Overnight Hit: Vicious Stepmother and Genius Son-Chapter 527 - 524

Fu Shinuan’s smile gradually faded away, "For the next scene, I want to use a stand-in."

She was certain that Ye Zhenzhen would definitely give her a hard slap.

Xia Zhi shrugged, "You’ll have to discuss that with Director Yang."

Whether she refused or not, it was not as effective as a word from Director Yang, so there was no need for her to deal outright with Fu Shinuan.

Such a substitution for the scene would naturally not be agreed upon by Yang Pinghui.

In the end, Fu Shinuan had no choice but to bite the bullet and do it herself.

The scene was set indoors, in a set constructed by the crew, featuring the male lead played by Xiao Yi, the female lead Ye Zhenzhen, and Fu Shinuan as the second female lead.

Ye Zhenzhen and Fu Shinuan would shoot the first half of the scene, with Xiao Yi appearing in the latter half.

After Fu Shinuan changed into her costume, she passed by Ye Zhenzhen and warned her through clenched teeth, "Ye Zhenzhen, you’d better take it easy when you hit me later, or sooner or later I will pay you back, you..."

——"Alright, all units prepare to take your places."

The assistant director’s voice came from the side, interrupting the second half of Fu Shinuan’s sentence.

Ye Zhenzhen’s radiant face revealed a faint smile, "Okay."

"..."

Fu Shinuan was momentarily surprised; she hadn’t expected Ye Zhenzhen to agree so readily.

Director Yang called out to Fu Shinuan again, "Miss, what are you still doing? Get ready to take your place."

This was their last scene for the day, and Fu Shinuan had been causing NG after NG that morning, making Director Yang unable to suppress the anger in his chest whenever he saw her.

Fu Shinuan’s lips twitched unhappily as she responded, "Okay."

After filming started, Fu Shinuan was first to speak her lines. The moment she opened her mouth, Director Yang watched the monitor and frowned.

It wasn’t until Fu Shinuan finished her lines and lunged at Ye Zhenzhen to push her that Ye Zhenzhen’s emotions were fully engaged; she was completely in character.

She dodged slightly, then raised her hand and slapped the other person.

"Slap!" 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

The slap from Ye Zhenzhen was neither too soft nor too harsh but landed genuinely on Fu Shinuan’s left cheek.

Fu Shinuan felt some pain, though it wasn’t particularly severe.

Director Yang raised his hand, signalling the assistant to call a halt.

"Zhenzhen, what’s with that slap of yours? The other person is speaking so rudely, yet your slap sounds like you’re merely tickling. We can’t even hear it on the recording," he said.

Ye Zhenzhen glanced at Fu Shinuan and explained, "Director Yang, based on my understanding of the character, I also think it should be as you said, but Xiao Nuan just told me to go easy on the slap, or she would make me regret it. If I hit her too hard, she would retaliate off-screen."

Fu Shinuan: "Ye Zhenzhen, what nonsense are you talking about!"

There were so many people from the crew around; Ye Zhenzhen’s public statement was meant to embarrass her!

"I’m just telling the truth; don’t get angry. You told me to go easy, so I did. How is that my fault?"

She had been through this kind of scene many times in her past life. There were plenty of actresses in the circle who didn’t see eye to eye; while they appeared amicable on the surface, in reality, when it came to scenes involving hitting or hurting the other, none of them had soft hearts or gentle hands.

Fu Shinuan found herself at a loss for words due to Ye Zhenzhen’s accusations and burst out, "You... you..."

She uttered several "you’s" but didn’t know what to say next.

Director Yang’s face visibly swelled with anger as he saw Fu Shinuan start picking on Ye Zhenzhen again, barely containing the urge to curse out loud, "Fu Shinuan, if you’re afraid of being slapped, then don’t act!"

Continuing like this, Yang Pinghui felt he would go insane sooner or later.

Of all the actors he had worked with, he had never seen anyone like this.

Fu Shinuan immediately responded loudly, "Director Yang, don’t be angry, I’ll act, I’ll act well."

Director Yang was internally extremely frustrated and disdainful, "Pay attention to your lines, if you can’t get them right, slow down your speech a little, your regional accent is coming out."

"Again!"

The second time, Fu Shinuan’s lines were barely passable, Ye Zhenzhen’s slap caused Fu Shinuan’s cheek to burn fiercely, making her tilt to one side, and she forgot her lines, stunned for a full minute.

The third time, Ye Zhenzhen’s performance was still stable, and while Fu Shinuan was more or less okay, Director Yang still felt that Fu Shinuan’s emotions weren’t strong enough, lacking intensity.

After these three slaps, Fu Shinuan’s cheek was visibly swollen.

The makeup artist’s powder puff applied several layers, yet it couldn’t cover it up.

Ye Zhenzhen’s hand was a bit numb, but her heart felt extremely satisfying.

Getting even personally and publicly felt great!

Whether Fu Shinuan’s face was swollen or not was not important to Director Yang; what he cared about was the result shown on screen.

"I say madam, you could learn from Zhenzhen. Look at her consistent performance every time. How is it that you just can’t get it right?"

Director Yang had thought countless times today about replacing her, his first cooperation with Fu Shinuan, and he was sure and certain that it would also be his last.

If it weren’t for Xu Wanjia’s age and look not matching the character very well, he would have foregone formalities and pushed his own wife to take the part instead.

What Fu Shinuan found most irritating now was everyone comparing her to Ye Zhenzhen. Ye Zhenzhen had good acting skills, what else, she had merely snatched her role, that’s all. If she were to play the lead role, she could act just as well.

She covered her burning cheek with her hand, her voice tender and appeasing as she said, "Director Yang, how about Teacher Ye and I temporarily swap roles to see how Teacher Ye interprets this role?"

As soon as Fu Shinuan spoke, everyone’s gaze turned to Ye Zhenzhen.

Director Yang said to Ye Zhenzhen, "If you want to try, try it; if not, forget it, let’s continue shooting."

If the actor herself did not accept it, he would not force it. Everyone knew what Fu Shinuan was thinking without it being said outright.

Ye Zhenzhen raised her eyebrows at Fu Shinuan, "Sure, let’s switch and give it a try."

Everyone: ...

Ye Zhenzhen really lived up to being Teacher Ye; her demeanor and vision were indeed different from the average person.

After the staff called action, Ye Zhenzhen effortlessly recited Fu Shinuan’s lines;

"You shameless woman, nursing a child while trying to seduce my fiancé? All day playing the innocent little white flower, for whom are you putting on this act? You think you can aspire to be a wealthy lady with your appearance?

Do you really believe that after a toad leaves the bottom of the well, it can eat swan meat? It’s simply disgusting and low!"

These lines, when spoken by Ye Zhenzhen, felt completely different than when Fu Shinuan said them, stinging Fu Shinuan’s ears, especially after Director Yang had commented on her regional accent in her dialogue.

In that moment, Fu Shinuan felt as if Ye Zhenzhen wasn’t acting, but truly insulting her, mocking her foolish dreams of marrying into a wealthy family and pretending to be an innocent flower...

The deepest insecurities in Fu Shinuan’s heart were awakened, her features twisted in rising anger as she lifted her hand and fiercely slapped Ye Zhenzhen’s face.

How dare she call her low? As if Ye Zhenzhen wasn’t the truly despicable one.