Around 3:00 PM, the shoot finally wrapped up, and everyone packed their things to leave.
Shu Qingqing had planned to leave with the crew, but Lu Bochuan suddenly messaged her, saying he needed to see her about something.
Shu Qingqing returned to the CEO's office. "Lu Bochuan, what did you want to talk to me about?"
Lu Bochuan didn't speak; he just stared at her intently.
"Say something," Shu Qingqing said, having no choice but to walk behind the desk. "Lu Bochuan, you..."
Before she could finish, she suddenly felt the ground disappear from beneath her feet.
Lu Bochuan grabbed her under her arms and lifted her onto the desk.
His large hands gripped her waist as the man slowly leaned in.
His sexy Adam's apple was right in front of her eyes.
Shu Qingqing froze, feeling as though she could hear her own heartbeat.
She swallowed hard and managed to ask, "Lu Bochuan... what are you doing?"
"Forced love," he replied. The moment the words left his lips, the man pressed down on her.
But before he could even touch her rosy lips...
Bang! The office door was pushed open from the outside.
A man with a buzz cut walked in, grabbed something from the table near the door, and was just about to leave when he finally noticed the two people behind the desk.
The buzz-cut man froze in shock for a few seconds before frantically apologizing, "I'm so sorry, Mrs. Lu, I left my phone behind... I, I really didn't know you two were... I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, it's all my fault for not knocking."
The man bowed profusely as he apologized, looking so flustered he was practically a blur of motion.
Shu Qingqing recognized him. "He's a cameraman from our crew."
Hearing her say this, the last trace of Lu Bochuan's anger dissipated. He sighed helplessly, "Get out."
The buzz-cut man looked as if he had just been granted amnesty, backing out at the speed of light and shutting the door behind him.
The office fell silent.
Shu Qingqing couldn't hold it in any longer. Resting her head against Lu Bochuan's chest, she burst into laughter. "Lu Bochuan, were you trying to copy the male lead from the script just now? The domineering CEO's forced love?"
Lu Bochuan pinched her cheek. "Stop laughing."
Shu Qingqing stretched her legs and hopped off the desk. "Work hard, President Lu. You're already a domineering CEO even without the forced love."
The shooting schedule for the short drama was incredibly intense. For an entire week, Shu Qingqing ran around with the crew, filming from morning until around ten at night.
Just when she felt like she couldn't take it anymore, the filming finally neared its end.
Today's shooting location was a villa. Unlike usual, the props team left immediately after setting up the scene, leaving only the male and female leads and a few cameramen.
Shu Qingqing then realized that they were about to shoot the most important scene in the script: the intimate bathroom scene.
Usually, for scenes like this, the female lead's clothing would be quite revealing. To protect the actors' privacy and emotions, the director would generally clear the set.
Shu Qingqing stood up to leave as well.
Liu Piaopiao grabbed her hand. "Qingqing, can you stay? It's all guys here... I feel a little uncomfortable."
Shu Qingqing understood. "Alright, I won't leave."
This was also the final scene of the script, focusing on the male and female leads' first time after getting married. Because of this, not only would the female lead wear very little, but the male lead also needed to take off his shirt.
Although Liu Piaopiao and Ling Hao were already familiar with each other, filming such an intimate scene still made them both a bit shy.
Director Fang had a stroke of inspiration and asked someone to play some soothing music in the background. The two actors tried a few more times and finally found the right mood.
Intimate scenes are notoriously difficult to shoot. Despite numerous outtakes, the final result was both sensual and beautiful. Director Fang and Shu Qingqing were both very satisfied.
All the scenes for the day were finished, except for one close-up shot of Ling Hao taking off his shirt.
Everyone moved to the walk-in closet.
Ling Hao was 184 cm tall and had a four-pack, but Director Fang felt that wasn't enough and insisted the makeup artist contour it into a six-pack.
"The audience loves this kind of stuff. I originally wanted to give him an eight-pack."
"An eight-pack might be a bit hard to draw on."
While the makeup artist was touching up the abs, Shu Qingqing and Director Fang sat to the side, chatting.
Meanwhile.
Lu Bochuan had gone to a subsidiary company for a meeting today and didn't get back until almost 7:00 PM. Upon learning that the crew was shooting at a villa in the South Fifth Ring Road, he decided to go pick up Shu Qingqing so they could head home together.
This villa was purchased by the old madam a few years ago and had rarely been lived in. When she heard that her daughter-in-law had invested in a short drama, the old madam generously offered the villa for their shoot.
Therefore, Lu Bochuan's car drove in without any hindrance.
The crew members who had been cleared from the set were chatting in the living room. Seeing Lu Bochuan enter, they all stood up to greet him.
Lu Bochuan nodded in acknowledgment. "Are you on a break right now?"
Everyone knew he was actually asking where Shu Qingqing was.
"No, President Lu. Mrs. Lu is in the master bedroom on the second floor. Because they're shooting an intimate scene, it's not good to have too many people around, so the rest of us came out."
An intimate scene?
Lu Bochuan headed up the stairs.
After finishing the abs, the makeup artist brought Ling Hao over to the two of them. "Director, Mrs. Lu, do you think this looks okay?"
Shu Qingqing observed closely. "I feel like the middle ab on the left looks a bit unnatural. Is the shading a little too heavy there?"
The makeup artist leaned in close to Ling Hao's abs. "Mrs. Lu, do you mean right here?"
"No." Seeing that the makeup artist wasn't getting the right spot, Shu Qingqing was just about to stand up and point it out for her when Liu Piaopiao suddenly ran over and grabbed her hand.
Shu Qingqing asked, "What's wrong?"
Liu Piaopiao coughed lightly and pulled her to slowly turn around. "President Lu is here."
"Lu Bochuan! Why are you here?" Shu Qingqing happily walked over. "Did you come to pick me up?"
Everyone quickly stood up to greet him.
"Mhm." Lu Bochuan scanned the room, his gaze finally landing on Ling Hao.
Ling Hao inexplicably felt a chill run down his spine.
Director Fang also quickly realized something was wrong.
But Shu Qingqing hadn't caught on. "Then wait for me a little longer. We'll be done as soon as we finish this shot." Shu Qingqing pulled him, wanting him to sit by the monitor.
Director Fang swiftly grabbed a bath towel from a chair and threw it onto Ling Hao. Then, putting on an apologetic smile, he stopped Shu Qingqing. "Qingqing, since President Lu is here to pick you up, why don't you head back with him first? We're almost done here anyway."
"That works, but the shading on Ling Hao's abs still needs to be..." Shu Qingqing said, still wanting to go over and point it out.
Director Fang didn't even dare to look at Lu Bochuan's murderous gaze. He grabbed Shu Qingqing's bag and shoved it into her hands. "Don't worry, don't worry, I'll tell the makeup artist. You two should hurry back."
Shu Qingqing had no choice but to leave first.
The two of them ate out, and during the meal, Lu Bochuan didn't show any signs of acting unusual.
Once they got home, Lu Bochuan went straight to the second floor.
Shu Qingqing stayed in the living room to help Lu Xun build with building blocks.
Just as they were having fun, Lu Bochuan came downstairs at some point, grabbed her, and pulled her upstairs without a word.
Shu Qingqing was pulled into the bedroom by Lu Bochuan. She had barely managed to ask what was wrong...
...when she saw Lu Bochuan lock the door with a click.
Then, unbuttoning his shirt, he walked toward her.
