Chapter 162: As If Nothing Had Happened

"Awooo." Zeus whimpered softly as Mo Qi's fingers tightened uncomfortably around its collar, tilting its head to look up at her. Its deep green eyes held a trace of confusion, as if asking her what was wrong.

Mo Qi snapped back to reality, all emotion instantly vanishing from her eyes. The corners of her lips curved upward in a faint, detached smile. "Good morning, Heavenly King Shen."

Shen Yijue simply looked at her in silence. Gradually, his eyes grew as sharp as icy blades, as though he intended to pierce and wound Mo Qi.

Just how cold-hearted could this woman possibly be to act so nonchalant right now?

Mo Qi nodded slightly and walked toward the tent bearing her name. Her steps were calm and steady, showing not the slightest trace of disorder even as she lifted the flap and stepped inside.

"Awooo." Zeus reached out its tongue to lick her cheek.

Mo Qi raised a hand to wipe her face, only to find that tears had welled up from who knows when. A stinging sensation filled her nasal passages, and she knew that the moment she spoke, her voice would tremble with sobs.

Clearly, she had prepared herself mentally, yet seeing him appear before her so suddenly, looking at her with such a gaze of absolute strangeness, still inevitably stirred a profound ache of sorrow and heartbreak.

Little Zhang parked the cart and walked over, spotting Shen Yijue washing up by the sink.

"Brother Shen?!" Little Zhang exclaimed in pleasant surprise, hurrying forward. He never expected to run into Brother Shen here at the filming crew's camp.

"Hmm." Shen Yijue wrung out his towel and hung it over a wire nearby, offering a flat response.

"Brother Shen, did you come to the set to visit Mo Qi? Have you finished handling your matters?"

Little Zhang naturally assumed Shen Yijue had come to visit and look after Mo Qi now that his business was done, never suspecting any other possibility.

Mo Qi hadn't told Little Zhang anything, which left Shen Yijue slightly stunned for half a second, keeping him from giving an immediate reply.

Little Zhang, clearly accustomed to Shen Yijue's reticence, went on unbothered, "Mo Qi has about two or three days of scenes left. Once we finish filming, we can head back to City B together. Brother Shen, once we're back in City B, you should specially find a female assistant for Mo Qi."

Shen Yijue suddenly asked, "You don't want to be Mo Qi's assistant anymore?"

"I'm your assistant." Little Zhang paused in surprise before explaining, "I'm a man, and there are always many inconveniences when acting as Mo Qi's personal assistant. A female assistant would be much better, and it wouldn't draw any unnecessary scandals for Mo Qi either."

"Hmm." Shen Yijue acknowledged with a grunt, picked up his washbasin, and turned to walk back toward the tent.

Little Zhang stood dazed in his spot, momentarily at a loss. What on earth did Brother Shen's "hmm" mean? Besides, he really didn't mean to shirk his duties as Mo Qi's personal assistant; there really were just too many awkward inconveniences!

As Little Zhang stood there bewildered by the wind, Xi Miaomiao emerged from a tent and, catching sight of him, trotted over. "Brother Zhang, what's wrong? Did you get a cramp in your leg and can't walk?"

"A leg cramp?"

"You look so conflicted and in pain. That's how I look when I get leg cramps—it's awful. But don't worry, it passes soon." Xi Miaomiao comforted him with a bright smile.

Little Zhang was speechless. "I don't have a leg cramp. My brain is the thing cramping up."

"Your brain is cramping?" Xi Miaomiao blinked her eyes.

"It's nothing." Little Zhang waved a hand and changed the subject. "I'm going to look for Director Tang. Mo Qi is back, so her scenes won't have to be put on hold."

"Sister Mo Qi is back? I'm going to go see her." Before her voice even faded, Xi Miaomiao had already turned and dashed toward Mo Qi's tent.

Mo Qi had just washed her face with bottled water when Xi Miaomiao cheerfully lifted the tent flap and rushed inside. "Sister Mo Qi!"

"Miaomiao, morning." Mo Qi put down her towel and smiled faintly.

"Sister Mo Qi, why are your eyes a bit red? Are they inflamed?"

"No." Mo Qi tilted her head slightly, concealing her face in the dim light, and laughed. "I didn't sleep well last night, and I woke up way too early this morning."

"As long as they aren't infected. Sister Mo Qi, weren't you supposed to be recovering from your injuries? Why did you come back to the crew so soon?"

"I can't just sit around. Besides, the injury wasn't serious to begin with and won't interfere with filming." Mo Qi pulled over a small folding chair and said, "Sit down."

"Sister Mo Qi, don't bother. I won't sit." Xi Miaomiao waved her hand. "It's good that you're back anyway. I heard the female lead is joining the cast today, and according to the seniors, she's terribly picky and not easy to get along with at all. With you back, I can just be assigned exclusively to you and won't have to go over there and become cannon fodder. Hehe."

"Tao Zhu? Didn't everyone say she's quite easy to get along with?" Mo Qi didn't know Tao Zhu personally, but she remembered that He Shuai used to like watching Tao Zhu's television dramas, and she seemed like a rather gentle person.

Xi Miaomiao looked around cautiously by lifting the tent flap to check outside before turning back to lower her voice. "Sister Mo Qi, you don't know yet? Tao Zhu had an accident, and her role has been taken over by Sun Feifei. You know Sun Feifei, right? That female host from Entertainment Express. She acts all approachable and generous in front of the audience, but she's super petty and harsh toward the staff behind the scenes."

Saying this, Xi Miaomiao playfully stuck out her tongue. "Of course, I just heard this from the seniors. A newbie like me would only be handing things out if I went over to serve anyway."

Mo Qi genuinely hadn't expected to end up in the same crew as Sun Feifei. Furthermore, the originally scheduled arrival time for the female lead was supposed to be a few days later—by which time her own scenes would have already wrapped up, meaning they wouldn't cross paths—so she hadn't bothered to look into news about the female lead beforehand.

She simply hadn't anticipated that the original female lead, Tao Zhu, would suffer an accident, allowing Sun Feifei to step in and seize the role.

With the mudslide reported just the day before, Sun Feifei joining the crew at this exact juncture was undoubtedly the best possible publicity and hype for herself.

Mo Qi could not help but sneer inwardly; this woman's character was truly lacking, but her methods for seizing benefits were certainly effective.

"Sister Mo Qi?" Xi Miaomiao instinctively took a small step backward. Mo Qi was clearly smiling, so why did she suddenly feel a twinge of fear?

"Let's go get breakfast. Once we eat, it's time to get to work." Mo Qi's expression had already returned to normal as she ruffled Zeus's head. "Zeus, stay here in the tent and sleep. I'll bring you an egg to eat later."

"Awooo." Zeus obediently trotted over to the mat on the side and lay down.

Xi Miaomiao clicked her tongue in amazement. "Zeus is too smart."

"Of course." Mo Qi teased playfully, "And as for the ham sausages and chicken drumsticks you promised to 'tribute' every day, Zeus remembers every single one of them. Right, Zeus?"

"Arf!" That's right, I remember them all! Zeus cooperated enthusiastically with Mo Qi.

Xi Miaomiao wailed, "Then I won't get to eat any ham sausages or chicken drumsticks anymore!"

"Such a foodie." Mo Qi pinched Xi Miaomiao's chubby cheek and laughed. "Let's go."

The two of them walked out of the tent toward the makeshift communal dining tables for breakfast.

Many people greeted Mo Qi upon seeing her, expressing concern over her injuries.

Mo Qi smiled and thanked each of them in turn, then sat down at the breakfast table with the rest of the crew.

One of the actresses was peeling an eggshell and muttered quietly to the person beside her, "I wonder if Heavenly King Shen will come over to eat breakfast with us."

"Probably not, right?"

"Hard to say. Isn't Mo Qi Heavenly King Shen's disciple? Mo Qi, do you think Heavenly King Shen will come over for breakfast?"

They wanted to get close to Shen Yijue, yet they were dragging her into the spotlight with them. Mo Qi felt a slight flicker of displeasure, though she didn't show the least bit of it on her surface. She offered a half-joking smile in response, "That's really hard to say."

Her answer was essentially saying nothing at all. The expectant actress beside her curled her lips in disappointment and stopped speaking.

Suddenly, another actress let out a low, excited squeal. "He's here! Heavenly King Shen is coming over with Director Tang!"