It’s Okay to Divorce - Chapter 08

“He fell in love with the child in my belly.”

Back at the hotel, Mu Mian sat in a chair to rest.

Ming Wei massaged her shoulders and clicked her tongue in admiration. “Zou Tingshen is quite generous. I’m starting to suspect that from the very beginning, he wanted to marry you because he had fallen for you.”

“Him falling for me? Heh, the chances of that are about as likely as me putting on weight until I reach 180 pounds—basically zero.” Mu Mian was seven months pregnant now, and her weight was only 117 pounds. Aside from her belly, the rest of her body hadn’t gained any fat.

She had that enviable metabolism where she couldn’t gain weight no matter what she ate, and she paid attention to her diet anyway, so reaching 180 pounds was utterly impossible.

—

“What? You’re giving shares to Mu Mian? Old Zou, have you lost your mind?” After hearing Zou Tingshen’s plan, Xu Lin nearly spat out a mouthful of bl00d.

Zou Tingshen was the boss, so whatever decision he made, Xu Lin had no right to interfere.

But the benefits Zou Tingshen was giving Mu Mian were fucking insane.

Xu Lin calmly analyzed it for him. “Mu Mian isn’t like you. Her most valuable decade was wasted at Donghua Media. She’s already thirty this year, and who knows how many injections that face has had to stay looking like that—it could collapse any day, and then she’d have zero commercial value.”

With Mu Mian’s potential, if she’d joined a good company early on and taken better scripts, she wouldn’t have had to wait until thirty to win a Best Actress award.

Without the constraints of a company, she could have become a legend in the entertainment industry, just like Zou Tingshen.

After all, she hadn’t gone international yet, and Donghua’s incompetence over the years had left much of her potential untapped.

Seeing Zou Tingshen’s indifferent expression, Xu Lin continued, “Her popularity and acting skills are decent, but her versatility isn’t high anymore.”

Once he finished, Zou Tingshen finally looked up at Xu Lin, as if he’d heard something amusing, and countered, “Oh? You think she lacks versatility?”

“In another two years, she could be playing moms,” Xu Lin said. “Signing her is fine, but there’s no need to go to such extremes. She’s about to give birth, and her figure is bound to change. If she takes time off, she’ll definitely be replaced by newcomers.”

“No, I actually believe that if we put our full effort into promoting her,” Zou Tingshen paused deliberately, “she won’t disappoint and will become a legendary goddess for a generation.”

“Come on.” Xu Lin scoffed at him. “You think this is the ’70s or ’80s when legends were made? Nowadays, whoever gets hyped becomes a legend!”

“Then hype her,” Zou Tingshen said. “She deserves the company’s full resources.”

Xu Lin saw how serious he was and was stunned for a moment.

After a long pause, he sighed. “Fine, let’s not talk about this for now. From what I know, Mu Mian’s contract termination is still six months away. We can revisit it then?”

Six months later, after the baby was born, the two might divorce.

By then, Zou Tingshen might not be so obsessed.

—

In the morning, it was a scene between Mu Mian and Yun Pei.

The wife, Ren Li, experienced fetal movement, and the male lead, Mo Shao, rushed her to the hospital. The wife’s bag was carried by the assistant, Qin Fei, the whole way, and a USB drive fell out.

Qin Fei thought about Ren Li’s company and position, so she secretly copied the data inside. After confessing to Mo Shao and being rejected and humiliated, she flew into a rage and sold Ren Li’s company’s bidding materials to a rival firm.

Ren Li went to the bid meeting with her pregnant belly and was shocked to see that her husband’s fired assistant was now by the side of President Lin from the rival company.

Fortunately, Ren Li had changed the bid amount beforehand, so she didn’t lose the bid. This smokeless war was narrowly won thanks to her sharp wits.

Afterward, the two women clinked glasses at the reception, kicking off a civilized catfight.

This scene was relatively simple, but Yun Pei kept messing up.

“Cut, cut, cut—” Feng Weijian called a halt, his short temper flaring as he yelled at Yun Pei. “Yun Pei, what’s wrong with you? This is the scene where you meet your love rival in a public setting. Your words should be laced with barbs, but your expression and eyes need to stay as polite as possible. What’s with that vicious look on your face? Did Mu Mian kill your whole family or something?”

Feng Weijian had a fiery temper on set and would blow up at anyone, no matter who they were.

Yun Pei flushed with embarrassment and quickly apologized. “Sorry, Director. Let’s try again.”

The clapperboard snapped, and the scene restarted.

In the banquet hall, guests mingled and toasted.

Ren Li held her phone, chatting with her best friend while picking fruits onto her plate. Spotting Qin Fei, she deliberately moved closer.

Her lips curled in disdain, her phoenix eyes narrowing slightly as she popped a cherry tomato into her mouth and let out a light scoff. “A pheasant crawling out of the countryside will always be a pheasant—it can never become a phoenix. Actually, getting caught seducing someone’s husband is one thing, but being rejected and mocked by the husband? That’s the real embarrassment.”

She smiled at Qin Fei and continued on the phone. “How ugly does a woman have to be to get that kind of disdain from a man?”

Ren Li said all this into the phone, but it stung Qin Fei deeply.

She wasn’t stupid; she knew Ren Li was targeting her.

Mu Mian’s smile was thick with sarcasm. For a moment, Yun Pei couldn’t tell if she was acting or taking a jab at her off-screen self.

Because of that smile, Yun Pei’s emotions surged, and her performance went to hell.

Her carefully composed mood was shattered again.

Feng Weijian called cut once more. “Cut, cut, cut—” He took a deep breath, waved Yun Pei over, and calmly explained the scene to her. Half an hour later, he asked, “Got it now? Missy, the whole crew is waiting on you. Please take this seriously, okay? You need to understand one thing: my set doesn’t tolerate amateurs or anyone slacking off.”

Feng Weijian had a solid reputation in the industry and couldn’t stand any nonsense on the job.

Yun Pei had no excuse to refute him and knew she was in the wrong, so she had to take the criticism.

“Okay.” Yun Pei took a deep breath.

She glanced toward Zou Tingshen. The man had heard Feng Weijian’s voice and looked up, his gaze meeting hers.

Yun Pei felt utterly ashamed.

Having her idol witness her NG so many times was mortifying enough to make her want to shed her skin.

The focus of this scene was on the supporting actress Qin Fei’s expressions and movements, so naturally, the female lead Ren Li had fewer close-ups.

When they restarted, Yun Pei finally understood why she’d messed up so many times.

Mu Mian, that old fox, had etched provocation into her eyes. Those acting eyes of hers kept tempting her to screw up.

It was like singing: even if you know the tune, if you sing with someone who’s off-key, it’s easy to get pulled off track.

That’s exactly what Yun Pei was experiencing now.

Mu Mian was constantly “misleading” her with her gaze, and before she knew it, she’d gone astray.

Realizing this, Yun Pei quickly pulled herself together and finished the scene smoothly.

The scene finally wrapped after a bumpy ride, and the next one was between Yun Pei and Zou Tingshen.

Once filming started, she encountered the same issue again.

She could understand Mu Mian using her eyes to throw her off and get her scolded.

But why did it feel like Zou Tingshen was… making things hard for her too? Was it her imagination?

That day, Yun Pei got chewed out by the director left and right, especially during scenes with her idol.

She was utterly humiliated.

Yun Pei’s acting wasn’t bad, but going up against two veteran actors exposed all her weaknesses.

Afterward, she overheard crew members questioning her skills.

They said she had no acting ability at all and had only gotten in through connections and resources.

Yun Pei: “…”

So her acting skills had been eaten by a dog?

—

At eleven that night, Mu Mian was sitting in her tent, enjoying the AC while reviewing the script, when a small commotion erupted outside.

She asked her assistant Li Wen, “What’s going on out there?”

Li Wen went out to check and came back. “Mu-jie, Boss Yun is visiting the set and brought midnight snacks for everyone. Do you want to go out and say hi?”

Mu Mian frowned slightly, leaning back in her chair without moving. She was about to speak when, speak of Cao Cao, Li Wen lifted the tent flap and entered, carrying two bags of snacks.

The man was 1.8 meters tall, middle-aged, and a bit pudgy, with a rounded belly. His features were affable, and when he looked at people, he smiled with crinkled eyes and crow’s feet.

“Mianmian, I’m here to see you.” Yun Haodong set the snacks in front of her, beaming. “I came especially for you.”

Li Wen had only been Mu Mian’s assistant for two months, and this was her first time seeing the legendary Yun Haodong in person.

He entered with an unmistakable big-boss aura, but the moment he spoke, that image crumbled. Li Wen stared in confusion.

Yun Haodong squatted in front of Mu Mian, looking at her like a tail-wagging puppy.

Seeing this, Li Wen figured it was best to leave them alone.

She stepped out of the tent and spotted the set manager approaching with a food box.

The set manager handed it over. “Li-jie, you’re in luck. Film Emperor Zou ordered chicken soup for everyone on the crew. Here, this is for you and Teacher Mu.”

“He ordered chicken soup for everyone?” Li Wen took the soup from the set manager, a bit puzzled.

The set manager sighed in delight. “We’re really spoiled tonight. Boss Yun ordered snacks for everyone, and Teacher Zou got us all chicken soup. What special day is it today?”