Against the Light - Chapter 73
Chapter 73: The Wives Team Up
In bed, the two of them fell asleep in each other's arms.
Bai Yilan's back was turned to her, her body slightly curled, a smile playing on her lips.
Gu Xinran hugged her from behind, sliding her left hand under her neck and wrapping her right arm around her stomach, patting it gently.
Yilan had always liked to curl up into a ball when she slept, a sign of her insecurity. Only when Gu Xinran held her from behind could she relax and drift off to sleep peacefully.
Gu Xinran patted her gently for a while. Hearing Bai Yilan's breathing even out, she carefully propped herself up, leaned over to kiss her earlobe, and pulled the blanket up higher around her.
Catching sight of the ribbon wrapped around Bai Yilan's left wrist, Gu Xinran reached out to stroke it gently before tucking her hand under the covers.
"Mmm..." Bai Yilan murmured, her eyelids fluttering. Gu Xinran smiled and kissed her eyes. "Go back to sleep. It's nothing."
Bai Yilan answered with a low hum and turned over, burying her face in the crook of Gu Xinran's neck and pressing her body close.
Gu Xinran held her tight, stroking her smooth back, her heart feeling completely full.
A month later, Never Parting passed its review and secured a prime summer release slot. Its competitor, Picturesque Rivers and Mountains, a film funded by Le Tao, also passed its review and was scheduled to premiere on the exact same day and time, making the rivalry palpable.
The night before the premiere.
After her shower, Gu Xinran got into bed and leaned against the headboard, scrolling through her phone.
Le Tao was certainly something else. Ever since their film started shooting, they had been trotting out their actors one by one to generate romance rumors, ensuring a constant stream of buzz. With all that money, wouldn't it be better to hire some talented actors and a reliable crew to actually make a good film?
Gu Xinran felt speechless as she looked at the trending topics, all starting with things like 【Picturesque Rivers and Mountains Female Lead XXX】.
Her phone suddenly chimed. Another notification for a topic starting with Picturesque Rivers and Mountains popped up, but...
Gu Xinran's brow furrowed.
On Weibo, a bold headline read: 【HIGH STAKES! The production teams of Never Parting and Picturesque Rivers and Mountains made a bet, with the box office determining the winner. If Picturesque Rivers and Mountains loses, Liu Ping will publicly bow to Bai Yilan's entire team. If Never Parting loses, Bai Yilan will retire from directing forever! @Gu Xinran @Bai Yilan @Director Liu Ping, what does everyone think? [doge]】
The post had only been up for a short time, but the comment section had already exploded.
【??? Is Teacher Bai insane? Why would she make such a huge bet?】
【Is this for real? I don't believe it. Betting her entire career? Teacher Bai doesn't seem like such an impulsive person.】
【What? Is she burning her bridges? Go, Teacher Bai, go! I'm going to book out an entire theater for you!!】
【Seriously, where did this bet even come from? Why would they make a bet in the first place?】
【PSA for those just joining: During filming, the Picturesque Rivers and Mountains crew was constantly harassed by the Never Parting crew. Director Liu Ping couldn't take it anymore and proposed the bet to ensure fair competition! Bai Yilan used her team's experience to bully Liu Ping's small crew and then boasted that if she couldn't win at the box office, she'd quit the industry! Upvote this so more people see the truth! We can't let arrogant people like her get away with this!】
【Holy shit, is that comment for real?】
【Teacher Bai isn't like that. Stop spreading rumors.】
When Gu Xinran read that "PSA," she saw red. What was this if not a complete distortion of the truth?
And the worst part was, a lot of people had actually liked that comment, pushing it to the top of the thread!
Meanwhile, the film crew's group chat was also in an uproar.
【Damn it! Le Tao is releasing this now, twisting the facts to paint Liu Ping as the victim and us as the villains. Is this going to affect our box office?】
【Does anyone have photos from when our set was vandalized? Send them to me.】
【It's true our set was destroyed, but we have no proof Liu Ping did it. The security footage was gone, so it's just our word against his!】
【I can't believe Liu Ping is this kind of person, stabbing us in the back at a time like this. I actually thought their crew was decent. I must have been blind!】
【The bet itself isn't the biggest problem. What I'm most worried about is them manipulating the box office numbers. If they manage to make Picturesque Rivers and Mountains win, they can use this to force Sister Lan to quit directing!】
【Holy shit, you're right. Now I'm scared too. Le Tao has deep pockets. They could just buy out a few hundred screenings, win the box office, force Sister Lan to retire, and prop up Liu Ping... They'd get both fame and fortune!】
【Damn, what kind of PR mastermind did they hire? They really know how to cause trouble! This is a direct hit to our vitals! What do we do now? Should we rally our friends and family to book out screenings too?】
Seeing the panic spreading through the group, Gu Xinran took a deep breath and quickly typed a message.
【Everyone, calm down. Does anyone know someone on Liu Ping's team? Try to find out what their stance is.】
【Okay, Sister Ran, I'm on it!】
Gu Xinran thought back. On the last day of filming, Liu Ping had brought his people over to say goodbye. He hadn't seemed like a two-faced person at all. The root of this problem had to be Le Tao.
She knew they would pull something, but despite all her precautions, she never imagined they would target Yilan!
Her phone chimed again. Gu Xinran glanced at it and saw that Yilan had sent a message to the group.
【Don't lose your composure. I have faith in all of you.】
Seeing the message, Gu Xinran calmed down a little as well. She called Fang Yi and Qu Qi separately, telling them to get ready.
Today was the premiere of Never Parting.
Gu Xinran arrived early downstairs from Yilan's apartment, a delicious breakfast in hand, waiting for her love to appear.
She was dressed down today in a simple white T-shirt, her hair pulled back in a high ponytail under a baseball cap, radiating a youthful energy.
A few moments later, Yilan emerged.
She wore an oversized sun hat, a large orange-and-white gradient button-down shirt, and slim-fitting jeans. The shirt's cuffs were rolled up but still covered her wrists, making her look like a child who had playfully put on an adult's clothes—languid yet a little mischievous.
The moment Gu Xinran saw her, her eyes crinkled into a smile. She pulled open the car door for her.
Gu Xinran gazed at her for a moment before breaking into a wide smile. She brushed a stray strand of hair from Bai Yilan's face. "You look so beautiful," she praised generously.
Bai Yilan shot her a look. Always stating the obvious.
It was a rare day off for them both, and they were in high spirits. By unspoken agreement, they didn't mention the drama on Weibo.
Gu Xinran drove them to the movie theater, and just like any other couple, they waited for the film to begin.
Seeing the other young couples holding drinks and popcorn, she ran off to buy some for them, handing the snacks to Yilan to hold.
Just before going in, they both put their phones on silent.
At least until the movie was over, they didn't want their precious date to be ruined by all that nonsense.
Gu Xinran had bought seats near the back, and they sat right in the center of the row, giving them a perfect view.
Gu Xinran felt a small sense of relief seeing that the theater was packed.
Gu Xinran glanced around and noticed that nearly all the couples nearby were holding hands or resting their heads on each other's shoulders, looking very intimate.
Seeing this, Gu Xinran shuffled closer to Yilan and took her hand. When Yilan turned to look at her, she offered a sweet smile. "Just fitting in~"
"..."
Bai Yilan also glanced at the couple next to them and happened to see them stealing a kiss before the movie started.
Yikes! In public... even if it was dark, wasn't that a bit much?
Just as Bai Yilan was thinking this, she caught someone out of the corner of her eye puckering her lips expectantly.
"Don't you dare," Bai Yilan warned preemptively.
"Then... can we make up for it at home tonight?"
"..." (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻ You shameless rogue!
The ninety-minute film left the audience wanting more.
During some of the more heart-wrenching scenes, some audience members were moved to tears. Gu Xinran watched them with a look of satisfaction, even hiding a small smile. Seeing the audience so affected by the character she had brought to life was undoubtedly the greatest affirmation an actor could receive.
As the credits rolled, many people were reluctant to leave, saying they wanted to watch it again to help boost the box office for Teacher Bai and Gu Xinran.
The two exchanged a smile. As they were preparing to leave, they overheard people discussing the plot and instinctively paused to listen.
"Sob, why did Ling Yao and the King of Yue have to be so tragic? Couldn't they have just had a sweet life together?!"
Gu Xinran froze. Ling Yao and the King of Yue? As a couple? Aren't they mother and daughter?!
Bai Yilan couldn't help but stifle a laugh as she pulled Gu Xinran away. The tastes of young people these days were getting stranger and stranger.
After watching Never Parting, they went to see Picturesque Rivers and Mountains to make an objective comparison. They concluded that Liu Ping's directing skills still had room for improvement, and the cast wasn't strong enough to carry such a major production. Their acting lacked polish. In short, it wasn't as good as Never Parting.
Afterward, they had a satisfying lunch, and then they strolled through the mall, each with an ice cream cone in hand.
Gu Xinran raised an eyebrow when she spotted the sign for 【Chan Ye】 in the distance. She remembered it was the clothing brand founded by Ye Ting, so she pulled Yilan inside for a look.
"Tsk. None of these clothes are as beautiful as the ones you design," Gu Xinran said, shaking her head as they left the 【Chan Ye】 boutique. "The designers these days just aren't up to par. They're miles behind you."
Bai Yilan chuckled. Wasn't her girlfriend's bias filter a little too strong?
After browsing a bit longer, Gu Xinran spotted a clothing store called 【Yi Ren】. Curious, she went inside and was immediately captivated by the exquisite designs. The cut and concepts of the clothes here were far superior to those at 【Chan Ye】. Gu Xinran was pleasantly surprised, but the more she looked, the more something felt off.
A design sketch was displayed next to each garment. The drawings were messy, with crooked and uneven lines, yet they felt strangely familiar to her. The concepts behind a few of the pieces looked recognizable, very similar to designs Yilan had created in her previous life.
Gu Xinran's brow furrowed. She turned to look for Yilan but found her standing frozen at the entrance, not having come inside.
"Hello, welcome to 【Yi Ren】. The clothes in our store are not for sale; they are for display only," a staff member said, bowing politely.
"Not for sale?" Gu Xinran asked, surprised.
"That's correct."
"Why not?"
"It's the owner's decision. I'm not entirely sure of the reason, my apologies." The staff member bowed again. "Please feel free to look around, but we ask that you don't take photos or touch the displays."
Gu Xinran nodded and went back outside. Bai Yilan was staring blankly at the clothes in the window display.
"Yilan? What's wrong?"
Bai Yilan snapped out of her daze and shook her head.
"Those design sketches... don't they feel familiar to you? And they look like a child drew them. It's so strange."
"Yilan?"
"Yes... let's go."
Seeing Bai Yilan's distracted state, Gu Xinran immediately sensed something was wrong and silently committed the brand's name to memory.
When they got home that evening, Bai Yilan was clearly distracted, staring blankly out the floor-to-ceiling window.
Worried, Gu Xinran went to her, wrapped her arms around her from behind, and held her tightly. She didn't ask any questions, just held her in silence.
"Don't force it. You can tell me when you're ready," Gu Xinran said softly. She could sense something was troubling Bai Yilan; her hand was gripping her own arm so tightly it was clear she was conflicted.
At her words, Bai Yilan's tense expression gradually softened. She leaned back, rubbing her cheek gently against Gu Xinran's.
"Oh, right! Let's check today's box office numbers!" Gu Xinran said, pulling out her phone cheerfully. Her expression suddenly soured.
"What is it?"
"It's... a tie?!"
Gu Xinran was stunned as she looked at the report on Weibo.
【REPORT! On opening day, both Never Parting and Picturesque Rivers and Mountains surpassed 150 million at the box office. However, in terms of word-of-mouth, Never Parting has a clear edge!】
She had seen both films. Considering the cast, the script, the crew's skill, and the pre-release publicity, she had estimated that Never Parting would easily take the lead. How could it be a tie?
"It's all right. Don't worry. I have faith in our team," Bai Yilan said reassuringly.
Gu Xinran was still worried. Yilan's entire career was on the line; this was no joke.
That night, Gu Xinran barely slept a wink.
By noon the next day, Picturesque Rivers and Mountains had pulled ahead with 190 million, surpassing Never Parting's 180 million. On Weibo, netizens flocked to the news, and the post about the bet between Bai Yilan and Liu Ping shot to the top of the trending topics.
Le Tao's paid commenters swarmed the discussion, frantically pushing a narrative that painted Bai Yilan as arrogant, insidious, and vile—a scheming woman who used her connection to Yu Hua to do as she pleased and couldn't stand to see smaller directors like Liu Ping succeed.
A group of directors, who claimed to have been bullied by Bai Yilan, even emerged from the woodwork to issue a joint statement denouncing and boycotting her.
Even Yu Hua's reputation was dragged through the mud.
The direct consequence was a decline in Never Parting's reputation and a slump in its box office performance. As Bai Yilan's partner, Gu Xinran was also relentlessly attacked by trolls. Many uninformed netizens were swayed by the smear campaign and jumped on the bandwagon, saying Bai Yilan didn't deserve her, determined to muddy the waters as much as possible.
Gu Xinran was livid when she saw this. She didn't care about the box office or public opinion, but she would not tolerate anyone speaking ill of Yilan.
It was the fifth day of Never Parting's theatrical run. Its box office numbers were being left in the dust by Picturesque Rivers and Mountains.
At Heart Entertainment headquarters, the PR team, led by Qu Qi, had been working nonstop for two days and nights.
When Gu Xinran arrived at the office that morning, she saw that everyone looked exhausted and demoralized, and she felt a pang of guilt.
"You've all worked so hard. Please, have something to eat first. Sister Qi, what's the situation?"
"It's not looking good. The netizens are fixated on the bet between Yilan and Liu Ping. Liu Ping isn't well-known, so Le Tao's PR team immediately played the victim card, creating a preconceived notion that he's an innocent, up-and-coming director who was ruthlessly suppressed and too scared to fight back. It easily provoked the public's emotions and painted Yilan as a bully who throws her weight around."
"What's more, someone took a photo when Yilan brought everyone to confront Liu Ping. Look at this—all these people sitting next to his set. They don't look friendly at all. Public opinion is almost completely one-sided now; the scales have tipped in Le Tao's favor."
"It gets worse. Pirated copies of Never Parting are already circulating online. People can watch the entire film without paying a cent. That's why our box office numbers are stalling. Why would anyone pay for a ticket when they can watch it for free?"
"If we don't break 500 million at the box office this week, Never Parting might... be pulled from theaters next week."
After Qu Qi finished, everyone's spirits sank.
After more than half a year of hard work, they thought they would finally reap the rewards, only to end up with this rotten outcome.
"We released the photos of Liu Ping's crew vandalizing our set, but the netizens aren't buying it."
"Oh, and there's more. Remember The Ode to Mountains and Rivers, the novel that plagiarized Never Parting? Now its readers are kicking up a fuss, claiming Never Parting is the one trying to ride their coattails. Weibo is a total mess, a battlefield without bullets, and we're public enemy number one. Everyone wants to take a shot at us, hoping to crush us completely."
Qu Qi let it all out in a rush and sighed heavily. Even she felt helpless in this situation; there was no reasoning with anyone. Le Tao had deep pockets, while Heart Entertainment was counting on Never Parting's box office revenue to recoup its investment. They simply didn't have the money to fight fire with fire and hire their own online army to sway public opinion.
"That Zhang Xian is a real piece of work. She gave us such a 'warm welcome' right off the bat!" Qu Qi's head was about to explode. She had prepared for all sorts of underhanded tricks from Zhang Xian, but she hadn't anticipated a full-scale PR assault!
Gu Xinran was silent for a moment. "I think the key to this is Liu Ping. If he could come forward and speak the truth, all of this would be resolved."
"Are you kidding? Le Tao is his boss, and we're his rivals. Why would he ever betray his backer for us?"
"Besides, I strongly advise against you approaching Liu Ping right now. What if he turns around and accuses you of trying to threaten or bribe him into betraying his company? We'd be completely finished then."
Gu Xinran propped her hands on the table, deep in thought.
"Fang Yi, what are you working on?" Gu Xinran asked, hearing the incessant clacking of her keyboard.
"I suspect Picturesque Rivers and Mountains is faking its box office numbers. Something's very strange. On opening day, Never Parting had 100,000 screenings, while they only had a little over 80,000. The theaters are reporting that our attendance rates are tied. There's no way they could be tied with us when we have 20,000 more screenings."
"I'm trying to get into Le Tao's internal company chats right now to see if I can dig up anything."
"Okay."
"Sister Ran, you should go home for now," Fang Yi said. "Leave this to us. Go be with Sister Lan. People are saying some really nasty things online right now. Don't let her dwell on it alone."
"She's right. Go home. I've got this," Qu Qi added with a nod.
"Thank you for all your hard work," Gu Xinran said apologetically.
"Don't mention it. It's our job."
Gu Xinran gave them a final look and turned to leave.
When she got home, she found Bai Yilan curled up on the sofa, scrolling through her phone with a deep frown.
Gu Xinran hurried over and glanced at the screen. Just as she'd suspected, Bai Yilan was on Weibo. Someone claiming to be a fan of Gu Xinran had sent a private message, cursing at her and telling her to stay away from Gu Xinran.
Gu Xinran's brow furrowed instantly. She snatched the phone, blocked the user, locked the screen, and set it aside.
"Don't listen to these pathetic people. They have nothing better to do than tear others down because they can't stand to see us happy." Gu Xinran took her hand and squeezed it, her face etched with concern.
In her past life, after Gu Xinran became famous, Yilan had always worried about being a negative influence on her career. Thinking back now, Gu Xinran realized that was probably when Yilan's mild depression had started. With Gu Xinran busy with work and rarely home, Yilan had to face everything alone, her mind constantly plagued by anxious thoughts. Over time, it developed into severe depression, which ultimately led to her suicide.
A chill ran down Gu Xinran's spine at the thought, and her palm, still holding Bai Yilan's, grew clammy with sweat.
Bai Yilan squeezed her hand back. "What are you so nervous about? Are you worried I'll..."
Gu Xinran pressed a hand to her lips, her eyes pleading. "Don't say it. I'll protect you. I promise I'll protect you! Please, never think about giving up."
Seeing her so emotional, Bai Yilan felt a pang of guilt. She offered a faint smile, cupped Gu Xinran's face in her hands, and met her gaze.
"I've already done something foolish once. There will never be a second time."
"I promised you I would learn to love this world, and I will keep that promise. Do you believe me?"
"I do. I believe you!"
Gu Xinran looked at her, her gaze intense.
They looked at each other and smiled.
"I'm going to find Liu Ping," Bai Yilan announced.
"No, you can't. There are definitely paparazzi watching your every move right now. If you go to him at a time like this..."
"During filming, he had plenty of opportunities to obstruct our progress, but he didn't. I believe he's a man with principles. Besides, he hasn't said a single word about this whole affair from start to finish."
Gu Xinran was taken aback. She studied Bai Yilan's eyes. Her reasoning was sound, and her gaze was clear and calm. She seemed no different than usual, apparently unaffected by the online vitriol.
"Then... I'll go with you," Gu Xinran said.
"No." Bai Yilan shook her head. "You have something more important to do right now."
"Oh?"
Bai Yilan took back her phone, opened Weibo, and after a moment of scrolling, held it up for Gu Xinran to see. "Hold a press conference about this. If they want to play the victim, so can we."
Gu Xinran paused for a second, then instantly understood Bai Yilan's plan. She smiled and nodded. "I get it."
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