I Was Taken by the Female Lead After Transmigrating into a Book - Chapter 40

“Significant other?” Li Ran was clearly taken aback. He scrutinized Bai Feifei for a long time and then, like a spy, he leaned in and lowered his voice. “You’re in a relationship?”

They were too close, and it was hot even with the air conditioning on. Boys’ body temperatures are much higher than girls’, and Bai Feifei felt a wave of heat wash over her the moment he leaned in. It was the heat of a human body. The closeness made her a little uncomfortable.

She instinctively leaned back, her shoulder bumping into Wu Qingying behind her. Before she could turn around, she moved her chair a few times, creating as much distance as possible. Even though it was less than two fist-widths, it made her feel a little more comfortable.

Once she was seated, Bai Feifei instinctively frowned and answered the previous question with a cold face, “No. I’m pursuing someone.”

Li Ran laughed when she said that. Normally, with a face and a smile like his, the impact would be huge, but Bai Feifei didn’t know why. She somehow saw a hint of a fake facade on that face. His smile seemed sincere, but it always contained something else—it was very similar to what she had heard before, when some people would say, “When you smile, you have to show eight teeth, and the corners of your lips should be raised to the bottom of your nose. No more, no less.”

It was an idol-style smile, mass-produced on a factory assembly line.

“If you’re still pursuing them, then they’re not your significant other. Aren’t you still single?” Li Ran said, moving his upper body closer to her again.

This time, Bai Feifei pursed her lips tightly and used the tip of her pen to press directly on the back of his hand, creating a small white dent in his skin. The surrounding skin was faintly pale.

“Back up a little. You’re too close. It’s uncomfortable,” Bai Feifei said with a frown.

Li Ran raised an eyebrow, his smile fading a little, and he backed up.

Li Ke, as if possessed by a disciplinarian, suddenly shouted from the front, “Bai Feifei and Li Ran, what are you two doing?! It’s a script reading. Be serious! Why are your heads so close together? What’s so important to talk about? If you really want to talk, stand up here and say it!”

Bai Feifei’s face flushed red and then turned white at Li Ke’s words, which sounded exactly like a disciplinarian scolding a troublemaker. Especially when the eyes of many people around them were filled with a very ambiguous expression and drifting her way, Bai Feifei’s face became even more animated.

Li Ran, on the other hand, raised his eyebrows and smiled with a hint of playfulness.

She lowered her head, looked at Li Ke, neither defending herself nor denying anything, and said very simply, “I’m sorry, Director.”

This time, it was Li Ke who lost his temper and had nothing more to say to her. He just looked at her for a moment and said, “Next time, be mindful of the situation. Continue.”

Li Ran raised his hand, suddenly smiled, and chimed in with a cheeky remark, “I’m sorry, Director. I just can’t help myself when I see a pretty girl. I just wanted to build some rapport between the main actors. I also have scenes with Feifei. I have to pursue her in the show. I need to get to know her a little, right?”

I also have to pursue her in the show?

Also?

Bai Feifei’s brow twitched. She knew something was off with that statement. She quickly looked up at Huo Wu, only to find Huo Wu looking down at the script in front of her, seemingly not giving any attention to their side. Huo Wu’s face was blocked by her hair, so Bai Feifei couldn’t even observe her expression.

Bai Feifei blinked and then saw Huo Wu make a move. She picked up her phone, which was next to her script. She unlocked it and opened something, then started typing. Bai Feifei couldn’t see clearly, but she was sure that Huo Wu’s eyes and attention weren’t on her.

She didn’t seem to care about her at all, and she couldn’t tell if she was angry. Bai Feifei pursed her lips, feeling a little disappointed and angry. After Li Ran sat down, she couldn’t help but glare at him, but Li Ran caught her gaze and gave her a smile with an ambiguous meaning, raising half of his eyebrow.

Bai Feifei: “…”

This guy was shameless. She had to stay away from him. Otherwise, Huo Wu’s impression of her would finally be back on track, but Li Ran could ruin it all by himself.

After the first part of the script reading ended, everyone went to eat or rest. Huo Wu was the last one to leave these past two days. Her movements were almost in sync with Li Ke’s. The two of them were both directors and screenwriters for this show, and they had so much to talk about.

Bai Feifei waited until most people had left, and only the core production team remained. She slowly shuffled around the table toward Huo Wu. Before she could get close to Huo Wu, Huo Wu had already picked up her phone from the table. She looked at it, then stood up and said, “I have an appointment. We can talk later when I get back.”

Li Ke, busy as he was, looked up and gave her an okay. Huo Wu got up, and before she left her seat, she tapped on it and said to Bai Feifei, “Are you going back to the hotel for lunch?”

Bai Feifei subconsciously wanted to nod, but then she thought, maybe Huo Wu wanted to have lunch with her. However, just as she was about to shake her head, she thought again, maybe Huo Wu wanted to go back to the hotel with her—maybe her car was broken, or something else?

So Huo Wu saw Bai Feifei’s head spin like a roly-poly toy. In the end, she stared at her with a pair of big, round eyes. A thousand words were in her eyes, but she didn’t say a single one. Her gaze was filled with longing. It was like a child who was craving something but was too shy to say it directly, so she just waited obediently and expectantly on the side.

She was a little cute.

Huo Wu suppressed the smile at the corners of her mouth and lifted her chin. “Then let’s go back to the hotel for a meal together. There’s something I want to talk to you about at noon.”

Bai Feifei immediately nodded, her eyes lighting up. “Okay!”

This time, Huo Wu finally let out a laugh and said to her, “Wait here for me. I’ll be back in five minutes.” After saying that, Huo Wu looked out the window. She seemed to have seen something. She paused and said to Bai Feifei, “I’ll hitch a ride with you. We can go back to the hotel together.”

Bai Feifei subconsciously asked her, “Is your car broken?”

Huo Wu said, “We’ll talk about it when I get back.”

Bai Feifei could only nod.

After Huo Wu left, the main production team also left one after another. Li Ke also left after about four minutes, but he wasn’t going back to rest. He was going to check on the progress of the set and the location with the props and production team. The filming area was already sealed off, but there were some people who were born to be troublemakers. Plus, the trees in the summer were tall and dense, so security was difficult. It was hard to say if anyone would actually climb a tree, so everything had to be coordinated again.

For a moment, only Bai Feifei was left in the room. She was a little bored and opened her chat with Fu Xiaoxiao.

【Bai Feifei: Are you in the car yet?】

【Fu Xiaoxiao: Yes, baby. Do you want a Coke?】

Li Ke told her she could gain a little weight, but the final camera results still needed a lot of experimentation, including costumes, makeup, and styling. The most difficult thing about a modern drama was this. It was hard for the actors’ looks to be a breakthrough because the audience had a deeper impression of the actors in modern clothes and would more easily see the actors themselves in the roles.

Bai Feifei replied: 【No, I’m saving my appetite to go back to the hotel to eat with A-Wu. You can go out and have fun after you drop me off at the hotel. I’ll take a half-hour nap at noon and then get up to take notes.】

【Fu Xiaoxiao: Okay!】

After chatting for a bit, Bai Feifei suddenly thought that she could also talk to Fu Xiaoxiao about Fusang. She thought Fusang was similar to her because she had completely immersed herself in her own feelings. But Fu Xiaoxiao was an outsider, so her opinion would be very valuable.

Not long after, Huo Wu came back from outside. Bai Feifei was sitting directly opposite the door, and the heat that rushed in made her feel a little suffocated. She instinctively exclaimed, “Wow, it’s so hot outside.”

Huo Wu’s back was already wet with sweat when she came in, and beads of sweat were still running down her forehead and neck. Bai Feifei took out the bag next to her, pulled out a tissue and a wet wipe, and handed them to her. Huo Wu took them, wiped her face, and smiled at her. “You’re quite prepared.”

For the two days Bai Feifei had been there, she had carried a bag with her. The bag was about the size of an A5 paper, but it had everything she needed: a script, a three-color pen, scratch paper, tissues, wet wipes… It even had disposable soap sheets. Incredibly, it also had an anti-heat stroke solution.

Bai Feifei smiled with her eyes. “Xiaoxiao specifically went to ask Guan Ziyao, and Guan Ziyao told her to prepare all these things.”

“Little Guan?” Huo Wu raised an eyebrow. She pulled the chair in front of Bai Feifei, but instead of sitting, she pushed it back.

Bai Feifei noticed her movements and instinctively stood up, still answering Huo Wu’s question. “Yes. Xiaoxiao said that since you’re so amazing, your assistant must be amazing too. Little Guan is so young and can still be your personal assistant, so she must be very capable. So she wanted to learn a little…”

Huo Wu had already walked to the door. Her hand was on the doorknob. She looked at her and said, “Mhm, she is indeed outstandingly capable—turn off the lights.”

Bai Feifei subconsciously turned her head, but her forehead hit Huo Wu’s outstretched arm at the same time. Unlike Li Ran’s unpleasant aura, Huo Wu’s aura was very gentle and not aggressive. Even though her body temperature was also slightly hot, it made her want to get closer.

Huo Wu put her arm down, took a step back, and said in a calm voice, “My apologies. You can turn off the lights—the remote controls for the air conditioner and curtains are in the hanging basket next to you.”

Bai Feifei did as she was told and turned off the air conditioning and lights in the room. The room was plunged into darkness, with only a tiny bit of light seeping through the gaps in the curtains, giving the dark room a hint of life. Bai Feifei blinked. Seeing the script reading room like this, she suddenly turned her face to look at Huo Wu, and a big smile appeared on her face.

Huo Wu closed the door, leaving the entire room behind her. She took a step to follow her and said, “What are you suddenly smiling about?”

“Nothing,” Bai Feifei said, her head lowered. Her steps were following Huo Wu’s, and her voice was very cheerful. “I just think the room looks so good. The sun is shining through the cracks in the window, and the dark room immediately lights up.”

Huo Wu suddenly stopped. Her gaze fell on the golden sunlight coming through the corner of the window. Bai Feifei was only half a step away from her, and she accidentally bumped into her. Bai Feifei’s hands were on Huo Wu’s waist and back, and she called out to her in a daze, “A-Wu?”

Huo Wu stood still. In Bai Feifei’s near-embrace, she turned around, getting very close to her.

“I’ve thought of it,” Huo Wu said, turning her head with a very calm expression. “The ending.”