Chapter 42

Chapter 42

An Ye, or rather, Ah Lin, was being forcefully pressed into the muddy ground by Police Officer Zhao. Half of her makeup, a soft pink girl’s face, was submerged in the cold, damp mud of Bai Gang City in winter. The exposed half of her face was marked with clear scars, and she could smell the cold, metallic stench from the snow melting inside her nose.

In front of her, there was a stack of photos of young girls, thirteen or fourteen years old, wearing school uniforms and smiling happily at the camera. But now, those photos were scattered in the mud. The muddy water from her labored breathing splashed onto the photos, gradually staining the girls' smiles with filth.

Officer Zhao was saying something very emotionally, but Ah Lin didn’t really hear him clearly. One of her ears was covered in the muddy water, while the other ear was blocked by Officer Zhao’s forceful push. So, aside from the cold, her world was very quiet.

All she could hear was her own breathing and heartbeat.

She just stared at the photos of the young girls, letting Officer Zhao grab her hair, lifting it up and letting it fall again. It wasn’t until someone pulled Zhao away that he, still reluctant, kicked her in the stomach. The pain from the kick made her curl up even smaller, burying herself deeper into the mud.

Director Yang didn’t yell “cut,” but instead, he had the camera zoom in on the close-up shot.

As expected, this person was obsessed with art films; now he was even focusing on the characters with long close-up shots.

An Ye maintained her position with half her face in the muddy water, her eyes half-closed, staring intently at the photos of the girls.

A week into filming, due to Ah Lin’s split personality, she kept slipping in and out of the character. Recently, she hadn’t been in the best condition, and Director Yang noticed it. So, for the next few days, he had her only perform Ah Lin’s scenes.

She was doing well portraying Ah Lin now, that feeling of complete emptiness. Whether it was Zhao’s yelling, pushing, or threats, she just stayed in her own world. Occasionally, she would suddenly smile, which only made Zhao more enraged.

An Ye listened to the faint sound of the camera machinery in the extremely quiet environment. Even though the muddy water had been reheated before filming, it had already cooled down. Half of her body was completely numb from the cold, and she sighed lightly, pulling herself tighter into a ball.

Her eyes never blinked; the sting was so intense, she felt like her eyes might be turning red.

Director Yang finally called for “cut.”

The assistant director and Lan Yifang rushed over, and the assistant director started spraying An Ye with cold water from the hose, slowly turning it into lukewarm water. An Ye sat on the ground, shivering as her body temperature slowly rose.

“Her ears, her ears, her ears,” she heard Lan Yifang shout repeatedly. “There’s mud in her ears.”

"And her eyes, this muddy water’s quite dirty, we should make sure it doesn’t get infected," said Zhao Linjun. He had been smoking and crouched down with a frown as he looked at An Ye. "Did I really kick your stomach just now? I didn’t feel right when I kicked."

"It just touched a little," An Ye smiled at him. "It’s fine, doesn’t hurt."

"That’s because it’s frozen numb!" Zhao Linjun tugged at Lan Yifang. "Check her left side later, if it’s swollen or red, take her to the hospital. Don’t joke around with her health."

"It’s fine." An Ye repeated, "I was just lying too far forward earlier, it just touched a bit."

She clearly hadn’t fully gotten out of character yet, her expression still vacant. When she saw Zhao Linjun, her eyes flickered.

Zhao Linjun, still smoking, pointed at An Ye with his finger before wrapping himself in a thick down jacket and stepping out of the crowd.

He knew when he kicked her that her position wasn’t right, but he also knew they had to get through this scene. Otherwise, they’d have to redo everything, and it would be past midnight by the time they got it right. That would be too cold, and it could cause problems. So, he bit the bullet and reduced the force, but still ended up touching her.

Having worked on films for ten years, An Ye was, of course, aware that her position had been wrong. When Director Yang moved the camera, she probably noticed it when he stood up.

But adjusting the position would mean washing off the mud again, which would waste time. So, she didn’t move.

She just bore the kick.

So, Zhao Linjun knew that even though he had been scolded by Li Yue for this, and his agent had told him he was causing trouble for no reason, he would still recommend An Ye if he had the chance again.

He liked An Ye a lot. How many actors with talent could stay relevant for ten years once they became famous? It wasn’t just about talent, but about enduring hardships that others couldn’t bear in the unseen corners of the industry.

An Ye spent half an hour under the cold water, slowly warming up with lukewarm water before she started to recover. The crew’s doctor came over to check her skin and instructed the assistant to raise the water temperature a little more."The ears need some medicine," the doctor said. "Otherwise, you'll get frostbite."

Lan Yifang, holding a down jacket stuffed with warm packs and a bunch of dry towels, squatted beside An Ye, carefully cleaning the mud out of her ears.

After everything had been mostly dealt with, Yang Zhengyi, who was smoking, walked over and stood in front of An Ye.

An Ye was already able to stand up, wearing the down jacket and taking small steps, looking at Yang Zhengyi.

"I think this shot needs to be retaken," Yang Zhengyi said. "What do you think?"

An Ye sighed. "Is it the emotion that's off? Ah Lin’s emotions should be a bit more at ease."

Yang Zhengyi snapped his fingers. "Right! I filmed it as if it’s winter, but it’s actually the hottest day of summer! Ah Lin is in the foul, warm mud, hearing Officer Zhao arguing with the other cops. Officer Zhao says, ‘This person is insane! You can’t reason with her, she’s mentally ill!’"

An Ye added, "So at this point, it’s actually Ah Lin's comfort zone. She likes environments that are both noisy and quiet. She also likes the rotten smell and the label of being mentally ill."

Ah Lin considers being called mentally ill as a compliment, she thinks it’s normal.

Yang Zhengyi blew out a puff of smoke and said, "How about you lie back down, and I’ll retake the shot? Or we can start all over. Which one do you prefer?"

An Ye sighed again, while still stamping her feet lightly to warm up, and said to Yang Zhengyi, "Could you heat up that muddy water a bit more? Otherwise, I’ll have frostbite on half my face, and then you won’t be able to film."

Yang Zhengyi chuckled, waving his hand in satisfaction, "Let’s do it again!"

The crew was composed of professionals who had worked together for years. They quickly resumed their positions, with soft moans of complaint, each going about their tasks.

The assistant director quickly shrank his neck and went to find the fiery-tempered prop master. From a distance, they could already hear the prop master’s angry shout, "What do you mean you want me to dig up more mud in the middle of the night?! And you want it heated?! Why don’t you ask for braised pork while you're at it?!"

Lan Yifang frowned and went to the trailer to grab another coat. She wrapped herself in it, then stuffed in more warm packs, grumbling like a mother, "We only brought four down jackets, two of them are wet. We can’t keep retaking."

An Ye was still lightly stamping her feet, speaking softly to Lan Yifang, "When the props prepare the muddy water, ask the doctor for a bottle of bruising alcohol and some ointment."

Lan Yifang paused for a moment.

"My back hurts." Sure enough, the cold had numbed her, and now that she was warming up, her left side was stiff and she could hardly bend it. "Avoid Zhao Linjun when you get it."

"Is it serious? Do you need to go to the hospital?" Lan Yifang asked in a quiet voice.

"No need." An Ye twisted her body to check, confirming that nothing was broken. She sighed again, "I just need to sleep."

After the retake, it would probably be three a.m. She felt like she might die from exhaustion. Hungry, tired, sleepy, and cold.

But she genuinely felt that the shot needed to be redone. She had already known the outcome even before Director Yang arrived.

That one kick was a mistake…

She took small steps while thinking about Ah Lin. The character of Ah Lin wasn’t too difficult for her. There were aspects of herself that resonated with Ah Lin. They were both lonely people in a world full of noise. The difference was, Ah Lin had completely become an observer of humanity, while An Ye was still struggling in the human world.

Ah Lin didn’t care who killed Officer Zhao’s niece, nor where the poor girl's body was hidden. Her hostility toward Zhao came from his disdain for the mentally ill.

It was a more general, larger form of animosity, almost like the hostility between races.

While Xiao Yang was redoing her makeup, An Ye stared at her intently. They didn’t go back to their own trailer, because they still needed to discuss positioning. The wardrobe change was happening in a small tent set up behind the crew. She was very busy—her hair needed to be redone, her clothes, which had just been rolled in the mud, couldn’t be used again, and props needed to be prepared. Director Yang was beside them, directing Xiao Yang to soften one side of An Ye’s makeup, making it look less aggressive, but still giving the impression that she felt separate from the others.

Xiao Yang was sweating profusely. She thought Director Yang’s instructions were even more abstract than the most colorful of blacks, while also noticing that An Ye’s expression was gradually becoming more abstract.

The final stroke of lipstick went on, and Xiao Yang’s hand was trembling.She couldn't tell whether An Ye was still in character or had truly lost her mind. The way An Ye looked at her made her stiffen her shoulders and neck instinctively.

"Okay, okay," Xiao Yang stammered. "Teacher An, it's... it's all done."

An Ye didn’t respond. She stood up and walked out of the noisy little tent. Lan Yifang, holding a bunch of warm clothing, followed her out, and the tent was instantly cleared.

From a distance, the scene manager shouted, "A group, scene six, second shot, take two!"

Xiao Yang seemed to snap back to reality, shaking her shoulders, and couldn’t help but message Yan Wan: 【Brother Wan, about what you told me last time, about me changing roles with Qing Ze... I’ve thought it through...】

The shooting site fell silent, with only Old Zhao’s increasingly hoarse curses and shouts echoing. He helplessly slapped Ah Lin, who was half-sitting on the ground, asking her why, demanding that she give up the hand that had killed his niece, and telling her she wasn’t human.

After being slapped a few more times, Ah Lin finally ended up in the muddy water, and the heavy object falling made a sharp sound in the silent night, which felt particularly sorrowful.

Chi Tuo paused for a moment while smoking, extinguished the cigarette, and entered An Ye’s trailer.

Qi Wei looked over again from behind, then extinguished her cigarette and followed Chi Tuo into the trailer. "Not watching anymore?"

Chi Tuo didn’t answer her.

He and Qi Wei weren’t familiar. They only exchanged contact information on New Year's Eve and had only communicated twice, both times for work, never for casual conversations.

The reason they appeared together on set today was because there had been new developments with Yan Wan, and Qi Wei’s plans were almost finished. Qi Wei had asked the scene manager and found out that the weather tomorrow would be bad and they would probably halt work for the day, so she asked Chi Tuo if he was interested in going to the set to watch An Ye act.

Chi Tuo was, of course, interested.

But he didn’t expect to arrive and see An Ye being dragged by her hair and beaten in the mud.

The temperature in Baigang city dropped to one degree Celsius tonight, and it was even colder in the suburbs.

Chi Tuo entered the crew's van and rummaged through the fridge for a while. He found a box of ginger tea, boiled some water, and added a bit of pepper to it.

Qi Wei watched with her arms crossed, leaning against the car door.

She had been observing the relationship between Chi Tuo and An Ye, a professional instinct. Plus, their relationship was really intriguing.

Even though they had grown up together, their bond was incredibly close. Not in terms of behavior, but more on a subconscious level. Like when Chi Tuo arrived on New Year’s Eve, he unconsciously sat next to An Ye. Or when An Ye, who usually wanted to keep a distance of at least eight feet from others, casually leaned toward him when she saw him sit next to her.

Another example was Chi Tuo, who seemed to have good boundaries with others, but once inside An Ye’s trailer, he had no boundaries at all and started rummaging through the cabinets.

"By the way," she spoke up while Chi Tuo was focused on making ginger soup. "Was Teacher An a top student when she was in school?"

"Hmm?" Chi Tuo didn’t answer directly, just raised his tone slightly as if questioning.

Qi Wei scoffed inwardly.

An Ye was the same. When it came to personal matters, even trivial ones, she would use this method to avoid being put on the spot.

So who’s really learning from whom here?

"Her way of thinking is quite academic," Qi Wei continued. "Whenever there’s a problem, she looks at the root cause, identifies the issue, and solves it."

"Hmm." Chi Tuo wasn’t sure if he was even paying attention. He grabbed a shallow frying pan and opened a packet of rice dumplings.

Qi Wei: "...Teacher An probably wouldn’t eat these."

The sesame and cheese-filled rice dumplings were something An Ye, a dieting fanatic, would never touch unless she was crazy.Chi Tuo didn’t even give her a single sound in response.

Ah...

Qi Wei silently looked up at the sky in her heart.

These two seem like...

Although An Ye wasn’t the type of idol who would ruin her career just by being in a relationship, once she was truly in love, she would still have to work hard!

"You..." She didn’t want to test it anymore and was about to ask directly, but as soon as she opened her mouth, the trailer door was pushed open.

An Ye, soaked through and shivering, stood in the doorway, eyes wide open. Her previously indifferent gaze froze the moment she saw Chi Tuo.

"Huh?" An Ye let out a single syllable, sounding almost like a twin with Chi Tuo.