The basic planning before filming “Dawn Breaking” was roughly completed. Because political propaganda factors were added, many things required special approval. However, with support from multiple parties, especially with the Public Security Ministry backing them, many matters were handled specially. It was basically like having cheat codes enabled—they rarely encountered red lights along the way.

Finally receiving notification that she had secured the female lead, Tang Xin pushed back all of Fu Xueli’s scheduled work by at least two months. To film this production well, she even spent two weeks in specialized training, until mid-May when the crew started shooting at a certain film studio in Shencheng.

After “Dawn Breaking” was officially announced, major forums on the internet instantly exploded. Weibo and forums were almost overnight discussing the casting issues for Dawn Breaking. Naturally, the female lead’s casting sparked the most controversy.

There had been rumors beforehand that the film’s female lead was Ming Heqi, but the role was intercepted midway by Fu Xueli. This coincided with the broadcast of that variety show, further confirming the previous rumors—that Fu Xueli and Ming Heqi were at odds.

Fans of several young actresses who had originally been tearing each other apart in separate battles, upon the official announcement, all turned their guns to attack Fu Xueli. Ming Heqi’s fans cursed especially viciously.

Weibo trending searches and headlines of major entertainment news appeared several times a week. Fan wars and exposed dark histories from gossip forums emerged endlessly. Onlookers watching the drama were completely baffled.

However, regardless of how stormy the internet was, the afternoon of the first day of “Dawn Breaking’s” production launch welcomed the first scene. The filming location was at Shencheng Public Security Bureau Headquarters.

In the nanny van, Fu Xueli chewed on small snacks in her mouth, peeled off the face mask from her face, leaned sideways against soft pillows in the seat, staring at the car ceiling and daydreaming for a while.

“Sigh, I don’t know what’s been going on lately. Every few days I’m entering places like public security bureaus. Last time it was a district bureau, now we’re going directly to headquarters…” Beside her, Xixi wore a bitter expression, muttering quietly while organizing clothes.

Xixi complained, completely unaware that someone in the car had even more complex feelings than her.

The car stopped and started in traffic. Fu Xueli felt restless and threw the thermos in her hand with a clang. “This damned Shencheng traffic is too terrible! Such a short distance has taken almost an hour and a half?! With this crappy traffic, the Shencheng government still wants to retain a million college students?!”

“Such a temper. Don’t get a heart attack from anger.” The others in the car regarded her bad temper as commonplace.

Strangely enough, after Fu Xueli’s string of curses, the road ahead became surprisingly smooth. After getting on the sea bridge and turning left, merging into the rolling traffic, the several crew vehicles drove for about ten minutes before finally reaching their destination.

A warning sign hung at the main gate: Unauthorized Personnel Please Do Not Enter. Someone got out of the car ahead to negotiate, and the iron gate slowly opened. The car slowly drove in. Trees with magnificent canopies lined both sides of the road, branches thick with leaves. Today’s sun was just right and the weather so good, yet only threads of light leaked through.

What a grand scene…

“Look at this, on a weekend no less—we’re really causing you trouble.” Director Wu led a group of people out of the car, going forward to shake hands with someone who clearly looked like a leader.

Bureau Chief Zhao waved his hand, “No trouble, no trouble. This is a task assigned by headquarters, so naturally we take it seriously.”

The two smiled and chatted for a few more sentences.

Accustomed to fans and passersby swarming wherever she went, secret paparazzi following in the shadows, now such a large group of people with such a serious and quiet atmosphere—Fu Xueli couldn’t help but find it strange. Following behind the crowd, passing by a white statue, there was a full-length mirror. She glimpsed the uniform on her body.

This is absolutely…

She actually had a day where she would wear a police uniform and wander around the Public Security Bureau.

Staff were negotiating with each other, and the filming location was being prepared gradually. Bureau Chief Zhao patted Director Wu’s shoulder, introducing to him, “We’ve specially selected outstanding young people this time who can cooperate with you. If you need anything, just ask directly.”

His tone was somewhat excited, with a hint of pride, “These young fellows all have very upright appearances, selected from the district bureau.”

“More than upright.” Director Wu’s face was full of smiles, very tactfully agreeing, “Look behind me—each one is a popular A-list star, but your young people compare favorably or even surpass them!”

Others chimed in agreement.

These sincere polite words made Bureau Chief Zhao laugh heartily, the fat on his face laughing in horizontal development. With a face full of pride—Fu Xueli watched, coldly snorting in her heart.

Her face was almost stiff from forced smiling, standing at the edge of the crowd. Bored from waiting, her gaze began to wander aimlessly.

Landing on the young men with upright postures across from her, she kept unintentionally making eye contact with someone, making the other party’s face turn bright red.

Fully aware that quite a few people were secretly watching her, Fu Xueli didn’t care. She casually continued scanning, unconcerned in her heart. After surveying a complete circle, she narrowed her eyes, fixing on a certain spot.

There was someone who looked very much like Xu Xingchun. In this broad daylight under clear skies, only he stood particularly calm and focused. Quietly, blocked so only a small half of his profile was visible, faintly discernible. His shirt was properly tucked into his pants, light-colored dress shirt, black long pants, arms hanging naturally at his sides, skin slightly pale.

Fu Xueli rubbed her eyes again, then realized…

This wasn’t just resembling Xu Xingchun…

This was actually him!

She shivered, her heart feeling like it had been squeezed. After watching for a while, he showed no intention of looking back. She could only pretend not to care, shifting her gaze away, gripping the water bottle in her hand and squeezing it repeatedly.

Full of grievance.

—

As the saying goes: Old and difficult, old and difficult—when the boss speaks, it’s not difficult.

In the afternoon there were several scenes to film. Aside from “Dawn Breaking,” no other production could get this level of support inside a public security bureau.

Not only were actual offices being used for filming, even the extras were real police officers performing, and they didn’t charge—free appearances.

The assistant director wore a megaphone, currently arranging the third scene.

A disciplined group of people was easier to communicate with. After just a few pointers, they understood. According to the script, a row of criminal investigation squad young men all put on their coats. With sharp angular features, tough, naturally imposing bearing.

Swift and uniform movements, healthy and powerful male bodies—testosterone practically bursting and roaring. It inexplicably gave people a magnificent sense of shock. The assistant director’s passion seemed to erupt like a volcano, completely ignited. On site, he loudly directed the camera work, reluctant to even call out “NG.”

Stars big and small, along with some ordinary crew workers, all huddled to one side, idly observing. Some inexperienced young girls stared in complete astonishment.

So cool…

Fu Xueli also hid in the crowd, nestled in a resting chair, seemingly spreading open the script to study it, but actually secretly stealing glances.

Little Zhang sitting behind her pointed, aiming at Xu Xingchun in the crowd, “Look at the one behind Film Emperor Jiang. Is he a newly debuted fresh face? He’s so handsome, why can’t I think of who he is after looking for so long?”

Someone swooned, pounding their chest and sighing: “Right, right, so charming, so masculine. I’ve been staring at him the whole time. I can barely breathe smoothly.”

“Noisy, all day long not focusing on proper matters.” A faint voice sounded. Fu Xueli leisurely closed the script, putting on an act as she stood up. Her gaze inadvertently swept around, arms crossing over her chest, annoyed: “How much longer do we have to wait? Just a few seconds of footage, why isn’t it finished yet?”

No one dared say more. Waiting for Fu Xueli to finish her tantrum, they looked at each other and quietly rolled their eyes.

Suddenly, someone nearby loudly called out: “—Quick, move aside!”

Fu Xueli was confused for a moment, instinctively turning her head to look beside her. The hair on her back stood up instantly.

—A large German Shepherd was sprinting at full speed straight toward them!

?? !!

Hearing screams, the crowd quickly dispersed, everyone scrambling to the sides. Fu Xueli was suddenly at the outermost edge, frightened into retreat. She wanted to run too, but her legs were so weak she could barely move.

In what felt like just seconds before it would pounce on her pant leg, in that instant, Fu Xueli’s fingertips were trembling. Finally reacting, she ran. Someone was shouting loudly, telling her not to run.

But at a time like this, who could hear such words?

The more they said it, the more frightened she became.

Plus she had been afraid of dogs since childhood, super afraid, super afraid, super afraid—afraid to the point of having no rationality! As Fu Xueli ran in panic without choosing her path, her lower leg bumped into things without even noticing. When she looked back to see if the dog had caught up, she found that large German Shepherd with its gaping maw, only a few meters away.

In these few seconds, her heart full of despair, suddenly her arm was grabbed by a strong force, then she crashed hard into someone’s embrace. The momentum almost made both of them unable to stand steady.

The German Shepherd stopped and circled around their feet.

“—Da Hei!” The person chasing after sternly rebuked.

Very quickly, Xu Xingchun realized something was improper. He released the arm that had pulled her into his embrace, supporting Fu Xueli’s shoulders to create distance between them.

She refused, “No, I’m scared!!”

Sometimes emotions really can’t be controlled. Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Fu Xueli had completely forgotten to avoid suspicion. She stubbornly pressed close again, hiding behind Xu Xingchun. Eyes tightly closed, heart pounding like drums, both arms tightly circling his waist.

She turned her head to the side, chest pressing against his back, hot breath spraying out between heavy gasps. A thin layer of sweat seeped from the tip of her nose, and she had even cried tears of fright.

Before long, the person pulling the dog hurriedly ran over and, seeing the situation, froze in place.

The rest of the people surrounded them with loud exclamations, “Is Xueli okay? Oh my goodness!”

Having survived the ordeal, Fu Xueli’s mind was muddled, unable to hear any noise clearly. Her eardrums were filled entirely with the sound of her own heart pounding and crashing.

After slowly recovering, she was still holding Xu Xingchun. Holding too tightly, almost seamlessly pressed together. His entire body was tense. She could even feel his abdominal muscles… Fu Xueli’s face slowly flushed red as she slowly opened her eyes. She lifted her head slightly, eyes misty with tears. From this angle she could only see his nose bridge and a section of exposed chin. She opened her eyes just a little, then quickly closed them again.

His skin was really so good, lustrous porcelain white.

Xu Xingchun only lightly patted the German Shepherd’s head. That dog unexpectedly became docile, crouching on the ground, rubbing its forehead against his palm, paws scratching at the ground.

The large German Shepherd had its mouth open, drool dripping, tongue hanging out. Its neck was fitted with a leash, but it was still quite frightening. Seeing Fu Xueli lift her head, it excitedly pounced toward her again.

She hadn’t recovered yet. Frightened into screaming again, somewhat on the verge of collapse, she shouted, “Xu Xingchun, you—you quickly chase it away! I’m scared!”

Because the leaders were present, others didn’t dare randomly make a fuss. Direct gazes shot from all directions. Many people raised eyebrows, clearly showing a hint of amusement. Some people couldn’t hold back and laughed outright.

After being criticized a couple of times, the young police officer pulling the dog apologized while quietly defending himself with some explanation. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, his gaze turning on Fu Xueli, hesitantly and tentatively asking in a small voice, “Um, do you have something on you?”

Fu Xueli: “…?”

Afraid she hadn’t heard, he spoke slightly louder, explaining once more, “Da Hei probably smelled something on you, which is why he ran over.”

“Like…” The young officer found it somewhat difficult to say, “Something to eat?”

Fu Xueli still tightly gripped Xu Xingchun’s clothes corner and wouldn’t let go. Her mind was very chaotic right now, churning up and down. She carelessly wiped away the tears on her cheeks, freeing one hand to feel around her pockets and search.

One search produced several packets of beef jerky. The small snacks she ate in the car.

The young officer said dryly: “Right, Da Hei must have smelled the beef jerky. He—he’s a bit hungry…”

“…”

Fu Xueli took several deep breaths, feeling like dying.

This damned gluttonous broken dog…

Made her lose face so thoroughly this time!!