Phoenix A has Gone Viral Across the Entire Internet! - Chapter 31

Shen Nian’s acting was truly stunning, successfully dispelling the earlier doubts and disdain of the observers.

As the State of Shang mobilized its troops, Yuan Luo held a poisoned cup to question her feelings. She believed her own life was nearing its end and that Ju Qu would no longer continue to deceive her.

However, she did not expect that Ju Qu had known from the very beginning that she would not die, and had thus used that knowledge to deceive her one last time.

After the stagehand shouted “Cut” and the scene ended, Jiang Zhiwan’s gaze remained fixed on Shen Nian. At that moment, the Alpha had not yet fully stepped out of character; the coldness in her eyes had not completely faded.

Coming into contact with that look, Jiang Zhiwan felt a slow, dull ache pierce her heart for no reason.

It caused her to close her eyes and focus hard on adjusting her emotions.

For a moment, she could not distinguish whether this heartache was for the Ju Qu in the play, or for Shen Nian herself.

No one around noticed Jiang Zhiwan’s subtle abnormality. They simply left space, as usual, for the two leads to regain their composure. After all, the better an actor’s performance, the deeper their immersion, and the more intense their emotional needs.

Before the daily scenes began filming, Yu Wanyu had intentionally let Jiang Zhiwan and Shen Nian test-shoot this emotional outburst. Her thought was to proceed from difficult to easy—to first dampen their arrogance so they would settle down and patiently hone their craft.

What she did not expect was that these two actors would perform so exceptionally. In their first time acting together, they achieved seamless coordination, finishing the entire scene in one take with no NGs and perfectly capturing every nuance of emotion.

It even gave Yu Wanyu a strange illusion: Was this really the first time they had filmed this play?

Nevertheless, it was undeniable that she had truly found a treasure. Yu Wanyu mused that if they continued filming like this, the production might wrap up much earlier than she had anticipated.

As it turned out, Yu Wanyu’s prediction was correct. Over the next three months, thanks to the hard work of the entire crew, the filming of Ju Qu proceeded exceptionally smoothly.

The only minor interlude occurred when it was time for Yu Xixuan to film her scenes. There was a small friction between her and Jiang Zhiwan.

However, it lasted for a very short time. Even before Director Yu could step in to mediate, the tension between them had vanished, replaced by a mutual, subtle appreciation.

Jiang Zhiwan’s perspective remained unknown, but for Yu Xixuan, the reason for this change in attitude was not complicated.

Due to the exaggerated complaints Luo Shan had made months ago, Yu Xixuan had entered the set with a preconceived bias against Jiang Zhiwan.

However, Yu Xixuan’s methods differed from those of her cheap niece. She always adhered to the principle of being open and upright; her coldness or dislike was usually displayed directly on her face, and her targeting was always done in person.

Initially, when they filmed opposing scenes, Yu Xixuan intentionally held a high emotional intensity, yet she did not expect Jiang Zhiwan to catch it so steadily.

Over time, Yu Xixuan’s impression of Jiang Zhiwan shifted toward admiration. Dedicated and capable of controlling her emotions, she was clearly a natural-born actor. Once Yu Xixuan acknowledged the other’s strength, she no longer believed Luo Shan’s claims about “stealing roles.”

In her eyes, it was clearly a case of the girl being less skilled yet envious, trying to use her aunt’s hand to cause trouble for the other. It was a lack of discipline.

Though Yu Xixuan was protective, she was not one to ignore the truth. After uncovering the real sequence of events, she immediately made Luo Shan apologize in person. It had to be a sincere apology, accompanied by a two-thousand-word written self-reflection.

This was because, in the entertainment industry, Yu Xixuan would allow Luo Shan to fight back using her influence if she were treated unfairly, but she would never permit her to act with impunity or bully others. Luo Shan’s actions this time had truly disappointed her.

Because of the guilt she felt after learning the truth, Yu Xixuan unconsciously paid more attention to Jiang Zhiwan during the subsequent filming.

Only then did she realize that Jiang Zhiwan was a rare piece of unpolished jade in acting. And, more importantly, there was definitely some special entanglement between her and Shen Nian.

With her years of experience in the circle, Yu Xixuan could observe that the atmosphere between them was subtle. If it wasn’t a past romance, it was a past hatred—or perhaps, a half-and-half mixture of both.

Yu Xixuan did not usually gossip, especially regarding romantic matters, but this situation seemed so complex and interesting that she couldn’t help but feel curious.

Unfortunately, the two acted so normally in front of outsiders that it was impossible to see any clues; their emotions during filming seemed far more real than their interactions off-camera.

Yu Xixuan was not one to give up easily, yet even as Ju Qu began recording its final scene, she had not managed to dig out any more details.

The world knew the tyrant Ju Qu, but few knew where her “tyrannical reputation” truly came from.

The former ruler had passed, the elder sister was frail, and the new ruler was young and inexperienced. Under such circumstances, it was easy to imagine the internal and external threats Ju Qu faced upon the throne—surrounded by wolves.

So she killed spies and executed treacherous officials, using lightning-fast methods to purge all those with ill intentions. She washed the palace in blood as a warning, leaving those with stray thoughts trembling with fear.

As for her reputation thereafter… whether good or evil, as long as she could stabilize the court, protect the land, and shield her imperial sister, what did it matter?

But later, when the seas were calm and the rivers clear, with loyal officials in place and her sister’s health restored, Ju Qu suddenly felt a sense of loss, longing for the rare freedom she had before ascending the throne.

Ju Xi pitied her and, after much hesitation, finally agreed to cooperate with her request.

Ju Qu had indeed utilized Yuan Luo. From a strategic viewpoint, the only threat to Shang was Ming Yuan; if they could be subdued, the State of Shang would be stable for a hundred years.

But had Yuan Luo not also utilized her? To an extent, Yuan Luo’s desires were similar to her own. She too demanded freedom as a condition and chose to help Ming Yuan by delivering false military intelligence.

To make it more realistic, she even drank the poisoned wine in front of Ju Qu to fake her death and escape.

But Yuan Luo did not know that Ju Qu had known her entire plan from the start, and had even used it as a layout to jump out of the shackles of the great throne herself.

Yuan Luo had lied to her. So why could she not return the gesture with a lie of her own?

That day in the hall, Ju Qu’s words had not actually been finished.

“In my whole life, I have never loved; only upon meeting you did I understand what it means to give my heart.”

When the dust settled and Yuan Luo learned the whole truth from Ju Xi, she couldn’t stop the tears from falling, her voice choked with sobs: “Ju Qu! You are truly, truly the biggest bastard under heaven!”

Yuan Luo never expected that on the day the truth came to light, she would be so filled with regret.

Fortunately, in that “game within a game,” Ju Qu had not truly died. Instead, she had lived under an alias, ceding the throne to her sister to travel every mountain, river, and lake of the State of Shang.

With Ju Xi’s guidance, Yuan Luo spent a great deal of effort to finally find her, asking nervously: “The old dream has passed; can we return together?”

She received only a radiant smile from the other woman: “Why not?”

They had once used each other, and now they were even. Why could they not turn the page on the past and start over?

And so, the past dispersed like clouds and smoke. From then on, there was no tyrant Ju Qu in the world, nor was there the Third Princess of Ming Yuan, Yuan Luo. There was only a pair of lovers; between heaven and earth, there was nowhere they could not go.

“Good! Cut!”

“Thank you, teachers! Congratulations on wrapping up!”

After many days of hard filming, Ju Qu officially announced its wrap. The crew was jubilant, calling everyone together for a commemorative photo.

When cutting the celebration cake, the two leads and the director handed out pieces for everyone to taste. Yu Wanyu was clearly very satisfied with their collaboration, even expressing a desire to work with them again in the near future.

Jiang Zhiwan did not show it outwardly, but from the moment she left the set to go home, she felt a sudden, hollow feeling in her heart.

In her past life, Ju Qu had given her so much, so it held great significance. But because the lead had been Jiang Yuanxing, Jiang Zhiwan had not felt this level of melancholy.

However, when that person was Shen Nian, she seemed to have fallen into it, unable to let go for a long time.

Over these past few months, her interactions with Shen Nian had increasingly reminded her of her previous life.

In that life, Shen Nian had cheated and deceived her, but Jiang Zhiwan had not been truly angry. Because the other woman’s personality was often inconsistent, she had even wondered if some unknown rules were restricting her, causing her to say one thing while feeling another.

After all, at that time, Shen Nian insisted she was only a substitute and that her true love was someone else, yet she would secretly do all sorts of good things for her under other names. When discovered, she would make up every possible excuse to deny it.

But until the very end, that “White Moonlight” Shen Nian spoke of never returned from abroad. No matter what means Jiang Zhiwan used to investigate, the result was always the same: no such person existed.

So Jiang Zhiwan thought that perhaps Shen Nian was lying to her. But she didn’t understand then why she would do such a thing.

She clearly wanted her to love her, yet she was unwilling to give love herself—how could such a thing be? Thus, the relationship between them remained frozen.

She never expected that the “long future” she always assumed would be shattered by Shen Nian’s sudden accident. Before she could clarify everything, Jiang Zhiwan was not one to give up easily. That was why she carefully planned and experienced an “accident” identical to Shen Nian’s.

What was this now? A resurrection to continue the bond? Or a resurrection to repeat the same mistakes?

Jiang Zhiwan had no way of knowing. But as the days since her rebirth grew longer and her contact with Shen Nian became more frequent, the voice hidden in her heart became harder to suppress.

“The old dream has passed; can we return together?”

Since Yuan Luo could finally return with Ju Qu, why could she and Shen Nian not do the same?

As long as the “Qi Wan” Shen Nian spoke of was not real.

In her past life, she was too proud, refusing to bow her head and insisting on being calculative. Since the so-called “Qi Wan” had never appeared, why not choose to turn a blind eye and forgive Shen Nian’s various “lies,” just as she had with other matters before?

Then, she wouldn’t have to spend her days in her past life staring at the few photos Shen Nian left behind, lost in a lovesick illness.

At this thought, Jiang Zhiwan’s eyes flickered slightly, and she shifted her gaze to Shen Nian, who was sitting beside her in the back seat.

The car taking them home was driving smoothly, the engine humming softly. Occasionally, the dim yellow streetlights spilled in, reflecting on their faces in a flickering light that made one feel drowsy. Such an atmosphere silently smoothed over the rising emotions in one’s heart.

As long as “Qi Wan” was not real, as long as she still did not appear, then—

“Beep, beep, beep.”

As the phone notification rang, a half-awake Shen Nian answered it, accidentally hitting the speakerphone. “Hello? Who is this? What’s the matter?”

Ji Xicheng’s voice came through: “Shen Nian, I heard Qi Wan has returned to the country. You—”

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