I Was Taken by the Female Lead After Transmigrating into a Book - Chapter 56

Huo Wu wasn’t sure what the specific changes would be, as Li Ke’s methods were always different. She honestly told Bai Feifei, “I don’t know yet.” But soon, Bai Feifei witnessed the changes firsthand, as the filming for Wu Qingying’s character, Qi Yang, was now filled with frequent re-takes. Before, the scenes, especially the ones where the male actors touched Qi Yang, were all choreographed. Not just Wu Qingying, but everyone had acted a bit awkwardly, which led to the bizarre but deeply uncomfortable fluidity Bai Feifei had noticed, where every action was done at the “right” time.

This time, it was completely different. Bai Feifei watched from off-set. The scene being filmed was what happened after she left the classroom. The new “toy” had left, but the bad students, still hyped up from their “game,” huddled together and seemed to come up with a new form of entertainment. One of them rummaged through a desk and pulled out a deck of poker cards. Bai Feifei noticed that the deck had a close-up shot. The patterns weren’t like regular cards; they looked like a specially customized set. Even from a distance, she noticed that many of the actors had a physical reaction to the cards.

“How should we play this time? Should we draw a big or small card?”

“That’s so boring. Let’s play ‘Find the Pairs.’ Whoever is left is the winner. It’s more exciting because you don’t know who gets the prize until the very end. Even I’m excited.”

Sure enough, as he spoke, many people looked terrified. The conversation seemed to be just about playing cards, but Bai Feifei guessed, based on the audition clips she’d seen, that these students were meant to represent the “toys” or “prey,” and the cards represented a person. They took one card and put it aside. Whenever one of them gave a chilling smile, someone would shiver and pray it wouldn’t be them. As more cards were drawn and placed on the table, their conversation grew more brazen. “Hey, what card should we put the rich girl on? There are still a few cards left.”

At this point, Li Mingming, who had been sitting in silence with his dark lips, suddenly spoke up. “Q.”

The players all turned their heads. One of them asked, “Why Q?”

“Doesn’t a King protect a Queen?” Li Mingming smiled, as if asking a very innocent question. “It’s so good to have someone protect you. You get to see a hero.” The camera zoomed in on a King card in one of the actor’s hands. The King card was touched but not pulled. They chose another card. However, another person said, “The Queen has been changed so many times, but the King has never actually made a move.”

“That’s because those people weren’t worthy,” Li Mingming’s gaze fell on the trembling back of Qi Yang. His eyes were completely devoid of warmth, like he was looking at an inanimate object. “Only worthy people can grasp hope from the very beginning.”

Bai Feifei, standing off-camera, got goosebumps from Lu Xinghe’s smile and had to rub her arms. Huo Wu quietly appeared beside her, holding a script with a lot of notes on it. Bai Feifei looked at her own script, which also had notes and character backstories, and froze for a second. She reached for a pen, then realized one color wasn’t enough to highlight important points. She took out a red pen, then decided two colors weren’t enough either. Finally, she was holding a handful of pens for different purposes. A phrase suddenly popped into her head: “Bad students have lots of stationery.”

Huo Wu saw Bai Feifei constantly rubbing her arms, the pens in her hand rattling. The fine hairs on her forearm were standing on end. She asked, surprised, “Are you cold?”

Bai Feifei shook her head. “Lu is such a good actor. He smiles like a pervert. It scares me.” It wasn’t an over-the-top, superficial perverted smile. Lu Xinghe’s face didn’t have any exaggerated expressions. He even smiled in a very refined and gentle way. But somehow, in that instant, Bai Feifei saw countless people in him—people who had worked their way up in society and the workplace, gained a certain status, and had a twisted streak in their bones that they could now expertly hide. These people could be plotting to grind someone to dust in their minds while wearing a perfectly appropriate smile, offering advice, and acting in a way that made everyone feel comfortable.

Huo Wu watched for a while and finally nodded. “I’ve watched him since he was little. He’s self-taught.” The meaning behind those words was complicated. Bai Feifei paused, wanting to hold Huo Wu’s hand but not daring to. “When are we going to film the scenes where we get close?” Bai Feifei mumbled softly. “How long does it take for people to become close enough to hold hands and link arms? Will it be in a few days?”

Huo Wu’s lips couldn’t help but turn up. She made a gesture that surprised Bai Feifei. She raised a hand, palm facing up. Bai Feifei instinctively put her hand in Huo Wu’s. Huo Wu then motioned to the side, and a quick-witted behind-the-scenes camera operator came over and started filming them. Bai Feifei looked confusedly back and forth between the camera and Huo Wu.

Huo Wu said nonchalantly, “Little Bai is young, but her hands are very well-cared for.” As if to confirm her words, the camera zoomed in on the back of Bai Feifei’s hand. The camera operator couldn’t help but nod behind the lens and whispered, “We don’t even need to edit this later. Feifei’s hands are glowing. Her knuckles are beautiful, and there are no scars or calluses.”

Huo Wu fully agreed. She nodded and said, “They’re just as smooth as they look.” After saying that, she actually squeezed them a couple of times before letting go of Bai Feifei’s hand. Bai Feifei’s expression changed back and forth so quickly she couldn’t keep up with Huo Wu’s words. In the end, all she could do was watch Huo Wu play with her hand. After some time, the camera left. Bai Feifei’s hand was numb but also very comfortable. Seeing that Huo Wu was still amused, she finally said, “Is this okay?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?” Huo Wu thought for a moment and then said, “It’s not like we’re being caught kissing. Even if I were to sit on your lap right now, we could just say we were goofing around.” Bai Feifei thought for a moment, squeezed her legs together, and patted her thigh with her free hand, signaling that she was ready. Huo Wu raised an eyebrow, laughed, and put Bai Feifei’s hand back on her lap. “You learn quickly.” Bai Feifei smiled awkwardly. “I know you wouldn’t actually sit on me.” Otherwise, she wouldn’t have dared to suggest it in front of so many people.

Qi Yang was eventually chosen as the new “toy” for the rich kids to have fun with. The number “7” representing her was turned over and left on a corner of the table, isolated. One of the guys sat on Qi Yang’s desk, grabbed her chin, and leaned in close, almost nose to nose, saying with malice, “Heh, you smell good today. Did you take a shower?” “Why don’t you take her to try it out tonight?” Another person winked and said, “We have an hour of self-study tonight. The old building?” The group had just announced a girl’s fate for the night.

Even in class, these guys sitting in the back had no reservations. They playfully reached into Qi Yang’s clothes and made a surprised sound. “Woah, they got bigger.” Then, he pulled his hand out and hooked her collar, looking inside. He bumped shoulders with his accomplice and said, “It’s lace, and it’s yellow. Let’s all go tonight.” “Let’s all go. It’s no fun with just the two of us. Let’s call someone else.”

Bai Feifei, watching from off-camera, had her eyebrows furrowed into a tight knot. In her mind, she saw the scene where Qi Yang had cried and begged for her help. Bai Feifei didn’t understand at first why she, who couldn’t even protect herself, would go out of her way to save Qi Yang. Now she understood. It was a legacy of kindness. Wuling was carried out of her village by her teachers. So she held onto that kindness and tentatively offered a hand to Fusang. From then on, the two girls relied on each other, struggling to bloom on a cliff. So Fusang would similarly offer a hand to Qi Yang, who was in a desperate situation. In the face of such a look, no one could remain indifferent.

Fusang helping Qi Yang was also a way of saving herself. She hoped that when she was in a desperate situation, someone would also be there to help her at the next corner.

Qi Yang’s scenes were finally finished. Bai Feifei finally realized what kind of meeting Li Ke had called them to. After they finished filming, the entire classroom group was silent. The atmosphere was very heavy. Some actors, who were originally from the idol industry, had started to smoke. The extras who played classmates also looked at each other, not daring to speak first. After a moment, one of the actors who had played a main bully laughed bitterly and said, “I feel like I want to go to the police station and turn myself in. Maybe I’ll get a lighter sentence. This is so inhumane. How can a person do something like this? How can a high school student…” He spoke in circles, not knowing what he was saying. After a few rambling sentences, he wiped his face and fell silent. Many of the actors who played the bullies looked distressed. They couldn’t get out of character for a long time. They felt torn apart by their moral conscience and their terrible actions.

Li Ke finally broke the silence. From behind a cloud of smoke, he said, “This proves the success of our quality education. Kids, remember your guilt and helplessness right now. When the show comes out, don’t forget your responsibility as public figures.” People started to agree in low voices. Their emotions were still low, but at least the initial silence was gradually broken.