"Get a shawl from my bag in a bit," Ouyang Xuan whispered from the side.

"I'm not cold." Bo He rubbed her nose, unconcerned.

"I'm going over then, can't keep them waiting too long!" Ouyang Xuan said again, quickly and quietly.

Bo He waved her hand, signaling for her to go.

Ouyang Xuan immediately scurried over.

The director hadn't arrived yet. The cameramen and lighting technicians were still fiddling with their equipment and props. The people present were in small groups, chatting and laughing. Naturally, some were talking about work, discussing angles, and talking about characters. This was a world Bo He had never been exposed to.

If it weren't for Ouyang Xuan, she wouldn't have needed to be exposed to it.

Ouyang Xuan was an actress.

To be precise, she was a small-time, unfulfilled actress; otherwise, she wouldn't have had to share an apartment with Bo He.

Ouyang Xuan was professionally trained, but not from one of the well-known domestic film academies. Instead, she had majored in acting in a supplementary program at an ordinary university. This status was inherently a bit awkward. Furthermore, although the Ouyang family was well-off, they were just an ordinary family with no connections in politics, business, or entertainment. As a result, after passionately completing her major, Ouyang Xuan was unwilling to change careers. With no background, she could only rely on introductions from her university teachers to occasionally play third, fourth, or even fifth female supporting roles in small productions.

But these opportunities weren't common. At the three major film production bases in the country, tens of thousands of people were waiting for a chance every day. Very few managed to break out of being an extra and climb higher. Most people, clinging to the hope of making a name for themselves, would come to terms with reality after years of wasted time, eventually finding a nine-to-five job and returning to an ordinary life.

The fact that Ouyang Xuan could occasionally land a role made her one of the lucky ones among the unlucky.

This drama was about four generations living under one roof. Its time span stretched from the late Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, and then from the Republic to the modern era. With a large cast, it could be considered an ensemble piece.

Of course, even an ensemble piece has main and supporting roles. Ouyang Xuan played the youngest daughter of the second generation in a large family—a new-era woman who had studied Western medicine abroad and returned, full of passion, to reform the old China. In the turbulent century-long story, this character didn't have a major part, but she reflected the tragedy of the era from a certain angle. The role required an actress with decent acting skills who wasn't chasing a high billing.

In the entertainment industry, where everyone wanted to make it big, you could find a huge number of actresses who met these conditions. But besides acting skills, they also had to be very young, because the character was only in her late teens when she first appeared. Finding someone twenty-five or twenty-six to play the part was barely passable. If they found someone twenty-eight or twenty-nine, no matter how young their face looked, the world-weariness in their eyes from life experience would be impossible to hide.

Even so, they could still pick out many suitable candidates from a pile of hopefuls.

Ouyang Xuan getting this role was pure coincidence. The originally cast actress had unexpectedly fractured a bone and couldn't make it. Ouyang Xuan had a good relationship with a teacher from her major and had stayed in touch. That teacher happened to know the production manager of this drama. After a roundabout introduction and a lot of effort, she finally got the role.

Even though it was just a female supporting role with few scenes, it was at least a proper supporting role, which was a significant step up for Ouyang Xuan.

But Ouyang Xuan didn't have her own assistant; she even shared a manager with many other actors at her agency. Coming and going all alone like that didn't look good. As it happened, Bo He had a three-day holiday, so Ouyang Xuan begged her to be her temporary assistant, promising to cover her travel and accommodation. Given Ouyang Xuan's number of scenes, three days was just right.

If not for Ouyang Xuan's pitiful pleading, Bo He would have much rather spent the three days at home playing games. But she also knew that Ouyang Xuan's circle was a world of fame and fortune, where all kinds of temptations were infinitely magnified and snobs who fawned over the powerful and trampled on the weak were countless. For some minor matters, having someone to act on her behalf would save Ouyang Xuan from direct embarrassment, which was why she agreed.

An ordinary person, especially a young girl, might be full of curiosity about a film set. But Bo He had done similar part-time jobs before, so such scenes were not unfamiliar to her. It was just that this film set was larger in scale, and the people coming and going were a motley crew, including a few familiar faces.

This drama was a high-profile production. Bo He had heard from Ouyang Xuan that before filming even began, the film had already been registered as a key regional project and was being produced as an annual tribute film. The director, naturally, was no ordinary person. An obscure, up-and-coming director would do nothing for the film's promotion. For this production, the crew had hired a famous director who was accustomed to shooting ensemble pieces, had won many domestic awards, and whose skill was recognized by the industry. He might not be on par with those few national treasure-level directors, but he could be called first-rate.

But Bo He was now regretting it.

Before leaving, she hadn't asked Ouyang Xuan many questions about the new drama, so naturally, she didn't know who the director was.

By the time she arrived and saw him in person, it was too late to avoid him.

A hubbub of voices came from ahead.

She naturally lifted her head, and her eyes met those of the director, who was walking in surrounded by a crowd of people.

Both of them froze for a moment.

Bo He saw a mixture of emotions in his eyes—awkwardness, distance. She didn't know what emotions he saw in hers.

After just a few seconds, he averted his gaze and spoke to the person beside him as if nothing had happened.

Standing next to him was a young girl, a little younger than Bo He. She was nestled against the director as she spoke, their posture intimate. An amiable expression, which hadn't been there a moment ago, appeared on the director's face, and he let her act cute and playful.

Bo He only glanced over before lowering her head to look at her phone, not the least bit interested.

Neither the male nor female leads had arrived yet. The original plan for today was to film some of the supporting actors' scenes first.

While Ouyang Xuan was filming, Bo He had already played several rounds of a thrilling battlefield game and won three times. It's a pity my apprentice isn't online, she thought, otherwise it would have been another perfect lesson.

"Come on, everyone, lend a hand! Carry these chairs and this coffee table outside. Be careful, these are genuine antiques, don't let anyone break them!"

Li City didn't have a film production base, nor was it a famous tourist destination. The reason it was chosen for filming was that the drama was based on a century-old family from Li City, so it was natural to restore the local style and cultural landscape.

Although this mansion wasn't the original old residence from the story, it was a building from roughly the same period. It had been confiscated during the turmoil of previous years. After order was restored, the family's descendants had either moved far away or passed away from illness. The government couldn't find the original owners to return it to, so it designated the place as a protected site, opened it for tours, and it was now being borrowed by the film crew for shooting.

Right now, they needed to clear out space indoors to place personnel and equipment. Although the crew was large, the sheer amount of things that needed to be moved made everything seem chaotic.

Playing games was also hard work. Her neck was sore and her eyes were strained. Bo He put down her phone to stretch her muscles and joints. Seeing a group of people not far away frantically moving things, she voluntarily walked over.

"Need a hand?"

They were short on crew hands and on a tight schedule. The foreman was at his wit's end. Seeing a young girl come over, he immediately said, "You can move these small items then."

The small items were nothing more than things like vases and potted plants. Bo He nodded and began carrying the vases outside one by one.

"Bo He?"

Just as she was starting to move the third vase, someone called out to her.

The voice was a little familiar.

Bo He turned her head, stunned for half a second, then couldn't help but smile.

What kind of day was it today? How did all her acquaintances end up in the same place?

"It really is you. I thought I saw wrong just now." The other person was also a little surprised and pleased.

"Senior Zhang," Bo He smiled. "You're back from abroad?"

Her smile was polite and courteous, but it held absolutely no trace of excitement that could be mistaken for anything else.

Zhang Chen was a little disappointed, but also a little happy.

In the vast sea of people, they had managed to meet again without any deliberate contact. Didn't that prove some kind of fate?

"I've been back for a while. I've been invited to be a consultant for the film crew," Zhang Chen said.

Bo He: "A historical consultant?"

Zhang Chen: "History and props-related."

Bo He nodded. "You studied modern history. It's a perfect fit."

Zhang Chen looked as if he wanted to say something but stopped himself. He seemed to want to explain something, but what came out was a different question: "Are you doing okay?"

Just now, Bo He had been bustling about, helping to move things. No matter how you looked at it, it didn't seem like she was doing okay.

Zhang Chen knew a little about Bo He's family situation. Seeing this, he couldn't help but imagine the hardships she must be going through.

A place in his heart quietly ached, and the words tumbled out: "Do you have a job right now? Would you be willing to help me organize some materials? I'll pay you. You can just treat it as a part-time job."

The moment Bo He saw his expression, she knew he had misunderstood, but she still thanked him for his kindness. "I have a job. I'm just here with a friend for a couple of days. We'll go back after she's done filming."

Zhang Chen muttered "Oh, oh," a little unsure of what to say.

Bo He smiled and took the initiative. "I was immature before and caused you a lot of trouble, Senior. Please don't hold it against me."

Zhang Chen quickly said, "Of course not! The weather is too hot. If you're free, why don't we go sit at the teahouse next door? The atmosphere there is nice."

A young girl came skipping over. She glanced curiously at Bo He and said with a grin, "Brother Chen, where are you going? Take me with you!"

Zhang Chen looked hesitant. Bo He took the opportunity to say, "You two go ahead then, I won't bother you. I'll go over there and see if they need any more help."

Without waiting for a response from either of them, she walked away.

Ouyang Xuan quickly finished filming her scenes for the day. While she was back taking off her makeup, she happened to see Bo He chatting with Zhang Chen and the others. After she was done, she couldn't contain her curiosity and found a chance to ask Bo He privately.

"You got to know the director's daughter that quickly? If you have a connection, introduce me too!" Her face showed a friendly enthusiasm that wasn't cloying. It was more like she was joking than trying to curry favor.

Bo He said without hesitation, "I don't know her!"

As if to prove her wrong, Zhang Chen walked over just as she finished speaking.

"Bo He, are you free tonight?"

Bo He rejected him directly. "Sorry, I have something on tonight."

Zhang Chen was clearly disappointed, but he couldn't force the issue.

As soon as he left, Ouyang Xuan said, "Is he trying to pursue you? I heard he's a consultant hired by the crew, an outsider to the industry. He's good-looking and has a good temperament. Don't you want to consider it?"

Bo He sighed and had no choice but to tell the truth.

"We dated back in college."

"Whoa!" Ouyang Xuan used the word to express her amazement. "What about the director, then? I saw him look at you several times just now. Do you know him too?"

Bo He laughed. "If we knew each other, would I still need to be your little temporary assistant?"

Ouyang Xuan thought about it and agreed, then happily linked arms with her.

"You worked hard today. Come on, let's go get afternoon tea. My treat!"

Meanwhile.

Qin Chuan walked out of the airport in Li City.