Rose Manor: Tycoon's Relentless Chase-Chapter 321 - 302: The Movie King’s Connection

The martial arts instructor was fastening the wire harness for Shen Jianian when Tong Yan, drenched in the scent of sweat, came over, pretending to be friendly but actually trying to gather information.

"You’re Shen Jianian, right?" Tong Yan had watched "Destined Melody" and had looked at the cast list, knowing her name. "What role do you play in Director Wang’s movie?"

In the movie "Western Palace Banquet," there weren’t many female roles, and she couldn’t imagine which role Shen Jianian would be suitable for.

Shen Jianian looked down; the martial arts instructor was buckling the rope around her waist. She answered, "Ruoyu."

If she didn’t say now, Tong Yan would find out sooner or later; she might as well be straightforward about it.

"You’re playing Ruoyu?!" Tong Yan repeated in shock, her volume accidentally rising, echoing in the spacious training room and drawing the attention of others practicing martial moves.

Tong Yan awkwardly pursed her lips, and when she looked at Shen Jianian again, her gaze had changed.

For that instant, she couldn’t even hide the jealousy in her eyes.

Shen Jianian was cooperating with the martial arts instructor for the final check and didn’t have time to pay her any mind.

Tong Yan returned to her practice area, holding a wooden stick, sparring with the martial arts instructor. Distracted, she failed to catch the moves thrown by the martial arts instructor, and the stick struck her forearm.

She let out a sharp scream, the wooden stick slipping from her hand, as she clutched her arm, collapsing on the ground with her face buried in her arms.

Not far away, an assistant holding a camera was filming their artist’s training routine, intending to post the video online later to build a dedicated persona. The sudden accident stunned the assistant for a few seconds before they put down the camera and ran over.

"Sister Yan Yan, are you okay?" the assistant asked nervously.

The martial arts instructor was terrified. Those of them earning fixed salaries couldn’t afford to offend these big stars. If someone got injured affecting their acting career, it was trouble they couldn’t bear.

"These moves have been practiced very thoroughly, and I hit very slowly, with light force. How could this happen..." The martial arts instructor anxiously scratched his head, squatting down to check Tong Yan’s injury, reaching out but suddenly remembering the difference between genders; Tong Yan was curled up, making it inappropriate to pull her directly.

The assistant defended their artist: "You’re professionally trained in martial arts, much stronger than ordinary people. Sister Yan Yan’s arms and legs are thin; how could she handle a blow?"

The martial arts instructor stood up, hands on his hips, struggling for words.

The other male actors who were training stopped one by one to check on Tong Yan’s situation.

"Are you alright?"

"The training base has a doctor with the team; call them over for a look. If not, get her to a hospital, don’t delay treatment."

"Who has the doctor’s contact information? Give them a call to come here."

Everyone gathered around Tong Yan, offering suggestions, while Shen Jianian, having finished being harnessed with wires, stood there. She had been right next to Tong Yan and saw the martial arts instructor sweep the stick over; perhaps noticing Tong Yan couldn’t catch it, he quickly pulled back, yet the stick still touched her arm. Judging the situation, it shouldn’t be too serious.

However, Tong Yan’s scream was frightening, making Shen Jianian wonder if she had misunderstood. After all, she wasn’t the one involved and couldn’t feel the true force of the hit.

Tong Yan’s small, tearful face lifted from between her knees, eyes red and tears at the corners: "Sorry to disturb everyone. Don’t blame Teacher Zhang; I was distracted, and it numbed me with pain for a while. It shouldn’t have hurt the tendons or bones, no need to bother the doctor to come over."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Someone suggested that girls should protect themselves well since sticks and such don’t have eyes. Even with the martial arts instructor’s control, accidents can happen.

Tong Yan bit her lip and nodded, helped up from the ground by her assistant, and tried rotating her arm, smiling apologetically at her martial arts instructor: "I’ll rest for a bit."

The martial arts instructor exhaled and wiped the sweat from his forehead; as long as she was okay, not to mention resting for a while, he would allow even a few days off if needed.

"What’s all the commotion about? Did I miss it?"

A teasing voice came from the training room door, and everyone turned to look.

The newcomer was a tall figure over six feet, backlit, wearing a black sports outfit with a jacket, a black leather backpack slung over one shoulder, hand in pocket, walking leisurely in high-top sneakers.

It was Fu Feibai, who had taken a half-day off.

Shen Jianian, seeing him, was extremely surprised.

Tong Yan, sipping water from her thermos while sitting on a nearby empty spot, glanced disdainfully at Shen Jianian.

She was also trying out for the role of Ruoyu, and at the time, the producer was very satisfied with her, leading her to confidently believe the role was in the bag. Yet Director Wang Kelun said her gaze wasn’t determined enough and lacked indifference, so she was rejected.

She thought she had no fate with this movie, but who would have expected that a few days later, she received a call from the crew notifying her that the role of Yin Dai still hadn’t been finalized and she could try out for it.

In movies by Wang Kelun, even a small, insignificant role is often not something people want to miss.

She tried out for Yin Dai and was fortunate to be selected.

After getting the script, Tong Yan realized that Yin Dai is Ruoyu’s assistant, responsible for secretly collecting intelligence and handling aftermaths for her. Assistant? Plainly speaking, just Ruoyu’s maid.

If Ruoyu were played by an award-winning actress, Tong Yan would accept it, but having just learned that Shen Jianian, such a rookie, snatched away the role she fancied, how could she be satisfied?

With her emotions fluctuating, she naturally had no mind to remember the martial arts moves she had practiced countless times, and couldn’t blame the martial arts teacher for any mishaps.

Fu Feibai was even more surprised than her when he saw Shen Jianian, stammering as he pointed at her: "You, you... how come you’re here? I..."

Does my brother know?

He stopped the rest of the words in time, didn’t speak it out; there were many people and prying eyes here, the relationship between Shen Jianian and his brother hadn’t been made public yet, so it wasn’t advisable for too many people to know.

Shen Jianian calmly said, "Here to shoot a film."

"Oh, right." Fu Feibai picked up the backpack he had taken off his shoulder and realized, if not shooting a film, he wouldn’t be here for training.

"What role are you playing? Why didn’t I see you a few days ago?"

"Had some things to deal with a few days ago, didn’t have time to come." Shen Jianian said, "I’m playing Ruoyu."

Fu Feibai raised his eyebrows, impressed. Despite winning several Best Actor awards himself, he couldn’t land the male lead in Wang Kelun’s films; there were even more formidable veteran actors ahead of him. Though Ruoyu wasn’t a lead among the male roles, she was indeed the female lead.

"Fu Feibai, you know this person?" Someone interjected.

They all didn’t know Shen Jianian, but it wasn’t surprising; Director Wang liked using newcomers. Among them, there were also first-time actors and those who had acted in one or two minor roles, including popular actors like Fu Feibai and even veteran artists from drama schools.

Fu Feibai, of course, couldn’t say Shen Jianian was his sister-in-law, giving a dry laugh, he introduced: "This is Shen Jianian, my... friend."

Tong Yan rolled her eyes, sizing up Shen Jianian and Fu Feibai, her inner jealousy rising. She really hadn’t expected Shen Jianian to have connections with the young Mr. Fu.

Rumor had it that Fu Feibai had an affluent background, but no one could dig it up; vague guesses online suggested he might hail from the top family in Beichyeng’s influential circles. But these were without evidence.

After chatting briefly, everyone began training.

Shen Jianian was new here, mainly practicing maintaining body balance while hanging on wires.

"Afraid of heights?" asked the martial arts teacher.

Shen Jianian said, not really.

As soon as she finished speaking, the wire pulled, and Shen Jianian was gently lifted into the air, feeling a bit nervous as the martial arts teacher instructed her to perform some simple moves.

An hour later, a ten-minute break was announced, and Shen Jianian hadn’t brought a water bottle, so Fu Feibai handed her a bottle of pure water.

"Thank you." She wiped the sweat off her face, not being particular, she sat cross-legged on the ground like the others, wearing a dirt-resistant black sweatshirt and sweatpants.

Tong Yan sat over with a thermos cup: "Hey, are you friends with Fu Feibai?"

Shen Jianian took a sip of water: "Yeah."

Tong Yan noticed Shen Jianian wasn’t willing to elaborate, feeling somewhat blocked inside, pondered for a while, and stubbornly pursued: "How did you get to know each other? As far as I know, Fu Feibai’s circle of friends is quite high-end."

Implying that Shen Jianian, such a small-time actor with no background and not famous, how could she possibly intersect with him.

Fu Feibai had been at the training base for several days, and she hadn’t found the opportunity to ask for his private WeChat, let alone being greeted by him proactively.

Shen Jianian screwed the cap on the bottle; she reckoned her friendship with Tong Yan wasn’t deep enough to discuss such personal topics. But Tong Yan’s persistent questioning couldn’t be left unanswered.

They were going to work together next, if the relationship got too strained, it wouldn’t do.

Shen Jianian couldn’t possibly mention Fu Jichen, thinking for a moment, she recalled apart from Fu Jichen, there was another mutual acquaintance between her and Fu Feibai.

"He’s good buddies with Gu Chongli." Shen Jianian vaguely summarized.

Tong Yan realized; Shen Jianian and Gu Chongli had collaborated in filming a movie, so it made perfect sense for Fu Feibai, as a good buddy, to have visited the set and met Shen Jianian.

But Fu Feibai was way too friendly in his attitude towards her, leaving one baffled.

The phone rang, Shen Jianian fished it out of her bag and walked far away to take the call. Tong Yan’s gaze followed her, noticing the dazzling smile on her face.

Could it be her boyfriend calling?

Shen Jianian currently wasn’t even in the ascending phase of her career; at best, she’d only just started, dating at this stage? She really didn’t know the height of the sky and depth of the earth.