I Was Taken by the Female Lead After Transmigrating into a Book - Chapter 36

Huo Wu’s footsteps were very light. The thick carpet in the penthouse suite made her movements silent, and Bai Feifei inexplicably sensed a dancer’s grace in her.

She returned to the sofa by the coffee table and, in front of Bai Feifei, brazenly picked up the succulent care instructions she had written, continuing to read it. The long button-up sleep dress slid up slightly with her movements, revealing her fair, milk-like skin beneath the soft fabric.

Bai Feifei followed her a couple of steps. Huo Wu was already sitting on the sofa, her posture relaxed. Her eyelids were lowered, and her blinking was very slow, as if she were a little absent-minded.

Just as Bai Feifei thought Huo Wu was about to fall asleep, she heard her say, “Why did you run over here instead of resting in your room?”

Bai Feifei had two things in her hands. After a quick mental weighing, she chose to hold up the small box first. “I brought this for you!”

Huo Wu finally granted her a look. Just the act of raising her eyes seemed to take a lot of effort. “What is it?”

“A fill light,” Bai Feifei said, walking two steps forward. As she stepped onto the carpet, her tired feet, which had been working all day, finally felt relieved. She comfortably stomped her feet back and forth and sat down in front of Huo Wu in the small space between the sofa and the coffee table. “You need this to make it look even better. I checked the weather forecast, and it seems like it’s going to rain here in Luoshui City for the next few days. If it’s cloudy, it’s not good for succulents. They’ll turn green.”

“Mhm.” Huo Wu put the instructions aside for a moment, picked up the small box, and opened it. Inside was a palm-sized light, not tall, about 20 centimeters. It was just enough to illuminate two or three shorter plants, but no more.

Huo Wu asked, “How do you use it?”

“Just plug it in,” Bai Feifei pointed to it. Then, remembering something, she smiled and said, “I thought about this before I came. I was worried you might not have an extra power strip here, so I specifically had someone bring me an extension cord. This is all you need.”

Huo Wu watched Bai Feifei busily plug everything in. In a flash, a small light came on from the direction of the window.

Huo Wu squinted her eyes. “The color is nice.”

“It’s also energy-efficient!” Bai Feifei said. “If you leave it on all day, the electricity bill is less than two dimes!”

Huo Wu looked at her, seemingly surprised to hear such a sentence from Bai Feifei’s mouth, but at the same time, it felt a little expected. She suddenly smiled, pointed to a seat not far away, and said, “Sit.”

Bai Feifei sat back down, unable to stay still. She opened the takeout container she had been holding and looked up to ask, “A-Wu, have you eaten yet?”

Huo Wu, as expected, shook her head. Seeing that Bai Feifei was about to open it, she asked, “What did you bring?”

“It’s all pretty light. There’s a main dish, and the rest is meat and vegetables. Do you want to try some?”

Huo Wu thought for a moment and sat up a little. “Bring it here.” She didn’t have a good appetite, which was why she had Guan Ziyao go out to see if there was anything to eat. Anything would do; she might get an appetite at some point.

Bai Feifei had brought mostly vegetarian dishes, but they were surprisingly appetizing. The fish next to them was also cooked very well and wasn’t at all nauseating, with no hint of fishiness. The variety of small dishes was wide, but none of them were unappealing. In fact, after a couple of bites, her appetite was stimulated.

One or two might be a coincidence, but for all of them to be delicious, with an authentic local flavor, was a bit surprising.

Huo Wu was surprised. “Have you been here before?”

“No,” Bai Feifei shook her head, her eyes curving into a smile. “You don’t remember, but you told me this yourself. You can have Guan Ziyao ask the locals. The residents here will quickly tell you which restaurants have the best food, which ones are a little expensive, and which are the most affordable. Xiaoxiao said she’s going to go out and chat with those old ladies and learn the dialect after she’s done eating.”

Huo Wu listened to Bai Feifei speak quietly. Unknowingly, she had already eaten most of the food in her hands.

The sun was just right outside the window, and the central air conditioning in the room was on, creating a very comfortable atmosphere. Huo Wu suddenly felt that this situation was a long-lost one, only that things were different now. Their roles had to be reversed.

“You remember,” Huo Wu said, swallowing the last bite of food and lowering her eyes.

Bai Feifei was startled, then realized what Huo Wu was talking about. She unconsciously dug her fingers into the sofa next to her and said softly, “I remember.”

Her stomach had always been bad. For a period before the high school entrance exam, she couldn’t eat anything and had even gotten to the point of vomiting sour water. She would be very hungry, but no matter what she ate, she would feel terrible. But suddenly, for a period of time, she had a strong craving for fish.

At that time, Jiang Yueming was at an art exhibition abroad, and her father was also away on a business trip. There was no one else in the huge villa besides her. When Huo Wu came to see her after class and work, she brought her a very tender piece of fish, and Bai Feifei was stunned. At that time, Huo Wu had told her that if you just asked the old ladies in the old alleys, you could find out a lot of things. For example, they would be very willing to tell you about things like good food that wouldn’t upset your stomach and would even gossip about some greedy bosses.

“You’ve understood and remembered it well,” Huo Wu said, eating the last bite of fish, which almost melted in her mouth.

Most of the food in the takeout container was gone. She let out a sigh of relief, drank the warm water next to her, and looked at Bai Feifei. “How’s your stomach?”

“It’s all better now!” Bai Feifei patted her stomach and even pushed it out a little. She said, “Director Li said he wants me to gain a little more weight so I look better on camera.”

“Gain weight?” Huo Wu frowned, unable to help but examine Bai Feifei’s figure. Bai Feifei was thin, but her current thinness made her look unhealthy. Her complexion had improved a lot these past few days, but she had genuinely been through a lot, including two hospital stays. With seven or eight bottles of IV fluid a day and her already weak stomach being irritated by the medicine, Bai Feifei had thrown up several times during her hospital stay. The long day of travel had made her look a little tired. Her complexion had recovered a bit, but that didn’t mean she was healthy.

Li Ke’s original intention wasn’t wrong. Fusang was indeed a bit plump at the beginning. But in the later stages, Fusang’s state was very similar to Bai Feifei’s current look: frail but with good spirits, though without makeup, she would look pale. And in reality, Fusang was only holding on with sheer willpower. In the dead of night, Fusang would completely slump.

It’s easy to gain weight and difficult to lose it. Now, Li Ke was telling Bai Feifei to eat more, only to have to lose weight later to fit the character. Even a healthy person couldn’t handle that, let alone Bai Feifei.

But every industry has its trade-offs. Once you’re in it, you have to follow its rules.

Huo Wu didn’t say much. She shifted her gaze away from Bai Feifei’s curious eyes and said, “Have you read the script?”

Bai Feifei nodded. When it came to professional matters, she became serious and didn’t dare to be careless in front of Huo Wu. She sat up straight and said, “I have.”

Huo Wu was direct. “How much do you understand about the character Fusang?”

Bai Feifei pursed her lips. It was a bit difficult to express, or rather, Fusang was not a person who could be summarized in a few sentences. She hesitated, but it wasn’t because she couldn’t answer the question.

After so many years, Huo Wu had met so many people that she understood them, if not 100%, then at least 70%. She nodded and said, “You can go back and think about it more. If you can’t sort it out in your head, then make notes and write a character biography—the script reading is tomorrow, so put in some effort tonight, okay?”

Bai Feifei nodded like a pecking chick, very seriously saying, “Okay!”

After nodding, she pushed the finished meal container into the table. She suddenly felt that this scene was very similar to when Huo Wu used to tutor her. Her “academic genius” halo only lasted until her second year of middle school. The more she advanced, the harder she found studying, and her grades started to slip in high school. Plus, Bai Feifei herself had too many distracting thoughts and wasn’t very willing to put too much effort into studying, so Huo Wu started tutoring her.

Since she could stick with Huo Wu anyway, whether for fun or for studying, she went along with it for two or three years. Bai Feifei’s grades actually improved, and she even got into a good “double first-class” university. It was one “class” better than Fu Xiaoxiao’s school.

“A-Wu.” Bai Feifei heard the sound of the password lock and knew that Guan Ziyao must be back. She quickly called out.

Huo Wu turned around and looked at Bai Feifei’s somewhat nervous expression. She said a light “Mhm,” and after a moment, she thought she sounded a little distant, so she added, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Bai Feifei shook her head, pursed her lips, and said in a low voice, “Can I hug you?”

Huo Wu turned her head, thinking she had misheard. Then she saw a hint of disappointment on Bai Feifei’s face. Before she had a chance to think more, she had already answered, “You can.”

The orange sea.

The hint of disappointment on Bai Feifei’s face immediately vanished, and she lunged toward Huo Wu. One was sitting, one was lying down, both on the sofa. Bai Feifei’s lunge was neither too strong nor too weak, but just enough to pin Huo Wu down on the sofa.

Her nostrils were filled with Huo Wu’s scent from her recent shower. Through the thin fabric, she could clearly feel the warmth from Huo Wu’s body.

Bai Feifei blinked, blinking away that first, somewhat surreal night she had spent with Huo Wu after her return. She gently nuzzled into Huo Wu’s neck and whispered, “Thank you.”

Huo Wu hadn’t made a sound, and her posture was a little stiff. Only after hearing this sentence did she finally relax. She placed a hand on Bai Feifei’s back and gently stroked it, saying lightly, “What are you thanking me for? What I did was just the truth, and it’s what I should have done.”

Bai Feifei “Mhm-ed” twice, nodding her chin and neck together.

The door had already opened. Bai Feifei wasn’t sure how much the person at the door could see, but she strangely didn’t want to get up from Huo Wu. It was so soft, so comfortable, and there was a long-lost, intoxicating sense of familiarity.

Ji Meng stood at the door and smiled. “That’s enough hugging. You can get up now.”

Bai Feifei heard Huo Wu let out a small laugh. Seeing this, Ji Meng added, “You’ll be able to hug her again later.”

Only then did Bai Feifei lift her head and reluctantly climb off Huo Wu. Her face had been pressed down, so her breathing was a little off. Now, she was as red as a cooked shrimp. If you put an egg on her, it would probably be steamed in no time.

Huo Wu sat up with her, straightened out the clothes that Bai Feifei had wrinkled, and looked at Guan Ziyao, who was holding a large bag, and Ji Meng behind her. As if they weren’t even there, she returned her gaze to Bai Feifei and said softly, “Did you hear that?”