ISWMQ – Chapter 134

Rong Guang didn’t really feel like talking.

After the script was revised, it had less of the excessive romantic charm and more of a sharp confrontation between the two sides.

Whether it was the silent yet strong and taciturn Duan Xi, or the flamboyant yet eternally passionate, free-spirited, and intense Yin Shuanghan, the two of them had to bring these characters to their ultimate potential.

Before filming began, Zhang Nanchuan looked at the two of them and said, “Do you need to run through it? Or should we go straight into it?”

“Straight into it.” Chu Feiliang lifted her chin, let out a soft laugh, and said, “After all, we’ve waited for so long.”

Rong Guang blushed and nodded, spritzing some hydrating mist on her face to wake herself up a bit.

The wind was cold and bleak, but it was a rare, sunny day.

The prison gates parted. Yin Shuanghan squinted, her hands stuffed in her pockets, and took a deep breath with a slouching posture.

“The air out here is pretty good.” She chuckled, took two steps forward, and then stopped.

Not far away, a woman dressed in an immaculate long trench coat, the hem of her dress falling to her ankles, and wearing black high heels, was waiting by a car.

Her face was stern, looking very serious and taciturn.

Yin Shuanghan walked over in a few quick steps.

Duan Xi pressed her lips together, walked up to her, and stood still.

Yin Shuanghan smiled, made a measuring gesture, and said, “Haven’t seen you in a few years. Still haven’t grown much taller, huh?”

Duan Xi froze. The moment she looked up, her eyes filled with disbelief. She murmured, “You…”

“You what?” Yin Shuanghan ruffled her pure black hair, then bent down and got into the car. Her posture was casual and unrestrained as she said familiarly, “Drive. Thanks to you, all my assets were confiscated. I’ve had nowhere to live for a long time.”

Duan Xi’s face paled. She followed her into the car, and only after fastening her seatbelt did she say softly, “You can stay at my place.”

Yin Shuanghan scoffed twice. “If I don’t stay at your place, whose place would I stay at? I say, Little President Duan, you’re not planning to make me sleep on the streets right after getting out of prison, are you?”

Duan Xi quickly shook her head and said slowly, “That’s not what I meant.”

The car drove steadily down the road.

Yin Shuanghan’s gaze kept darting out the window, pointing outside and making comments from time to time.

“Hey, this road has been repaved too.”

“They’ve put up overpasses too?”

…

“Yo, this shop hasn’t gone out of business yet? The sign’s missing a few corners. A perfectly good ‘Foot Massage’ has faded into ‘Go First.’ Is it waiting to be reincarnated?”

The car stopped.

Duan Xi unbuckled her seatbelt, her lips pressed together. “This shop’s sign has been redone many times over the years. They plan to replace this one in a month.”

Yin Shuanghan fell silent. She shook her head listlessly, gathered her clothes around herself, and said, “Is that so.”

Duan Xi watched her back as she walked toward the residential complex without any sense of being a stranger. Pressing her lips together, she quickly followed.

As expected, Yin Shuanghan was stopped by the security guard at the entrance.

She didn’t have a key card, so she couldn’t get in anyway.

The security guards at high-end residential complexes wouldn’t just open the gate for a stranger; registration was required.

Yin Shuanghan sneered, stepped aside, and said to Duan Xi, “Open the gate.”

Duan Xi silently took two steps forward and opened the gate. Walking beside Yin Shuanghan, she said in a low voice, “It was my oversight… I have a spare key and key card at home. I’ll give you a set later.”

The two entered the apartment and changed their shoes. Everything proceeded as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

However, after changing her shoes, Yin Shuanghan grunted noncommittally and said, “So, is this place considered your home or my home?”

Stung, Duan Xi clenched her fists and said in a low voice, “The apartment was originally yours.”

“Don’t.” Yin Shuanghan leaned against the wall. “Didn’t I give it to you a long time ago? The deed is in your name. No matter what you say, no one would believe this is my apartment.”

“If you want it…” Duan Xi said hurriedly.

Yin Shuanghan had already familiarly made her way into the bathroom. After closing the door, she called out, “I won’t stand on ceremony then. I can use everything, right, Little President Duan?”

Duan Xi walked softly to the door. Listening to the sound of running water from inside, she said in a low voice, “…You can.”

But the person inside gave her no response at all.

Duan Xi’s eyes reddened. She pressed hard on the bridge of her nose to keep the tears from falling.

After standing by the door for a while, she straightened up and hurried into the kitchen to prepare a meal.

The kitchen faced the sun. Because the bathroom door was shut tight, the only light was blocked inside, making the entire hallway look like an endless, pitch-black corridor.

Light on one side, darkness on the other, as if separated by an uncrossable chasm.

Duan Xi stared blankly. Before she could consciously control her actions, her hand had already flicked the switch on the wall.

The recessed lights in the hallway turned on, dispelling all the darkness inside.

“Cut!” Zhang Nanchuan called out excitedly.

Rong Guang dried her hands and went over to look at the playback.

Chu Feiliang was drying her hair.

She had a bathroom scene to film later, and Rong Guang had to go with her for the next shot… There were some scenes that The Lover still needed to express.

So she had been a little nervous all along.

She didn’t know if the result would be any good.

Zhang Nanchuan watched it through once, then nodded and said, “There are a few noticeable spots. I need you two to run through it on the actual set a few more times later. The tow rig will be removed soon, and you’ll have to drive yourself. The set has already been cleared. Rong Guang, any problems on your end?”

“No.” Rong Guang nodded.

A single shot usually required filming over and over again, something she was long accustomed to.

And during these repeated takes, different sparks would often suddenly appear, like the line Chu Feiliang had just said about “Foot Massage” becoming “Go First,” which wasn’t in the script.

It was an ad-libbed line. Whether it would be used in post-production was uncertain, but when the mood and emotion were right, it could be used.

Chu Feiliang didn’t agree to using a body double for close-ups. After drying her hair, she had her styling redone and did the scene herself.

Seeing this, Zhang Nanchuan didn’t say anything, just smiled and ducked behind the camera. With the two of them in such fiery form, he really had no need to worry.

He could even look forward to seeing if Rong Guang and Chu Feiliang could create something different in this film, The Lover.

After nearly a full day, they had only finished filming the few short scenes for the opening sequence.

Rong Guang had been driving all day. After returning to the hotel, she was completely drained.

She and Chu Feiliang were living together. Although Zhang Nanchuan had reserved two rooms, on the night they checked in, neither of them stayed in their own room. Instead, they both went to the other’s room.

This led to both of them waiting in the other’s room for several hours, only realizing what had happened after running into each other’s assistants.

And so, with an almost identical unspoken understanding… the two of them ended up living together.

That evening, after her shower, Rong Guang climbed into bed, wrapped herself in the blanket, and felt a little nervous.

It wasn’t the first time she had shared a bed with Chu Feiliang, but she felt a little anxious every time.

A short while later, Chu Feiliang also finished washing up and came out. Seeing Rong Guang on the bed, blinking her big eyes and staring at her intently, she couldn’t help but narrow her eyes.

She took off the towel wrapped around her hair and looked at Rong Guang. “Is your hair all dry?”

Rong Guang nodded.

Unless she was going to put on a face mask, the first thing she usually did after a shower was to dry her hair.

But Chu Feiliang was a little different.

Chu Feiliang liked to keep her hair wrapped for a while, slowly waiting for the post-shower languor to fade before she started blow-drying her hair.

Rong Guang got up from the bed, shuffled over to Chu Feiliang on her knees, and eyed her shoulder-length hair covetously. “Sister, let me dry it for you.”

Chu Feiliang handed her the hairdryer. Looking at the full-length mirror embedded in the wardrobe, she suddenly said, “Should we replace the wardrobe at home?”

Rong Guang paused, her first reaction being, “Let’s get someone to fix it first…? Only one of the sliding doors is broken.”

“Put it in the storage room.” Chu Feiliang said thoughtfully. “We’ll replace it with one with a mirror… I had the mirror at home taken down a long time ago because I thought it was bad luck. But now I think…”

Her gaze met Rong Guang’s in the mirror, and she said with a smile, “It’s quite unique.”

Rong Guang froze, and her face instantly flushed red.

She was kneeling beside Chu Feiliang, wearing only a long shirt that came down to the top of her thighs. The slightest movement completely exposed her legs.

Especially when kneeling, the slightest exertion would reveal clear muscle definition.

Her muscle definition was the kind that would frequently trend on social media.

Rong Guang glanced at Chu Feiliang and, sure enough, saw her resting her chin on her hand, staring intently.

Rong Guang blushed and said softly, “You…”

Chu Feiliang said, “Me what?”

As she spoke, her hand had already mischievously landed on Rong Guang’s thigh, her soft palm stroking it gently up and down.

Rong Guang’s hand holding the hairdryer tightened. She instinctively tried to pull her leg back and called out softly, “Sister…”

Chu Feiliang smiled.

However, her movements didn’t stop. She watched Rong Guang in the mirror and said, “I remember our scene tomorrow is the bed scene, right? Zhang Nanchuan wants to practice his camera work this time, so the camera won’t be aimed at the bed, but at the mirror.”

Rong Guang gently bit her lower lip and nodded.

Chu Feiliang turned around, sat on the bed to face Rong Guang directly, and wrapped her hands around her smooth thighs. Looking up at Rong Guang, she said, “Would Teacher Rong mind practicing with me tonight? It’s a bit embarrassing to say, but after acting for so many years, I’ve never really played a character who takes the dominant position, forcing someone to do… that kind of thing…”

Rong Guang’s breathing became ragged.

The hairdryer in her hand was still making a faint whirring sound. Rong Guang subconsciously turned it off, only to find the air had become almost too quiet.

She was so nervous she could hear her own breathing.

But looking into Chu Feiliang’s beautiful and focused eyes, Rong Guang found she couldn’t utter a single word of refusal.

Without hesitation, Rong Guang nodded lightly, sat down willingly, and looked obediently at Chu Feiliang. She said softly, “Okay. How do you want me to cooperate with you…?”

Chu Feiliang hadn’t spoken yet.

Rong Guang had already pressed her lips together, proactively clutching the hem of her own white shirt. She said softly, “And also… is this really just a rehearsal today? You really don’t want to do… something else?”