The wealthy military officer spoils his wife excessively

He was driving and casually replied, "Oh, the actor you worked with last time?"

Seeing that he wasn't very enthusiastic, Suwen lost her confidence and said in a muffled voice, "He is really a very dedicated and outstanding actor. It would be a pity if he ruined his acting career because of this."

Suwen said this only to gradually steer the conversation in and probe Lu Zheng's reaction, not expecting him to draw inferences or give any constructive answer immediately.

As expected, Lu Zheng did not respond, but simply looked ahead and focused on driving.

Unexpectedly, while waiting at a red light, he, who had been silent all along, suddenly looked up at her, his eyes deep: "Susu, I can give endlessly and be tolerant only because that person is you. I wouldn't even give a second glance to anyone else. Don't you think that deliberately speaking well of another man in front of me like this will only backfire?"

After letting out an "Ah," Su Wen was speechless, her face flushed with embarrassment. Finally, she lowered her eyes in a conciliatory gesture: "...I just felt that you had the ability to help him."

“I’m a businessman, not a philanthropist.” He turned to look at her, but there was a hint of gloom in his eyes.

That moment sent a chill down Su Wen's spine. Perhaps this was the real Lu Zheng, able to stand shoulder to shoulder with many successful entrepreneurs in their forties and fifties at the age of twenty-something, relying not only on his family background.

After that, Lu Zheng stopped speaking to her. Su Wen felt a tightness in her chest, along with some annoyance, and a vague sense of being seen through. On the surface, Lu Zheng had only refused to help Zhou Xiaochuan, but in reality, he was reminding her that the tolerance and pampering he could offer were limited, and only to her. If she continued to squander it so recklessly, it would eventually run out.

Yes, who would be kind to another person for no reason?

She seemed to have gotten used to Lu Zheng's kindness to her, and slowly, she became spoiled, dependent, and willful, enjoying his kindness and dumping all her troubles on him.

This is a bad omen. The invincible Nie Suwen should not rely on anyone.

During the subsequent dinner, neither of them brought up the topic again. Lu Zheng quickly returned to his usual warmth and attentiveness, gentlemanly pulling out the back of the chair for the lady, brushing the stray hairs from her forehead, and considerately cutting the steak into small pieces before exchanging plates with her.

But Suwen couldn't manage a smile no matter what. The atmosphere remained tense until he took her back to her hotel.

In front of the elevator, Lu Zheng kissed her goodbye, his lips brushing against her cheek as he breathed affectionately: "Susu, I'll give you a chance. If you can win Best Actress at the year-end awards ceremony with the help of Director Wei's film, then I'll grant you one request."

Su Wen was taken aback for a moment, then blinked: "Anything?"

"As long as it's within my power."

As for things that were beyond his reach, Suwen couldn't think of yet.

She rushed over in ecstasy, wanting to hug his neck and scream, but the elevator doors closed before she could.

Startled, Su Wen pulled her hand away from the trap and glared awkwardly and angrily at a man in the elevator who was smiling calmly.

Zhou Xiaochuan's story dominated the headlines for over a week. Following his car accident, rumors circulated that Global Holdings' stock price had plummeted, its finances were in trouble, and it might face bankruptcy.

Universal Music was originally a company supported by singers. However, with the decline of the record industry and the serious problem of online download piracy in recent years, domestic record companies have gone bankrupt one after another. Universal Music then began to transform and cultivate actors, and Zhou Xiaochuan is considered their leading man.

The period drama Zhou Xiaochuan was filming in Hengdian was a large-scale production, exclusively invested in by Universal Pictures. Filming was halted halfway through due to the male lead's car accident. Every day of filming costs money, and every day of downtime costs money too. Zhou Xiaochuan's condition was still unclear, and there was no guarantee he could return to the set. Should they continue waiting without any certainty, or replace him? If they replace him, it means all the scenes involving Zhou Xiaochuan would have to be reshot, and since he's the male lead, appearing in 90% of the scenes, the costs would be substantial.

Of course, Suwen greatly admired Huanqiu's actions at this critical juncture. No matter how severe Zhou Xiaochuan's injuries were, the company would not abandon him, and the production team issued an official statement that filming would be temporarily suspended, but the actor would not be replaced. Filming would resume only after Zhou Xiaochuan recovered and returned to the production team.

These heartwarming announcements brought a touch of warmth to the gloom of the accident.

Because of this incident, Suwen became even more serious about filming, giving her all to perform every scene well. When Xue Shaofeng asked her about it, she said, "I try my best to do my best so that the filming progress can be faster, so that everyone can avoid working overtime, filming night scenes, or traveling at night, which reduces a lot of risks."

Xue Shaofeng was speechless and patted her head: "You're really overreacting."

However, to everyone's surprise, this gloomy hurricane soon swept over their film crew.

That day, Suwen had just gotten up and was drinking milk while reading the newspaper when she was so stunned by a news article that she almost spat out all the milk.

The words, enlarged to an almost alarming degree, read: "Dai Lin reveals she has been secretly married to Xue Shaofeng for two years!"

Xiao Ai's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets: "Brother Feng got married? Oh my god, that's so shocking! It's been two years already?"

Even Su Wen, who usually interacted with Xue Shaofeng quite often, never noticed the slightest hint of a married man in Xue's every move. He hid it too well, didn't he? There wasn't a single clue.

But then I thought about it, and in this industry, secret marriages are quite normal. Didn't Andy Lau get exposed for having been secretly married for 24 years? That was a real shock, more suspenseful than a mystery movie.

Suwen pointed to the photo in the newspaper, where Xue Shaofeng and his ex-wife's portraits were placed inside a heart shape, but the "heart" was colored gray and had a large crack in the middle.

"Who is this person? He looks kind of familiar."

"Dairin, didn't you know? She's been in the industry for almost ten years now. About five or six years ago, she was a leading lady, but she's disappeared from the public eye these past few years. We haven't seen any of her work. Turns out she got married." Xiao Ai looked like she suddenly realized something.

No wonder… Suwen felt that Dailin looked familiar, but not because she had seen Dailin's movies before. It was because she had seen the woman talking alone with Xue Shaofeng outside the hotel a couple of nights ago. That woman was Dailin!

She was in Shanghai... and came to discuss things with Xue Shaofeng because of the news exposure?

Su Wen read on with skepticism: The newspaper reported that, according to Dai Lin herself, she and Xue Shaofeng met four years ago while filming in Hong Kong. They were mutually attracted and soon began dating. However, since both were celebrities at the time, their relationship remained secret. A year into their relationship, Xue won the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor and proposed to her that very night. At that time, Dai Lin's acting career was at its peak, but she painfully gave up her beloved acting career for her boyfriend, who had achieved even greater success, and lived a secluded life as Mrs. Xue. However, this sacrifice did not bring a happy marriage. About eight months ago, their marriage broke down, and after a divorce agreement, Xue Shaofeng moved to mainland China to develop his career, while Dai Lin, who now had to support herself, actively planned her comeback.

Such stories are commonplace in the entertainment industry, and aside from having a negative impact on the parties involved, they only evoke sighs of pity.

"I only understood what was going on after reading the last sentence. She's just trying to make a comeback and needs something to talk about, so she dragged her ex-husband out of the picture to climb the social ladder by stepping on him. What is Feng's worth now? How many people even remember Dai Lin? I really feel sorry for Feng." Xiao Ai's sharp words hit the nail on the head.

Indeed, this report is heavily biased, guiding readers to sympathize with the vulnerable woman, while Xue Shaofeng is implied as a man who abandoned his wife after becoming famous. In terms of this news alone, the biggest beneficiary is undoubtedly Dai Lin, while Xue Shaofeng, who has already won numerous awards and received widespread acclaim for his acting, certainly doesn't need such hype.

Xiao Ai had already taken the internet to major portal websites to follow the topic, and the reactions of her fans were predictable. Some people closed their eyes and shouted, "I don't believe it! I don't believe it! This is definitely a publicity stunt to get my Xue Xue on the front page!" Some cried their eyes out, while others were more vehement, cursing the liar and vowing never to watch Xue Xue's movies or TV shows again.

The transformation of a beloved idol into a married man is somewhat of a blow to the romantic ideals of young girls.

Su Wen was initially a little surprised, but it didn't change much for her. Whether Xue Shaofeng was married or not didn't affect the fact that he was an excellent actor and a kind senior. Marriage is a private matter, but because he's a celebrity, everything about him is magnified and commented on.

Suwen urged Xiao Ai a few times, then packed her things and rushed to the film set. There would probably be quite a few reporters gathered there today.

Today we're filming Suwen's most important scene, the one where she lures Mr. Yi to the jewelry store to carry out her assassination plan.

Director Wei had probably seen today's news, and called to tell them to get ready in the hotel and go to the film set through the back door once everything was ready, so as not to be intercepted by reporters and delay the filming. As long as they arrived at the film set, staff would be responsible for clearing the area and maintaining order, so they were not worried about being affected.

Suwen was wearing heavy makeup, with a pink face and red lips. Because she needed to get her hair done, she arrived at the set later than the others. When she got off the elevator, the makeup artist, wearing Suwen's face, was a little dissatisfied: "The lip color is still not bright enough. Wait a minute, I'll add another layer for you."

The elevator had reached the ground floor, but the makeup artist was about to open her case to get her tools. Suwen was about to stop her when, with a "ding," the elevator doors opened.

Both those inside and outside the elevator were stunned.

She ran into Xue Shaofeng's ex-wife!