Chapter 25
Chapter 25
After breakfast, Lu Yao followed Zhu Yin into a car.
It was a passenger van for artists that she had never seen before, but she did not ask where Zhu Yin had found a car overnight. This was no joke: after “traveling” through a zombie world, she no longer had the slightest doubt that Zhu Yin was an immortal from the stars.
If Zhu Yin could take her to another world on a whim, producing a car had to be effortless.
Lu Yao stared at the familiar date on her phone, then at the scenery outside the window, which now seemed somewhat unfamiliar. She was lost in thought.
Zhu Yin misunderstood her expression. “Nervous?” she asked, puzzled.
That should not have been possible after a zombie scenario, should it?
Lu Yao came back to herself and smiled a little sheepishly. “It just feels as if an entire lifetime has passed. I’m feeling a little nostalgic.”
She truly was not nervous. When it came down to it, she had spent less time in the entertainment industry than she had in the zombie world. Fortunately, she had a good memory and still remembered the script.
Zhu Yin nodded in understanding. “Oh, your first scenario always feels like that. Don’t worry. Once you’ve been through a few more, you’ll get used to it.”
Lu Yao: ?
They soon arrived on set. To Lu Yao’s surprise, everyone they passed looked out of sorts. Some hurried along while others wore uneasy, suspicious expressions.
When she entered the makeup room, she ran into Xu Qiaoqiao, whose makeup artist was concealing the dark circles beneath her eyes.
Although Lu Yao had endured one hair-raising brush with death after another in her dream, in reality, she had slept soundly all night. Moreover, the drink Zhu Yin had given her was something good that restored her body.
With rosy lips, white teeth, and a radiant complexion, Lu Yao looked incomparably more energetic than everyone else in the production.
Xu Qiaoqiao, who was fighting off drowsiness while her stylist covered her blemishes, was instantly dazzled.
She became wide awake and sat bolt upright, staring fixedly at Lu Yao.
Had Lu Yao always been that fair? Had her skin always looked that good? Surely she was not barefaced right now? Looking this refreshed was simply outrageous!
In the past, Lu Yao would have grown tense and wary beneath such a stare.
But now?
She had been watched and chased by dozens of grayish-white zombies, some with limbs already rotting, all staring at her with the ravenous hunger of creatures eyeing a feast. This feeble little hint of hostility was nothing.
It even took Lu Yao a full two seconds to remember who Xu Qiaoqiao was.
Seeing Lu Yao ignore her completely, Xu Qiaoqiao immediately said in a mocking tone, “Looks like you slept well last night.”
“Mm,” Lu Yao replied.
She had spent six months in the apocalypse, five of them traveling alone and killing monsters. The experience had been too overwhelming, and she had not entirely readjusted yet.
She simply did not feel like talking and seemed aloof.
What was “mm” supposed to mean?
Xu Qiaoqiao felt that today’s Lu Yao was utterly different from before, although she could not explain exactly how. Her appearance seemed to have changed slightly, and so had her bearing.
In any case, she no longer looked as easy to bully.
She even seemed a little intimidating.
But Xu Qiaoqiao was no pushover herself. She continued to provoke her. “Something so serious happened last night that everyone was too worried to sleep, yet you still slept soundly? You’re truly cold-blooded and heartless.”
Lu Yao looked at Zhu Yin in confusion.
The production’s various private chat groups had been buzzing with discussion, while almost no one had expressed an opinion in the main group. Unfortunately, Lu Yao was the person excluded from every little clique.
As a result, she knew nothing about what had happened the previous night.
Zhu Yin patted her shoulder and looked at Xu Qiaoqiao. “If you sympathize with him so much, you can go keep him company at the police station. I’m sure Mr. An Sen desperately needs Miss Xu’s companionship right now.”
Xu Qiaoqiao had nothing to say.
In truth, the production had already discussed the incident that morning.
An Sen had undergone a urine test the night before, but it detected nothing. He had then been sent to the hospital for a physical examination, which likewise found nothing.
Once An Sen recovered his senses, he flatly refused to return to the production. He insisted on following the police car no matter what, and he was still staying at the police station now.
Whenever anyone asked, he said a ghost was haunting him and that he could only feel a little safer beside the upstanding police officers.
Xu Qiaoqiao had just been complaining to someone that morning that he might have a mental illness. She had sounded thoroughly disgusted.
Bolun, Lu Yao’s previous assistant, had stopped making any effort and ignored her affairs. Wenwen was even more thin-skinned than Lu Yao and could only cry when people targeted her.
Xu Qiaoqiao had grown used to bullying Lu Yao, as easy as pinching and shaping a lump of dough. When someone suddenly retorted, she was momentarily stunned.
When she recovered, she sneered. “Who do you think you are, speaking to me like– You!”
Her words stopped abruptly. Zhu Yin held up her phone and said with a grin, “Keep cursing. I’m recording a video.”
Xu Qiaoqiao’s face flushed crimson. At that exact moment, the aloof Lu Yao turned around and said, “Your foundation is caking.”
Xu Qiaoqiao was so furious that she nearly shut down.
The makeup artist acted as though they could neither see nor hear anything and concentrated solely on their work.
What angered Xu Qiaoqiao most was that after Lu Yao spoke, she showed no pride or excitement at winning their verbal exchange. She simply turned away again with the same indifferent expression.
Being ignored by an opponent felt worse than having her roll her eyes or spit at you.
Was she, Xu Qiaoqiao, some insignificant speck of dust?
In fact, Lu Yao was merely wondering whether her eyesight had improved.
Xu Qiaoqiao wanted to cause more trouble, but when she turned, she saw that hateful assistant holding up her phone.
“…”
She tried to endure it, but could not. “Stop pointing your phone at me! I’ll sue you for violating my rights!”
Zhu Yin turned the screen toward her. “Miss Xu, do you intend to police me for holding up my phone to play a game?”
Xu Qiaoqiao: ! She was furious!
Lu Yao, let’s see if you can stay so smug once you reach the set!
.
After hair and makeup were finished, they headed to the filming location.
During the short journey, Lu Yao slowly recalled her experiences during this part of the shoot and adjusted her state of mind.
The results were decent. Although she still seemed a little aloof and out of step with everyone around her, she had improved considerably since first waking.
Besides, her current demeanor perfectly matched Chi Lian’s characterization as a cold, murderous machine.
At least, Ji Lingze’s first thought when he saw her was: Only one night has passed. What on earth happened to change her bearing so drastically?
The male lead, Sun Lie, saw her too.
One glance was enough to make him frown.
Sun Lie had debuted as a child star and was now twenty-nine. Among idol actors, he could be considered a seasoned performer. His acting could not compare with that of truly veteran masters, but among competitors in his niche, he was unrivaled.
That was the foundation that had allowed him to suppress Lu Yao so easily until now.
The moment he saw her, he noticed the change. He did not know what had happened, however, and assumed only that Lu Yao had finally gotten into character.
She did indeed look quite a bit like Chi Lian.
He could not resist glancing at her several more times. What a pity, he thought. If she had not used her connections to steal his girlfriend’s role, he would not have minded giving this seemingly talented junior a few pointers.