Shrine - Chapter 59
Chapter 59
The winter sun in Shucheng was harsh, and so were the flashes from the proxy photographers. As a result, one could often see the strange sight of actors, their makeup and styling complete, wearing padded jackets and holding umbrellas in the winter.
A few supporting actors with their makeup perfectly done filed out of the small building used for centralized makeup and boarded the crew's bus to head to the filming location. The bus swayed and jolted, and the smell of engine oil, blasted by the roar of the accelerator, drilled into one's head, causing a headache. On the crew pass displayed on the front windshield, a few large characters swayed back and forth: 【Shrine】 Crew.
Upon arriving at the film studio, the swaying stopped. The actors listlessly disembarked, passed by the gate where the crew's call sheet was posted, and entered the set.
The 【Shrine】 crew wasn't as wealthy and extravagant as the 【Mystery Guest】 crew. Its scale and setup were similar to other crews Ruan Ruan had worked with before. The difference was that Xin Chen, as the producer, was personally overseeing the set. The happy puppy stood with her arms crossed, watching the studio, checking the scenery, and leaning over to adjust the main and secondary monitors. She actually looked the part.
When she was an actress, Xin Chen didn't have much of a concept of time and often complained about wrapping up late at night. Now that she was a producer, with money slipping through her fingers every second, she wished she could clap her hands at passing staff with a mercenary look on her face and say, "Faster, faster, pick up the pace!"
She made a round of inspection, then went to the courtyard to check the setup for the commencement ceremony. This project had a lot of hype built up beforehand, so they wanted to keep the filming low-key. Therefore, they didn't hold a grand commencement ceremony or open the set to the media. They just hung a banner at the side of the set and placed an incense burner, its position divined by someone Xin Chen had hired. They were just waiting for nine in the morning, when Ruan Ruan and Zhong Yi would arrive to offer incense.
At 8:38, Zhong Yi arrived. She stepped out of a commercial van, her long straight black hair contrasting with her ankle-length down jacket, and took a breath of the crisp, cold air.
At 8:47, Ruan Ruan arrived. The commercial van drove onto the set, and Wu Mei jumped out first. Ruan Ruan followed, not holding an umbrella. She was also in a black down jacket, her makeup as exquisite as a graceful white magnolia.
The extras sitting on equipment cases and steps looked up at the two of them. Some secretly took out their phones to take pictures, while others observed what brand of water bottle Zhong Yi's assistant was carrying. None of them made much noise. When they saw the two were about to worship the deity, they all stood up in unison and gathered around the periphery to watch.
Zhong Yi and Ruan Ruan stood side by side, facing the ancient, brass-colored incense burner, each lighting three sticks of incense.
The scent of sandalwood drifted leisurely toward their brows. In the desolation of winter, it burned slowly and faintly, yet it carried a peculiar, eerie sense of faith. Ruan Ruan lowered her head and bowed piously three times.
One.
"When can we attend a commencement ceremony? And offer some incense too."
Two.
"Sigh, if people find out we worship a shrine at home, they'll laugh at us, won't they?"
Three.
"So what! We've been flops for so long, maybe it's because we haven't prayed to the gods enough."
Ruan Ruan raised her head, opened her eyes, and inserted the incense in her hands into the burner. The rental apartment hadn't been given up yet; Wu Mei was living there alone. Ruan Ruan had gone back last night. At this very moment, in front of the shrine next to the dining area, there was also a stick of incense that had nearly burned out.
【Shrine】, may the filming commence with great fortune.
"May the filming commence with great fortune!" Xin Chen clapped cheerfully, ran over, and slapped two lottery ticket booklets into Ruan Ruan's and Zhong Yi's hands. "Commencement red envelopes! Take them. How much you win depends on your luck."
Her breath plumed in the cold air, and she smiled so widely her eyes crinkled shut.
Ruan Ruan put her hands together, holding the lottery tickets, and made a wish with a smile.
Usually, to save costs, scenes are consolidated for filming, which means the shooting schedule doesn't follow the script's timeline. But 【Shrine】 had invested quite a bit in this aspect. To ensure the two actresses could get into character better and follow their characters' behavioral arcs more closely, their filming schedule would largely follow the plot. The first scene was the reunion of the two main characters, Shen Bai and Qiao Qiao.
The cameras were in position, parameters were correct, the tracks were laid, and all the lights were on.
Cinematographer: "Rolling."
Sound: "Speed."
Director: "Action."
【Shrine】, Episode 1, Scene 1. Filming began.
Bit-part actress Qiao Qiao encounters her old lover, Shen Bai, on set. Shen Bai was once an unattainable beauty, like the moon in the distant sky, but now she was past her prime. Wearing a thin turtleneck sweater, Shen Bai said to the producer, "If this film is shot like this, I can't act in it."
"Oh, you can't act in it? The contract is signed and you can't act in it? Are you kidding me?" the producer said, smoking a cigarette. "Teacher Shen, if you withdraw, the penalty for breach of contract is this much."
He held up two fingers.
"Twenty million?"
"Add a zero." The producer's face was full of scorn. Was she making a scene? Once the cameras started rolling, money burned like paper, not to mention the costs of expected profits and the platform's empty slot.
"What's going on?" Qiao Qiao asked her fellow extra from the sidelines.
"She's refusing to act," her friend said in a low voice. "They say the producer insisted on adding scenes for the second female lead, and the main female lead's storyline has been completely butchered. It was originally a female-centric script, but now she's just an accessory to the male lead."
"Isn't that just messing things up?" Qiao Qiao frowned. "Is the second female lead... from the investors' side?"
"No," her friend also found it strange. "She's been in the industry for a long time and never had any backing. Besides, if she was backed by the investors, she could have been cast as the female lead from the start, or had scenes added for herself during the scriptwriting stage. We've already been filming for half a month, and now this suddenly happens."
"Everyone on set is saying that woman put a curse on someone."
"A... a curse?" Qiao Qiao's scalp tingled.
"Yeah, someone said they see her wearing a Buddhist amulet every day, and someone else said she's raising a ghost child."
Raising a ghost child...
Qiao Qiao bit her lip. Then, then Shen Bai.
Suddenly, a commotion erupted from inside. A staff member ran out hurriedly, shouting as they ran, "Teacher Shen is having an asthma attack! Hurry, hurry!"
"Shen Bai!" Qiao Qiao was frantic, and a thin sheen of terrified sweat instantly broke out on her forehead.
The camera, focused on the sweat, stopped. The director looked up from the monitor and said into the walkie-talkie, "Cut."
"Very good." The on-set director didn't hold back his praise. "Both of you got into character very quickly."
Xin Chen excitedly pumped her little fists at the side. "Yay, yay, yay, yay. One take! A great start."
As Wu Mei wiped her sweat with a tissue, Ruan Ruan suddenly broke into a smile.
"You're nuts." Zhong Yi, holding her script, glanced at Xin Chen with a smile, then met Ruan Ruan's gaze.
"Cut this into the behind-the-scenes footage," Xin Chen said to the BTS videographer beside her, turning her head. "Our promotional angle will be, 'Lead actress has terrible manners and curses at people; producer is pitifully low-status.'"
"It's rare to see this kind of suicidal promotion," Zhong Yi said, browsing her script and raising an eyebrow.
"Ruan Ruan, let's strangle her and end the series," Xin Chen said, narrowing her eyes and wrapping an arm around Ruan Ruan's shoulders.
Ruan Ruan laughed softly and bumped her head against Xin Chen's. "Okay."
The first day of filming went very smoothly. Ruan Ruan was still elated when she returned to the hotel, only zoning out for a moment when getting into the elevator and almost walking in the wrong direction.
She was now also staying at Jingyue International, on the 19th floor, in a room diagonally opposite from where Shi Ran had stayed. The room type was much smaller, but it was also a suite.
After returning to Shucheng, Xiao Ju and her family, whom Shi Ran had arranged for someone to look after, were brought to Ruan Ruan's room. Every day when Ruan Ruan finished work, she would find a book or two, a pack or two of tissues, or one or two cat teasers on the floor. The kittens liked to fight at home.
Ruan Ruan closed the door, and the kittens came flying out of the bedroom. Luckily, the carpet cushioned their landing; otherwise, they would have sounded like several small, thumping gas canisters.
She ate some salad and waited until 9:30, when it was convenient for Shi Ran, to video-call her.
Shi Ran was still in her makeup and costume from the day's filming—a simple small-town woman in a worn padded jacket. Her foundation was two shades darker, so she didn't look as ethereal as usual, but she had a different kind of vitality. Ruan Ruan stared at her without blinking, her eyelashes trembling. "Have you had dinner? Did you eat well?"
The signal was poor over on the Gobi Desert side, so she had to finish her questions quickly, or the call would freeze.
Shi Ran was sitting on a wooden stool in a simple room. "I ate. Half a steamed bun."
Ruan Ruan hugged a kitten, resting her chin on Xiao Hei's head. "Why did you only eat a steamed bun?"
The heartache in her tone was slightly obvious, her voice faint, as if being carefully pulled out by a silk thread.
Shi Ran smiled, like a star lighting up the night. "It's not that there was nothing else to eat. I heard them say the handmade steamed buns here are delicious, so I wanted to try one. I was full after just half. Xiao Lin and the others went to eat roast chicken."
There was a smile in her eyes, and she quirked her lips slightly. Her expression was incredibly vivid. Ruan Ruan, holding her phone, suddenly missed Shi Ran terribly.
She missed her so much it hurt a little.
She thought that her previous reluctance to start an intimate relationship was perhaps out of fear of this very moment. She was afraid of someone's presence becoming a habit, an addiction like smoking. If she had to live and work alone, she could only temporarily block everything about the other person out. But the moment she heard her voice or saw the corner of her mouth, the craving would start.
This kind of craving was often accompanied by a sense of loss and emptiness, as if the surrounding dozens of miles were completely deserted.
She had many things she wanted to ask Shi Ran, like stories from the film set, but she didn't dare to ask. She instinctively felt that the more Shi Ran talked, the more upset she would become.
Ruan Ruan didn't show any of this. She just hugged Xiao Hei and watched Shi Ran for a while before finally speaking, "How much longer will you be filming there?"
Shi Ran thought for a moment. "A month, if things go quickly."
Her eyelids lowered. She looked at Xiao Hei on the screen and tucked the corners of her mouth. "And then, I'll go to Shucheng for the studio shoot."
"Mm." Ruan Ruan nodded, circling the date on a calendar in her mind.
Ruan Ruan actually knew Shi Ran would be returning to Shucheng. She knew even better why Shi Ran was telling her again.
Her heart felt full. Ruan Ruan pressed her lips together and said, "When you come back, I'll visit you on set and bring you good food."
"You should come see me too, see if I'm acting well. I'm not very confident," she added.
Shi Ran smiled and nodded.
"Well, I'm going to sleep. Good night," Ruan Ruan said, blinking.
"Good night."
"Good night, Shi Ran."
A slightly shaky breath came through. "Good night."
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