Chapter 61

After dinner, Lee Hyori's mood seemed to have returned to normal. She laughed and chatted with her sisters about amusing things, but she paid little attention to Zhang Chengyuan, which made the other three women hesitant to be too intimate with him at this time. Zhang Chengyuan was just happy that Lee Hyori wasn't furious, and he didn't take the slight cold shoulder to heart. He sat beside Lee Hyori as if nothing had happened, occasionally joining in the conversation to remind the women that he was still there.

Gradually, Zhang Chengyuan started talking more and more, and the women forgot about their plan to isolate him. Even Lee Hyori, who had initiated the plan, forgot about it. When she realized what had happened, she found herself comfortably leaning against Zhang Chengyuan, who was playing with her hair. At that moment, she couldn't maintain her angry facade anymore.

Yu Juhwan, Lee Jin, and Seo Yuri had seen Zhang Chengyuan's skill in silently pacifying Lee Hyori many times. They understood the high status he held in Lee Hyori's heart and the respect and love he had for her. Given Zhang Chengyuan's proud and unique personality, he had never bowed down to anyone except his father, Zhang Donghu, and even then, only in front of them. Among the four women, Zhang Chengyuan was the most submissive to Lee Hyori, usually doing whatever she said without question. The fact that he had argued with her today was unprecedented.

The other three women felt a mix of envy and no sense of unfairness, as they knew that among the four, Lee Hyori was the one who cared for Zhang Chengyuan the most. This was why when Lee Hyori, Yu Juhwan, and Lee Jin discussed how to help Seo Yuri and Zhang Chengyuan, Yu Juhwan and Lee Jin felt great pity for Lee Hyori. Even Seo Yuri, if she knew, might feel that Lee Hyori was more suitable for Zhang Chengyuan and choose to step aside. Perhaps because of this, even though Seo Yuri loved Zhang Chengyuan deeply, she maintained a底线 to prevent him from taking advantage of the situation.

Poor Zhang Chengyuan, despite often sleeping with beautiful women, had never experienced the most wonderful moments of life while fully awake.

That night, the four women decided before going to bed that to avoid provoking Zhang Chengyuan again, they would maintain their current relationship with him. As for what might happen in the future, they left it to fate.

That night, Zhang Chengyuan, fearing another outburst from Lee Hyori, did not sneak into the women's room. He lay alone on his bed, tossing and turning for a long time before finally falling asleep.

The next morning, after waking up, Lee Hyori, Yu Juhwan, and Lee Jin bid farewell and left to attend their respective commitments. Despite their current popularity and status, which were somewhat easier than when they were singers, they were still very busy. Especially Lee Hyori, who was a highly sought-after star by media, TV stations, and advertisers, had the most packed schedule.

After the three women left, Zhang Chengyuan immediately set off, driving to the film set with Seo Yuri as usual. Their agents met them halfway. Then, Seo Yuri left first in the agent's car to avoid being seen together by people with ulterior motives, who might use their relationship for their own ends.

In fact, both agents did not want the two to interact frequently, especially Seo Yuri's DSP company. However, Zhang Chengyuan and Seo Yuri were not newcomers who could be easily controlled by their agencies. They had a lot of autonomy, so their agents had to cooperate and help them maintain their secret relationship. After all, secret relationships among celebrities were not uncommon in the entertainment industry and could even be considered the norm, so both agencies could勉强 accept it.

When they arrived at the set one after the other, Zhang Chengyuan and Seo Yuri quickly got together, but not for intimacy. They discussed the script and rehearsed their lines. The scene they were shooting that day was the first meeting and the first conflict between Zhang Chengyuan and the male lead, Cha Tae-hyun, with the female lead being the catalyst. This scene marked the beginning of the ongoing rivalry between the two male leads, a cliché plot that had appeared countless times in Korean dramas. As long as the audience was still interested, such plots would continue to be common in future dramas.

In the drama, the male lead was initially portrayed as an extremely frivolous and boring playboy. If played by another actor, such a character would likely be more detestable the more vividly he was portrayed. However, with Cha Tae-hyun, despite his portrayal being quite rogue, it wasn't very off-putting. Some viewers might even find his carefree and playful demeanor somewhat amusing and endearing. This was likely due to Cha Tae-hyun's naturally comedic charm and the positive impressions left by his previous roles.

Although Zhang Chengyuan had been in the production for nearly two months, he had not seen Cha Tae-hyun many times. Apart from the initial period when everyone got to know each other and built chemistry, they had not greeted each other once. After that, Cha Tae-hyun had gone abroad to shoot, while Zhang Chengyuan stayed in Seoul. Since they were not in the same place, they had no opportunity to interact or become familiar with each other. Therefore, when they met again today, they felt somewhat estranged.

Fortunately, Seo Yuri had interacted with Cha Tae-hyun more frequently due to their scenes together and had a good relationship with him. With Seo Yuri's help, Zhang Chengyuan did not treat Cha Tae-hyun too coldly.

Moreover, Cha Tae-hyun had a very outgoing and sociable personality, and his strong communication skills quickly made Zhang Chengyuan feel his sincerity and openness. Zhang Chengyuan had also heard good things about Cha Tae-hyun from people in the industry, knowing him to be a man of deep loyalty and righteousness. Therefore, Zhang Chengyuan developed a good impression of him. However, despite this, he did not fully let down his guard, as he was concerned that Cha Tae-hyun might have designs on Seo Yuri.

It was only when Zhang Chengyuan learned that Cha Tae-hyun had a long-term girlfriend and was deeply devoted to her, with no possibility of being attracted to other women, that he completely put aside his concerns and genuinely befriended Cha Tae-hyun.

After shooting the morning scenes, Cha Tae-hyun, as the biggest star in the production, invited the main actors present to lunch. Besides Seo Yuri and Zhang Chengyuan, he also invited Chen Caiying, who played his celebrity girlfriend in the drama, Jin Young-joon, who played his best friend, and Jeong Jun-ho, who played his subordinate, as well as Lee Jeongni, who played Seo Yuri's best friend in the drama.

Chen Caiying and Zhang Chengyuan had worked together before, in the movie "Color of the Soul" three years ago. At that time, Zhang Chengyuan played a playboy, and Chen Caiying played his girlfriend in the film. Later, Zhang Chengyuan pursued Ha Ji-won and dumped her. What Zhang Chengyuan remembered most about Chen Caiying was her extremely bold style. In "Color of the Soul," she appeared nude and performed a passionate scene with him. It's worth noting that when the young Zhang Chengyuan shot this scene, he only took off his shirt, and although Chen Caiying had a good figure and appearance, she did not make him fall in love.

Seo Yuri had long known about the passionate scene between Zhang Chengyuan and Chen Caiying, as "Color of the Soul" was Zhang Chengyuan's first film, and she had watched it several times. She naturally did not have a good impression of Chen Caiying. Therefore, when Chen Caiying sought to catch up with Zhang Chengyuan upon entering the production, the jealous Seo Yuri immediately ordered Zhang Chengyuan to keep an appropriate distance from Chen Caiying.

In fact, without Seo Yuri's reminder, Zhang Chengyuan would not have been close to Chen Caiying. A woman who could sacrifice herself for her career, no matter how much she claimed it was for art, was someone Zhang Chengyuan, who was conservative, would never approach.

Besides Chen Caiying, another person who left a strong impression on Zhang Chengyuan was Jeong Jun-ho, a tall and stout "ugly man." In reality, he was not ugly, but because he often deliberately made himself look unattractive in variety shows and dramas to amuse the audience, he was known as a "funny ugly man." Many people subconsciously thought he was ugly when they saw him.

To sacrifice his image to make the audience laugh was something Zhang Chengyuan believed he could not do even if he were an actor for fifty years. Therefore, he had great respect for people like Jeong Jun-ho with special talents and was willing to befriend them.

As for the others, Zhang Chengyuan did not pay much attention to them, but he still maintained the necessary politeness. If he found someone worth befriending, he would immediately adjust his attitude. This was not hypocrisy on Zhang Chengyuan's part, but rather his own standards for choosing friends. Only those who were sincere, hardworking, and would not fundamentally conflict with his interests could become his friends.