I Was Taken by the Female Lead After Transmigrating into a Book - Chapter 70

Everything was ready, the clapperboard was clapped, and filming began. Bai Feifei stood not too far behind the crew, watching.

Zhou Yan got into character in just one second. As a veteran actress, her lines and expressions were impeccable. She changed her state just by walking through a door. One second, she was laughing and joking. The next, she had become a teacher who had to suppress her anger and force a smile while carrying a gift to ask for a leader’s help. When the bell rang for the end of class, students rushed out of the classrooms, causing a commotion. Bai Feifei saw Zhou Yan carefully shielding her leather bag, which made her curious about what was inside.

Huo Wu finished her scenes at some point and had changed her costume. When she left, she had been wearing a bartender’s vest, which was very tight at the waist. There were two cleverly designed holes on the back, and the small fairy ribbons on the back of the white shirt underneath were visible. It made her waist look even prettier, and the curves it outlined made Bai Feifei unable to stop staring. She even wanted to ask the costume designer if she could buy that costume after filming was over.

When Bai Feifei noticed that Huo Wu was there, she was like a little kid who had a parent. She could ask Huo Wu all the questions she couldn’t ask Li Ke, and she didn’t have to worry about crossing a line. “What’s in Chen Yanfang’s bag?” Bai Feifei asked. “She doesn’t seem very nervous. When a student ran into her, her first reaction was to avoid them, not to protect her bag.”

Huo Wu said softly, “You’ll find out if you keep watching.”

Bai Feifei nodded repeatedly. “Mhm, mhm, mhm.” The scenes of the supporting cast were new to her. She had never seen this side of Chen Yanfang before. This was the charm of an actor. She could become a different person in an instant.

She walked into the principal’s office. When he saw her, the principal, Zhao Qiyue, who was scrolling through short videos behind his desk, looked up. His phone screen was facing straight up, and a line of videos of sexy, borderline-suggestive female streamers scrolled by. Bai Feifei even heard a very fake, throaty moan. Bai Feifei was surprised but also impressed. She whispered to Huo Wu, “Wow, how did he manage to find such precise videos?”

This time, Huo Wu answered her directly. “The staff who prepared the props kept liking and sending gifts to these female streamers. It was hard-coded. It’s just a big data algorithm.” Bai Feifei had a “I see” expression. After a while, she whispered again, “Did they use the crew’s official account?” Huo Wu immediately knew what she was thinking. She smiled and said, “You’re thinking the same thing as the genius marketing person in our publicity department. At the very beginning, it did create a buzz. Even now, the comment ‘deal with the relevant staff members’ is still at the top.”

On the screen, a female streamer wearing a soaking wet white shirt, with long black hair, black-rimmed glasses, and a cold expression, was being alluring to the camera. This image went straight into Chen Yanfang’s eyes and pierced her heart. She hated these women. “What are you doing here again?” Zhao Qiyue, who was behind his desk, saw that it was Chen Yanfang. He didn’t care and watched two more videos. After a moment, he shook his legs in annoyance and used his short, chubby fingers to press the pause button with a look of disgust. Bai Feifei thought, from outside the camera, that this chubby actor had truly brought a useless person to life.

Zhao Qiyue didn’t get up and said in a rascal-like tone, “Teacher Chen, I know you’re very emotional right now. How about this? You should calm down and go back and rest for a while. You don’t have to be a third-year teacher. Of course, the school won’t treat you unfairly. Your position will also be saved for you…”

After listening to Zhao Qiyue ramble, Chen Yanfang’s rigid face suddenly broke into a smile. Zhao Qiyue looked up and saw her expression. He couldn’t figure out why she had suddenly changed her mind. His face showed obvious surprise, and his small movements were very well-done.

Chen Yanfang took two steps forward, her face full of humility and flattery. “Brother Zhang, I’m here to apologize to you. I was wrong about what happened before. I was too emotional. It’s just that when Cheng Qian had that problem, I panicked. You know, he’s my only son, and he’s been weak and sick since he was a child… Oh, after I calmed down, I realized it was my fault. That’s why I rushed over to apologize to you. Otherwise, I would have been too ashamed to come.”

She didn’t give Zhao Qiyue a chance to refuse. She carefully took out a exquisite gift box from her close-fitting bag. “This is Yunnan Golden Melon Tribute Tea, a full nine taels. I’ve made a lot of money working with you for so many years. I know you like this, so I specially got this tea…”

Zhao Qiyue’s words of refusal were swallowed back after he heard “Golden Melon Tribute Tea.” Good tea was worth a fortune. As Chen Yanfang opened the delicate box, the red tea cake inside came into view. A full nine taels were worth around a million yuan. Even if he made a lot of money and was a risk-taker, he wouldn’t be willing to spend a million yuan to drink a cup of tea. Zhao Qiyue’s face immediately broke into a happy smile. His eyes were on the tea cake, but he was still secretly looking at Chen Yanfang. He didn’t let his guard down. After observing for a while and listening to what Chen Yanfang was saying, he finally relaxed.

“Without you, what can I, a little homeroom teacher, do? The money I make from working my butt off teaching after-school classes is only ten thousand a month, and I have to be careful not to get reported by parents. Let alone receiving gifts…” The clothes Chen Yanfang was wearing were obviously carefully chosen. They were still simple, but her demeanor was full of restraint and humility. “My son has been spoiled by me since he was a child, and he spends money lavishly. After he gets out… I have to leave something for him. Besides, if you help him in the future, won’t it be a lot smoother for him?”

After she said that, Chen Yanfang took out a single serving of the delicately packaged tea and skillfully brewed it. As she was brewing it, she said, “Besides, the wind is blowing hard right now, and the police might come to the school at any time… You won’t be able to find anyone who can keep their mouth shut like me for a while, right, Brother Qiyue?”

Zhao Qiyue narrowed his eyes. Every wrinkle on his face was full of the smugness of being flattered. After a while, he laughed half-heartedly. He stretched out his thick, greasy neck and accepted the tea that Chen Yanfang offered to his lips. He took a sip, holding Chen Yanfang’s hand, which was not as soft as a young girl’s but was very fair.

Outside the camera, Bai Feifei was almost holding her breath. Zhou Yan “served” Zhao Qiyue the tea and then drank a cup herself from another cup. After chatting for a while, she, without anyone noticing, took the plain paper bag that had been used to package the tea. Behind the wall, her expression became calm and frantic. She took the paper bag to an empty bathroom, lit it on fire, and flushed it down. The only tiny bit of evidence left would be covered up by the students who came to the bathroom to secretly smoke during the break. And the fast-flowing water would be flushed directly into the sewer by the janitor and would go to an unknown place.

Bai Feifei suddenly realized, “She’s trying to poison him…” Huo Wu quietly “mhm’d.” But Bai Feifei couldn’t figure it out. She said hesitantly, “But her son’s crime is only sexual assault at most. His attitude is also good. Even if he gets a sentence, it won’t be for very long. Why would she go this far?”

As she spoke, Bai Feifei suddenly had an epiphany. She suddenly remembered Chen Yanfang’s identity. She and the principal were actually middlemen, or in harsher words, pimps. They would choose pretty and innocent female students who came from poor families, whose parents or elders had no jobs or education, or who were orphans and had bad grades, and they would offer them to people of a higher class. All for money, power, and lust.

Chen Yanfang did all of this for her son. So that if something happened to her, it wouldn’t involve her son. She even found a way to get a “mom” for the soon-to-be-adult Zheng Chengqian. From a legal standpoint, even if something happened to her, Zheng Chengqian’s political future would not be affected at all. Zhao Qiyue might not have known, but all three of them probably had a part in it. Chen Yanfang did all of this for her son, but Zhao Qiyue, because Chen Yanfang knew too much, went after her son, the person she cared about the most. He was trying to get a hold of her weakness, but he didn’t expect to be messing with the wrong person.

But how he got a hold of her son and what it had to do with Qi Yang, Bai Feifei still didn’t know. But soon, after more than an hour, the crew changed locations, and after everything was ready, they started filming Chen Yanfang’s last scene, which was also the scene with Wu Qingying. Li Ke was on set for all the main scenes. The same went for Huo Wu when she wasn’t filming. She was either behind the monitor or with the director and writers. She was actually very busy every day.

Bai Feifei turned her head and suddenly reached out to touch the skin under Huo Wu’s eyes. Huo Wu’s first reaction was to step back, but after she saw that it was Bai Feifei, she didn’t move. She let Bai Feifei’s fingers touch the skin under her eyes and listened to her say, “You’re so busy every day. Are you very tired?”

After all, it was a school-themed drama. Wuling had a maturity that was beyond her age, but she wasn’t a real high school student. Her actual age in the drama was two or three years older than the other high school students, so the makeup focused on emphasizing the contours of her face. Without makeup, it was very easy to see the faint blue color of her skin up close. When she lowered her eyes, it was like a small shadow cast by her eyelashes.

When Huo Wu heard that, she thought for a moment and said, “I’m used to it.” She could have said many things, like “I’m fine,” or “I’m not tired,” but she said she was used to it. She was used to being on the go and being in a state of exhaustion. In her already high-intensity filming schedule, she also had to take on the role of a co-creator and watch the scenes. Although most of the responsibility was on Li Ke, Huo Wu was not someone who relied on others for everything. She preferred to have everything firmly in her hands. So, this was the only way it could be. As long as the camera was on, there was no way to avoid it.

Bai Feifei felt bad and didn’t know what to do. She suddenly remembered the cup of hot milk that Huo Wu had given her before, which had really helped her get a good night’s sleep. So she contacted Fu Xiaoxiao and asked her to find a place nearby where she could order milk. After it was delivered, she could heat it up and give it to Huo Wu so that she could have fresh, hot milk every night.

After they chatted for a while, Li Ke started filming. The actors had already rehearsed the scene and confirmed that there were no problems, so they officially began to film. This was a very dark and old room. The light rain outside was still falling, and the sound of raindrops hitting the roof tiles was everywhere. In an old urban village, there was a chicken coop and a muddy ground in front of the house. Dry leaves were scattered on the ground and hadn’t been cleaned up. There were dry branches everywhere. This was Qi Yang’s living environment. Her clothes were very neat every day, but the edges always had old stains and tears that couldn’t be washed away. It was a little better in the summer, but it was very obvious in the winter. Her hands were very rough. She didn’t have thick calluses, but she had to wash her hands for a long time every day to get rid of the black dirt in all the crevices. She didn’t expect her to live in such an environment.

Bai Feifei said outside the camera, “I saw Wu Qingying before filming. She would first cover her hands with mud and then let them dry before doing a lot of dirty work. She would go wherever the crew was dirty. In no time, the mud on her hands would turn black, including under her nails, and her hands would become very rough.” This was very different from Bai Feifei’s impression of Wu Qingying. She had thought that Wu Qingying was a neat freak, but in reality, she wasn’t. She was very hardworking.

“You don’t have to follow her,” Huo Wu said. “You can do that for a few scenes, but if you need to maintain that state for a long time, you’ll have to give up your personal hygiene habits and put yourself in that dirty and messy environment. She’s just trying to get into character.” Bai Feifei nodded.

Huo Wu had once filmed a drama set in the vast grasslands. The story was mainly about the changes of a nomadic people. The filming location was on a real grassland. The resources there were not as abundant as in the inland. Water was scarce, and she had to boil water herself to take a shower. Everyone had a very difficult time, and Huo Wu was no exception. Like most of the people in the crew, she only took a shower once a month. Once every two months, everyone would have a day off to go to a public bathhouse in a town. The yellow sand, the dryness, and the lack of water resources, along with the wise and capable female leader in the drama, who was decisive and brave and who looked up at the sky and howled when she died, left a deep impression on her. When Bai Feifei watched the documentary for that drama later, she realized what it meant to be fully immersed in a character. Whatever the character was like, she would be like that, from her every thought to her every habit.

In the camera, Qi Yang, who was staring at herself in the mirror with a blank expression, seemed to have finally noticed that she had a visitor. She blinked and then slowly turned her lips up into a very creepy smile. Bai Feifei couldn’t help but gasp as if she were watching a horror movie. She buried her head between Huo Wu’s legs in fear.

Li Ke, who was just about to call “cut” to have Zhou Yan rehearse the scene again, suddenly looked back. “…” No way. There are so many people here. Bai Feifei, you’re so bold. You’re being so affectionate. Huo Wu gave him a look. Li Ke turned his head as if nothing had happened. “One more take!”