Regardless of the uproar online, the actors on set remained focused on their work. After the break ended, everyone threw themselves back into filming.
In the afternoon scenes, whether there were many actors on set or just a few, Lu Zhiwei was present in every shot, she needed to make up for lost progress. After dinner, the night scenes also featured Lu Zhiwei almost continuously.
The reflectors bounced the lighting onto everyone’s heads, and after a while, the glare could easily make one’s eyes dizzy. Scenes like walking along palace walls, seeking an audience with the emperor, and late-night conversations all had to be filmed one by one.
A scene of encountering someone on the palace path often required countless takes, repeating the same lines and actions over and over, which could easily become monotonous. Fortunately, this palace drama had no fight sequences, martial arts or fantasy dramas with wirework were the truly exhausting ones.
This time, Lu Zhiwei finally needed an assistant by her side at all times. Since her original assistant also had to handle a lot of company affairs, she specifically hired two temporary assistants to support her as an actress.
At 9:10 p.m., everyone wrapped up for the day. Before leaving, Qin Xiao explained the filming schedule for the next few days to the crew.
“October is already halfway over, and the weather is about to turn cold. So, let’s make sure we finish the rain scenes in the next few days to avoid catching a cold later. Everyone, rest well and boost your immunity. Let’s try to get through the rain scenes without anyone getting sick!”
“Got it, Director Qin! You rest well too!” Xu Sheng waved, and everyone chimed in agreement.
The group drove back to the hotel in their respective cars. As usual, Lin Chenghuan returned to her room, showered, and freshened up, washing away the day’s fatigue. But as she sat on the sofa, sipping a cold drink and scrolling through Weibo, she felt restless, her mind replaying scenes from the day.
Having known Lu Zhiwei for so many years, she had never seen her cry. The memory of that moment made Lin Chenghuan uneasy.
Of course, aside from feelings of guilt and disbelief, there was something else stirring within her, an almost unbearable restlessness.
Enough of that, she was upset at the time, why am I overthinking it? Lin Chenghuan wondered how Lu Zhiwei had spent the two days before finding her. She must have asked Fang Yuan about her whereabouts, but Fang Yuan had stubbornly refused to say…
Making Lu Zhiwei worry for nothing was both cruel and bold. And today, Fang Yuan even seemed eager to come and witness the drama, she must have seen the signs long ago.
Just as Lin Chenghuan was lost in thought, Fang Yuan sent her a message: [By the way, Huanhuan, I’ve booked a flight for tomorrow. See you then!]
Lin Chenghuan read the message and replied with polite words of welcome, all the while grumbling inwardly, didn’t she say she’d come in a few days? It seemed that after seeing the hot search, she couldn’t resist rushing over immediately.
The gossip-loving spirit in the entertainment industry sometimes rivaled that of paparazzi. From now on, visitors to the set would likely come in waves. On the bright side, the crew’s supply of snacks and drinks would never run out, it might even become the most well-fed set in history.
Lin Chenghuan found herself constantly distracted by messages on social media, but whenever she had a moment of quiet, her unease returned. And she soon realized that even though she had seen Lu Zhiwei all day on set, she still longed to see her now, more than ever.
This was a sensation she had never experienced before… She marveled at the change, finding it somewhat intriguing.
However, before she could fully savor this rare fluctuation in her otherwise mundane life, a knock sounded at the door. In that instant, a wave of intense nervousness washed over her, leaving her torn between amusement and exasperation, was it really so thrilling? It wasn’t as if she hadn’t met the person before.
Lin Chenghuan had already dismissed her assistant for the day, so she rose to answer the door herself. As she pulled it open, her heartbeat quickened uncontrollably, and sure enough, Lu Zhiwei stood outside.
“Wei… Sister,” Lin Chenghuan greeted hesitantly. Lu Zhiwei responded with a gentle smile, as usual, and stepped inside to take a seat.
“Have you read the script for tomorrow?” Lu Zhiwei asked.
“I finished it a while ago.” At the thought of the next day’s scenes, Lin Chenghuan’s heart grew even more unsettled. Just yesterday, she hadn’t felt this strongly about it…
If only she hadn’t asked those unnecessary questions earlier, she should have waited until after safely filming tomorrow’s scenes. The scene where she had to kneel in the rain as punishment, faint into the other’s arms, and then be carried back to the palace…
A brief silence fell between them, the atmosphere awkward and subtly charged. Unable to bear it any longer, Lin Chenghuan decided to confront the issue head-on.
“What’s wrong? Is it difficult to act?”
“A little.”
“An actor’s self-cultivation, you are Liu Fuying. Just immerse yourself in her completely and forget reality.”
“Immerse myself in her… alright.” Lu Zhiwei’s expression remained neutral, but inwardly, she thought that Liu Fuying’s intentions might not be entirely pure either.
Lin Chenghuan found herself at a loss for words again. She glanced at Lu Zhiwei, whose eyes instinctively flickered away, clearly unable to maintain her usual ease and composure.
If things were like this now, how would they manage filming tomorrow? Lin Chenghuan felt deeply troubled. Then, she suddenly noticed that Lu Zhiwei was wearing a bathrobe, evidently having just finished bathing.
Heavens, how had she managed to visit the other so casually just a few days ago? Well, for actors, a hotel was a place to relax, this was merely a state of leisure.
“Would you like a cold drink?” Lin Chenghuan asked.
“Anything is fine, thank you.”
Lin Chenghuan watched Lu Zhiwei, who sat stiffly, for a moment before rising to prepare the drinks. After their recent evenings of visiting each other, she had a good sense of Lu Zhiwei’s preferences. She mixed two cold beverages using ingredients like grape ice, floral tea, and fruit syrup.
When Lin Chenghuan emerged from the kitchen holding the two drinks, Lu Zhiwei was quite surprised and quickly stood up to take one. She had assumed Lin Chenghuan would simply fetch a pre-made drink from the refrigerator.
“Thank you.” Lu Zhiwei expressed her gratitude politely, feeling both touched and slightly flustered. Lin Chenghuan raised an eyebrow, her eyes sparkling with amusement. The more she thought about it after sitting down, the funnier it seemed, and she couldn’t help but laugh aloud.
“…” Lu Zhiwei also felt she was being overly reserved, but at that moment, she simply couldn’t control her behavior, everything she did felt wrong.
“Ahem, right now… the internet is buzzing with news about you,” Lin Chenghuan quickly added, still laughing as she spoke.
“The attention is indeed high, but it’s also thanks to all of you.” Lu Zhiwei smiled sheepishly, her gaze both helpless and tender as she looked at the person before her, who couldn’t contain her laughter.
Even other celebrities are joining in on the fun, congratulating President Lu on her center position debut. The promotion practically takes care of itself.”
“Is it that chaotic? Let me take a look.”
So, the two of them browsed through the online discussions, occasionally commenting, and the atmosphere finally became much more relaxed. At half past ten, Lu Zhiwei took her leave, and Lin Chenghuan also returned to bed to rest, though she found it difficult to fall asleep right away.
The thought of the awkward and restrained atmosphere earlier made her laugh, but if things remained like this tomorrow, wouldn’t it be obvious that something was off? She hoped that by tomorrow, both of them could act more naturally. Under the cover of the artificial rain, perhaps their unease wouldn’t be too noticeable.
The next day at 7:30 a.m., the crew gathered on set again. After finishing their makeup, they waited for filming to begin. The water trucks had already arrived, and rain rigs, pipes with sprinklers, were set up overhead.
When the rain scenes started, the rain effects technician could adjust the number of sprinklers and the water flow to create anything from a light drizzle to a downpour as needed. Actual rain, on the other hand, was completely unsuitable for filming.
In the morning, the crew shot some simple scenes, such as admiring the rain in the courtyard or walking with an umbrella, which didn’t require getting wet. Some scenes didn’t even need the rain rigs; water guns were used directly to simulate rainfall. In the afternoon, after finishing another scene of meeting in the rain, the pivotal moment finally arrived.
Lin Chenghuan’s character, Wei Shihuan, was framed by her cousin Jiang Shiwan and a concubine, leading the emperor to suspect her of meddling in court politics. As punishment, he ordered her to kneel in the imperial garden for two hours.
From this moment on, Wei Shihuan completely lost faith in Jiang Shiwan and became highly guarded. Even after they reconciled, their relationship could never return to what it was before, remaining merely cordial, like that of concubines who got along reasonably well in the palace.
Since the rain was supposed to start after she had been kneeling for a while, the first half of the scene didn’t need to be filmed today. This particular scene only involved interactions between Wei Shihuan, Jiang Shiwan, and Liu Fuying. As usual, Qin Xiao gave the three of them directions, and after finishing, she looked thoughtfully at Lu Zhiwei.
“What is it, Director? Is there a problem?” Lu Zhiwei asked, worried that Qin Xiao might be up to something again.
“Later, you’ll need to carry Wei Shihuan for a short distance. Can you manage that?” Qin Xiao said casually.
“…I should be able to.”
“That impressive? If you can’t lift her, we can have the crew assist and just shoot a close-up.”
“Alright, we’ll see when the time comes…”
“Come on, let’s try it now.” Before Lu Zhiwei could finish, Qin Xiao interrupted her, speaking with a serious expression.
Lin Chenghuan: “…………”
After the initial shock, Lin Chenghuan quickly composed herself and looked at Lu Zhiwei, who had a complicated expression. Lu Zhiwei hummed in agreement and set aside her script pages.
“Should I kneel down first?” Lin Chenghuan asked the director.
“No need, just carry her directly. Let’s see if you can walk a few steps.”
“Okay.”
Lin Chenghuan turned to Lu Zhiwei and noticed her fluttering eyelashes as she glanced at the onlookers. Smiling brightly, Lin Chenghuan said, “President Lu… no, Sister Zhiwei.”
Lu Zhiwei withdrew her gaze and looked at her somewhat sheepishly. “Alright, I’ll give it a try. I hope it works.”
Perfect, she attributed their earlier discomfort to worrying about whether she could succeed. Lin Chenghuan thought with a smile. Soon, Lu Zhiwei bent down and wrapped her arms around Lin Chenghuan’s waist and legs, causing Lin Chenghuan’s mind to flutter.
She had initially thought about raising her arms to make it easier for Lu Zhiwei to lift her, but remembering that her character was supposed to have fainted, she decided against it. After adjusting her stance and gathering her strength, Lu Zhiwei lifted her effortlessly into the air.
Suddenly losing her balance, she instinctively wrapped her arms around the other’s neck. Qin Xiao quickly praised, “Well done, Sister Wei! Huanhuan, lower your arms.”
Lin Chenghuan relaxed her arms as Lu Zhiwei began walking. More people nearby started cheering, “President Lu is amazing!” Lin Chenghuan found it quite amusing, indeed, with more people around, the atmosphere inevitably turned lively. What a bizarre scene this was…
However, when Lin Chenghuan turned to look at Lu Zhiwei, she soon noticed the tips of her ears were red. In that instant, Lin Chenghuan’s heart skipped a beat, nearly feeling flustered herself. She quickly reminded herself there was no need to be so affected.