<h4>Chapter 17</h4>


    Clearly, Chen Huaixiao regarded it all as a dream, so he indulged without restraint.


    In a daze, Bai Yin felt like her entire world was being upied by him, falling over and over again...


    Chen Huaixiao called out "little braid" all night long.


    The next day, Bai Yin woke up to find that one side of therge bed was already empty.


    The curtains were tightly drawn, and the room was shrouded in darkness, as if deliberately not disturbing her sleep.


    Bai Yinzily got up and pulled open the curtains.


    Warm sunlight poured onto her face, bathing her in afortable glow.


    After changing into a light workout outfit for dance practice, Bai Yin slowly walked down the wooden stairs to the hall.


    Chen Huaixiao was alone at the table, enjoying breakfast.


    The buttons of his white shirt were meticulously fastened to the top of his cor, a far cry from the confused and crazy man fromst night. The daytime Chen Huaixiao always maintained a cool and restrained demeanor, only to be admired from afar and not to be yed with.


    He ate his toast and vegetable sd with restraint.


    Bai Yin strolled over to the table, and upon seeing his breakfast, she had no appetite for it at all.


    Tang Ka handed the milk and vegetable sd to Bai Yin, respectfully saying, "Madam, please enjoy."


    "Why no soy milk and fried dough sticks or egg pancakes today?" Bai Yin asked.


    Tang Ka nced at Chen Huaixiao and said, "The young master doesn''t like breakfast that is too greasy."


    Bai Yin pouted, thinking that since he was sickst night, breakfast should be light.


    She walked over and reached out to touch his forehead to check his temperature, but before she could touch him, Chen Huaixiao restrained her hand and said, "You didn''t get enoughst night?"


    "You were sickst night," Bai Yin sat down andzily picked up the ss of milk, "I took care of you all night long, alright?"


    "Madam did indeed work hard," he emphasized the word "work hard" with a deep meaning, "It seems I haven''t been home for too long."


    Bai Yin took a sip of milk, licked the milk off her lips, and bickered with him, "To be able to marry such a virtuous wife like me, you must have done a lot of good deeds in your past life!"


    Regardless of whether he believed it or not, she had to exin it clearly to avoid him misunderstanding her intentions while he was ill.


    Chen Huaixiao turned his neck and pointed to a very obvious red mark on his neck, "Is this also the result of your careful care?"


    "..."


    Could she be med for it?


    After he recklessly indulged himself, he still wanted to pin it on her.


    Since that was the case, Bai Yin stopped exining and patted his shoulder fiercely, "My dear husband, taking care of you while you were sick was really hard work. Eat more for breakfast and get more energy."


    Chen Huaixiao sneered and stopped arguing with her, only saying, "Next time, don''t touch me when I''m not conscious."


    He hated the feeling of being out of control and even more so being manipted by others.


    "Don''t worry, there won''t be a next time!" Bai Yin red at him angrily.


    He was heartless and ungrateful.


    It was unclear who it was, but someone had been shouting "little braid" all night long like a cat in heat.


    "By the way," Chen Huaixiao calmly sliced his toast and said, "you set your rm for 7am this morning, but I turned it off. It''s been an hour and a half since it was supposed to go off."


    "Ah!"


    Today was Bai Yin''s first day of rehearsals with the dance troupe, and she nced at her phone to see that she was almostte!


    She didn''t even have time for breakfast and hurriedly ran to the entrance to change her shoes, cursing, "If I get fired, it''s all your fault!"


    Seeing her flustered appearance, Chen Huaixiao found her somewhat endearing and lifted the corners of his mouth.


    This girl was always calcted, constantly working to achieve her goals, and never once cking off.


    He just loved teasing her.


    After Bai Yin left, Tang Ka opened the refrigerator and took out several frozen white towels.


    Chen Huaixiao looked over and asked, "What''s that?"


    "It looks like the towels that Madam froze. They''re probably...for reducing fever."


    *


    Shui Xie Tai was located near ake in the suburbs. There was a long internal road by thekeside outside themunity, and outside vehicles were not allowed inside, so it was impossible to hail a taxi here.


    Bai Yin hurriedly ran towards the front gate in her high heels.


    It was her first day on the job, and she couldn''t bete! This was an opportunity she had fought hard for.


    Bai Yin ran all the way, beads of sweat forming on her forehead, and she was almost at the gate.


    Then, a ck Bentley slowly drove up from behind and drove alongside her.


    Bai Yin nced at the car, and the window slowly rolled down.


    Chen Huaixiao was sitting in the back seat, expressionless, and gave her a cold stare. "I''ll take you there."


    Bai Yin''s heart rxed, and she was about to get into the car when she heard Chen Huaixiaozily utter two words, "First, beg me."


    "..."


    "Forget it."


    Bai Yin gritted her teeth and continued to walk forward at a faster pace.


    Chen Huaixiao knew she was stubborn and determined, so he let Tang Ka continue driving and left the internal road of themunity, leaving her in a cloud of exhaust.


    "Chen Huaixiao, you jerk!"


    Bai Yin walked and silently cursed the scumbag.


    To everyone else, Chen Huaixiao was radiant, but only Bai Yin knew that this man was rotten to the core.


    She remembered once going to the university where Chen Huaixiao was a student on an open day. She saw him give a speech in the auditorium as a student representative.


    Bai Yin had never seen a young man wear a white shirt so handsomely and perfectly. He stood on the stage, with spotlights shining on his wless face, exuding a youthful and determined aura, like an unstoppable de.


    After the speech, many girls surrounded Chen Huaixiao, asking him questions.


    Chen Huaixiao appeared polite, but in fact, he was aloof and carried himself with an air of aristocracy.


    But Bai Yin knew him to be a bad person, who never let up on teasing her.


    Bai Yin walked out of themunity gate, pulled out her phone, and opened the ride-hailing app, only to find dozens of people ahead of her in the queue.


    It was rush hour, with many people and heavy traffic on the roads.


    Bai Yin was feeling utterly hopeless as she looked at the traffic lights, preparing to cross the street to the bus stop on the other side.


    As she turned around, she saw a ck Bentley parked at the intersection, with Tang Ka standing by the car door, gentlemanly opening it for her. "Madam, please get in the car," he said.


    "Huh?" She looked at the empty car interior. "What about Chen Huaixiao? Aren''t you supposed to take him first?"


    "Young Master said to take Madam first."


    Bai Yin was already runningte and didn''t waste any more time. She quickly got into the car, and Tang Ka smoothly drove off.


    "If Chen Huaixiao asked you to take me, where is he?"


    "Young Master said he wanted to exercise, so he scanned the QR code and rode a shared bike."


    "..."


    Inside the car, Bai Yin opened the script for "Ni Chang" (The Dance of the Feathered Robe).


    "The Dance of the Feathered Robe" is a court suspense drama that starts with the ghostly disturbances in the Ming Pce and the death of the eunuch supervisor.


    Rumor has it that every night, when the pce maids pass by the Imperial Garden, they see a beautiful woman dancing gracefully on the surface of theke. The woman has a figure like jade and skin as white as snow, and her dance is as graceful as a swan.


    But when people see her face, it''s just a skeleton.


    Whenever a ghostly figure dances by theke, someone in the pce will die.


    The male lead, Yu Chengfeng, as the Grand Secretariat of the Great Court, is assigned to investigate the ghostly events, which leads to a deep pce legend from years ago.


    The female lead, Yan Huan, is a lowly pce maid in the troupe who, with her stunning dance skills, gradually bes the top dancer in the Tang Dynasty, known for her dance in the capital.


    Yan Huan has always admired the handsome and elegant eunuch Qing Yi, and the two fall in love and support each other in the pce.


    Later, someone in the pce wants to offer Yan Huan as a gift to the emperor. Yan Huan refuses and suffers abuse, and her legs are crippled, and she can no longer dance.


    She bes the lowest-ranking pce maid in the deep pce, suffering from bullying and torment.


    Later, she learned that Qing Yi was involved in the n to offer her to the emperor.


    Their friendship and support were all fake, with the goal of gaining fame and power in the future.


    Knowing this, Yan Huan was heartbroken andpletely lost her mind.


    However, with her legs crippled and no longer able to dance, she only umted endless hatred in her heart.


    One day, Yan Huan dreamed that she met a puppet master who practiced the Western Region''s secret art of puppetry.


    As long as the puppet master was behind the scenes, even if Yan Huan''s legs were crippled, she could still perform the most stunning and beautiful dance.


    Yan Huan signed a contract with the puppet master, and with the dance of the feathered robe, she won the emperor''s favor and became the most favored woman in the pce.


    She easily killed Qing Yi, who had betrayed her in the past.


    Gradually, Yan Huan realized that her body was no longer under her control. She had be a puppet controlled by a devil, causing multiple deaths in the Ming Pce.


    When the ghostly figure dances by theke in the Imperial Garden, it means that Yan Huan ismitting another crime.


    Thanks to the investigation of the male lead, Yu Chengfeng, the truth behind the pce serial murders was finally revealed.


    The puppet master has been eliminated by Yu Chengfeng, and Yan Huan has also performed her final dance in the "Nishang Yuyi" before passing away.


    ...


    After reading the script, Bai Yin furrowed her brows deeply.


    This drama was touted as the annual IP with a huge investment and production, featuring heavyweight directors and screenwriters whose names were well-known to the audience.


    However, the more extravagant the production, the more Bai Yin had a feeling that it would likely flop.


    In the past, many of these types of high-budget fantasy dramas in China had received poor reviews.


    The biggest problem with this drama was that the screenwriterpletely changed the original story.


    Bai Yin spent a week reading the original novel, "Nishang," which was serialized on the Jinjiang Literature City tform. The most exciting part of the novel was the investigative suspense surrounding the male lead, Yu Chengfeng, which was also the source of the novel''s critical acim.


    However, the screenwriter believed that the audience wanted to see more romance, so they deleted many of the suspenseful scenes and added many romantic scenes between Yan Huan and Qing Yi. This resulted in a disjointed plot, and the female lead''s character was alsopromised.


    But that was not Bai Yin''s concern.


    Her responsibility was to support the female lead, Yan Huan, in performing the sessive "Nishang Yuyi" dances wlessly and to serve as the "background" for her dance performances.


    Before the start of filming, there were about ten days of intensive training.


    During this time, the dancers performing the "Nishang Yuyi" dance had to memorize all the movements as much as possible.


    Qiao Xinqi had her position as lead dancer taken by Bai Yin, and she had been dissatisfied with it, always wanting to surpass her and regain her position.


    However, no matter how hard she tried, Bai Yin seemed to work even harder, and her "Nishang Yuyi" dance became more and more perfect, leaving Qiao Xinqi with no chance to outdo her.


    Finally, the day of the drama''s start of filming arrived.


    The most important scene in the entire drama, the night banquet dance, was to be filmed on the first day, and Bai Yin was nervously preparing in the makeup room, drawing her eyebrows.


    There was amotion outside the door, and arge group of people from the crew gathered around a tall and slender woman wearing sunsses.


    Three or four assistants surrounded her, helping her with her makeup and serving her tea.


    "That''s Song Anni," a dance assistant whispered, "she''s the female lead in ''Nishang.''"


    "She''s so beautiful!"


    "No wonder she''s a goddess!"


    Bai Yin knew Song Anni. She and Su Anning were from the same girl group, and she had heard that they had a great rtionship.


    Song Anni had also appeared in many historical dramas and was known as the "Goddess of Historical Dramas."


    Her fans even imed that no one in the entertainment industry could match her in terms of historical drama costumes.


    The dancers had also never seen such a big star before and were a little excited and restless, one by one approaching her with pen and paper to ask for her autograph.


    Song Anni enjoyed the feeling of being admired and loved, signing each one of their autograph requests. When she looked up, she noticed that only Bai Yin was sitting at the makeup mirror and had note to ask for her autograph.


    She couldn''t help but take a closer look at her.


    The girl had not yet put on full makeup, and her face was delicate and clear. Her peach blossom eyes were slightly raised, giving off a cold, reserved look.


    Song Anni walked over and asked disdainfully, "Are you Su Anning''s sister?"


    Bai Yin replied calmly, "Yes."


    "I don''t think much of you," Song Anni sneered.


    Bai Yin knew that Song Anni had been riding high on her sess for years and had a high opinion of herself, so she naturally looked down on everyone else. But Bai Yin didn''t let it bother her and pretended not to hear.


    "Stop chatting!" the assistant director interrupted. "We''re about to start filming the first night banquet scene, where the female lead dances on the water in the Imperial Garden and wins the Emperor''s favor. The dance partners will be behind Song Anni, and this is a very important scene that requires everyone to give their best!"


    Bai Yin and the other dancers went to the pavilion by the Jade Green Terrace in the Imperial Garden and prepared themselves.


    After waiting for about half an hour, Song Anni finally finished putting on her peach blossom makeup and walked over in a water-red chest-high jacket.


    The dancers saw that the female lead was in position and began to move ordingly.


    The director shouted, "Action!" Apanied by the sound of the flute and the zither, the girls danced with their long sleeves, changing their positions gracefully.


    Of course, all the movements and clothing of the dancers were designed to highlight the stunning dance of Song Anni, who was considered the best dancer in the Tang Dynasty.


    The director and producers stared intently at the camera.


    The dancers had already rehearsed the dance many times, and Song Anni''s dance was also passable. Everything seemed to be going well, but there was still something not quite right.


    Finally, one of the assistant directors blurted out, "Song Anni doesn''t quite look like the main character."


    Everyone suddenly realized this was true. Song Anni''s Tang Dynasty peach blossom makeup made her look beautiful, with full red lips, rosy cheeks, and delicate skin.


    On any other day, her appearance would have been enough to turn heads.


    But there was Bai Yin, standing behind her in a white dress.


    Even though Bai Yin''s movements and dance were identical to the other dancers, and she didn''t make any deliberate attempts to show off, her ck eyes shimmering like water and her cold, white skin,bined with her stunning features and graceful dance, naturally drew people''s attention towards her like a ma.


    So no matter how much Song Anni tried to upy center stage with her red dress, the audience''s eyes were inevitably drawn to the breathtaking white dress behind her.


    There''s no harm inparison.


    Song Anni, who was known as the "goddess of ancient costume dramas," paled inparison to Bai Yin. It was simply unbearable to watch.