The Shadow Queen: Flirty and Pampered (GL) - Chapter 4

The next day. Filming was scheduled for 10 a.m., but Gu Yinglian arrived at 9 on the dot—exactly an hour early.

The secretary’s makeup was simple, while the president’s required more finesse. Once done, Ye Yansheng really did summon her to rehearse.

Ye Yansheng earnestly explained her thoughts, the designed scenario, and the expected reactions from the other party… Gu Yinglian listened in stunned silence. She couldn’t help but wonder—she was just the CEO’s secretary, an insignificant character in the play, so why was this A-list actress spending time and effort rehearsing lines with her? Wasn’t this a bit of an overreaction?

The playful tone from yesterday’s phone call was nowhere to be found now, replaced only by a professional discussion. Yes, professional.

Ye Yansheng chuckled, “If you keep staring at me like this, I might lose control.”

Gu Yinglian: “…”

Gu Yinglian decided to retract her earlier thought. She was indeed professional—a professional pervert.

Ye Yansheng: “Did you actually listen to what I said, or were you too busy drooling over my beauty to remember anything?”

Gu Yinglian stared at her blankly, looking adorably clueless. Ye Yansheng couldn’t help but laugh. “It’s fine. You’re not that important anyway—just focus on being cute.”

Gu Yinglian: “If I’m not important, why did you spend so much effort going over the script with me?”

Ye Yansheng: “Unimportant in the script doesn’t mean unimportant off-screen. I told you—I fell for you at first sight and can’t let go.”

When she wasn’t being sarcastic, Gu Yinglian found her quite easy to talk to—except for the fact that she often spouted nonsense…

“Do you like me even a little?” Ye Yansheng asked.

“No, I’m not interested in women,” Gu Yinglian replied.

“Oh? Then you’re quite the challenge for me,” Ye Yansheng said. “It might take some time to turn you.”

Gu Yinglian remained expressionless. Ye Yansheng continued, “Do you have a boyfriend? I don’t want to be a homewrecker.”

“No,” Gu Yinglian sighed. She had been single for all 25 years of her life. Though she knew men existed, she had never seriously considered having a boyfriend.

Ye Yansheng: “Hmm? Perfect timing then. Why not join me in this wonderful fantasy? You’d enjoy it. Or—are you scared? Afraid of what others might say?”

Gu Yinglian rolled her eyes. Were they really this familiar? It felt like they were having some kind of heart-to-heart—what was with this bizarre instant closeness?

Just then, the director called for filming to begin.

During the shoot, Gu Yinglian noticed something odd. Whether the director thought her role was insignificant or not, he barely gave her any guidance. The scenes were shot just like that—no criticism, no praise.

Maybe the director was doing it out of respect for Ye Yansheng? After all, whenever she acted opposite Ye Yansheng, she was effortlessly pulled into the scene, as if she were playing herself—completely natural, no acting required.

This time, they were filming a business negotiation scene. Apart from the CEO and his secretary, other high-ranking executives were also present. The director wanted to capture that powerful, wind-swept stride—”Roaming freely through the storm, admired by all…” Wait, wrong BGM. Try again—”In a single moment, a million possibilities…”

Here they came, walking with an air of authority—the CEO in the center, his secretary to his right, five people in total. A wind machine roared beside them, making the scene as dramatic as possible.

Gu Yinglian started off well, but soon, their pace (all of them with long legs) became too fast for her. Her legs tangled, and she accidentally stepped on a wet patch. Her high heel slipped forward. “Ah—” Her face paled as she started to fall backward.

Ye Yansheng reacted instantly, wrapping an arm around her waist to steady her. “Are you alright, Secretary Jin?” A gentle voice of concern sounded above her.

“?” Gu Yinglian looked at her with a slight upward curve at the corner of her mouth, as if taking pleasure in her misfortune. “It’s nothing,” Gu Yinglian blushed and straightened up. This little incident was purely accidental, but since the director didn’t call for a cut, they continued moving forward.

The director stroked his beard as he watched the footage on the monitor. “Hmm, not bad, not bad. Very realistic. A close-up would make it perfect.”

Once the scene wrapped, Ye Yansheng approached the director. “Director, we really need to keep the set clean in the future. There was water on the floor—what if someone slipped and got hurt? We’re all wearing high heels, after all.”

The director assured her he’d be more careful next time and called Gu Yinglian over to ask if she was injured, offering some words of concern. Gu Yinglian was flustered by the unexpected attention and repeatedly insisted she was fine. Tripping in high heels was such a trivial matter to her, hardly worth mentioning. Besides, it was her own nervousness that had caused the mistake. The fact that the director wasn’t blaming her was already a relief, let alone showing concern…

Gu Yinglian glanced at Ye Yansheng standing nearby, who gave her a smirk—one so devilishly charming that it made Gu Yinglian’s heart race. Before, Gu Yinglian couldn’t understand how love could blossom between two women, but now she was beginning to see it. There really were women in the world who could be both alluring and dotting, exuding the full aura of a domineering CEO. How could anyone resist that?

Seeing there was nothing else for her to do, Gu Yinglian quickly seized the chance to slip away. Ye Yansheng stayed behind to discuss the plot and character development with the director. The next scenes involved Ye Yansheng and other actors, so Gu Yinglian was no longer needed.

Most of Gu Yinglian’s scenes were shot with Ye Yansheng, primarily set in the “company.” There were a few outdoor scenes, but they were minor and insignificant—filmed but uncertain if they’d make the final cut.

Gu Yinglian’s scenes were shot in chronological order, following the plot’s progression. But Ye Yansheng’s scenes weren’t.

As the female lead, Ye Yansheng had romantic scenes with the male lead. In Gu Yinglian’s recollection, Ye Yansheng’s character hadn’t even officially met the male lead in the story yet, but today they were filming a rather intimate “wall slam” scene—something that should have happened after several encounters, when the male lead had started developing feelings. For two actors who barely knew each other to immediately immerse themselves in the emotions of the scene, pretending they were already acquainted, was a real test of their acting skills. But for professionals, it wasn’t a big deal.

Gu Yinglian watched from the sidelines as the laid-back male lead argued with Ye Yansheng about something, then grabbed her wrist, pinned her against the wall, and leaned in close… It felt jarring to Gu Yinglian. Ye Yansheng shouldn’t be like this—she shouldn’t fit the fragile, damsel-in-distress archetype. If anything, it would make more sense if she were the one slamming the male lead against the wall.

“Cut!” the director called out, turning to Ye Yansheng. “Xiao Ye, put more emotion into it! Where are your eyes looking? At the male lead in front of you!” The director sighed, feeling like he had endless things to worry about.

Ye Yansheng glanced at the director, then swept her gaze over to Gu Yinglian before responding, “Got it, Director.”

After a moment’s thought, the director added, “Let’s add a kissing scene. What you’re doing now is too superficial—it lacks impact…”

Before he could finish, Ye Yansheng cut him off. “Adding scenes? You’ll need to discuss that with my agency first. We’ll shoot it once everything’s settled.”

“Come on, it’s just one shot,” the director said impatiently. “We can use camera angles—fake it, okay?”

“No kissing scenes. If you want a kissing scene, find a body double,” Ye Yansheng firmly refused.

“Where are we supposed to find a body double at this point…” The director glanced at Gu Yinglian. “How about you step in?”

Gu Yinglian shook her head vigorously. “No, no, Director, I can’t…”

“Oh?” Ye Yansheng walked over, hooked a finger under Gu Yinglian’s chin, and said to the director, “You want to film a kissing scene between me and her? As many as you like~”

Director: “…”