The Unspoken Rules

Shen Tong arrived early at the company to prepare everything for Chen Xiaoyong and Su Xiao. When the three of them reached the filming location, Chen Xiaoyong's expressionless face instantly transformed into a seductive and fawning smile. "Director! Long time no see!"

The director returned the smile warmly. "Xiaoyong, it's been a while indeed!"

"Yes, you haven't changed a bit," Chen Xiaoyong remarked.

"You've become even more beautiful," the director replied with a hearty laugh.

Shen Tong watched them exchange pleasantries, feeling completely left out. Meanwhile, Su Xiao stood to the side, focused on the papers in his hand, seemingly unaffected by the situation.

"Director, we have a newcomer here who could use your guidance," Chen Xiaoyong said, gesturing towards Su Xiao.

"Ah," the director glanced at Chen Xiaoyong with a knowing look. "You two..."

"We share the same manager," Chen Xiaoyong reluctantly pointed at Shen Tong.

Shen Tong immediately put on a polite smile and extended her hand. "Hello, Director. I'm Shen Tong."

"Hello, hello," the director replied, shaking her hand. He kept smiling at her, holding onto her hand a bit too long, his fingers subtly caressing the back of her hand. "Xiaoyong's manager is quite charming too!"

Chen Xiaoyong watched the interaction coldly from the side, while Su Xiao remained oblivious to what was happening.

Shen Tong quickly pulled her hand away, forcing a laugh. "I can't compare to Miss Chen's beauty at all!" This was her first encounter with such a situation, feeling uncomfortable with the unwanted attention.

The director's eyes roamed over Shen Tong's figure. "Miss Shen, you become more attractive the longer I look at you."

Shen Tong laughed nervously and asked, "Director, when shall we discuss the details of this advertisement?"

"Oh, right, let's start now," the director said, as if snapping out of a trance, but his eyes remained fixed on Shen Tong.

"Thank you, Director," Shen Tong replied with a smile, while inwardly feeling disgusted. For the sake of this advertisement, she had to endure.

Chen Xiaoyong observed the situation coldly, only putting on a coy smile when the director glanced her way.

Whenever Shen Tong looked at the camera to check on the others, the director would sidle up to her, almost whispering in her ear, "Isn't this shot great?"

Shen Tong would instinctively jump away, causing the director's face to darken. She'd then have to force a smile and say, "It's great, Director. But please stay back a bit, I'm quite sweaty."

Only then would the director's expression improve. "Alright, alright. You young people are too energetic, not fond of interacting with us middle-aged folks."

"Not at all, Director. You're still very charming!" Shen Tong flattered him.

Satisfied, the director said, "Haha, young people will be young people. Come, sit here!"

Unable to refuse outright, Shen Tong reluctantly agreed. "Alright."

But as soon as she sat down, the director's hands became inappropriate, brushing against her shoulders and thighs, leaning in unnecessarily close when speaking.

Finally unable to tolerate it any longer, Shen Tong abruptly stood up, quickly plastering on a smile. "I'll go buy milk tea for the two of them. Director, would you like anything?"

The director's face soured, his tone stiff. "No need, thank you."

"Then I'll go get the milk tea now," Shen Tong said respectfully.

Once outside the set, Shen Tong called Liang Xiaoyuan. She wasn't sure why he was the first person she thought to call, but she desperately needed to talk to someone about the situation.

"Hello?" As soon as the call connected, Shen Tong felt a sense of relief.

"Hello, is this Shen Tong?" A female voice answered, sounding somewhat familiar.

Shen Tong's heart sank, blood rushing to her face. She wasn't sure how to feel. "Yes, I'm sorry to disturb you."

"Wait, don't hang up! It's Xie Sangyan. Don't misunderstand, he's just gone out for dinner!" Xie Sangyan explained hurriedly.

"Oh, I see. Sorry for the disturbance," Shen Tong replied coldly, hanging up quickly without giving the other party a chance to respond. Of course, he's busy too, she thought. She shouldn't intrude on their time.

Shen Tong absent-mindedly bought a milk tea and a coffee, handed them to Su Xiao and Chen Xiaoyong, then watched the filming distractedly, barely noticing when it finished. Su Xiao had already left.

When she came back to her senses, the director was sitting beside her, smiling. "Shall we go for a drink to celebrate?"

Chen Xiaoyong immediately chimed in with a coquettish laugh, "Sure, Director. It's been a while since we had a drink together."

The director beamed, putting an arm around Chen Xiaoyong's slender waist. "Indeed it has. Shen Tong, won't you join us?"

Shen Tong composed herself and politely declined, "I'm sorry, Director, but we have other matters to attend to today."

The director's face immediately fell. "You're not giving me face!" He thought he had made his intentions clear enough, expecting a savvy person in the industry to eagerly accept such an "honor."

"I'm sorry, Director, but tonight really isn't possible. I need to visit my mother," Shen Tong lied, understanding the unspoken rules of the entertainment industry but refusing to compromise herself for an artist's fame.

"How obtuse!" The director stormed off, his face dark. He had never encountered such an uncooperative person in the industry before. In his prime, countless artists would have jumped at his invitation. But this one was different, and intriguing.

Chen Xiaoyong glared at Shen Tong and berated her, "You fool! Do you know how wide this director's connections are? By refusing him, you're closing a door of opportunity for yourself." She looked disdainfully at Shen Tong's figure and continued, "You think he's actually interested in you? He's just after something new. Besides, it's just a drink. He wouldn't do anything to you."

Shen Tong looked helplessly at Chen Xiaoyong and interrupted her, "Let's go back to the company."

Chen Xiaoyong stared at Shen Tong resentfully. This woman's defenses were too strong. She was determined to find Shen Tong's weakness, her Achilles' heel. She had to destroy Shen Tong's relationship with Su Xiao. Su Xiao could only be hers.

In the car, Chen Xiaoyong's phone rang. She gave Shen Tong a strange look before answering.

"Hello? Xiaoyong?" The director's eager voice came through. "That manager of yours today wasn't bad."

"Of course, she's quite pure," Chen Xiaoyong replied.

"Well... could you let her talk to me?" The director couldn't help but ask.

Chen Xiaoyong covered the mouthpiece and nudged the dozing Shen Tong. With a contemptuous look, she said, "The director from earlier wants to talk to you. Be nice."

Shen Tong took the phone, bewildered. "Hello, Director."

"Hey, little Shen. If you're not free for dinner today, how about tomorrow?" The director asked quickly.

"I'm sorry, Director, but I really don't have time in the near future," Shen Tong immediately declined without thinking.

Chen Xiaoyong watched her with an angry expression. Didn't this woman know how to seize an opportunity?

"Are you avoiding me? That's not right," the director said with a forced laugh. "It's just dinner. What, am I not good enough to have dinner with you?"

"No, no, Director. It's an honor that you'd take the time to invite me to dinner. How could I deliberately avoid you? It's just that I'm really busy lately. We're trying to capitalize on this rumor to get more advertisements and publicity for both of them. You know how this industry works," Shen Tong said apologetically. "I'm truly sorry, Director."

"I heard from Xiaoyong that your schedule is free tomorrow afternoon," the director said, mercilessly exposing Shen Tong's lie.

"Oh, is that so? Let me check," Shen Tong pretended to look at her calendar, then hung up the phone and immediately confronted Chen Xiaoyong. "How could you just reveal my schedule to that director?"

"I was just telling the truth," Chen Xiaoyong said innocently, then looked Shen Tong up and down. "I don't know what the director sees in you anyway."

Shen Tong was furious. Now she couldn't refuse without consequences, given the director's connections and status in the entertainment industry. Burning bridges now would make future work difficult.

"Just agree to it. It's not like you'll lose anything," Chen Xiaoyong said smugly.

Chen Xiaoyong's phone rang again. Shen Tong mustered up the courage to answer, "Hello, Director?"

"Why did you hang up earlier?" The director asked, his tone displeased.

"I'm so sorry, I must have accidentally disconnected while checking my calendar," Shen Tong apologized profusely, her attitude impeccable.

"So, have you thought about my invitation?" The director's tone changed, full of anticipation.

"I just checked my calendar and realized tomorrow afternoon is indeed free," Shen Tong said through gritted teeth, glaring at the instigator beside her. "Since fate has arranged it this way, I suppose I must accept."

Chen Xiaoyong's lips curled into a mysterious smile, her eyes full of triumph.

"Great, it's settled then. Let's meet at the Sunset Western Restaurant in the city center," the director declared, setting the place and time. "Two o'clock in the afternoon, we'll meet there."

"Alright, see you then," Shen Tong agreed repeatedly, then hung up and glared at Chen Xiaoyong, her face dark.

"Don't look at me like that. I just told the truth," Chen Xiaoyong said nonchalantly. "Besides, this is a rare opportunity." She finished with a meaningful smile. This director was known for being difficult to handle. Let's see how you escape this time, she thought.

"What opportunity? I'm not interested," Shen Tong scoffed, then fell silent.

When Liang Xiaoyuan returned home after dinner, Xie Sangyan wanted to tell him about Shen Tong's call. However, due to an unexpected accident on set – the male lead scheduled for the final scene had been in a car accident – the entire crew was in chaos, leaving no time to mention it.

As if suddenly remembering, Xie Sangyan tapped Liang Xiaoyuan's shoulder and hurriedly said, "Oh right, Liang Xiaoyuan, Shen Tong called earlier today."