After the Black Moonlight’s "Death Escape" Failed [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 57

Chapter 57: Medicine and the Crew

◎ More, closer, and more exciting new scenes ◎

The director of Satellite was named Jing Ziqing. She was a young director with six years of experience and had won several mid-sized awards. She had previously collaborated with Wen Fengyue on an arthouse film.

Satellite was the first TV drama she was directing. Jing Ziqing planned to use it as her transition piece to move toward TV screenwriting and directing—in the Blue Star era, the profits from TV dramas were much higher than those from films, and she happened to be someone whose eyes were only on the money.

Jing Ziqing, whose eyes were only on the money, quickly snapped back to reality. Her eyes sparkled as she shouted excitedly: “You two are a couple!”

“Director Jing?” Jiao Qingyin looked as if she had just discovered Wen Fengyue was on a video call, so she came over to say hello. “Did something happen for you to call so suddenly?”

As Jiao Qingyin approached, Wen Fengyue smelled the faint scent of soapberry mixed with the smell of the Gypsophila in the house, causing her expression to relax unconsciously.

They stood very close together. When this scene fell into Jing Ziqing’s eyes, the latter couldn’t help but shout again: “You really are a couple!”

Jing Ziqing was shouting so loudly that Wen Fengyue frowned, feeling a bit like hanging up.

But Jiao Qingyin was right beside her, and she didn’t want to appear too abrasive—Wen Fengyue naturally knew what kind of image most people liked. She used to be too lazy to pretend, but now…

She stole a glance at Jiao Qingyin out of the corner of her eye; she wanted to present her best self in front of her.

“I saw it! You were peeking at Jiao Qingyin! You two definitely have—”

With red ears, Wen Fengyue forcefully pressed the mute button.

The world went quiet.

Jiao Qingyin looked at Jing Ziqing on the screen. The director’s mouth was opening and closing, her exaggerated expression looking as if she had found a gold bar on the street. Even without hearing what she was saying, her ecstasy was transmitted through the screen.

Seeing Wen Fengyue’s complexion getting worse, Jiao Qingyin spoke up: “Director Jing, let’s get straight to business.”

Her steady voice was effective. Reminded, Jing Ziqing finally noticed Wen Fengyue’s expression was off and calmed down considerably.

Seeing that the other was no longer screaming, Wen Fengyue unmuted the call.

Jing Ziqing’s voice, still unable to hide its excitement, immediately came through: “How long have you been dating? Is the relationship stable? Can you at least wait until Satellite is finished filming before breaking up?”

Wen Fengyue curled her fingers, saying nothing, and cast her gaze toward Jiao Qingyin.

…She certainly wanted to be dating.

Jiao Qingyin wasn’t looking at her but was instead looking at Jing Ziqing, explaining somewhat helplessly: “Director Jing, you’ve misunderstood. We aren’t dating, let alone breaking up.”

However, Jing Ziqing either didn’t hear or automatically ignored the first half of that sentence. While muttering “As long as you don’t break up,” she began writing something down furiously, looking as if she had forgotten there were two people on the other end of the line.

Jiao Qingyin turned and met Wen Fengyue’s eyes. Just as they were about to hang up in silent agreement, Jing Ziqing suddenly snapped her head up.

“Why are you still—oh right, I’ve revised the script for you. I added back some of the intimate scenes that were previously deleted. You don’t mind, right?”

Upon hearing this, most of the annoyance Wen Fengyue felt from being interrupted vanished.

Straightening her expression, Wen Fengyue said in a very businesslike tone: “Send that part of the plot over first. We—ahem, we’ll take a look. If it’s beneficial for character development and plot richness, we might consider accepting it.”

Jing Ziqing agreed without looking up. She seemed very excited, her electronic pen moving so fast across the tablet it was practically throwing sparks.

The two hung up. Jiao Qingyin no longer had the heart to continue what they were doing just now; she adjusted her collar, intending to see what kind of mess the Star-Net had become.

Wen Fengyue, however, didn’t think that way.

Facing Jiao Qingyin, she always had inexhaustible passion.

“Jiao Jiao,” Wen Fengyue’s hand unconsciously brushed against Jiao Qingyin’s waist, her lowered eyes full of the desire to “continue.” “Are we…?”

Jiao Qingyin’s movement paused. Her ears went soft at the sound of “Jiao Jiao,” and she found it hard to withstand the other’s burning gaze.

But as the ancients said, you shouldn’t feed a dog too much all at once, or you won’t be able to keep using food to entice the dog to be obedient.

Thus, as if she didn’t understand Wen Fengyue’s hint, Jiao Qingyin cast a look of simple confusion at her.

“…” Wen Fengyue faintly felt something was wrong. She wanted to try a bit harder, but Jiao Qingyin had already started looking at her device, forcing her to suppress all her thoughts for the time being.

Jiao Qingyin opened her Star-Net homepage. That uncaptioned photo at the top was currently marked with a flame icon symbolizing a trending topic. The constantly changing numbers for comments and reposts showed just how hot this update was.

“Is this for real! An official announcement or hype?!”

“Was the account hacked?? I don’t believe the Movie Queen would be in a relationship!”

“Don’t believe or spread rumors, Little Jiao is beautiful on her own.”

“What a beautiful and well-matched pair! I ship it!”

The photo had caused a massive stir. With the company’s “water army” (paid posters) setting the pace, most people treated it as a promotional tactic for Satellite. But because the two protagonists of the photo never stepped forward to clarify, the arguments and flame wars hadn’t stopped.

Meanwhile, CP (Couple) organizations for “Yin-Yue” and “Yue-Yin” were quietly established. Struck by the tension in the photo, fans spontaneously became “shippers” and excitedly went on a “digital archeology” hunt on the Star-Net, only to find—the content for this CP was far too scarce!!

Aside from this photo, the only intersection they could find between the two was a certain party held on a starship the day before yesterday. Their life paths were like two parallel lines, making people even suspect they didn’t know each other before.

Seeing several wails from new CP fans in a row, the corners of Jiao Qingyin’s mouth couldn’t help but curl into a smile.

She secretly logged into her previously used alternate account (“smurf”) and posted a photo captured by the system:

@YinYueRen: “The moonlight is beautiful tonight. [Jiao Qingyin and Wen Fengyue standing hand-in-hand under a street lamp.jpg]”

This was captured by the system at the villa entrance on the day she brought Wen Fengyue home. It had fixed all details that might expose the address and adjusted the lighting effects to make the atmosphere of the photo hazy and dreamlike.

“YinYueRen’s” previous update consisted of three high-definition interaction photos of the pair, which had attracted a wave of traffic when posted. Now, updating again while the topic was hot, countless people flocked to it.

Jiao Qingyin didn’t look at the comments. She first switched back to her main account and reposted the earlier photo:

Jiao Qingyin V: “Rehearsing with Teacher Wen is very pleasant~ I hope every day is as happy as today! #Satellite#”

Wen Fengyue looked at Jiao Qingyin’s reply for a long time before she started typing:

Wen Fengyue V: “Very happy to collaborate with Little Jiao.”

Wen Fengyue ignored her manager’s suggestion to include the hashtag. After replying, she intended to turn off her device. But with a soft “beep,” a message notification popped up.

A contact you closely follow: “Jiao Qingyin V, has a new update.”

Wen Fengyue swiped her finger and clicked in.

Appearing on the screen was Jiao Qingyin’s Star-Net personal homepage. Her profile picture used to be a selfie, but now it had changed to a light blue Forget-Me-Not.

Wen Fengyue recognized at a glance that it was the one she had given her.

A few seconds later, the page automatically refreshed. Jiao Qingyin’s homepage background had also changed—in the camera, she was smiling while holding a bouquet of Gypsophila, the small dimple on her cheek sweetening Wen Fengyue’s heart.

Wen Fengyue’s throat bobbed up and down.

She pretended to naturally shift her gaze to see Jiao Qingyin’s current expression, only to find her operating her device with one hand while unconsciously stroking her own lips with the other.

…Why were they redder than before? Wen Fengyue couldn’t help but take a step closer. Was she stroking them because they were swollen and uncomfortable from being kissed?

Jiao Qingyin was concentrating on her device. Coupled with her lower vigilance in front of Wen Fengyue, she didn’t notice the other getting closer and closer.

In the time it took to switch between accounts, Jiao Qingyin discovered that there were actually tens of thousands of comments under “YinYueRen’s” update. She thought people were arguing. After preparing herself to see unpleasant comments, she clicked in—and then found:

They were indeed arguing, but the content was different from what she imagined.

…They were actually arguing over whether she or Wen Fengyue was the “Top” (Seme).

The arguments were well-founded; some people even posted hundred-word character analyses to prove their point. Some even @-ed Wen Fengyue and her own Star-Net account under the post… Fortunately, the other didn’t usually go online, or she would immediately discover that the camera angle used by “YinYueRen” was very problematic.

Seeing the argument intensify, Jiao Qingyin personally posted a comment:

@YinYueRen: “I saw with my own eyes this morning Jiao pinning Yue down and kissing her. Yue-Yin shippers can disperse now.”

After posting, she closed her device with satisfaction. Then she looked up and met Wen Fengyue’s very resentful gaze.

“Ready to put down the device?”

Jiao Qingyin blinked, realizing she had accidentally spent too much time on the internet and ignored the person beside her. And the other was clearly sulking because of it.

“It’s my fault,” Jiao Qingyin said immediately.

Wen Fengyue shook her head. She would never blame Jiao Qingyin. In her eyes, the other had no faults; the fault lay with the device that distracted her. But when the other looked up at her, the expression was so heart-stirring that Wen Fengyue couldn’t control herself and grabbed Jiao Qingyin’s hand.

“Teacher Wen?” Her wrist being held, Jiao Qingyin was led to the sofa.

Is this a continuation of the “rehearsal”? Jiao Qingyin relaxed her body and cooperated with Wen Fengyue’s movements.

But after pressing her down to sit on the sofa, Wen Fengyue turned and walked away, her back conveying a sense of haste.

“…?”

Just as Jiao Qingyin was about to stand up, the other rushed back carrying something. “Don’t move.”

The household medical robot in her hand was already spinning its eyes. After being set down by Wen Fengyue for a while, it resumed normal function and began scanning Jiao Qingyin’s physical state.

“Congratulations Master, you are very healthy. It is detected that your various physical values are higher than average. Xiao Yi guesses you have military experience. If Xiao Yi guessed right, please give Blue Star Housekeeping a five-star review…”

Both Wen Fengyue and Jiao Qingyin fell into silence. After a moment, the former spoke first: “…It probably needs repairs.”

How could Jiao Qingyin, who couldn’t even twist open a bottle cap, have military experience? One might as well say she was a mage; that would sound more believable.

“Why the sudden check-up?” Seeing that Wen Fengyue didn’t suspect a thing, a smile appeared on Jiao Qingyin’s face. “Is there something worrying you?”

“…Mm.”

Wen Fengyue opened the medical robot’s kit and found a light green spray.

“This is an anti-swelling and wound-healing medicine,” Wen Fengyue explained under Jiao Qingyin’s gaze. “Your mouth… the skin is a bit broken. If left alone, it might take a week or two to heal.”

She actually liked seeing Jiao Qingyin’s lips slightly swollen, but filming for Satellite was starting in two days, and she didn’t want the other to be misunderstood.

“It might hurt a bit, but only for a second. If you can’t bear it, then…” Wen Fengyue thought for a moment and held out her left hand. “Then grip my hand tightly.”

Jiao Qingyin stared at her for two seconds and then broke into a smile. “Okay, I’ll rely on you.”

Wen Fengyue’s heart skipped; she almost kissed her again. Especially… perhaps because she was nervous, Jiao Qingyin closed her eyes. Her calm expression and eyelashes like butterfly wings made her look like she was waiting for a kiss.

Wen Fengyue took a deep breath and uncapped the spray.

The cool mist, with a hint of mint, hit Jiao Qingyin’s lips, moistening the petals that were darker than usual, bringing a slight stinging sensation. This bit of pain was nothing to Jiao Qingyin, but she still tightened her grip on Wen Fengyue’s hand.

“…Does it hurt?” Wen Fengyue asked. As she spoke, she realized her voice had gone hoarse.

Jiao Qingyin gave a low “Mm,” neither saying yes nor no, but closed her eyes tighter. She looked a bit fragile, and Wen Fengyue’s breathing hitched as some inappropriate, bad thoughts surfaced.

No, stop. Jiao Qingyin trusts her so much, how could she—

Her self-criticism had just begun when Wen Fengyue’s body moved according to her heart’s desire. She pinched Jiao Qingyin’s chin and said in a dry voice: “Jiao Jiao, keep your eyes closed tight, otherwise the mist from the spray will get in.”

She was lying. This spray was the latest medicinal product with a precise landing point; it was impossible to get into the eyes. And even if it did, given its mild nature, it wouldn’t cause negative effects, no different from a drop of water splashing in.

But Jiao Qingyin seemed to believe her. With a nod, she not only kept her eyes shut but also wrapped both arms around Wen Fengyue’s waist.

Wen Fengyue stiffened.

“Sor-Sorry… I’m a bit nervous,” Jiao Qingyin said apologetically. “If you don’t want me to hold you…”

Wen Fengyue lowered her head, hiding her reddening cheeks with her hair. “…It’s fine, just hold me.”

But Jiao Qingyin had another question: “Can I use a bit of strength then?”

“…” Wen Fengyue felt the other’s fingers against her lower back, trembling slightly from nervousness. This was clearly an unintentional movement, yet it made her legs go weak.

If she used more strength… Wen Fengyue pursed her lips tightly. “Mm.”

A smile flashed across the corner of Jiao Qingyin’s mouth.

Wen Fengyue forced herself to move her attention away from her waist and fixated back on Jiao Qingyin’s lips. The fast-acting medicine was very effective; the broken skin at the corner of the other’s mouth was already healing. This meant the dosage was sufficient; she just needed to wait a few more minutes and everything would be restored.

But… Wen Fengyue reached out her thumb and pressed it against the other’s lips.

Jiao Qingyin moved slightly. Wen Fengyue explained immediately: “I need to spread the medicine. If there’s any discomfort… I need you to bear it for a moment.”

With her lips being gently rubbed, Jiao Qingyin couldn’t speak at all. She hadn’t expected Wen Fengyue’s little tricks to be so endless. To retaliate, she held the other’s waist even tighter.

And gave it a pinch.

Wen Fengyue: “!!!” Her face instantly turned completely red.

On Monday, Wen Fengyue and Jiao Qingyin arrived at the film set in the same starship car.

Today was the opening day. According to ancient Blue Star tradition, they should have slaughtered a pig and burned incense or something, and then the crew would eat a meal together. But the director, Jing Ziqing, was always stingy; she demanded the entire crew go straight into character.

So, when Jiao Qingyin and Wen Fengyue walked onto the set side-by-side, the props and backgrounds were already set up, and the people were mostly all there. The crew had all seen the rumors on the Star-Net; seeing them appear together now, their eyes lit up like lightbulbs.

Jing Ziqing, who was talking to the stage manager, saw them and immediately walked over. “Have you read the new script I revised?”

She served as both director and screenwriter. Over the last two days, her inspiration had been sparked, and she stayed up all night to revise a new script. The roles of the supporting characters were untouched, but the interactions between the leads—specifically certain interactions—were greatly increased.

“We read it,” Jiao Qingyin nodded. “We don’t have any issues.”

Wen Fengyue, wearing sunglasses, also nodded.

“That’s good. Go get your makeup done first,” Jing Ziqing called over the makeup artist. “The previous test photos were good, but Jiao Qingyin, your eye makeup needs a slight change. So we’ll film Wen Fengyue’s scenes first this morning. Xiao Zhang, you come over here too…”

Wen Fengyue lowered her head, met Jiao Qingyin’s eyes through her sunglasses, and said: “If you need anything, just call me.”

“You too,” Jiao Qingyin responded, then cheered her on. “Good luck, don’t be nervous. I’ll be watching you from the side.”

Wen Fengyue hadn’t been nervous, but the latter half of Jiao Qingyin’s sentence made her nervous. She wanted to show her best self.

And the first step blocking this thought was— “Teacher Wen… have you not rested well lately?”

Wen Fengyue looked at herself in the mirror. The dark circles under her eyes were heavy, making her look even more depressed and world-weary than usual.

“Apply more concealer,” she said succinctly.

Seeing that Wen Fengyue didn’t want to share her private life, the makeup artist tactfully stopped talking, which allowed Wen Fengyue to close her eyes and rest. She indeed hadn’t rested well, especially after Jing Ziqing sent the new script; falling asleep at night had become even more difficult.

—The new script added many intimate scenes, and Jing Ziqing, seemingly afraid the two leads wouldn’t accept them, had sent two versions. One was a normal script, and the other replaced the lead characters’ names with “Jiao Qingyin” and “Wen Fengyue.”

Jing Ziqing’s original words to Wen Fengyue were: “Just treat it as reading fanfiction about you and your wife. How about it? Looking at it this way, can you accept filming the intimate scenes now?”

In the original novel of Satellite, there were many intimate scenes. One key plot point was an experiment Wei Ling performed on her student/lover after her personality became completely twisted. In the early stages, she had received Cheng Xing’s full love, and the story stopping there would have been a happy and romantic ending.

But Wei Ling was naturally dark and paranoid. She couldn’t stand anyone getting close to Cheng Xing. She gradually wanted to extinguish her lover’s ability for independent thought, turning her into a doll that could only rely on her. So she began to strip away everything Cheng Xing owned, cleaning out her social circle, and like a spider weaving a web, slowly tightened her trap.

After discovering something was wrong, Cheng Xing tried to run, but Wei Ling took away her hearing aid, locked her in a basement, and subjected her to a life of darkness. No light, no sound, no timekeeping; only Wei Ling remained in Cheng Xing’s world. They no longer spoke; their meetings consisted of physical exchanges so intense it was as if they were trying to tear each other apart. Only through this method could Wei Ling feel a trace of remaining love from Cheng Xing.

Wei Ling’s experiment succeeded; her lover would only love her alone.

Because Wen Fengyue had been too resistant before, Jing Ziqing could only delete and modify this part of the late-stage plot. Now that she found the two leads were suspected to be a couple, she immediately added these scenes back.

Although Jing Ziqing was greedy for money, her literary foundation was indeed solid. The revised script allowed Wen Fengyue to visualize the corresponding scenes just by reading. The result was that Wen Fengyue stayed up for two nights, flipping through the script countless times—and as a result, gained two dark circles that needed several layers of concealer to cover.

In her eyes was the script, but in her heart was the thought of her locking Jiao Qingyin by her side, possessing everything about her.

But… Wen Fengyue opened her eyes as the makeup artist said, “It’s done, Teacher Wen, put on your glasses and take a look.”

She looked into the mirror, but her gaze didn’t hold herself. Instead, it caught the reflection of someone else.

Jiao Qingyin met Wen Fengyue’s eyes in the mirror. Realizing her peeking had been discovered, she simply walked over openly. “Teacher looks very beautiful like this.”

She used “Cheng Xing’s” tone, but she was clearly praising Wen Fengyue.

“Wei Ling” had a more glamorous appearance, so Wen Fengyue’s lips were painted very moistly, and red was dotted at the corners of her eyes, giving her a very alluring vibe. The gold-rimmed glasses resting on the bridge of her nose suppressed this charm with a scholarly, serious air, making her look more elegant and also more dangerous.

Wen Fengyue met her lover’s gaze. The cold light reflected from the lenses gave her a touch of unapproachability. The makeup artist couldn’t help but take a step back. After a thought, she simply said goodbye and went to find other actors. She felt as if “Wei Ling” had come to life and appeared before her.

Wen Fengyue stood up. Her costume shoes had very high heels; standing straight, she was half a head taller than Jiao Qingyin. Looking down at her, she inadvertently showed a bit of overbearing aura.

Jiao Qingyin, seemingly unaware, reached out toward her. “Teacher, lower your head.”

Wen Fengyue did so without the slightest hesitation. In the next second, the soft sensation from her hair made her unable to resist the impulse; she pressed down on the hand resting on her head.

“Didn’t you notice when you looked in the mirror?” Jiao Qingyin whispered in her ear. “The stray hair is sticking up again. Aren’t you worried it’ll ruin your aura?”

“…” Wen Fengyue’s cheeks flushed slightly. She lowered her head even further, the chain of her gold-rimmed glasses touching Jiao Qingyin’s collarbone.

Then, she spoke in an equally quiet tone: “…As long as you’re here, I’m not worried.”

One second, two seconds, and they couldn’t help but laugh together. It was as if countless pink bubbles and small flowers sprouted from them, isolating the entire world outside.