AD Chapter 21
The reason doesn't even need to be guessed—it's definitely to get back at Gu Lingfeng, to take revenge for that incident when he was in Gu Lingfeng's bed the day he made the phone call.
Su Ning felt this was truly an undeserved disaster.
It was Chu Zichen who called at that exact time, and it was Gu Lingfeng who answered without holding back. From beginning to end, he had no initiative whatsoever, and he definitely didn’t want to be involved, okay?
But in the end, Chu Zichen couldn’t do anything to Gu Lingfeng, so he took out his frustration on him. Gu Lingfeng, tired of dealing with Chu Zichen's tantrums, just threw him over here.
After all, he was just a lowly assistant, a mere stick to stir the fire.
He really couldn’t take it anymore.
On set, Chu Zichen was filming, and Su Ning had a rare break. Just then, he realized that Fan Xin, who didn’t have any scenes, had somehow sneaked up beside him and sat next to him on a small mat, looking up at the shooting scene.
This scene was a key part of the male lead, Chu Zichen’s character’s entrance. How well a character is introduced can have a big impact on how the audience perceives them, so the director paid extra attention to it.
The result? Chu Zichen got yelled "Cut" numerous times.
Though the director didn’t have high expectations for Chu Zichen’s acting, there were still some basic requirements. Who would have known that Chu Zichen could make such a mess of even this simple role?
The character he was playing was handsome, aloof, and narcissistic, with a simple script and minimal lines. Essentially, all he needed to do was look cool—basically, playing himself. Yet, somehow, even this simple role ended up with him making a complete mess of it.
When he wasn’t supposed to smile, he would give a "wicked smile." When he was supposed to smile, his face looked stiff, like his facial muscles had died. His exaggerated expressions made everything seem fake, ruining the charm of his otherwise good-looking face.
To put it bluntly, Chu Zichen not only failed to showcase the acting skills he should have, but he also managed to ruin the only thing he had going for him—his face.
"Tch, going too hard. Is he trying to become the emperor of screams or something?"
Suddenly, a voice beside Su Ning made him jump. He turned to see Fan Xin sitting next to him, though he didn’t know when she had come over. "Xin Jie, when did you get here?"
Fan Xin didn’t answer him. Instead, she stared at his face intensely, rubbing her chin and looking deep in thought. Su Ning was bewildered, shifting uncomfortably to the side. "Xin Jie, what’s wrong?"
"Actually, if you look closely, Su Ning, your looks aren't any worse than Chu Zichen's. I think, if you wanted to enter the entertainment industry, you’d act better than him," Fan Xin said with increasing excitement, as though she couldn’t wait to drag Su Ning into filming. "What do you think? Want to give it a shot? I can help you get started. You’d definitely make more money than being an assistant."
Su Ning quickly waved his hands. "Forget it, forget it. I can't act, and there's nothing wrong with being an assistant. I don’t have big dreams—once I’ve saved up enough money, I’ll open a small shop, and that’ll be enough."
Fan Xin looked at him strangely. "After all these years, your wish hasn’t changed. But does Gu Lingfeng know you want to save money to run away?"
Su Ning gave her a confused look. "Why would he need to know?"
Fan Xin’s gaze on him grew even stranger. She scanned him up and down, but in the end, she didn’t say anything more, leaving Su Ning even more puzzled.
Chu Zichen was NG'd so many times that, in the end, the director either gave up or didn’t want to waste any more time, so they finally let the take pass.
Chu Zichen walked over with a dark face. Everyone on set quickly avoided him, afraid that he’d take out his anger on them. As Su Ning was now his assistant, he wasn’t so lucky and couldn’t escape—everyone else, including Du Xiaoling, made excuses to avoid him. Since Su Ning started working with him, all of Chu Zichen’s frustration had been shifted onto him, leaving Du Xiaoling to smooth things over with a few kind words after Chu Zichen had raged.
Su Ning handed him a bottle of water, but Chu Zichen lazily glanced at it and immediately cursed, "Are you dead? Can’t you open the cap? How am I supposed to drink this?!"
His voice was loud, and the surrounding people looked over, the air freezing for a moment. But it quickly returned to normal as everyone got back to their work, accustomed to this kind of scene.
Fine, he opened the bottle cap.
Su Ning gritted his teeth and said nothing, opening the bottle and handing it to Chu Zichen. After taking a sip, Chu Zichen spat it out, his face darkening as he pointed at Su Ning and yelled, "What is this? It’s room temperature water on a hot day. Are you trying to kill me? Can’t you even get the basics right? You’re supposed to be an assistant, not a liability!"
He threw the bottle at Su Ning, splashing water all over Su Ning’s clothes, but didn’t even spare him a glance as he stormed off.
The people around Su Ning threw him sympathetic and helpless glances.
To be honest, with how hot it was, there was no refrigerator on set to chill the water. Where would they even get ice-cold water?
But Chu Zichen was the kind of person who couldn’t stand anyone else being happy if he wasn’t. After venting his anger, he ordered Su Ning to go buy him chilled water and ice cream.
With no choice, Su Ning had to go out in the blazing sun to buy it. But when he came back, Chu Zichen rejected the ice cream, saying it wasn’t his favorite flavor. Then he asked for milk tea, forcing Su Ning to go buy that too.
This continued for several rounds, and Su Ning’s clothes, which had been soaked by the water, dried in the heat only to be soaked again with sweat. Even his temples were dripping with sweat. But seeing Su Ning in this disheveled state, Chu Zichen finally calmed down and stopped tormenting him.
When Chu Zichen left to take care of something, Fan Xin pulled Su Ning aside, frowning as she looked at him and handed him a clean towel and a bottle of water. "You really shouldn’t let yourself be bullied like this. You’re Gu Lingfeng’s assistant, not Chu Zichen’s. Why are you letting him treat you like this?"
Among everyone on the set, probably only Fan Xin knew the true reason why Chu Zichen was so hostile toward Su Ning. But even then, it was just too much. She could hardly bear to watch it anymore.
Author's Note: Fan Xin’s strong attitude probably doesn’t understand what "sweetness after hardship" means~
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