The Scummy Alpha Who Transmigrated Into a Book Was Tricked by the Actress Omega - Chapter 21

“Artificial accident?”

Yan Xunzhen couldn’t help but sigh, “They’ll stop at nothing. Even a perfectly good film set can be turned into such a mess.”

She recalled the moment in the car when Du Zuilan, feeling dizzy and with sore legs, accidentally fell onto her. “Are you still feeling unwell anywhere? Should we go to the hospital first?”

Du Zuilan shook her head, but her attitude wasn’t one of refusal rather, it seemed she was slightly hesitant, as if she didn’t really want to go but also didn’t want to turn down Yan Xunzhen’s offer. “I’m not feeling unwell anywhere now, let’s not go for the time being, okay? We shouldn’t alert the enemy.”

Tang Ying unexpectedly chimed in, agreeing with Du Zuilan. “That’s true. I have some medicinal oil for bruises and sprains. Let’s apply some first.”

Yan Xunzhen couldn’t insist further.

The time was approaching one or two in the afternoon, and the two lead actresses needed to return to prepare for makeup and costumes. Yan Xunzhen beat Tang Ying and the others to paying the bill and stood by the door first, leaning lightly against the doorframe as she waited.

“Yan Xunzhen.” Du Zuilan held her bag with one hand, her fingers gripping the strap tightly, her knuckles turning white, as if she had mustered up courage. With her other hand, she let go of the skirt she had been clutching. “Do you have time this afternoon?”

Du Zuilan’s voice was soft and sweet yet clear, not the affected “cutesy voice” but genuinely charming. When she called Yan Xunzhen’s name, the slight hesitation made it seem as though she was affectionately calling her just “Xunzhen.” It was so sweet it made Yan Xunzhen’s head spin for a second.

Truth be told, Yan Xunzhen might have had to go to the company in the afternoon, the parasites in the company weren’t something she could resolve overnight, and the power behind Ruiwang was even less something she could easily deal with. She had to admit she was busy.

However, the words “I don’t have time” lingered on her lips, and after a moment’s hesitation, she couldn’t bring herself to say them. Faced with Du Zuilan’s expression, one she felt was rare, gentle, and slightly nervous, she inexplicably changed her response.

“Mhm, nothing urgent. Those things can wait.”

“Then, could I trouble you.”

Tang Ying and Yu Tutu were waving at them, preparing to head back to the set first. Du Zuilan bowed slightly and waved respectfully and politely. Only when the parking lot was left with just the two of them did Du Zuilan turn her slightly flustered, soft gaze back to Yan Xunzhen.

“Could I trouble you to take me back to the set.” Du Zuilan sounded a little embarrassed. “I’m not very good with directions.”

Perhaps she really was a bit embarrassed, coupled with her improved attitude toward Yan Xunzhen, Du Zuilan’s lips curled slightly, and the curve of her brows shifted, a sweet and teasing smile.

For some reason, Yan Xunzhen’s heart raced a little faster. She scolded herself inwardly for not focusing on serious matters and quickly tucked the hair that had fallen to her collarbone behind her ear, saying nervously, “It’s no trouble at all. Shall we get in the car?”

Yan Xunzhen opened the car door for Du Zuilan to enter first, then politely stepped in herself, adjusting her fishtail skirt to keep the shimmering hem from brushing against Du Zuilan’s smooth calves.

Once in the car, Du Zuilan frowned slightly.

When Yan Xunzhen glanced over, she quickly let go of her forehead, which she had been covering, and smiled shyly, saying it was nothing.

How could it be nothing?

Yan Xunzhen opened her mouth to speak but then closed it again, deciding to have the driver head straight to the hospital. Suddenly, her hand was grasped by Du Zuilan.

Du Zuilan shook her head, her face tinged with apology. ” I’m just a little sleepy.”

Yan Xunzhen frowned. “But you really can’t take your health lightly. You were just discharged from the hospital two days ago, and now you’ve had another fall.”

“I know, but…”

Her eyes flickered with a glimmer of hope, as if she had just thought of something. “Could I ask you to wait for me for a bit? I don’t want the whole crew to be held up waiting for my scene. I can’t stand them up.”

Yan Xunzhen understood Du Zuilan’s dedication to acting. Considering that she had seemed fine during dinner, perhaps it really wasn’t that serious. Reluctantly, she agreed to Du Zuilan’s request.

After all, it was just waiting for her on set, wasn’t it? Du Zuilan wasn’t some kind of monster or schemer.

“Screech!”

The car came to an abrupt stop.

Yan Xunzhen steadied Du Zuilan and accompanied her to the makeup room, where they happened to run into Yu Tutu playing with her phone at the door.

Yu Tutu’s eyes lit up. “Zuilan’s here? Come on in, let’s do a quick touch-up, and then we’ll start filming!”

Du Zuilan smiled and nodded before stepping inside.

Yu Tutu watched her enter, then patted Yan Xunzhen’s shoulder curiously. “Why are you here too?”

Yan Xunzhen briefly explained that Du Zuilan had asked her for a ride and to wait until after filming so they could go to the hospital together for a check-up.

Yu Tutu’s expression gradually shifted from relaxed to thoughtful, then she blinked as if nothing had happened. “Oh! I see!”

“Looking at it this way, the female lead Zuilan’s attitude toward you is quite commendable.”

Yan Xunzhen coughed awkwardly.

A short while later.

As if stepping through time, two sisters dressed in simple sect disciple robes emerged from the makeup room. The slightly taller one was Tang Ying, whose features had been subtly accentuated still beautiful, but with less softness and more sharpness and vigor.

The one who looked delicate and somewhat frail was Du Zuilan. Her already clear and lovely lashes were even more striking now, though her pale lips made one’s heart ache with worry that she might collapse at any moment.

A crew member from the director’s team soon arrived to escort the two actresses to the set early.

Yan Xunzhen followed silently behind them until they reached the set, where she suddenly froze, startled by someone who appeared out of nowhere.

“Zuilan, come over here! Be careful!” Gu Yueli scowled and shot Yan Xunzhen a glare. “Who knows what kind of ulterior motives this person has?!”

Before Yan Xunzhen or Yu Tutu could respond, Du Zuilan shook her head firmly. “It’s fine. Today, I asked Yan, asked her to give me a ride.”

She glanced back at Yan Xunzhen. “I’ll go get to work now. Thank you.”

Then, ignoring Gu Yueli’s stunned expression, she pulled her away to rehearse their blocking.

Today’s scene primarily involved Du, Tang, and Gu. While Yun Xian and her sister were practicing swordplay in the back mountains, they unexpectedly encountered a demonic creature that had crawled up from the abyss. They could have held their breath and feigned death to avoid it, but unexpectedly, A’Ning from another peak, who had come to gather herbs, caught the creature’s attention and was nearly ambushed.

Tang Ying, who played Yun Qing, was a character wholly devoted to righteousness, kind-hearted by nature, and thus incapable of standing idly by when lives were at stake. In her urgency, she attempted to strike the demon with her rudimentary skills and peachwood sword.

Du Zuilan, who played Yunxian, obediently followed her sister, sticking close to her side. To hit the demon’s weak spot on its back, the two of them had to descend from a higher vantage point. The set for this scene was incredibly realistic, and neither Du Zuilan nor Tang Ying used stunt doubles, they performed the wirework themselves.

Truthfully, as an omega actor, it would have been perfectly normal for Du Zuilan to use a stunt double for such a dangerous action sequence, but she preferred to do it herself.

The director went over the scene with them, pointing out their positions before shouting,

“Wei Ding, Scene 10, Take 1, Action!”

Du Zuilan crouched behind a rock, her face and clothes smudged with dirt, her heart pounding as she gripped her unsharpened peachwood sword. In front of her, a crew member in a green-screen suit crawled slowly, simulating the demon’s movements.

Though the setup might have looked amusing, the two actresses performed as if they were truly facing a terrifying monster.

The demon continued advancing. Gu Yue Li, who was supposed to be gathering herbs ahead of them, should have acted lively and agile. However, she faltered, her expression stiffening as if she hadn’t quite gauged the distance between herself and the crew member. Unintentionally, she glanced back.

“Cut!”

Yan Xunzhen, who had been watching Du Zuilan’s slender figure lying atop the “mountain,” unconsciously loosened her tightly clenched fists, only then realizing she had broken into a cold sweat quite unlike her usual composed and glamorous demeanor.

Yu Tu Tu chuckled. “You look nervous.”

“A little.”

The two of them stood in a corner near the wire rigging, which also happened to be a decent vantage point. Yan Xunzhen was mainly worried about Du Zuilan’s safety. Seeing Yu Tu Tu’s calm expression, she couldn’t help but ask, “Aren’t you worried about Tang Ying?”

Yu Tu Tu smiled. “Of course I am. But I trust her more. So?”

Her eyes held a teasing glint as she joked, “Relax a little. My wife is up there, and I’m not half as tense as you. What, is Zuilan your wife?”

Yan Xunzhen didn’t catch the last part.

If she had, she might not have been able to maintain her usual composed facade.

Her attention was entirely fixed on the figure above.

Gu Yueli, aware of her poor performance, paled and flushed in frustration, her gaze unconsciously sharpening as she looked at Du Zuilan and Tang Ying.

Reattaching the wires would take too much time, so the two actresses remained atop the constructed mountain. Part of the rigging was controlled by machines, while the rest was manually operated. Due to the set design, there were few safety mats on the ground.

“Attention! Wei Ding, Scene 10, Take 2, Action!”

This time, Gu Yueli did better, successfully portraying the lively junior sister. Behind her, the demon loomed menacingly.

Yan Xunzhen silently counted in her head one, two, three Tang Ying had successfully swung over and struck the demon!

Seeing Tang Ying move effortlessly, seemingly without any danger, Yan Xunzhen finally exhaled in relief and shifted her gaze back to Du Zuilan.

Yu Tutu watched her completely absorbed expression and couldn’t help but chuckle with a sigh, muttering under her breath, “Even now, still pretending you’re not close with Du Zuilan.”

“Ah!”

The next second, the stool beneath the crew member controlling the harness suddenly snapped!

Which meant Du Zuilan, was about to fall nearly seven meters to the ground!

Support The Scummy Alpha Who Transmigrated Into a Book Was Tricked by the Actress Omega