The Movie Queen's Demon Sect Leader [Transmigration] GL - Chapter 4
Luo Xuange saw that An Ruoshui was no longer paying attention to her, and she subtly let out a sigh of relief. She also took this opportunity to secretly observe An Ruoshui.
When An Ruoshui wasn’t filming, she would quietly sit aside, reading her script. But Luo Xuange squinted her eyes and looked closely, only to discover that An Ruoshui was holding the script upside down. …Was the Movie Queen confused?
Soon, Luo Xuange saw An Ruoshui’s assistant quietly pointing to the script and reminding her. After An Ruoshui came to her senses, she slowly righted the script. Her calm and composed demeanor made it seem as if she wasn’t the one who had committed the embarrassing mistake of holding the script upside down.
However, in an instant, Luo Xuange saw An Ruoshui glare at her assistant as if in a fit of pique. The assistant, however, showed no fear or tension, smiling and saying a few words to An Ruoshui. As they were some distance away, Luo Xuange couldn’t quite hear what they were saying. Then, she saw An Ruoshui glare angrily at the assistant again, and her assistant chuckled and ran off to the side.
After observing all this, Luo Xuange suddenly felt that this legendary cool and aloof goddess didn’t seem to match the rumors. At least, she was completely different from the impression in the original owner’s mind.
The An Ruoshui she saw was a bit like a child wanting candy that their parent wouldn’t buy, then sitting there pouting alone, only to be discovered and exposed. After throwing a tantrum, she glared fiercely at the other person. But it had no real impact. It looked more like she was acting spoiled, perhaps even a little cute. Luo Xuange rarely curved her lips into a smile.
There was still one more scene to shoot in the morning before they would break for lunch.
After Jiang Haixi instructed the staff to prepare the props, the two lead actors for the scene were also ready.
Luo Xuange quickly changed into a tattered commoner’s outfit and, along with other extras, lay scattered on the street, playing the role of citizens killed during a city massacre. It was uncertain if she would even be filmed, but she had to be prepared for any shot that might include her.
This scene was a romance between a disgraced princess and a young enemy general. The two were originally in love, but unfortunately, the war drums sounded on the battlefield, turning them into enemies with swords drawn against each other.
In this particular scene, the princess disguises herself as a servant girl and is secretly sent out of the city by the general. Luo Xuange heard there would also be a kiss scene during their separation.
All departments were ready, and when filming began, the initial part went perfectly. The disgraced princess, played by An Ruoshui, imbued every gesture and smile with emotion, standing up to repeated scrutiny. However, when it came to the kiss scene, An Ruoshui repeatedly made mistakes.
She either resisted the male actor’s approach or instinctively pushed him away. This made Director Jiang so furious he was on the verge of exploding.
“Ruoshui, is this your first day of filming?” Jiang Haixi rushed over to An Ruoshui, his anger momentarily unreleased. He clapped the script in his hand and lectured An Ruoshui: “It’s a fake kiss, I’m not asking you to actually kiss him, what are you dodging for?”
“I…”
An Ruoshui’s words of explanation were stuck in her throat. When no one noticed, she gave Luo Xuange a resentful glare from afar.
Just because no one else noticed didn’t mean Luo Xuange didn’t notice.
Luo Xuange saw An Ruoshui glare at her. She rubbed her nose, which was sore from the cold, and muttered to herself: What does that have to do with me? If you can’t act well, is it because I’m in your way here?
An Ruoshui hadn’t expected that filming a kiss scene with someone else in front of Luo Xuange would make her instinctively resist. It felt like she was caught red-handed by Luo Xuange, yet that person showed no reaction, turning her head to chat with the crowd leader nearby.
Furious and annoyed, An Ruoshui composed herself and repeatedly assured Director Jiang that this time she would find the right feeling and ensure a successful take.
Jiang Haixi had collaborated with An Ruoshui for a long time, and he trusted her words, so he nodded and instructed everyone else to get ready for another take.
Luo Xuange watched An Ruoshui and the male lead acting from among the extras. Sparks of love flickered in their eyes, and every word expressed their inner emotions. As their feelings deepened, they naturally stopped restraining themselves. When the male lead began to reach out and embrace An Ruoshui, An Ruoshui visibly froze for a moment, but it was only for an instant. She quickly recovered.
However, unfortunately, this scene still ended in an NG (No Good) take.
The reason lay with the male lead. When filming the fake kiss, his expression was stiff, and his acting clearly went offline. Jiang Haixi’s meticulous nature led him to demand a retake.
Again and again, the male lead just couldn’t get past that facial expression hurdle.
Han Yu was a popular young male celebrity in recent years, who debuted as a singer and transitioned to acting a few years ago. He had no professional acting guidance and no extensive filming experience, but he was popular and an actor designated by the investor.
Jiang Haixi initially disagreed with him joining the crew, but considering that An Ruoshui, a strong actor, was also in the cast, he compromised with the investor.
After filming began, Han Yu performed well on set and often asked An Ruoshui for acting advice. Jiang Haixi’s impression of him improved considerably, but he hadn’t expected problems to arise during the kiss scene.
After being scolded by Jiang Haixi, Han Yu quietly suggested: “Can we really kiss? I can’t find the feeling with a fake kiss.”
An Ruoshui hadn’t even opened her mouth when Jiang Haixi interrupted Han Yu: “If you can’t find the feeling for a kiss scene, then really kiss? Will the next fight scene require me to really cripple you?”
Before he finished speaking, Director Jiang glimpsed Luo Xuange, who was playing a corpse nearby. Luo Xuange was lying on the ground, her face contorted in a ferocious expression, seemingly still showing the unwillingness and fear from before being killed. Jiang Haixi paused for a moment after seeing it, then instinctively pointed at Luo Xuange and said to Han Yu: “Even a corpse has better acting than you!”
Han Yu glanced at Luo Xuange, who was almost asleep on the ground, and silently retreated.
The entire crew plunged into a new round of filming. Finally, after two grueling hours, An Ruoshui and Han Yu made no mistakes, and the scene passed smoothly.
Jiang Haixi looked at the two in the monitor. Although it still didn’t meet his exact standards, he was very satisfied compared to the previous NG takes.
As everyone prepared to eat, Luo Xuange slowly got up from the ground.
She had filmed two scenes and had been lying on the ground for nearly four or five hours. Her legs were numb.
When Luo Xuange went to the crew to get her lunchbox, she was told there were none left.
Luo Xuange didn’t believe it; such a large crew couldn’t be so stingy as to not even have one extra lunchbox. Just as she was about to go check, Han Yu stopped her.
“Hey, excuse me…” Han Yu squeezed past Luo Xuange. He had a dedicated assistant to prepare his lunch, so he naturally wouldn’t come here to queue for a lunchbox. But at this moment, he precisely did come, and he even took two lunchboxes. One for himself, and the other he casually handed to another young actor.
Now, there really were no extra lunchboxes. Luo Xuange looked at Han Yu’s retreating back and remembered what Director Jiang had said about her when criticizing Han Yu.
Luo Xuange scoffed inwardly. This kind of revenge is too childish, isn’t it?
However, she had been hungry for several days, only having had some dumplings from the kind landlady that morning. She had spent the entire morning lying in cold winter water and was now shivering all over, her empty stomach aching terribly from hunger.
Luo Xuange watched Han Yu’s retreating figure, her fists clenching tighter and tighter, as if she could punch and smash Han Yu’s head in the next second.
An Ruoshui, who had just come out of the dressing room after removing her makeup, noticed the atmosphere on set wasn’t right, so she asked her assistant, Li Tian, for the reason.
Li Tian told An Ruoshui what had just happened without any embellishment.
An Ruoshui was silent for a moment, then told Li Tian to bring her lunch.
“Today’s lunch was homemade by me; they’re all your favorite dishes, and there’s even meat. It’s been kept warm for you, so eat quickly,” Li Tian said to An Ruoshui while getting the food.
An Ruoshui ignored Li Tian, took the lunch, and walked straight towards Luo Xuange.
As she stood in front of Luo Xuange, extending the lunch in her hand, a rough male voice suddenly rang out beside her.
“Xiao Luo, this is my portion. I haven’t touched it yet, you take it.”
Luo Xuange, looking bewildered, loosened her clenched fists. She looked at the crowd leader, who was on good terms with the original owner, then at An Ruoshui, who was expressionless but had a hidden look of awkwardness in her eyes.
One simple bento box, one carefully prepared lunch.
Luo Xuange almost imperceptibly swallowed. She actually wanted both, but could only choose one. Deciding whose food to take now became a dilemma.