Chapter Twenty-Four
Stepping back into the familiar hair and makeup room, looking at Xue's look in the mirror, Su Xian suddenly felt a little unfamiliar. So much had happened; she needed to quickly adjust her state. Just then, Chen Jun came in to do her makeup and hugged Su Xian as soon as she saw her.
After yesterday's press conference, Chen Jun quickly reposted Su Xuan's studio's Weibo post to show her support. Su Xuan gently patted her back, "Thank you, Sister Jun."
"Don't mention it, I haven't been able to help you much." Chen Jun let go of her. "Director Xu has been getting angry and urging you to go. You should hurry up and go."
When Su Xuan arrived at the filming location, everyone was busy. The executive director shouted over the loudspeaker, "Teacher Su Xuan is treating everyone to milk tea." She walked past the groups of staff members who were thanking her and went to the monitor.
"You've seen the call sheets, haven't you?" Director Xu glanced at her, his face serious. "Let's get through this quickly and stop wasting time."
Su Xian agreed softly and turned to leave, when she heard Director Xu's voice behind her, "Eat a few more bites of food, you've lost weight since filming started."
Su Xian smiled and said "Okay".
Director Xu didn't look at her again, and urged loudly through the walkie-talkie, "Find Liu Zichun quickly."
Su Xian stood in the set for a few minutes before Liu Zichun rushed over. After Director Xu finished explaining the scene and left, Liu Zichun quietly apologized to her.
Apologize for what? Apologize for dragging him down, or apologize for not helping him? Su Xian smiled and didn't take it to heart at all.
Over the next few days, Su Xian worked tirelessly, filming day and night, as if paying off a debt. To save time, she and Qingqing simply slept in their RV. Meanwhile, gossip in the entertainment industry always moves on quickly. First, Liu Xiling was photographed yelling at her assistant on set, then her high school classmate revealed that Liu Xiling had formed cliques and bullied classmates during her school days.
All of this is completely different from the cute persona Liu Xiling usually cultivates. What's most shocking is the earlier video footage released by paparazzi. Through the hidden glass window, Liu Xiling can be seen at a dinner party, holding a wine glass and sitting on the lap of another middle-aged man, offering a toast. Although the paparazzi didn't reveal the man's identity, sharp-eyed netizens quickly recognized him as Mr. Wang, the chairman of Lanzhi.
Suddenly, Liu Xiling and Lan Zhi were both thrust into the spotlight. When Su Xian spoke with Bai Lin on the phone, he couldn't help but admire her cunning way of killing two birds with one stone, but Bai Lin denied that it was her doing.
"I made some inquiries, and the paparazzi asked for a very high price. Liu Xiling's team wanted to lower the price further, but an unknown person intercepted the deal and even raised the price to have the paparazzi release the video directly." Bai Lin said with some emotion, "But it's not surprising. There must be quite a few people waiting to take revenge on Liu Xiling in the past two years."
"Maybe so. By the way, Sister Lin, I've asked Qingqing to stay with you at the hotel for the next few days."
"Mr. Lin is here?"
"Um."
"Okay, but you have such a full schedule, how can you have time to spend with him? It's not easy for you two busy people to have a relationship, you see each other too little."
"Sister Lin, you should stop worrying about it." Su Xian hung up the phone.
In fact, Su Xian was quite satisfied with this state. Lin Zhiyuan could understand and respect her attitude towards work. It would be abnormal for an adult who is already 30 and an adult who is about to turn 30 to act like a student in their first love, wanting to stick to each other all the time.
However, such thoughts vanished the moment she returned to the apartment that evening and saw Lin Zhiyuan. Lin Zhiyuan was wearing the dark blue pajamas she had bought for him, leisurely sitting at the dining table looking at his computer. Su Xian closed the door, ran barefoot over to him, and hugged him. Now, she really wanted to stick to him.
How long have we been here?
"It'll only be an hour." Lin Zhiyuan lifted her chin. "Did you miss me?"
Just as Su Xian was about to answer, he kissed her deeply. She responded passionately, expressing her longing through her actions. Lin Zhiyuan carried her, kissing her all the way into the bedroom.
Su Xian was pinned to the bed by him and could clearly feel his change.
Su Xian gently pushed his shoulder, trying to push him away, but Lin Zhiyuan grabbed her hand and placed it on her head.
"I miss you so much, Xiaoxian." Lin Zhiyuan released her lips.
Su Xian met his dark eyes and said somewhat embarrassedly, "I'm on my period today, it just started this afternoon."
"Am I pressing down on you like this?" Lin Zhiyuan immediately lay down on his side next to her and hugged her tightly. "Let me hold you for a while." His voice was hoarse.
"I'm sorry." Su Xian patted his back, trying to comfort him.
"Silly girl, it's not just this on my mind." Lin Zhiyuan kissed her forehead. "I came because I missed you."
Su Xian's heart stirred slightly as she realized that she wasn't just someone to relieve his desires. She stared at him intently.
"So, next time you'll have to pay me back what you owe this time too." Lin Zhiyuan smiled maliciously.
Su Xian punched him lightly, broke free from his embrace, and went into the bathroom to take a shower.
The next morning, as soon as the alarm clock rang, Su Xian quickly turned it off and got up quietly so as not to wake Lin Zhiyuan, who was still fast asleep.
After washing up, Su Xian opened the door. Qingqing had already bought breakfast for two and was waiting for her outside. Su Xian put Lin Zhiyuan's breakfast on the table and left a note telling him to contact Qingqing after he got up and come to the filming location to find her.
The scenes being filmed these past few days have all taken place inside a brothel. Xue disguises herself as a prostitute and hides in a brothel in the capital, attempting to infiltrate the ranks of the Grand Tutor's faction who framed her father years ago to find the truth. However, she is discovered, fights her way out, and accidentally stumbles into Mo Ling's mansion, where he risks his life to save her.
The dialogue scenes were filmed yesterday, and today we started filming the fight scenes inside the brothel. At first, Xue had some advantage in the fight, but due to the sheer number of opponents, she gradually found it difficult to defend herself. Xue was knocked down, breaking a railing. She wiped the blood from her mouth, picked up her sword, and continued fighting. A master appeared, and Xue was kicked against the wall and landed on the ground. Seeing that she was no match for him, Xue could only try to escape the brothel.
Director Xu always strived to create a realistic kung fu effect, so even while suspended by wires and on mats, Su Xian and the martial arts choreographers fought and were fought as realistically as possible. Su Xian kept drawing his sword, and when the sword ran out, he used his fists and feet, getting kicked down again and again, coughing up blood and having his makeup touched up repeatedly.
During the close-up shot, the wire harness wasn't held tight, and Su Xian crashed into a cushion on the wall before bouncing onto the hard ground. She landed face down, her head spinning from the shock, her vision blurring, and she couldn't see clearly. There was a commotion around her, and a crowd gathered around her, but all she could hear was a buzzing sound.
Su Xian felt someone lift her up by her arm, and in a daze, she saw Qingqing's concerned face.
Su Xian then felt pain all over her body, even her stomach started to hurt. She lowered her head and leaned against Qingqing.
Su Xuan felt better after sitting in the chair for a few minutes, so she asked to continue filming, but Director Xu refused.
"Let's have dinner first, rest a bit, and then come back."
She agreed to Director Xu's suggestion that she rest a little longer so she could feel better, and slowly walked back to the RV.
"First, help me find ibuprofen," Su Xuan said, opening the door and turning to Qingqing who was following behind her.
"Where do you feel unwell?" Lin Zhiyuan's voice came from inside the car.
"How long have you been here?" Su Xian was pleasantly surprised, temporarily forgetting her discomfort. "Did you come to watch me film?"
"Tell me first where it hurts?" Lin Zhiyuan closed his laptop and looked at her.
"I'm on my period, so my stomach hurts a little." Su Xian didn't seem to care much.
Lin Zhiyuan's gaze lingered downwards for a moment. "I watched you filming, and I saw you getting beaten up and rolling on the ground."
"I acted pretty well, didn't I?" Su Xian raised her head proudly, the hair ornaments on her head making a soft tinkling sound.
"You look beautiful in ancient costume." Lin Zhiyuan raised his hand and straightened the hair ornament on her head.
"Does it hurt?" he suddenly asked softly.
"I'm used to it." Su Xian thought Lin Zhiyuan was asking her about her menstrual cramps.
"I'm asking you, did it hurt when you fell to the ground?"
"It doesn't hurt." Su Xian turned her head away from him and reached out to open a box of vegetables on the table. It was stir-fried pork. There was a lot of oil in the plastic box, and Su Xian suddenly lost her appetite.
Lin Zhiyuan's fingers touched her face, and Su Xian turned her face to rub against his palm.
"When I saw you being helped up, your face turned pale."
Did she? She was dazed for a few seconds. When she felt the pain, her eyes were filled with tears. She didn't want anyone to see, so she lowered her head and leaned against Qingqing.
"If it hurts, you can say so. Don't keep it inside. At least you need to answer me properly: does it hurt or not?" Lin Zhiyuan looked at her with concern.
Is it okay? Su Xian never felt there was any point in talking about her physical discomfort. When she was a child, it was because she tried her best not to worry her mother.
After filming, when others ask her, "How are you? Are you okay?", the expected response is "I'm fine, I'm okay," so that everyone can continue working and leave early. Even if she says "I'm not doing well," no one else can help her solve the problem.
Lin Zhiyuan's gaze was gentle and focused, making Su Xian's heart soften. She nuzzled his hand, leaned against Lin Zhiyuan's chest, and slowly relaxed. She whispered, "It hurt a little at the time, but it's fine now."
"Where's your stomach?"
"It hurts a little too," Su Xian replied, otherwise she wouldn't have asked Qingqing to get ibuprofen. Speaking of which, Su Xian wondered where Qingqing had gone looking for the medicine. She glanced at the half-open door.
"You'll feel a little bit of everything." Lin Zhiyuan sighed helplessly, cupping her face in his hands. "From now on, you should tell me if you feel unwell, not just physically, but also emotionally, okay?"
Su Xian nodded vigorously, "Let's eat first, I'm so hungry."
The food was almost cold, and Su Xian ate a few bites before putting down her chopsticks.
"Eating so little? Didn't you say you were hungry?" Lin Zhiyuan ate slowly and deliberately, as if he were savoring the food.
"Sister Xiaoxian." Qingqing handed her a strip of ibuprofen, and Su Xian opened a bottle of mineral water and swallowed it.
"I left some food for you, so eat it quickly," Su Xian said to Qingqing.
Lin Zhiyuan closed his food container. Actually, he hadn't eaten much. Su Xian suddenly felt a little guilty for making him eat his cold lunch.
"I'm going to be filming very late tonight, so I'll have Qingqing take you home first," Su Xian told him.
"Let her stay with you. I'll borrow Zheng Yu's driver for the next few days."
"Is he also at the film studio?"
"Yes, they want to expand their film studio, so I came to check out the project for them."
So he didn't come here specifically to visit me, Su Xian pursed her lips.
"Helping him was just a side thing," Lin Zhiyuan whispered in her ear.
Su Xian felt ticklish from his warm breath, and couldn't help but glance at him before smiling and pushing him away. Seeing that Lin Zhiyuan was still trying to come closer, Su Xian gestured to him with her eyes that there were other people around.
Qingqing kept her eyes fixed on the food on the table, and Su Xian quickly stood up to help, taking the opportunity to get away from her.
Stepping out of the cool RV, the outdoor heat intensified. Su Xian looked up at the sky, where a bright full moon hung. She took out her phone, snapped a photo, and sent it to Lin Zhiyuan.
"Sister Xiaoxian?" Qingqing called out to her from the side.
"Um?"
"I haven't seen you this happy in a long time."
"Really?" Su Xuan's face was full of smiles.
Qingqing nodded. "You smile all the time, but it's different now, um..." Qingqing scratched her head. "I can't really explain it."
Is there a difference? Su Xian didn't know. Perhaps it was because there was someone else who cared about her, and she had someone else to rely on. Without realizing it, she wanted to depend on him.
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