Chapter 535 Divine Beauty
As much as Ning Ran admired Huang Zichao’s good looks, she was anything but dazzled by him. How could she, when she had gotten used to being around handsome men every day?
With the likes of the Nan family brothers and Zheng Lunlun surrounding her, it’d take a lot more than just physical attractiveness to impress her.
Just as Ning Ran turned to get back to work, a deep male voice suddenly called out to her.
“Ms. Ding!”
To her surprise, Huang Zichao was hurriedly making his way toward her.
Since he had taken the initiative to strike up a conversation, Ning Ran had no choice but to stay and greet him.
Meanwhile, Huang Zichao never once took his gaze off Ning Ran.
She had the most delicate features, supple skin, and curves in all the right places. It was the kind of beauty that one wouldn’t usually find in the entertainment industry.
She was so effortlessly graceful and elegant, and there was just no hiding how gorgeous she was.
For a moment, Huang Zichao even found himself in a daze.
Despite having worked with plenty of sexy, beautiful actresses throughout his illustrious acting career, he realized that none of them could measure up to Ning Ran.
Is she a goddess? Has she come to earth to bless me with her divine beauty?
“I’ve watched The Sound of Thunder 2, and I must say, you’re even prettier in person!” Huang Zichao complimented.
Even though a compliment from a famous actor was always something to be proud of, Ning Ran couldn’t help but feel a tinge of embarrassment.
“Thank you,” she replied, albeit a little awkwardly.
“I’m Huang Zichao. It’s a pleasure to be filming with you.”
Ning Ran smiled and shook his hand politely. “I’m Ding Mi.”
“Let’s do our best for this film.”
“Yes. I’ll be in your care.”
“Hey, I’ll also be learning a lot from you. Your acting’s brilliant. I’m a big fan!” Huang Zichao once again complimented.
“Oh, you’re too kind. You’re the one with the Best Actor award, so I should be learning from you.”
“You’ll get the award too, mark my words. I have faith in your talent.”
Just then, the director walked up to them. “Wow, look how good the two of you are together! With your participation in this film, there’s no doubt it’d become the highest-grossing film of the year!”
After exchanging the usual pleasantries, both actors left to get into their costumes and makeup.
Later, the director decided to start the camera rolling with a scene between Ning Ran and Huang Zichao so they could set an example for the rest of the cast.
Both had superb acting skills and played their roles to their heart’s content.
Ning Ran, especially, was elated to be acting alongside someone so good at their craft.
The scene was about Ning Ran’s character finding out that her child had an incurable disease. Subsequently, she decided to quit her job so she could go overseas to seek a cure.
Huang Zichao, who played her husband, was unfortunately against the idea. To him, there wasn’t a point in going overseas since it was near impossible to find a successful treatment anywhere in the world.
Besides, life had to go on. Ditching her job and losing a stable income would only plunge their family into dire straits.
Just like that, the once loving couple got into a heated argument.
However, instead of having their characters scream at each other, Ning Ran and Huang Zichao delivered their lines calmly. Their eyes and expressions were so full of despair that a suffocating silence befell the set.
Everyone was at a loss for words, with some of the costars even finding themselves moved to tears.
Eventually, Huang Zichao admitted his mistake and hugged his wife tightly.
At that point, the director was supposed to end the scene, but he was so engrossed in Ning Ran and Huang Zichao’s acting that it completely slipped his mind.
The two actors had no choice but to remain hugging, not daring to move a muscle.
Alas, Nan Chen, who had just arrived, saw it all.
From his point of view, the scene had long ended, yet Huang Zichao refused to let Ning Ran out of his embrace.
What infuriated him the most, though, was seeing Ning Ran unbothered by the interaction.
Ridiculous! How long do they intend to continue hugging? Is this even still acting?
“Cut!” Nan Chen shouted, unable to stand it any longer.
It was only then that the director got out of his daze and chimed in, “Cut! Oh, my goodness, that was amazing! Perfect!”
With that, Huang Zichao finally let go of Ning Ran.
Despite being somewhat annoyed at being hugged for so long, Ning Ran was thankful that Huang Zichao remained professional and didn’t cross any boundaries.
“Scrape this scene.”
The director turned around upon hearing that, only to meet the gaze of Nan Chen.
“Sir Chen! When did you get here? I didn’t even realize.”
“Why didn’t you end the scene?” Nan Chen asked coldly.
“Their acting was so sublime that I forgot all about it. I’ll be more mindful of that in the future!”
“I don’t want this scene. It’s not good.”
“Huh?” the director mumbled as his eyes widened in shock.
Is this not good enough? Of all the shows I’ve directed, this is the first time I’ve seen two actors hit it off so well in their first scene. How much better can it get?
“Stop hemming and hawing. Haven’t I made myself clear?” Nan Chen replied. “Anyway, why have you started filming when I haven’t seen the new script?”
“I-I sent it to you. But your assistant said you were too busy to read it and told us to proceed with the filming—”
“Director, are we still filming?” Huang Zichao suddenly interrupted before realizing Nan Chen was there.
Even though the two men had never met in person before, Huang Zichao had seen enough of Nan Chen in the news to recognize him.
“Pause all the scenes with the female lead and film the rest first,” Nan Chen answered.
“You must be Mr. Nan, the main investor funding this film. It’s a pleasure to meet you!” Huang Zichao exclaimed as he extended his hand.
Alas, Nan Chen only nodded in response.
It wasn’t that he looked down on actors, but the mere thought of seeing Huang Zichao hug Ning Ran made him want to punch the daylights out of the man.
As such, a polite nod was the best Nan Chen could do.
“This is Sir Chen,” the director introduced. “And our famous actor here is Huang Zichao, who just came back from Hollywood.”
Nan Chen completely ignored him and strode right up to Ning Ran. “You’re done filming for the day.”
Ning Ran frowned, annoyed at how unreasonable Nan Chen was. He’s only one of the investors! What gives him the right to come on set and order the professionals around? At this rate, how are we going to continue filming?
Logically speaking, investors should only be in charge of the finances and not meddle in the other aspects of a film.
If any Tom, Dick, or Harry could step in to give orders to the director and actors, they’d be disrespecting the art and professionals. The quality of the film, without a doubt, would also be affected.
“Hold on, not even the director has agreed to it. Can you not be like this?” Ning Ran snapped.
“Oh, I have nothing to add,” the director quickly replied, not wanting to offend Nan Chen. “You can leave first. It’s all right.”
“Does this mean filming has stopped? I want to know why, though. Was our acting not up to par?” Huang Zichao asked, bitterly upset at the turn of events.
Nan Chen, who was still annoyed, shot him a glare. “Yes. Your acting’s terrible.”
