I Was Taken by the Female Lead After Transmigrating into a Book - Chapter 74

Bai Feifei had never imagined that this set of jewels had such profound meaning behind it.

“Your mother…” Bai Feifei whispered.

For a moment, she felt a little dazed.

The Ling family’s early years were actually not good. Huo Wu was maliciously abducted by a nanny, and although the ultimate purpose was to defraud the Ling family of money, Huo Wu was truly lost. On their way to find her, her parents were in an unprecedented, massive multi-car pile-up and both died on the scene.

At that time, the eldest, Ling Xingchen, was just in high school, Huo Wu had been abducted, and Ling Xinghe was still an infant in swaddling clothes. It was Huo Wu’s grandmother, who was already in her sixties, who took back power with forceful means and single-handedly propped up the collapsing family, giving the Ling family the space and time to recover.

Huo Wu’s mother was her most cherished and only daughter. Even in her final moments, the old woman was still mumbling about her daughter’s last wish. The last message her daughter had sent her before the car accident was to please help her find Huo Wu. Because of this, the set of jewels that Huo Wu’s mother had cherished most and that had been passed down from the old woman was now, through Ling Xingchen’s hands, passed on to Huo Wu.

These words, which were only mentioned in a few sentences in the original book, now appeared before Bai Feifei in a flood. A picture of a family photo she had seen came to her mind. In it, the Ling family was complete and harmonious, unlike their final fate of a broken family.

Now, there were only the three siblings who relied on each other, yet were scattered far and wide due to their respective professions.

The significance of this set of jewels was undeniably important. Bai Feifei said, “Is it really okay to use something so valuable?”

“It’s fine,” Huo Wu said, stroking Bai Feifei’s body and lightly sniffing it. “Let’s just say it saves us a public relations fee.”

Bai Feifei thought there must be more to it than just that, but she couldn’t come up with a deeper reason, so she just nudged against Huo Wu and let out a low “Oh.”

At 2:30 PM, the set was buzzing with activity. Li Ke was busy chasing his dream. He was in his middle age but full of passion and didn’t experience the midday slump of a working person. Bai Feifei had been filming scenes about exams all morning, and her mind was filled with various math and science problems. It had been many years since her high school days, and she no longer had the instinct for solving problems. She felt dizzy and was in a state of living death.

In the afternoon, her energy was depleted. She was dozing off in her chair, and the makeup brush was sweeping across her face, as gentle as a lullaby.

Her head couldn’t stop nodding. The makeup artist found it amusing and simply propped up her chin with one hand. Bai Feifei didn’t wake up at all, as if she was used to being treated this way. She rubbed against the hand slightly and squinted her eyes, feeling even more at ease.

The shoot began promptly at 3:00. Bai Feifei had a short nap for ten minutes during her makeup session and was now completely energized.

In the show, Li Ran had a vague fondness for Fusang. This fondness reached its peak when he saw her dressed up like a high-and-mighty white rose instead of her school uniform. Fusang had a cold aura about her that stemmed from her family issues. That aura was one of inner indifference.

She was different from many of the high school girls in Li Ran’s impression. She was beautiful, refined, and didn’t cover most of her face with thick bangs. She didn’t shrink into her oversized school uniform all day, nor did she laugh boisterously or chatter in groups of three or five.

However, the reason Fusang was wearing makeup today was that she had a modeling job after school and couldn’t leave just yet.

Her dream had changed, and her thoughts had changed with it.

This opportunity came from a chance encounter she had with a manager while waiting for Wuling at night. She met a manager passing by the school gate, who handed her a business card and said he could make her famous.

Fusang asked why, and he said it was because he was taken with her face and her grades, and also with her identity as a disgraced young lady. She was a natural topic of conversation and didn’t need much capital to get started.

The words “become famous” were like a sweet lure. It was undeniable that she was tempted and acted on it.

Tonight’s fashion show was her first job in that unfamiliar world. She was nervous, so during the afternoon’s activities, her face always carried a certain melancholic expression.

In the public eye, Li Ran had no chance to approach Fusang. It wasn’t until after school, when the crowd had dispersed, and Fusang was, as usual, waiting for Wuling to pick her up at the school gate, that Li Ran found a chance to talk to her.

“Let’s start from here,” Li Ke said, explaining the before and after. “Wuling can’t make it today. Your emotions should start from the moment you receive this text message. When Li Ran takes the initiative to offer to walk you, you don’t hear him at all. He is a nobody to you. You don’t need to pay attention to anything he does.”

Bai Feifei nodded. The script was filled with words like “simp,” “unrequited love,” and “overly confident.” Li Ran, on the side, rubbed his nose, looking a little helpless.

His and Ling Xinghe’s roles in this show were both highly controversial. He really had no idea what came over them to decide to act in it.

The actors were in position, and filming officially began.

There were large swaths of poplars at the school gate. They grew extremely fast, and the area under the trees was crowded with people doing small businesses after school. The air was filled with a scent, carrying a sense of the city’s bustling life.

Fusang’s expression was a little stunned when she received the message that Wuling couldn’t make it. This emotion was not only one of disappointment and nervousness about facing work alone, but also the realization that her dependence on Wuling had, without her realizing it, reached an unexpectedly high level.

She didn’t know if this was a good thing or a bad thing. After a simple reply to the message, she prepared to walk to the subway station.

After crossing a few streets, Fusang noticed that someone was following her. She also knew that it was a classmate. He was only a few steps away from her. When she walked, he walked; when she stopped, he stopped.

It wasn’t until they reached an area under a tree with fewer people that Fusang stopped. She frowned, turned her head, and spoke to Li Ran, who had been following her from a distance. “Why are you following me?”

Li Ran’s face was full of the embarrassment of being caught, but he wouldn’t admit it. He straightened his neck and said, “Who’s following you? The road is so wide and long. Can I not walk on it just because you are?”

Fusang couldn’t be bothered to argue with him and left without saying a word.

She walked a few more steps, and the person behind her was still following, always maintaining a distance that was neither too far nor too close. She ignored him.

“Get a few close-ups,” Li Ke said.

The locations were different, so the shooting was done separately. The only good thing was that the two actors were filming at the same time and not acting to an empty space.

The next scene was set two weeks later.

Li Ke said, “The ice needs to be broken today. Fusang is feeling unwell because of her period, and Li Ran buys her a drink on the way.”

Bai Feifei saw the two words in parentheses in the script: Iced drink.

Fusang in the show was on her period, but she wasn’t.

She had been drinking warm water almost all the time because of filming and her diet. She had almost forgotten what an iced drink tasted like, and for a moment, it made her crave one.

Li Ke noticed this and looked at Bai Feifei with a cold expression. “Fusang won’t drink it.”

Bai Feifei’s face fell. “Oh.”

Fusang was on her period, so of course, she wouldn’t drink it.

It was like looking at a picture of a plum to satisfy one’s thirst. Seeing the drink would only make her want to drink it more.

But before the filming started, Huo Wu still handed her a bottle of iced drink.

There wasn’t much condensation on the bottle; it was mostly melted water droplets. It seemed like it had been taken out of the cooler and left outside for a while. It wasn’t too cold when she drank it, but it perfectly relieved the summer heat and the thirst in Bai Feifei’s throat.

“You’re so good, Ah Wu,” Bai Feifei said with tears in her eyes. She couldn’t help but finish half the bottle in one gulp.

Huo Wu was amused by her.

After half a bottle, Bai Feifei was a little reluctant to keep drinking. She asked Huo Wu in a low voice, “Can I ask Xiaoxiao to put this bottle in the car and drink it after we wrap up?”

They were wrapping up early tonight because tomorrow’s shoot was an early one, starting at 4:30 AM. Plus, Bai Feifei wasn’t the type to get bloated easily, and her metabolism was fast. Huo Wu thought about it and said, “You can. Ask her to take it out for you in advance. Don’t drink it if it’s too cold.”

Bai Feifei was so happy. She was practically skipping and jumping with joy as she went to wait on set.

“She’s so easy to please,” Li Ke said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. “You really let her drink it? I was thinking of making her practice.”

It was like a hungry person having to resist eating a feast. Not only that, but they also had to show genuine disgust.

This was very difficult because they had to control their physical reflexes while still acting.

“There’s no need,” Huo Wu said. “Why make things difficult for her?”

There were many ways to be clever in filming. A director wouldn’t usually make things difficult for his own filming progress. It was impossible to make actors stay up all night before a marathon scene or make them run a few kilometers as a warm-up.

Bai Feifei had been wanting to drink a beverage for a while, and it was such a hot summer. It was truly unnecessary to make her show a disgusted expression when her body was craving it.

Before Huo Wu finished speaking, she pointed at Li Ke. “Don’t bully her on purpose just because she’s adaptable. You can’t rush a crop’s growth by pulling on the shoots.”

Li Ke shrugged, watching Bai Feifei get into position again. He said, “I’ve never seen you protect anyone like this before.”

He suddenly changed the subject. “Have the procedures for taking the items out been completed? I heard that the bank manager was afraid you were going to switch banks and flew back from abroad overnight.”

Huo Wu hummed, knowing he was talking about the Pink Star set.

“It will help with a smooth shoot,” Huo Wu said. “A pleasant collaboration.”

Li Ke had a mysterious smile on his face.

In the beginning, before the leads were finalized, the crew had planned to rent a set of treasures collected by an old artist. Even when Bai Feifei was confirmed as the lead, Huo Wu didn’t think of using the Pink Star set.

But who would object to using something better that was a better match for the protagonist? Besides, ever since that set of jewels came into Huo Wu’s possession, it had generated a lot of buzz and views. It was a good thing for the crew, and they could even get some free publicity.

But Huo Wu didn’t tell anyone the deeper meaning behind it.

Just because Bai Feifei couldn’t think of it didn’t mean he couldn’t either.

The huge debt that Bai Feifei’s father had left behind now needed to be paid by her mother. Their lives were actually very difficult. He had known Bai Xue for so long and had worked with Xi Rong many times, so he knew a lot about their situation.

The pay for this show was to be paid in three installments. She had just received the first installment of the deposit a few days ago, and there wasn’t much left.

Bai Feifei needed to make money quickly. Participating in variety shows and getting endorsements were the fastest ways to do so. But Bai Feifei didn’t have any accomplishments. Even if she got endorsements, most of them would be for the sake of the hype surrounding her recent experience. There would always be a script, and most of the content would require her to sell her misery, to talk about her past and consume her suffering over and over again.

Too much is as bad as too little.

Bai Xue knew this well. Even when people she knew approached her, Bai Xue would show him a few of the scripts she had been offered.

But even so, as Bai Feifei’s manager, she still did her job by filtering all of them, but there were really not many good ones.

And as for endorsements, let’s not even get into it.

Bai Feifei’s innocence was self-evident, but some onlookers believed, and others didn’t. Until she had enough achievements to show for herself, brands would not easily enter the market. What’s more, it was another matter whether a person’s appearance and aura fit the brand’s style and could be a good match.

In this field of fame and fortune, Li Ke understood the cruelty and also knew what Huo Wu wanted to do by bringing out the Pink Star set that had been sealed in a safety deposit box for years.

She was clearly and openly paving the way for Bai Feifei.