I Was Taken by the Female Lead After Transmigrating into a Book - Chapter 48

When she returned, Fu Xiaoxiao was in the room, holding a thick stack of documents. She and Bai Xue were sitting face-to-face as if preparing for a major battle. Bai Feifei’s entrance wasn’t loud, but the room was so quiet that it still startled them.

When Fu Xiaoxiao turned her head, her almost-crying expression made Bai Feifei want to laugh. After changing her shoes, she noticed that the disposable hotel slippers had been replaced with ones that had massaging soles.

“What’s going on?” Bai Feifei asked as she entered, swinging the bag with the meat buns. She smiled and said, “Want to eat something first?”

Bai Xue sighed and put down the documents in her hand. Seeing Fu Xiaoxiao’s look of being greatly pardoned, she let out a laugh. “I organized some documents for her. I was thinking that once filming is halfway done at Guangying, she can start as an executive agent. What you see now is the result.” It was something everyone knew—Fu Xiaoxiao couldn’t be an assistant forever. It was a waste of her talent. According to Bai Xue, an agent must be someone who knows how to say the right thing to the right person. This kind of person is either naturally flexible or trained to be so. Fu Xiaoxiao was both. The fact that she was liked by everyone at Xi Rong’s law firm wasn’t just because she was Xi Rong’s only daughter.

There were also places selling meat buns nearby, but none were as fragrant as the one Bai Feifei brought back. Fu Xiaoxiao ate with gusto. As she picked out the green peppers inside, she gave some of the meat to Jumbo and Cutie, who had been drawn in by the smell. With tears still in her eyes, she bit off a piece of crispy bun crust and mumbled, “But being an executive agent is too tiring. There’s so much to do. I’m still young, and I don’t want to fight so hard.”

Bai Feifei didn’t really understand what an executive agent did. She picked up the proposal Bai Xue had prepared and looked it over. After a moment, she put the documents back down, feigning that nothing had happened. One person and two dogs quickly finished the palm-sized meat patty. Fu Xiaoxiao licked the juice from the bag, still wanting more. She grumbled, “This is so delicious. Where did you buy it?”

“It’s a little far,” Bai Feifei said, recalling her recent experience. She couldn’t help but interlace her hands, as if she could still feel the sensation of holding Huo Wu’s hand. “If you want to eat it again, just tell me. I’ll have a runner bring it back for you.”

Fu Xiaoxiao’s eyes curved in delight. She pursed her greasy lips and tried to kiss Bai Feifei’s face, but Bai Xue blocked her with a clipboard. “Alright, you’ve eaten your fill. Now, let’s continue.” Fu Xiaoxiao immediately deflated, the happiness from being full completely gone.

Bai Feifei took the opportunity to rest for about forty minutes. In the afternoon, she had another scheduled scene. The filming time was short, mostly for establishing shots. All she had to do was awkwardly wash clothes in a slightly dilapidated villa. The filming location was in a rather remote villa area in Luoshui City. The gates of each house were about ten meters apart. The houses were quite new, and the occupancy rate was not high, but the greenery was lush. The trees were soaring, giving it a feeling of deep summer.

It was the height of summer, and everyone was sweltering. Someone couldn’t help but mutter, “The weather in Luoshui City is incredible. It’s going to be sunny for the entire next month.” Someone next to him responded, “Hasn’t the weather around the National Day holiday always been pretty good?”

Bai Feifei didn’t have much of an impression of the weather. She usually didn’t pay attention to it when she went out. Now, everyone was waiting for the props team to adjust the equipment. The scene itself wasn’t heavily described in the script. It focused more on highlighting the setting and some details of her body. After the props team prepared the rain machine and the items Bai Feifei needed, she took her seat.

This was a rain scene. The director’s team waited until the sun was almost setting and there was no obvious sunlight on the ground before they put up a large canopy to block the sky and used lights to create a cloudy atmosphere. Bai Feifei simply had to sit on a very delicate but slightly damaged small stool and awkwardly wash the clothes in a basin.

Li Ke sat behind the camera, watching Bai Feifei quickly get into character. Her expression changed from lively and vibrant to numb, and her eyes remained fixed. He asked the person next to him, “Where is Huo Wu?”

“Teacher Huo took a few of the scriptwriters with her. She said she wanted to study the script again,” the person replied. “Are you looking for Teacher Huo?”

“No, it’s alright,” Li Ke paused. He picked up the walkie-talkie, looked at Bai Feifei’s state, and quietly instructed the camera to separately shoot the stool she was sitting on and her hands, which had minor, tiny wounds. Bai Feifei’s hands were very fair and had no calluses. Even the skin on her fingertips was soft, but the backs of her hands had some small wounds of varying depths and colors. Some had scabs that were healing, while others looked new.

The ultra-high-definition camera recorded all of this. Li Ke could see it clearly from behind the monitor. He was just about to ask who the makeup artist was, thinking the details were well-done, when he saw that one of the small wounds was seeping a fine, very slight trickle of blood.

“Camera Three, push in. Hand close-up,” Li Ke quickly instructed the camera. It was then that he realized it wasn’t a makeup effect; it was a real wound. The camera captured a few seconds of the shot. The scene was completed, but Li Ke didn’t stop. He instructed them to continue filming. Bai Feifei didn’t stop either.

The clothes in the basin were her personal undergarments. If it were the old Fusang, her housekeeper would have cleaned them, or at the very least, her mother would have. She didn’t need to wash her own clothes, but recently, this had become a part of her daily life. After she found a small tear that had even pulled a thread on a vest, Bai Feifei finally stopped what she was doing. She quietly held up the light pink garment and carefully touched the tear with her index finger and thumb. There was no extra dialogue, but the person in the camera was full of sadness and a certain conflicted emotion. Bai Feifei lowered her eyes. After hesitating for a moment, she still wrung out the garment and hung it on the balcony.

She stared at the damaged shirt for a while, then silently poured out the water. After cleaning up everything, the sound of rain arrived from outside. The sky gradually darkened, and the sound of rain, mixed with the moisture, hit her face. Yet, as if the rain could wash away all the world’s filth, Bai Feifei suddenly smiled, hummed a song, and went back to the room. With a lighthearted mood, she wrote down what she had learned today.

[I’m about to master a new sewing skill. Vests actually get holes faster than socks.]

[Looks like I need to choose my styles carefully. Sewing a small strawberry on it wouldn’t be bad either.]

She hummed a tune and, with a familiar and quick motion, found a red marker on the table and drew a red strawberry with black leaves.

Li Ke raised the walkie-talkie. “Okay, cut!” This type of silent, monologue-like filming style greatly tested the protagonist’s sense of conviction and immersion. Li Ke had not expected Bai Feifei’s performance to be so good. In the past, he had a movie where the subject was also a young girl washing her own clothes, but that girl’s performance was not nearly as inspired as Bai Feifei’s. Bai Feifei knew how to highlight the key points. She knew where to scrub, how to dilute the laundry detergent with water, and even how to hang different types of clothes so they wouldn’t lose their shape.

One take was all it took. Li Ke thought about Bai Feifei’s recent scenes and realized that this young girl, despite her age, had a certain talent. It was as if she was born for this profession. With the filming progressing smoothly, Li Ke was in a good mood. Seeing that Bai Feifei had no more scenes, he let her go back. After washing clothes all afternoon, Bai Feifei’s hands were a little dry, and her skin was a bit sore. Fu Xiaoxiao quickly brought her some hand cream. As Bai Feifei applied it, she looked at the sky and asked, “What time is it now?” Fu Xiaoxiao looked down at her phone. “8:20.”

It was so late. Bai Feifei was a little hesitant. Huo Wu had told her to come for dinner, but 8:20 was well past dinner time. As she was hesitating, Fu Xiaoxiao handed her her phone and said, “Baby, you have a message.” Bai Feifei quickly unlocked it. Huo Wu’s message preview appeared directly on the screen.

[Huo Wu: Done?]

Bai Feifei didn’t have time to evenly apply the hand cream. She wiped her hands haphazardly and started typing frantically: [Just finished.]

She thought she would have to wait a little longer, but Huo Wu’s reply was instantaneous.

[Huo Wu: Come.]