I Was Taken by the Female Lead After Transmigrating into a Book - Chapter 67

The next filming was a lot easier. The story arc was about Fusang’s journey to get rid of the people who were bothering her. For her, this was the most draining thing at the moment, and she was helpless. But besides that, all the little things in life also made her exhausted. Since she didn’t have much money saved, she had to save every possible penny. Li Ke also filmed the part where she was managing her finances, down to every cent.

She started learning how to cook and had to travel to the hospital, which was more than forty minutes away, to bring food to her mother. This made her schedule extremely tight. So for a long time after this, Fusang’s makeup and hair required her to look tired and gaunt. Li Ke had already informed Bai Feifei that she needed to lose fifteen pounds in a short amount of time. Bai Feifei was 167cm tall and weighed a little over 90 pounds. She had a small frame and a small face, which gave her a natural advantage on camera. But even so, it was very difficult to get down to around 80 pounds. After eating like a rabbit for a few days, she suddenly broke down and cried a little.

“I feel like I haven’t eaten at all.” Bai Feifei couldn’t stop her tears. She didn’t want to cry, but the tears just streamed down. “Why can’t I even have oil and vinegar dressing? Just a little vinegar would be fine… Ah Wu, huhu, I’m so hungry… no, I’m not hungry, I’m full, but I’m not full…” The “Ah Wu” and her whimpers were hard to distinguish, but Huo Wu still heard her.

But all the prior experience showed that there was no other way to lose weight. She had to maintain the nutrients her body needed and exercise. Half an hour after dinner, Bai Feifei’s stomach was empty. But her snack time was at 9 p.m., which was just a little shrimp and cucumber slices. After 10 p.m., she was not allowed to drink water until 7 a.m. the next morning, or else her on-camera state would be different from the day before.

After just three days of this, Bai Feifei had already lost more than four pounds, a big part of which was from being hungry and dehydrated. Huo Wu felt bad, but the character needed it. She didn’t have a better solution. She couldn’t think of a better way to comfort her. Huo Wu suddenly remembered that she also needed to lose weight soon, and more than Bai Feifei. She said, “I also need to lose weight in a while, about the same as you.”

But when Bai Feifei heard that, she cried even harder. “Why do you have to do this, too? It’s so painful. Why do people need to lose ten pounds in two weeks for no reason… Don’t lose weight. Your stomach is already not good. What if it gets hurt again…” Huo Wu wanted to laugh for a moment. Her stomach not being good was just an objective fact. She did have a little gastritis, but it was Bai Feifei who had been hospitalized for minor bleeding due to a stomach problem. But the person who actually had the problem seemed to have completely forgotten about it.

She didn’t remind her. She even thought that Bai Feifei knew how painful it was to lose weight but didn’t want her to go through it. The feeling of her being so concerned for her was addictive. Seeing that it was almost time, Huo Wu made an exception. “You can have an extra 100g of beef tonight.”

Bai Feifei’s crying stopped immediately. She accidentally inhaled a little air and hiccupped. “R-really?” Her face changed faster than flipping a book. Her tears stopped just like that.

Huo Wu looked at Bai Feifei’s tear-soaked eyelashes. She put a wet wipe on her eyelid, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. “Really. I can even put a little chili on it for you.” Bai Feifei swallowed a couple of times and came back to life. After eating a bowl of vegetables and a few pitiful pieces of tasteless meat, her body was finally soothed after a long day of work. She finally had a little energy. On her way back to her room, she couldn’t help but say, “It’s better when I’m sleeping at night. I’m so hungry during the day that I have no energy… and I have to say my lines. It feels like my lines are weak and powerless.”

The set was chaotic, so it was impossible to record the audio on set. But Bai Feifei seemed to have a very high standard for herself, especially when she found out that the few invited actors she had scenes with were extremely professional. When faced with an opponent actor who spoke with perfect pronunciation, was full of emotion, and was also a big-name veteran, Bai Feifei gave it her all. Her adrenaline rushed so much that she was in a state of high excitement during filming. After that feeling passed, she would shake all over when she walked, and her legs would feel like jelly.

This state of mind lasted for five days. Bai Feifei’s body gradually got used to this intensity and diet. By the eighth day, her weight started to decrease steadily. According to the time that Li Ke had asked for, Bai Feifei successfully lost weight. Her chin, which had a little bit of fat before, became sharper, and the lines on the side of her face were more obvious. Her face became a little smaller. The clothes she wore during this time were mostly wide-necked, which highlighted Fusang’s figure and her tired state, but she was still looking for a solution.

At 7 a.m., the crew was in their places, and filming started smoothly. Fusang was on her way to find her homeroom teacher to ask for a day off. Her mother was having surgery today and needed a family member to be there. The main doctor was also very understanding and had written a note for her so she could easily get the day off. The scene with the homeroom teacher was only a few lines, a very short conversation. The important part was the conversation with the Chinese teacher, which didn’t have many words, but it was where Fusang learned how to avoid being harassed by those people.

During class, the entire building was quiet. Fusang went up to the floor where the homeroom teacher’s office was by herself. The entire hallway was empty. At the end of the hallway was the teachers’ office, and at the other end was the bathroom. Unpleasant things often happened there at the end of every break. But now, it was quiet. There was no crying coming from the bathroom. Fusang lowered her eyes and walked past the windows. Occasionally, a student who was spacing out would look at her, but before their eyes could show any emotion, she was already gone from the window.

The office door was closed. She raised her hand a few times and then put it down. Her thin face was unusually troubled. But in a moment, she pursed her lips and tightened her grip on the note that the doctor had written. She was just here to ask for a day off. Her homeroom teacher just needed to sign it. There was nothing difficult about it, even though the homeroom teacher always seemed to have an inexplicable hostility toward her. Thinking that, she knocked on the door. After a voice from inside said, “Come in,” she pushed the door open. The first thing she saw was her homeroom teacher’s look of contempt.

Even though she was fully prepared, Fusang was still pierced by the hidden daggers in that look. She didn’t understand why she would see such an obvious malice from an older woman. She also didn’t understand why this person would be a teacher, and her most important homeroom teacher at that. She stood there helplessly for a few seconds, as if she had forgotten why she had come. Just as her mind went blank, a young female teacher sitting at a desk next to them suddenly spoke, saving her from her embarrassment. “Director Chen, isn’t that a student from your class? She looks like she’s not feeling well. Is she sick?”

Chen Yanfang impatiently “tsk’d” and her malicious gaze turned from Fusang to the female teacher who had just spoken. There were no lines for Bai Feifei in this part, but she stood where she was supposed to and helped the two teachers with their lines. No one had told her to do this. In fact, on set, whether it was Li Ke, Huo Wu, or any other director, no one would tell anyone what they “should” be doing. It seemed like this was a test for the actors themselves. But it was clear that doing this had greatly benefited Bai Feifei. If she had been resting or even sleeping, her understanding of these two teachers would not have been as deep as it was now, and her emotions would not have been as profound. A few simple words and a line of dialogue could not compare to the effect of a few hours of real-life experience.

“Acting is about truly listening, truly seeing, and truly feeling,” Huo Wu said to Bai Feifei. “It’s not just in real life. It also applies to the crew, the set, and even during rehearsals.” The final performance of every actor is also different. For example, if the actress playing Chen Yanfang, the homeroom teacher, hadn’t delved deep into her character, she could have easily played her as an obvious villain. When she talks about her only son, a simple line like, “He’s not cut out for it,” could be a way of protecting her son, or it could be a simple, brainless expression of dislike. Chen Yanfang was the former. Her malice was not pure malice. Before she acted maliciously, she had her own motives and was a living, breathing person.

Bai Feifei listened to Huo Wu’s explanation, half understanding it. But Huo Wu didn’t try to give her extra lessons or tell her about the so-called “veteran” experiences. She only told Bai Feifei what she needed to know and wanted to know at that moment. The two veteran actresses continued to film.

Chen Yanfang’s gaze was different from when she looked at Fusang. When she looked at Fusang, it was a mix of contempt and disgust, with an inexplicable jealousy and wariness. It was as if she was looking at a hopeless piece of trash. It was as if every second she looked at her, this person’s existence was a stain on her teaching career, a dark stain on her resume. But when she looked at the young, beautiful, fashionable, and sharp English teacher Qin Ling, who was obviously highly educated and was being groomed for a leadership position, her eyes were filled with jealousy and envy. Her maliciousness towards Qin Ling was limited to that one glance.

After Qin Ling left, the smile on her face disappeared. She said to Fusang coldly, “Why aren’t you in class? What are you doing here?” Bai Feifei stood in her place. Because she had been standing there and acting with them, her emotions didn’t break. When the two veterans were delivering their lines and staring at each other, the micro-expressions and small movements she made as she looked back and forth were secretly and truthfully recorded by Li Ke.

Fusang pursed her lips and said with her head down, “I’m here to ask for a day off.” She walked forward a few steps, holding all the necessary documents she had prepared beforehand. Chen Yanfang looked through them again and again but couldn’t find anything wrong. She could only vent with her mouth. “What kind of surgery needs a whole day off? You look so bad. Are you going to get an abortion?” As she spoke, she looked up and down at Fusang’s developed body. Under her loose school uniform, she looked very thin and beautiful, like a fresh bamboo. She had been taught well since she was a child, so she wouldn’t slouch. But in Zhou Yan’s eyes, this good posture was an unforgivable sin.

“You’re all dressed up every day. I see that your life is only meant for a community college or a vocational school. Did you see your grades? Huh? What were your grades before and what are they now? You put all your effort into dressing up. Where do you have the time to study? Are you thinking of being a mistress to a man? One bad apple spoils the whole bunch. Li Ran’s grades also dropped because of you. How much has the average grade of the entire Class 27 been pulled down because of you?” Chen Yanfang got more excited as she spoke, especially when she saw the embarrassment and tears on the girl’s face. She cursed even more vigorously. By the time she was done venting, the clock on the wall had quietly passed more than ten minutes.

The bell for the end of morning reading interrupted Zhou Yan’s scolding. She reluctantly stopped and threw a crumpled ball of paper on her desk at Fusang. “Get out!” Chen Yanfang cursed. “Don’t you ever say you’re my student!” Fusang was trembling all over. She had been holding it in, but as she walked, the shaking became more and more obvious. As the sound of the office door locking echoed behind her, her teeth chattered so much that she could hear it. She was so afraid of someone seeing her in such a mess that she used all her strength to slowly walk into the dark shadow of the stairs, where no one was at the moment. In that small space, with the mix of light and dark, she formed a fragile silhouette.

“Cut!”

Bai Feifei was still squatting in the corner, her hand on her forehead, tears streaming down her face. She couldn’t come back to her senses for a long time. Li Ke seemed to have anticipated her state and told the staff not to disturb her for a while so she could process it on her own. Bai Feifei didn’t take long to process it.

The actress who played Zhou Yan, Zhou Yan herself, didn’t look like Chen Yanfang from the drama. She had a serious face, but she was very kind when she smiled. She stood a few steps away from Bai Feifei. When she saw that she was doing a little better, she took two steps closer and sighed. “I’m so sorry.”

“What are you sorry for?” Bai Feifei exhaled. “Those weren’t your own words.” Zhou Yan nodded and shook her head. There was a hint of worry on her face. “A good actor must experience and become one with the character. Even though I’m only playing a supporting role, I’m afraid that if I get too into the role in my private life, I’ll unknowingly become like that.” Bai Feifei’s hand, which was wiping away tears from her chin, paused. She shrank back, looking scared. “No, don’t do that,” Bai Feifei said pitifully, wanting to grab Zhou Yan’s hand. But halfway through, she changed her mind and grabbed her sleeve instead. She was still a little scared.

Huo Wu was watching from not far away. She didn’t go over to disturb them. Bai Feifei pleaded, “Please don’t get too into the role. Just a little bit is enough. I’m scared if you go too deep.”

“If she gets too into the role, every young actor in this crew would be scared, wouldn’t they?” an acting coach on the side said. “They’re all students. Her colleagues aren’t as powerful as she is, and those who are more powerful have her secrets… This is a killer move.” Bai Feifei nodded furiously. That was exactly right. But those people didn’t have to face the homeroom teacher’s fear head-on. She and a few other actresses who played female students were different. They were truly scared.

Zhou Yan was amused by Bai Feifei’s pitiful look. She looked at her wanting to talk to her but being afraid that she was “Chen Yanfang,” and she couldn’t help but want to tease her. A moment later, she probably couldn’t bear it anymore. She said, “Don’t worry. Sister Yun is a veteran. She won’t really become like that.”

Bai Feifei pitifully lowered her head. “You can’t lie to a child. This is my first time filming…”

“So pathetic.” Zhou Yan couldn’t help but laugh anymore. The atmosphere on set was broken. “I’m not lying to you. I really won’t.”