After Reuniting with My Aloof Movie Queen Childhood Friend - Chapter 29.2

Han Lei: ?

A quarter of an hour later, the group smoothly met up with the cadres from the local Bureau of Culture and Tourism. After an exchange of polite pleasantries, they prepared to enter the mountains for location scouting.

The road into the mountains didn’t require them to drive themselves; the county government had arranged personnel to transport them.

Inside the vehicle cabin, Ji Youyi sat down next to Meng Xingshu, feeling somewhat worried. She suggested, “Teacher Meng, why don’t you lean back and sleep for a bit?”

Please don’t faint and end up sent to the hospital, think about how much extra money that would cost.

Meng Xingshu hummed in response and closed her eyes, preparing to lean toward the window side.

“Hey, don’t, don’t, don’t!” Ji Youyi was quick of hand and sharp of eye, reaching out a hand to catch Meng Xingshu’s head in one go. “The mountain road in a bit will be very bumpy, you…”

Ji Youyi hadn’t thought much of it when she reached out. Only when she met Meng Xingshu’s gaze did she realize what she had just done. Cupping Meng Xingshu’s head with one hand, her fingers turned stiff bit by bit.

Meng Xingshu’s hair texture was fluffy and soft, and her skull felt round and small, even better to touch than it looked…

Some people look tall and constantly wear a cold face, so why does their head feel a bit like a kitten’s when touched… Especially since, at this moment, those pitch-black eyes are quietly staring at her…

Ji Youyi’s heart beat faster and faster. Suppressing the heat on her face, she complained while repeatedly chanting in her heart:

“I’m the director, I’m the director, I’m the director. Caring for colleagues is only right. If it weren’t Teacher Meng, I could also hold Teacher Zhao, Teacher Qian, Teacher Sun, Teacher Li. Director Ji is selfless, universal harmony, no difference whatsoever!”

Finally hardening her heart, she bent her arm and sat up straight. “You, you, how about you lean against me to sleep.”

The moment the words escaped her mouth, Ji Youyi felt a bit of regret.

She actually didn’t want to have close physical contact with Meng Xingshu because every time they touched, she felt her state became somewhat strange. Weren’t these all very normal actions? Furthermore, she wasn’t sure if her relationship with Meng Xingshu had reached such a close degree. Meng Xingshu probably wouldn’t like…

Before her expanding thoughts could scatter, they were abruptly interrupted.

The person on her left leaned down slightly and rested her head on her shoulder.

Long hair, smooth as silk, cascaded over her shoulder and body, while a warm, sweet fragrance drilled straight into her nose. Turning her face slightly, she could see Meng Xingshu’s beautiful face looking pale from exhaustion. Her indifferent dark eyes were tightly shut, and her thick, long eyelashes trembled slightly, adding a few hints of vulnerability to this face.

Ji Youyi pursed her lips tightly. Her five fingers curled up, opened, curled up again, and opened again. Finally, letting them drop as naturally as possible, they lightly rested on Meng Xingshu’s shoulder.

She’s the director, caring for colleagues is only right. Yes.

On the back seat, Han Lei held up her phone attempting to sneak a photo, but specialization existed for a reason. She didn’t possess the skill of the director of photography, so the captured image turned out dark and shaky.

“Ai, if only Sister Ruan were here.” Han Lei felt quite regretful. Nudging closer to Li Zhulan, she whispered, “Did you see that? Director Ji’s ears are super red.”

So pure, so loving, ah, ah, ah!

“Didn’t see it.” Li Zhulan covered her eyes in agony, her mouth moving non-stop, uttering who knows what mumbo jumbo.

Han Lei focused her attention to listen closely, finally hearing the other party continuously muttering: “For the ancestors, for the ancestors, for the ancestors…”

Han Lei: ???

In such a bizarre atmosphere, the four arrived at their final destination.

Meng Xingshu got out of the car. It was unclear whether she had actually slept, but her mental state was visibly better. She offered a word of thanks to Ji Youyi.

Ji Youyi maintained a completely composed expression. “Small matter. I have plenty of experience entering mountains, looking after you guys is only right.”

“Sorry to trouble you.” Meng Xingshu stared intently at Ji Youyi, reaching out a hand. “Director Ji, your hair is messy.”

She tucked the strands of hair behind Ji Youyi’s ear, covering that pair of bright red ears.

“Oh, oh, is that so? Thank you!” Ji Youyi’s heart skipped a beat. Just then, the village cadre walked ahead to greet them, so she quickly turned around, taking three steps in two to follow them.

The fresh natural air gradually replaced the fragrance from Meng Xingshu’s body, filling her lungs. She should have felt liberated, yet she felt inexplicably a bit lost. Unwilling to ponder closely, Ji Youyi gazed out at the distant mountain view, took a deep breath, and dived straight into work.

Li Zhulan, on the other hand, had been lost in thought.

She didn’t know whether she should rejoice or weep over her insistence on making this trip, because the backwardness of the mountainous region and the hardships of life far exceeded her imagination. The broken, narrow dirt road made her feel highly uncomfortable from the bumps, and once they finally arrived, she went to use the restroom… only to take one look inside and walk right back out holding her urine.

Lunch was eaten at a farmhouse with slightly better conditions. The dishes cooked over a wood-fired iron pot didn’t look appealing in color, and the rice wasn’t sweet and felt a bit hard. Li Zhulan had always been a picky eater, but seeing the other three eating their meal happily, especially Ji Youyi, who took massive bites and ate incredibly heartily, well, forget it, that rice devouring beast found everything delicious.

Li Zhulan hesitated for a moment, then also picked up a large chopstick full of food, mixed it into the rice, and fiercely shoved it into her mouth. This kind of eating speed in the past would only appear after she had a fight with her mother.

After the meal, the crew started chatting with the villagers. Li Zhulan was in a bad mood, so she initially listened silently from the side, taking notes as she listened. But as the conversation went on, she also began raising questions, asking more and more, and her sitting posture unconsciously shifted closer.

After chatting for a long time, she looked up, only to find that the other few people had long since vanished. However, bursts of hearty laughter echoed from outside the window.

She went out the door to look, and the rice devouring beast was currently learning how to ride a tricycle from a villager auntie. Ji Youyi knew how terrifyingly sweet that woman’s mouth could be when she wanted to. That auntie had clearly already been coaxed into a state of absolute bliss, praising her with “darling” this and “clever” that in every breath.

Ji Youyi’s smile was sweet, and her originally standard Mandarin actually carried a hint of the local accent: “It’s because Big Sister teaches well.”

Seeing Li Zhulan come out, she quickly waved. “Teacher Li, are you done? Let’s go location scouting. We’ll ride this this afternoon, and let you witness your Master Ji’s driving skills!”

As she spoke, she patted the mount beneath her, raising her chin proudly.

As soon as Li Zhulan walked close, she caught a whiff of a strange smell from the vehicle. Peeking inside, she couldn’t tell what this vehicle had carried before, but patches of black stains remained on the floor of the truck bed. …It was a bit dirty.

Han Lei was actually also somewhat hesitant, but seeing Meng Xingshu climb onto the vehicle without a change in expression, her posture as elegant as taking a seat at a banquet evening, she also hurriedly followed up.

One look at Li Zhulan’s face and Ji Youyi knew exactly what she was thinking. She smiled, extending a hand toward Li Zhulan. “Come over, sit next to me.”

The cushion of the driver’s seat looked decent. Li Zhulan shrank her head and trotted over, taking a seat on the vehicle.

Ji Youyi slowly released the clutch, controlling the throttle, and the tricycle leisurely set off on the road.

In late September, although it was already autumn, the “Autumn Tiger” weather reigned supreme. The weather was a bit muggy, but fortunately, there was a breeze, so it didn’t make people miserable. High up in the distant blue sky, pure white clouds slowly drifted.

Ji Youyi rode the motorized tricycle, weaving through the mountain paths. Looking at the silent Li Zhulan, she teasingly asked, “Writer Li, what are you pondering about?”

Li Zhulan’s mood wasn’t high. “Pondering about your unlicensed driving. What if you carry us into a ditch?”

“Oh?” Ji Youyi’s words were perfectly pronounced, her tone rising and falling with dramatic cadence. “What would you do then?”

“I’d jump ship at the very first instance.”

Ji Youyi sighed repeatedly. “Others say ‘until the mountains crumble and the heavens merge’ before they can part. We merely flip a vehicle, and the ship of friendship is already grounded. Truly heartbreaking, Writer Li.”

“How is it grounded?” Li Zhulan said in dissatisfaction. “In any case, a living person must be spared to run and call for help, right?”

“Eh, those words are mistaken,” Ji Youyi said leisurely. “If a living person absolutely must be spared among us, I think we still have to preserve the one with the most expensive net worth. Right, Teacher Meng?”

Meng Xingshu sat inside the truck bed, her light voice floating over. “No. Better preserve Teacher Li. I can’t run fast.”

Han Lei also offered her opinion: “People say Teacher Li is a literary figure, so she probably can’t run fast either.”

Ji Youyi let out a painful hiss. “Then what should we do? How about this, Teacher Li, let the two of them give you some space, and you go stand in the middle of the truck bed to run for a bit. Tell me whatever speed you need, my hand is on the throttle. Use this vehicle as a treadmill, start practicing first!”

“Right, right,” Han Lei seconded. “Great Screenwriter, practice hard, all our lives are held in your hands now!”

With a pfft, Li Zhulan couldn’t hold back and finally burst into laughter. The remaining three had put on serious fronts for the longest time, and now they followed along in laughter too.

Feeling a bit embarrassed, Li Zhulan yelled with red eyes, “You guys are so annoying!”

“It’s fine,” Ji Youyi said with a smile, gently coaxing her. “In the future, you’ll be a full-time screenwriter and won’t follow the crew, so you won’t need to step out the door.”

Li Zhulan shook her head. “Coming out is quite good, I want to come out!” Her voice grew a bit louder, bouncing off the mountains with a faint echo.

For a moment, Li Zhulan felt even more embarrassed. Six eyes were all staring at her. She looked around, craned her neck, and started shouting at the top of her lungs. “I just want to come! Next time I’ll come again! Every single time I’ll come! No! One! Is! Allowed! To! Stop! Me!”

Having vented her shouts comfortably, Screenwriter Li felt thoroughly refreshed. Amid the drifting echoes, she pulled out the script and began to work.

In the morning, they had scouted the domestic life scenes inside the village. In the afternoon, they primarily scouted the shots of the female lead leaving and returning to the village several times, which included the scene where she followed the older sister from the same village to escape her hometown, fragmented, yet immensely crucial.

Ji Youyi opened a video conference, broadcasting live from the scene while holding her phone, confirming the on-site arrangements with each department.

The sun was at its brightest, and the low western sun cast its rays directly into Ji Youyi’s eyes. She instinctively squinted, and in the next second, a shadow cast down from above her head. A baseball cap was placed onto her head, the brim pressed downward, blocking out the light directly striking her eyes.

This movement felt a bit familiar…

The movements of Ji Youyi’s hands slowed down by half a beat, but quickly picked back up. Busy with work, she didn’t allow herself to think deeply, offered a word of thanks, and continued chatting about shot sizes with the director of photography.

Not far away, Han Lei had already frozen stiff.

She admitted that her composure was truly not as strong as this couple who had been together for years. She had been busy measuring things just now when she heard footsteps fading away. Habitually lifting her head, she saw their producer walking toward the director. Her intuition told her something was about to happen, and she didn’t dare blink her eyes even once.

Sure enough, she saw Meng Xingshu take off her own hat and pop it onto Ji Youyi’s head. Throughout the entire process, the two had zero superfluous communication, and their eyes didn’t even cross paths once. Meng Xingshu’s eye color was very faint, her thin lips constantly pursed slightly, she merely went to deliver a hat and then left. Deprived of the baseball cap to block the light, her eyes would deliberately drop during her work, yet her expression remained entirely as calm as water throughout.

Ji Youyi, on the other hand, remained completely immersed in her work the entire time. The director of photography on the other end of the video call had clearly witnessed the whole process and stopped talking, yet her own rhythm hadn’t been interrupted at all.

During the two months preparation period, similar situations were not uncommon, but every time Han Lei witnessed it, she still ended up dazed by the sweet fragrance of it. Ah, ah, ah, ah, just take it as her having seen little of the world, but it really is too heavenly, does anyone understand? Does anyone understand!! That kind of natural intimacy, that restrained tenderness, ah, ah, ah, ah!

Han Lei forcefully suppressed the urge to scream, scuttling over to Li Zhulan’s side, originally wishing to share her ecstatic mood.

Yet, she saw the great screenwriter holding a script, staring in the direction of the director and producer, her mouth once again muttering like a sorcerer casting a spell. “Ancestors, ancestors, ancestors…”

Han Lei: ???

Is this some kind of Heart Clearing Mantra, if she may ask?