CHAPTER 178: CHAPTER 178: THE NEW FEMALE LEAD 2

After the second female lead was replaced, Yang Xiaoxiu started spending more time with the film crew.

Initially, the academy had some complaints about this, and Yang Xiaoxiu found herself in a difficult position. Li Jing, upon learning of this, sought out Liu Shou through Wen Lan.

Liu Shou was already a professor at the Celestial Sea Drama Academy, holding a high status, and was in the same department as Yang Xiaoxiu. After learning about the issue from Li Jing, he immediately helped Yang Xiaoxiu by clearing it up with the academy, and from then on, she faced no further difficulties.

Yang Xiaoxiu was quite surprised by this. She hadn’t directly contacted Liu Shou, but she knew it was all thanks to Li Jing’s connections, making her feel more respectful and grateful towards him.

At this moment, in the dormitory.

The winter morning sunlight shone through the window, bringing a bit of warmth to the cold room.

It was already January. Although Tianhai was located in the south, the damp cold weather still made people feel a bone-chilling coldness.

Wearing an affordable down jacket, Yang Xiaoxiu packed her things and left the dormitory with her backpack.

Huang Ying and the other three roommates craned their necks to watch Yang Xiaoxiu leave, then started gossiping among themselves.

These days, word had already spread among the girls that Yang Xiaoxiu had become the second female lead in a movie, and that someone had even put in a good word for her at the academy to let her act without any barriers.

"Yingying, I think what you said last time might really be true. It seems Yang Xiaoxiu has indeed attached herself to a rich second generation. With a second female lead role and academy professors helping her, the rich second generation behind her must have some real power."

"Yeah, I heard she even pushed the original second female lead aside. That was Dai Weiwei, after all. Even though she’s not a top star, she’s not someone we students can go head-to-head with. Xiaoxiu has really turned things around this time."

The two glanced at Huang Ying, who remained silent, and couldn’t resist asking, "Yingying, haven’t you also found a boss as a boyfriend? Why don’t you ask him to help you get some resources? After all, the reputation and experience you gain from acting are yours to keep. Even if you break up with your boyfriend later, these are tangible benefits you’ve gained."

Upon hearing this, Huang Ying’s face turned a bit unnatural, and she said, "My boyfriend is too busy, and he... he’s not in this industry."

With that, she seemed unwilling to continue the topic and turned back to her seat.

The other two girls exchanged a look and shared a light laugh.

Previously, when Huang Ying found a wealthy boyfriend, she often flaunted the luxury gifts he bought for her in front of them.

Now, with Huang Ying being outdone by Yang Xiaoxiu, the two girls felt a sense of retaliatory satisfaction. They glanced at Huang Ying’s back, smirking to themselves, and returned to their seats.

...

During this time, Yang Xiaoxiu had scenes almost every day, mostly to make up for the scenes originally shot by Dai Weiwei.

This gave Yang Xiaoxiu’s acting and abilities a full display, and she quickly gained the crew’s recognition.

For the staff, cooperating with Yang Xiaoxiu made filming much easier compared to working with Wen Lan, who was frequently stopped by the director.

For this reason, although some crew members initially had minor complaints against Yang Xiaoxiu, over time she truly integrated into the team.

Not only her acting but her hardworking and dedicated attitude gained everyone’s approval.

For example, due to the plot, Yang Xiaoxiu wore thin clothes while filming in the freezing winter, shooting for four to five hours without complaining of the cold.

This was much more agreeable to the staff than actors who frequently needed assistants to attend to them.

"Brother Jing, here, I made this hand-ground coffee for you."

Beside the crew, during a break from filming, Yang Xiaoxiu handed a warm cup of coffee to Li Jing.

Seeing this, Li Jing slightly raised an eyebrow and took it, saying, "You don’t have to make hand-ground coffee for me every day. Instant coffee is fine too."

Since everyone in the crew, including Wen Lan, enjoyed coffee, Li Jing also developed a habit of drinking coffee during this time.

Especially in this cold winter, having a cup of hot coffee felt particularly comforting.

After Li Jing tried hand-ground coffee once and commented that it tasted richer and purer than instant coffee, Yang Xiaoxiu kept it in mind.

Whenever Li Jing came to the set, Yang Xiaoxiu would always find time to make him a cup of hand-ground coffee.

"Freshly ground coffee beans better preserve the aroma of coffee. Anyway, I have time. As long as Brother Jing likes it, I’ll grind it for you every day."

Hearing Yang Xiaoxiu’s response, Li Jing glanced at her and smiled, "You’re spoiling me with this. If I’m no longer with the crew in the future, I won’t be able to adjust."

Yang Xiaoxiu responded with a bright smile, "No problem, if Brother Jing wants hand-ground coffee in the future, just call me, and I’ll come to you immediately."

Looking at her clean, youthful face, Li Jing smiled slightly, took a sip of the hot coffee, and said no more.

Although Li Jing had already done all he could to help Yang Xiaoxiu, she didn’t take it for granted. Instead, she paid more attention to him.

Once, both Wen Lan and Li Jing called for her, and without hesitation, she went to Li Jing first, then hurried to Wen Lan afterwards.

This left Wen Lan a bit helpless.

She didn’t understand what Li Jing had done to charm not only Wei Jia but also seemingly enchant Yang Xiaoxiu.

It wasn’t just Wen Lan; others in the crew also noticed the unusual relationship between Yang Xiaoxiu and Li Jing.

Primarily because Yang Xiaoxiu made no effort to hide it, always chatting with Li Jing whenever he came to the set, just like before.

Although people in the crew noticed this, no one dared to say anything, especially since both of them had a good rapport with the crew.

"Alright, no need to walk me out today. I have things to do and need to leave early."

Li Jing left the crew and sat inside his car.

He waved at Yang Xiaoxiu, who was standing outside the car, and said, "Wen Lan might look for you later, you should head back."

"It’s okay, Brother Jing, you go ahead. I’ll head back myself after a while."

Yang Xiaoxiu stubbornly shook her head, insisting on her way.

During this period, whenever Li Jing left mid-day, except for when they went back together, Yang Xiaoxiu would come out and see him off, not returning until his car disappeared from sight.

The entire crew felt how genuinely respectful Yang Xiaoxiu was towards Li Jing.

Apart from being helpless, Wen Lan also discovered that although Yang Xiaoxiu had a bit of a girlish scheming mind, she was grateful and appreciative.

This gave Wen Lan a better understanding of Yang Xiaoxiu’s character.

"Oh, by the way, Brother Jing, this is a scarf I bought for you."

Yang Xiaoxiu took out a large box from her backpack and handed it over, "You weren’t at the crew during the New Year’s Day, so this is a New Year gift for you."

Li Jing was slightly surprised, seeing the Gucci logo on the box, and raised an eyebrow, "Where did you get the money to buy something this expensive for me?"

"Didn’t you give me tuition money before? I saved up quite a bit."

Yang Xiaoxiu smiled with a clean, bright smile, "I noticed you’ve worn Gucci before, so I thought you’d like it, so I bought a men’s scarf."

Gazing at the exquisite box in his hand, Li Jing was indeed a bit surprised.

The down jacket she wore was bought on sale for only a few hundred yuan.

Yet she was willing to spend two or three thousand yuan to give him a seemingly non-essential scarf as a gift.

Li Jing pondered for a moment but accepted the scarf and smiled at her, "Thank you for the gift. Next time, don’t buy anything this expensive again."

Seeing that Li Jing accepted it, joy flashed in Yang Xiaoxiu’s eyes. She nodded and watched as his sports car drove off, disappearing down the road.

Then, she blew warmth into her cold hands and noticed that her down jacket, which had been fine earlier, was now starting to show that it wasn’t quite warm enough as the weather grew colder.

However, Yang Xiaoxiu had no intention of changing it. She moved around a bit to warm herself up and then quickly walked back to the crew.