Lady By The Pillow - Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Fingers

“The callus on your finger brushed my neck.”

Shi Qing, dressed in the empress’s formal wear, found it difficult to move with the long, heavy cloak. Fang Fei helped her with it the whole way, carefully placing it down once they reached the waiting area.

Fang Fei had something to discuss with Shi Qing, so she got straight to the point. “Teacher Shi, about last night… could you please keep it a secret for me?”

Shi Qing had been in the entertainment industry for nine years and was familiar with its inner workings, but what happened last night in the car hardly seemed like a secret. Why was Fang Fei so worried?

“Are you talking about your plan to meet Teacher Wei for a script read?” Shi Qing asked, confirming if it was about this small thing.

Fang Fei nodded, then lowered her voice. “My company wants me to get close to Teacher Wei. They arranged for paparazzi to take some photos of us. Once we have enough material, they want me to form a fake couple with Teacher Wei. You know, a fake couple gets a lot of attention.”

Shi Qing wasn’t surprised. “Fake couples are common. Why are you so nervous?”

Fang Fei sighed. “Well, it didn’t work out. I think Teacher Wei saw through it, so she turned back. I still have to go explain myself to her later.”

Shi Qing finally understood her concern. “So, you’re worried I’ll tell someone?”

Fang Fei nodded vigorously. “Yes! The plan failed, and I’m afraid that if more people know, it will ruin my relationship with Teacher Wei. I’m just a small-time actress. My company forced me to approach her yesterday, and I was in a difficult position.”

At its core, it was a messy situation created by a clueless company, with the burden falling on the lower-level employees.

Shi Qing understood her predicament and comforted her. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.”

Fang Fei breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you so much, Teacher Shi! You’re so kind! I’m a little embarrassed to admit this, but when you showed up last night, I thought your company had given you the same task.”

Shi Qing smiled. “No, it was a genuine coincidence.” Her soft voice and gentle tone made Fang Fei feel even more guilty. She admitted to herself that she had been small-minded yesterday, thinking Shi Qing had come out to compete with her for Wei Jiuyi.

Putting aside their misgivings, they chatted happily, like new friends.

“Teacher Shi, can I add you on WeChat? It’ll be easier to contact you,” Fang Fei said, pulling out her phone.

“I don’t have my phone with me,” Shi Qing said, lifting the wide sleeve of her costume to show she was unable to get to it. “I put it in my bag for the photoshoot.”

“Oh, right, right, my bad,” Fang Fei said, putting her phone away. “I’ll add you later. We have a group chat for the cast, so I can add you from there.”

“Mhm, that works.”

They laughed and talked as if they were old friends.

Wei Jiuyi walked in and saw the whole scene. Fang Fei was gesturing wildly as she spoke, and Shi Qing, standing straight to avoid wrinkling her costume, smiled and responded. It was a sore sight.

“Teacher Shi.” As she spoke, her face changed, her smile warm and bright. “It’s time for the couple’s shot.”

Hearing Wei Jiuyi’s voice, Fang Fei instinctively straightened up, her smile frozen as she nodded at Wei Jiuyi. “Teacher Wei.”

Wei Jiuyi smiled back, her expression flawless. “Teacher Fang is here, too.”

Fang Fei nervously explained, “Ah, yes, Teacher Shi and I were just chatting. Haha…”

Shi Qing helped her out. “Xiao Ya is out sick, and Teacher Fang saw how hard it was for me to move in this costume, so she came to help me hold it.”

Fang Fei’s confidence returned. “Haha, it was no trouble! Well, Teacher Shi, I’ll walk you over. You two can take your couple’s shot, and I should probably go get my makeup done.”

She reached out to help Shi Qing with her cloak, but a pair of strong, slender hands moved faster than hers.

“I’ll do it,” Wei Jiuyi said, lifting the heavy cloak effortlessly and holding it in the crook of her arm. She said jokingly, “After you, Your Majesty.”

Her expression was still light, but in the depths of her eyes was a flash of displeasure that only Shi Qing could understand.

Shi Qing’s lips curved, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes. “Then, thank you, Your Royal Highness.”

They said goodbye to Fang Fei and walked toward the set.

As they passed through the curtain, the golden light of the set washed over them, creating an intense, dark gold glow that perfectly captured the ancient atmosphere. They walked one after the other, like figures in a mural from Dunhuang.

“Whoa!” Guo Xi, who had come to watch, exclaimed in a pure Beijing accent. “They’re incredible! These two were born for these roles! They look like they’ve walked right out of a painting!”

Fan Erhua crossed his arms, looking proud. “I chose them, didn’t I? Xiao Song, use this light to take a few more shots.”

Song Lixue chuckled. “Will do! Please come this way, both of you.”

Wei Jiuyi and Shi Qing greeted them and stood in the middle of the set. Wei Jiuyi put the cloak down, and a few stylists came over to adjust their clothes and hair. Once everything was in place, everyone moved back, and the lights came on.

Fan Erhua directed them, “Come to the center. First, stand back to back. Right, now turn a bit, angle your bodies to the camera, about 45 degrees… and look into the camera with an ambitious, condescending look.”

The camera was low, so they looked down, their eyes half-closed. From the camera’s perspective, it looked like two rulers sitting on thrones, with the viewer as a mere ant ready to be crushed.

Song Lixue, the photographer, was taken aback. “Their presence is so strong!”

After the first set, Fan Erhua was very pleased, and Guo Xi gave them a thumbs-up.

“Let’s do another one, for the early part of the story. The princess listens to the empress. Let me think…”

Fan Erhua’s mind raced, and he quickly came up with a scene. “Okay, the empress is standing, and the princess is kneeling before her. The empress is rewarding the princess with a cup of wine after she returns from battle. Where are the props? Get a bronze wine goblet.”

As Wei Jiuyi knelt before Shi Qing, her body suddenly lowered, and memories came rushing back like a puppet being pulled on strings.

Back then, Shi Qing was in a modern drama, playing the male lead’s former “white moonlight.” She had a lot of lines, and Wei Jiuyi often helped her practice. When they got to the proposal scene, Wei Jiuyi suddenly jumped off the sofa and knelt down, a rolled-up script in her hand as a ring.

“Miss Shi, will you marry me?”

Shi Qing gave her a playful glare and tapped her on the head with the script. “I’m playing ‘Miss Bai’.”

“Ouch.” Wei Jiuyi stuck out her tongue and rubbed the spot where she’d been tapped. “I said the wrong name by accident.”

She was a natural at being cute without being fake. Her soft plea came so naturally from her throat that Shi Qing’s demeanor softened, and she pulled her onto the sofa, rubbing the knee she’d knelt on. “Okay, let’s keep going.”

Only Wei Jiuyi knew that her little mistake of calling her “Miss Shi” was completely intentional.

Fan Erhua’s voice brought her back, and the memory vanished.

“Okay, one more shot, for the later conflict. Bring a chair. Empress, take off your cloak and wear the inner robe.”

With the help of a crew member, Shi Qing untied her cloak, and the weight on her shoulders was immediately reduced by several pounds.

“Empress, sit on the chair, and the princess will grab her by the throat.”

Shi Qing and Wei Jiuyi did as they were told.

Wei Jiuyi’s slender fingers wrapped around Shi Qing’s neck. Her middle finger’s callus brushed against the most sensitive part of Shi Qing’s skin, igniting a fire that made her skin flush.

Their eyes met in a moment of chaotic recognition, then Shi Qing quickly closed her eyes, but in the darkness behind her lids, countless memories of their intimacy flashed. Shi Qing vividly remembered biting her tear-soaked pillow while Wei Jiuyi held her, her thighs shaking uncontrollably. Wei Jiuyi, in a half-teasing, half-threatening way, would pull her to the mirror to admire her own desperate face. “A-Qing, do you know how beautiful you are right now? I want to die on top of you!”

Shi Qing blinked twice, shaking her head to clear the unsettling memory, and opened her eyes to face the camera again.

“What’s wrong? Are you okay?” Fan Erhua asked.

“I’m fine,” Shi Qing said, quickly regaining her composure.

“Good. Let’s continue.”

Fan Erhua had a great vision. The three couple’s shots—back to back, the princess kneeling, and the empress sitting—created a powerful visual impact.

“The empress is a very proud person. Even if she’s losing the fight to the princess, she won’t give in. So when you’re being choked, lift your chin up. Yes, just like that… And look at the princess with a look of someone who’s confident they’ll win. Yes, yes…”

“And for you, Princess, you’re about to win, but when you see the empress’s arrogant expression, your resentment turns to anger. But don’t be too flashy; it’s a restrained anger… Yes, look more vicious. Clench your teeth. Lighting crew, I want to see the muscles bulge in her jaw. Yes, yes…”

With one person high and the other low, their struggle for power was a silent storm of hands and eyes. The temperature in the studio seemed to drop, and an invisible dark cloud, pregnant with thunder, loomed over them. One wrong move, and lightning and thunder would strike.

Shi Qing’s throat was in Wei Jiuyi’s grip. She stared at the furious face before her, seeing not only Ji Lan through Jiang Ke’s eyes but also Wei Jiuyi through her own.

Wei Jiuyi had grown up a lot. The kitten who used to nuzzle her neck had become a fierce leopard with sharp fangs. She carried a youthful defiance and a beast’s ferocity. Even if she wasn’t a full-grown leopard, she had the power to tear through her prey’s throat in a fight.

It was a strange sense of oppression.

After the shoot, the two were in the dressing room having their makeup removed. The door was closed, and it was just the two of them. Wei Jiuyi dropped the polite mask she wore for others. Her face was blank, but it made Shi Qing feel as though Ji Lan was still holding her neck.

“You seemed to be having a good time talking with Fang Fei earlier,” Wei Jiuyi said, without a hint of hesitation.