After Secretly Marrying the Top Celebrity, I Fell in Love - Chapter 44

At seven o’clock in the morning, Bai Yiyan arrived at the set’s makeup room on time.

The work schedule indicated she had a total of fifteen scenes to shoot today—six in the morning and nine in the afternoon. Fifteen scenes are not a lot for an actress, but not a few either.

When Bai Yiyan was an extra, she also filmed all day, but the intensity was almost zero.

Several of today’s fifteen scenes feature Bai Yiyan as the sole lead, requiring her to carry the entire shot, making the pressure considerable.

At eight sharp, Bai Yiyan emerged from the makeup room, fully dressed in her costume with makeup done.

Her footsteps were distinctly light, yet they instantly captured the attention of all the staff present. Everyone’s gaze focused on Bai Yiyan, left speechless and stunned by the second female lead in her grand red wedding attire.

In that moment, it seemed everyone had collectively lost the ability to speak.

Bai Yiyan was wearing an incredibly luxurious, floor-sweeping crimson wedding dress (Xi Fu). Auspicious cloud patterns, symbolizing good fortune, were embroidered on the wide sleeves with gold thread. A matching wide sash cinched her waist, also embroidered with dark patterns of clouds.

A golden phoenix woven with gold thread spread its wings across the wedding dress, so lifelike it seemed ready to leap off the fabric and soar into the sky at any moment.

The woman’s silky, cloud-like dark hair flowed over her shoulders, cascading down her back.

Such opulent attire was paired with no elaborate hairpins or phoenix coronet, and her makeup was very light—a nearly bare-faced, fresh, and elegant look. The stark contrast further highlighted Bai Yiyan’s natural beauty.

“Director, I’m ready,” Bai Yiyan said, her gaze resting lightly on the equally stunned Zhang Mingxiu. “We can start filming anytime.”

“Good!” Zhang Mingxiu snapped back to reality, heavily tapping his palm with the rolled-up script.

Beautiful! Simply too beautiful!

Beautiful beyond words, any flowery language felt pale and powerless when used to describe Bai Yiyan.

“‘Nine Heavens’ Scene 350, Shot 1, Take 1!” The clapper loader sharply hit the board. “Action!”

This was an indoor scene.

In an ancient-style boudoir, the room was ornately and elegantly decorated. On two walls hung landscape paintings by famous artists and calligraphy that master calligraphers would treasure.

A large, carved Sandalwood bed stood in the room. Three sides of the bed were draped with fiery red flowing silk curtains. The bed sheets and bedding were also crimson.

Dried longans, red dates, and peanuts were scattered over the silk bedding, which was embroidered with a lifelike pattern of two intertwined phoenixes, symbolizing marital harmony and eternal love.

Beside the open carved wooden window sat a solid wood Eight Immortals Table.

On the table rested a white jade vase, holding a single, blooming Phoenix Flower, vibrant and passionately red like fire.

Next to the table, Bai Yiyan, in her grand red wedding dress, held a needle and thread, diligently embroidering a red veil (Gai Tou).

Legend has it that a bride who embroiders her own red veil will grow old with her husband and be eternally united.

Born the sole daughter of Sect Leader Zhou of Qingyun Mountain Villa, Zhou Zhi had trained in martial arts since childhood, was inherently serious and reserved, and had received more rigorous etiquette training than ordinary women. She didn’t believe in such legends.

But to grow old with her beloved, what harm was there in believing just this once?

The camera first focused on a close-up of Bai Yiyan’s right hand holding the embroidery needle. Her ivory-white fingers pinched the needle, moving up and down on the crimson veil, revealing a pair of Mandarin ducks playing in the water under the lens.

Suddenly, the door was abruptly pushed open from the outside, and the camera cut to a different angle.

“Miss, this is bad!” A maid-dressed girl pushed the door open, her bright eyes showing anxiety.

The camera cut back, focusing directly on Bai Yiyan’s face. Her slender willow eyebrows furrowed slightly, and her beautiful, Rui Feng eyes (a type of elegant, almond-shaped eye) gazed steadily at the newcomer.

“What is it?” Bai Yiyan’s tone was steady.

“Young Master Suiyu is fighting someone in the front hall.” Bai Yiyan’s brown pupils showed a look of worry, and the fingertips holding the embroidery needle unconsciously tightened.

“What’s the reason?”

“Young Master Suiyu… he…” The maid stammered, her eyes darting away, unable to meet Bai Yiyan’s gaze.

“What about him?” Bai Yiyan pressed on.

“He wants to break off the engagement!” The maid finally blurted out the truth in one breath. “Young Master Suiyu pleaded with the Master to revoke the marriage decree. As soon as the words left his mouth, Young Master Si next to him immediately drew his sword.”

“The two started fighting right in front of the Master.”

Bai Yiyan’s expression was stern, suppressing the turmoil inside. She asked, “Is my senior brother injured?”

“N-no,” the maid was momentarily startled, then replied. “The Master stopped them.”

“Alright, I understand,” Bai Yiyan looked away. “You may leave.”

“But, Miss…” The maid was confused.

“The veil isn’t finished yet,” Bai Yiyan said lightly, lowering her eyes to the crimson veil in her hands. “Once I finish this veil, I will go to Senior Brother myself and ask him to explain everything clearly.”

“I want to hear it from his own mouth.”

“Cut! Excellent! One take!” Zhang Mingxiu excitedly rose from his small stool, shouting into the megaphone at the crew.

Beside him, Assistant Director Chen also looked at Bai Yiyan with a surprised expression.

Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!

Everyone rested for five minutes. The makeup artist touched up Bai Yiyan’s makeup, gently patting her nose with a powder puff.

“‘Nine Heavens’ Scene 350, Shot 2, Take 1!” The clapper hit the board again. “Action!”

The supporting actor retreated, leaving only Bai Yiyan in the frame.

Under the intricate carved wooden window, Bai Yiyan quietly embroidered the red veil, acting as if nothing had happened. Only the happy smile that had been on her lips was gone.

The woman’s Rui Feng eyes gradually became moist, filling with sparkling tears. A single, trembling tear finally fell onto the veil.

This scene had no dialogue, relying entirely on the actress’s body language and eyes.

Bai Yiyan felt that just crying wasn’t enough, so…

“…” Bai Yiyan’s previously smooth eyebrows suddenly furrowed. She gasped, and the hand holding the embroidery needle suddenly paused.

Zhang Mingxiu’s heart jumped. He immediately reacted and quickly motioned for the cameraman to push in, focusing the camera on the actress’s hands.

Her fair, slender fingers slightly curled, and a large bead of blood distinctly appeared on Bai Yiyan’s left index finger.

The next second, the bead of blood silently rolled down her fingertip, the drop of blood seeping into the crimson veil, staining the black and white feathers of the Mandarin duck embroidery.

“…!” Zhang Mingxiu’s eyes widened. He suppressed his furiously pounding heart and signaled the cameraman to continue filming.

The camera returned to Bai Yiyan’s face.

Bai Yiyan’s eyes were glistening with tears, her expression a mix of grief and a hint of unwillingness, conveying a full sense of devastation.

Suddenly, the embroidery needle pricked Bai Yiyan’s fingertip again.

Bai Yiyan’s tear-streaked lashes trembled slightly, but she remained unmoved.

After a moment, the woman’s wet, long lashes gently closed. She smeared the blood bead from her fingertip onto the veil. Already crimson, the veil’s color only deepened when stained with blood.

As fate would have it, Fu Yu walked in and witnessed Bai Yiyan pricking herself with the needle.

Fu Yu’s expression slightly froze. He then lightened his steps and stood in a corner of the set. After a thought, Fu Yu pulled out his phone from his pants pocket and sent two WeChat messages to Ye Manqing.

Fu Yu: [Old Ye, your wife is pricking her own finger with a needle for the sake of filming.]

Fu Yu: [So dedicated (thumbs up)]

C City has been experiencing continuous rain recently, and today was another overcast and rainy day. The rain had been falling since dawn and hadn’t stopped yet.

The muggy weather brought Jiang Yiluo’s emotions to the brink of collapse. Her hands trembling, she took out a box of Agomelatine from the cabinet. With a glass of cool plain water from the bedside table, she took two pills.

The woman lay on her back on the large bed, eyes gently closed. Her pale complexion and dark hair formed a stark contrast, and her entire being resembled a soulless husk.

Even after taking the medication, Jiang Yiluo’s heart was still racing, so fast that she had to slightly part her crimson lips to breathe deeply.

Jiang Yiluo changed her sleeping position, curling up on the large bed, her face growing even paler.

Suddenly, memories surged out like a broken dam, bursting open the floodgates of Jiang Yiluo’s long-sealed mind, trapping her in a whirlpool of the past.

In her mind, an image of her familiar yet distant self surfaced: she was kneeling on the hard, cold marble floor, tightly hugging a woman’s thighs with both hands.

“Teacher Fu, I was wrong, please don’t break up with me.”

“Teacher Fu, I’m willing to be your dog forever. Please pity me, okay? Don’t break up with me.”

“Teacher Fu!” The next second, Jiang Yiluo abruptly opened her tear-filled eyes, the whites of her eyes crisscrossed with bloody red veins.

Hearing the commotion, the bedroom door was suddenly pushed open from the outside.

“Yiluo, what’s wrong?” Cheng Shuyun rushed towards the bed, her face a mix of worry and anxiety. As she got closer, she lovingly took Jiang Yiluo’s right hand and clasped it tightly in her own.

“Did you take your medicine?”

Jiang Yiluo’s empty, listless eyes stared at the ceiling, her full, snow-white chest heaving violently. Restless emotions accumulated in her heart.

Illness borne of prolonged melancholy.

“Yiluo,” Cheng Shuyun sat down by the bed, her brows tightly furrowed as she looked at the woman on the bed.

“Sister!” Jiang Yiluo suddenly scrambled up, looking at Cheng Shuyun with a tense expression. She instantly embraced Cheng Shuyun, tightly wrapping her arms around her waist.

Jiang Yiluo buried her head in Cheng Shuyun’s embrace and started sobbing loudly, her shoulders violently shaking from the weeping.

Cheng Shuyun’s gentle voice sounded above her head.

“Yiluo, I know you still can’t forget her.”

“But we can’t live in the past forever. We need to learn to look forward, okay?”

Jiang Yiluo’s body visibly stiffened. She slowly lifted her tear-stained face.

The face of the person before her gradually transformed into another—the former love Jiang Yiluo yearned for and obsessed over.

Jiang Yiluo reached up and cupped Cheng Shuyun’s face, urgently kissing her. The relentless kiss left Cheng Shuyun slightly breathless.

“…!” Cheng Shuyun suddenly felt a sharp pain on her lip, and the strong metallic taste of blood instantly filled her mouth.

Her chest heaved heavily once, and Cheng Shuyun resignedly closed her eyes.

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