The makeup artist was a bit taken aback by Qi Lin's remark and asked while applying makeup, "You haven't been online?"
Qi Lin shook his head, "No, I didn't. It was too late last night, so after dinner, I just took a shower and went to bed. This morning, I had to train, so I didn’t have time to go online. What happened?"
The makeup artist hesitated, unsure whether to tell Qi Lin about the situation. Would this affect his state of mind and cause problems during filming?
While the makeup artist was struggling with this decision, the door to the makeup room opened, and Han Xue walked in with her assistant.
Han Xue was stunning, exuding an innate elegance—she was a true wealthy and beautiful lady! Much like Wang Yaoqing, even if she played a beggar, she would still give off the vibe of a wealthy person experiencing life.
Today, she wore a white dress, and her long black hair was neatly tied into a ponytail, making her look clean and sharp. Her assistant, a somewhat chubby girl around 160 cm tall with a bit of baby fat and a bun on her head, followed closely behind.
As soon as the assistant entered, her eyes were glued to the makeup mirror reflecting Qi Lin, unable to look away.
Han Xue softly said, "It's because of Huang Yi's strike yesterday. He’s stirring things up, getting his fans to curse you."
Qi Lin, incredulous, pointed at his nose, "Curse me? Why? What did I do to offend him?"
"You took on a role that was originally his. Why wouldn’t he curse you?"
"What does that have to do with me? I wasn’t the one who stopped him from acting. If he has the guts, he should curse the director!"
"Haha, he does have guts. He didn’t spare Director Xu Zheng either."
Qi Lin was speechless and shrugged, "Then let him curse. As long as it’s not just me being cursed, it’s fine."
Han Xue smiled and sat naturally on the makeup chair beside Qi Lin, giving him a sideways glance, "You’ve got a thick skin, but don’t worry, our company, *Tangshi*, will handle this for you."
Qi Lin shrugged again. He truly didn’t care much. Call it thick-skinned or carefree, he had always been like this, not bothering much about others' opinions.
The makeup artist, surprised, asked Han Xue, "Xiaoxue, don’t you have a professional makeup artist? Why are you here?"
"Don’t ask. She ate something wrong last night and got diarrhea. She's still getting treatment in the hospital. In this crew, aside from her, you have the best makeup skills, so I came to you."
The makeup artist's head nearly tilted back with pride, his eyes full of a "you know your stuff" expression. He also chatted with Qi Lin, expressing admiration and envy for his achievements.
The assistant chirped away, praising Qi Lin nonstop. "You’re amazing, so young and already at the top level in martial arts!"
Qi Lin scratched his head, not thinking much of it. After all, his fellow disciples were mostly at that level too.
...
Though the makeup artist was a bit effeminate, his makeup skills were excellent. In less than twenty minutes, he transformed Qi Lin into a refined young gentleman. Han Xue's makeup was even faster, as she had already done most of it before leaving home, needing only minor touch-ups now.
Seeing Qi Lin not intending to start a conversation, Han Xue extended her hand and said, "Let’s get to know each other. I’m Han Xue, the female lead of this drama and your future co-star."
Qi Lin was momentarily stunned but politely shook her hand, "Nice to meet you."
Inwardly, though, he wondered how Xu Xin, her body double, looked nothing like her. How could she be her stand-in?
Xu Xin was the name of Han Xue’s stand-in.
Han Xue, meanwhile, was secretly observing Qi Lin. She thought, regardless of his acting skills, his appearance was far better than that of Huang Yi. It was a pity the director didn’t agree to let her participate in the reshoot; otherwise, she could have interacted more to see what kind of person he was.
"Keep up the good work. Huang Yi’s scenes aren’t many. If you push through, you should be able to finish in three or four days."
Qi Lin nodded blankly, not saying much more. As a newcomer, he couldn’t control the pace of filming and was still in the learning phase.
As the two walked onto the set, Director Xu Zheng stormed over, looking furious. Qi Lin thought he had done something wrong, feeling like he did back in university when he saw his coach.
But Xu Zheng simply told him to stand still and strike a pose with a smile. After Qi Lin posed, he took a couple of photos with his phone and then turned to the assistant director, "Brother Gong, you handle the filming for now!"
The assistant director smiled wryly and clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention, "Alright, everyone, get ready! If there are any issues, report them immediately. Time is tight, so let’s move quickly!"
While Qi Lin and the crew prepared for filming, Director Xu Zheng was already confronting Huang Yi's fans on Weibo!
"Getting an athlete to play William? Aren’t you afraid the original author will sue you?"
"Hmph, let me tell you this: if your lousy movie gets made and I watch it, I’ll have my whole family S light!"
"Who gave you the guts to refuse my little Yi?"
"Movies adapted from novels are getting worse because of directors like you who mess everything up!"
Seeing his Weibo filled with vile comments, Xu Zheng directly uploaded two photos.
The first was Huang Yi’s costume photo, which his fans called "the noble prince of the empire." The second was the photo he had just taken of Qi Lin. With his directing skills, his photography was naturally excellent.
Under the photos, he added a freshly written caption:
"I won’t say much. I just want to ask you: if you were the female lead, whom would you choose?"
...
Sun Mengmeng, an ordinary girl, spent her time fangirling. Huang Yi was one of her favorites. Though not a hardcore fan, she was very active in commenting and sharing his shows, movies, and web dramas.
This morning, as usual, she went to Xu Zheng’s Weibo to continue the cursing. However, she stumbled upon Xu Zheng’s latest post.
Initially, she sneered, thinking Xu Zheng had finally responded and prepared to curse him even more. But after seeing Qi Lin’s photo, she found this young man didn’t seem like a bad person...
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