Chapter 26: Barbecue

Chapter 26: Barbecue

The white dress trailed on the ground as Qing Sha's profile, cold and breathtakingly beautiful, focused intently on healing the severely wounded Xuan Yuan Zun. The scene was so mesmerizing that Ye Qiaofeng, a devoted fan of the original novel, found himself entranced.

It wasn’t until Deputy Director Zhang nudged him that he snapped back to reality. "Cut! That’s a wrap!"

One take. An Wen’s first scene, performed while suspended on wires, was completed flawlessly in a single attempt.

"She had emotion in her eyes just now. She wasn’t just acting expressionless," Zhou Jingyin remarked to Lu Man'er.

Lu Man'er, who had come to mock An Wen, now wore a sour expression. Hearing Zhou Jingyin’s words, she retorted, "Anyone can act when they don’t even need facial expressions."

Today’s focus was reshooting Qing Sha’s scenes. Lu Man'er had stayed behind to watch An Wen fail, but to her surprise, An Wen didn’t make a single mistake. Even Ye Qiaofeng, known for his harsh critiques, had little to complain about.

Xia Jin, who acted alongside An Wen, could sense her skill. Qing Sha’s cold, ethereal presence, so aloof it was almost intimidating, felt utterly real before him.

Several of the NG takes were actually due to Xia Jin’s mistakes.

Since they were filming indoors, unaffected by weather, Ye Qiaofeng kept shooting late into the night while the momentum was good. By the end, they had caught up on all the backlogged scenes.

Pleased with the progress, Ye Qiaofeng treated the crew to barbecue skewers. Anyone still on set that night was invited, and the turnout was so large that he booked an entire skewer restaurant.

Seating was casual. The owner and waitstaff lit the charcoal and brought out skewered ingredients. An Wen, starving by then, was dismayed to find they had to grill the food themselves. "Boss, do you have any pre-grilled ones?" she asked.

Deputy Director Zhang, sitting at her table, teased her. "Can’t even wait that long?"

An Wen smiled sheepishly. "A man is iron, food is steel—skip a meal, and you’ll feel unwell."

Her deadpan delivery made the actors around her burst into laughter. One playing a disciple of the Abyssless Clan joked, "Saintess, if anyone dares starve you, our clan won’t let them off!"

Just then, Ye Qiaofeng walked past. An Wen pointed at him. "It’s him. Go deal with him."

The actor immediately waved his hands. "Then, Saintess, you’d better stay hungry!"

Another round of laughter followed.

The owner eventually brought An Wen a plate of pre-grilled skewers. Before eating, she declared, "Honestly, I feel guilty right now, but my stomach is suffering. I’ve lived with it for over a decade—I can’t just ignore its pain."

With that, she took a big bite.

An Wen’s diligence on set, often being the last to leave during training, had gradually dissolved many people’s prejudices against her. Her cheerful personality also won others over, as she’d crack jokes to lighten the mood during exhausting shoots.

"Spouting nonsense with a straight face," a female star remarked with a laugh.

Naturally, An Wen didn’t keep the skewers to herself and shared them with everyone at the table.

Suddenly, Xia Jin sat down beside her, phone in hand. An Wen offered, "Want one?"

"Sure!" Xia Jin replied, then went back to his game.

Amid the aroma of grilled meat, Xia Jin remained engrossed in his match. When it ended, he scowled. "Cheng Hanwen, how dare you steal my MVP!"

Cheng Hanwen, sitting nearby, rolled his eyes. "Got no shame? You played badly and blame me?"

Xia Jin was furious upon hearing this and said, "I'm already at Star Glory rank. Who are you calling noob? Hurry up and offer the barbecue in your bowl as an apology."

"Pfft! Shameless!" Cheng Hanwen immediately took a bite of the skewers An Wen had shared with him, then slipped his phone into his pocket and reached toward Xia Jin's plate with his other hand.