Married in a Daze - Chapter 81
Chapter 81
Qin Zhenzhen waited until almost ten o'clock and still hadn't received Lu Ruyun's call. She had to go up the mountain the next day, so she needed to rest. Before going to sleep, she held her phone, but by the time Ji Lu woke her up the next morning, she hadn't received a single text message or phone call.
On the way up the mountain, she was listless, a complete contrast to her energetic self from the day before. Chen Feng walked beside her and laughed, "Zhenzhen, if Ruyun weren't here, I'd really suspect what time you guys rest at night."
Hearing his words, Qin Zhenzhen stumbled, nearly twisting her ankle. Chen Feng quickly grabbed her arm. Qin Zhenzhen complained, "Now that Sister Qian isn't here, Teacher Chen has started teasing me! I'm going to tattle to Sister Qian!"
Chen Feng hurriedly waved his hands. "No, no, no, I was wrong."
Zhang Qian seemed gentle and easy-going, but after spending more time with her, you'd realize she was actually quite chatty. After getting familiar with Qin Zhenzhen, she no longer maintained her previous aloofness and was as close to her as an old friend.
She and Chen Feng had known each other for much longer than Qin Zhenzhen had known either of them. So, whenever Chen Feng teased her, Qin Zhenzhen would threaten to tattle. Chen Feng was terrified of Zhang Qian's nagging, hence his 'surrender' when Qin Zhenzhen said this.
The group marched grandly into the mountains. The altitude wasn't very high, but some of the crew were carrying props, so they didn't walk very fast. Qin Zhenzhen usually exercised, so a task like mountain climbing was still manageable for her. In contrast, Ji Lu kept waving her hands, saying she couldn't go on, her face pale.
After climbing for half an hour, Yu Changlin pointed to a spot. "Right there."
Qin Zhenzhen looked over. The set was almost ready, and many crew members were still busy. Ji Lu stood behind her, panting heavily, bent over. Qin Zhenzhen patted her back and handed her a thermos. "Drink some water."
Ji Lu took it, drank a few sips, and gasped, "Zhenzhen, do we have to climb like this for seven days?"
Qin Zhenzhen shook her head. "Not that many. Three or four days should be enough."
The remaining three days were for filming life scenes at the foot of the mountain, so the mountain scenes wouldn't be too numerous. Hearing this, Ji Lu took a few deep breaths. "I'm so glad we don't have to go down for lunch."
Going down and then back up? She might as well be killed!
Ji Lu wore a look of grim determination. Qin Zhenzhen was amused. She pursed her lips and put the thermos back in her bag, noticing her phone screen blinking. She took out her phone and saw the caller ID was Lu Ruyun.
Qin Zhenzhen held her breath, annoyed, and hung up the call. Within seconds, it rang again. She hung up again.
Lu Ruyun seemed very patient. After four consecutive calls, Qin Zhenzhen reluctantly handed her phone to Ji Lu, mouthing that she was very busy.
Ji Lu answered the phone. "Hello?"
Lu Ruyun paused on the other end. "Ji Lu?"
Ji Lu glanced at Qin Zhenzhen's expression and cautiously replied, "Zhenzhen is filming, not convenient to take a call. Is there something, Teacher Lu?"
Lu Ruyun lightly hummed in acknowledgment. "It's nothing. I understand."
Qin Zhenzhen watched Ji Lu hang up and quickly asked, "Well? What did she say?"
Seeing her look of intense curiosity, Ji Lu had no idea what these two were playing at. Clearly, they both desperately wanted to talk to each other, yet they insisted on making her the middleman. She answered honestly, "She didn't say anything. Teacher Lu just said she understood."
Qin Zhenzhen blinked. "That's it?"
Ji Lu nodded. "That's it."
Qin Zhenzhen held her breath for a moment, then asked again, "Didn't she say what she was doing last night?"
Ji Lu's lips twitched. "No."
Qin Zhenzhen gritted her teeth. "Forget it, I'll call her myself."
Ji Lu: ...
She shook her head as she watched Qin Zhenzhen walk away, clutching her phone. A woman's heart is as deep as the ocean's floor; you can never guess what's in it!
Having walked to a secluded spot, Qin Zhenzhen looked around and called Lu Ruyun.
"Zhenzhen." Lu Ruyun wasn't the least bit surprised to receive her call, her voice light and clear. "Did you call me last night?"
Qin Zhenzhen clicked her tongue. "No, why would I call you when you're so busy?"
Hearing her disingenuous words, Lu Ruyun pursed her lips into a smile. "What's wrong? Are you angry I didn't call you back last night?"
Hearing her say this, half of the resentment in Qin Zhenzhen's belly evaporated. "Am I that petty of a person?"
Lu Ruyun chuckled softly. "Mm, you're not."
These three words made Qin Zhenzhen's face burn. Thinking of her childish actions just moments ago, she cleared her throat awkwardly and asked, not very naturally, "What were you doing last night?"
"Last night, I had dinner with Shuangshuang and Yaoyao. My phone got water in it and broke. I just went to get a new one."
Lu Ruyun's explanation made Qin Zhenzhen feel much better. After all, Zhang Yiyao was Lu Ruyun's friend of many years. Having a meal together was perfectly normal. Even though Qin Zhenzhen didn't like Zhang Yiyao, she had no right to deprive Lu Ruyun of her friendships.
Thinking this, the anger in Qin Zhenzhen's stomach completely vanished. The two chatted sweetly for a while, until Lu Ruyun promised that next time she would absolutely keep her phone with her at all times. Only then did Qin Zhenzhen laugh. "Who asked you to promise that?"
Lu Ruyun pressed her lips together. "I'm afraid I'll miss your call again."
Qin Zhenzhen felt her heart flutter, a thread of sweetness spreading from her chest. She pretended to hum a couple of times. "Seeing how sincere you are, I approve of this promise."
Lu Ruyun laughed openly, but before she could reply, Ji Lu's voice called out from not far away, "Zhenzhen! Makeup!"
Qin Zhenzhen and Lu Ruyun exchanged a few brief words before hanging up. Chen Feng had already gone to change clothes. She followed Ji Lu to the makeshift tent set up at the back to change and get her makeup done. The morning had two scenes that were her solo shots, and the rest were her scenes with Chen Feng. Qin Zhenzhen changed into tattered clothes, smudged her face dark, leaving only a pair of eyes clear to the bottom, sparkling and moving.
The temperature on the mountain in the morning was low, but Qin Zhenzhen could only wear these ragged clothes, with her arms and calves exposed. Clearly shivering from the cold, her face showed no other expression. Especially after Yu Changlin shouted "Action!", it was as if she had truly transitioned from winter to summer, her expression completely natural.
Yu Changlin stared at Qin Zhenzhen through the lens, his expression calm, a hint of approval in his eyes.
After finishing the first take, Ji Lu hurriedly handed over a heavy coat and hot tea. Qin Zhenzhen's hands trembled as she took them, her teeth chattering from the cold. Chen Feng also walked over and handed her a hand warmer.
"Thank you, Teacher Chen." Qin Zhenzhen sat on a stool and looked up. Chen Feng's stern features carried a smile. "You're welcome. Your performance just now was very good. Director Yu is quite satisfied."
Qin Zhenzhen nodded. She could tell from Yu Changlin's expression. Since working with him for a while now, she was getting better at figuring out what he wanted.
After chatting for a bit, Qin Zhenzhen was pulled away for makeup touch-ups, preparing for the second take.
The second take NG'd several times because of the wind. Finally, Yu Changlin told everyone to take a break and have an early lunch, filming again at noon. After Qin Zhenzhen got off set, Ji Lu immediately came up to her, handing her a boxed lunch and saying, "Zhenzhen, the trailer for Cold Palace is out."
Qin Zhenzhen took the lunch box. "So soon?"
She thought the trailer would be released in February. She didn't expect it to come out now. Then she immediately realized it must be because of her recent collaboration with Jian Mu. Her popularity was at an all-time high, and Cold Palace wanted to ride this wave of heat, hence releasing the trailer right now.
Sure enough, while eating, Meng Xin contacted her, saying Cold Palace would air earlier than planned. The trailer was out now, and the main series would probably air not long after Jian Mu's new song was released.
Cold Palace was actually a kind of transformation for her. Although not as major as her shift from TV to film now, Cold Palace was still different. This drama broke away from her usual silly, sweet character types, so she couldn't help feeling a bit of anticipation.
After eating, she took out her phone and went on Weibo. Sure enough, the official Cold Palace account had posted and tagged her. She reposted it and opened the trailer.
The trailer was quite long, eight minutes. The content included her falling in love with the General, entering the palace as a concubine, being cast into the Cold Palace, learning of the General's death, dominating the imperial harem, and finally, overthrowing the Emperor and ascending the throne herself.
Qin Zhenzhen actually preferred the latter half. She opened the comments, and sure enough, netizens also preferred the blackened Yuan Yu.
—Holy shit shit shit, the later-period Yuan Yu is too damn spot-on! Exactly the Yuan Yu in my mind!
—Seems okay, will watch more when it airs.
—Suddenly getting Qin Zhenzhen's acting skills.
—Zhenzhen, you're amazing!!! Are these two even the same person?
Fans captured screenshots of her silly, sweet character and her blackened look, and soon someone made them into memes. Later comments started incorporating the memes. A proper promotional post turned into a meme battle scene. Qin Zhenzhen laughed and exited Weibo. After thinking for a moment, she sent Lu Ruyun a WeChat message.
—What are you doing?
Lu Ruyun was reading a script. The day after tomorrow was the second audition for Drunken Dreams of Jianghu, and she was preparing in advance. He Shuangshuang sat beside her, typing on a laptop. The message notification broke the quiet atmosphere. Lu Ruyun picked up her phone, saw Qin Zhenzhen's message, and quickly replied: Reading a script.
Qin Zhenzhen: Did you see Weibo? Cold Palace is airing earlier.
Lu Ruyun wasn't in the habit of checking Weibo. Hearing this now, she opened the app. Sure enough, she saw many posts about Cold Palace. It was already trending, and Qin Zhenzhen's name was among the trending topics. She went to Qin Zhenzhen's Weibo page and saw fans below howling with excitement, showering her with praise.
Beside her, He Shuangshuang just finished her work. Seeing Lu Ruyun staring at her phone, she smiled and asked, "Looking at what?"
Lu Ruyun turned the screen towards her. "The trailer."
He Shuangshuang became interested and sat next to her, watching Qin Zhenzhen on screen, exuding domineering aura, raising her eyelids to look down upon everyone. She clicked her tongue. "Not bad."
Lu Ruyun hummed in agreement, the corners of her mouth unable to suppress a smile, her light voice changing tone slightly due to her delight.
After the two finished watching the trailer, He Shuangshuang saw the comments below. Besides praise, it had become a cringey meme battle, with various memes popping up one after another. She pointed at one and laughed, "Ruyun, isn't this that photo from when you filmed Time in Full Bloom?"
"This photo of Qin Zhenzhen is so ugly... fans are truly in love, right?"
Lu Ruyun pursed her lips, glanced at He Shuangshuang, silently took back her phone, and muttered, "Very ugly?"
The photo was a deliberately funny face, certainly not as refined as usual. He Shuangshuang, meeting Lu Ruyun's gaze, paused. "Not really. Actually, the more you look at it, the nicer it gets."
Lu Ruyun looked at her. "Really?"
He Shuangshuang nodded vigorously. "Really."
Lu Ruyun smiled with pressed lips. "Then you need to look at it more."
After saying that, she picked up her script and went back to her room. He Shuangshuang didn't quite understand the meaning of her words until noon, when she messaged Lu Ruyun about lunch and saw that Lu Ruyun's WeChat profile picture had changed to that very photo. He Shuangshuang's breath hitched. She quickly looked up towards the room and silently typed: Lu dog, you've changed!
Lu Ruyun: ...
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