I Was Taken by the Female Lead After Transmigrating into a Book - Chapter 57

Ling Xinghe came over sometime later. He was on the phone, and perhaps out of guilt, his last sentence was, “Order for the entire crew. The milk tea and late-night snacks until we wrap are on me. Just charge it to… charge it to…” He saw Huo Wu looking at him from a distance, his eyes lit up, but his tone stayed flat. “Charge it to my second sister’s private account.”

Bai Feifei looked up, seeing a sudden shadow appear in front of her. She and Ling Xinghe had become friends of sorts after their earlier huge misunderstanding. Her personality was naturally lively, and seeing him dejected, she waved at him. Although the atmosphere had been oppressive, because Huo Wu was always by her side—both in and out of character—she was like a North Star: not flashy, but always there when needed. So while the rest of the crew was silently processing the emotional scene, Bai Feifei’s side was filled with normal conversation and even some playful banter. Perhaps noticing the two of them laughing and talking, Ling Xinghe came closer.

Many people in the crew knew about the relationship between the siblings. The return of a family’s biological daughter was always a big deal, and when the youngest son was also a famous actor with a lot of traffic, even people who didn’t care about the wealthy elite could see it in entertainment news. Even if they didn’t watch those, it was in financial news and other publications, and was a sensation back then. Therefore, after Ling Xinghe joined the crew, he was a bit reserved at first, but then he let loose. You could often hear him casually saying “my sister,” “my eldest sister,” and “my second sister.” However, Huo Wu was very busy, and he loved to go out and have fun with his friends on set. So they actually didn’t spend much time together.

“I’ll ask your eldest sister to reimburse you,” Huo Wu said.

Ling Xinghe looked dejected, hugging his knees on Huo Wu’s side. He couldn’t find a stool, and since he was wearing his school uniform, which was made of a dirt-resistant material, he didn’t mind. He blew off some dust and sat on the gray concrete. “Then my eldest sister is just going to scold me for wasting money.”

Bai Feifei found this amusing. She rarely heard Huo Wu talk about the Huo family or about Ling Xinghe and Ling Xingchen. But now it seemed the three siblings had a good relationship. Ling Xinghe and Huo Wu didn’t feel distant from each other, which made her genuinely happy.

Sitting straight on the small stool for a while was tiring. Bai Feifei soon wanted to lean her elbows on her knees and rest her chin in her hands, and she did so. Huo Wu shook her head, her gaze easily drawn to Bai Feifei. But since they weren’t at a formal awards ceremony, and Bai Feifei’s pose looked good from any angle, she just gently pressed on Bai Feifei’s back. Seeing that she wasn’t in pain, she said calmly, “It’s just normal social etiquette. Why would she scold you?”

Ling Xinghe remembered the reason for this necessary act of courtesy today and went quiet again. He seemed to have grasped some great truth about life and said after a pause, “Sister.” Bai Feifei blinked, as if she had just learned that between biological siblings, you called them “Sister,” not “my sister.” She listened as Ling Xinghe said, “Do you think human nature is inherently good or evil?” This was a topic that scholars had debated for thousands of years. Neither side could convince the other, and in modern society, whenever a social issue arose, similar comments would appear online, but there was never a definitive conclusion. Good videos would have people saying human nature was good, and bad ones would have people saying it was evil.

“Both,” Huo Wu said simply.

Ling Xinghe gave a soft “oh” in response and looked toward the set, mumbling to himself, “Then I must be inherently good. I can’t be a bad person, right? I’ve never bullied anyone since I was a kid. I used to help old grandmas cross the street, and I would give a fifty-cent coin I found on the ground to a police officer…” Huo Wu and Bai Feifei listened quietly. Bai Feifei seemed to have a sudden thought and looked up at Huo Wu. She saw Huo Wu finally look at Ling Xinghe seriously for a moment before saying slowly, “It’s just acting.” It seemed that today’s scene had indeed taken a toll on the people in the classroom group. The higher a person’s morality, the more likely they were to feel a sense of detachment when filming these kinds of scenes, which was why being an actor was so difficult. The victim’s reaction was easy to act because there were so many real-life examples to draw from, but the bully’s role was much harder. After all, sociopaths were a minority.

Ling Xinghe rambled on, saying many things, even questioning himself. He was so sensitive that he felt his childhood antics of pulling a girl’s pigtail or secretly drawing on a friend’s back were a form of bullying, and he wondered if he was a bad kid.

A moment later, Li Ran came and dragged Ling Xinghe away. As they walked, he said, “What are you doing, moping around here? Come on, they’re already organized and waiting for autographs. We’re only here to film for a dozen days, so we’ll be able to adjust quickly…” Li Ran’s character was a cowardly, ordinary person. The labels he had given his character were “invisible” and “on the sidelines,” so he had stayed in a blank state throughout the filming and had been doing well.

“Fourteen days of filming, and I’ll need a lifetime to heal,” Ling Xinghe’s words drifted back, his voice tinged with a whine. “Do you know? My second sister is so amazing! She’s been in so many dramas and movies for so many years, but I’ve never seen her get stuck in a character when she wraps a scene. I’ve only been filming for a short time, and I’ve never had a problem getting out of character before!” He changed the subject quickly. “Do you know? My eldest sister and I have gone to the movies so many times and left in tears! You don’t know, my eldest sister is a monster. When she goes to the theater by herself, she thinks her sunglasses are too heavy to wear, but when we leave, she snatches mine. She looks so cool wearing sunglasses in front of the cameras, while I’m a crying, bloated mess who looks like a pig! If the audience is crying like that and can’t get out of the story for a long time, how can the actor detach from the character so quickly? Oh! And she even says she’s happy when she sees us cry. She… boo-hoo…”

Huo Wu’s eyes curved into a smile, and she shook her head, laughing softly. Bai Feifei couldn’t help but laugh as well. For a moment, she had even seen a bit of Fu Xiaoxiao in Ling Xinghe. But because of the atmosphere on set today, Bai Feifei was also a little worried. In fact, she felt that her emotions today were also off. Yesterday, she was so happy that she felt like she was floating when she got back to the hotel, so delighted she could fly to the clouds. But as she filmed her scenes today, Bai Feifei noticed that her emotions were constantly fluctuating.

Huo Wu repeated what she had just said to Ling Xinghe. “It’s just acting.” But this time, Huo Wu added many small gestures. She would brush against Bai Feifei’s shoulder, pat her head, and smooth the loose hair behind her ear. Bai Feifei couldn’t help but ask, “Is getting deeply into a role a good thing or a bad thing?”

“It’s a good thing for the audience, but not necessarily for the actor,” Huo Wu said carefully. She wasn’t hesitant to talk to Bai Feifei about anything. Even though she didn’t use many words, every sentence was something Bai Feifei would listen to. “For the audience, when an actor gets into a role, the film, even if it’s a bit green, will be good. But for the actor, it’s fine if you can get out of it. If you can’t, you’ll be stuck for years, or even a lifetime.” Bai Feifei had heard rumors about a few actors in the entertainment industry who got so deep into their roles that they thought they were the character. They couldn’t accept the conflict of their identity and eventually passed away in obscurity. These rumors were so far from her. She didn’t think she could get into a role that deeply, but she was afraid of what might happen.

“Don’t be afraid.” Huo Wu turned her head, gently patted Bai Feifei’s head, and then turned to embrace her. “I’m here.” Bai Feifei suddenly felt she had infinite courage.

Bai Feifei’s scene wasn’t finished for the day. She had adjusted her state of mind, which surprised Li Ke. He noticed that Bai Feifei’s mood seemed good when she came back on set and looked thoughtfully at Huo Wu. After Bai Feifei’s makeup was ready, Li Ke called, “Action.”

This scene was a continuation of the previous one. The next part of the plot was when Bai Feifei and Wu Qingying were caught like “prey,” as they had been during the audition. But at this moment, Fusang had no idea that danger was quietly approaching. She was in a disheveled state. She said she would “find a solution,” but in reality, she couldn’t move. Every day, she went to school and came back alone. She would take the bus and walk about a kilometer. This distance wasn’t hard to walk on a normal day. Even though she had to pass through a bustling market, a lively morning fair, and a sea of people, the time wasn’t difficult to bear. It even made her feel the lively, hard-working atmosphere of the city.

But this wasn’t a normal day. She couldn’t imagine facing all kinds of people in her current state, and she couldn’t imagine the looks that would be thrown her way, whether they were kind or malicious. She also didn’t want to face any looks mixed with pity or sympathy. But then, she let out a sigh of relief, pursing her lips. Her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but she couldn’t. She thought, I’ve already seen so much this past while, so what’s one more day? At most, I’ll cover my head with my clothes on the way back. No one would pull off her clothes on the street to see what she looked like. Even if they did, she was so dirty and smelly that she couldn’t recognize herself, so no one would recognize her after she washed up.

Thinking this, Fusang felt inexplicably at ease, like the countless people who feel, “Tomorrow might be miserable, but today is already miserable enough, so what if tomorrow is even more miserable?” She even smiled and said, “I’ll go back and change my clothes, and then I’ll go to the teacher.” At this age, the only people she could turn to for something like this were teachers and parents. But Fusang no longer had parents to rely on. Her father was gone, and her mother was in the hospital. All their savings relied on the money her father had left for her. While the lump sum was considerable, the expenses were also very high. She had never been aware of any of this before.

It wasn’t until she received a call from the butler, who told her that the annual management and service fees for the villa added up to 80,000 yuan, that she realized what a huge sum that was. Her savings were considerable, but they weren’t enough to cover all the expenses. Out of necessity, Fusang had to sell the villa at a low price and say goodbye to the house where she had lived for the first half of her life, moving to another place with her mother. All of this was done with the help of the maid who had worked for their family. Fusang seemed to have suddenly matured and, without being taught, gave the maid some money for her hard work and thanked her in a very mature tone. She had unconsciously become accustomed to relying on herself, but some things couldn’t be solved by just relying on yourself.

For example, everything she was experiencing right now. The education she had received and the knowledge she had acquired all told her one thing: if you encounter something you can’t solve, tell a teacher, the police, or any other staff member who can help you. They will do their best to assist you. Fusang had received a lot of help in this past while, and she naturally had a lot of confidence and admiration for these people.

Wuling curved her lips toward her and nodded very quickly. But at this moment, Fusang didn’t realize that Wuling’s smile didn’t reach her eyes, and her nod was apathetic, as if she didn’t care.