followed behind her and asked, “Did you bring clothes?”
“I’ll wear yours.”
“But I don’t have any new underwear,” Wen Yu frowned.
Lin Yanqing rarely had such a rushed trip. Since it was for a private matter, she didn’t bring an assistant. She just flew over alone without anything.
“I won’t wear any,” Lin Yanqing didn’t think it was a big deal. It was also hard to order takeout at Hengdian. She could just wear Wen Yu’s nightgown.
“Oh.” Wen Yu asked again, “What time are you leaving tomorrow?”
“Six o’clock.”
Wen Yu: “?”
That’s less than four hours left.
Wen Yu didn’t try to hold her to talk anymore. She told her to hurry up, finish her shower, and go to bed.
The next day, when Wen Yu woke up, Lin Yanqing was already gone. The other half of the bed was cold from the air conditioner, as if no one had ever been there.
Her nightgown was folded on the head of the bed, and there was a single strand of hair on it.
It was Lin Yanqing’s.
Wen Yu was still half-asleep. She picked up the hair and came to her senses. Only then did she truly realize that Lin Yanqing had slept for a short, fast-paced time at her place last night.
What a woman… She has endless energy.
So who is the person Lin Yanqing likes?
Now, Wen Yu’s already weak line of thought was completely cut off by “I don’t like Yuan Yiyang.” She even began to doubt if she had heard wrong, since the microphone might have been fuzzy.
Wen Yu decided to go back and talk to Lin Yanqing.
What she said last night enlightened her. Since both families cared so much about their reputation, and Lin Yanqing even made a special trip to stop her from having contact with Yuan Yiyang, then Lin Yanqing should also hold herself to the same moral standards.
She decided to ask her directly. Maybe it was all just a misunderstanding.
Maybe when Lin Yanqing said “like,” she meant she liked cats or dogs, just like she liked Zhao Dafeng, Li Guoqiang, and Wang Fengxia.
Wen Yu slowly got up. Shi Li had sent a message in the morning saying that they would hold the opening ceremony at 9 a.m. before the sun got too harsh.
She looked at the time. It was 8:30 a.m.
Although no one would dare to complain about her being late, for good luck, Wen Yu still rushed to the set.
A little past nine, the sun was not harsh, but it was hot. Wen Yu, wearing a hat and a mask, stood at the edge of the crowd. Her eyes scanned the scene.
Most of the people were already there.
A large three-legged bronze incense burner was placed at the very front.
Yuan Yiyang stood next to Shi Li. She was wearing a simple striped plaid shirt and sweatpants. Her long hair was tied up. She had a blank expression on her face and looked quite aloof.
The two of them stood in the first row. The assistant director and the others lined up with them at the center. Each person was holding three sticks of incense.
The staff were lighting them one by one.
Wen Yu’s hands were empty. She was about to go to the back to get three sticks of incense, but the small actor she had talked to yesterday pulled her away nervously. She was mumbling, “Why are you just getting here? Director Shi is so strict. How dare you be late for the opening ceremony!”
Wen Yu: “Ah… I’m not…”
“It’s okay. No one is paying attention to us right now. You should hold the incense first,” the small actor quickly pulled out three sticks of incense from a pile of plastic bags next to her. “Let’s go stand at the very back.”
Wen Yu was dragged to the last row just like that.
Most of the people’s incense sticks were lit. The crowd’s voices gradually quieted down. Wen Yu also lowered her voice. “Aren’t the actors supposed to stand at the front?”
“I’m just a small supporting actor. Short dramas don’t care about that,” the small actor said.
The lighter was passed to them. The two of them lit their incense and followed the group in front of them, bowing and offering the incense. After bowing three times, the main actors and directors in the first row inserted their incense into the censer. The people behind followed.
Wen Yu and the small actor went up together. After they inserted their incense, Wen Yu looked back and met Yuan Yiyang’s gaze. Yuan Yiyang even smiled at her.
After learning that there was no relationship between Yuan Yiyang and Lin Yanqing, Wen Yu found Yuan Yiyang to be much more pleasant. Who doesn’t like a beautiful, hardworking, and ambitious person?
Wen Yu smiled back. It was hidden under her mask, but her eyes were curved.
Shi Li also looked over. Wen Yu was about to nod to her, but the small actor suddenly took a quick half-step forward and blocked Wen Yu. She swung her hand behind her and whispered, “Walk faster. Director Shi is looking at us.”
The small actor pulled on Wen Yu’s sleeve. The two of them walked down quickly.
“In a big production like this, you have to be careful with every step. If you get caught making a mistake, it’s easy to be kicked out of the crew,” the small actor said. “You must be a newcomer, right? When the director looks at you, don’t make eye contact. It’s easy to get into trouble.”
Besides Wen Yinghuan, the small actor was the second person to lecture Wen Yu like this.
Her emotional intelligence was unknown, but she was kind-hearted.
She was so open to talking to a person she had only met once and didn’t know anything about. This kid was really brave. No wonder she looked good and seemed to have a good spirit, but she was only a small supporting actor.
She probably had a lot of people tripping her up and taking kickbacks.
The director’s team set off fireworks. The opening ceremony ended. Everyone was busy tidying up. Wen Yu, who was bothered by the sun, wanted to go back to the hotel first and come back later when the official filming started. But the small actor pulled Wen Yu and made her squat in an indoor corner, facing the air conditioner vent.
“It’s cool here. The filming is about to start. Let’s not run around.”
The small actor found two small stools. They each took one and squatted down to watch the people work.
Wen Yu looked at the set. A few actresses were rehearsing together. Shi Li was standing on the side, giving them guidance on the rhythm. The small actor suddenly said, “When will I be able to get a role as a female lead or a third lead?”
Wen Yu looked at her. She then said, “I’m just playing Yuan Yiyang’s prison roommate. I don’t have many lines.”
This story was a female-only prison theme. Yuan Yiyang’s character had a twin sister. The sister committed an economic crime, and the younger sister took her place and went to prison. Everyone thought the sister was a powerless little office worker. They tried to give her a hard time on the first day, but they didn’t expect the sister to turn around and bash the bullying gang’s heads in—because the sister was originally a wanted murderer.
The story was very simple. It was a “feel-good” drama. At the end, they would add some value to pass the censorship.
Shi Li had integrated elements like borderline incest into this story. With a mature market framework, the show would definitely do well.
In the past, no one dared to make this kind of pure “feel-good” drama with a strong female lead. After all, the previous short drama market favored men. All the highlights were given to men. Even in popular revenge dramas with female leads, some people would still talk about how charming the men were and how the market didn’t like men who weren’t bad.
Traditional film and television was even more so. Men often reaped the benefits, effortlessly rising to fame by sucking up the box office and viewership dividends carried by female characters. If a drama flopped, the female actress would be the scapegoat. They got all the good things and none of the bad. A bunch of people would still praise them, and at their thirties, they were still innocent big boys—pure at heart but with a working reproductive system. It was quite scary.
It was an undeniable truth that men had an easier time climbing the ladder until a female-only lab in Northern Europe announced the discovery of a hidden dual-female reproductive technology.
The female right to independent reproduction impacted the male-dominated social narrative. The ideological foundation of the world was falling apart. Unless a third world war broke out and this mature technology was buried with bombs, setting back global science by ten or twenty years, there was no way to re-establish male authority.
Fortunately, everyone “loved peace.”
For the sake of the birth rate, same-s3x female marriage was legalized, and some themes could be opened up without the need for strategic lesbianism.
The film and television industry also changed accordingly. Instead of nurturing those men who couldn’t be helped, it was better to turn their attention to each other.
Because some of the old-timers who held a lot of resources but had deeply ingrained ideas were still alive—and you couldn’t ask these people to all jump off a cliff at once—the short drama market became the front line for thematic changes.
Most female directors have an accurate grasp of the preferences of female audiences. The tension and sparks between actresses, under the lens of a female director, ignited this blue ocean like a single spark that spread like a wildfire.
Shi Li was one of the best. Many actresses under her had risen to fame because of same-s3x themes. In the market, besides some unprofessional actors who would reveal their relationships with men during the promotional period and some talented actors who didn’t need to sell a certain image to gain followers, most of the popular female actresses were working hard to get a share of this dividend before the market became saturated.
Yuan Yiyang’s image was very tough. A single look in her eyes was a whole show. Shi Li was very optimistic about her.
If the quality and promotion of this drama were on point, Shi Li would make a killing.
Wen Yu only had a general understanding. If Shi Li made her money, this extra money could be invested back into Qianchuan Films.
The small actor looked at the center of the set with envy. “I also want to make it big someday.”
Wen Yu: “Keep at it. You will.”
“Okay! Thank you!” The small actor cheered herself on. “I will definitely become popular!”
After Shi Li finished her arrangements, she turned and walked toward the monitor screen. Wen Yu and her were squatting behind the monitor. Their eyes met, and Shi Li was stunned for a moment.
What is this young lady squatting for?
Shi Li waved hello. Wen Yu hadn’t made a move yet, but the small actor got excited first. “Oh my god, the director is waving at me?”
Wen Yu raised an eyebrow. She took the small actor’s hand and raised it to wave at Shi Li. The small actor was confused but obedient, and the corners of her mouth couldn’t stop rising.
Shi Li: “?”
It was like seeing a kindergarten student meeting their teacher.
Shi Li walked over. “What are you doing?”
“Just playing,” Wen Yu stood up from the small stool. Only then did the small actor realize who Shi Li was waving at. She stood up stiffly and greeted her. “Hello, Director.”
Shi Li nodded at the small actor and looked at Wen Yu. “Do you want to come over here and take a look?” She gestured to the monitor screen.
“I can’t understand it,” Wen Yu said. “Go and be busy. Don’t worry about me.”
After sending Shi Li away, Wen Yu asked the small actor, “Do you want to eat together later?”
Worried that the person would be uncomfortable, Wen Yu added, “My partner is a friend of Director Shi, so Director Shi pays a little more attention to me. I’m just an insider who came to do some chores.”
The small actor was gullible. She immediately believed this explanation and let out a long sigh of relief. “I thought you were some big shot, sister. You scared me to death.”
“Let’s go eat,” the small actor said. “I heard the crew’s boxed meals are pretty good.”
Wen Yu had originally planned to order food at the hotel, but since she said that, she didn’t mind. As long as the person opposite her wasn’t Lin Yanqing, Wen Yu was very easy to please.
The two of them sat on the small stools with their boxed meals. The small actor broke her chopsticks and suddenly let out a gasp. “Oh, I haven’t introduced myself yet. My name is Sang Yun.”
Wen Yu was stunned by the name. “I have a friend whose name is very similar to yours,” she paused and added, “Her online name.”
“Then we’re very fated,” Sang Yun said. “Didn’t I say yesterday that you also look a lot like a friend of mine? She’s an online friend.”
Wen Yu blinked and pulled down her mask.
Sang Yun, who was in the middle of eating, looked up and suddenly choked, coughing violently. This person really couldn’t hide her emotions, or maybe she hadn’t reacted yet. Wen Yu could even read “fu*k” in her eyes.
Wen Yu handed her a cup of water and said with certainty, calling out her online name, “Sang Yun Duo.”
Sang Yun turned into a vivid and living question mark from all the coughing.