Shadowed Love: A Lover Who Refuses to Let Go - Chapter 46.1

Back at the hotel, Yin Yunzhu changed her clothes and lay on the bed, her temples throbbing from the lingering scent of smoke.

The scent of Jiang Menghe still clung to her. She pulled the corner of the quilt over her head and curled herself into a snail shell. Her shoulders trembled slightly; the warmth in her eyes was quickly followed by a stinging ache. By the time she fell asleep and woke up again, it was already afternoon.

She slowly pulled back the quilt to find Mi Ying sitting on the sofa, playing on her phone. Hearing movement, Mi Ying looked up.

“You’re awake? Director He mentioned you weren’t feeling well, so I came back specifically to check on you.” Mi Ying opened a plastic bag on the table, and the savory aroma of oily food filled the room.

“You probably just aren’t used to the local climate here in Pingcheng. A little medicine should fix you up,” Mi Ying said, pulling several medicine boxes from underneath. “I bought some fried dumplings; they’re still hot. Eat them while you can.”

Having said that, she walked to the TV cabinet to boil water, preparing to mix the medicine.

Yin Yunzhu’s hair was messy and frizzy; sitting up in bed, she looked like a rabbit whose burrow had been upturned. Watching Mi Ying busy herself for her sake, she couldn’t deny she was moved.

“Thank you,” she said, sniffing. Her voice was heavy with a drowsy, nasal tone.

“It’s fine for you, hiding away in the hotel to slack off. You have no idea what happened on set today.”

The buzzing of the boiling water drowned out the volume of her voice. Yin Yunzhu fumbled for her slippers, ran to the bathroom to rinse her mouth, and returned to eat her late lunch.

“What happened?” she asked, opening the takeout container.

“It’s Ai Xue. Her mouth is sweet as honey; she’s coaxed the executive director into a daze.”

“I recall she didn’t have any scenes today.” Yin Yunzhu paused as she broke apart her chopsticks.

Mi Ying sat on the adjacent single sofa and shrugged with disdain. “Exactly. Director He said he’d add a few scenes for her, and as a result, this Ai Xue got carried away. She actually went and requested more scenes opposite Jiang Menghe.”

“Director He wouldn’t agree, so she ran to beg the executive director. Both of them ended up getting scolded. That lecture was so loud that almost everyone on set heard it.”

“She hasn’t been in the industry long, has she? It’s normal to be a bit restless,” Yin Yunzhu said, taking a bite of a fried dumpling. It was pork and celery filling.

“Yeah, but to go and beg the executive director? What was she thinking?” Mi Ying curled her lip and gave a sarcastic thumbs-up. “To be this stupid, she’s ‘number one.'”

“You don’t seem to like her very much?”

Judging by her tone, the resentment seemed deep-seated.

“She’s alright. I worked with her before; she loves adding scenes for herself. Those of us in this line of work have to keep revising things back and forth because of it. It’s just annoying,” Mi Ying said, squeezing a pillow back and forth, her voice full of indignation.

So, it was the grievance of a fellow worker.

Yin Yunzhu didn’t know the severity of such behavior, so she asked, “After this incident, will Director He still use her?”

Filming hadn’t officially begun yet, and the casting hadn’t been made public. Replacing someone last minute was a common occurrence. Plus, when they adjusted the sequence of segments earlier, they had placed the major scenes at the front just in case.

She could somewhat sense Ai Xue’s special feelings for Jiang Menghe. Her heart was a chaotic mix of emotions, and she couldn’t help but harbor a few dark, petty thoughts.

“How could he not? It’s just a small matter. Which actor hasn’t been yelled at? Besides, Ai Xue has talent; he won’t find another actor of her type in such a short time.”

Seeing the water boil, Mi Ying poured it into a paper cup. She was about to pop a capsule out when Yin Yunzhu stopped her in time. “No need. I’ve recovered. I’ll be fine once I eat something.”

She wasn’t actually sick; it was merely a pretext to avoid Ai Xue.

“Alright then. Just be careful. Take them yourself when you need to; the instructions are right here.”

“Thanks.”

After finishing her late lunch, Yin Yunzhu’s spirits were indeed much better than they had been in the morning. Only her slightly swollen eyes, which hid her eyelids, made her look a bit pitiful.

Standing before the mirror, she applied an ice pack to her eyes to reduce the swelling. Fortunately, Mi Ying hadn’t looked too closely, simply assuming she had overslept.

When she walked out of the bathroom, she saw Mi Ying had laid out printed sheets on the bed and was focused on taking notes. Xia Yue’s scenes were scheduled for later, so they had enough time to refine them.

“Sigh, this character is actually quite good. It’s a pity it’s being played by Ai Xue,” Mi Ying clicked her tongue. “Except for the fact that both their names have two characters, I don’t see any similarities between them.”

Hearing this, Yin Yunzhu smiled. She moved a low stool to sit shoulder-to-shoulder with her. “There’s nothing we can do. She’s the one the director chose.”

“She doesn’t have any scenes, yet she spends all day hanging around the set. Anyone can see what she’s thinking. Does she really think we’re blind?”

Mi Ying finished listing the rough outline and began to delve deep into Xia Yue’s adult personality, working backward to analyze her childhood experiences, occasionally referencing the notes Yin Yunzhu had provided.

“Jiang Menghe?” Yin Yunzhu leaned forward, her elbows resting on her thighs.

Now, when mentioning Jiang Menghe, she could just barely suppress her emotions so that an outsider wouldn’t notice anything amiss.

“Don’t tell me you didn’t notice?” Mi Ying suddenly looked up, staring at her as if she were a rare animal.

“I was only guessing.”

“No need to guess, that’s exactly it. For the past two days, she’s been pestering Jiang Menghe to eat with her every single day. Jiang Menghe doesn’t even want to acknowledge her. Ren Yu at least maintains her dignity, but Ai Xue doesn’t even bother to act anymore.”

“I also heard,” Mi Ying suddenly leaned in, whispering mysteriously, “that last night, Ai Xue said she wanted to go to Jiang Menghe’s room to discuss the script.”

This news was too explosive. Yin Yunzhu’s back tensed, and she asked as if casually, “And then?”

“Jiang Menghe rejected her, obviously. How could she possibly agree? She already has very few scandals; if she were caught by someone with an agenda, she’d be on the trending searches again.”

“Then they talked on the phone, but Ai Xue couldn’t catch the hint. She kept talking about irrelevant things until finally, Jiang Menghe just muted her and went to sleep.”

After saying this, Mi Ying slapped her thigh and laughed loudly. “Don’t you think this girl is hilarious? Her skin is thicker than a city wall.”

As she spoke, she even used both hands to measure a distance in the air.

Yin Yunzhu knew about this because Ai Xue had taken the initiative to tell her at the set this morning. It was strange; though they were strangers, the other woman seemed to have an agenda, mentioning Jiang Menghe in every sentence.

Could it be that their past relationship had been discovered?

Thinking it over, she couldn’t understand where she might have slipped up. However, given Ai Xue’s admiration for Jiang Menghe, she likely wouldn’t want Yin Yunzhu to have any connection with the latter.

This was for the best; no one would talk carelessly.

“Is that reliable?” Yin Yunzhu rested her chin on her hand, treating it as mere gossip.

“It came from Jiang Menghe’s manager, so it’s definitely the truth.” Mi Ying spoke with absolute certainty, leaving Yin Yunzhu lost in thought.

Thinking of it this way, she had actually wronged Jiang Menghe this morning. However, their relationship had hit freezing point during that conversation that ended badly. The hope of things warming up again was slim.

Yin Yunzhu felt a pang of regret. She always tended to over-analyze the friction in a relationship, using a magnifying glass to look at the smallest details, being serious to a terrifying degree.

Over the next few days, the film crew’s schedule gradually fell into a routine. As script supervisors, Yin Yunzhu and Mi Ying sat by the script clerk whenever they were free to watch the actors work.

During close-up shots, the camera was almost pressed against Jiang Menghe’s face.

Today, she wore an ink-colored long robe. A golden waistband emphasized her agility, making her look light as a bird. She was currently filming a martial arts scene; the stunt coordinator was teaching nearby, and Jiang Menghe was focused on imitating the moves.

In this segment, Xun Qianyi fails to chase an assassin across the rooftops, and the assassin retaliates by taking Xia Yue hostage.

The makeup artist was applying makeup for Ai Xue. Her face, lightly dusted with powder, looked like a bright peach blossom in spring. She took the mirror and nodded with satisfaction.

When filming officially began, Jiang Menghe fastened her belt and was hoisted by wires onto the rooftop. The red tiles, loosened by years of wear, made a startling clattering sound when stepped upon.

“Teacher Jiang, how is it?” the prop master shouted from below. Seeing her give the “okay” gesture, he slowly raised her, and all camera positions were ready.

As the executive director shouted “Action,” Jiang Menghe moved instantly. Her vigorous figure moved rapidly across the roof like a seabird skimming across a lake.

The man in front of her leaped down from the eaves, his long sword unsheathed, lunging directly at Xia Yue, who was standing in the courtyard.

“Take one more step and I’ll kill her!” The sharp blade pressed against the girl’s neck as the assassin snarled his threat.

Xun Qianyi landed lightly on the ground on the balls of her feet. Her cold, stern gaze swept over them as she spoke calmly, “Release her.”

“Sister Qianyi.” Xia Yue gripped the man’s wrist, not daring to make a reckless move. Her eyes were filled with tears as she called out to Xun Qianyi.

“You… you don’t need to worry about me. He is a traitor to the Great Xia. Sacrificing me for him is nothing.”

The girl’s weeping was heart-wrenching, and the trembling, sobbing trail of her voice revealed her inner tension and fear. The three were in a standoff; the atmosphere was explosive.

Sitting next to the script clerk, Mi Ying frowned. She took the script, flipped to the current page, and exchanged a glance with Yin Yunzhu.

“That’s not right, is it? This part isn’t in the script.” She already had a bias against Ai Xue, and now she was seizing the opportunity to nitpick.

This line was the actor’s own improvisation. Although it wasn’t in the script, it fit the character. The executive director looked at He Ping, and seeing that the latter remained silent, he had no choice but to push through and continue filming.

Jiang Menghe was highly professional; she didn’t show any surprise at the improvisation and continued to follow the original plot.

“How bold,” she said, intentionally lowering her voice, her expression cold and sharp.

The ink-colored robe fluttered loudly in the wind. The woman quickly drew her long sword and lunged forward with lightning speed. Just as the blade was about to pierce Xia Yue’s slender neck, the sound of swords clashing rang out, easily knocking the assassin’s weapon away.

“Cut!” the executive director signaled. “Bring in the props, prepare the blood bags.”

The prop master stood up and applied the prepared brownish-red dye to Xia Yue’s neck, while the makeup artist joined in to touch up the wound scar.

Yin Yunzhu had never been on a film set before, and she found everything novel. The lack of continuity in the plot made it hard for her to immerse herself; without the help of post-production special effects, the filters seen on screen were quite ordinary in reality.

However, even if the sky fell, Jiang Menghe’s face was there to hold it up. She held the finely crafted scholar’s sword, which was light and perfectly suited for one-handed use.

Following that, except for Ai Xue having to do three retakes, the rest of the segments were finished in one go. Jiang Menghe’s scenes for today were completely over, but she still had to remain with the crew.

He Ping was watching the playback of the previous scenes. If there were any flaws or dissatisfying parts, they would need to be re-recorded.

Yin Yunzhu was discussing the plot with Mi Ying. When the latter saw Ai Xue walking toward the dressing room, she rolled her eyes. “She can’t get the scenes she wants, so she sure knows how to steal them. People who don’t know better would think she’s the lead.”

“I don’t understand these things.” Yin Yunzhu rarely had free time; today’s work was light, with no need for temporary additions or revisions.

She sat in her chair, watching the activity on set from a distance. She saw Jiang Menghe go to rest alone. Thinking of how Ai Xue had entered just moments before, she began to feel flustered and irritable once again.

The dressing rooms on both sides of the corridor were mostly closed, with only a few ajar doors leaking the sound of conversation. Aside from the leads, everyone else shared a communal space.

Jiang Menghe loosened the ties at her waist. To enhance the fighting effects, the chest binder and waistband were so tight it was difficult to breathe, especially after strenuous movement.

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