Against the Light - Chapter 34
Chapter 34: Hello, Teacher Bai
Gu Xinran barely slept all night. The thought of going to the set to see Yilan today made her feel a little excited. When she got up in the morning, she even put on light makeup and a bit of perfume.
In the car, even Fang Jinghai could tell she was in a good mood.
"Sister Ran, are you super happy to be seeing your wife~"
"Don't talk nonsense." Gu Xinran put on a stern face.
"Heh~" Fang Jinghai just assumed she was being shy.
"Huh? You even put on perfume?"
"Ahem…" Gu Xinran's expression changed slightly. She raised her hand to sniff. It wasn't that strong, was it? She had only sprayed a tiny bit.
After a moment's thought, she still felt it was a bit inappropriate. She opened the car window and let the wind blow for a while, trying to dissipate the scent.
After a while, she felt something was wrong again. Didn't I put on perfume for Yilan to smell? What's the point of letting it blow away??
And so… she closed the window again! Thankfully, the scent had faded a little, but it was still there.
Fang Jinghai watched her actions with a knowing, fond smile.
When the two arrived at the set, filming hadn't started yet. The staff saw her and waved and greeted her one after another, being especially friendly. She also nodded and smiled at everyone.
"Ranran, you're here early. Come on, I'll take you to the recording studio." Jin Shuang walked over, beaming.
"Okay."
"Has the teacher arrived?" Gu Xinran asked.
"Are you asking about the teacher? Or, Teacher Bai?" Jin Shuang raised an eyebrow with a mischievous smile.
"…" Gu Xinran sighed helplessly. Can't we even have a normal conversation!
"Alright, I'm just teasing you. Let me tell you, the teacher I got for you is incredible. Professional, meticulous, and serious. She's extremely strict when it comes to work. If you slack off, she'll give you a death glare that will make you want to crawl into a hole!"
Hearing this, Gu Xinran started to panic a little. She had no foundation in this at all. Wouldn't she just anger the teacher to death?
"Hey, that teacher isn't especially fierce, is she? Will she scold people or anything?" Even Fang Jinghai was a little worried for her.
"She won't do that. She never scolds people. It's just her eyes. The way she stares at you will make you feel extremely uneasy. You… well, good luck."
"It's fine. A strict teacher produces a brilliant student." Gu Xinran was quite good at adjusting her mindset.
Before long, they arrived outside the recording studio. "Alright, I'll leave you here. You can go in by yourself. Hey, get along well with the teacher, okay~" Jin Shuang winked at her, which made her freeze for a second.
Fang Jinghai wanted to follow her in but was stopped by Jin Shuang.
"She's going in to learn. What are you going for?"
"Uh… to be a… a study companion."
"Cut it out! You're coming with me. Don't disturb her studies." She forcibly dragged Fang Jinghai away.
"Hey, big sis, don't grab my collar! Have some mercy!"
Gu Xinran watched the two leave and smiled helplessly. She turned to face the studio door, took a deep breath, and knocked.
"Come in."
"!"
Hearing that voice, Gu Xinran froze. The corners of her mouth lifted unconsciously. Now she understood why Jin Shuang had winked at her earlier!
Clearing her throat, she pushed the door open and went inside.
Gu Xinran glanced around. The room was completely enclosed, without even a window. A lightbulb hanging overhead cast a warm, yellow glow. A mixing console sat on the desk, and an electronic keyboard was placed in the corner.
Yilan was sitting at the desk. In front of her was a pane of transparent glass, and behind the glass was the recording booth.
"Ahem, hello, Teacher Bai." Gu Xinran closed the door and greeted her respectfully.
Yilan didn't even look up, replying faintly, "Mm."
Gu Xinran took another careful look at her. Today, she was wearing a pinkish-white T-shirt, coffee-colored jeans that ended just past her calves, and a pair of white sneakers. She had opted for a casual style, looking sunny and fresh, not as gloomy as before.
Seeing her dressed like this, Gu Xinran could feel that she was trying hard to break free from her inner turmoil, and her mood instantly brightened.
"Teacher Bai, I don't know the first thing about music theory. Please bear with me," Gu Xinran said humbly.
"Mm."
"Come and sit."
Gu Xinran felt a little shy. She walked to the seat beside her and sat down obediently.
"You can't read music, but you can sing. Who did you learn vocalization from?" Bai Yilan looked at her curiously.
Gu Xinran's heart skipped a beat. Yilan's serene face was less than ten centimeters away from her! She could even smell the faint, fresh scent coming from her!
"Hm?"
"Uh, I'm self-taught."
"Self-taught?"
"Mm." Gu Xinran nodded, her hands unconsciously rubbing her knees. Her palms were covered in sweat.
Bai Yilan's gaze shifted down. Noticing this small gesture, she looked away.
"Don't be nervous. To be honest, I've forgotten most of the music theory myself. We can just review it together."
"Okay."
Bai Yilan took out the sheet music and placed it between them, turning her body slightly.
"These numbers on the score correspond to the notes. 1, 2, 3 are do, re, mi… and so on, for one octave. This horizontal line represents the duration of the note; 0 represents a rest…"
Yilan explained in great detail. When she finished, she turned to look at her and found that she seemed to be spacing out, her eyes staring straight at her neck!
Bai Yilan glanced down and unnaturally raised a hand to cover her collar.
"What did I just say?" Her tone turned cold.
"…!" Gu Xinran was startled and instantly snapped back to reality. She looked at her eyes uneasily. Just as Jin Shuang had said, her gaze was incredibly stern!!
"You talked about… notes, octaves, and rests." Gu Xinran secretly congratulated herself on her good memory. Otherwise, getting caught spacing out would have been too embarrassing!
Bai Yilan was slightly taken aback, then gave a helpless smile. "Let's continue. Pay more attention."
"Okay!"
Under Bai Yilan's warning, she slowly found her footing and got into the swing of things.
She was a fast learner to begin with and had an excellent memory. With Yilan's patient explanation, she quickly gained a basic understanding of the score.
Before long, Bai Yilan got up, brought over the electronic keyboard, plugged it in, and tuned it. She played a short measure of the main melody from the score. Gu Xinran immediately had a flash of insight and hummed along with the tune.
"Is that right?" she asked, looking at Yilan expectantly.
"Yes, very good. Don't think about singing technique for now. Let's just go through the melody first."
"Okay!" Receiving Yilan's approval, Gu Xinran's confidence soared.
Bai Yilan played, and Gu Xinran sang. The two worked together with perfect chemistry. After going through it once, aside from a few slightly off-key spots, there were no major problems.
Bai Yilan looked at her. "You really are very talented in music."
Suddenly praised by Yilan, Gu Xinran felt a little shy, and the tips of her ears turned red. Bai Yilan naturally noticed this small change, and her gaze faltered slightly. The old Xinran would also get shy after being praised by her, but afterward, she would shamelessly pester her for a kiss as a reward.
A slight pang of pain shot through Bai Yilan's heart, and her eyes darkened.
"Teacher Bai? Shall we… continue?" Gu Xinran said quickly, seeing that her expression was off.
Bai Yilan looked at her. "Are you afraid of me? Or do you get nervous when you see me?"
"No." Gu Xinran took a deep breath and tilted her head, practically writing the words "guilty conscience" all over her face.
"You weren't like this when you saw Luo Bing yesterday."
"Luo Bing is an enemy. If I'm not assertive, she'll think I'm a pushover and easy to bully."
Bai Yilan fell silent and nodded.
Neither of them spoke again, and the atmosphere became extremely awkward for a moment.
"How about… we go again?" Gu Xinran was the first to break the deadlock.
"Okay, let's."
Bai Yilan collected her thoughts and played seriously. This time, Gu Xinran was more mindful. While humming, she also watched Bai Yilan's hands carefully. Her original intention was to secretly learn how to play the piano, but the more she looked, the more captivated she became. Her fingers were fair and translucent, long and slender. They were drop-dead gorgeous!!
When she heard Gu Xinran's humming turn into a mumble, Bai Yilan raised an eyebrow. She turned her head to look. This person was, as expected, spacing out again.
Gu Xinran was still deeply captivated by Yilan's hands when she suddenly felt a sharp gaze. She looked up and saw Yilan glaring at her, which made her heart pound. She immediately focused on her singing.
After finishing this round, Gu Xinran secretly breathed a sigh of relief and cleared her throat.
Hearing this, Bai Yilan looked at her. "Didn't you bring any water?"
"Uh…"
Bai Yilan stood up, took a thermos from her bag, poured a cup of water, and handed it to her.
Gu Xinran was both surprised and touched. She took it, said thank you, and took a small, treasured sip. It was sweet, like honey water.
"Thank you."
"Rest for a while."
"Mm!"
Bai Yilan focused intently on the sheet music, while Gu Xinran looked like she was earnestly drinking her water. Neither of them spoke, and the situation became dry again.
Before long, Gu Xinran couldn't hold back anymore. "Uh, Teacher Bai, can you teach me how to play the piano?"
"Hm? I can. What do you want to learn?"
"This song, 【Falling Flowers】."
"Okay, come sit over here."
Gu Xinran obediently sat down next to her, almost touching her shoulder. Bai Yilan explained the chords to her, then played two measures for her as a demonstration.
Gu Xinran carefully memorized it and couldn't resist trying it herself. Hearing the beautiful notes come from her own hands was a wonderful feeling.
"This part is wrong." Bai Yilan interrupted her, taking her hand to help correct the chord. It should have been a very ordinary action, but it became complicated the moment their fingers touched.
Gu Xinran's movements stiffened, and her body tensed up unconsciously.
Bai Yilan also paused. Her hand resting on the back of Gu Xinran's was in an awkward position—she couldn't leave it there, nor could she pull it back…
Neither of them moved. Bai Yilan quietly inhaled, and her nose was instantly filled with the faint scent of perfume from Gu Xinran's body. It was a scent the old Xinran had loved.
Bai Yilan closed her eyes, pulled her hand back, and shifted slightly to the side, putting a little distance between them.
"Oh, I see now. My pinky was… pressing the wrong key." Gu Xinran noticed her small movement and assumed she was just embarrassed, so she quickly changed the subject.
"Mm," Bai Yilan replied faintly.
"I'm rested now. How about we try recording a take?"
"Okay, go ahead." Bai Yilan nodded, gesturing for her to enter the recording booth.
Gu Xinran felt a wave of relief. My god, I wasn't even this nervous during the finals!!!
In the recording booth, Gu Xinran put on the headphones and gave Bai Yilan an "OK" sign. Then, the sound of the accompaniment came through the headphones.
She closed her eyes, followed the accompaniment, and came in at the right moment. But after singing just one line, she was dumbfounded.
She stared blankly at Bai Yilan on the other side of the glass.
"Does my voice really sound this bad when recorded by itself???"
"It's your first time recording. This is already pretty good. Try again. Be more confident. Your voice is very nice," Bai Yilan did her best to encourage her.
Gu Xinran nodded and tried again. It still sounded bad, but she was the type to grow stronger with every setback and wasn't afraid of criticism. After trying over and over again, she finally recorded a version she was relatively satisfied with… of the first line.
Bai Yilan knew she had her own rhythm, so she didn't interrupt her. She sang that single line dozens of times, but when Bai Yilan saw her finally break into a satisfied smile, she couldn't help but nod at her.
After recording the third line, Gu Xinran massaged her throat, feeling it was a bit dry. Bai Yilan called a stop at the right time, telling her to come out and rest for a bit.
"This is my first time recording a song. It's quite interesting."
"Don't talk for now. Drink some water. Your voice is already hoarse."
"Mmh."
"Are you hungry? Want to go get something to eat?"
Hearing this, Gu Xinran glanced at her watch. It was already twelve o'clock! She had only managed to record three lines all morning!?
The two tidied up a bit, left the studio, and returned to the set.
The crew was also on their lunch break. Seeing the director and Xinran arrive from a distance, a group of them exchanged frantic glances but didn't dare to cause a commotion.
The two headed straight for the lounge. Fang Jinghai had been waiting for a long time. As soon as she saw them enter, she immediately went to greet them. "Sister Ran, Teacher Bai, how did it go? Was the recording smooth?"
"Very smooth. You've worked hard too. Let's eat together," Bai Yilan said.
"Oh, no, no, no, I'll just eat outside with Sister Shuang. You two take your time, take your time~" She tactfully slipped away.
That girl…
"Let's eat first."
Gu Xinran sat down and took the lunch box. She paused for a moment. This feeling of eating a boxed lunch on set… she hadn't experienced it in a very long time!
The moment she opened the lid, she frowned sharply. When the smell of the food hit her, her stomach suddenly churned, and she couldn't help but gag!
"What's wrong?" Bai Yilan hurried over and patted her on the back.
"I don't… mmh… know…" Gu Xinran forced down the churning in her stomach. She hadn't even eaten anything.
"Celery?" A flash of surprise crossed Bai Yilan's eyes as she looked at the stir-fried pork with celery in the lunch box.
Gu Xinran froze. This can happen?
She picked up a piece of celery. The moment she brought it to her lips, another wave of nausea hit her, so intense that tears almost streamed from her eyes.
"Don't eat it. I'll go get you a different one." Bai Yilan quickly took both lunch boxes away.
Gu Xinran fanned the air, waiting for the smell of celery to dissipate before she dared to breathe properly.
At the same time, she was puzzled. This is strange. I don't dislike celery, let alone feel like throwing up at the smell of it.
Suddenly, she frowned, remembering when Yilan came to the hospital to test her. She had said that the original owner would feel sick at the smell of celery. But at that time, she had eaten a whole serving of celery and hadn't felt uncomfortable at all!
Could it be… that my sense of smell wasn't sharp enough back then because of my cold???
Just as Gu Xinran was thinking, Bai Yilan returned.
"Are you okay?"
"Mm."
"Didn't you… not dislike celery?"
"I don't know what's going on either." Gu Xinran shook her head. She was full of questions herself, but seeing Yilan's furrowed brow, she quickly gave her a faint smile. "I'm fine, don't worry."
After lunch and a short rest, the two returned to the recording studio to continue. By the end of the day, they had completed a little less than half the song. For Gu Xinran, who was recording a song for the first time, this was pretty good efficiency.
When they were leaving, Bai Yilan gave her a box of throat lozenges and told her to take good care of her voice.
In the car, Gu Xinran sucked on a lozenge, feeling a sweetness that reached deep into her heart.
Fang Jinghai stole a glance at her. Yep, with that expression, their private time together must have been absolutely harmonious!
Gu Xinran leaned against the back of the seat, closed her eyes, and drowsily fell asleep.
She had a dream.
In the dream, she saw a little girl, about seven or eight years old, covered in dirt and bruises. She was dragging her exhausted body alone down an empty, dark street.
She was tired and hungry and didn't know where to go. Passing by a vegetable market, she saw some vegetable roots that someone had thrown away on the roadside. After hesitating for a long while, she ran over, picked them up, and wolfed them down! She vomited as she forced herself to eat them, knowing that this was the only way to survive!
"Sister Ran? Sister Ran, are you okay?" Fang Jinghai saw that Gu Xinran was shivering and that sweat had broken out on her forehead! She quickly parked the car and patted her.
Gu Xinran's eyes flew open. Her stomach churned again, and she gagged, quickly taking a sip of water to suppress the feeling.
She smacked her lips. In the dream, the sensation of chewing those vegetable roots had been so real. She felt as if she had just eaten a large mouthful of rotten vegetable roots!!
"Sister Ran? What's wrong? Are you okay?" Fang Jinghai was terrified and quickly patted her on the back.
Gu Xinran was terrified too, especially when she realized this wasn't the first time she had seen this little girl in her dreams…
The last time…
It was that time with the thunder!
That time, after hearing the thunder, fragments of memories about this little girl had flashed through her mind!
She carefully recalled these two memories, faintly feeling that this little girl might be connected to the original owner.
In the first memory, on a night of thunder and lightning, the little girl was squatting alone on the street, homeless, trembling with fear from the storm.
And the original owner was afraid of thunder.
In the second memory, the little girl was picking up and eating rotten vegetable roots. The mixed smell of those vegetable leaves was simply indescribable…
That's why the original owner felt nauseous and wanted to vomit at the strong smell of celery.
Could it be… that this little girl is the original owner? And those experiences were from the original owner's childhood!?
Gu Xinran took a deep breath. She felt as if a large stone was weighing on her chest, making it hard for her to breathe.
She couldn't see the girl's face clearly in the dream, but she felt her suffering as if it were her own!
Why, why couldn't she see the girl's face!?
"Sister Ran? Don't scare me!" Fang Jinghai had been watching her for a while. She was just staring into space, and the beads of sweat on her forehead were becoming more and more dense.
Fang Jinghai took out a tissue to wipe her sweat, worried sick.
"Home," Gu Xinran said, her voice a little hoarse. The moment Fang Jinghai heard her, she started the car.
Fang Jinghai didn't feel right leaving her alone and insisted on seeing her home. The moment she walked in and saw how empty the place was, she was stunned.
"Sister Ran… why don't you have any furniture? Should we get some? You should at least make it a bit cozier, make it look like a home."
Gu Xinran was preoccupied with thoughts of the little girl and didn't really hear what she was saying, just nodding distractedly.
"You can go back first. I need to rest for a bit," Gu Xinran said.
"Okay, then call me if you need anything!"
After sending Fang Jinghai off, Gu Xinran sat in the living room by herself for a while to rest. Then, she began to search all over the house.
When she first arrived, she had felt that something was missing from this home. It was only today that she suddenly realized she knew absolutely nothing about the original owner's family! And in this house, there was nothing related to the original owner's family at all! Not even a single photograph!
She searched high and low for a long time, going through every cabinet she could open, even turning the refrigerator upside down, but she still found nothing.
This meant that the original owner not only wanted to erase everything related to Yilan but had also erased all memories related to her family!
Why?
She thought of the little girl in her dream.
Was it because her childhood was too tragic that she chose to forget? What exactly had she experienced in her childhood, and what were the reasons for those experiences?
Gu Xinran was completely bewildered. After thinking it over, she simply went back to bed and lay down. Perhaps the answers would come in her dreams?
Early in the morning, Gu Xinran was woken up by a call from Fang Jinghai.
She went to the living room to answer the phone and learned that Fang Jinghai was already on her way to pick her up.
After hanging up, she was still a bit dazed. Thinking back to last night, it seemed she had a dreamless sleep. She couldn't have slept more soundly…
In the recording studio, Jin Shuang listened with satisfaction to the singing coming through the headphones.
Gu Xinran was in pretty good shape today. She finished recording the remaining half of the song in one morning.
"That was fantastic! This is the feeling the song should have! I'll go have post-production work on it right now. When the final version is ready, I'll send it to you first."
"Okay." Gu Xinran glanced at Bai Yilan and smiled at her. Bai Yilan nodded in return.
"Let's go, I'll treat you to a meal!"
The three of them returned to the set and noticed from a distance that there were many more tourists today than yesterday.
When many people saw the two of them appear in the same frame, they became incredibly excited and quickly took out their phones to take pictures of them.
Gu Xinran frowned and stopped walking.
"Sister Shuang, let's skip the meal. I have something else to do, so I have to leave first."
"Ah? So suddenly?"
"Mm." Gu Xinran glanced at Bai Yilan, a little worried that this would cause trouble for her.
"Then I'll see you off." Seeing that the director had no intention of asking her to stay, Jin Shuang didn't dare say anything more. She muttered to herself inwardly, Strange, why does the director seem a bit cold today? She even gave Xinran throat lozenges when she left yesterday.
In the car on the way back, Gu Xinran was a bit distracted. She scrolled through Weibo, afraid that her appearance would bring trouble for Yilan.
Thankfully, after a quick scroll, aside from Yang Xue still being flamed by netizens, there was nothing new. She felt relieved. She also took a look at her private messages. Many fans were encouraging her and Yilan to get back together, cheering her on in various ways, which made her not know whether to laugh or cry.
She was engrossed in reading when her finger suddenly paused. She tapped open a private message and saw it read, 【? You lied to me?】
Gu Xinran was completely confused. She scrolled up and saw another message, already read, from half a year ago. It said, 【Get out of the entertainment industry on your own, or I'll let everyone know how ugly you are.】
???
Gu Xinran scrolled a bit more. Seeing no other useful information, she decisively blocked the person. Trying to pull this kind of stunt on me? How lame. What's the use of threats? Why not just come at me directly? :)
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