She Said She Has Feelings For Someone - Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Reluctance: “Come With Us.”

Lu Shuyu couldn’t quite make sense of the online rumors yet, but she immediately instructed the security team to step up precautions.

Noticing the look on her face, Song Yi whispered, “What’s wrong?”

Lu Shuyu handed her the phone. Song Yi scanned it quickly, her brows knitting together for a moment before she said, “It’s fine. Let’s finish recording first.”

…

On the spring evening, the river surface reflected the orange glow of the setting sun. Begonia petals drifted onto the water, dotting the scene with a dreamy pink.

The camera panned and zoomed in, capturing Lu Shuyu standing under a begonia tree, her posture upright and her expression composed. Standing by the flag of the final checkpoint, she let the sunset and the falling petals illuminate her. Her amber eyes shimmered with a soft light; she looked like a painting.

Soon, the tranquility was broken. She frowned, then suddenly lunged forward, grabbing the flag beside her and thrusting it out while shouting, “Watch out!”

Fortunately, no real danger occurred. Xia Leshuang had caught Jiang Fei in time, preventing her from falling into the river. But in that split second, Jiang Fei turned the tables—she reached out and snatched the flag Lu Shuyu had extended.

“Aha—!” Zhong Wen, following behind, couldn’t help but yell, “Feifei, I’ve finally seen your true colors! You’re so calculating!”

Having witnessed her own team’s defeat, Tang Jiahe was helpless. She laughed, “I don’t even know which of you two has faster reflexes anymore.”

Jiang Fei gave an embarrassed smile. “Sorry! All is fair in love and war~”

Xia Leshuang pulled her aside. “That was too dangerous. Don’t do that next time.”

“I’m fine,” Jiang Fei laughed. “I’m actually a pretty good swimmer!”

She looked proud of herself until Xia Leshuang gave a pointed cough and a meaningful look. Jiang Fei froze, looking at Lu Shuyu’s half-smiling, half-chilly expression, and immediately crumbled into a cute apology: “Sorry, PD Lu, it won’t happen again…”

A guest could certainly work hard for the sake of the show, but for the production crew, an actual accident was the ultimate nightmare.

On the other side, Luo Han and He Wenyin arrived after completing a hidden mission. Since the cameras were still rolling, Lu Shuyu didn’t say anything; she simply nodded and returned to the crew.

“I’m dead…” Jiang Fei whispered.

Xia Leshuang watched Lu Shuyu’s departing back and couldn’t help but think: After all these years, her angry face is somehow even scarier.

Zhong Wen patted Jiang Fei and whispered in her ear, “It’s okay. Once we finish recording, we’ll go apologize to PD Lu properly.”

…

The morning race was won by the “Can’t Stay Idle” team, while the final afternoon victory went to the “Too Lazy To Move” team. Both groups had accumulated a substantial amount of Jin Jin Points.

“This is wonderful,” Luo Han said emotionally. “Today wasn’t for nothing.”

As a mother herself, He Wenyin’s sense of accomplishment was beyond words. She couldn’t hold back her tears, startling everyone around her.

“I’m fine, sorry,” He Wenyin laughed through her tears. “I’m just so happy that we can help so many young girls.”

“Exactly,” Zhong Wen added. “We’re amazing!”

The sun dipped below the horizon, and the ancient town’s lights flickered on. In the lens, their eyes were red, and the crystalline tears made their pupils sparkle. They huddled together, laughing and crying—a gentle yet powerful force of life in the spring night.

“Good—Cut!”

…

@New Entertainment Daily: Netizens spotted a production crew filming in L-City today. Among them was the long-absent “Youngest Movie Queen,” Xia Pengyue. And the person beside her, if my eyes don’t deceive me, is the host Tang Jiahe, whose acting was mocked by everyone a few years back?

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— Xia Pengyue? Didn’t she quit the industry? I guess even she felt ashamed of that “pre-selected” Best Actress award back then. — Looks like Director Xia won’t pass up a chance to cash in. But would someone so “noble and aloof” really let his daughter do a variety show? — Noble and aloof? Hilarious. Are you talking about the same Director Xia who blacklisted his daughter after she failed to marry into a wealthy family? — What is this tea? DM me! — Help, what is this “Has-Been” convention? Look at the [Video]. Six washed-up actresses. That Luo Han is the worst—how does she even dare to come back? — Luo Han’s scandal was huge. Wasn’t she banned? How is she showing her face… — It’s a “Has-Been” meeting, sure, but Luo Han clarified everything and won her lawsuit. Stop spreading lies. — Just realized it’s an all-female show with an all-female crew. Another “gender divide” show. Hope it flops. — Song Yi was fine on that co-ed sports show. I guess she’s showing her true colors now, just trying to eat off the “feminist” plate. — The comments are terrifying. Going to the Cherry app to pre-register now. — I want all-female! If you don’t like it, leave. I’m supporting this show from today on!

…

Late at night in the temporary editing room, Lu Shuyu and Song Yi were accompanying the editor.

“Not bad.” After watching the rough cut, Lu Shuyu nodded repeatedly. “There’s more usable content than I expected. With tomorrow’s footage, the L-City segment should easily fill two weeks of episodes.”

“We can probably save some for the ‘Extra’ clips,” Song Yi added. “But we’ll need the post-production team to really focus on the special effects and memes.”

Peipei, the editor, nodded. “Understood, Song PD.”

“However,” another editor spoke up hesitantly, “will the online comments from today affect the show?”

Song Yi gave a gentle smile. “We just focus on making good content. Don’t worry about the rest.”

“Exactly,” Lu Shuyu laughed. “Besides, we have President Min. Why should we be the ones worrying?”

The editors relaxed slightly, though their smiles remained a bit forced.

“Alright, it’s 8:00 PM.” Lu Shuyu checked her phone. “Shift’s over. Get some rest; we continue tomorrow.”

As they left the room on the second floor, Song Yi suddenly said, “You go ahead. I’m going home for a bit.”

Lu Shuyu blinked. “Okay.”

Song Yi was so dedicated to work that it was easy to forget she was married. Lu Shuyu had known her for over a year before finding out she was married and had even suffered a miscarriage once. Now, after knowing her for six years, Lu Shuyu had only met Song Yi’s husband a handful of times; she couldn’t even remember what he looked like.

Watching Song Yi head downstairs, Lu Shuyu sighed. For some reason, she felt a faint sense of unease.

Before she could catch her breath, her phone vibrated. It was Min Wutong.

“President Min?”

“Some strange press releases about the ‘Movie Queen’ have surfaced online. Take a look. If she needs it, I can handle it from my end.”

Xia Leshuang had no agency now, and her social media had been dormant since her “Xia Pengyue” days. Lu Shuyu had noticed that her account was still verified under “Zhongxing Media”—likely, the company still controlled it.

For a show, “black-and-red” was still traffic, but they would respect the guest’s wishes before deciding how to act.

“Okay,” Lu Shuyu replied. “I’ll go ask her.”

Min Wutong sent several links. Every platform had similar articles with identical information: Xia Pengyue’s award was bought by her parents, and the title was just a bargaining chip for her to marry into wealth.

Lu Shuyu frowned. She had seen people question awards before, but the “marrying into wealth” part was unheard of. Suddenly, she remembered the “blind date” Min Wutong mentioned and the mysterious “Mr. Zhou” from the dinner.

Surely not… she reflexively dismissed the thought.

Min Wutong sent two more messages: — I might know who did this. Ask the Movie Queen if she wants it handled. — My advice is to stay quiet for now. If it blows up, we sue directly.

Having Lu Shuyu’s heart settled, she went upstairs. Just as she reached Xia Leshuang’s door, it opened.

“Teacher Xia?” she said, surprised. “What a coincidence.”

Xia Leshuang was equally startled, her dark eyes wide and bright. “PD Lu, were you looking for me?”

Lu Shuyu was about to nod when she heard Jiang Fei’s voice from the elevator: “Shuang-shuang, are you ready yet?”

“This is…?” Lu stepped back. “Are you going out?”

Xia Leshuang stepped out and closed her door. “We made plans to go out for a late-night snack.”

Since they hadn’t heard a response, Jiang Fei and the others approached. Seeing Lu Shuyu, they were taken aback—especially Jiang Fei, who immediately felt guilty, remembering Lu’s cold face from earlier.

“PD Lu…” she squeaked. “You’re here too…”

Lu Shuyu nodded to them, stepping back further. “Then I won’t disturb you. Have a good time.”

Hearing this, Zhong Wen looked at Xia Leshuang. The latter had lowered her eyes, but her gaze was still fixed firmly in Lu Shuyu’s direction.

Zhong Wen immediately understood. This was “reluctance.”

“PD Lu!” she called out. “Come with us!”