Rose Manor: Tycoon's Relentless Chase-Chapter 328 - 309: Blood at the Corner of the Mouth

Chapter 328: Chapter 309: Blood at the Corner of the Mouth

Upon arriving at the film set, Shen Jianian was still contemplating how to execute the slap while getting her makeup done. After repeated practice and adjustments, she felt she could precisely control the force.

Next, it depended on Tong Yan’s cooperation.

Compared to Shen Jianian’s nervousness, Tong Yan appeared much more at ease, perhaps because she was the one to be slapped. Initially, she was very resistant to playing such a scene, whether in real life or in the drama, being slapped was damaging to one’s dignity.

But she thought of a way to regain her face in front of Shen Jianian, so she was naturally willing to take the slap.

Last time, Tong Yan was publicly criticized by Director Wang for her acting being inferior to Shen Jianian, and a stone had been lodged in her heart ever since. Every time she thought of it, she was so angry she gnashed her teeth, hoping to find a chance to turn the tables.

Today was her chance to make a comeback.

Tong Yan covered her small face and came up to Shen Jianian, speaking insincerely, "Jianian, please go easy on me later, my skin is thin, and if it gets marked, it won’t disappear for three or four days, affecting future scenes."

"I was just about to discuss it with you." Shen Jianian took advantage of the stylist doing her hair to slightly turn her head towards Tong Yan, "Let’s agree on a signal. After I finish my first two lines, you count to three in your head, then turn your head. I will slap a second before, so your head turns just as my hand reaches your face."

Tong Yan was stunned: "You mean to fake it? Director Wang may not approve."

"It’s not a fake slap," Shen Jianian said. "My hand will really make contact with your face, but just as the force doesn’t fully land, you turn your head away."

Tong Yan: "Will this work?"

Shen Jianian: "We’ll rehearse it a few times before shooting, it’ll be fine."

Tong Yan nodded, indicating she would follow her lead.

Once Shen Jianian’s hair was done, the two found a corner to rehearse. At first, they weren’t well-coordinated; Tong Yan turned her head a second too early, making it look fake.

"Don’t count so fast," Shen Jianian reminded.

"Okay, I got it."

Tong Yan made an OK gesture.

After practicing a few times, their cooperation became more seamless, the slap and head turn flowed smoothly, showing no sign of acting.

Their assistants watched from the side, agreeing the last rehearsal was the best. They practiced a few more times to match that standard.

"When we officially shoot, let’s do it just like we did now. Remember to count neither too fast nor too slow, and I’ll hold back a bit with my strength," Shen Jianian shook her right hand.

Tong Yan responded with a hum, feeling resentful to be dictated by Shen Jianian, thinking, who does she think she is?

Just you wait and see...

The director’s assistant came over to call them, and Shen Jianian walked over while mulling things over, completely missing the mocking look in Tong Yan’s eyes.

"Attention all departments—"

It was the same location as last time, in Ruoyu’s room in the drama. She stood with her hands behind her back, facing the window. Outside was a deep courtyard with a persimmon tree, its leaves had all fallen, leaving only bright orange persimmons hanging on the branches, pecked by birds until they were tipsy, lying on the ground.

The wooden door behind her opened and closed, footsteps approaching.

Shen Jianian did not look back, her voice icy: "I thought last time rang a wake-up call for you, you should know the difference between light and heavy. Yin Dai, you’ve really let me down!"

She turned and slapped without any hesitation.

Tong Yan, playing Yin Dai, was a beat slow in reacting, and with a sharp "smack," the crisp sound echoed in the empty room. Tong Yan was slapped so hard her head spun, collapsing half her body on the table, gasping in pain, covering her face with her hand.

Shen Jianian’s fingers curled, her heartbeat accelerated, but the director didn’t call cut, so she had to force herself to continue and finish her lines.

After the take, only then did Wang Kelun call a stop.

Shen Jianian quickly crouched down to check Tong Yan’s face, anxiously asking, "What happened? Didn’t we coordinate well during rehearsal? Why were you slow?"

Tong Yan raised her face from the table, tears welling in her eyes, biting her lip without speaking for a long time.

Seeing her face up close, Shen Jianian gasped. Her lip was bleeding, but it wasn’t on the side she slapped; it was the other corner of her mouth.

Glancing at the table where Tong Yan had been leaning, Shen Jianian guessed she’d accidentally hit it on the edge.

"What’s the situation? Can we continue filming?" Wang Kelun sensed something was wrong, got up and paced with his hands on his hips.

Tong Yan’s assistant, flustered, said, "Sister Yan Yan’s face is injured, what should we do now?" She turned and shouted at Shen Jianian, "Mr. Shen, didn’t you say earlier the force would be light? How did this happen?"

Shen Jianian was flustered too, but now wasn’t the time to shirk responsibility: "Call the doctor to take a look, quickly."

The assistant hurried away, and the on-set doctor soon came to clean the blood from Tong Yan’s mouth, only to find a cut.

The doctor said, "If the cut were any bigger, it would need stitches."

Tong Yan’s tears fell rapidly.

The actors and staff who were watching saw Tong Yan’s injury, then looked at Shen Jianian, and immediately had different thoughts, feeling that she appeared innocent but had struck too viciously, leaving someone beat up like this.

Shen Jianian found it hard to argue, calmly said to Tong Yan: "Let me accompany you to the hospital for another check-up. This will definitely swell tomorrow, and getting an anti-inflammatory injection can make it heal a bit faster."

Tong Yan didn’t speak, just kept crying, tears sliding over the corner of her mouth wound, the pain contorting her expression somewhat.

People nearby whispered among themselves.

"Oh my god, Shen Jianian was way too heavy-handed, even if the scene requires real hitting, she should control her strength."

"Tong Yan is really unfortunate to have such a scene partner."

"I heard before that they didn’t get along, and now I’m starting to believe it."

"No matter how bad their relationship is, you can’t retaliate under the guise of acting..."

Wang Kelun stood with his arms crossed, sighed angrily: "Alright, everyone stop talking, Shen Jianian, accompany Tong Yan to the hospital, we’ll adjust the subsequent scenes."

Shen Jianian went to change back into her clothes, meanwhile instructed Xiao Yu to go look nearby for where to buy ice packs, then calmly got onto Tong Yan’s nanny car.

Tong Yan got into the car and glanced at Shen Jianian but still said nothing.

Shen Jianian handed her an ice pack wrapped in a towel: "Apply it to the corner of your mouth first, it’ll feel a bit better."

Tong Yan did not refuse her goodwill, took the ice pack and pressed it to her mouth corner, she frowned and hissed, for the sake of beating Shen Jianian once, she really went all out.

The doctor’s words "If the cut was a bit deeper you’d need stitches" sent a chill down her spine.

She feared disfigurement that would prevent her from acting ever again.

Lost in anxious thoughts, Shen Jianian’s slow yet powerful voice sounded in her ear: "Even if you reacted a second late, the force of my palm wouldn’t be enough to knock someone down."

Tong Yan tearful gaze directed at her, though her heart was racing, she didn’t show panic on the surface: "What do you mean? I’ve been hurt like this already, surely you wouldn’t think I intentionally hurt myself just to throw dirt at you. The doctor said I almost got disfigured, am I crazy?"

Shen Jianian gently pressed her lips, not arguing.

At the hospital, Tong Yan’s assistant went to register at outpatient, the doctor looked over and gave an accurate diagnosis, prescribed external and internal medication, didn’t require an IV.

Tong Yan returned to the hotel room, threw herself onto the big bed, lying down playing on her phone.

The assistant handed her a new ice pack: "Sister Yan Yan, continue applying it for a while, it will heal faster."

"Won’t apply it, it’s better if it gets worse." Tong Yan rolled her eyes, "Shen Jianian hasn’t even apologized yet, arrogantly relying on her benefactor for backing! As long as people see the wound on my mouth, they’ll know what kind of person she is. She can’t escape this."

The assistant held the ice pack and knelt by the bed to help her apply: "Don’t be so stubborn, you’ll get better soon and can continue filming."

Tong Yan changed the subject: "Did you take photos when I went to the hospital?"

"I did." 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

The assistant’s job was not just to take care of Tong Yan’s meals and living, but also to help her take photos anytime and anywhere, to record daily life, convenient for later hype and persona building.

"Let me see them." Tong Yan reached out a hand to her.

The assistant found her phone and showed it to her.

Tong Yan flipped through the album, she originally only wanted to regain her image in front of the director, but given Shen Jianian’s attitude towards her, then don’t blame her for not showing mercy.

*

After accompanying Tong Yan to the hospital, Shen Jianian didn’t return to the hotel but went to the set to film two scenes with other actors.

There was nothing more to say about Tong Yan, nor did she care about other actors’ misconceptions about her, during break she chatted with Director Wang Kelun: "You guided me with how to perform the scene, and I know how to hit properly, rehearsed a few times with Tong Yan before shooting, we coordinated without issue, still don’t understand why such an accident happened."

Wang Kelun patted her arm, the young girl dressed in black athletic wear, her face stern and serious, just like Ruoyu in the drama, stubborn and relentless.

For such an actor, Wang Kelun appreciated.

Therefore, he simply said: "I trust you are careful."

Shen Jianian’s tightened pink lips relaxed a bit, that one sentence of trust from Director Wang Kelun was worth more to her than a thousand comforting words.

After the filming, Xiao Yu hurried over with her phone, looking panicked.

"What happened?" Shen Jianian asked her.

Swallowing a mouthful of saliva, Xiao Yu said: "It’s not good Sister Jianian, you were seen by passersby when accompanying Teacher Tong Yan to the hospital, they posted it online, Tong Yan’s fans are all denouncing."