I Was Taken by the Female Lead After Transmigrating into a Book - Chapter 112

Bai Feifei was surprised when she received the day’s schedule.

“A’Wu, it seems like we’ve been filming scenes together for days now,” Bai Feifei said, looking at the schedule. “All of them are scenes in the new set they just built a few days ago.”

Some missing scenes and scenes that needed to be re-filmed after editing in the small room in Luoshui City could be easily recreated. The crew didn’t need to go to the trouble of going back. A set was built to film the parts they needed, which is usually only done for modern dramas.

Huo Wu didn’t look at the page. After a moment, she said, “The rest of the film is all like this.”

The main plot of Fu Sang’s character only had one remaining scene with Huo Wu and the final main villain, Li Jianshu. This required a lot of preparation and planning. The location the crew chose was near an industrial park, just ten-some kilometers from the suburbs of Yan City. Before this, all her scenes were almost entirely the grueling interrogation scenes, primarily in the police station and hospital.

Li Qinqin finally chose to trust Qin Huainian. With her as the starting point, the investigation teams from Yan City and Luoshui City worked together to investigate the shocking “man-eating high school” case in Luoshui City. Due to pressure from various parties and the fact that the students’ identities had captured the hearts of teenagers all over the country, the case finally began to be investigated with great fanfare.

The case progressed with great momentum. Because it involved multiple government agencies and complex details, even though everything that needed to be prepared was done before filming began, the actual filming was still difficult. Li Ke was at his wit’s end multiple times. More than once, he belatedly realized why Huo Wu had suggested leaving an extra half-month of time.

It wasn’t the crew holding things back; it was the tricky procedures and the “responsibility” that no one dared to take on and kept pushing on to others.

“They’re all scenes with just the two of us,” Bai Feifei said, flipping through the pages. “And a lot of them weren’t in the original script. Were they added later?”

“Yes,” Huo Wu said. “I remember telling you when you first joined the crew that the ending of this show wasn’t set.”

Bai Feifei remembered.

It was an ordinary day for her, no different from any other, but Huo Wu suddenly told her she had thought of the ending. It was then that Bai Feifei realized that the ending of the show, and even the script for the second half, was being written and revised as they filmed.

“Was there an original, possible ending before?” Bai Feifei lay on the bed, her calves swinging back and forth.

“It’s hard to say.”

Bai Feifei looked up. “What?”

Huo Wu smiled. “At that time, anything was possible.”

If they had followed the established plot, everything would have become a step-by-step task completion. Other shows might have been fine, but this one had too many potential variables.

The choices of all the people were the most crucial, and their choices could often affect many outcomes. If Qi Yang had been too cowardly to expose everything, she wouldn’t have used her death to trigger the final investigation, especially since one student had already died in the old building, which caused enough sensation but didn’t have much of an impact.

Her death had to be a particularly tragic suicide for the police to take it seriously.

Bai Feifei grumbled, “But she still betrayed me before she died.”

She was talking about the show.

Qi Yang could have chosen any other, relatively better time to die, but she chose to do it right before Fu Sang left. The scene that was re-filmed was originally Fu Sang looking up while waiting for the bus, but Li Ke changed it to a lonely and broken road near the old building.

She faced the scene of Qi Yang’s death directly and looked at the way Qi Yang died. This was Qi Yang’s biggest act of defiance within her limited ability, and the best way she could take revenge on Fu Sang before her sanity left her.

Just as she had said, she envied Fu Sang. She hated Fu Sang. Why did she have to die while Fu Sang could live? Why was she born into a family like that while Fu Sang, even when she was in a bind, could still escape the bullying of those people and meet a Wu Ling who would protect her?

Qi Yang’s character was filled with “why.”

But she also knew that only Fu Sang could do everything she couldn’t, so she had to die.

But even after she died, she didn’t want Fu Sang to have an easy time.

Huo Wu rubbed her hair and said softly, “But you have me.”

Those words made Bai Feifei beam with joy. She pounced from the bed onto Huo Wu, who was sitting on the carpet, and said with a muffled voice, “Let’s change the carpet in our room to a thicker one.”

Huo Wu instinctively held her waist. “Hm?”

Bai Feifei pouted childishly. “The hotel’s is too thin. My knees hurt.”

Huo Wu laughed and used a little force to lay Bai Feifei down. “I’ll rub them for you.”

Bai Feifei took the opportunity to make a bunch of demands. “Rub my legs, rub my body, rub my arms, rub everything. Also, give me an ear cleaning and a scalp massage. There, the ‘sleepy time’ package is all set.”

Huo Wu followed along and wrote the words “Full-body Massage” on Bai Feifei’s face.

Perhaps because her movements were so slow and gentle, Bai Feifei actually fell asleep. But even though she was asleep, her hand was still twisting a corner of Huo Wu’s clothes in her dream.

Although she already knew how strict Li Ke was and that the props team would do their best to recreate the set with a 1:1 ratio, Bai Feifei was still shocked by the immersive feeling when she returned.

“The layout is exactly the same as that small room!” Bai Feifei looked around. “They’re so fast and good.”

“When we came here, the props team had already been told to bring everything over,” Li Ke scratched his head. He glanced at Huo Wu and intentionally said to Bai Feifei, “Maybe someone wanted to keep it as a souvenir.”

The props team didn’t listen to just anyone. Li Ke knew in his gut that Huo Wu must have told them to, which was why the items were preserved so well.

He thought of this part of the filming, which he himself supervised, that was intentionally saved for last, and he also felt a little sorry for Huo Wu. That’s why he couldn’t help but say a few extra words.

Bai Feifei understood the hint in his words and couldn’t help but think deeply about Huo Wu’s reason for doing this.

She hadn’t thought of it before, but after filming in this familiar small room for a few more days, Bai Feifei was almost certain: Huo Wu seemed to want to keep something.

When she first joined the crew and everything was unknown, Huo Wu had already thought that after the film was finished, if they were to part ways again, it might be a complete and final farewell.

So, she saved these scenes, which were easy to overlook during the middle of filming, for the very end.

The extra time was not only to give the new actors a chance to make mistakes but also to give the crew time to communicate and negotiate with the government agencies. It was also to give herself time to create memories that would be difficult to have and would never appear again.

Bai Feifei’s eyes were hot.

She squeezed Huo Wu’s hand and led her into the cramped, tiny bathroom. After two people were in there, there was almost no room to turn around. She hugged Huo Wu tightly and made a vow that no one could understand. “This time, I don’t care about my life. I’m staying by your side.”

Huo Wu patted her to comfort her. “What are you talking about?”

Bai Feifei shook her head without a word and wiped the two damp shapes of her eyes on Huo Wu’s clothes over her chest.

When Bai Feifei’s emotions calmed down, she was a little embarrassed and wiped herself on Huo Wu’s chest, but there was nothing to do about the tear stains but let them dry. Huo Wu looked down for a while, then reached into her pocket. “Don’t just stand there. Take a picture of me.”

Bai Feifei didn’t understand why they needed a photo, but she took one of Huo Wu anyway. Then she squeezed in front of the phone with her, watching with wide eyes as Huo Wu edited the picture, leaving only her upper body, which had already been exposed in her costume, and posting it on Weibo with the caption: Crybaby.

Bai Feifei’s eyes widened.

“You just posted that?” Bai Feifei’s chin was on Huo Wu’s shoulder. When she spoke, her head shook with her mouth’s opening, like a skull. She shook her head, restraining her scattered thoughts. “Is that okay?”

“There’s nothing wrong with it.” Huo Wu’s authority was clearly not like Bai Feifei’s, who was restricted in everything she did. She knew exactly what she could and couldn’t do.

Huo Wu wiped away Bai Feifei’s tears again and said, “Let’s go. Today will be tough again.”

It felt like centuries had passed since the scene where her whole body was soaked, and today, she had to do it all over again.

Bai Feifei sighed and told the makeup artist to forget the spray bottle and just use a basin to pour water on her.

This scene followed the car accident.

Fu Sang was discovered by people throwing out trash. A resident who had seen the whole incident from their window recognized her as the little girl who was being chased by a group of motorcycles. They gathered together, righteously and passionately telling the police who were on camera exactly what had happened.

She was protected by a policewoman, sitting under an eave to shelter from the rain, watching the residents who were constantly adding details and the police who were working hard to maintain order and record everything.

Then, she was escorted home by a police officer, and this was where the re-filmed content continued.

Her clothes were already muddy, but the policewoman who was with her didn’t mind at all. She put her own police jacket on her and escorted her upstairs.

Fu Sang ignored the other person’s inquisitive look and generously opened the door, letting the other person see the empty furniture and simple layout inside.

“Thank you for bringing me back.”

Fu Sang handed her the jacket. She stood in the doorway, only showing a small sliver of a gap. Her voice was light, with a coldness that was like the pitch-black room inside.

The policewoman left, feeling a strange sense of dread.

Fu Sang stood in the narrow entrance hall for a while. She didn’t go inside but instead took off her dirty clothes where she was, carelessly leaving them on the ground, which was much cleaner than any of her clothes.

She stepped on the dirty clothes and entered the equally small bathroom. After a short while, the sound of running water came from inside.

The camera focused on the frosted glass. You could see a dark figure standing inside, being doused with water but not moving for a long time.

Click. The door was opened from the outside.

Wu Ling was wearing a clean uniform. She seemed to be aware of everything that had happened today. There was no panic on her face, but all her composure fell apart when she saw the pile of clothes on the floor, mixed with blood and dirt.

She pursed her lips, picked up the clothes, and put them in the dirty laundry basket by the door. She then cleaned up the water and mud on the floor and spoke to Fu Sang through the frosted glass door. “I’m home.”

The sound of trickling water came from inside. There was no response. Maybe she hadn’t heard. After all, the sound of the shower was very loud.

Wu Ling entered the inner room. “Inner room” was not an accurate description, as it was only a twenty-some-square-meter studio apartment. It was already remarkable that it had a cooking area and a bathroom.

She stood under the room’s only light source. The shadow completely obscured all her expressions.

After an unknown amount of time, she came to her senses and walked to the desk that belonged to Fu Sang.

The bathroom door opened, but the sound of water was still running.

Fu Sang stood at the bathroom entrance, wrapped in a yellow bath towel. She asked, “Are you looking for something?”

“I’m just getting your things ready for class tomorrow,” Wu Ling said, her expression unchanging. She prepared the textbooks for the next day and neatly placed them in Fu Sang’s backpack. Only then did she turn around and face Fu Sang.

A strange silence spread between the two of them. Wu Ling leaned on the desk with one hand, her knuckles turning white.

But Fu Sang didn’t even spare a second glance at the desk. She walked straight to the bed and sat down.

The sound of running water in the bathroom continued. Fu Sang murmured, “I forgot to turn the water off.”

Wu Ling left the desk, and after a moment, the sound of water in the bathroom disappeared.

When she came out of the bathroom after tidying it up, Fu Sang was already lying in bed, fast asleep.

She tiptoed over, gathered the hair that was scattered on the bed, and slowly dried it with a towel. When everything was quiet, a low female voice echoed in the empty room, almost a whisper. “I’m sorry.”

After this scene, Bai Feifei felt a little down.

“Did Wu Ling still suspect Fu Sang?” She almost said, “Did she suspect Fu Sang from the beginning?” but for some reason, what came out was, “Did she still suspect Fu Sang?”

Perhaps instinctively, she didn’t want Wu Ling to suspect Fu Sang.

She remembered the day in the interrogation room when Huo Wu said that the way she questioned her was beautiful. That day, she had fully committed to the belief of “I am not guilty, I am innocent” to choose that way of acting.

But she didn’t actually know what Wu Ling’s perspective was.

Was it suspicion from the start, or was it a firm belief from beginning to end?

“Does it matter to you?” Huo Wu said softly.

Bai Feifei nodded. Although she was talking about the plot, she was clearly asking Huo Wu herself. “It matters quite a bit.”

Huo Wu was silent for a while before saying, “She always believed in Fu Sang, but she was also constantly looking for evidence to make herself see Fu Sang as a suspicious person who wasn’t innocent. At the same time, she was also constantly trying to find all the evidence that could prove Fu Sang’s innocence.”

It was almost like herself, constantly believing, constantly deceiving herself, and constantly searching.

A very gentle smile appeared on Huo Wu’s lips. She said, “I’ll tell you a little secret.”

Bai Feifei was feeling low and said listlessly, “What?”

“In the end, everyone gets what they wanted most,” Huo Wu said. “Whether it’s Fu Sang or Wu Ling.”

Or all the other actors who had already finished filming and left the set.

They all got what they were looking for, as the saying goes.

Bai Feifei thought about it carefully. The names of the people who were dead or alive—Li Mingming, Qi Yang, Li Ran… all of them, it seemed, had ultimately achieved their own choices.