Chapter 428: Chapter 428 - 422: Ji Han Dad, Dad Dad Dad Dad...

Shi Su has a night scene tonight; dinner time is spent on the film set, and filming will probably wrap up after nine o’clock.

A little after six in the evening, Shi Su just finished a scene and was prepared to get into the RV when she suddenly saw many crew members and staff walking out excitedly. Those returning held two exquisite meal boxes, with the air filled with appetizing aromas.

"Did someone treat the crew today?" Shi Su curiously asked a crew member.

The crew member, seeing Shi Su, immediately smiled sincerely and gratefully: "It’s you, Shi Su! I never thought in my life I’d get to taste takeout from Yan Gui Building. Working overtime in our crew feels too lucky! Thank you, Shi Su! You’re so generous!"

Shi Su: "?"

Although the stars in the crew often treat others, it’s usually coffee, tea, or pizza — when have they ever treated such an expensive meal?

If it were coffee, Shi Su might reasonably guess it was ordered by Miss Chen or Chu Jiu.

But takeout from Yan Gui Building...

Their studio doesn’t seem to have the capacity to generously treat the entire crew.

Stopping more crew members to ask, she got the same answer all around, with them expressing their gratitude and offering her blessings for her marriage and family life — praising her beauty and kindness, which never ceased.

Returning to the RV, Shi Su saw that Chu Jiu also brought back some meal boxes, including the driver. Indeed, not a single member of the crew was left out.

Shi Su roughly guessed the reason, sent a WeChat message to Zhou He, and learned that Jing Jihan, in her name, treated the whole crew to renowned dishes from Yan Gui Building in Jiang City. The hotel had specially packed them in the finest meal boxes and delivered them all to the set.

This hotel is famous in Jiang City; it has the status of a national banquet-level hotel and typically only serves high-level guests. Even ordinary wealthy people may not have the qualification to dine in; a simple vegetarian dish could cost four figures.

Glimpsing Chu Jiu’s opened meal box filled with signature dishes, Shi Su could estimate the exorbitant price of one portion even with her eyes closed.

The thing is, when you add up all the crew members, it comes to more than two hundred people, each having a serving.

Is this a disguised way of treating her colleagues to a wedding feast?

Shi Su silently took out her phone and sent Jing Jihan an emoji: [Begging Kitten.jpg]

She hadn’t expected a reply upon sending it. Yet, as soon as she put down her phone, it buzzed, and she saw a voice message from Jing Jihan.

She hesitated for a moment, glanced at Chu Jiu, who was engrossed in eating with the exquisite meal box, and quietly opened the voice message.

Suddenly, Mianmian’s voice floated out from the voice message: "Mommy! The emoji you sent is so cute!"

Shi Su: ???

She was surprised to see that it was indeed Jing Jihan’s WeChat.

Then she remembered that Mrs. Qin called earlier to say that Mianmian had been taken by Jing Jihan.

Is Mianmian playing with Jing Jihan’s phone?

Shi Su replied with an audio message: "Mianmian, don’t play with adults’ phones. What if there’s work data in it and you accidentally lost it?"

Mianmian quickly responded: "Dad Ji Han said it’s okay, I’m just using it to watch cartoons, I won’t mess around. Mommy, don’t worry~"

After listening, Shi Su felt something wasn’t right.

For a moment, she couldn’t respond to what wasn’t right.

As she prepared to look over the script for the next scene, she suddenly paused.

Dad Ji Han?

Two hours later, the evening shoot was done, and the time was nearly nine at night.

Everyone enjoyed a good dinner, working with energy, wrapped things up slightly earlier than planned. The crew was busy tidying up the props; Shi Su should’ve returned to the RV for makeup removal, but the makeup artist was occupied in the makeup room, and the RV was short on cleansing pads, so she decided to go to the makeup room to remove her makeup herself.

Upon entering, she found three female actors sitting nearby at the entrance, applying makeup remover while chatting about today’s explosive gossip on Weibo. No one expected Shi Su to enter suddenly, so the conversation included some unrestrained remarks.

"Hey, do you think today’s news means Shi Su forced a marriage with her child to tie Mr. Jing down? Otherwise, why is this matter suddenly exposed today, and was never publicly acknowledged before? Could it be that because they have a child, Mr. Jing had no choice but to marry her, but the two never had any private contact for years, effectively making it a nominal marriage only? They’ve never been seen together..."

"It’s possible. For a deep-rooted wealthy family like the Jing Family, marriage wouldn’t be so freely arranged. Shi Su, with her background, couldn’t marry into it without some scheme. You saw how she stepped Shi Yunyin down — she made every move meticulously, full of reversed twists beautifully pulled off, showing she was never an innocent flower. Now she maintains a low profile, doesn’t cause trouble, and acts all congenial, indicating she has deep schemes and wariness. I see, surely, it’s a shotgun marriage."

"I remember Shi Su seems to have some connection with the Shi Family. However, her secrets have been almost thoroughly dug today, with her background appearing to be Imperial Capital the Shi Family, so she’s... considered from a wealthy family and not entirely without background..."

"Did the Shi Family ever publicly acknowledge her? I don’t think so. At most, she’s probably an illegitimate child... doesn’t really count for much, far from matching the Jing Family..."

"With such scheming and mindful caution, we better steer clear of her in the crew, lest we offend her, and not know how we die afterward."

Shi Su’s hand paused briefly on the makeup room door before she walked in.

Upon seeing Shi Su enter, the expressions of the three actresses sitting near the door instantly stiffened. They hastily picked up the cleansing pads from the table, each focused on wiping their eyes and mouths as if nothing had happened.

Shi Su glanced at others in the makeup room busy with their tasks, then walked straight to the trio: "Can I borrow some cleansing pads?"

The three handed a whole pack of cleansing pads to Shi Su with strained expressions.

Shi Su took them and glanced at them: "Thanks."

Without changing her expression, she stated: "What were you discussing just now? I thought I heard something about scheming and means of climbing up?"

The three actresses: "..."

One of them replied, while vigorously wiping her makeup, in a soft voice: "We’re all women here, just chatting idly, no malicious intent. Shi Su, please don’t mind..."

"Is that so?" Shi Su picked up a few cleansing pads, smirking: "Seems like with some means, any ambition becomes easy to achieve. You all look quite beautiful, with so many ideas, yet why haven’t I seen you employ your own methods to try and find someone yourself?"

The past two years, Shi Su had a reputation for being cautious and tactful, always amiable, rarely commenting online, and seldom clashing with anyone in reality. This suddenly awkward atmosphere transformed the trio’s expressions, making them stammer and avoid her gaze.

Shi Su’s smile faded, her expression impassive as she regarded them: "Then again, being narrow-minded like this, indeed, wouldn’t amount to much."

"..."

The makeup room was not occupied solely by the three actresses; nonetheless, it fell silent.

Shi Su also wiped her face, then looked at her cleansing pads, sighing: "After all, we’re in the same crew, yet the quality difference in cleansing pads between actors is this significant. Are these usually tossed to the extras for use?"

After she finished speaking, she glanced at the mound of cleansing pads piled before the trio, as if just realizing what she was saying. She then laughed and added: "I’m not sneering at you for just doing bit parts yet still brazenly occupying the makeup room, merely a casual remark, no malicious intent."

Her line, reminiscent of a copied "no malicious intent," was tossed back as Shi Su gracefully turned to leave, not bothering to glance at the trio’s expressions.

The makeup artist, previously occupied inside, quickly tidied up, unconsciously picking up Shi Su’s dedicated cleansing pads and remover to decisively follow Shi Su out, not looking back.