“Just tell me which scene it is. I’ll give it a try.” Gu Xiqiao pulled her wooden hairpin out, letting her silk strand-like hair down onto her red dress. There was still a smudge of artificial blood on the corner of her mouth. Slowly, she shuffled towards Cheng Zhou with a lazy expression on her face.
One of the crew members handed her a wet towel, which Gu Xiqiao used to wipe her face clean. After that, she nodded slightly towards that person. “Thanks.”
“Ah, no! No need to thank me!” The young lady who helped her was caught off guard by Gu Xiqiao’s courtesy.
“It’s this one. Here, take a look,” said Cheng Zhou as he pointed at a part of his script.
Before Gu Xiqiao could look at it, a red silhouette swooped in at her face.
“Ah! It’s Xixi!”
“Hurry on over Xixi!”
Almost everyone there recognised who this red feather ball was. Why if it isn’t Gu Xiqiao’s favorite little pet.
Xixi left the house with Jiang Shuxuan yesterday. For it to appear in this place so suddenly, Gu Xiqiao had a feeling in her gut that someone else was nearby too. She spun around and there it was, a pair of dark, deep-set eyes staring back at her.
Old Liu followed Gu Xiqiao’s gaze, to find a tall man standing underneath a tree. The sun was shining down from behind, making it hard for him to make out his face clearly; the golden yellow sunlight had casted a blinding haze around his face.
This person had a distinct aura. It was hard for one to overlook his presence if he was standing there. However, perhaps because of Gu Xiqiao, Old Liu did not register in his mind that man’s presence. Now that he had a good look at the man, it was impossible for him to go on ignoring him. “H-H-He, when did he arrive here?!”
Cheng Zhou too, had just realized that Jiang Shuxuan was standing there the whole time. Since most of them were the same crew members from the previous film, they had already gotten used to how he would come and go unnoticed like a phantom. He patted Old Liu’s shoulder and said, “Get use to it.”
Then, he finally let Gu Xiqiao watch the scene herself. She turned around and glanced down at the script. The blase look on her face was now gone. “Are you sure about this, Director Cheng?”
“I was.” Cheng Zhou’s face twisted in pain. Who would’ve known that Jiang Shuxuan would suddenly pop in for a visit. He looked over at Li Yu, who was trying to give the man a nasty look. His decision was made then and there. “Sigh, I guess I’ll have to put Ning Qing through the grinder for a couple of days. This scene’s a real test of skill, I’d say. We simply cannot mess it up.”
Whatever that Gu Xiqiao ordered him to do, he would do it well. She had requested for him to back Ning Qing up, there were lots of aspects which he could not ignore when approaching this issue. Especially so was to get her nominated as the film queen. This scene would be the climax of the film, which hopefully, would propel her into getting an award.
Was that so? A pale finger rubbed against a pair of red lips. Gu Xiqiao narrowed her eyes as if plotting something in her mind. Then, with a snap of her fingers, Xixi and Haha who were playing around darted over in front of her.
“Please give me a moment, Director Cheng.” Gu Xiqiao slapped Xixi aside before spinning around and walking over to Jiang Shuxuan’s side.
Gu Xiqiao’s dress was red, a color that she rarely wore. She had only worn this color twice back when she played the character of Princess Qixia. Jiang Shuxuan personally had never seen her in this color before. Still, her glowing face was still the same old when she crept up towards him.
She was completely unlike the demon girl who she was playing just now. She did not die a tragic death, nor did she experience extreme grief. Without all that, there was still distress in his eyes when looking at her.
She slowly marched over. Her lips curled up slightly when their eyes met. The gold parts of her dress shone underneath the sunlight and her skin, as pale as snow, glowed in contrast with her jet black hair.
A moment later.
“Old Cheng, isn’t she planning to change out of her clothes?” By now, Gu Xiqiao was already standing in the background, talking to Ning Qing about something. Old Liu recalled Gu Xiqiao’s performance. “She’s more suited to playing the demon girl character. She’s a different type of girl from the female lead, I think…”
No doubt, Gu Xiqiao’s performance was earth-shatteringly good. Even she hoped for more screen time for Gu Xiqiao. However, because of the conflict between the demon girl and the female protagonist’s nature, Old Liu found it hard to understand why Cheng Zhou was so adamant on getting her to play the character.
Cheng Zhou signaled to one of the staff with his hands before patting Old Liu’s shoulder.
“Old Liu, just you wait and see.”
“Unit 2 and Unit 5! Ready–Action!” This scene was intended to be a live demonstration for Ning Qing but Cheng Zhou had it recorded nonetheless.
Cheng Zhou had just finished speaking when the look in Gu Xiqiao’s eyes shifted without warning. Old Liu was stunned. He watched the young girl, dressed in red and sitting on the floor. Her eyes were filled with vigor and appeared so confident that she was hard to look at. Her pair of ink-dark eyes glowed red hot with fury before suddenly changing into eternal sorrow.
“So, our Righteous Ones have stooped so low?” The way she spoke sounded in between a whisper and a helpless sigh.
On her face was a smile, and yet an indescribable sense of grief filled the hearts of many onlookers.
Reaching out her blood-stained hand, she caressed the face of the man in her embrace. The evil mist that wrapped around him had vanished without a warning, leaving only a pale, almost lifeless face.
Slowly, she leaned over and solemnly pressed her lips against his.
It was as if time had stood-still momentarily. As the two pairs of lips merged, the both of them could feel each other’s turbulent breaths.
Her lips were cold, but there was also a hint of sweetness. Jiang Shuxuan’s mind had gone completely blank while staring at this scene. He could feel his heart burning hot. He was eager to find some place to vent his anger but he remembered, this was just a scene for a movie.
His eyelashes fluttered as an uncomfortable warmth crept up his face. It felt as if someone had pinched down on his heart painfully. It didn’t help that Gu Xiqiao was in a trance-like state when they kissed.
It was this moment that something sparked in their souls. The two of them were startled at the same time.
Gu Xiqiao looked up, aware that she had screwed up by doing this scene too well. Luckily, Ning Qing didn’t need the second half of the scene. She wiped her face clean and stared up expressionlessly at Cheng Zhou. “Is that enough?”
Cheng Zhou was still staring blankly at the flip screen of the camera. His mind was still stuck in the bittersweet moment that lasted seven to eight minutes. Gu Xiqiao’s cold, intrusive voice broke that fantasy he was in.
‘Argh, what a mood spoiler!’
Jiang Shuxuan got up and straightened his long, slender body. He peered down at the face that seemed like it was carved masterfully out of jade. Reaching out his hand, he pulled Gu Xiqiao back on her feet.
Gu Xiqiao dusted herself off before heading straight for the dressing room.
She was wearing a plain outfit when she reappeared from the room. Still, that was enough to awe the crew members in a different way.
Jiang Shuxuan’s car was parked outside the studio. The both of them got into the car.
Apart from the crew members, there were also movie extras and side characters that worked for ‘River’s Lake’. All of them saw the inconspicuous luxury car they got into and some couldn’t help but comment about the noble-looking man.
“Life’s perfect if you’re good-looking.”
Not only would life be perfect, there would even be people who actively kissed your ass.
After saying that, she thought there would be many who would nod in agreement with her statement. To her surprise, everyone around her looked at her with contempt in their eyes.
Old Liu stole a glance at the extra before turning over to Cheng Zhou. “Say, is that Miss Gu really…”
“Tsk-” Cheng Zhou glared at the extra. “Fine, I’m letting the cat out the bag. Old Liu, the investor of our film is none other than the Miss Gu you’re talking about.”
Cheng Zhou didn’t wait to see Old Liu’s response after saying that. Instead, he turned over to look at the scene from before and started lecturing. “Look! Look! See her gaze? I bet you never thought that such an expression was possible. She excels no matter what character she plays. Isn’t it natural to say that she was born for this? I just don’t get why she decided to study medicine!”
It was because of seeing how talented she was in acting that Cheng Zhou felt devastated. Two days later however, he swallowed his words after reading the medical article in the news.
***
In the car.
“I visited Grandpa Baili yesterday.” Jiang Shuxuan started telling Gu Xiqiao about it as he drove his vehicle into a busy street.
Gu Xiqiao looked up at him. “Was he shocked?”
Of course he was. Baili Qu stubbornly claimed that their book was the real deal until Jiang Shuxuan brought the book which Gu Xiqiao had handed him out.
“Grandpa Baili would like to meet you.” At a red light, Jiang Shuxuan stopped the car. He then turned towards Gu Xiqiao. “Tell me, where did you get that book?”
He felt a surmounting mental strength fluctuation when he flipped open the first page. If it was able to directly interfere with his own mental strength, Jiang Shuxuan believed that it must’ve been the same for Baili Qu. The two books started out the same but soon diverged in terms of quality the further back you read.
Baili Bin was insanely-powerful. In just half a day’s time, he had already reached a higher state of awareness when it came to formations. He leveled up instantly, which was surprising considering how he had been struggling to do so for the past five years.
Baili Qu, who neither believed in the authenticity of the real book nor wished to have it went silent immediately.
“They’ve returned to the Imperial Capital with me. Though, they’re still in the ancient martial arts world. They would like to meet you for once.”
Gu Xiqiao put her phone down and glimpsed at Jiang Shuxuan. “It’s kinda hard to explain how this book came about. Brother Jiang, be patient and I’ll tell you all about it afterward.”
Green light. Jiang Shuxuan stepped down on the accelerator as he responded with a quiet murmur.
He knew that she had her own secrets but refrained from poking his nose into her business. He had seen glimpses of how capable she was, from the mysterious pill, to this book that she handed him. He had a premonition that if revealed, her identity would not only shake the ancient martial arts world but the entire human world as a whole.
Baili Qu has always been calm and collected. However, this time, he was confident that the Baili family could rise up into becoming one of the “big three” families in the ancient martial arts world. The source of this confidence was of course, this book.
Jiang Shuxuan had no idea what the ancient martial arts world had in store for him. His grip on the steering wheel was so tight that his knuckles started turning white. Before anything major happened, he must safeguard her from harm. Absolutely no one from the ancient martial arts world must know where she is.
“What about Grandpa Baili? Would you like to meet him?” Came a low-pitched voice.
Gu Xiqiao shook her head. “Nah.”
The time wasn’t ripe yet. She still wasn’t strong enough.
Her reply was what Jiang Shuxuan was hoping to hear. He turned the steering wheel with a pair of glowing eyes.
Suddenly, Gu Xiqiao’s phone started ringing when she was staring out the window. Peering down at the screen, she discovered that it was a message from Xiao Yun, whom she had not seen in a long long time.
Xiao Yun: “Er Qiao! I bumped into the boss of the Tang Enterprise while playing for the web drama today!”
For A Millenium: “You’re talking ’bout Tang Qingqiu?”
Xiao Yun: “Oh, so he’s called Tang Qingqiu? I smell something fishy going on. Do you know who Peng Zixian is? She’s come to work with us! She’s the second female lead for our story! I think Tang Qingqiu was here to see her!”
For A Millenium: “Fool!”
Xiao Yun, who was putting on makeup in the dressing room couldn’t help but feel abandoned when she saw the phrase appear in Gu Xiqiao’s chat bubble.
Xiao Yun: “Can’t we speak in a more civilized manner?”
For A Millenium: ” ? ”
Xiao Yun: “Just what on earth changed you?”
For A Millenium: “Probably because our level of intelligence is miles apart.”
Xiao Yun: “Oh, how cold.”
Gu Xiqiao turned her phone off. She mumbled “Peng Zixian” to herself quietly as she thought about Xiao Yun’s response. She sighed. “Oh, how silly she is.”
Jiang Shuxuan peeked at her.
Gu Xiqiao sat upright and cleared her throat. “I’m not talking about you!”
***
At the International Medical Sciences Organization.
This was a medical science academy funded by over fifty countries from all around the globe. There were different faculties, ranging from engineering to medical science. Even the lowest ranking members in this place were academicians. Not all academicians could enter this place, only a select few were granted access to this establishment.
Top doctors from every corner of the globe were all condensed in this hotspot. They all received the news at the same time.
Zhu Yuan, an academician from China was inviting them to a press conference.
“Cell fusion? I thought it’s a press conference about that mysterious video! Like hell I’m attending that crap!” said an aging American doctor. “China’s been on a slump recently. We’re talking about cell fusion here! They think they can get us to create free publicity for them by inviting us?! Apart from Zhu Yuan, they’re all worthless to me!”
“Zhu Yuan has already patented his cell fusion process. This time round, it’s Gu, Xiqiao huh?” Another slightly younger doctor pushed his spectacles up his nose. “She’s a freshman at A University. I guess she’s succeeded with the help of Zhu Yuan. I don’t think there’s a need for us to participate in this press conference if that’s the case.”
Some other doctors agreed with him. They were all number one in their respective fields; they could cause uproar wherever they went. Their reactions might’ve been different if it was Zhu Yuan or that doctor from that mysterious video.
For a nobody freshman to invite them to her press conference, it sounded like a joke.