Chapter 25
He walked quickly to the elevator and met Sun Qi, who was also waiting for the elevator.
"Good morning," Sun Qi greeted with a smile.
"Good morning," Luo Mingxiu replied casually.
Sun Qi turned her head and continued staring at the numbers on the elevator. The doors opened, and the two went inside.
Luo Mingxiu leaned against the metal wall, still feeling the gloom on his face as he thought about what had just happened.
“We don’t have many scenes left,” Sun Qi broke the silence and asked him, “Have you finished filming your solo scenes?”
Luo Mingxiu snapped out of his daze: "We're done filming."
“I’m envious. You can finish filming early then. I still have scenes with Teacher Li tonight,” Sun Qi said, shivering. “Let’s finish filming quickly today so I can have more time to prepare.”
"What are you preparing?" Luo Mingxiu asked.
Sun Qi gave him a strange look: "Be prepared, that's Li Nan. How can you not be nervous about acting with him?"
"Just like when I first acted with Sister Li, they are both senior actors."
Luo Mingxiu fell silent. Sun Qi's words seemed to plunge him into an icy abyss. He didn't catch his breath until the elevator arrived.
What Sun Qi said was an undeniable fact. No matter how much he disliked Li Nan, he was still on par with Shen Li in terms of status and level.
Inside the van in the underground parking garage, Xiao Wen was watching funny videos when he noticed Luo Mingxiu approaching with a serious face in the rearview mirror. He stopped laughing, turned off the video, and sat up straight.
The automatic car door opened, and Luo Mingxiu sat down in the seat, sinking in as if shrouded in dark clouds.
Xiaowen turned her head and tentatively asked, "Brother, has breakfast been delivered?"
"Someone else gave it to her." The sourness in her voice was palpable.
Xiao Wen wanted to say something, but then she noticed that Luo Mingxiu had turned his head to the side, his gaze fixed on the outside through the half-open car window.
He followed Luo Mingxiu's gaze and saw a man and a woman talking in front of the parking space across the street. They were wearing down jackets of the same color and looked very well-matched.
Xiao Wen opened her mouth, about to ask why the young couple was staring at them, but upon closer inspection, she realized that the two were Shen Li and Li Nan.
He quickly swallowed his words, shut his mouth, and started the car.
"Wait." Luo Mingxiu raised his hand to stop him and continued looking at the other side.
On the other side, Shen Li said something to Li Nan, and as she turned to leave, Li Nan followed closely behind her.
Where to go?
Luo Mingxiu's eyes darkened. He opened the door and got out of the car, intending to chase after them. He saw Li Nan get into Shen Li's car, and behind him, in front of his car, someone was bending over and inspecting the open hood.
"It seems like Mr. Li's car broke down," Xiaowen said, sticking her head out of the car. "His assistant is watching the car over there."
"What a coincidence that the car broke down." Luo Mingxiu got back into the car, and as the car drove away, he rolled up the window, his eyes dark and unfathomable.
He took out his phone and swiped his fingers across the screen to look at the play schedule.
With less than two months left in filming, his role was the smallest among the four main actors, meaning he might finish filming ahead of schedule.
The days of filming with Shen Li every day, meeting her morning and evening, and often having breakfast together are coming to an end.
"How many times can you pull off this self-inflicted injury ploy? Such childish behavior won't affect me."
As Li Nan's words flashed through his mind, Luo Mingxiu's hand clenched uncontrollably again.
Sunlight shone through the clouds, casting a shimmering glow on the car window.
"It's been cloudy for so many days, but the sun is finally out," Xiaoyu exclaimed from the driver's seat.
“That’s great, hopefully it will get warmer,” Shen Li looked up from the script and turned to Li Nan next to her, saying, “It’s your first day of filming, a good omen.”
Li Nan: "The car broke down on my first day on set."
Shen Li: "I just wanted you to be more optimistic. If the car breaks down, you can just fix it. Use my car until it's fixed."
“I see,” Li Nan smiled and leaned back, “Then I hope it gets fixed later.”
"Just say you want a ride in my car." Shen Li glared at him, and the two bantered for a while before arriving at the filming location.
According to the plot, there is no need to go into the mountains today. The scene is set in a village at the foot of the mountain. After Shen Li got out of the car, she and Li Nan walked to the temporary area rented by the film crew and entered their respective dressing rooms to prepare for makeup.
After greeting the staff, Shen Li sat down in front of the vanity mirror, closed her eyes to rest, and the makeup artist gently applied makeup to her face.
She silently recalled the plot of the characters she and Li Nan played.
Li Nan plays Mu Yuan, Mu Ling's master, while she will also play another role, Mu Yuan's wife Yan Li.
Mu Yuan, the owner of the flute who had been guiding them in solving the case since they entered the Miao village, helped them for two reasons: to protect Mu Ling and to get closer to Xie Huaixi.
Many years ago, Kihara's wife, Yanli, was disfigured while researching medicine in order to save people. Her face was completely disfigured and she became ugly and disgusting. Everyone called her a monster, and even those she had saved came to harm her.
When the villagers tied up Yan Li as if she were a demon and prepared to burn her at the stake, Mu Yuan desperately rescued her and escaped with her.
But Yan Li, who had been wounded by the hearts of others, could never go back to the way she was before. She began to be jealous of the beautiful young women around her, until she poisoned a girl for the first time. Kihara successfully used magic to transfer the girl's face onto his wife's face.
From then on, there was no stopping her. Yan Li's desire to change faces grew stronger and stronger. She would kill one, and he would replace it with another. Gradually, Mu Yuan took the initiative to find a suitable face for his wife.
Kihara wanted to find someone who could satisfy his wife and stop her from changing her face. That person was Xie Huaixi, who looked exactly like Yan Li before her disfigurement.
The deepfake project will actually be moved to a film studio in the southwest next month before filming begins.
In the Miao village, the main focus was on filming Yan Li's memories of being with Mu Yuan before her disfigurement.
After finishing her makeup, Shen Li looked in the mirror.
Yan Li wore a purple veil. When the wind blew, the veil fluttered slightly, revealing a corner of the woman's beautiful face. Her long, black hair was tied up in a bun and wrapped in a headscarf.
Inside the wooden house filled with medicinal herbs and tools, she pounded the herbs while keeping an eye on the boiler next to her, from which thick smoke billowed, making her cough.
"Failed again." She calmly extinguished the firewood, as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world.
Kihara returned, bringing with him the cold wind from outside. After entering the room, he took off his straw hat and hung it by the door.
He walked to the hot stove to warm his hands, then turned around and snuggled up to Yan Li from behind: "Li Niang, we caught some fish today. Go wash your hands and rest. I'll cook it for you."
Yan Li put down the jar in her hand, patted his hand, and said gently, "Okay, you go ahead and do it. I'll adjust the ingredients a bit more."
Kihara rested her head on his shoulder and rubbed against him, saying, "Li Niang, don't worry about it. I don't want you to work so hard every day."
“What are you saying? Although we have been here for less than half a year, the villagers have provided us with accommodation and daily care. How can we just stand by and watch us die?”
Kihara paused, picked up the porcelain jar and smashed it aside. Tears welled in his eyes, and his voice trembled: "The illnesses of everyone in the village keep recurring. Why should we rely on you alone to save them? Can you even manage?"
"Do you know what those people you want to save are saying about you behind your back? You've poured your heart and soul into finding a cure for them, but they'll only become more and more complacent and complain that you're deliberately delaying the research and development, that you're just a fake miracle doctor in disguise."
"I know." Yan Li went to pick up the broken pieces on the ground. A look of heartache appeared in Mu Yuan's eyes, and he took her hand.
"Don't touch it." Tears fell as Kihara lowered her head.
“As long as we succeed in developing it, that’s all that matters,” Yan Li looked at him with a determined gaze. “I don’t care what others say, as long as you believe in me and support me.”
Kihara picked up the shards and put them outside. He turned around and hugged her. "Then promise me that you will leave with me after you heal these people. There are too many heartless and treacherous people among them. I don't want to stay here any longer."
"Okay, I promise you." Yan Li smiled gently and raised her hand to wipe away the tears from the corner of his eyes.
"Cut!"
"Perfect." Director Liu stood up from behind the monitor, and Shen Li ran over to watch the playback.
Director Liu added, "You two haven't worked together for four years, yet you still work so smoothly together. You really have great chemistry."
"Teacher Li is always good at engaging the emotions of his co-stars," Shen Li said.
"Only with you guys and Teacher Li Jun would I dare to skip the positioning and just set up all the cameras and start shooting right away," Director Liu laughed. "Then you guys take a break. I just saw Teacher Li go out."
"Huh?" They had only just started filming when Shen Li walked out in confusion. After searching around, she finally spotted a figure leaning against the wall in the open space behind the wooden house.
Seeing her approach, Li Nan wiped his face.
Shen Li noticed the light in the corner of his eye and exclaimed in surprise, "Really? You can't even get out of character sometimes?"
"I was just about to tell the director that you haven't acted in four years, but you're still so professional."
"It would be embarrassing if someone saw us," Li Nan said, raising his hand to cover his face with the wide sleeve of his costume. "It's probably because I haven't acted with you in a long time, and I miss you so much that I'm a little touched."
"Are you alright? Why are you suddenly being so cheesy?" Shen Li patted him. "Let's go, let's move on to the next round."
The Nan-Li couple reunited on set after many years. While filming was still underway, a leaked photo of the two embracing on location spread across the internet.
At 3:30 pm, Luo Mingxiu finished work early and remembered that Shen Li had no rehearsals for the evening.
He quickly ran to the car, changed out of his costume, asked Xiaowen for his phone, and sent a message to Shen Li: Sister, when do you finish work? Shall we have dinner together?
Then, a carefully selected animated emoticon was chosen: a puppy sends a red heart, and after sending it, it pouts and waits for a reply.
Ten minutes passed without a reply. Luo Mingxiu looked at Xiaowen and said, "Call Xiaoyu and ask her to give the phone to Chen Li."
"Oh, OK." After staring at Xiao Wen's message, Luo Mingxiu opened the message interface again.
Shen Li: It'll probably be another hour.
Shen Li: I'm filming here in the village. There are many restaurants on the street here, so let's eat here.
Luo Mingxiu, who had expected to be rejected, was filled with excitement and replied: Okay, I'll come and wait for you.
Then, as if remembering something, he asked Shen Li for confirmation: "Teacher Li won't be coming too, will he?"
Shen Li: He ate on set, and he has to continue filming with Sun Qi tonight.
After leaving the mountains, the car drove to the streets near the filming location of Chen Li. The streets were lined with local home-style restaurants. Xiao Wen looked at the ratings and led Luo Mingxiu to a slightly spacious and bright restaurant.
It was only four o'clock, and the kitchen hadn't started operating yet. The enthusiastic proprietress greeted the handsome young men as soon as they arrived.
"Are you an actor from that detective drama?" The landlady didn't recognize him at first when he entered, but after asking, she took a closer look.
"Oh, you're Luo Mingxiu! Oh my, my daughter's a fan!" The proprietress stomped her feet with delight. "Come on, please come up to the private room on the second floor. The view is beautiful. I'll call the kitchen to start cooking right away."
Xiaowen quickly stopped her: "Wait a bit, boss lady, we're waiting for two more people."
"Oh, okay, okay." The proprietress was clearly still excited and said to Luo Mingxiu, "My daughter is studying in another city. She heard that you are filming here and asked me to find an opportunity to get your autograph."
"So, can I sign it?" the proprietress asked.
Luo Mingxiu asked Xiaowen to get out a pen and said, "Okay."
The proprietress slapped her forehead and said, "Oh dear, I forgot the posters that need autographs at home today. You can sit upstairs, I'll go back and get them."
On the second floor, Luo Mingxiu sent Shen Li the restaurant's location, then drank tea to pass the time while scrolling through his phone. He came across photos and videos of the restaurant on Weibo, which had already sparked heated discussions.
[Rise, great Nanashi!]
[When Nan Li makes a move, the Chinese entertainment industry trembles; see what true god-level CP chemistry looks like.]
[Many thanks to these two divine actors for descending to earth to perform; the Chinese entertainment industry has suffered from assembly-line acting for far too long.]
[I really want to cry about my beloved couple. Since they're both single, could they consider getting together?]
...
Luo Mingxiu looked at the discussions and felt extremely annoyed.
They've only been filming for a short time, and it's already going on and on.
Luo Mingxiu clicked on the Reuters photo of the two embracing, zoomed in to look at the position of Li Nan's hands, and frowned: "It's just acting, why are you hugging so tightly? You're a pervert."
"Brother, what did you say?" Xiao Wen, who was sitting opposite him, looked up. "Are you talking to yourself?"
A piercing look came over, and Xiaowen shut up, giving me an expression that said, "What did I do to offend you again?"
Luo Mingxiu ignored him and became increasingly uneasy thinking about Li Nan and Shen Li filming alone. He thought it would be better to film with Yuan Haoxuan.
He reached down and opened his WeChat contact list, tapped Yuan Haoxuan, and typed to ask him when he would be back.
Yuan Haoxuan sent a voice message: "You actually took the initiative to care about me. Don't worry, I'm much better and will be back tomorrow."
Hearing the other person's sincere voice, Luo Mingxiu replied guiltily, "Yes, take care of yourself, don't faint again."
Yuan Haoxuan sent a crying emoji: "Waaaa, bro, I'm so touched."
Half an hour later, Shen Li and Xiao Yu got out of the car and entered the restaurant. Even though she was wearing sunglasses and a mask, she couldn't hide her aura.
The proprietress, who had just picked up the posters at the door, recognized Shen Li at a glance, screamed a few times, and came over to greet them. After leading them upstairs, she handed them two posters.
One photo is by Luo Mingxiu, and the other is hers.
Shen Li looked at the proprietress with some confusion: "Are you a fan of both of us?"
Luo Mingxiu took his copy and signed it: "The boss's daughter is my fan."
"Mmm-hmm," the proprietress nodded frantically, her words tumbling out incoherently, "My daughter is his, I'm yours..."
"fan."
“I went back to get the poster and called my daughter to tell her what happened at the store. When she heard that the idol was still waiting for someone, my daughter guessed that it might be Shen Li and told me to quickly get your poster too.”
This made everyone present laugh. Shen Li took out a pen and signed the poster: "Thank you for your support."
After signing, the proprietress also asked for a group photo, then took the poster downstairs and didn't bother them any longer.
Luo Mingxiu ordered several dishes according to Shen Li's tastes, and then showed her the menu.
"Are you fully recovered?" Shen Li forked off the spicy food and selected the milder option.
Luo Mingxiu stared at her face, a smile playing on his lips: "Much better, do you want to see more, sister?"
One sentence brought her back to the day she lifted his clothes.
Shen Li's face flushed, then she glared at him and said, "Look at you my foot."
The two chatted back and forth, while Xiaowen and Xiaoyu quietly drank water and played on their phones under the table, their keyboards practically sparking.
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