About two weeks after filming began, Lin Siyan officially joined the production crew. Since his role did not have an especially large number of scenes, his filming schedule started later than everyone else’s.

During those two weeks, all of the younger brother’s scenes had been filmed with the teenage version of the character alongside Gu Nansheng.

It had also been quite some time since Gu Nansheng and Lin Siyan last met. Although they belonged to the same company, both of them were busy with their own careers and rarely crossed paths.

The last time they had seen each other was when Lin Siyan returned to Yancheng and specially brought her dumplings wrapped by Shen Ning from home.

The two of them lived in the same residential building, one upstairs and one downstairs. On top of that, he was Lin Manqing’s younger brother, so Gu Nansheng naturally treated him like a little brother as well. Even for Uncle Lin’s sake, she felt she should look after him more.

“Nansheng-jie, long time no see!” Lin Siyan greeted her enthusiastically.

“Long time no see, Siyan.”

“My scenes start tomorrow, and honestly… I’m a little nervous. It’s my first time acting.”

“It’s normal to be nervous your first time. Don’t worry too much, just take it slowly. If there’s anything you don’t understand, you can always ask me.”

“Really? That’s great, thank you, Nansheng-jie.”

Lin Siyan’s eyes lit up with happiness.

He had finally seen her again.

He never imagined they would end up working on the same production together. The moment he learned she would be the female lead, he had been so excited that he stayed awake the entire night.

The next day.

“Cut!”

“Cut!”

“Cut!”

After Lin Siyan had already NG’d thirteen times, the director finally told him to step aside and calm himself down for a bit to find the right feeling for the scene.

“Switch to Scene Thirty-Six! Let’s shoot the other scenes first!”

Lin Siyan was heavily discouraged.

Although this was his first time filming and he had decent awareness of the camera, he still could not meet the director’s expectations when it came to emotional expression.

Gu Nansheng had been standing nearby watching his scenes the entire time.

This particular scene was about the younger brother, Xiang Wanfeng, learning the truth about his identity and the emotional changes he experienced when facing his sister afterward.

The shift from familial affection into romantic love.

Loving someone he could never have.

Loving someone who would never belong to him.

Gu Nansheng sat down beside him and patiently demonstrated how she would approach the scene herself, explaining the emotional layers, the subtle changes in expression, and especially the shifts in the eyes.

“Siyan, you need to imagine that the person you love is in love with someone else, not you. An actor needs imagination. You have to truly place yourself into the role before you can express real emotions. Only then will the audience feel moved along with you. Always remember, you are Xiang Wanfeng.”

Lin Siyan nodded.

He closed his eyes quietly for a moment, carefully feeling the emotions.

When he opened them again, he said softly, “Let me try one more time.”

He adjusted his emotions once more while the staff reset the props and prepared the set again…

“Cut! Good! Siyan did very well this time. This take passes!”

Hearing the director’s words, Lin Siyan finally let out a long breath of relief.

Standing behind the monitor, Gu Nansheng watched his performance to the end before giving him an approving smile.

The moment Lin Siyan looked up and met her encouraging gaze, his face instantly grew a little warm.

Over the next several days of filming, Lin Siyan improved tremendously. He was no longer slowing down the crew’s filming progress.

Whenever he did not have scenes to shoot, he would sit behind the monitor and quietly watch Gu Nansheng perform.

He had always known she was beautiful.

He had known that ever since they were young.

He had watched all her films.

The radiant version of her.

The carefree version of her.

The mischievous version of her.

The seductive version of her.

It all felt like different pieces of who she was.

But this was the very first time he had seen her wearing a qipao.

The red qipao wrapped around her graceful figure perfectly. The collar and sleeves were embroidered with exquisite golden trim. The high collar accentuated the elegance of her slender neck, while the high slit of the skirt revealed glimpses of her fair legs with every movement.

Every smile and every glance carried endless charm.

Lin Siyan understood the meaning behind this particular scene.

The female lead wanted the male lead to retreat in the face of reality and give up on her. She wanted him to forget the Xiang Wanqing who once existed like an untouchable white moonlight in his memories.

That was why she deliberately dressed herself in such dazzling beauty, completely different from the plain and modest girl she used to be.

She wanted him to fully understand that the current her and the former her were already two entirely different people.

They could never be together again…

Yet after reuniting with her, He Yanli’s character became even more certain that the person he loved had always been Xiang Wanqing. No matter how much she changed, his love for her had never diminished even slightly.

The chemistry between the two actors continuously sparked during their scenes together, portraying their heartbreaking love story so vividly that it made people’s hearts ache.

As Lin Siyan watched Gu Nansheng perform, he found himself gradually becoming emotionally affected as well.

Nansheng-jie was truly amazing.

…

Tonight’s scene involved Xiang Wanqing standing in the rain.

Lin Siyan checked the weather forecast and discovered that Xicheng’s nighttime temperature was only around 5°C.

And it was already November.

Even though the climate here was warmer than most places, a girl wearing only a qipao while getting drenched in rain would still easily catch a cold.

But as an actress, Gu Nansheng simply stated that she had no problem with it and would follow the director’s arrangements completely.

Even though he did not have any scenes scheduled tonight, Lin Siyan still came to the set because he was worried about her.

For this scene, Gu Nansheng had to dress very lightly to portray Xiang Wanqing’s heartbreak and despair after being forced to break up with Fu Yunzhou. She had to walk home alone under the pouring rain…

Everything was ready.

The prop truck began spraying water.

Xiang Wanqing walked down the street in a daze, her face pale and lifeless.

Rain began falling from the sky, but she seemed completely unaware of it, allowing the rainwater to drench her body.

The rain mixed together with her tears, and her thin figure looked unbearably helpless.

Watching Gu Nansheng become completely soaked by the rain, Lin Siyan felt as though an invisible hand had clenched tightly around his heart. A suffocating ache spread through his entire body.

At that moment, there was nothing he could do.

Because this was her job.

“Stop! What’s going on? Why did the water stop?!” the director shouted while staring at the monitor.

“Looks like there’s a malfunction!” The staff hurriedly stopped the truck and began checking the equipment.

Gu Nansheng was already trembling from the cold.

The moment Lin Siyan saw her condition, he immediately grabbed a coat and draped it over her shoulders.

“Nansheng-jie, are you okay?” he asked worriedly.

“I-I’m fine…” Even her teeth had started chattering.

“Hurry up and figure out what’s wrong!” the director shouted loudly through a megaphone.

“Nansheng-jie, go change into dry clothes first!” Xuanxuan quickly reminded her.

“Okay.”

Gu Nansheng was internally cursing nonstop.

Why did the prop truck have to break down at such a critical moment? It looked like they would have to reshoot everything.

It was seriously freezing…

Gu Nansheng followed Xuanxuan into the changing room to switch into clean clothes and dry her hair.

When she stepped back outside, she saw Lin Siyan standing by the doorway holding a thermos flask.

“What’s wrong, Siyan?”

“Nansheng-jie, this is ginger soup. Drink some later so you won’t catch a cold.” He handed it to her.

Knowing she would be filming in the rain tonight, he had already asked his assistant to buy ginger soup ahead of time.

“Huh? Thank you. You’re really thoughtful.” Gu Nansheng accepted it gratefully.

Originally, she had wanted to take better care of him, but unexpectedly, he had ended up taking care of her instead.

“You’re welcome.” He revealed a clean and handsome smile.

After Lin Siyan walked away, Xuanxuan quietly leaned closer and whispered to Gu Nansheng,

“Nansheng-jie, isn’t he way too good to you? He’s so sweet…”

“His sister is my best friend,” Gu Nansheng explained.

“Really? But I feel like he likes you…” Xuanxuan lowered her voice further. “Whenever you’re acting, he’s always watching you.”

And the way he looked at her did not resemble the gaze of a junior admiring a senior at all.

“Maybe he just wants to learn how to act better.” Gu Nansheng did not think much of it.

After the equipment was repaired, filming resumed for the second take.

This time, everything went smoothly and they passed the scene in one shot.

Once filming ended, Gu Nansheng drank the ginger soup Lin Siyan had given her and felt warmth gradually return to her body.

She absolutely had to tell Lin Manqing about this.

This younger brother of hers was way too caring.

If Lin Manqing refused to acknowledge him anymore, could she adopt Lin Siyan as her own unrelated younger brother instead?

Though… if she actually said that aloud, Lin Manqing might beat her to death.