Chacha replied as Rong Guang had instructed.
Perhaps because Duan Nong knew she had wronged Rong Guang recently, she had a change of heart. She no longer sent a crazy barrage of messages, attacking with an endless stream of text bubbles. Even her tone had softened.
Since she wasn’t being irritable, Chacha was willing to talk to her.
Chacha’s fingers flew across the keyboard, typing with quick, precise, and fierce taps.
Listening to the ‘tap-tap’ sound of the keyboard, Rong Guang suddenly found it quite comfortable, like it had the effect of curing OCD.
After a short while, Chacha looked up, blinked, and said, “Guangguang, she’s asking if she can call you. Is now a good time to take it?”
Rong Guang was a little surprised.
Since when did Duan Nong ask if it was convenient before making a voice call?
She let out a laugh, thinking that Chu Feiliang really knew how to handle Duan Nong. She could take a page from her book in the future. She reached out her hand and said, “Give it to me.”
Just as the phone was in her hand, the call from Duan Nong came through.
Rong Guang answered it, put it to her ear, and said, “Hello.”
After a moment, Duan Nong’s cautious voice sounded in her ear. “It’s me… You-you’re finally willing to take my call?”
Rong Guang paused. “I haven’t been avoiding your calls. You haven’t called me these past few days.”
Duan Nong mumbled something on the other end. Through the phone and a layer of network, the signal seemed poor, with constant static. Coupled with Duan Nong’s low voice, Rong Guang couldn’t hear clearly and couldn’t help but ask, “What did you say?”
“Nothing,” Duan Nong said hesitantly. “You’re really not angry…?”
“No.” Rong Guang paused, glanced out the window, and said, “There’s nothing to be angry about.”
It was less anger and more helplessness.
She should have known long ago that Duan Nong’s personality wasn’t something that could be changed overnight, yet she still went looking for trouble, bringing it all on herself.
Since she had brought it on herself, what was there to be angry about?
“Are you still in the car?” Duan Nong heard the sound of the driver honking.
Rong Guang hummed in agreement. “Yes, on the way to the set.”
“Oh,” Duan Nong replied. “Then I won’t disturb you… Filming is important. I’m just glad you’re not angry. I… can I visit you on set tonight? Will you still be at the set tonight?”
“I will. I’m not leaving until tomorrow. I have to pack up tonight anyway, so I’m not in a rush.” Rong Guang thought for a moment and said, “You don’t have to make a special trip. I’m fine on set. Take care of your aunt. I… if I can find some free time in a few days, I’ll come visit her too.”
“Okay!” Duan Nong’s voice instantly brightened. “Then I’ll wait for you. My mom needs to stay for another week or so for observation. She just had surgery, so it’s very inconvenient for her to move around these days. If you can come, she’ll definitely be very happy!”
In her past life, Duan Nong’s parents had indeed been very good to her.
Especially after they found out about the absurd thing Duan Nong had done, they had offered her a lot of resources as compensation.
Although Rong Guang had turned them all down, they had still helped her out in many ways, both openly and behind the scenes.
Rong Guang still acknowledged this debt of gratitude.
Rong Guang pursed her lips and said, “Okay, I’ll definitely go.”
Rong Guang glanced at her calendar, circled the Sunday of the following week, and wrote down to visit Duan Nong’s mother.
She was used to having a rough plan before doing things, so she wouldn’t be flustered.
Just as she finished writing, the production assistant came over to call her to the set.
Only then did Rong Guang look at herself in the mirror again, feeling as if a lifetime had passed.
Previously, to lose weight, she had eaten nothing but leafy greens for a long time, measured precisely to the milligram. She couldn’t even have salad dressing, just eating them plain until her eyes were about to turn green.
But the results were significant. In a short time, her once full cheeks had thinned to the point of almost being sunken. Her whole person truly had a frailness, as if she would be blown away by a gust of wind. Several times, Rong Guang felt she didn’t even have the strength to stand and had to prop herself up with her hands on her hips.
Now, she had to gain weight again, and it was already starting to show.
Coupled with the fact that her makeup was becoming more refined, she looked several years younger than when she had played Jiang Wenmou.
Chacha cupped her face and sighed, thinking about all the food Rong Guang had eaten these past few days and the roles she played. “It’s really not easy being an actor.”
Rong Guang pinched Chacha’s chubby cheek and said, “What profound thoughts does little Chacha have to share now?”
Chacha let Rong Guang pinch her, saying indistinctly, “Actors really need a sense of conviction. Watching you these past few weeks, I feel like I’m about to have a mental breakdown.”
Not only were the scenes she filmed not concentrated, but the plot was also scattered.
One moment she was filming Jiang Wenmou, the next she was filming Wen Mou.
One second she was engaged in a battle of wits with the emperor, a mental task, and the next she was on the battlefield fighting enemies, a physical task.
Not only that, but the personalities of Wen Mou and Jiang Wenmou were vastly different, and their appearances had obvious changes. If Chacha didn’t know Rong Guang was playing a single person, she would have wanted to call the police and ask if this person had escaped from a mental hospital…
Rong Guang let out a “pfft” of laughter, thought for a moment, and said, “But everyone has a dream of acting since they were little—I still remember, didn’t you used to run around the village with a bedsheet draped over you, pretending to be a fairy? You even stuck flowers in your hair as decorations.”
Chacha’s face turned a little red. “That was when I was very little.”
“Yes, very, very little—a whole four or five years have passed,” Rong Guang said with great exaggeration.
Chacha covered Rong Guang’s mouth, her eyes curving into a smile. “You, just shut up!”
Being teased by Chacha like this, Rong Guang’s state of mind was now perfectly in line with Wen Mou’s current situation.
Seeing her switch so effortlessly, Zhang Nanchuan was also amused. After observing her state for a while, he said, “You were really born to do this.”
At Rong Guang’s age, people were most sensitive to emotions, and it was easy to get stuck in one mood for a long time.
When she was playing Jiang Wenmou, the final scenes had a very low tone, making the overall atmosphere feel oppressive. Zhang Nanchuan had been quite worried about this reshoot.
He was worried that Rong Guang wouldn’t be able to meet his requirements, which would mean reshooting.
If the final scene had to be shot over and over again, it wouldn’t look good if word got out.
As everyone knew, the final scene itself was mainly to promote the actor, so they would definitely pick a scene that was visually appealing, could generate discussion, and had buzz.
Rong Guang rubbed her nose and said, “I’m okay. There’s nothing I can’t adjust. A little meditation is usually enough to get me through it.”
There were many ways to adjust one’s emotions, because when it came down to it, they could still be divided into a few major categories.
One was to watch movies, either cheerful or heart-wrenching ones.
Another was to find novels.
Find the kind of novels with extremely strong tension, the kind that you can’t forget after the first glance and can read over and over again.
Hilarious ones, or heart-wrenching ones.
The images one conjured in one’s own mind could always hit one’s own soft spots more effectively, and for adjusting and controlling emotions, they could be of greater help.
Hearing Rong Guang speak so articulately, Zhang Nanchuan couldn’t help but give her a thumbs-up and sigh, “In this aspect, you’re better than Xiao Chu.”
Rong Guang was completely baffled. “Teacher Chu?”
“Ah.” Zhang Nanchuan seemed to recall something, shook his head with a bit of regret, then smiled and said, “She’s sometimes very slow to get out of character. Although she can switch emotions quickly, it’s like a slow-acting poison. At first, it seems like nothing, but the aftereffects kick in later, causing her subsequent state to be greatly diminished. And it’s also heavily influenced by her own physical condition.”
Rong Guang was taken aback. A flash of inspiration struck her, and she inexplicably thought of Chu Feiliang these past few days.
—When they had just filmed the final scene of Jiang Wenmou faking her death for the second time, Chu Feiliang’s condition was perfectly fine. She even joked and laughed with her, and… and could even tease her a little more.
But not long after, her mood soured a bit. She seemed particularly tired, always wanting to sleep, and sometimes even needed medication to fall asleep.
And it wasn’t just this time. There was another time before. She often heard Wang Lujie say she needed to get medicine for Chu Feiliang.
What kind of medicine was she taking?
This question suddenly arose in Rong Guang’s mind.
Was it just simple sleeping pills?
But would one take both capsules and pills for simple sleeping pills?
Could they have different effects?
Rong Guang didn’t know much about this sort of thing. After all, she had never encountered it. Forget sleeping pills, she often had to buy coffee to stay awake. She had absolutely no trouble sleeping; she could basically fall asleep the moment she lay down on any supportive surface.
Thinking of this, Rong Guang couldn’t help but ask, “Teacher Chu has indeed been in low spirits these past few days. I’ve heard Sister Lulu chasing after her to take her medicine several times.”
But Zhang Nanchuan didn’t bring up the matter again, only giving a couple of perfunctory replies, “She should take it.”
With a head full of questions and no one to ask, Rong Guang could only temporarily suppress her doubts and wait for an opportunity to ask Wang Lujie, or ask Chu Feiliang herself directly.
She was afraid Wang Lujie wouldn’t tell her much. After all, she had been in this industry for so many years and knew what should and shouldn’t be said far better than Rong Guang did.
Not only would she not say anything, but Rong Guang had no confidence that she wouldn’t be talked in circles by Wang Lujie.
While the two were chatting, Chu Feiliang had also finished her preparations and came over.
Her hair probably wasn’t completely done yet; the makeup artist was following behind her, helping her with the final adjustments to her costume.
Rong Guang looked over and noticed that Chu Feiliang still seemed to be in low spirits, perhaps because she had just woken up.
She blinked and asked softly, “Sister, have you had breakfast?”
Chu Feiliang glanced at her and said, “I have. You?”
“I’ve eaten too.” Rong Guang paused. “Chacha said you all left early in the morning. Did you just rush back?”
“Yes.” Chu Feiliang let out a slow yawn and said lazily, “Left before dawn and rushed back. I’m afraid the scene later won’t be done in one take. If my condition isn’t good, you’ll have to bear with me.”
The upcoming scene required not only Rong Guang to be in good condition, but herself as well.
Extremely cheerful scenes, sometimes like extremely sad ones, required the cooperation of all the staff on set—the success of a drama was always the result of everyone’s collective effort.
If an actor was filming a crying scene or a large-scale heart-wrenching scene, and the staff next to them were laughing thoughtlessly, who could possibly continue acting?
Even the best actor couldn’t handle that.
Rong Guang nodded with great understanding. “Don’t worry, I’ll definitely work hard and try to get it in one take!”
Chu Feiliang looked at her for a couple of seconds, then suddenly smiled and said, “I was saying my condition isn’t good, so you’ll have to bear with me.”
Rong Guang chuckled. “But my condition might not be good either. We’ll have to bear with each other, Sister.”
This made Chu Feiliang laugh. She thought for a moment, tossed her script aside, sat up a little straighter, and said, “Alright, then we’ll bear with each other. This is your main scene. You can do as you please, I’ll support you.”
“…Really?” A little scheme started to form in Rong Guang’s mind.
“Mhm.” Chu Feiliang nodded generously. “My word is my bond.”
“A promise is a promise!” Rong Guang called out crisply, then ran over to…
A wall, and began to stand there as punishment.
The wall was a huge white jade wall, with characters brushed in gold powder carved on it. It looked particularly opulent and luxurious.
Rong Guang stared at it for a moment, a little dumbfounded.
—She knew that the props for The Eldest Princess crew all strived for authenticity. Even the memorials submitted to the emperor, once they were on camera, had content that was extremely close to reality.
—For example, officials in remote border towns didn’t have much to report, so the content of their memorials was all quite similar.
“Has the emperor eaten? Has he slept? Did he eat well? I miss you very much. I was thinking of you today, and I was thinking of you yesterday too.”
And so on.
All of it was based on historical research.
This piece of trivia once made Rong Guang start to doubt the authenticity of those big-budget political dramas, where even a minor local official could be involved and harbor tens of thousands of troops.
In reality, the highest-level criminal case a local official dealt with all day was something like, “He stole my chicken, killed it, ate it, and refuses to admit it.” The deceased was a chicken, not even a person.
Therefore, the drama The Eldest Princess had also restored this point to an infinite degree.
However, the authenticity of the stone wall before her once again refreshed Rong Guang’s understanding.
She followed the characters at the top and read softly, “House rules: No climbing on the roof and removing tiles, no being sneaky and lazy, no petty theft, no illicit exchanges, no…”
After reading for a short while, Rong Guang couldn’t help but feel a bit wistful.
She turned her head, looked at Chu Feiliang who had come over with her, and said, “Sister, how come this thing feels like it was tailor-made for Wen Mou…”
Wen Mou had quite a few fight scenes in the Eldest Princess’s residence before, and she would often have to smash the tiles on several roofs, causing the rooms to leak.
As for petty theft… that was exactly what they were filming today.
And illicit exchanges…
That was also coincidentally what she was planning to do later.
Chu Feiliang glanced at her and said silently, “You know that too?”
Rong Guang rubbed her nose, couldn’t help but sigh, and after a quick scan, said, “Is there a rule against visiting brothels?”
“There is.” Chu Feiliang had clearly memorized this wall. As soon as Rong Guang mentioned it, she searched for a moment in one spot, and soon pointed, saying, “Here.”
“There really is…” Rong Guang muttered.
Then she turned her head and said, “Sister, does your family have house rules?”
“We do.” Chu Feiliang thought for a moment. “They’re just some unwritten rules, the usual stuff for disciplining kids at home.”
Rong Guang was a little curious. “Like what?”
“No going to internet cafes, no going to bars, no staying out all night…” Chu Feiliang listed a few, then said with a smile, “Not a single one was ever followed. My grandma led the charge in breaking the rules. She used to take me and my sister to internet cafes to play video games when we were little.”
Rong Guang became even more curious about this grandmother she had yet to meet.
Could this almost be considered a glorious deed?
An old grandmother in her later years taking her two granddaughters to an internet cafe to play games?
What kind of concept was that?
Rong Guang was a bit dazed and said, “Then your family’s house rules are for…”
“They used to be to restrain my dad, and later to restrain my grandpa.” Chu Feiliang shrugged. “It’s a pity they’re both gone now, so these house rules are pretty much obsolete.”
Rong Guang froze, a little at a loss. “I didn’t mean to…”
“It’s fine, it was from when I was a child.” Chu Feiliang grinned. “But there are quite a few rules that could be brought out for future use.”
Not long after, Zhang Nanchuan saw that Chu Feiliang’s condition seemed to have improved quite a bit. Seizing the opportunity, he tapped the megaphone in his palm and started calling people. “All units, get ready—Xiao Rong’s final scene. Everyone, perk up, let’s try to make it look good!”
“Okay!”
A chorus of voices rang out at once, slightly deafening.
Rong Guang shrank her neck, her eyes curving into a smile, and stood firm in front of the wall again.
“Did you see? Wen Mou got caught by the princess for stealing eggs again,” a maid with a servant’s hairstyle said to another, carrying a basket.
“How many times is that this month?” the round-faced maid asked, a little surprised and amused. “Didn’t the imperial physician say a while ago to eat light, and avoid greasy, meaty, and spicy food? How come Wen Mou can’t remember, and insists on stealing eggs from the backyard… This time, it’s not just eggs, she didn’t even spare the piglets next to them.”
“Isn’t that right?” The person with the basket had an amused look on her face. “If it weren’t for the Eldest Princess’s foresight, the little piglets in the backyard would have lost their lives. I heard Wen Mou even had the fire ready!”
“That’s so exaggerated!” The round-faced maid looked astonished, thoroughly amused.
The subject of their conversation was currently looking at the house rules and regulations before her, speechless and questioning the heavens.
—This thing, it clearly wasn’t here when she first entered the residence.
Wen Mou looked depressed, poking the wall with a finger and muttering under her breath, “Can’t eat meat, can’t eat meat, can’t eat meat…”
“Still feeling wronged?” a voice came from inside the room, interrupting Wen Mou’s mantra-like words.
Wen Mou looked up, craning her body to glance at her.
Realizing it was Ji Ying, she wrinkled her nose, let out a soft huff, and turned her head back disdainfully. “Hmph!”
Ji Ying was amused by her huff.
Then she walked up to Wen Mou, straightened the back of her collar which had been pulled out of shape by her earlier, and said with a light laugh, “It’s not that I won’t let you eat, it’s the imperial physician who won’t let you. If you have a problem, go ask him—he’s in my room right now.”
Wen Mou’s eyes darted around. After a moment’s thought, she really did roll up her sleeves and stormed into Ji Ying’s room, fuming.
The room was brightly lit.
The imperial physician was sitting leisurely to one side, sipping tea, looking completely content. He stroked his beard, gazing at a clear pool in the center of the room. In it were two lotus flowers, still buds, yet they seemed on the verge of blooming, making one feel a sense of anticipation.
Then, the sound of ‘thump, thump’ footsteps echoed in his ears.
The imperial physician was startled. He opened his eyes and looked over, only to see Wen Mou, filthy from head to toe, with two… small triangles on her face from being kicked by a pig’s trotter.
They were dark and smudged, one on each side of her face, not neat, but strangely cute.
Wen Mou had no idea what she looked like right now. She strode angrily up to the imperial physician, instantly grabbed his collar, her face full of rage, and planted one foot on a chair, saying, “You! Give me a straight answer today! How much longer until I can eat meat, drink wine, and visit the brothels!”
Ji Ying, who had just entered, stood at the doorway and said, “Eat meat and drink wine?”
Wen Mou froze.
Ji Ying narrowed her eyes. “Visit the brothels?”
Wen Mou blinked rapidly.
Then she quickly let go of the imperial physician’s hand, straightened his collar, and walked meekly to the center of the room. Looking at Ji Ying, she said softly, “It was a slip of the tongue. I just want to eat some meat, no wine, no wine. The brothels… that… that was just in passing. I always hear people mention them, so I was just curious and wanted to take another look.”
Ji Ying was holding a book. Hearing this, she snorted coldly. “Take a look? Hmph.”
Wen Mou cowered.
She looked pitifully at Ji Ying, then glanced back into the room—the imperial physician had taken the opportunity to run off somewhere, the cunning man. Now it was just the two of them.
“You will stand right here for me,” Ji Ying’s voice drifted from the inner room, sounding somewhat lazy and drawn-out. “You can leave when you’ve thought things through.”
Wen Mou pouted pitifully and replied in a low voice, “Oh.”
Although she agreed verbally, she took advantage of the fact that Ji Ying couldn’t see her from the inner room. After standing for only a short while, she collapsed onto a nearby chair without any regard for her posture, clutching her stomach and crying out pitifully, “Meat…”
She didn’t even like meat that much before.
But now that she wasn’t allowed to eat it, she craved it terribly.
And she hadn’t touched anything meaty for a whole month, not even an egg!
The more Wen Mou thought about it, the angrier she became!
At this thought, Wen Mou felt a fire of rage burning inside her and stood up from the chair in fury!
She had to go find Ji Ying and demand an explanation!
Wen Mou stepped onto the thick carpet, her footsteps almost completely muffled, not startling the person on the bed at all.
Only after entering the room did she realize that Ji Ying had actually fallen asleep leaning against the headboard.
Wen Mou suddenly reined in her presence, her movements becoming smaller.
She stood quietly not far away, watching Ji Ying for a while. Her eyes darted around, and a mischievous idea popped into her head—she picked up a nearby charcoal pencil and drew two small mustaches on Ji Ying’s face.
Still not satisfied after drawing them, she wrote the character for ‘king’ on her forehead.
After all this was done, Ji Ying still hadn’t woken up.
Wen Mou seemed a little bored.
She sat on the edge of the bed, cupping her face and looking at Ji Ying’s sleeping form. Resting her chin on her hand, she said, “You won’t let me do this, and you won’t let me do that. The housekeeper said that only in a married couple does one person control the other like this.”
She thought for a moment. “I don’t mind being a little couple with you, but what do little couples do?”
“A little kiss?” Wen Mou murmured to herself. After saying it, she nervously pursed her lips and said, “I haven’t kissed anyone before… and you happen to be asleep…”
She might as well take advantage of the situation.
Rong Guang’s heart was pounding with nervousness.
This scene was actually a pending scene in the main drama.
It was purely because they wanted to give her a good final scene that Zhang Nanchuan specifically added this one, and Chu Feiliang had even gone along with it and filmed it with her.
The kiss here was added by Rong Guang herself, something she had discussed with Zhang Nanchuan beforehand. It could serve as a bookend to the final scene from before.
With Wen Mou kissing Ji Ying first, Ji Ying’s later attitude towards her wouldn’t seem so abrupt.
And a good actor is always able to plan a certain goal for themselves in advance, and then logically guide the scenes towards that goal.
And her goal recently had been very clear.
That was to kiss her.
To kiss Chu Feiliang.
As if possessed, Wen Mou placed her hands on either side of Ji Ying, muttering in a low voice, “You absolutely must not… wake up…”
The moment the words fell, her lips gently covered Ji Ying’s, slowly caressing and grinding, the force extremely light, more like a test.
She even held her breath. After they separated, she felt it wasn’t quite satisfying enough.
Wen Mou touched her lips and said to herself, “What else was there… Just a little kiss isn’t enough, I should take a little bite too…”
Saying this, she leaned down again, gently opened her mouth, and bit Ji Ying’s lower lip, sucking on it lightly.
After pulling away, she looked at the white mark on Ji Ying’s lip, seemed to feel a little sorry for her, and kissed it lovingly.
After doing all this, Wen Mou was finally happy.
Her eyes curved as she said, “This mouth is so satisfying to bite, it feels just like eating meat. As for meat, I won’t eat it anymore.”
With that, Wen Mou stood up, put one hand behind her back, and pressed the other against her own burning hot cheek. She walked away, shaking her head as if she were drunk.
Not long after she left, the person lying on the bed suddenly opened her eyes.
She didn’t move, only turning her head slightly, her gaze fixed on the doorway.
Then, her eyes narrowed slightly, and she raised a hand to touch her lips.
After a long moment, Ji Ying let out a slow laugh and murmured, “This girl has become quite bold in her actions recently…”
She just didn’t know if the camera had caught the moment when she, hidden by Rong Guang’s hair, had secretly bitten Rong Guang back.
Or perhaps…
Chu Feiliang narrowed her eyes, got up from the bed, and continued with the scene, hearing Zhang Nanchuan shout “Cut!” in her ear.
Only then did she look around, her expression relaxed, a smile playing on her lips. She asked Zhang Nanchuan, “Have you seen Teacher Rong?”
Zhang Nanchuan was startled by the smile on Chu Feiliang’s face and her form of address. He was a little suspicious as to how her mood had improved so suddenly, when she had been a bit listless just a moment ago.
But Zhang Nanchuan still pointed the way, saying, “She went towards the dressing room. Are you looking for her…”
For something?
But before he could finish his sentence, Chu Feiliang also disappeared like a gust of wind.
Zhang Nanchuan: “…”
Why were both of them in such a hurry?!
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