"Impossible. How could Director Ruan's new film possibly have Wen Nianshen in it?"
"That earlier story was definitely just a rumor. According to inside sources, Director Ruan has already started selecting actors. You all know Director Ruan's rule—no actor gets cast without an audition."
"Right. Director Ruan has always been extremely strict about casting."
"Just watch. How could Wen Nianshen ever be worthy of working with Director Ruan?"
Wen Nianshen looked at the various comments beneath a certain trending topic and let out a soft, scornful laugh. Impossible?
Give it a little time, and these people would find out—not only would she be in Director Ruan's new film, but from now on every one of Director Ruan's films would have her in it. And in the future of the future, Director Ruan's bed would have her in it too.
That would infuriate them!
Wherever Director Ruan was, there she, Wen Nianshen, would be too. It would make these people so angry they'd explode on the spot.
She especially wanted to know whether, by that point, these keyboard warriors would make a pact to go jump off a rooftop together. Picturing the scene, Wen Nianshen couldn't help laughing out loud, drawing the attention of A-Xin beside her.
"What are you laughing at?"
A-Xin asked, while saving the profiles of actors she thought were promising, planning to invite them to audition later.
Wen Nianshen pushed her phone in front of A-Xin. "Director Ruan, take a look at these netizens. They know cursing me out is useless, so now they're cursing you instead—and you're not paying them any attention either. I hear you're picking actors as strictly as ever. Everyone thinks you won't work with me."
"They've probably forgotten how viciously they trashed you not long ago." Wen Nianshen's tone dripped with contempt before she went on, "Director Ruan, they aren't the least bit sincere about you. If they truly liked you, then no matter who you worked with—even if they disliked the actor, even if they hated the actor—they wouldn't open their mouths and start hurling filth. Right?"
A-Xin nodded. "Nianshen's right."
"Looks like Director Ruan understands in her heart. No wonder she isn't angry at these people." That's what she said aloud, but it wasn't what Wen Nianshen was thinking. Her A-Xin simply didn't care about these people in the first place—so how could she possibly get worked up over their words? She wondered whether, once they understood, they'd be furious. Director Ruan didn't care about you at all, you know.
The film A-Xin was about to shoot this time was a suspense piece, and the character belonging to Wen Nianshen was, of course, the most beautiful one in it. The status wasn't bad either—a wealthy young heiress.
As for the character itself!
A brainless, impulsive, useless rich girl.
Wen Nianshen looked it over and said, "Honestly, my requirements aren't high—as long as she's beautiful. As for playing this kind of brainless, only-pretty, impulsive, trouble-causing, throw-her-weight-around character—I can do it just by playing myself. Director Ruan, you don't have to worry about it. I can act this. I'm exactly this kind of person."
She was a vase, after all. How could she let everyone find out that she was both beautiful and full of depth? If she were that perfect, those keyboard warriors who cursed her daily to make themselves feel better might just die of shame.
A-Xin gave Wen Nianshen a look, a faint smile on her face. Since Wen Nianshen wanted to play at being a vase actress, of course she would play along. Still, to make a film, there had to be something worth watching. When she'd read the script for this one, she'd quietly made some changes in her heart—about the rich-heiress role Wen Nianshen would play, the one who could do nothing but throw her weight around and be pretty, pretty, pretty. She wanted to revise it.
"I made some changes to this script. I haven't brought out the revised version yet. But it won't affect your earlier scenes."
Hearing A-Xin say this, Wen Nianshen didn't think much of it. As she saw it, the earlier parts weren't being changed, so it wouldn't undermine her vase persona in the slightest. "You're the director. Change it however you want. Who could do anything to you?"
After Wen Nianshen helped A-Xin pick out the actors who'd left a good impression on her, she sat off to one side flipping through the script alone. She had already recovered the memories of many previous worlds, and her memory had reached a truly terrifying level—one glance and she could memorize an entire page of dialogue. The truth was, playing a vase was harder than acting for real.
While filming, she had to keep her scene partners from breaking character, yet make the whole thing look, to everyone watching, as if she had no acting skill at all. This... was difficult indeed. But it was also rather fun.
In those worlds without A-Xin, she always had to find some amusement for herself—otherwise, the moment she thought of A-Xin, her heart would ache. As long as she had something to do, she wouldn't be sad.
In every world without A-Xin, she had never once thought of suicide. Because she never knew when A-Xin would come. What if she had just killed herself, and then A-Xin arrived? Wouldn't that mean A-Xin had made the trip for nothing?
So she kept on living, trying her best, waiting for A-Xin to come. Even so, in the worlds without A-Xin, she never lived past sixty—mostly she died at forty or fifty.
If you asked how she died—well, of course it was from missing A-Xin to death. With someone always on your mind, someone you couldn't see, couldn't wait for, your heart would grow heavy and low, and then you couldn't eat. Not eating, you'd grow thin; with no nourishment, your body had no resistance, and a small cold would sap your vitality. Fall ill a few times, and naturally you couldn't live very long. With grief pent up inside, even a long life was hard to come by.
"Nianshen."
A-Xin sensed that Wen Nianshen seemed lost in thought—the faint sadness emanating from her made A-Xin's chest tighten, leaving her with a feeling she couldn't put into words. "You spaced out."
"Oh... I, I must not have slept well last night." Wen Nianshen hurriedly chased away all those old unhappy memories. Her beloved was right here in front of her now—she'd better not dwell on all that messy past.
That was clearly a lie, but A-Xin didn't call her out.
Wen Nianshen kept staring at the script, glancing sideways at A-Xin—only to meet A-Xin's eyes looking right at her. She lifted her head. "Director Ruan, what are you staring at me for? Could it be that I'm so good-looking you can't tear your eyes away?"
"You are good-looking," A-Xin said.
Wen Nianshen turned her head away. Such blunt words, spoken in such a serious office. "Director Ruan, have you finished selecting your actors? When do you plan to have them come audition?"
She couldn't wait to make the official announcement now, to make all those netizens open their eyes wide and see whether Director Ruan would work with her, Wen Nianshen.
"In three days."
"That's good. Three days from now—can I come?" Wen Nianshen asked. She leaned in close to A-Xin's face and said softly with a smile, "I'll help you pick. How about it?"
"Sure." A-Xin answered without a second thought, never once considering refusing Wen Nianshen.
Wen Nianshen was satisfied, grinning so wide she couldn't close her mouth. She set the script aside. "Just think about how those actors will react. Hahahaha, they'll probably think Director Ruan is a fake—actually letting Wen Nianshen help her watch the auditions and give critiques."
She is a fake, though.
A-Xin gently pushed away the hand Wen Nianshen had placed on her shoulder. Wen Nianshen wouldn't have it—her hand went instead to A-Xin's waist. She clicked her tongue. "Director Ruan, do you work out regularly? This waist of yours—how is it even slimmer than mine?" As she spoke, she stretched both hands out and circled A-Xin's waist, the picture of innocence. Who could have guessed she was just copping a feel?
She's my wife anyway. A little hug first won't hurt.
"I just don't gain weight easily."
This body really didn't gain weight easily, and on top of that, with years spent busy filming, how could it ever get fat? And after she'd arrived, this body was even more under her control—she could keep it from putting on a single ounce if she wanted.
Wen Nianshen pursed her lips, a little envious. Though her own skills were good, with her powerful memory and the knowledge of many worlds, when it came to weight she still had to maintain it carefully—the slightest carelessness and she'd gain a couple of pounds.
"Director Ruan, a person like you really deserves a smack."
Wen Nianshen pinched A-Xin's waist once and let go. "It's almost mealtime. Let's go have lunch together. I'm dieting lately, so let's eat vegetarian." She knew full well that what A-Xin loved most was eating meat, and didn't much care for vegetables and the like. If it was all vegetables, she'd see whether A-Xin could still eat.
"I love vegetarian hot pot most of all."
Half an hour later, A-Xin and Wen Nianshen sat in a small private booth at a hot pot restaurant, the table covered with all sorts of vegetarian dishes.
A-Xin gazed at the tableful of vegetables and froze for a moment—truly, not a single piece of meat. That stunned expression delighted Wen Nianshen to no end.
"Someone as concerned with quality of life as Director Ruan must usually eat mostly vegetarian, right?" Wen Nianshen ate a leaf of greens and asked.
A-Xin said, "No. I usually eat meat." Seeing how heartily Wen Nianshen was eating, she added, "But eating vegetarian once in a while is fine too." She picked up a slice of winter melon and slowly put it in her mouth, chewing a couple of times. It wasn't the taste of meat—something always felt missing.
Wen Nianshen thought of that body that didn't gain weight. She knew exactly what kind of person A-Xin was—ask her, and she'd certainly admit she liked eating meat. She wouldn't claim to like vegetarian food just because Wen Nianshen had ordered a whole table of it.
Still, seeing A-Xin actually eating the winter melon slices and showing no sign of intending to order more meat, her heart felt at ease.
"Director Ruan, should we order some meat?" Wen Nianshen asked.
A-Xin said, "Let's not. There's already plenty of food here." With that, she lowered her head and ate, pausing now and then. Eating vegetarian was fine too. She could tell—Wen Nianshen had deliberately ordered a whole table of vegetables with no intention of ordering meat. Since that's what the other woman wanted, then she'd go along with it. As long as Wen Nianshen was happy, that was enough—even though she really did want to eat meat.
Wen Nianshen pressed her lips together lightly. "I suddenly feel like eating meat."
"Waiter, we'd like to add some dishes." Before A-Xin could say a word, Wen Nianshen had already flagged down the waiter and, from the menu, ordered the meat dishes A-Xin liked.
After ordering, she handed the menu back to the waiter. Soon, rows of washed and sliced meats were placed on a small cart to the side.
"Move these vegetables aside."
Wen Nianshen picked up the plate of beef and dumped all of it into the pot, setting the empty plate aside. In just a minute or two, most of the meat she'd ordered had gone into the pot. They were eating a mandarin-duck hot pot—the milky-white broth in the center was the clear, mild side. She put a plate of tender bean sprouts into the center.
"Director Ruan, I ordered all this—you have to finish it, don't waste it." Wen Nianshen added a plate of green bamboo-shoot slices and shiitake mushrooms to the mushroom broth in the center. A moment later, she fished out a cooked slice of bamboo shoot into her bowl and ate it. The meat in the fiery red ring of broth on the outside, she hadn't touched at all.
"Alright."
A-Xin observed for a while. Throughout, Wen Nianshen ate mostly vegetables and barely touched anything from the beef-tallow red broth—even the ham, she cooked in the mushroom broth in the center.
So Wen Nianshen didn't actually want to eat meat. Or perhaps she did want to, but had no intention of doing so. The reason she'd added the meat dishes was nothing more than to order them for her.
At this thought, A-Xin lowered her head and smiled. She really didn't know what exactly their relationship was. The answer lay with Wen Nianshen, but from the look of her, she didn't seem to intend to say it right away. As for why, A-Xin didn't know—perhaps she just didn't want to say it for now.
"Director Ruan, eat. If you can't finish it, I'll have to ask the waiter to pack it up so you can take it home." Wen Nianshen said earnestly, "Director Ruan, wasting food is shameful. Even though you're a big director and not short on money, food isn't to be wasted like this." Even in the apocalypse, when she'd crushed up instant noodles, she'd given them to those people to eat in the end rather than throwing them away—who knew how many lives she'd kept alive with them. She had never wasted food.
A-Xin nodded gently, indicating that she was indeed eating.
Seeing A-Xin keep eating, Wen Nianshen was finally satisfied. But looking at the vegetables in her own bowl and then at the meat in A-Xin's, she felt unhappy again. Forget it, forget it. When she retired one day and quit all this, she would definitely treat herself to a proper meal of meat.
"Director Ruan, how many TV dramas and films do you plan to make in this lifetime? Do you film every year?"
A-Xin looked up and asked Wen Nianshen in return, "What about you?"
"Me? At the very least, one film or one drama a year, no matter what. For now, I still rather enjoy acting—it's fun." Wen Nianshen laughed. "Though I do get cursed at all the time. Who told me to be born this gorgeous? This face was born to steal the plot—there's nothing I can do about it."
A-Xin watched her as she spoke. No matter what Wen Nianshen said—even when her words struck others as ridiculous—there was no mockery in A-Xin's eyes. You could even see that she was listening earnestly. Wen Nianshen felt it was all worth it. Back then, being a vase had been to maintain her persona, in the hope it would bring A-Xin to her.
Now, being a vase actually gave her a sense of enjoyment.
Just like letting A-Xin come to understand her feelings, she didn't want those people who didn't understand to know Wen Nianshen's true face.
She'd hold it in, save up one big move, and astonish everyone. She had it all planned out: from now on she'd basically only work with A-Xin. At first, she'd keep her abilities hidden—but when she found a script she really liked, she would definitely show her true strength in that one.
And then she'd announce her retirement from the entertainment industry and live a happy, fulfilling life with her wife.
She'd win an award, her wife would win an award too, and everything would be perfect.
Seeing Wen Nianshen able to delight herself all on her own, A-Xin's lips also curved into a faint smile. She found herself a little expectant—what kind of past lay between them, and what exactly was their relationship?
Every person in this world, every soul, she could see through. Only the soul before her she could not see through—there was a seal upon the other's soul. What astonished her even more was that this seal had clearly come from her own hand; that intimately familiar aura could not be mistaken. She combed through all her memories and could not find a single scene of placing a seal that concealed a soul's origin upon a soul.
So why would she place a seal on this soul?
And what's more, she couldn't undo it.
How could she have placed a seal that she herself had no way to undo?
That made it all the more interesting. She was very curious.
"I plan to film until I'm thirty-five, then retire from the screen," Wen Nianshen continued. "I'm only twenty-five this year. I can still film for ten more years." The prime of her life, of course, was to be saved to spend with her beloved. She wasn't short on money, nor did she have any heart for chasing fame and fortune. Rather than be cursed at by so many people every day, she'd rather play around happily with her wife.
"What about you, Director Ruan? What are your plans?"
A-Xin put the last piece of meat into her mouth, chewed and swallowed, and only then said, "Same as you."
"Is that so? What a coincidence, then." Wen Nianshen knew perfectly well what was going on—she just liked saying things this way. My, this really was a case of wife and wife in perfect harmony.
After finishing the hot pot, since Wen Nianshen hadn't driven there, A-Xin said, "I'll drive you home."
"There are a lot of paparazzi downstairs at my place, Director Ruan. It's still casting season—best not to be too exposed, don't you think?"
A-Xin asked patiently, "Then what do you think would be best?"
"I'll just stay at your place today. How's that?" Wen Nianshen smiled brilliantly. "No paparazzi can get into that complex—the security's very high. As long as you drive in, who'd know I'm staying at your home? Right?"
"You make a good point." A-Xin nodded slightly, saying nothing more about driving Wen Nianshen back to her own home.
Paparazzi at Wen Nianshen's place?
Didn't she live in the villa on the hillside of the Wen estate? That place was private, forbidden ground—could paparazzi even get in? Were they sure they wouldn't be thrown out by security? As she recalled, the Wen family even had a surveillance-equipment business under their name. Who knew how many cameras there were on that hillside. All she knew was that any production Wen Nianshen invested in had surveillance cameras of every kind all over the set, too many to count—she'd observed it the last time.
Three days later, Wen Nianshen appeared at the audition site, still as a member helping A-Xin critique the actors.
The assembled actors: "..." They badly wanted to know whether Wen Nianshen and Director Ruan were relatives.
Regardless, none of them were willing to miss this opportunity. Everyone performed their hearts out, striving to exceed their usual level.
To their surprise, Wen Nianshen wasn't there to cause trouble. On the contrary, they gained quite a lot from her critiques.
Wen Nianshen's own acting clearly wasn't good to watch—so why could she hit the nail on the head every time? That was the part they couldn't figure out for the life of them. In any case, they gained a great deal from it, and Wen Nianshen's critiques were fair and to the point, which actually earned her a wave of goodwill.
The truth was Wen Nianshen wasn't a bad person at all. Apart from being a bit of a vase, with the title of "The Drama Demolisher," she wasn't domineering as a person.
Because she was rich to begin with, what she chased after was different from what they chased—she basically never swiped roles out from under anyone. Any script she took a fancy to, she simply threw money at and bought.
Sometimes, they actually hoped to land on a production with Wen Nianshen in it. If nothing else, they were guaranteed to make money. To make her own acting comfortable, this woman just threw money, money, and more money.
Once casting was complete, the news that A-Xin and Wen Nianshen were collaborating on a new film could no longer be hidden—even the official account announced it.
For several days running, Wen Nianshen was on the trending lists, and she didn't spend a cent to take any of it down. Bash her, curse her—whatever. Her mood was especially good right now. How could these people know that she was about to act in her wife's film?
"Wen Nianshen, could you have a little self-awareness? Ruining dramas was bad enough, but this time you're really going to ruin Director Ruan."
Seeing this comment, Wen Nianshen couldn't hold back. With a flick of her fingers she posted a reply: "Director Ruan isn't only going to be ruined by me—she's going to be slept with by me, too. Hmph."
Anti-fan: Oh my god, this Wen Nianshen—the more you curse her, the more smug she gets!
"Wen Nianshen, please remember, you're a woman, a big vase, and you talk about sleeping with Director Ruan? Don't you know you're missing a certain piece of equipment?"
Wen Nianshen curled her lip and replied again: "This is something you wouldn't understand, you little brat. The adult world—what would you know about it?" She looked at her slender, fair fingers and smiled deeply.
The anti-fans knew they couldn't out-argue Wen Nianshen—the woman had always been like this. Relying on her stinking pile of money, she feared nothing in heaven or earth. She didn't make her money off fans, either. What made them even more furious was that the ratings of the dramas Wen Nianshen shot were never bad. If there was anyone to blame, it was the world being too full of looks-obsessed people.
Wen Nianshen wasn't without fans. In the past, they'd even gone to bat for her in online fights. Later they discovered that their goddess simply didn't care about any of it—anyone she found objectionable, she'd just clap back at directly. And those anti-fans simply couldn't win an argument against Wen Nianshen.
Vaguely, they sensed that Wen Nianshen even took pleasure in it. After that, they just quietly admired their goddess's beauty. Honestly, they didn't think there was anything wrong with Wen Nianshen—apart from being a Drama Demolisher, being especially good-looking, and jumping into fan fights and always winning, what other dirt was there on her?
No matter how the internet cursed, it couldn't stop the collaboration between A-Xin and Wen Nianshen. Since looking didn't help, they started a new topic instead.
#BoycottFilmsWithWenNianshen—Don'tLetOneWenNianshenRuinAGeniusDirector#
Seeing this topic, Wen Nianshen nearly died laughing. Was this for A-Xin's sake, or were they deliberately picking a fight? Didn't they know that if there really were no one buying tickets, that would be the very thing that ruined a director?
"Director Ruan, don't worry. With me here, you won't take a loss."
Wen Nianshen said to A-Xin with a sunny smile, completely heedless of the strange looks from the other actors in the crew. Seeing props far better than usual, they didn't say much either. Word in the industry was that a production with Wen Nianshen in it was actually the most comfortable kind to be on.
This time she was playing a brainless, arrogant, domineering young miss. Wen Nianshen mulled it over—this character setup was inherently unlikable. She could just act normally; no one would think her acting had improved.
In fact, these days, as long as she played this kind of pretty-pretty-pretty role, even if she exceeded all expectations, no one would say her acting was good. Her first impression on people was already set; unless she played a role with stark contrast, there'd be no changing everyone's impression.
Thinking it through, she actually didn't need to hide too much anymore. From now on she'd just play this type of role, and the audience wouldn't catch on.
Once Wen Nianshen did this, the actors doing scenes with her clearly felt Wen Nianshen's true ability. But Wen Nianshen no longer deliberately stealing the plot didn't mean she'd win the audience's affection.
The actors who worked with her all felt Wen Nianshen was a decent person, that her acting was quite good, and that she could even carry them along—a truly inconceivable feeling. For the first time, they wondered: could it really be that Wen Nianshen was just too beautiful, causing people to overlook her acting?
As filming neared its end, A-Xin finally brought out the small remaining portion of the script and handed it to Wen Nianshen.
Wen Nianshen glanced at the ending. "Seriously?"
"Seriously," A-Xin said. "Is there a problem?"
Wen Nianshen shook her head. "No problem. I just didn't expect it, that's all."