filming

The summer nights in Hengdian were stiflingly hot, like a sauna, and the air conditioner in the old hotel hummed weakly. Although Chu Yiran had been able to return to the film crew through Lin Wanxing's help, he was still the same person with no resources or connections. In addition, the director had always disliked him, so naturally, he wouldn't be given any decent accommodations.

Chu Yiran has been searching through all the history books these days and found that the history of this world has never recorded his memories of his past life. It's as if he has come to a parallel universe a thousand years later, or as if his memories of his past life were just a dream. He tried to find answers from the perspective of modern science, but it seems that he can't explain everything now.

Fortunately, Chu Yiran is not one to suffer internally. Since he has decided to live a good life in this world, he only cares about each day in front of him.

Anyway, the main task at present is to work to pay off the debt, earn money to buy a villa, and live a good life with my mother.

Chu Yiran sat cross-legged on the bed, with the script left behind by the original owner spread out on his knees. The drama he was currently filming was called "Ambiguous Game," a melodramatic and tragic modern urban romance drama. He played the third male lead, a rich second-generation heir who was deeply in love with the female lead. In the drama, he was entangled with the female lead in various ways, but in the end, he died tragically in a car accident because he could not get the love he wanted.

The script was worn and yellowed from being read so many times, its pages densely covered with notes—some parts were neatly written, clearly the result of careful study; others were illegible, with brown stains from spilled coffee beside them, like ramblings written when one was delirious from staying up all night. The most outrageous was the page for scene thirty-two, the edges almost transparent from being rubbed by fingers, with a dozen or so "Go Chu Yiran!" written in red pen in the corner, followed by tiny hearts and smiley faces.

Chu Yiran gently stroked the words with his fingertips, and suddenly felt a pang of emotion.

"The early bird catches the worm, but unfortunately it flew in the wrong direction."

He closed his eyes, and memories of reciting texts in the study of his past life flooded back—back then, he could memorize anything he read by candlelight, recite the Book of Poetry and the Chu Ci at the age of three, and understand the Book of Changes and Mozi at the age of five. Now, in a different world, he hadn't lost those skills.

He unfolded the script, glanced at it, read it three times, then closed the script with a slight smile on his lips.

"I've got it."

——

The next day, Chu Yiran got up at four o'clock to rush to the early morning scene. His scenes were almost all scheduled in the early morning or late at night, but he didn't care about that. After all, he had always insisted on getting up at the hour of Yin (3-5 AM) to study since he was a child and never lingered in bed.

However, Sun Xiaoxiao was not so used to it. She bought breakfast for Chu Yiran with dark circles under her eyes, and after accompanying him to the film set, she immediately lay down on the folding chair and dozed off.

Today's scene is a confrontation between Chu Yiran and his parents from the script. He stands in front of his parents in a suit and tie, reciting his memorized lines with practiced ease.

"Stop talking! I will never leave Xin Xin no matter what!"

Dad waved his hand dismissively: "Stop talking nonsense with me, just go abroad for graduate school as soon as possible and save us some trouble!"

"I'm not going abroad. I've already canceled the flight you booked for me!"

The mother, with tears in her eyes, said, "Son, are you really going to let an outsider cause your parents to die of anger? Is she more important than us?!"

"Xin Xin will always be the most important person in my heart—"

Before he could finish speaking, his father swung his hand and slapped Chu Yiran across the face.

"Click—" Director Li Zhen said impatiently into the walkie-talkie, "Chu Yiran, are you a robot? Can you stop reciting lines like you're reading from a textbook?"

Chu Yiran immediately apologized to the camera: "I'm sorry, director, I'll adjust it right away."

After he was slapped a second time, Li Zhen propped his neck up with a rolled-up script and interrupted again: "Cut! Can't you have any emotion in your eyes? They're your parents, not your enemies!"

Chu Yiran apologized again quickly, and after he was slapped for the third time, Li Zhen interrupted them with a walkie-talkie.

"Cut! Chu Yiran, do you even know how to act? The back of your head is blocking the camera. Didn't the assistant director communicate with you about the blocking beforehand?"

"Crack! Are you just going to stand there like a log and wait to get beaten up?"

"Cut! Chu Yiran, do you really have to waste everyone's time like this?"

...

After more than a dozen attempts were stuck, everyone realized something was wrong.

Chu Yiran's acting skills are indeed very poor, but idol dramas don't really require much acting skill. If the male and female leads are handsome and beautiful, fans will naturally buy it. In addition, this scene is not a major scene, and it should have been almost over. However, Li Zhen kept stopping after he was slapped and yelling "cut". Everyone knows that the director was deliberately making things difficult for him.

Chu Yiran looked somewhat disheveled in front of the camera; her cheek, which had been slapped more than a dozen times, was red and swollen, and her hairstyle was slightly messy.

Such a simple scene was filmed from dawn until late morning. People around were either watching the show, mocking, or feeling sorry for the camera, all whispering among themselves. Even Sun Xiaoxiao, who was dozing on the recliner, woke up and looked at Chu Yiran behind the camera with great concern.

It wasn't until lunchtime that Li Zhen finally relented on this. Chu Yiran didn't say much, but simply bowed to everyone around him, clasped his hands, and said loudly, "I'm really sorry to have troubled you all with me today. I'll treat you all to hot pot after work tonight."

Li Zhen glanced at him with some surprise, and then someone shouted, "Thank you, Brother Ran!" and the surrounding people cheered.

With a simple sentence, the awkward situation was resolved. Chu Yiran walked to the rest area with a normal expression, and Sun Xiaoxiao quickly handed him the ice pack she had prepared.

"Brother Ran, are you alright?" Sun Xiaoxiao asked with some concern.

"It's nothing." Chu Yiran skillfully applied ice to the wound.

“Ran-ge…” Sun Xiaoxiao frowned, “I feel like you’re different from before.”

If Chu Yiran had been scolded like this by the director in the past, she would have stood helplessly in front of the camera like a child who had done something wrong, and would have been upset and frustrated for a long time afterward. In her memory, Brother Ran was always humble but a little timid. When did she become so calm and generous?

Before Chu Yiran could answer, Xiaoyou came over with an umbrella: "Brother Ran, Sister Xing wants you to come to the RV to eat brown sugar jelly together. We just brought it back from Yichang, it's so delicious!"

Lin Wanxing has been out running events these past few days and hasn't returned to Hengdian. It's naturally easy for the lead actor to take leave, and they don't have to film from dawn till dusk like Chu Yiran.

Chu Yiran didn't refuse upon hearing this. He nodded and then said to Sun Xiaoxiao, "Xiaoxiao, this afternoon, count how many staff members are in our crew, order some milk tea for everyone, and also order a few extra cups for the fans waiting for me outside the set. Then, in the evening, find a nearby hot pot restaurant and make a reservation in advance. If you don't have enough money, just use my credit card. If that's still not enough, go ask Sister Kelly for a loan..." He knew that these expenses couldn't be skimped on. After giving his instructions, he continued, "Once the milk tea arrives, if you have nothing else to do, go back to the hotel and rest. You don't need to stay here with me. I can manage on my own."

After saying that, Chu Yiran followed Xiaoyou away, leaving Sun Xiaoxiao alone in the same spot.

——

As soon as you get in the car, a cool breeze hits you. Lin Wanxing is sitting at a small table, and Zhao Lingyi is already sitting opposite her. In front of them are crystal clear brown sugar jelly, sprinkled with hawthorn pieces and raisins, which looks very appetizing.

Zhao Lingyi is the second male lead in "Ambiguous Game". He is said to be a rich second-generation with some family background. There are many scenes between the two on the call sheet, but Chu Yiran has never seen him on set.

"You're here, Ran-di," Lin Wanxing moved over a bit, "Please sit down."

Before Chu Yiran could even reach Lin Wanxing's side, Zhao Lingyi pulled him to his side.

"Hello, fortune teller, I'm Zhao Lingyi." Zhao Lingyi was busy showing off his cold shrimp and didn't even look up.

Chu Yiran also greeted him, and Lin Wanxing asked Xiao You to take out the fruit and ice cream from the refrigerator, and soon the table was full of them.

"I just finished my makeup and sent it over when I heard you filmed a slapping scene all morning," Lin Wanxing frowned. "Did that old man Li Zhen make things difficult for you again? Should I go and say hello?"

Before Chu Yiran could speak, Zhao Lingyi shouted, "Why did you even bother to say hello? Li Zhen is a veteran director that the producer brought in from Hong Kong. You've already offended him by insisting on bringing the fortune teller back. Do you still want to confront him head-on?"

"Eating can't shut you up!" Lin Wanxing kicked his knee, then turned to Chu Yiran and explained, "Don't pay attention to him, he's just a foul-mouthed and talkative person."

"It's okay, Sister Xing," Chu Yiran shrugged. "Don't worry, I can handle this little thing. If something really happens, I'll ask you for help even if you don't tell me."

Lin Wanxing nodded, then remembered something: "By the way, Ran-di, do you know Su Jing?"

Upon hearing this familiar name, Chu Yiran's hand trembled, and the brown sugar shrimp jelly spilled onto the table.

"I don't know him." He calmly wiped the table with a piece of paper.

“I agree, you two shouldn’t have much interaction,” Lin Wanxing said, oblivious to Chu Yiran’s unusual behavior. “Su Jing mentioned to me last time that you two bumped into each other at the hospital. He said the look on your face was like you were going to kill him, and he was wondering if you had some misunderstanding about him…”

Chu Yiran clenched his fist: "Are you two very close?"

Lin Wanxing paused for a moment, then mumbled, "We were elementary school classmates, and our families have some connections."

"Wow, childhood sweethearts?" Chu Yiran deliberately dragged out the tone.

Lin Wanxing rolled her eyes: "Come on! If my parents didn't like him, I wouldn't hang out with him! You know he's a child star, he looks glamorous, but he's actually a cold-blooded animal, and his personality is awful! I was really fat during my puberty, and he just watched me get laughed at by my classmates every day without ever helping me out." She pouted, "Later, my parents thought his acting was interesting, so they let me go to acting school too."

"You still have the nerve to criticize Su Jing's personality?" Zhao Lingyi stopped eating his cold shrimp, looked up at her with wide eyes, and said, "Who was it that threw Su Jing's homework into the girls' restroom back then? You tigress..."

"Get out of here if you say another word!" Lin Wanxing kicked him again through gritted teeth. "You've been Su Jing's shadow since you were little. If you like him so much, why don't you act in the same production as him? Is it because your acting is too bad and you're being rejected?"

"I'll follow you around and make you mad! Hehehe—"

The two bickered like elementary school students, and in just a few words, Chu Yiran figured out the relationship between the three of them.

It turns out that all three of their parents know each other. Lin Wanxing and Su Jing are both 28 years old this year. They have been studying together since elementary school. Zhao Lingyi is 22 years old this year and has also been playing with them since childhood.

As they talked about Su Jing's childhood, Chu Yiran felt a sense of disorientation.

Is Su Jing in this world... really just another person?