Against the Light - Chapter 62
Chapter 62: Don't Make Things Difficult for the Old Folk
When everyone returned to the set, they couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"Did you see that? Director Liu's face was thunderous! He didn't finish a single scene all afternoon. With that kind of mental fortitude, how can he call himself a director!"
"Those actors were about to lose their minds. The one playing the general said his four lines over thirty times. I can recite them by heart now!"
"Forget the actors, even the extras were going crazy. On such a cold day, a whole group of people just stood there freezing. They're really toughing it out."
"Hahaha, if we can't film, he can forget about filming too! He wants to make the summer blockbuster slot? See you next year!"
"They dared to bully the boss's wife, did they think we had no one to stand up for us? If you ask me, Sister Lan is still too merciful. She should have been harsher, made him remember this lesson once and for all: mess with anyone, but don't mess with us!"
"Exactly. Hey? Where's Sister Lan?"
"Shh!" Lin Guo gestured for everyone to quiet down, pointing toward the lounge with a mischievous grin.
"She went in? Awooo!!"
Bai Yilan pushed open the door to the lounge and saw Gu Xinran lying on her side on the sofa, her face covered with a piece of clothing.
When Fang Yi saw her, she gave her a knowing smile and tactfully left.
Bai Yilan was amused by her.
She quietly walked to the sofa and sat down. After watching Gu Xinran for a moment, she raised her hand and gently pulled down the clothing covering her face.
Her fingertips accidentally brushed against Gu Xinran's smooth skin, and her heartstrings trembled.
During her time in Berlin, she thought she could be free, that she could let go of everything and start over, enjoying life to the fullest in the paradise she had longed for.
But she couldn't let her go.
During that time, she had many sweet and beautiful dreams.
And without exception, Xinran was in every single one of them.
In the dreams, a girl who looked just like her was sweet and loving with Xinran. They had formed a happy family and even had an adorable daughter. It was a life one couldn't help but yearn for.
She even felt heartbroken and jealous because of it. For a while, she was reluctant to fall asleep. She envied that girl, envied that family.
In a state of utter confusion, she remembered the sachet Xinran had given her.
She wanted to come back and find an answer.
She wanted to hear Xinran tell her everything herself.
Bai Yilan watched her quietly. It was the sleeping face she had seen countless times in her dreams.
The girl in her dreams would always steal a light peck on Xinran's cheek whenever she saw her sleeping face.
Thinking of that image, Bai Yilan's heart stirred inexplicably.
She involuntarily leaned down, moving closer to Xinran.
Bai Yilan's movement suddenly paused. She raised an eyebrow slightly, the corner of her lips curling into a beautiful arc.
This person… was she pretending to be asleep?
As for Gu Xinran, she had been thinking about the crew's affairs and hadn't been asleep at all. When Yilan pushed the door open, she instinctively shut her eyes and pretended to be asleep.
But being stared at by Yilan for so long made her feel uncomfortable all over.
On top of that, she suddenly sensed a shadow approaching, and the faint floral scent from Yilan's body lingered in the air. She couldn't help but get a little excited, her throat bobbing as she unconsciously swallowed.
When Bai Yilan saw her swallow, she smiled to herself. Without exposing her, a glint of slyness flashed in her eyes.
Gu Xinran waited for a moment. Why hadn't she made a move yet?
Suddenly, she felt a shadow lean in again, and the floral scent from Yilan became even stronger!!
Gu Xinran didn't dare move at all, panicking to death.
Sensing the shadow was just inches away, fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead, her cheeks flushed slightly, and she even unconsciously lowered her head a little.
Bai Yilan almost died laughing at her small gesture!
She glanced at the clothes in her hand and fought back the urge to laugh out loud.
She moved the clothes a little farther away from her.
Sure enough, her expression changed immediately, and she even frowned slightly.
Bai Yilan brought the clothes closer again. Her brow smoothed out, and the corners of her lips turned up slightly.
Bai Yilan repeated this several times, thoroughly enjoying herself.
Gu Xinran snapped.
What on earth was this person doing!!
Gu Xinran's eyes flew open. The first thing she saw was a piece of clothing held up in front of her—it was Yilan's trench coat.
She was stunned for a moment.
Her gaze darted behind the coat.
Yilan was resting her chin on one hand and holding up the coat with the other, her bright eyes filled with amusement.
"You…" Gu Xinran looked from the coat to her and instantly realized she'd been tricked.
She was terribly frustrated.
She shot her a resentful glance. So mean!!!
The thought that Bai Yilan might have seen all her subconscious reactions made Gu Xinran flush with embarrassment. She turned to face away from her, but let out a small cry of pain as her back hit the sofa.
"What's wrong?" Bai Yilan's smile vanished. She sat down beside her, grabbing her forearm with one hand and placing the other on her waist.
Gu Xinran frowned deeply and straightened her body. Damn it, it hadn't hurt this much this morning.
"Where does it hurt? Tell me." Bai Yilan tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, her eyes full of concern.
Gu Xinran's heart warmed.
"It's nothing, it doesn't hurt. I just… got the acting bug, teasing you…"
Before Gu Xinran could finish, she was met with a death glare.
"Actually… it's not a big deal. I bumped into the corner of the bed when I got up this morning."
"Where?" Bai Yilan slipped her hand under Gu Xinran's outer clothes and gently felt her back, finding a noticeable swollen mark.
"Let me see."
"Hey…" Gu Xinran tried to pull away.
"Is there any part of you I haven't seen?"
"I…" Gu Xinran was at a loss for words. After thinking about it carefully, she realized that was probably true.
Gu Xinran turned and lay face down on the sofa.
Bai Yilan lifted her clothes, pulling up her shirt, and saw a purplish bruise on her upper waist. Her brows immediately furrowed.
Bai Yilan glanced around and spotted a spare first-aid kit in the corner. She found a bottle of medicinal spray inside.
Bai Yilan wiped her hands with a wet wipe, then sprayed the medicine onto the back of her hand. Dabbing it with her fingertips, she carefully applied it to the swollen mark.
Gu Xinran didn't dare to move, carefully savoring the sensation of Yilan's fingertips gliding across her skin. Although it was accompanied by sharp pangs of pain, her heart felt as sweet as honey.
Soon, the wound was treated. Bai Yilan helped her pull her clothes down. Gu Xinran sighed, thinking to herself what a pity it was; she hadn't had enough of the feeling yet.
"Get dressed. I'll take you home."
"No need, Fang Yi can just take me back." Gu Xinran got up and started dressing herself. Halfway through, she felt something was wrong. Yilan offered to take me home, why would I refuse!?
She still hadn't figured it out by the time she was sitting in the car. She turned to look at Fang Yi, who was driving, and suddenly felt incredibly stupid.
For three whole days, Bai Yilan brought her entire crew to watch Liu Ping film. Liu Ping was furious but didn't dare say anything. After all, he didn't own the film base. Unless he only shot scenes on a soundstage, he couldn't stop others from observing.
For those three days, everyone was incredibly relaxed, spending their days laughing, having fun, and making sarcastic remarks, which nearly made Liu Ping's crew explode with anger.
Furthermore, because that one crowd scene had been shot over forty times without a single good take, Liu Ping's crew had already been blacklisted by many extras. Too much trouble, incompetent director—they would never work with him again!
On this day, the crew gathered early and went next door to observe right on time, arriving even earlier and in greater numbers than the other crew.
The crew next door had just set up their equipment when they saw this bunch of plagues arrive, and they immediately packed it up again.
Before long, Liu Ping came out and headed straight for Bai Yilan.
"Director Bai, what on earth are you trying to do!?"
"Observing. Learning."
"…Don't try to fob me off with that! Do you look like you're here to learn??"
Bai Yilan smiled.
"Director Liu, you know full well what I want."
"How about this, I won't waste any more time with you. Our two crews are filming the same subject matter, both competing for the summer blockbuster slot. Why don't we have a fair competition? During filming, our crews won't interfere with each other. The final victory will be decided by the box office."
"No interference? Can you guarantee your people won't come and cause trouble?"
"If you hadn't condoned your people trashing my set, I wouldn't have bothered to retaliate with such methods."
"I didn't!"
"I have surveillance footage." Bai Yilan smiled confidently.
"I…"
Bai Yilan raised her hand. "Do you dare to make a bet?"
"Six months from now, we'll decide the winner by box office results. If you lose, you will publicly bow and apologize to every single member of my crew."
"Isn't that too harsh? Fine. If you lose, you'll leave the directing world and never be allowed to film again!" Liu Ping said.
The members of Bai Yilan's crew exchanged glances. Wasn't that going too far?
"Deal." Bai Yilan agreed without hesitation.
"By the way, during this period, if anyone causes trouble for my crew again, I'll release that video online. So please, Director Liu, keep your people in line," Bai Yilan said.
"Hey, wait, you have so many enemies. What if someone else causes trouble for you…"
"I'll count it as your fault too."
"???"
After speaking, Bai Yilan turned and gestured for her crew to leave. "Jin Shuang, go tell Fang Yi she doesn't need to look for the surveillance footage anymore."
Jin Shuang secretly gave her a thumbs-up.
Well done!
Everyone returned to the set, and all the actors were called for a meeting.
Over the past few days, Bai Yilan had finished reading the script, understood the story's direction, and had a good idea of who she wanted for the cast.
She scanned the actors present.
"Who has any thoughts on the role of the female villain?" Bai Yilan asked with a smile, her gaze fixed directly on Qin Qiong.
Qin Qiong turned her head to avoid her gaze, only to realize that everyone beside her was also looking at her with mischievous expressions.
"…"
"Alright, stop looking at me. I get it." Qin Qiong agreed with a mournful expression. She had just managed to make a successful comeback with Sisters, and now she was being pushed back into her original form as a vicious female supporting character. Sob, sob, sob.
"Thank you."
"Lin Guo can try out for the role of Xiao Qi."
"The Empress Dowager, Ren Wei can play her."
"As for the female lead…"
Bai Yilan's gaze shifted back and forth between Gu Xinran and Ye Qihan.
She was truly torn between these two.
Ye Qihan was experienced and had a rather heroic aura; her image and temperament fit Bai Yilan's initial impression of the female lead perfectly.
Xinran's acting was undeniably superb; she became whatever character she played.
Gu Xinran was a little nervous. If Yilan personally chose her to play the female lead, it would undoubtedly be a recognition of her acting skills!
And… that way, she could see Yilan openly and legitimately every day!!!
"Sister Ran, for the sake of this role, it's time to use your charms!" Lin Guo poked her from the side.
"Use the casting couch on her!"
"Yes! Use it on her!" the Gu-Bai girls howled.
"???" Gu Xinran was full of question marks.
Bai Yilan was just about to speak when she heard the group egging Xinran on. She immediately raised an eyebrow, her lips curving slightly upward.
Are you sure you're not making things difficult for this old lady?
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