Chapter 52: Dong Bailian's Stroke of Dumb Luck

"Brother Chen, how do you think I performed?"

After asking with hopeful anticipation, Dong Jie felt a flutter of nervousness and lowered her head, afraid that Chen Siyuan might express dissatisfaction.

Chen Siyuan glanced at Dong Jie, a silent sigh escaping him inwardly: The White Lotus Dong is truly innocent at this point in time!

Yet, he harbored a desire to mold her into a completely different kind of person. Just thinking about it felt a bit wicked.

Human nature is indeed evil by birth.

There is an innate urge for destruction.

Amitabha, Amitabha!

"Brilliant! You perfectly brought to life the image of Leng Qingqiu as I imagined her!"

Chen Siyuan's voice at that moment was imbued with immense charm and warmth.

This was a professional instinct honed as a lawyer.

"Really? Brother Chen, you aren't just saying that to comfort me, are you?"

Dong Jie looked up, her face lighting up with pleasant surprise as her heart skipped a beat.

"Of course. You must know that I have a profound understanding of *The Story of a Noble Family*. When I was in America, I had in-depth discussions with Zhang Wu, the son of Mr. Zhang Henshui. In my eyes, Leng Qingqiu is precisely like what you are right now."

Chen Siyuan spoke with absolute certainty and zero hesitation, making it sound like an undeniable fact.

Dong Jie gazed at Chen Siyuan with a daze in her eyes, before quickly and nervously looking away.

"Thank you, Brother Chen."

"Why thank me? This is all the result of your own hard work! Keep it up, and you'll definitely become a household name and a big star."

Naturally, Chen Siyuan reached out, took Dong Jie's delicate little hand, and gave it a gentle pat.

So smooth, so soft.

Dong Jie didn't feel anything improper about it at all.

When Chen Siyuan let go of her hand, she actually felt a tiny pang of loss.

As Dong Jie looked at Chen Siyuan's profile, she noticed that his full attention was currently fixed on Liu Yifei in the center of the set.

This was Liu Yifei's very first scene in *The Story of a Noble Family*.

And her debut scene happened to be opposite Chen Kun.

Although Chen Siyuan had full confidence in Liu Yifei, now that the moment had actually arrived, he still felt a trace of nervousness.

The clapperboard snapped shut.

The camera lens was already locked on Chen Kun and Liu Yifei.

At this moment, Chen Kun and Liu Yifei on the set had transformed into Jin Yanxi and Bai Xiuzhu from *The Story of a Noble Family*.

Jin Yanxi looked at Bai Xiuzhu with a smile, "You're here?"

Bai Xiuzhu glanced sidelong at Jin Yanxi, "If you hadn't shown up soon, I was about to leave."

Her tone carried a touch of spoiled petulance.

Jin Yanxi raised an eyebrow, "Stay a while longer. It's not often that you visit."

The corners of Bai Xiuzhu's mouth curved upward slightly, tinged with a hint of delight, "I come to your mansion often enough, it's just rare to find you actually at home!"

Jin Yanxi chuckled, "No matter whose presence is the rare one, one of us is always hard-pressed to make time for the other. Since it's a rare meeting, we should sit a while longer."

Bai Xiuzhu snorted softly, pursing her lips, "If I stay too long, they'll start making jokes at my expense again."

Jin Yanxi wore a playful expression, "Since you're afraid of being teased, why did you come here in the first place?"

Bai Xiuzhu cast another sideways glance at Jin Yanxi, feigning slight annoyance, "I didn't dare to come and disturb you, nor did I wish to interrupt your studies. I merely happened to be passing by."

...

Right off the bat, it was a long stretch of dialogue with fairly complex emotional undertones.

Yet, to everyone's utter astonishment, Liu Yifei's performance was not the least bit inferior to Chen Kun's!

The entire sequence flowed with incredible smoothness.

"Good! Excellent! That take is a wrap!"

After checking the monitor twice, Li Dawei was overwhelmed with pleasant surprise!

Liu Yifei was an actress he had personally begged to join the cast; the more brilliantly she performed, the more it proved his exceptional vision!

By this point, all three leads had made their appearances, and their initial shots had all been completed in a single take.

This filled Li Dawei with immense pride.

It amply demonstrated that even without his mother's backing, he was fully capable of directing *The Story of a Noble Family* to perfection.

*The Story of a Noble Family* was his, Li Dawei's masterpiece.

"Reset the stage! Actors, take a short break."

Full of fighting spirit, Li Dawei began issuing orders.

Liu Yifei's expression shifted in a split second as she skipped cheerfully over to Chen Siyuan's side.

"Dad, how did I do? ... Hello, Sister Dong Jie!"

Spotting Dong Jie standing beside Chen Siyuan, Liu Yifei reined in her high spirits slightly.

Chen Siyuan raised his hand, intending to pat Liu Yifei's head, but realizing she had already been made up for the shoot, he pulled his hand back.

"Xixi, you brought Bai Xiuzhu to life! Dad is so proud of you!"

The smile on Chen Siyuan's face was unstoppable, and neither was his booming voice.

The bright, hearty laughter of Chen Siyuan echoed across the entire film set.

So "Bai Xiuzhu" turned out to be the daughter of the major investor!

No wonder Chen Siyuan had continued to linger on set after the boot-ceremony—he was there to back up his daughter!

Apart from Li Dawei and a few others who were already in the know, the rest of the crew stared at Liu Yifei with astonished eyes.

Inwardly, they instantly mentally categorized Liu Yifei as someone absolutely untouchable.

A sudden surge of jealousy welled up inside Dong Jie.

After all was said and done, Chen Siyuan treated Liu Yifei differently than he treated her.

"Brother Chen, Xixi, I'll go get ready first."

Afraid she might lose her composure if she stayed any longer, Dong Jie hastily made up an excuse and walked away to the other side.

"Dad, do you know Sister Dong Jie?"

Liu Yifei asked with a curious tilt of her head.

"Mm, I met her once before. She's quite suited for the role of Leng Qingqiu. You need to keep up the good work and make sure you aren't outshone by her."

Chen Siyuan said with a smile.

"Though it'll be a bit challenging, I'll do my best."

Liu Yifei gave a little punch into the air, then ended up amusing herself and flashed a mouthful of gums.

"Dad believes you can do it!"

"Thank you, Dad!"

Happily, Liu Yifei wrapped her arms around Chen Siyuan's sleeve.

"Places! Everyone to your places! We're shooting again right now!"

Li Dawei started shouting at the top of his lungs.

At that moment, he felt the impulsive urge to shoot the entirety of *The Story of a Noble Family* in one continuous breath.

Next up came the scenes featuring Chen Kun and Dong Jie.

Li Dawei was not filming in chronological order.

Using the same location, they were capturing scenarios from entirely different periods of the story.

For the crew, this was naturally much more convenient.

However, for the actors, the test was immense.

One moment they might be filming a deeply affectionate encounter, and the very next, they might be required to turn on each other with bitter hostility.

Coincidentally, this upcoming string of sequences happened to mirror Dong Jie's exact frame of mind at that moment.

A touch of lingering disappointment, a trace of petty jealousy.

All of those emotions stemmed from Chen Siyuan.

Even Chen Kun was somewhat stunned by Dong Jie's acting prowess.

This newcomer was insanely good!

Her emotional transitions were entirely effortless.

Consequently, Chen Kun's competitive spirit was also ignited.

As the biggest star in the entire cast, he certainly couldn't allow himself to be overshadowed by a newcomer.

With the lead actor and actress both delivering explosive performances, the happiest person of all was Li Dawei.

As expected, his ability to spot talent remained peerless!

Aside from Dong Jie herself, the only other person on the entire set who understood what was really happening was Chen Siyuan.

The White Lotus Dong has really struck gold!

Chen Siyuan muttered inwardly to himself.

After watching a bit longer, Chen Siyuan found it somewhat tiring to keep standing.

Watching television and watching a live film shoot were two entirely different concepts.

Watching a drama on screen was seamless.

A live shoot, however, was thoroughly fragmented.

Asking the assistant director for the location of the actors' lounge, Chen Siyuan headed over there to rest for a while.

Just as he was about to take care of nature's call, the sound of hurried, flustered footsteps echoed from behind him.