I Was Taken by the Female Lead After Transmigrating into a Book - Chapter 76

Huo Wu possessed professional integrity.

But integrity is one thing.

In terms of priority, instinct definitely comes before integrity.

It’s a sign of her rationality that she can control herself, but it’s also normal if she can’t.

Huo Wu gazed at Bai Feifei’s profile.

Her skin was as white as a porcelain doll, with a very gentle feeling, unlike her own cool-toned skin. At night, she looked frighteningly pale. Bai Feifei always gave the impression that she had a very full and healthy complexion.

This face, whether smiling or playful, every lively expression, even if it had never appeared in front of her, she could perfectly replicate in her mind just by imagining it.

Huo Wu looked up again and left a light kiss on the side of Bai Feifei’s face, very purely and without any desire, like a devout believer.

After the kiss, she buried her head in the side of Bai Feifei’s neck and sniffed, unable to control her indulgence.

The date wasn’t sweet for very long. Bai Feifei was then pulled up by Huo Wu to go over her lines.

Li Ke had praised her for her good lines, but in reality, one reason was that Bai Feifei truly fit the role. The other reason was that modern dramas were easy to get into emotionally, which was a shortcut for Bai Feifei.

Li Ke couldn’t have not known, but he didn’t say anything and continued to encourage Bai Feifei.

Another reason was that Huo Wu had always been giving her special lessons.

One-on-one guidance from a private tutor, no less.

Bai Feifei bit her pen and listened to Huo Wu’s slightly hoarse voice from talking for so long, and pushed a cup of water toward her.

Huo Wu glanced at her. “Read that line for me first,” she said, and then took a sip of water.

Bai Feifei read the line as Huo Wu requested, and her performance was pretty good. A look of satisfaction appeared on Huo Wu’s face.

Bai Feifei then seized the opportunity to say, “Ah Wu, if you were to open a class and teach, how much would a lesson cost?”

She thought about her own acting.

When she first joined the crew, she felt that her lines were only a little better than a poetry recitation. Even now, due to the limitations of her natural voice, her tone was on the crispier side. To reach a professional level for dubbing, she would need to work very hard.

Thinking of this, she felt that Huo Wu’s voice was also very pleasant to listen to. It was a voice she liked very much, very sharp and clear, yet every word exuded a sense of tranquility.

Bai Feifei couldn’t help but sigh again. “I always feel like there’s no character you can’t play, no voice you can’t do.”

Huo Wu gave her a light glance and, after a moment, said, “There is.”

Bai Feifei was puzzled. “What? There is? I don’t believe it.”

“Of course, there is. I’m just an actor. I can be shaped, but I can’t be rebuilt. Actors aren’t omnipotent. As for now…” Huo Wu suddenly pointed to the name ‘Fusang’ on the script and said, “I can’t play Fusang.”

Huo Wu’s acting range was neither wide nor narrow. It all depended on her own choices and her willingness to work hard.

As for acting, as long as someone looked for her, the pay was good enough, or the script was good enough, she could act. But the difference was between acting with a divine touch, getting to the bone and marrow of the character, and acting in a way that was unbearable to watch and poisoned the audience.

She had been in the industry for so long, and she lacked neither fame nor fortune. She was also past the age of playing a young girl and no longer had the mindset for it, so she didn’t even get such scripts.

Even if she did, the parts would likely be very small, something that could be covered in half or one episode, or they would just use a younger actress.

Perhaps because Huo Wu always gave the impression of being composed on set, including being quiet and not interacting with people much, Bai Feifei almost forgot that the old Huo Wu also loved to laugh.

The current Huo Wu was mostly in a work state, so she didn’t smile much and always had a serious face. But in front of Bai Feifei, she was still much gentler. Her entire expression would visibly soften.

Bai Feifei touched Huo Wu’s face. “You just don’t want to play it.”

Huo Wu didn’t want to play roles that didn’t suit her. Bai Feifei was full of blind confidence in her. She said from the bottom of her heart, “If you’re willing, you could even play a fifteen or sixteen-year-old kid.”

Huo Wu’s eyebrow twitched. She really couldn’t agree with that. After a while, she said, “I could try playing a fifteen or sixteen-year-old Tianshan Tonglao in terms of appearance.”

Bai Feifei rubbed her arms. That was a cold one.

In the car, Huo Wu had already helped Bai Feifei go over her lines once, and they had walked through the scene with her co-star a few times, confirming many small details before the official shoot began.

After school today, it was Fusang’s turn to be on duty. She was currently stacking chairs in the front row one by one.

She was already a bit famous, and many people speculated that she might apply to a film academy and enter the entertainment industry after high school. Because of this, the bullying Fusang experienced suddenly disappeared.

Not only that, the teachers’ attitudes toward her suddenly improved. They would occasionally say, “Remember to come back and see your teachers after you graduate,” and the principal would check on her from time to time to see if she had any difficulties in life and if she needed help. For a while, Fusang even felt that she had become the center of attention in the school.

Even when she was on duty, there was no lack of people trying to be helpful to her.

The person who came to help her on duty today was a girl. She was not the kind of “good kid” that teachers would talk about. Even in this very strict key high school, there were always some students that the teachers couldn’t do anything about.

This girl always had heavy makeup and a flamboyant hairstyle. Below her crop top was a pair of super-short denim shorts. She was very quickly sweeping the floor, which was covered in dust and bits of paper… It was like a tornado had passed through, and the place was still a mess.

Fusang watched in silence. When she passed by her, she handed her a wet towel and said, “You go wipe the blackboard. I’ll do this.”

But the girl stood still.

After a while, she looked up at the camera with the light off. She listened quietly and, after confirming that the hallway was empty, said, “Do you know Shen Sisi?”

Fusang shook her head. “I’ve never heard of her.”

“Then go ask Li Ran,” the girl said. “Li Ran used to like her a lot and pursued her before she became a target for that group of people to bully. Just like how he’s chasing you now—oh, don’t get me wrong, I know he’s chasing you because I saw him buy you breakfast, but you didn’t accept it.”

“I don’t like him,” Fusang said calmly. “I’m not interested in him, and I’m not interested in Shen Sisi either.”

“You will be. Go ask her, or go ask Qiyang,” the girl said again. “Didn’t you tell Zhang Zhe and them that you would make them pay the price? His dad is a famous rich person around here. Li Ran’s grades are so-so, and before he got into our school, he was a real troublemaker. He changed not long after he got here. He knows a lot more than you do. Don’t you need new evidence? Were you just saying it for fun?”

This time, Fusang’s face finally showed an emotion other than indifference.

She raised her head in surprise, looked at the girl in front of her, and said hesitantly, “You…”

“You want to make them pay, and so do I,” the girl’s face was a mixture of colors, from her makeup and her emotions. “I wish they would all just die… just die, all of them…”

Her expression became distorted and crazy, but it quickly faded.

Fusang watched her quietly, sensing that she had more to say, and waited for her to finish.

The girl was silent for a moment and then said, “Fusang, remember, everything needs evidence. All evidence must be kept in your own hands. Whatever evidence you have, back it up if you can, especially the key evidence.”

These words made Fusang look up suddenly, realizing that the girl knew much more than she had imagined.

Suddenly, the classroom door was kicked open from the outside, and a few famous troublemakers led by Zhang Zhe swaggered in. Their eyes were playful and greedy as they looked at Fusang, but they quickly made a clicking sound with their tongues and expressed regret.

“What are you two beauties talking about?” Zhang Zhe smiled. The clown tattoo on the side of his neck bared its teeth and showed off its existence. “Share it with us.”

Light poured in from the windows in the hallway, spilling into the room. The narrow wall by the door cast a shadow on the boys’ bodies, making their faces look dark and hard to read. Fusang was in the middle of the light, and behind her was the girl, mostly hidden by her body.

The boys were loosely in a straight line that merged with the shadows, like a shield. However, the two girls in front of the shield had fearless expressions, like a pair of feathered swords, ready to strike.

The camera froze at this moment.

As the director called cut, the actors didn’t move and were still in character. The camera crew was carrying the equipment, and they were talking to Li Ke about adjustments.

Once everything was adjusted, Li Ke shouted, “Pay attention to your state. Action—”

Just as the two sides were in a standoff, the back door was pushed open from the outside.

Wuling’s expression was calm, seemingly completely oblivious to the tense atmosphere in the classroom. “Let’s go,” she said calmly.

After saying that, she turned her gaze to the row of boys, her expression still as indifferent as ever. “Are you guys looking for trouble?”

Zhang Zhe’s expression turned ugly when he heard this. He seemed to have thought of something and then gave a sinister laugh.

He spat on the ground, his face full of venomous malice. “There’s always a time when you’re not by her side.”

He walked past Fusang, reached out, and grabbed the hair of the girl behind Fusang.

Other than an initial cry of pain, the girl was dragged away without much resistance.

The camera followed her eyes, which were staring intently at Fusang.

Those eyes were full of anticipation, determination, and hatred, but no fear.

Fusang lowered her head under the boys’ provocative gazes, seemingly as if she had compromised and given up. However, with a slight nod, she seemed to have conveyed a message to the girl who was being dragged away. After a moment of elation, the girl burst into maniacal laughter.

“Zhang Zhe! You son of a bitch coward! If you have the guts, kill me today…”

The curses and muffled screams gradually faded into the distance. The final shot was of Fusang’s hands tightly clutching a rag, her knuckles turned white.

Li Ke let out a breath. “Cut!”

Bai Feifei raised her head in a daze, unable to get out of character for a moment.

This was a scene that wasn’t particularly difficult to act, but it was filled with so much plot.

During the performance, her mind was constantly replaying all the information points the girl had said.

Shen Sisi, evidence, the reason for keeping backups… Scene after scene of the plot washed over her mind. Her head was filled with the powerlessness and resentment of having no one to turn to, the endless obstacles, and the feeling of being pushed around. It was also filled with the pressure of bearing too much expectation and… a human life.

A cry of pain reached her ears. It was the girl who had just been dragged away, who couldn’t hold back her tears.

A lot of her hair had been pulled out. There was no obvious bleeding, but the color of the cotton swab soaked in iodine became darker, not lighter, after wiping her wound.

Bai Feifei looked away, a little dizzy from the sight of blood, and her legs felt weak.

She turned around, and Huo Wu was standing behind her, just like in the show, not having moved her position. And just like in the show, she had been protecting her the whole time.

Bai Feifei blinked, turned around, and walked two steps toward Huo Wu. She took Huo Wu’s hand in both of hers and led her to the resting area. Then, she said in a soft voice, “I’m a little scared.”

Huo Wu stroked her head.

“I just read the next scene. They’re going to hit me and drag me by my hair,” Bai Feifei said, and genuine fear appeared on her face. “Ah Wu, I’m a little scared.”

Huo Wu hugged Bai Feifei and gently patted her back.

Bai Feifei didn’t know how to explain it. The world of the show and the real world seemed to be intertwined and merged. She felt the familiar scent of Huo Wu’s body, but what her eyes saw were the old, faded blue and white school uniforms she had been wearing for a long time.

As she listened to Huo Wu’s steady and strong heartbeat, Bai Feifei suddenly thought of Wuling, who stood in the corner behind her in the classroom, and who would be rushing to the messy alley that was going to be filmed tomorrow. She also thought of Huo Wu, who had carried her on her back on a rainy night and walked step by step toward her room, gently drying her hair.

Bai Feifei murmured, “It’s a good thing you’ll be there when we film that scene.”

“I’ve always been here,” Huo Wu said. “I’m not lying. I’ve always been here.”