Yun Muxi was quite timid and said waveringly, “Director, I’d better not. I have never acted before!”
Zhao Yi was still in the excitement and comforted with a laugh, “Xiao Xi, it’s okay. Take it easy. You just help Gong Yu to play. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. We haven’t replaced the female protagonist with you.”
In fact, Zhao Yi thought, “If she acts well, I can let her have a try. After all, her image is very good.”
On second thought, he was a little disappointed. “She is just a screenwriter. How could she perform well? I thought about it too simply.”
Seeing Yun Muxi still boggling, Gong Yu lowered his head and muttered, “If you want this play abortive, quit it.”
Hearing the word “abortive”, Yun Muxi made up her mind instantly and allowed Gong Yu to lead her to the room where the scene had been set.
At the moment, a crowd of people entered the filming site, found Ding Sisi and walked toward her.
A seductively dressed woman came to hold Ding Sisi’s arm and flattered, “Oh, Sisi, you said there would be something fun to watch, so we rushed over without hesitation.”
The people around echoed, “Yes, Sisi, what’s it? Since you call it a funny show, it must be interesting.”
Ding Sisi said pompously, “Well… you don’t know the screenwriter of this play will act the leading actress. What a crazy fantasy!”
The woman sneered and said, “Haha…that’s really funny. How dare she show off in the presence of Sisi. She is definitely over-confident.”
A woman in the crowd asked in wonder, “Sister Sisi, is the screenwriter the girl standing beside Gong Yu? She looks quite beautiful, elegant, and refined. She is rather physically attractive.”
After hearing that the woman spoke highly of Yun Muxi, Ding Sisi’s face fell immediately. When the coquettish woman observed Ding Sisi’s expression, she said at once, “Oh, Xiao Yu, how could you say that? What’s the big deal about being well-dressed? There is a lot of eye candies. Anyone who is beautiful can act? They are only attractive outwardly but useless inside! Sisi is a movie queen, boasting both fabulous appearance and outstanding acting. She can overshadow such a small potato with ease.”
And then another echoed, “Yes, it’s ridiculous that a screenwriter will act in a play. If she fails and loses face, she can do nothing but still work as a screenwriter in the end. What an idiot’s daydream!”
Ding Sisi’s face eased up, and she said haughtily, “Hum, today I ask you to see how she will embarrass herself. How dare she dream of being the leading actress by her beautiful appearance? Let’s wait and see how she will play it smashed.”
…
The people around Ding Sisi were discussing lightly, while Yun Muxi had stood in the center of the filming site.
Although Yun Muxi was the screenwriter of this play and came to follow the crew every day, she usually had nothing much to do. This was the first time for her to enter the filming site where the scene had been well prepared.
Standing in the center, Yun Muxi was in a trance due to those familiar scenes and familiar persons standing before. Vaguely familiar emotions mounted to her mind, and memories crowded over her.
Yun Muxi stood still, dazed.
Zhao Yi shouted to them, “Gong Yu, Xiao Xi, we’ll start. Attention, please. The 48th scene is ready…”
“Action!”
With the order, everyone got into a groove in a flash. Gong Yu even turned himself to Mu Lengyu thoroughly, while Yun Muxi did not hear what Zhao Yi had said at all. She was still in a daze, her eyes glistening with tears.
After a while, Yun Muxi was still. Zhao Yi reminded, “Xiao Xi, you’re not doing it right. You have to say the lines. And you’re not in the right emotion.”
Hearing it, Ding Sisi sneered and said, “Oh…a little screenwriter wants to play. Does she know how important to control emotion in this scene? This is the most important part of the scene. She is daydreaming. Does she think she can rely on her beauty to become a leading actress? She is just kidding herself.”
Ding Sisi’s companions followed and said, “Yeah, she can’t even speak out the lines. What the hell is that?”
“Yes, her expression… is really frustrating. She is wasting everyone’s time!”
“Without self-knowledge, she dared to try Sister Sisi’s character.”
“Well…let me do live broadcasting to show that a little screenwriter has a daydream of being a leading actress. She really lacks self-knowledge. Even a screenwriter, she can’t do in the future.”
“That’s right…Hurry up…”
…
Gong Yu stepped forward and shook Yun Muxi’s shoulders gently, trying to wake up absent-minded Yun Muxi. He murmured to her, “Yun Muxi, think about your play…”
Yun Muxi collected herself. She squatted on her heels, covered the eyes and burrowed her head into the knees. A moment later, Yun Muxi dismissed the memories from her mind and made some adjustments. She turned to Zhao Yi and said, “Director, I’m ready. Let’s start.”
Zhao Yi nodded and said, “Okay. Attention, please. We’ll film it again.”
“Action!”
Yun Muxi grasped the momentary memories with sorrow and disappointment full of her eyes. Her heart wrenched as if a big hand clenched it tightly and squeezed out all the breath, leaving her almost stifle. No one could stand the touching expression on her face.
Being stubborn and strong, Yun Muxi raised her chin slightly as if she had tolerated all the pains but still tried to keep her only self-esteem.
Yun Muxi slowly started to speak with coldness, “Mu Lengyu, I have told you if you don’t love me any longer, please tell me directly and I will walk away without hesitation. But the only thing I can’t bear is that you love me but also love others.”
Gong Yu explained hastily, “No, I don’t. Let me explain!”
Yun Muxi gave a snort and said with disappointment, “Hehe…explain! How will you explain? I have seen everything in my eyes. What explanation will you make? Do you think I am blind? That woman has spoken out so plainly. Do you have an explanation for this? That’s right. I am certainly blind–blind to believe you! To love you without any reservation…”
Seeing Yun Muxi’s disappointed look, Gong Yu felt his heart more wrenched and he said with remorse and anxiety, “Xiaoai, it was not as what you thought in fact! There is a misunderstanding! I have my difficulties. Give me a chance to explain.”
Yun Muxi lifted up her head slightly and close her eyes desperately, two lines of tears dropping. She seemed to use all her strength to utter, “Hehe…Difficulty? What difficulty do you have? It’s nothing but a high-sounding reason for your behavior! Mu Lengyu, don’t let me look down upon you more. Being a man, you should admit what you have done, and dare to act and dare to bear responsibility.”
Gong Yu compressed his lips tightly and peered at Yun Muxi fixedly as if she would disappear in a second. He interpreted the complex emotions incisively and vividly–love, cherish, shame, helplessness, and grievance mingled in his eyes. People who didn’t know it might think he was revealing his real feelings. His acting was really worth praise. Every staff around was brought into the scene, even those who were easily touched shed tears quietly.
Gong Yu moved his throat, about to open his mouth. Yun Muxi opened her eyes suddenly with a look of determination. She raised her bottle, turned her head up and emptied it. After wiping off the drops on the corner of her lips, she threw the bottle backward and said to Gong Yu in a strong and pointed voice, “Mu Lengyu, remember that, from now on, I will not love you any longer.”
Yun Muxi wiped restively the tears on the face and toppled backward as if she had lost consciousness.
Gong Yu exclaimed hurriedly, “Xiaoai, No! Xiaoai, please come back…”
Helplessly, Gong Yu watched Yun Muxi disappear with pain and unwillingness in his eyes. He slowly closed his bloodshot eyes, fell onto his knees, and yelled at the sky, “Ah…Xiaoai…”
Gong Yu inserted his hands into hair, held his head and wept disconsolately. He cried for a long time. The director and the staff just watched obsessively, immersed in the scene. Zhao Yi forgot to say “cut”. It was the assistant director who could react firstly. He gave Zhao Yi a nudge, and Zhao Yi responded and called, “Cut!”
The scene was filmed smoothly with perfect expression and emotion engaged. Zhao Yi was very pleased with it, and the staff was also absorbed deeply in it for a long while before recovering themselves. They had planned to only take Gong Yu’s shots, but it went on quite fluently and perfectly. So the photographer took all the shots, including details and close-ups. Everything was especially perfect!
Ding Sisi and her companions were all attracted by it so deeply that they could not react after a long time.
Ding Sisi’s astonishment was no less than anyone else’s. She even forgot her intention and original plan.
Gong Yu could not calm himself down for a long time. He even could not stop crying after the director said “cut”. He just wept bitterly and could not hold his tears back.
Yun Muxi felt even worse. She had been brought into the scene, and memories flooded in. The replay of the miserable memories tore her wound up, and rubbed salt onto it mercilessly. It brought more pains than the first time.
Yun Muxi removed the makeup and get changed in a hurry. She fled the filming site without saying a word to the director. She left so hastily that she forgot to wear her glasses but just grabbed her backpack.
Yun Muxi wandered on the street. The sealed memories hovered in her mind, wonderful, depressing, sweet and bitter. Both the happy and the unhappy played over and over again like a movie. Yun Muxi could not restrain her tears anymore. The tears streamed down, blurring his eyes. She could not tell how many people she had run into and how many falls she had had. After each fall, she just stood up and kept walking, unconscious that her palms and knees had been hurt. She looked rather discomfited.
Yun Muxi was wandering like a ghost when a traffic light turned red. She barged her way through cars. Some drivers who drove slowly stopped and started to curse at her. But she did not hear anything at all and merely kept moving. Suddenly a black Bentley came tearing along the way…