Her fingertips pinched Ling Qianhe's belt.
Cautiously, she tried to tighten it for him.
Inadvertently, she brushed against his black coat, and then the coat flipped up. Something from his pocket clattered out, and Lin Muchen immediately crouched down to pick it up.
"Sorry, sorry."
A dagger in a sheath, still bearing traces of blood, was tucked into his pocket. Now it fell before Lin Muchen.
She picked it up, her lips trembling. The young girl tilted her head up, holding back, and yet she couldn't help but ask,
"Why did you hurt yourself with a knife again?"
Ling Qianhe lightly took the dagger back from her hand.
"That's not my blood."
"This is just a prop from the film crew. But how would you know I would hurt myself with a knife? Hmm?" Da Feng Novel
He raised an eyebrow at Lin Muchen. Lin Muchen's mind was a mess, but her mouth reacted faster than her brain.
"You had a wound on your wrist, there was blood on your body, and you were previously taken off work due to health reasons. Your agent asked my psychologist, so I guessed you had depression and would hurt yourself, and attempted to cut your wrist to commit suicide."
Her analysis was quite reasonable.
The young man silently looked at Lin Muchen's clean face and let out a cold laugh.
"Even if I self-harmed, it has nothing to do with you."
He let go.
The dagger dropped back into his pocket.
Dark green military uniform. Sharp dagger.
The handsome young man strode out onto the bluestone bricks, the cold glint in his eyes making one's breath catch.
"Filming is work, not an invitation for you to meddle. Moreover, even if you knew, what could you change?"
Lin Muchen chased after him.
"Wait, your belt is loose, I haven't fastened it yet!"
She couldn't let Ling Qianhe's pants fall down. This was the street of the film base, and there would be other people!
She caught up to him in three quick steps and crouched down.
She fumbled to fasten his belt. The more flustered she became, the less she could get it right.
Zhao Lan came out looking for them and saw Lin Muchen and Ling Qianhe in this scene. Lin Muchen was crouched in front of him, her fingers in a rather indescribable position. From a distance, it looked like her fingers were very busy.
Her expression was also a bit strange. With people coming and going, weren't the two youngsters a bit too bold?
Lin Muchen was on the verge of tears.
The system laughed heartily.
"Host, your lifelong innocence is ruined. Oh, I forgot, host, you don't have any innocence to speak of anyway. Hahaha, but isn't this really a socially awkward moment? You crouching in front of Ling Qianhe like this, anyone would think otherwise, right?"
Lin Muchen even stammered.
"Sister Lan, I was just helping him fasten his belt."
The helpless, blushing, teary-eyed girl looked like a pitiable creature to others.
Zhao Lan, having been in the industry for so many years, had seen all sorts of scenes.
A twenty-year-old young man, an eighteen-year-old girl. Both were in the prime of their youth, so it was normal.
She walked over. Lin Muchen had quickly fastened the belt. She took a deep breath and, facing the cold wind, adopted the submissive posture expected of a new, well-behaved actress.
"Sister Lan, I'm ready."
Zhao Lan hummed in acknowledgment.
"Come here. Let's get ready to shoot."
The makeup artist styled Lin Muchen. She changed into a school uniform, her hair in twin braids, pure as water.
In the rainy alley of the long street, rain beat on banana leaves, and on the blue brick and black tile roofs.
Holding an oil-paper umbrella, she stepped over a small puddle, as if returning to a hundred years ago.
The young girl was stunningly beautiful, and Zhao Lan and the director praised her endlessly.
"So beautiful."
"She's a perfect match for Qianhe. We were initially worried we wouldn't find someone who could act opposite Qianhe, but it seems our worries were unfounded."
Lin Muchen had thoroughly done her homework before coming.
The character she played, Qi Qingling, was a wealthy young lady from the Republican era. She had a good family background, attended Western-style schools, and was an excellent student.
It was precisely because of this that she caught the eye of the dissolute warlord's young master, Shen Jin'an, and became his most cherished concubine.
However, while outwardly she was his canary in a gilded cage, a rich and beautiful flower in the mortal world, she was secretly passing information to an important underground progressive organization and protecting comrades.
Later, Shen Jin'an found out. On one hand, he hated her betrayal; on the other, he was ordered by his father to kill her himself, this spy.
He struggled in pain, and could only imprison her, tormenting her every night. Thus,
he was also tormenting himself.
Qi Qingling became pregnant with Shen Jin'an's child.
She could have used the child to survive, but she refused to be a bargaining chip for her entire life, nor did she want to be permanently imprisoned underground by him. She secretly asked for medicine to terminate the pregnancy and finally died in front of him.
Using her own body, she conveyed a message one last time, saving other comrades in the underground network.
The warlord's young master finally awakened, broke ties with his father, and ultimately sacrificed himself heroically in Shanghai to protect civilians.
Everyone felt that this role was too challenging for Ling Qianhe.
Although he was an award-winning actor, he had never played a role in such intense emotional turmoil driven by love before.
The character's love and hate were too strong, love that ultimately hurt both himself and others. Everyone worried that Qianhe's emotions wouldn't reach that impactful intensity.
But Lin Muchen knew that this was not a problem for Ling Qianhe at all.
Only a yandere could play a psycho. What was there to question? This role was tailor-made for him! He was its embodiment!
What gave her a headache was her own performance opposite Ling Qianhe.
The earlier scenes were fine.
The latter half.
The thought of imprisonment made her want to run away.
The system kindly comforted her.
"Filming is all fake, host, don't worry. Nothing like that will happen again. We will guarantee your physical and mental safety~"
Lin Muchen could tolerate it without the system mentioning it, but her anger grew when it did.
Who was that damned reward last night for?
Are you Ling Qianhe's system?
Have you done anything proper besides tricking me?
The system looked very aggrieved.
"How could that be! We've always considered the host's needs. See, we've shielded your pain and only left the pleasure!
And host, haven't you redeemed the acting space? Actually, this role is quite layered, with patriotism surpassing personal feelings. If acted well, it will be very outstanding!"
Lin Muchen sulked.
A vintage car stopped at the street corner, and the door opened. The young man stepped out.
His military boots splashed water as he walked, and he looked at her, a gaze that spanned eternity.
In the downpour, Lin Muchen gazed at his picturesque features, as if hearing the sound of grass growing and orioles singing. The system prompted her.
"Ling Qianhe's favorability is forty."
"Right."
"There's also something else, quite important, that I need to remind the host about."
"He now seems to believe that his Mu Nian sister hasn't died. It's just that her soul has left her body, but her soul is still lingering in this world. From this perspective, your entering his dreams is indeed meaningful. At least he now has hope, and his life force is slowly recovering."
"Host, host, can you hear me?"
In front of the camera, she was immersed in her role. The handsome young man in military boots walked up to her, a faint smile on his lips. He was handsome, dashing, and elegant.
Lin Muchen was dazed, then heard the assistant director shout, "Cut!"
"Stop! What's wrong with the newcomer? Why are you spacing out and not saying your lines? Have you ever filmed before? If you delay the entire crew, get lost! Qianhe's time is precious!"
Ling Qianhe turned his head. "Don't scare her. It's okay."
"We have plenty of time. We can take it slow."
His gaze was deep as he leaned closer to her.
"Don't let her be afraid."
Lin Muchen: Damn it! Isn't Ling Qianhe himself the most terrifying thing? His gaze, whether it was due to being too engrossed in the role, made her feel like he wanted to devour her at any moment!