Rapid Collapse (GL) - Chapter 18

“Uh…” At this moment, Shen Xi’s mind was racing. She slowly sat up, raised her hand to tuck her scattered hair behind her ear, and her eyes brightened. When she looked up again, her face was serious as she spoke. “Director Zhou, I don’t think a kiss scene is necessary every time emotions run deep between the two female leads. That feels too petty. Besides, in a show with just over ten episodes, there are already more than twenty kiss scenes.

That seems too shallow.”

Zhou Heyang was puzzled. “…But weren’t you the one who wrote this?”

“Yes, I wrote it… but I mean, we can use other subtle details to convey their emotions.”

Shen Xi spoke quickly, her stiff smile and unusual hand gestures making her look flustered—completely out of character for her.

Standing next to Zhou Heyang, Han Ning turned her head and looked at Shen Xi, a faint, almost imperceptible smile flickering in her eyes.

Though Zhou Heyang seemed lost in the conversation, Han Ning understood.

Thinking back to the argument between Shen Xi and Han Ning last time, and now seeing Shen Xi frantically deleting over twenty kiss scenes from the script—wasn’t she just trying to reduce the chances of kiss scenes?

After a lot of effort, Zhou Heyang seemed to grasp Shen Xi’s point.

Han Ning turned to Zhou Heyang and asked, “Director Zhou, as a director, from an artistic perspective, imagine a beautiful woman—would you prefer her to be draped in a sheer veil, dancing gracefully to the music, or lying completely bare, like a fish on a cutting board?”

Zhou Heyang thought for a few seconds and mumbled, “Of course, the first one.”

“Exactly. Some things are best left to the imagination. If you make it too explicit, it feels forced. Take the over twenty kiss scenes that Shen Xi removed, for example. I think it was absolutely necessary. Keeping them would only make it harder to pass censorship,”

Han Ning emphasized the last sentence.

“Really?”

“Yes, exactly, hard to pass censorship,” Shen Xi quickly chimed in.

“…That makes sense,” Zhou Heyang nodded and left with the script.

As soon as he was gone, Shen Xi let out a small sigh of relief. This had been weighing on her mind, and she wasn’t sure how to explain it to Zhou Heyang. Now that it was resolved, she felt like a burden had been lifted.

Her little sigh didn’t escape Han Ning’s notice. Han Ning walked up to her and, watching her sit back down, whispered, “Shen Xi, how could you bear to delete so many kiss scenes?”

Shen Xi glanced at her, her voice laced with sarcasm. “Oh? From the way you’re talking, it sounds like you’re more reluctant than I am.” She then lifted her head, her smile not reaching her eyes as she teased, “Should I add a few more for you?”

With Shen Xi’s slightly sinister beauty and the way she spoke, Han Ning could practically sense the danger in the air.

A shiver ran down Han Ning’s spine. She quickly clasped her hands together and grinned.”No need to trouble you, great writer. I’ll go memorize my lines…” With that, she scurried away before Shen Xi could say anything else.

Watching her retreating figure and her slightly panicked expression, Shen Xi couldn’t help but chuckle.

By six in the evening, the beach was cleared, with no tourists around. The filming went smoothly.

Shen Xi saved her document, closed her laptop, and stood up. Looking out at the sea, she rarely paid attention to natural scenery, but now she found the sunlight soft, no longer harsh like in the daytime. It made her feel peaceful, as if she were being healed by nature.

Her phone vibrated on the table. She glanced at it, and her mood instantly sank again.

She declined the call—it was Shen Fengmei.

She didn’t want to answer. If Shen Fengmei was calling, it was undoubtedly because she had lost all her money again and wanted more. Shen Xi closed her eyes tightly, her eyelashes trembling. Her mind was filled with images of Shen Fengmei’s greed and harsh words.

When will I finally be free of her?

No longer in the mood to watch Han Ning film, Shen Xi grabbed her phone and laptop and left the beach.

About thirty minutes later, she arrived at the underground parking lot of Yuhe Star Garden. She got out of the car with a troubled expression when her phone rang again—it was Han Ning.

She hesitated for a few seconds before answering but said nothing.

Han Ning asked where she had gone. Shen Xi replied, “I had something to do, so I went home first.”

Han Ning had just finished work and was happily walking back when she noticed Shen Xi was nowhere to be seen. So she called.

“Are you okay? You sound… a little down,” Han Ning asked with concern.

“I’m fine…” Shen Xi sat on the sofa as her cat, Thunderstorm, jumped onto her lap, rubbing its head against her palm. Her mood lightened slightly as she stroked the cat’s head. “I’m just a little tired, so I came back early. I just want to be alone for a bit.”

Han Ning frowned but didn’t push. “Alright. Just don’t forget to eat properly.”

“I know. Bye…” Shen Xi forced a small smile and hung up.

After the call, Han Ning felt an inexplicable gloom as she drove home.

When she arrived, her cat, Lightning, lazily glanced at her from its bed and meowed in greeting before going back to sleep.

“Meow, meow, meow…” Han Ning changed into slippers and huffed over to the cat’s bed, rubbing its round little face with both hands. “Come here! Mom’s in a bad mood—give me a hug!”

Lightning was scooped up into an uncomfortable position, its expression clearly saying, “Annoying.”

“I really wish Shen Xi would talk to me about what’s on her mind… Normally, I don’t like listening to people complain, but if it’s her, I wouldn’t mind. I’d even help her curse out whoever upset her.” Han Ning sighed, opening a bag of snacks and feeding one to Lightning.

Lightning: At least you know your place.

Ignoring Han Ning’s complaints, Lightning focused on eating. When the food was gone, it even pawed at Han Ning for more. She fed it another piece and muttered, “What do you think Shen Xi is doing right now? Without me, would she feel bored?”

Lightning: Heh… Without you, she’d probably feel more at peace.

Before long, the bag of snacks was empty. Lightning licked its paws, stretched lazily, and strutted back to its bed, closing its eyes to rest.

Han Ning, bored out of her mind, changed into workout clothes and decided to go for a run.

After thirty minutes, she slowed to a brisk walk. Suddenly, she saw a white figure moving quickly in the distance, making her heart skip a beat. She froze in place, thinking she had seen a ghost.

Gathering her courage, she took a closer look. It wasn’t a ghost—it was Shen Xi. Next to her was a slightly shorter woman, and Shen Xi was carrying shopping bags.

Han Ning frowned, recalling the woman’s dry, lifeless yellow hair and worn-out tracksuit.

Then she remembered—this was Shen Xi’s mother.