Chapter 14 The Scholar and the Ghost: "We are a couple forced by feudal customs..."
Despite her reluctance, Zhu Qingting was eventually half-pushed and half-pulled back to the RV by Fang Xiaoya.
The car door opened again, and a strong, familiar smell of medicinal liquor wafted out, overpowering the original fresh fragrance inside the car.
Zhu Qingting lowered her eyelashes, cautiously peering inside.
Chai Yundu remained seated in the same spot, his ancient costume still half-undone and piled around his waist, but he had put on a pure black short-sleeved T-shirt over his upper body.
The soft cotton fabric clung tightly to his tall, upright upper body, clearly outlining his full chest muscles and strong arm lines, especially his biceps, which stretched the cuffs to their limit, as if they might tear at any moment.
Unlike his naked wildness just now, he now exudes a more restrained sexual tension, concealed by his clothes.
Zhu Qingting discovered that Chai Yundu was not like the diva-like celebrities that Qin Youyou would occasionally complain to her about after gossiping. He did not need special meals prepared for him, nor did he need an assistant to carefully serve him during his meals.
Shi Yufan and Fang Xiaoya were clearly used to this way of getting along, and they naturally sat down on opposite sides of the dining table.
Shi Yufan deftly unpacked the disposable chopsticks and lunchbox, while Fang Xiaoya pulled the still somewhat stiff Zhu Qingting over and pressed her into the seat directly opposite Chai Yundu.
"Sister Qingting, please sit down!" Fang Xiaoya warmly pushed an open lunchbox in front of her. "The braised lion's head meatballs here are absolutely amazing. The food doesn't taste good when it gets cold!"
Zhu Qingting took the chopsticks from Shi Yufan, thanked him softly, and immediately buried her head, staring intently at the rice in her lunchbox, as if popcorn could bloom on the white rice.
She ate her rice in small bites, deliberately avoiding the intense gaze from across the table, hoping the meal would end soon.
However, the other party seemed to completely ignore her "Do Not Disturb" signal.
"Where have you been in Hengdian these past few days?" Chai Yundu's voice rang out. "Did you have a good time? Are you tired?" His worried gaze fell on the back of Zhu Qingting's head.
Fang Xiaoya clearly knew the question wasn't directed at her, so she cleverly refrained from interrupting. Instead, she subtly nudged Zhu Qingting's arm under the table, signaling for her to answer.
Knowing she couldn't avoid it, Zhu Qingting slowly raised her head, but her gaze remained somewhat unfocused, and she didn't dare to meet his eyes directly.
"We went to the Ming and Qing Palace, Qin Palace, and Guangzhou Street." She said softly, "They were all quite interesting. Xiaoya is very good at planning; we visited one attraction a day without getting tired at all."
She paused, then added, "Xiaoya also took me to the filming location of your previous drama and told me some stories from the shoot." At this point, she finally mustered the courage to look up at him, her eyes filled with admiration. "Combining the wonderful scenes I saw in the drama with Xiaoya's account of the hardships behind the scenes, I admire you actors even more. Especially you..."
As she said these words, she seemed to have found the courage to face him more calmly.
This was the first time she had met him since arriving in Hengdian.
Although they were in the same place and staying at the same hotel, he was busy filming additional scenes, and the two had not seen each other for three days.
Looking closely now, one can clearly see the undisguised fatigue in his eyes and brows. And his right arm, which he had just strained, was indeed moving with slight stiffness and inconvenience when using chopsticks, although he was trying his best to hide it.
"As long as you have fun. That's what I should do as an actor." Chai Yundu's lips curled up slightly. He put down his chopsticks and rubbed his still uncomfortable right shoulder with his left hand. "I heard from some of the staff on site that tomorrow is Qingming Festival, so tonight, the Qingming Riverside Landscape Garden will have a limited-time Ghost Market themed event, with a large-scale parade of a hundred ghosts and some cleverly designed interactive games with NPCs." He looked at Zhu Qingting and asked, "Sounds interesting, want to come and try it out?"
"Huh? A ghost market?" Zhu Qingting's eyes widened slightly, revealing interest, but then she became worried. "It sounds interesting, but is it really okay? Won't it interfere with your filming? And your arm..."
"It's nothing," Chai Yundu said casually, then turned to Shi Yufan and instructed, "Yufan, could you ask the assistant director for leave for me later? Tell him my arm strain is more serious than expected and I need to rest for half a day."
He then looked at Fang Xiaoya, "Xiaoya, contact Wenjing, the makeup artist you're close to, and see if she's available to come over and do my hair and makeup. Nobody will recognize me. We can sneak out tonight."
"OK, Brother Du!" the two assistants replied in unison, demonstrating their efficient action.
Only Zhu Qingting felt deeply apologetic.
Xiaoya once said that he insisted on finishing his scenes before seeing a doctor even when he had a fracture, but now he has to take time off to go out with her?
This heartfelt gesture touched her deeply, making her both moved and uneasy.
"Teacher Chai, isn't this a bit inappropriate? It's better to let play interfere with work. Xiaoya and I can go by ourselves." She carefully chose her words, trying to express her concerns.
"Don't overthink it, it has little to do with you." Chai Yundu interrupted her, his tone calm but with an undeniable air. "I really need to take a break too. That actor who got in through connections kept making mistakes today, his mentality has collapsed, and his condition is getting worse and worse. I injured my arm today because of him. If we continue filming, it will just be a waste of time and repeated takes, which is too inefficient. It's better for everyone to rest and adjust their condition."
"Exactly!" Shi Yufan immediately chimed in, his tone filled with indignation. "He's not even as good as that actor who got into trouble before. Although drug use is an unforgivable crime, at least his action scenes were beautiful and clean. We could have just swapped his face, which would have saved everyone a lot of trouble. This one, really..."
"Okay, I've already told Wenjing. She'll come to the hotel to meet us around 4 PM." Fang Xiaoya waved her phone.
Seeing that the three of them were supportive, Zhu Qingting knew that if she continued to hesitate, she would seem pretentious, so she nodded gently, "Alright then."
The group quickly finished lunch and drove back to the hotel to rest and recharge for their special operation that evening.
At 4:30 p.m., makeup artist Cai Wenjing appeared in the living room of Chai Yundu's suite, dragging her makeup case.
Fang Xiaoya also brought the ancient costumes she had bought that afternoon, along with Zhu Qingting, to get their hair and makeup done.
Cai Wenjing's makeup skills are nothing short of magic.
She made Chai Yundu's face pale with foundation, his lips bloodless, and made his once heroic eyebrows droop slightly to make him look weak. She used dark eyeshadow to create bluish-black shadows around his eyes, and used colored pencils to draw red cracks on his face like wounds. He looked exactly like a down-on-his-luck scholar who had stepped out of Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, weak and exuding a gloomy aura.
"My God... Sister Wenjing, your skills are amazing!" Zhu Qingting was amazed when she saw this kind of transformative makeup technique for the first time. "If you go out like this, no one will recognize you as Chai Yundu!"
Chai Yundu looked at himself in the mirror and was quite satisfied. He lowered his voice and said in a refined yet slightly weak tone, "Miss Zhu, I pay my respects."
It made everyone laugh.
Next, Cai Wenjing began to style Zhu Qingting. She chose a Chinese-style horror bride image. But not a living bride, but a female ghost who had already died, but whose obsession lingered, dressed in a bright red wedding gown.
She wore an extremely fair base makeup, no blush, and her lips were painted a full but lifeless dark red. The most striking feature was her eyes, where she used layers of deep red and black eyeshadow to create an upward-sweeping eyeliner. Her eyes conveyed a sense of sorrow and poignant beauty.
Then she also wore a light, traditional hairstyle that didn't press too hard on the back of her head, and a magnificent golden phoenix crown adorned with red pearls and jade.
One of them changed into an exquisitely made, intricately embroidered bright red wedding dress, while the other changed into a faded, patched blue scholar's robe.
One in red, one in green; one vibrant, one understated; one breathtakingly beautiful, the other delicate and melancholic. Standing together, they are a perfect pair of star-crossed lovers, separated by life and death, destined to be apart.
As darkness fell, the parade of a hundred demons was about to begin within the scenic area.
Because the disguise was so effective, Chai Yundu actually said to Zhu Qingting, "Xiaoya and Yufan's fans all know each other, and it would be easy to be exposed if they were to participate in activities together. My car might also be recognized by the fans. To be on the safe side, let's take a taxi there separately."
So, the "down-on-his-luck scholar" and the "ghost bride" got into an ordinary ride-hailing car and headed to the tourist attraction.
Sitting together in the cramped back seat of the ride-hailing car, Zhu Qingting could still smell a faint scent of medicinal wine emanating from the person next to her.
While the vehicle was in motion, Chai Yundu suddenly leaned slightly and whispered in Zhu Qingting's ear.
His warm breath brushed against her sensitive earlobe, sending a slight shiver down her spine. His deliberately lowered, magnetic voice entered her ear, like a whispered conversation between lovers.
"Don't be nervous, relax. Tonight... just think of it as a bizarre dream."
His approach and words made Zhu Qingting's heart pound. She nodded stiffly.
By this time, it was completely dark, and the Qingming Riverside Scene scenic area had a completely different look at night.
The once quaint streets were now illuminated by eerie green lanterns, and strangely dressed NPCs of all kinds could be seen everywhere.
Many tourists also created various terrifying or ancient-style costumes and blended in, creating a bizarre and wonderful atmosphere, as if they had truly stepped into another world.
Chai Yundu and Zhu Qingting blended into the crowd without standing out at all.
They followed the procession of a hundred demons slowly forward, watching classic ghost figures such as the Black and White Impermanence, Ox-Head and Horse-Face, fox demons and snake spirits pass by, creating a very immersive atmosphere.
After the parade ended, the NPCs didn't disperse. Instead, they transformed into stall owners at various stalls in the center of the market, calling out to attract tourists to interact and play games.
By participating in the game, players can earn paper "rewards" of varying denominations, which can eventually be redeemed for small gifts at the "silver shop."
Zhu Qingting subconsciously mistook the person next to her for Xiaoya, and habitually and naturally took her arm, wanting to pull her to a less crowded booth to play games.
When I pulled, it wouldn't budge.
She turned around in surprise, and when she saw the other person's smiling eyes, she suddenly realized that this was not Xiaoya, but Chai Yundu!
A wave of embarrassment and shyness washed over her instantly, and she felt as if she had been burned, immediately trying to pull her hand back.
However, a large, hot hand was faster than her, precisely covering her hand that was trying to pull away, and gently holding it.
"Don't let go," he whispered. "Tonight, let's give this outfit a real performance."
His thumb lightly brushed against the back of her hand, sending a tingling, electric sensation through her. "We are a pair of star-crossed lovers forced to elope by the pressures of feudal society, is that alright?"
A note from the author:
----------------------
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com