After Reuniting with My Aloof Movie Queen Childhood Friend - Chapter 17.1

Ji Youyi took over the DP and camera operator duties, and the crew’s efficiency increased significantly.

At eleven in the morning, Ji Youyi finished a take. She turned around and saw Li Zhulan standing beside her. Holding a thermos in one hand and a pill bottle in the other, she said fiercely, “Take your medicine!”

Ji Youyi laughed and took the pills. “Thanks, Zhu bao.”

Li Zhulan didn’t look at her. Once Ji Youyi finished the medicine, she snatched the items back, let out a loud “Hmph!”, and left.

Soon it was lunchtime. Ji Youyi let everyone go eat while she habitually checked the footage. She was so busy that Li Zhulan had been picking up her meal boxes lately.

Today, the entire crew knew they had fought. The production manager cautiously came over and asked, “Director Ji, are you eating? Shall I get you a box?”

Ji Youyi glanced at Li Zhulan, who was furiously typing on her laptop. She smiled. “It’s fine, I’ll go get it myself.”

Someone sat in the chair next to her, and a meal box was slid over. Li Zhulan snapped her laptop shut and refused to look at the newcomer. “I hate you. I won’t eat food you brought.”

“Come on, the food is great today. It’d be a waste not to eat it.” Ji Youyi sighed and opened the box for Li Zhulan.

“Bullshit, meal boxes are never tast. ” Before Li Zhulan could finish, a piece of eggplant was shoved into her mouth. God, it was awful. She felt tainted.

Li Zhulan held her breath and swallowed the eggplant, her eyes turning red from how bad it tasted. She began to sob, crying as she spoke. “I hate you. You said you’d support my creation, that you’d give me room to grow. You said you’d make the story I wrote into a beautiful drama. Now you’re making me kill my favorite character. You lied to me. I hate you, I hate you!”

Originally, Li Zhulan didn’t like Ning Li. Ning Li was just a character she had written based on the “vicious female supporting character” trope. Because her least favorite fruit was pears, she named her Ning Li (Pear).

But on the first day of the table read, while the leads were playing on their phones and the staff were eating seeds, the actress playing that “vicious” character had seriously read every line she had written and said with a smile, “This is written so well, it makes me look especially bad.”

Li Zhulan had chewed her pen and puzzled over the script for a long time because she felt something was wrong, why didn’t the character seem bad enough? Instead, she seemed… kind of cute?

But even after going through the script and countless other works, she didn’t know how to fix it, everyone else wrote it this way, so where was the problem?

The next day, they had lunch together. Ji Youyi was wearing a yellow dress and was about to leave, but then she fluttered back to her side like a butterfly. The breeze blew her skirt, and she smiled as she put an arm around her shoulder, saying she would help her revise the script.

At that moment, the character of Ning Li became complete in Li Zhulan’s heart.

But a “vicious female supporting character” in an idol drama is never meant to be three dimensional, she thought those depths were destined to rot in her heart. She hadn’t expected the male lead to run away or for the script to be overhauled. For the first time in years, she felt lucky.

Writing the foreword and polishing the script was painful, but Li Zhulan was also incredibly happy. Her favorite thing to do was to grab a small stool and sit on the sidelines whenever there was a Ning Li scene, watching intently. She told others it helped her organize the plot, but only she knew what she was actually looking at.

She didn’t even hate pears anymore! This morning, she had just ordered two large boxes of Crown Pears online. They hadn’t even shipped when she received this terrible news.

She had bought two boxes of funeral offerings!!

“I’m sorry,” Ji Youyi apologized sincerely.

Li Zhulan: “Pay me back! That stingy seller refused to include shipping. Do you know how expensive the delivery was!”

Ji Youyi had no idea what she was talking about. “Okay, okay, I’ll pay. Send me the screenshot of the order. I’ll reimburse it as a prop expense.”

“As if I care.” Li Zhulan sobbed for a while before asking in a muffled voice, “Is it really that hard to find a camera operator?”

“Not hard to find one, just hard to find a good one.” The DP was someone she had scouted with great effort and then taught for a full week. In the short term, it was nearly impossible to find someone of the same level. For the sake of the show, she had to do it herself.

“Can’t we ask Teacher Meng for help? She must know many great people.”

Ji Youyi laughed. “You don’t know how expensive things are. Do you dare use someone she recommends? We’d sign them today and the crew would declare bankruptcy tomorrow. When the books are checked, oh, turns out the whole budget went to the cinematographer.”

“I see…” Li Zhulan murmured.

Ji Youyi touched her wet face and said seriously, “Little Bamboo, I know you love Ning Li, but loving a character doesn’t mean you have to give her wealth and honor. More importantly, you have to give her a ‘highlight,’ a moment that stays in the heart. Ning Li is so good; she shouldn’t be loved by only you, right?”

Li Zhulan looked at Ji Youyi for a long time and nodded slowly. “I understand.”

The last day of March was also the last day of filming. Ji Youyi had been filming overnight from the previous day until the evening of the 31st. Only then did she step away from the Camera A operator position to let the makeup artist touch up her face.

The final scene of the entire drama. Ning Li’s death was about to be filmed.

Li Zhulan took this scene very seriously. She had written over a dozen versions and couldn’t choose, they ranged from the mundane to the wildly exaggerated. Finally, Ji Youyi chose the one that was cheapest to produce.

The Emperor’s health was failing, and the palace struggles were intensifying. Cao Qiu was secretly close to Princess Qingyan, but the Third Prince had discovered the evidence they accidentally left behind when trying to take down Zhang Songshi.

At that time, Cao Qiu was already a female official of significant rank. The Third Prince used this to blackmail her, wanting to pull her into his camp. Cao Qiu pretended to comply.

Soon after, the Gufeng Pond levee breached, leaving the people in misery. The Third Prince, who was responsible for the construction, was framed by the Fourth Prince. Unable to resist, he intended to use Cao Qiu as a scapegoat.

Ning Li, raised in the Jiangnan region, could sing Kunqu opera. Previously, when the Fourth Prince’s confidant Zhang Songshi fell, she had joined the Fourth Prince’s opera troupe as an informant.

During this Gufeng Pond incident, the Fourth Prince, believing he had won, invited the Third Prince to his manor to watch a play as a form of humiliation. Ning Li decided to take the opportunity to assassinate the Third Prince. If she succeeded, she’d kill two birds with one stone. If she failed, she could still make the Emperor suspicious about the Gufeng Pond matter, saving Cao Qiu.

The crew’s most luxurious expenses were concentrated in these few minutes.

In the backyard of the Prince’s manor, the red lacquer on the stage was fresh and bright. Palace lanterns swayed in the night breeze, their flickering candlelight illuminating faces filled with ulterior motives.

The melodious music began, and the beautiful Guimen Dan (female lead role) stepped onto the stage, drawing gasps of admiration. The Fourth Prince glanced sideways, catching a glimpse of his brother’s ashen face. Needless to say, he was worried about the Gufeng Pond incident. The Fourth Prince rubbed his jade ring and let out a contemptuous smile.

Suddenly, a boom erupted from the northeast corner, and flames shot into the sky. In the ink-like pond, a few koi were startled into a sudden splash, creating hidden currents. Everyone looked toward the northeast. The guards hidden in the shadows gripped their sabers. Only the graceful tune on the stage remained calm, gradually fading out of everyone’s attention.

A guard reported that a side room had caught fire and a beam had snapped. The Fourth Prince looked impatient and waved the man away to be punished. The Third Prince finally relaxed, took a slow sip of tea, and smiled. “Fourth Brother can’t even manage his own household affairs, how can he…”

Before he could finish, the music stopped abruptly, replaced by a sharp gust of wind.

The pretty young actress leaped from the high stage, lunging straight at the Third Prince. She pulled a poisoned dagger from her sleeve. At the moment she landed, pain flared, but she ignored it, driving the dagger deep into his neck.

Blood sprayed out, splattering her face. A second later, the guard’s long blade arrived. She merged with the blood.

Ning Li was dead.

When she died, her two best friends were present, but she didn’t look in their direction even once before she passed. Her beautiful makeup acted like a mask, hiding her expression. Blood hung from her long lashes, and her eyes held only a terminal resolve.

Before going on stage, Ning Li had set the fire and swallowed poison. From the moment she made the plan, she never intended to survive. Whether the assassination succeeded or not, she couldn’t live. If she lived, she might implicate Cao Qiu and Song Qingyan. Only by dying could she frame the Fourth Prince, leaving no witness.

The panicked crowd scattered. Cao Qiu stood with the Third Prince’s aides, protected on the outside by guards. She stared silently at the center of the chaos, at the person lying in a pool of blood being restrained, feeling as if her organs were being torn to pieces.

She remembered when they first met. Ning Li was holding up her light yellow skirt to catch a white cat on the eaves. The white cat was clever, even though she was light and agile, she had to work hard to catch it, only succeeding by using a piece of dried fish as bait. Her dress was torn, and her cheek was stained with soot. She sat on the eaves holding the cat and feeding it, and when she looked down, she saw Cao Qiu.

In the sunlight, the girl had frowned in distaste and turned away. “Stop acting so dignified. I hate rich young ladies like you the most.”

She had come from Jiangnan. Her mother had died of illness, and she had been sold into an opera troupe, suffering through hardships to reach the capital. She refused to speak of that past or name the tunes she hummed on a whim, yet when she learned they were troubled by the Fourth Prince, she had voluntarily entered his manor.

Before leaving, she turned away again, not looking at Cao Qiu. “I’m not doing this for you. I’m doing it for myself. Remember, once it’s done, you have to help me remove my slave status.”

But she couldn’t wait for it to be done. She remained a slave for her entire life.

Cao Qiu didn’t know Ning Li’s plan. Like the others, she showed a shocked expression, but she couldn’t show a hint of her heart wrenching pain. The wind grew stronger, making the candlelight flicker. The shadows on the ground were distorted. Cao Qiu stood tall, as if she couldn’t feel the pain, watching the death of her best friend with an air of indifference.

Ning Li’s scenes were over. Ji Youyi detached from the character instantly but did not shout “CUT.” Wen Yang was deep in character and in a great state, she had to capture it. Ji Youyi signaled the crew to prepare for the next shot immediately. Ignoring the fake blood on her, she wiped her shoulder and hands, hoisted the camera, and went to film Cao Qiu’s exit.

This was supposed to be a simple shot of the protagonist walking, but Ji Youyi always made simple shots look spectacular. Usually, films use tripods for stability, but for this part, Ji Youyi chose handheld cinematography to render the emotion. The lens focused on Cao Qiu’s expression and eyes. The frame shook slightly with the operator’s breathing and retreat. Thus, the indifferent expression and hollow eyes looked like thin ice on water being shattered. Beneath the cracks, a sense of wandering overflowed the screen, and a massive sorrow spread heavily.

Ji Youyi was very satisfied with this take. She shouted “CUT,” stood up with the camera, and was about to announce the wrap-up.

Just then, several “Bang! Bang! Bang!” sounds erupted. Countless ribbons showered her, reaching their peak in the air before cascading down like a silver river onto her head and shoulders.

The cheers of the entire cast and crew were deafening: “Director Ji, thank you for your hard work!” “Director Ji, happy wrap-up!” “Director Ji, I love you! Ahhhh!!”

Ji Youyi wiped a ribbon from her face, trying to keep a straight face to lecture them, but she couldn’t hide her smile. “I said the budget was tight, don’t be wasteful! Who organized this? Step forward!”

“Me, me, me! I paid for it myself!” Li Zhulan jumped out holding a bouquet. The camera assistant took the camera from Ji Youyi’s shoulder, and she successfully shoved the flowers into Ji Youyi’s arms. “Happy wrap-up to the best Little Ji in the world!”

Ji Youyi teased, “Why give me flowers? A waste of money. Remember to give me the receipt for reimbursement.” As she spoke, she looked down to make sure the fake blood on her didn’t stain the bouquet.

Then, she looked up again, seriously scanning every staff member present. She raised the bouquet and said solemnly, “We survived twenty difficult days together, put in our best effort, and completed our best work. Thank you all. Happy wrap-up!”

The response was a collective shout that almost broke their voices: “Happy wrap-up, Director Ji!!”

Usually, there is a wrap-up ceremony. Most crews make it quite grand, hanging banners, everyone holding flowers, and cutting a huge cake together. Ji Youyi had checked the prices and immediately passed on that plan, deciding on a simple wrap-up dinner instead. Rather than buying a sense of ceremony, she wanted to spend more on post-production.

The private room for the dinner had been booked early. Once the crew finished clearing the set, they headed to the restaurant chatting and laughing. Wen Yang could only watch from the side.

In front of her van, her manager was rushing her. “What are you doing? Are you still in character?”

“No.” Wen Yang lowered her head. It wasn’t because of that.

“Then let’s go. What’s so good about a wrap-up dinner? You need to control your diet, you won’t be able to eat anyway.”

Wen Yang bit her lip. “I… I think it’s better to say goodbye before leaving.”

“What’s there to say? The filming is done. She won’t be involved in the future. She can get lost now, you won’t ever see her again.” The man in the suit grumbled, “She’s just obsessed with power, you know. Becoming a tiny director and she starts acting all high and mighty. I’ve never seen a director like her, filming is simple, but she made it like a boot camp. Psycho. You’ve been so busy you haven’t posted selfies, your account engagement has dropped. Hurry back and make up for it.”