Chapter 52 Ningning, we did it!

Inside a high-end furnished apartment in Pudong New Area, Shanghai.

The crew of "iPartment 3" was rushing to shoot the indoor scenes for the late-night radio station.

In front of the camera, Chen He wore a floral shirt, wiggling his signature eyebrows, and drawled into the microphone with a cheeky expression: "The good man is me, and I am—Zeng Xiaoxian."

Sitting opposite him, Song Shishi wore a beige knit sweater, her long hair hanging gently over her shoulder.

She leaned forward slightly, closer to the radio microphone, and continued the lines with a soft, gentle voice, perfectly natural: "Good evening, dear listeners, I am Nuolan."

"Cut! That's a wrap on this take!"

Director Wei Zheng took off his headphones and clapped his hands in satisfaction.

"Shishi, you're in great form, your lines were very steady. Ten-minute break, then prepare for the next scene!"

Song Shishi breathed a sigh of relief and climbed down from the high stool.

She had kept a very low profile over the past few days.

Carrying the label of "eight million in capital investment," the entire crew had initially been wary of this parachute heiress.

Yet she was never late or absent, knew her lines by heart, and played the "white moonlight" character, Nuolan, with ease.

After a few days, no one in the crew looked at her through colored glasses anymore.

"Shishi, not bad." Chen He walked over, unscrewing a bottle of mineral water, and gave her a thumbs-up. "Your line delivery is really good."

"Brother Chen, please don't flatter me; I secretly rehearsed that part many times last night." Song Shishi took the ice water handed to her by her assistant, took a small sip, and smiled with charming innocence.

Chen He grinned.

This girl was not only flawlessly beautiful but also incredibly talented when acting.

She had mastered that uncompetitive, gentle, and restrained temperament perfectly; even an actor full of gags like Chen He found acting opposite her incredibly smooth.

In the outer rest area, an abrupt curse suddenly erupted.

The production assistant in charge of coordination and logistics, Xiao Li, was squatting next to several large equipment cases. During the break between set changes, he pulled out his screen-protected iPhone 4 and habitually refreshed the entertainment trending list on Sina Weibo.

The page spun for a moment.

A topic with a dark red "Explosive" tag had suddenly landed in the top three trending searches: [19-year-old Beijing Film Academy student's work breaks into the Venice Film Festival].

Xiao Li had just clicked it casually to see what the gossip was about, but when he scrolled down to the news image and the cast list, his fingers suddenly froze.

"Holy sh*t..."

He gasped, rubbed his eyes, shoved the screen in front of his face, and triple-checked the name of the lead actress on the cast list.

"Song Shishi?" The production assistant was stunned. He blinked hard, then thrust his phone directly into the face of the makeup artist nearby. "Look at this name, is it a duplicate?"

The makeup artist had been resting with eyes closed. Annoyed at being disturbed, she glanced at the screen, and then immediately sat bolt upright.

Below the news item, there was a low-resolution still from the film.

The image quality was rough, but that exquisitely structured face, which she saw on the set every day, was recognizable even with her eyes closed.

"Oh my god..." The makeup artist gasped, her voice trembling. "This is our Nuolan!"

"It even says she's a student in the 09 Acting Department class at Beijing Film Academy! Isn't this our crew's Nuolan?!"

The makeup artist cursed twice in a row.

The news spread much faster than anyone imagined. Within five minutes, from the production assistants to the lighting crew, and from the makeup room to the main cast's lounge, the Venice Film Festival nomination list had completely set the whole crew ablaze.

Director Wei Zheng was looking down at the storyboard when the assistant director rushed over, sweating profusely, holding his phone and thrusting the screen right into his face.

"Director! Something huge happened! Our Nuolan... made it into the Venice Film Festival!"

Director Wei Zheng squinted as he read the lines, then sprang up from his director's chair, his smile so bright it could illuminate the entire studio.

Jackpot!

Back then, the Song family had thrown eight million in capital, forcing Song Shishi into the cast to play Nuolan. Director Wei Zheng had some reservations, fearing that this wealthy heiress would have poor acting skills and ruin the reputation he had worked so hard to build.

But as soon as the audition started, Song Shishi showed solid line delivery, and that face was the absolute pinnacle of innocent-yet-alluring beauty with no bad angles—it was already an unexpected win.

And now?

Not only did she bring capital with her, but she also now carried the top-tier title of "Lead Actress in a Short Film Nominated for the Venice Film Festival"!

What did this mean? It meant hype! It meant prestige! It meant "iPartment 3" wouldn't need to worry about promotional gimmicks before airing; it could just ride the international popularity of Venice and take off instantly!

He had even thought of the promotional press release for the show's broadcast: "Venice-nominated actress joins iPartment 3, passionately portraying the white moonlight."

What do you call this? This is killing two birds with one stone, winning big!

"Shishi!" The director rubbed his hands together and walked up to her, beaming. "Great work! You girl are too low-key. You got nominated for Venice and didn't even tell the crew? We could have prepared a big cake to celebrate!"

"Venice?" Song Shishi was bewildered.

Chen He had just walked over to the monitor. Hearing this, he stopped in his tracks, widened his eyes, and walked over: "Wait, Director, congratulations on what? Who's treating?"

Sun Yizhou, standing next to him, grabbed his shoulder and handed him the phone: "Still thinking about eating? Your radio partner went to Europe to win a big award!"

Lou Yixiao, Li Jinming, and a few other main cast members all gathered around. Looking at the words on the news, there was a chorus of gasps.

"Shishi, you've been hiding your talent!" Chen He said with exaggerated shock, walking straight over. "Nuolan, you went behind our backs to work on an international production!"

"The Venice Film Festival! Shishi, you're amazing!" Lou Yixiao held her hand, her eyes full of admiration.

Song Shishi, in the center of the set, was completely dazed, until her assistant, eyes red and hands trembling with excitement, handed the phone to her.

On the screen, "The Invisible Guest" and Director Jiang Ning's name were tightly linked with the Orizzonti section of the Venice Film Festival.

The surrounding congratulations, the noise, and the director's laughter faded away in that instant.

Her heart pounded violently in her chest, blood rushed to her head, and her eardrums buzzed.

They had done it!

Song Shishi didn't care about the small talk around her; she didn't even have time to change out of her high heels. She pushed through the crowd, lifted her skirt, and ran all the way to a quiet corner in the stairwell.

She dialed the number with trembling fingers.

The moment the call connected, she heard that familiar "Hello" from Director Jiang Ning.

Song Shishi's eyes immediately turned red, and her voice became a bit choked up.

"Ningning, we did it!"