The scene was quickly played out in front of everyone. According to the script, she should be 'tied' up in a dungeon blanketed with darkness and filthiness. In order for her to appear like she was truly tortured and had experienced a rather unpleasant situation for several days, the costume director and crew members did a lot of effort to pick out the outfit for this scene.
Wearing a tattered dress with holes from different spots and each spot has bloody marks in them, indicating that she suffered several punctures and stabs. Her dark hair that appeared like black ink was disheveled and stray hairs was all over her face. As for her face, the makeup artist used pale makeup producsts and made a contrast by using red tints and paints to mark her forehead, completing the look of an abused and tortured person inside the dungeon.
"Ran Xueyi, if you feel uncomfortable with the chains, just give us a heads up so we can loosen them," Director Qing told her through the loudspeaker.
"Alright!" Director Qing heard her affirmative response and also got ready to call on to start the scene. He looked at the assistant holding the clapperboard and gestured with a nod of his head to start the scene.
The scene continued to roll, the cameras followed the dirty waters dripping on the floor before lifting up to let everyone see the wretched result of several days of torture inside the dungeon had done to a fair young lady.
Once the cameramen had pointed their lenses at the bloodied young lady, everyone's heart seemed to tighten up and feel horrible just by looking at her.
However, the young lady tied up to a long metal chain seemed to not have noticed their deep concern over her superficial injuries and looked dully at the camera as if nothing was standing in front of her.
Her eyes were empty and dull, no light seemed to be able to squeeze into that pair of eyes and redeem the bright and sparkles that usually appeared in them. Cruel, unfeeling, and dangerous. Those were what others might think when they look at her eyes, but they still couldn't help but pinch a tiny tear from the corners of their eyes.
Director Qing sat in front of the monitor and sighed, "Truly remarkable."
Just a few words from him was enough for Ran Xueyi to catch the ruthlessness of being abandoned and betrayed. Previously, he had expected that she would at least show a bit of sadness and being left behind when she acted in this scene, but Ran Xueyi once again had exceeded what people expected her to do.
"Jiao Yu is still bleeding, why is no one coming over to treat her?" One of the staff members was caught up in her emotions and cried out, "Look at her cuts and injuries! What type of inhumane person could do this to her?"
Someone else nodded their head to agree with her and also replied, "That's right. I know that the novel is always cruel to the heroine, but isn't this too much? Why must she continously experience being betrayed and abandoned by the people she thought she could trust and love?"
In the first part of the novel and script of the film, Jiao Yu was just a young girl who was ambitious and wanted to reach the whole world. She was very proud and arrogant, but her arrogance was unlike those spoiled young ladies that think that they owned the whole world. Rather, she was very realistic and aimed for the best since she lived in poverty for years.
Once she was only twelve years old and already knew a lot of things than most of her peers. She knew how to hunt to feed herself since they lived far from the capital and in a small village near the mountains and forests. She also forced herself to learn to read and write by herself without any help from the people in their village.
But despite living in a small village without knowing whether she'll achieve what she wanted in the future, Jiao Yu still hoped that she could get out of that place and be with her father always.
However, who knew that the day her birthday had arrived, the same day her father promised to come back to her, she received a fright and the most hurtful betrayal in her life.
The father she always thought loved and treated her precious like a pearl in his hand had a plan to sell her. The village she was living in for twelve years was kind to her and helped her only because they wanted something from the kindness they showed to her.
And Jiao Yu was pushed by everyone to become a Ghost Bride to the son of a merchant they regarded as their benefactor.
And now, after a decade has passed since her father's betrayal, Jiao Yu experienced another type of betrayal from a person whom she thought could accept the truth and be friends with her despite what she had done.
Han Yue betrayed her.
The filming continued.
Zhilan's character, Han Yue, entered the scene at this time. This was the first time she found out what her father had done to her dear friend after her confession. She didn't believe it at first and only came down to the dungeon to test her curiosity and reject the reality. But the moment she arrived in front of her dear friend, who was chained up and tortured, her sanity was shaken.
"You have come... Are you here to watch and mock me before sending me to my death?" Ran Xueyi asked in a hoarse voice that contained self mockery. She trusted this friend, but that same friend had sent her to a place that even the most heinous criminal would avoid walking in.
Zhilan stared at the bloodied figure in front of her in a daze and her chest throbbed painfully. Actually, this was the first time she saw Ran Xueyi in this get up. The director and the staff members arranged for them not to see each other so that the genuineness of the surprise that would flash from her eyes would be captured in the camera.
"How... I didn't know..." Zhilan's face was devoid of blood, white and pale as if she had seen a ghost in front of her. "I didn't know my father would do this... No, I didn't know that he would do this to you because of what I told him..."
Zhilan followed her lines according to the script she was given. However, she still couldn't help but feel chilled all over when those animalistic eyes drifted over her body.
Her hand flew over across her mouth and covered the scream that had wanted to spill over her lips. While trembling, she stepped back and stumbled, "I... I really didn't know! I'm really sorry!"
Ran Xueyi's eyes glinted and took advantage of the disordered emotion of the other person and there was a faint click being heard from the direction of her hands.
A wicked smile was on her lips as she beckoned the other, "If you're really sorry for what happened to me... Then, why don't you come over and take these chains off me?"
Zhilan seemed spellbound by her words and did as she told her to do. Step by step, she approached the bloodied friend and stopped before her. She looked at the Jiao Yu who was tied and hurting.
Jiao Yu will forgive me if I release her right?
She won't be mad at me for betraying her and telling my father what she did that night, right?
I'm sure we'd still be friends as before after she's released... Look, she's smiling like me just as she did before!
No shred of doubt came to her mind as she reached her hand out to push the key into the thick metal chains.
She was about to release Jiao Yu from her chains.
Then as the tip of the key was about to push into the keyhole, something unexpected had happened.
Jiao Yu, who was supposed to be chained up to the wall, moved swiftly and raised her hands above Han Yue's head. Then she spread out her arms wide before making a loop around the other's neck and pulling her into her embrace.
Han Yue fell to her trap and to her deception.
As they say; An eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth.
Han Yue died under her hands and by the chains around her dearest friend's wrists. Her neck twisted into an ugly turn and she couldn't even utter a single sound as she died.
Then, after a deep silence that seemed to eat away the whole place, a soft murmur could be heard coming from Ran Xueyi's lips.
She laughed childishly and softly, "Don't worry, you will meet your father and everyone soon."
"Cut!" Director Qing was extremely satisfied and clapped the rolled script in his hand in his other palm. "Alright, that's enough! We will take some close-up shots from this scene and we're done!"
Everyone released the breath they didn't know they had been holding while watching this scene play out before their eyes. A few minutes later, they all scrambled over to the two actresses inside the 'dungeon' and helped them up.
Ran Xueyi accepted their help and got up from the floor, patting the dust away from her already dirty and bloody dress. "Everyone has worked hard."
The staff members and stylist who had come over to help them and also retouch their makeup shook their heads and said, "No, no... you're the one who worked hard!"
Ran Xueyi laughed at how they were acting and moved her gaze to glance down at her co-star, Zhilan, who was still lying on the ground.
Ran Xueyi, "Zhilan, let's go and take a look at our scene?"
Once she was done saying this, Ran Xueyi walked forward towards the director's chair where the monitor was propped up. But she felt the hem of her dress being pulled by Zhilan.
Then, she heard a squeak and someone crying miserably.
Looking back down to the hand holding her dress, Ran Xueyi found Zhilan crying her eyes out while saying, "I'm sorry... I'm sorry!"
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter