Against the Light - Chapter 61
Chapter 61: A Great Victory for the Bai-Gu Girls!
"Bai-Bai Yilan? When did you get back??" Director Liu, Liu Ping, stared at Bai Yilan in astonishment. He then looked at the large crowd of people with her, his small eyes struggling to take it all in.
Bai Yilan withdrew her gaze and swept a cool glance over him.
"Director Liu seems to be very interested in my crew?"
"Uh, no, not at all. You're busy, you're busy…" After saying this, Liu Ping gestured to his people and fled.
"Tch, that bastard! Does bullying women count as a skill? Are you even fit to be a director? Don't insult the profession!" Jin Shuang yelled at his retreating back, only turning around after she had vented her anger.
"Sister Lan, you're finally back!!"
The members of Bai Yilan's crew immediately swarmed around her, looking like they wanted to lift her high into the air.
"While you were gone, we had it so rough, getting bullied every day! You're not leaving again this time, right?" Jin Shuang poured out her grievances.
Before Bai Yilan could respond, she felt an intensely eager gaze on her.
She looked up and saw Xinran.
"Yes, I'm not leaving," Bai Yilan said, looking at Gu Xinran with a faint smile as she answered Jin Shuang's question.
"Awooo!!"
"Waaah, we're finally not motherless children anymore!!" The crew members hugged each other and wept.
"Hey, hey, hey, can't you guys read the room!" Lin Guo walked over, frantically winking at the crowd and repeatedly glancing at Gu Xinran, who had been pushed to the back.
"Oh, oh, right! Um, Sister Lan, while you were away, it was all thanks to the boss's wife looking out for us."
Gu Xinran's expression turned strange. Boss's wife? Logically, it wasn't wrong, but why did it sound so awkward?
Bai Yilan walked up to her and smiled faintly. "You've worked hard."
Gu Xinran shook her head, carefully studying Yilan. She had gotten thinner again, and the loose clothes she wore made her frame seem exceptionally delicate. But what relieved Gu Xinran was that her complexion was rosy, her spirits were high, and there was a light in her eyes. It was clear she had adjusted her mindset well and had likely moved on completely from the previous incident.
Her gaze unconsciously drifted to Bai Yilan's left wrist, where she still wore a white ribbon. She wondered if she had looked at the sachet, if she had remembered their past.
Bai Yilan was also looking at her. Gu Xinran's face was pale, and she was clearly exhausted. She must not have rested well during this time; she had lost a whole size, a sight that tugged at one's heartstrings.
Bai Yilan averted her gaze, gave her a slight nod, and entered the studio.
"Sister Ran, how could you not tell me when something this big happened? Did you think I'd just stand by and do nothing?" Qin Qiong walked up to Gu Xinran, crossing her arms and looking at her angrily. If Lin Guo hadn't told her, she wouldn't have even known that the actors had all left; she'd thought everything was progressing smoothly.
Gu Xinran smiled and patted her arm. "I know you're a true friend, but I was afraid of dragging you into this. Qiuyan has already been implicated because of me."
"What are you talking about?"
"Why are you all here?" Gu Xinran glanced around.
"Ah, we heard someone was trying to bully our big boss, so we came to back you up~" Lin Guo laughed heartily.
"You're so dense. Do you think her question is that simple? Haven't you noticed her eyes have been darting toward a certain someone the whole time~" Ming Zhen pushed up a pair of non-existent glasses.
"…" Gu Xinran's pretty face flushed. She turned her head and faced away from the group. "Let's go inside. Since you're here, you can help out."
The moment they entered the studio, everyone was dumbfounded.
"???"
"My god, what happened here? Was it robbed?"
"Are you stupid? Would a thief dismantle the set? This place was clearly trashed."
"Damn, this is going too far!"
Bai Yilan surveyed the scene, walked to a table, and picked up a costume that had been destroyed beyond recognition before putting it back down.
"Everyone, let's start by restoring the set."
"Jin Shuang, tell me everything that's happened these past few days in detail."
"The actors, come with me to the lounge. No, let's go to the dressing room."
As she spoke, Bai Yilan headed for the dressing room. "Fang Yi, take your boss to the lounge and let her rest for a while."
Everyone, who had been about to get to work, froze in unison.
"Why does she get to rest!"
"Because she's your boss's wife! Now get to work and stop dawdling!" Jin Shuang waved her hand, winking frantically at the crew.
Qin Qiong had only taken two steps when she turned to look at Lin Guo beside her. Lin Guo's expression was bizarre; she looked like she wanted to laugh but didn't dare, and she was trembling from holding it in, her face bright red.
"What are you shaking for?"
"A great victory for the Bai-Gu girls!!" Lin Guo's smile gradually turned mischievous.
"What???"
Gu Xinran felt uncomfortable under everyone's strange looks. She thought about going to the dressing room with the others, but as soon as she lifted her foot, she felt a sharp gaze on her. It scared her so much that she immediately retracted her probing jiojio and followed Fang Yi into the lounge.
"Sister Lan told you to rest, so just be good and get some rest. We've got this," Fang Yi said, placing a cushion on the sofa and draping a piece of clothing over her.
Gu Xinran frowned. Why was this Fang Yi so obedient to Yilan?
"How did you end up coming here with Yilan?"
"Hehe, it was such a coincidence. When we arrived, we saw Sister Lan leading a group of people in. Man! You have no idea, Sister Lan was so cool! Both hands in her pockets, just walking straight ahead with a huge group following her. It looked like they were heading into a fight! I don't know why, but the moment I saw her, I felt this sense of kinship and joined her group without a second thought, hehe~" Fang Yi was still a little excited just thinking about it.
"Stop fangirling for a second. Can you find a way to get the surveillance footage from around here? We can't just let this matter of the set being trashed go."
"Okay, I'll go right… no, I can't. Sister Lan told me to watch you rest. How about you hurry up and sleep? Once you're asleep, I'll go."
"…"
Gu Xinran let out a soft gasp as she lay down.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing." She frowned slightly, turned on her side, and pulled the clothing up to cover her face.
The moment she closed her eyes, Yilan's image appeared in her mind. She always seemed to descend from the heavens whenever Gu Xinran was at her most helpless.
It was like that this time, and it was the same last time on the stage of 【Star Wardrobe】.
Like an angel, holy and beautiful.
She brought an unparalleled sense of peace.
Meanwhile, on Bai Yilan's side, everyone was listening intently as Jin Shuang recounted the events.
When they heard that the neighboring crew had openly poached their actors and even set up their production right next door just to cause trouble, everyone was furious. That damn Director Liu was especially shameless, even having the audacity to come and requisition their studio. It was truly despicable.
"Sister Lan, it's great that you're back. Now that we have so many new actors and Director Yu's team, our crew has grown rapidly. Finishing this film before the summer break will definitely be no problem!"
"Let's not be too optimistic just yet," Bai Yilan said gravely.
"Why?"
"The other party is resorting to dirty tricks like trashing the set. They're clearly not decent people. Once people like that latch onto you, they're like maggots on a bone. There's no guarantee they don't have more tricks up their sleeves," Bai Yilan said.
"But right now, we're racing against time. If we're too cautious, I'm afraid…"
Bai Yilan looked at everyone and smiled.
"Rather than sit and wait for death, it's better to go on the offensive."
"Let's kidnap all the actors from their crew so they can't film!" Lin Guo blurted out a wild idea, only to be met with disdainful looks from everyone. "Sorry…"
Everyone looked at Bai Yilan, waiting for her to speak.
"Guozi is right."
"????"
"One of them actually dared to say it, and the other one actually dared to believe it!?"
"What? Kidnapping? I'm just an actor, now I have to handle kidnappings too!?"
Bai Yilan chuckled. "It won't come to that."
At three in the afternoon, Liu Ping's crew was filming a crowd scene. Over a hundred extras stood in a training yard, listening to the female lead's speech.
Just as Liu Ping yelled "Action!" he noticed that the staff hadn't moved at all.
"Hey, what are you all doing?"
"Di-Director, does it look like they're here to start a fight?" the assistant director asked, pointing at Bai Yilan's crew next door.
Including staff and actors, there were nearly sixty people, and every single one of them was carrying a small folding stool.
Bai Yilan took the lead, strolling over with a gentle smile.
Liu Ping started to panic. He knew very well that Bai Yilan had powerful backing. He had crossed her years ago and was nearly blacklisted from the directing circle by Yu Hua. It was only in recent years, after he'd cozied up to Le Tao, that his life had gotten easier.
Bai Yilan led her people closer. With a wave of her hand, everyone obediently put down their small folding stools and took a seat.
Bai Yilan also sat down, resting her chin on her hand as she looked at Liu Ping, even flashing him a sweet smile.
Liu Ping was terrified. This whole group of people was just sitting nearby, staring straight at him. What was she trying to do!??
"Director, don't worry, I'll go ask," the assistant director said, quickly walking over to the group.
"Director Bai, what is the meaning of this?"
"What, does your family own this land? We're not allowed to sit here?" Jin Shuang retorted irritably.
Bai Yilan glanced at her. "I'm sorry, we don't mean anything by it. We just want to learn. If we're disturbing you, I apologize in advance."
Bai Yilan's attitude was excellent, so much so that the other party didn't know how to ask her to leave.
The assistant director returned sheepishly.
Liu Ping glanced at her a few times. Bai Yilan smiled and waved at him, leaving him with no way to get angry.
"Keep filming. Ignore them. Just do your jobs," Liu Ping said, then instructed everyone to continue shooting.
Before long, they had shot the same scene four times.
"Sister Lan, that actor is performing the exact same way every time. What is he calling 'NG' for?" Jin Shuang was completely baffled.
Bai Yilan smiled. "If he doesn't call 'NG' a few times, how can he make himself look like an experienced, senior director?"
"Hahahaha!" The group burst into laughter.
Bai Yilan hadn't spoken loudly, but Liu Ping wasn't far away and heard her clearly. He glared at her in annoyance.
Bai Yilan simply smiled back at him.
For the entire afternoon, Liu Ping was on the verge of a breakdown.
In one whole day, he hadn't managed to finish a single scene.
Bai Yilan and her group just sat there watching. Whenever he thought a take was good enough to pass, the crowd behind him would start whispering and muttering, making him doubt himself.
So he called "NG" again and again, constantly starting over. By the end, he didn't even know what he was filming anymore. Everything looked awkward, and his composure completely crumbled.
It wasn't just him; the crew was breaking down too, and the actors were starting to get moody.
Seeing that it was about time, Bai Yilan stood up and gestured for everyone to leave.
The moment Liu Ping saw her leaving, he prepared to call for another take, only to hear Bai Yilan's voice drift over from a distance, "Everyone, be here early tomorrow."
?
They're fucking coming back!?
Comments
Post a Comment