Transmigrating into the Rival's Fanfiction - Chapter 25

They rehearsed their scene for nearly half an hour.

Sheng Mingluo’s throat felt dry. The ice in her coffee had completely melted, but she still took a sip, her tongue lightly pressing against the straw as she sipped slowly.

“Oh, I wanted to tell you something… We can go down the mountain for dinner tomorrow. The Director said there’s been a lot of drama on set lately, so he wants us to have a meal together to get to know each other better.”

Qin Zhi was the first to hear about this.

No one else had been informed yet.

“Ah, Teacher Qin, how did you find out?”

Sheng Mingluo closed her script, genuinely curious as she hadn’t heard anything about this before.

“The Director told me. Consider it an early spoiler.”

“Let’s go. We still have a few night scenes to shoot.”

Qin Zhi stood up, pushed her chair back, and extended her palm toward Sheng Mingluo. Gazing at the smooth, delicate lines of her palm, Sheng Mingluo felt an inexplicable warmth bloom in her heart.

Her heart pounded in her chest. Could it be because we’re in a fanfiction world that I’m developing feelings for Qin Zhi?

Still, she placed her palm in Qin Zhi’s, feeling the cool touch of her hand. Sheng Mingluo smiled faintly.

Following her to the film set, Sheng Mingluo found Luo Hu sitting off to the side, resting. The atmosphere suddenly tensed, but Qin Zhi paid him no mind, completely ignoring his presence.

The filming schedule had been completely disrupted.

Yesterday, they had shot scenes from the later part of the story. Today, the indoor set was finally ready. Sheng Mingluo needed to be suspended from the rafters by wires, then dive down to slay the bandits.

As soon as she arrived on set, the props team fitted Sheng Mingluo with the wires. The rafters were quite high, but fortunately, the supporting beams were thick and sturdy.

Sheng Mingluo didn’t feel as terrified as she expected, but the dive itself still seemed daunting. She tightened her grip on the ropes.

The Director chuckled and waved reassuringly.

“Xiao Sheng, don’t worry! We’re all professionals here. Nothing will go wrong.”

She patted Sheng Mingluo’s frail shoulder. Sheng Mingluo swallowed hard and nodded.

“Director, I’m not scared!”

“Just let me get into character for a moment.”

“Alright, you’re a real go-getter, young lady!”

Though she had been suspended by wires many times during filming, Sheng Mingluo still felt a twinge of fear. After all, acrophobia was a primal instinct.

Qin Zhi sat on a nearby chair, watching Sheng Mingluo with the script still rolled in her hand. Sheng Mingluo had a slender figure, her waist particularly slim. Bound by the wire harness, she looked like a goddess descending from the heavens.

The extras standing in the hall pulled up their black cloth masks and gripped broadswords. Suddenly, a figure leaped down from the rafters, catching one of them off guard and slashing him to the ground.

In an instant, a single strike to the throat proved fatal. Bl00d gushed forth, staining the hall’s bluestone floor crimson.

For this single shot alone, Sheng Mingluo repeated the scene three times before Zhao Le was finally satisfied.

“Cut!”

“That’s a wrap!”

Unsure if the director wanted more takes, Sheng Mingluo remained suspended from the rafters. Hearing the “wrap” call, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and prepared to lower her.

Qin Zhi, who had been focused entirely on Sheng Mingluo’s performance, hadn’t noticed anything amiss. But when she glanced up, she saw the rope swaying slightly, something clearly wrong.

One of the rope handlers was dozing off, his drowsy demeanor betraying his exhaustion. Just as Qin Zhi was about to warn them, the other handlers began loosening the rope. Caught off guard, Sheng Mingluo was about to leap down from the rafters.

As soon as Sheng Mingluo descended, she sensed something was wrong. The rope’s tension wasn’t enough to counteract her momentum, and her body began to sway violently.

Qin Zhi was too far away to intervene. She could only turn to the drowsy crew member standing nearby. The moment the rope slipped from his grasp, he jolted awake, desperately trying to regain control. But the slender rope, like a nimble snake, slithered through his fingers.

Panic seized him as he watched the rope slip away, his face draining of color. The nap was instantly forgotten.

He had only gotten this part-time job on set through a relative’s connections. Now, not only would he lose his wages, but he might even have to pay compensation.

Just as the man was sinking into despair, a powerful gust of wind swept past him. Qin Zhi had leaped forward, seizing the rope. She stumbled a few steps, her body immediately reacting, retreating backward while her hand clamped down on the rope, coiling it around her palm. The force of Sheng Mingluo’s descent nearly dragged her forward, but Qin Zhi braced her feet, the rope digging into her palm and wrist, leaving raw, bloody marks.

The man finally reacted and hurriedly helped Qin Zhi pull on the rope. Sheng Mingluo, who had been swaying precariously in mid-air, was safely lowered to the ground.

“Boss! Are you okay? Boss!”

Fang Qing was terrified, her face pale with fright. She had been scrolling through comments on her phone, furiously battling online trolls with her burner account.

Distracted, she hadn’t noticed Sheng Mingluo’s filming situation. When she finally looked up, she only saw the man beside her suddenly dart away.

She carefully untied the bl00d-stained rope, revealing a shocking, raw wound where the skin had been torn. Seeing everyone crowding around Qin Zhi, Sheng Mingluo grew anxious and quickly freed herself from the remaining restraints.

Glancing repeatedly toward Qin Zhi, she finally rushed to his side after completely freeing herself.

Fang Qing had already retrieved the iodine antiseptic from the crew’s medical kit. She gently dabbed the red liquid onto the wound with a cotton swab. Seeing Sheng Mingluo’s concern, the man immediately apologized profusely.

“I’m so sorry, Miss Sheng… I didn’t sleep well last night and was careless. Are you… alright? Are you hurt?”

He pressed his palms together, bowing repeatedly in apology, but his anxiety about his job was even more evident.

“What kind of work is this? Sleeping on the job? If it were anything else, I wouldn’t say a word, but you’re sleeping when people’s lives are at stake!”

The assistant director burst forward. He had pulled strings to get this man the job, and if the director pursued the matter, he might be implicated himself.

“I was wrong. I’ll never dare to do it again,” the man stammered, his face flushed crimson as he mumbled excuses and promises of future compliance.

At that moment, Qin Zhi emerged from the crowd, her face icy as she glared at him.

“Next time?”

Her gaze was glacial, the man sensing the murderous intent behind it, mixed with a sinister chill that made his skin crawl. Qin Zhi’s hand was already wrapped in a white bandage, and a cold smile curled her lips.

“Do you realize the consequences of your negligence? Falling from this height could have paralyzed her. How would you take responsibility for that?”

The entertainment industry was full of stunt doubles who had been paralyzed from the waist down due to wire malfunctions or performing dangerous stunts.