Against the Light - Chapter 66
Chapter 66: A Whole Lifetime
Seeing Director Yu walk further and further away, everyone finally snapped out of it, hurried after her, and wrangled the old lady back.
"I'm sorry, Teacher. I was wrong. I shouldn't have been so perfunctory with you just now." Bai Yilan bowed to her, apologizing quickly.
"Hmph." Yu Hua glanced at her, then turned her body to face away.
"Teacher Yu, you're an actress now. Acting like a big shot isn't good for your image," Gu Xinran said.
Yu Hua thought about it and realized that seemed to be the case.
"I want to play a good person," Yu Hua said.
"!!! You finally understand how I feel!" Qin Qiong exclaimed, grabbing her hand excitedly. She wanted to play a good person, too—she'd wanted to ever since she started her career!!
"Teacher, just bear with it a little longer. The character gets better in the later stages, really, really good!" said Xiaobei, the screenwriter.
"Oh?"
"Yes, right before she dies, she hands over all her power to Ling Yao!"
"...?"
Everyone fell silent, not daring to breathe.
She only turns good right before she dies? Are you sure you're not just fanning the flames??
Yu Hua's expression visibly turned cold.
"You two little rascals, stop right there! What did you say when you were coaxing me to come? The ruler of a nation, above tens of thousands, the whole world is mine. And what is it now? A vicious old woman? A desperate struggle before death?"
The two, who had been about to slip away, were stopped in their tracks. They exchanged a look, and Bai Yilan shot Gu Xinran a glance. "You go explain."
"...We clearly tricked her together."
"Tsk!"
"Fine, fine, I'm going."
Gu Xinran turned around, her face wreathed in smiles. "Um, Teacher, you see, a well-rounded character has to have an arc, right? She has to have life experiences from different periods. What you're experiencing now is this character's... final stage of life. Ahem."
"But before this, you really were the ruler of a nation. The whole world was yours, and your word was law." After saying this, Gu Xinran frantically signaled to Jin Shuang and Fang Yi with her eyes.
"Right! Long live, long live, long, long live Teacher Yu!"
"..." The entire crew lowered their heads in unison, clearly having no desire to join in on such a cringey slogan.
The group spent a long time coaxing the old lady before she was finally placated and reluctantly agreed to finish her scenes.
"Hey, how was my performance just now?" Yu Hua asked.
"Good, very good! It was spot on. You truly are an old drama bone."
"Alright, less flattery, more sincerity."
"What's the next scene?"
"You don't have any scenes for now, so you can rest for a bit. Everyone, let's take a break. This afternoon is mainly the confrontation between Ling Hong and Ling Yao."
"Xinran, Qin Qiong, you two go find your motivation," Bai Yilan said.
"Qin Qiong, you can make this character even more vicious. She…"
"I refuse!" Qin Qiong was also clearly unhappy. She had just overheard people cursing Ling Hong while discussing the plot. It was too much!
Bai Yilan pressed a hand to her forehead. This batch of actors was so hard to manage.
The short lunch break ended.
Gu Xinran sat in the dressing room, letting the makeup artist apply her makeup.
Qin Qiong sat beside her.
Bai Yilan was explaining the scene to the two of them. Yu Hua caught sight of this and also came over to listen.
"In this next scene, Ling Yao has been thrown into the Sky Prison for raising a private army and is being personally interrogated by Ling Hong. Ling Hong has always looked down on Ling Yao, thinking her no threat, but this incident makes her realize that Ling Yao is her greatest enemy, so she tortures her for a confession. Ling Yao, already heartbroken by the King of Yue's test of her loyalty, is thrown into the Sky Prison. The King of Yue ignores her plight. When Ling Hong tortures her, the King of Yue turns a deaf ear. Because of this, she becomes utterly disillusioned with the King of Yue and with kinship itself, to the point where she only wishes for death."
The two of them nodded. Yu Hua clicked her tongue. "Your character is truly evil."
"..." Qin Qiong's hard-won composure almost shattered again.
"Director! I can't do this scene!!"
"Be good, don't make a fuss." Yilan placated her perfunctorily.
"Xinran, in a moment, you must portray the character's inner desolation. Like… like being abandoned by the entire world, your faith collapsing, the only…" Bai Yilan stopped mid-sentence, not continuing, and pressed her lips together.
She knew that Xinran had deeply experienced these feelings and didn't need her to describe them any further.
She was silent for a moment, then raised a hand to Gu Xinran's shoulder and squeezed it gently, as if telling her, I'm here with you.
Gu Xinran gave her a beautiful smile, patted her hand, and nodded.
With just a look, they understood each other's hearts. Neither said anything more.
Before long, Gu Xinran's makeup was done, and she had changed into a white prison uniform. Her face was pale, making her look exceptionally haggard.
Seeing her like this, Bai Yilan's heart twinged with a slight pain, and she was deeply moved.
Qin Qiong had also changed into her costume, a deep purple python robe. Her face was beaming, her spirit high, forming a stark contrast with Ling Yao, who had been reduced to a prisoner.
A prison cell had been constructed on the soundstage, its floor covered with straw. Gu Xinran walked in, sat on the ground, picked up a few strands of straw to place on herself, and willingly put on the shackles. She leaned her head against the wall, gazing at the sunlight streaming in from the window, searching for the right feeling.
"Let's get ready." Watching as Xinran's gaze gradually became empty and lifeless, her entire spirit seeming to wither, Bai Yilan knew she was finding her way into the character. She called for everyone to prepare to start.
Qin Qiong was also adjusting herself. Soon, she was ready and nodded at Bai Yilan.
"Alright, action."
Surrounded by prison guards, Ling Hong walked into the Sky Prison. When she saw Ling Yao from the doorway, she raised a hand to cover her nose and mouth, her brow furrowing at the musty smell.
She lifted her chin, and a guard immediately stepped forward to open the cell door before they all retreated.
Ling Hong surveyed the scene inside the cell—there was hardly a place to stand. She shook her head and walked in, her eyes filled with disgust.
She walked closer and crouched in front of Ling Yao, studying her for a moment before letting out a soft laugh. She reached out, tilting Ling Yao's chin up to make her look at her.
Ling Yao's gaze was empty and lifeless, not even focused.
"Ye Lingyao, of all the imperial heirs to be thrown into the Sky Prison, you are the first." Ling Hong smiled, but her gaze suddenly turned vicious. With a sharp movement, she flung Ling Yao's head aside.
Ling Yao's head turned, and her cheek slammed into the stone wall, drawing a soft cry of pain from her.
The crew members exchanged glances, unable to help but suck in a sharp breath. That was too brutal!
Bai Yilan's hand shot into a fist. She bit her lower lip to keep from calling "cut."
Ling Hong stood up, shook out her hand, and clasped both hands behind her back, her posture ramrod straight.
"Mother sent me to ask you why you were raising a private army." After asking, Ling Hong received no reply. She wore a knowing expression as she paced with her hands behind her back.
"You don't really need to answer that question. Since Mother sent me to interrogate you, she naturally already has an answer in her heart." Ling Hong sat on the edge of a desk, a chilling coldness in her eyes.
"I want to see her." Her voice was faint and weak, as if all her energy had been drained away.
Ling Hong shook her head. "An abandoned daughter who intended to rebel—why would Mother care?"
"I did not rebel," Ling Yao tried to explain.
"Ye Lingyao, if I were you, I never would have come back." Ling Hong ignored her, speaking as if to herself.
"Do you know, in all the years you were in the State of Zheng, Mother never mentioned you, not even once. When Eldest Sister caught a cold, Mother stayed by her side all night without sleep. When I injured my leg falling from a horse, Mother personally changed my bandages, her care meticulous. Every year on my birthday and Eldest Sister's, Mother would host a banquet herself. But you—on your birthday, Mother would be in her study reviewing memorials until late at night. It was like that every year. She never mentioned it."
"If I were you, I would hate her to the bone. Thinking about it that way, you raising a private army seems perfectly reasonable." Ling Hong feigned a look of sudden realization, nodded, and gave Ling Yao a slight smirk.
"I did not rebel!" Ling Yao's eyes were bloodshot as she stared hatefully at Ye Linghong, her hands clenched into tight fists! She had spoken so casually, but every single word smashed into Ling Yao's heart, heavier than a thousand pounds, crushing the air from her lungs! She had longed so desperately to return to the State of Yue, longed to see her mother, longed for that warm embrace, longed for the kinship she could never let go of!
Ten years! She had been in the State of Zheng for ten whole years!
Ten years of enduring humiliation and bearing heavy burdens! Ten years of being at the mercy of others! Ten years of hope and waiting! But that person… had never cared about her at all!
"I didn't!!" Seeing Ye Lingyao's almost frenzied roar, a cruel smile touched the corners of Ling Hong's lips.
To kill a person, you must first kill their spirit.
If you don't kill their spirit, can you even call it killing?
Ling Hong took a document from her robes, unfolded it, and placed it in front of Ling Yao. "If you want to see her, put your mark on this. Perhaps she'll grant you a look during the trial in the hall."
Ye Lingyao was so filled with hatred that her cheeks flushed red and the veins on her neck bulged. Her eyes were so bloodshot it looked as if she wanted to tear the person before her limb from limb!
Ling Hong was frightened by her appearance. She called the guards over, telling them to "serve" the Third Princess well, then walked out of the cell herself.
Hearing the sound of a whip cracking through the air inside the cell, Ye Linghong let out a soft laugh, tossed the confession document inside, and turned to leave.
Before long, the guards also left, cursing under their breath. Ye Lingyao lunged forward, snatched up the confession document, and tore it to shreds.
A long time later, the sound of Ye Lingyao's sobbing could be heard from the cell.
She knelt before the shredded paper, the bloody welts on her white prison uniform exceptionally glaring.
Hot tears fell to the ground, one by one. Her heart-wrenching sobs and her thin, prostrate body made her look utterly helpless.
Bai Yilan watched, choking back sobs several times. She opened her mouth, wanting to call "cut" more times than she could count.
Watching Xinran like this, she remembered the girl from her dream, the one who had rushed into the burning wooden house without a second thought to save some clothes. She remembered that girl kneeling before a tombstone, desperately pressing a tattered scrap of fabric against her body.
The same thin frame, the same despair and helplessness.
Bai Yilan took a deep breath, a faint tremor in her exhale.
A hand suddenly patted her shoulder. She looked up and saw Teacher Yu.
Yu Hua gestured to her, pulled her aside, and walked over to the monitor herself to watch Xinran's performance.
Bai Yilan turned and left, walking outside the soundstage. She took a deep breath, and the oppressive feeling in her chest eased slightly.
Xinran's appearance just now was identical to the scene she had witnessed in her dream.
Although she didn't know why she could dream of scenes that took place after her own death.
But she knew.
Her Xinran had loved her for a whole lifetime.
Comments
Post a Comment