The Supporting Female Lead Chooses to Mark the Villain [Rebirth] - Chapter 44

The Scroll of Zhuang Zhou is a fantasy story set in a modern background. Director Cai Kang chose Gouyi Mountain, a six-hour drive from City A, as the filming location.

There is an ancient temple halfway up the mountain that perfectly fits the script’s requirements. Of course, another key point was that the rental price for the ancient temple was incredibly cheap!

“Most of our filming will take place at dusk and during the night, making it inconvenient to travel up and down the mountain,” Cai Kang explained to everyone, rubbing his hands together sheepishly. “For the time being, I’ll have to trouble everyone to stay in the villagers’ homes.”

Most of the actors were students and lacked any air of pretension; upon hearing this, they all expressed their understanding.

On the first day of arrival, Shen Nian kindly helped several Omegas move their luggage. It wasn’t until evening that she finally had time to return to her room to unpack. She sat on an old wooden chair to rest and took out her phone to browse.

The message bar was empty. Aside from the bustling production group chat, there were only a few brief messages from Shen Zui’s primary physician. The doctor mentioned that Shen Zui had woken up and undergone some basic check-ups; aside from some physical fatigue, everything was normal. The subsequent messages were all nagging warnings telling her to “exercise restraint.”

Shen Nian read them absentmindedly, her gaze lingering several times on the words “Shen Zui has woken up.” Exiting the chat box, she realized that her conversation with Shen Zui still ended at that 500,000-yuan transfer from days ago.

“Sigh…” she sighed, muttering to herself, “How heartless. Tossed aside the moment I’m no longer needed.”

Tan Zhu came looking for her. The enthusiastic young girl saw her sitting by the window and burst in without even knocking. “Shen Nian, are you finished?”

Shen Nian turned off her screen. “Hmm? Is there something else?”

“Dinner is almost ready. The director said we should all eat together in his courtyard.” Tan Zhu walked up to her with a light step. “I figured you hadn’t checked the group notifications. Well, shall we go together?”

Shen Nian stood up. She brushed off the hem of her clothes. “You go ahead, I’m going to wash my face.”

Tan Zhu spotted the unopened suitcase in the corner and her eyes widened. “Eh? You haven’t organized your own things yet?”

“Mm.”

“Oh! But you were just helping out in the front…” Tan Zhu rolled up her sleeves. “Let me give you a hand.”

“No need,” Shen Nian waved her off. She stepped in front of Tan Zhu. “It’s… not very convenient.”

Tan Zhu realized what she meant, her face flushing as she rubbed her nose. “Oh, okay then.” She didn’t dwell on it for long, waving to Shen Nian with a smile. “Then I’ll wait for you in the director’s courtyard. Hurry up!”

Infected by her smile, Shen Nian curled her lips and replied, “Alright.”

After resting for a day, the filming officially began the next morning.

The first season of The Scroll of Zhuang Zhou tells the story of a group of unlucky protagonists who accidentally enter an ancient temple and must save themselves. Thirty years ago, a group of hikers encountered a strange downpour. By nightfall, they couldn’t endure any longer and ignored the villagers’ warnings, entering the dilapidated temple to seek shelter.

Soon, they found they could enter but not leave, and panic ensued. At dawn, a mysterious Mountain God appeared. He signed a contract with them, and once the rain stopped, he let them go. Upon leaving, some dismissed the events as a dream, while others lived in fear, seeking gods and Buddhas for a way to break the curse.

Thirty years later, by coincidence, the descendants of these people—the protagonist group played by Shen Nian and the others—climbed the mountain on the same day and were drawn into the temple by a mysterious force.

There was no wind, yet the tattered curtains in the main hall swayed incessantly, brushing against the headless statue in the center.

“The atmosphere in this dump is actually pretty strong.” Standing outside the hall, a buzz-cut boy who hadn’t realized danger had arrived was exceptionally excited. “Let me tell you, my dad used to love traveling everywhere, and he told me a horror story that happened in a ruined temple!”

Someone asked, “What horror story?”

The boy chuckled and looked up at the sky. “It’s no fun to tell it now. Once it gets dark, I guarantee I’ll give you a real fright.”

Shen Nian, playing “Chen Min,” wore a baseball cap that could cover her entire face. However, she was very tall, and her upright posture set her apart from the others. Hearing the boy’s words, her lips curled into a sarcastic arc.

“I bet the story begins with everyone discovering they can’t leave the ruined temple.”

“Eh?” The buzz-cut boy looked over. “You’ve heard it too?”

Chen Min looked up, her gaze sweeping across everyone present. She sighed. “Whether you’ve heard it doesn’t matter. But right now, we are already the people inside the story.”

A prying gaze shot out from the side hall, lingering on her. Chen Min looked over sharply, only to see another piece of lacquer peeling off a mottled red pillar. She stepped forward and tore the lacquer away, seeing a line of crooked characters revealed beneath:

[The offerings have arrived. The contract is in effect.]

A timid girl rubbed the goosebumps on her arms. “This place is so weird. Should… should we just leave? We can just sleep in sleeping bags anywhere…”

The buzz-cut boy rolled his eyes. “You’d rather sleep in a sleeping bag in the wild than in a house? Are you out of your mind?”

The girl shook her head while backing away. “Really, I can’t breathe in here. It’s better outside…” As she spoke, she reached the exit and tried to open the door to leave.

Bizarrely, the door that was clearly unlocked when they entered wouldn’t budge no matter how she pushed. “What’s going on? Who locked the door? Why won’t it open?!”

Panic, like a plague, quickly spread. Everyone finally realized something was wrong and tried to flee. The buzz-cut boy even tried to climb the wall, but facing a wall less than two meters high that he could usually jump over with ease, he couldn’t summon any strength.

“Dammit! What’s happening! This place is cursed! What kind of broken temple is this!”

Just then, with a loud BOOM, a thunderclap shook the sky. Dusk was approaching.

Shen Nian, who hadn’t tried to leave from the beginning, now stood before everyone. As the core of the group, she had to unite them before dark.

“Thirty years ago, our elders came to this place. They escaped the temple at the cost of sacrificing their descendants—us. In reality, the ‘Mountain God’ who lives here isn’t that kind. He let the first wave of people go only because he didn’t have enough power then to swallow five fresh souls. Now, it is time for us to save ourselves.”

Though the words were terrifying, Shen Nian’s calm and composed tone prevented further panic. Next, she proposed that she had found a way to break the deadlock and hoped everyone would cooperate with her to break the contract.

The most impactful image of this scene was the buzz-cut boy angrily grabbing her collar. Both were Alphas, but the boy had a slight height advantage. He glared down at Shen Nian. “You knew all along! You knew!” Panting heavily, he questioned loudly, “Why didn’t you stop us before we came in?!”

Shen Nian narrowed her eyes and shoved him away. “You all might have come here influenced by the contract, but I am different…” A strange, eerie wind kicked up dust from the ground, hitting her deep brown boots. Shen Nian stood tall without swaying. She said, “I came here of my own accord.”

You can run from the first day, but you can’t hide from the fifteenth. (Note: Meaning “you can’t escape the inevitable”).

“Wu Feng? Wu Feng? Why are you dazed? Say your lines!” Director Cai peeked out from behind the camera. He slapped his thigh in regret. “Oh, Shen Nian’s state was so good!”

The buzz-cut boy named Wu Feng bowed and apologized sheepishly. “Sorry, sorry… Your aura was too strong; I was actually stunned just now…”

Shen Nian nodded to him expressionlessly. It wasn’t intentional; she was simply still in character and couldn’t find the energy to squeeze out a smile to comfort him.

“Alright, adjust your state and continue!” Director Cai shouted again.

The quality requirements for a web drama aren’t high; as long as there are no obvious mistakes like forgetting lines, there won’t be a retake. The filming continued quickly, and after a few more shots from different angles, the scene was successfully completed.

At night, everyone returned to their rooms to rest. Shen Nian, the protagonist who had been so strategic in front of the camera, saw her phone with no messages and her expression immediately collapsed.

She took a deep breath and sent a video call invitation directly. It took over half a minute, and just as the call was about to automatically disconnect, the other side picked up.

Shen Zui’s beautiful face appeared on the screen, looking slightly more aloof than usual. Shen Nian narrowed her eyes slightly, greedily taking in the features that haunted her dreams.

“Resting now?” Shen Zui spoke first. “How is the filming? Smooth?”

Shen Nian nodded. “Mm. The requirements aren’t high, so the progress will be fast. If everything goes as smoothly as today, I might be back next week.”

“Mm,” Shen Zui replied.

Shen Nian saw her faint expression and took a deep breath. “What about you?” She noticed the wall behind Shen Zui wasn’t the decor from home. “Are you out?”

“Mm, came to the office to handle some business.”

Shen Nian was surprised. “Didn’t you resign from SX?”

Shen Zui shook her head. “Not SX.”

“Then—” Just as Shen Nian was about to speak, a knock, knock, knock sounded at her door.

Shen Zui signaled for her to handle her business first. Shen Nian frowned slightly. “Wait for me a moment.”

She placed her phone on the table. As she opened the door, Tan Zhu, holding a script, skipped into the room.

“Shen Nian, are you free? Could you… help me rehearse my lines?”