In this scene, Zhou Xinyuan designed a contrast between the reactions of the reality show audience and the characters within the show.
The reality show audience chose option C. For them, it felt like opening a blind box—they didn’t know whose person would arrive. That sense of the unknown was the most exciting.
The audience knew that option D was the most clichéd and classic trope in romance novels, and also the most appealing. But why didn’t they choose it? The reason had already been shown earlier.
This wasn’t the first time this scenario had played out. Previous couples had chosen this scene, played these characters, and, urged on by the audience, gone to the cliff’s edge, where the expected events unfolded.
However, the audience couldn’t see everything. This wasn’t an adult reality show, and excessive explicitness wouldn’t pass censorship!
So, last time, the audience only saw a fast-forwarded sequence, which amounted to seeing nothing at all.
This disappointed the viewers. Therefore, whenever there was an option with such a precedent, they would remind each other to vote for something else.
But the audience didn’t expect this pair of challengers, who had already defied their expectations once, to surprise them again.
Based on the audience’s choice, the reality show company once again used mental suggestions, prompting Fu Yuan and Lin Lang to flee south towards the bamboo forest. Both characters headed in that direction.
However, halfway there, seeing each other running the same way, they both simultaneously changed direction. By then, it was too late to change again, as their pursuers had caught up.
The fight scene on screen was thrilling. In terms of combat skills, Lin Lang was superior to Fu Yuan. Lin Lang could still fight back, while Fu Yuan could only dodge and fire hidden arrows.
According to the script, both were supposed to be injured.
“Cut! Makeup artists, touch-ups, quickly!” Zhou Xinyuan yelled through a megaphone. The actors in the scene froze, and the makeup artists immediately rushed in, applied the planned makeup, and then retreated from the shot as fast as possible.
Qian Duoduo watched with relish from behind the camera, sharing some sunflower seeds with Yuanzi.
“I don’t know whether to say these two characters despise each other or are just incredibly in sync. Either way, they look so good together! This pseudo-incest trope is my absolute favorite. And Yuanzi, don’t you think Teacher Ning and Li Chu are a perfect match?”
Knowing everything, Yuanzi: …
She gave Qian Duoduo a subtle look and nodded.
“Right? You think they’re a good match too, don’t you? I think they’re super sweet. Sometimes I wish they could really be together.”
As a devoted shipper, Qian Duoduo sighed wistfully.
These were just fantasies, though. The subtle sweetness between Li Chu and Ning Manqing was enough for her to indulge in; she didn’t dare to imagine anything more.
Yuanzi remained silent. She didn’t know how to respond to that, given that the two weren’t just together, but their relationship was at a point where not getting married would be difficult.
“Yuanzi, you keep an eye on things here. There’s a water scene next. I’ll go prepare clean towels and bathrobes for Li Chu.”
“Okay.”
Following the protagonist-can’t-die-from-falling-off-a-cliff rule, there was a cold pool at the bottom of the cliff. Fu Yuan and Lin Lang fell, plunging into the water.
This scene set the stage for the intimate contact to follow. The pills Fu Yuan carried to disguise her gender would lose their effectiveness after being soaked in water.
This would lead to the expected intimate scenes. Of course, they couldn’t be too explicit, or they wouldn’t pass censorship, just like in the reality show.
Zhou Xinyuan wouldn’t actually film at a real pool at the bottom of a cliff. The scene was created with special effects, and the pool was an indoor swimming pool.
It was midsummer, the perfect time to film water scenes.
Before filming the cliff-diving scene, Li Chu asked the props master to double-check Ning Manqing’s safety harness.
She was genuinely traumatized by Ning Manqing’s previous injury. Although the height wasn’t great, and the pool wasn’t deep, Li Chu was still worried, constantly feeling like the harness was on the verge of breaking.
Ning Manqing thanked the props master after the check. She knew there was no problem, as the previous incident was human-caused and not due to wear and tear. But Li Chu didn’t know that.
This care and concern made Ning Manqing happy. She gave Li Chu an “OK” sign and nodded towards the director.
As soon as the clapperboard sounded, Li Chu closed her eyes, feigning unconsciousness as she fell into the water.
As a Dikun, and due to long-term use of suppressants, Fu Yuan was much weaker than Lin Lang.
Therefore, after falling into the water from a height, she was the first to lose consciousness. Lin Lang remained conscious upon entering the water.
She watched Fu Yuan sink deeper. After a few seconds of stunned silence, she suddenly frowned and dove down.
The reality show audience initially thought the couple was unlucky. The previous contestants hadn’t fallen into the water, which was why they survived. Some were already preparing to end their viewing of the episode, disappointed, when they saw the Eldest Princess, who initially hadn’t intended to save anyone, dive into the water.
The audience immediately perked up. This was what they wanted to see! This was beautiful love!
Even if we’ve forgotten our past love, even if we’ve become new people, in the face of power struggles, I still don’t want to lose you.
In the pool, Li Chu was running out of breath. She silently counted the seconds, waiting for Ning Manqing to pull her up when the time came.
But Ning Manqing’s hand seemed to arrive two seconds later than expected. Li Chu resisted opening her eyes to avoid a retake, but her lips suddenly felt a soft touch. At the same time, Ning Manqing gave her a breath. Startled, Li Chu opened her eyes.
The light underwater was hazy, but the person before her was crystal clear.
The complex emotions hidden in Ning Manqing’s eyes made it difficult for Li Chu to discern whether she was in character or not.
Sitting in front of the monitor, Zhou Xinyuan was initially stunned. This wasn’t in the script.
The script dictated that Lin Lang would grab Fu Yuan, bring her to shore, and help her expel the water from her lungs.
She had even planned a subtle chest-pressing scene here, but the two actresses had decided to improvise.
But Ning Manqing was her financial backer and a renowned actress.
What was wrong with a skilled actress wanting to improvise? What was wrong with the financial backer wanting to change the scene?
Zhou Xinyuan had no objections. She held her breath, watching the monitor intently, curious to see how they would continue.
Li Chu didn’t know where this was going, but she wasn’t flustered, following Ning Manqing’s lead.
Putting aside the plot, kissing underwater was a rather unique experience.
It didn’t last long, maybe just a few seconds. Li Chu was brought to the surface, sitting wet on the bank, supporting herself with her hands as she gasped for air.
Her thin summer clothes clung to her body, outlining her slender figure.
Ning Manqing took a few steps away, stood at a distance, arms crossed, and said, “Little Aunt is indeed delicate. It’s just a shallow pool, yet if someone didn’t know better, they’d think you were a Dikun, not a Tiangan.”
The moment Li Chu heard Ning Manqing deliver her line, she knew they were still in character and immediately got into the right emotional state.
She tugged at the corner of her mouth, raised her head, and frowned as she continued, “Naturally, I can’t compare to a young man like you, so strong and robust.”
“Little Aunt is only five years older than me, still in the prime of your life. You haven’t taken a wife yet, so it’s not as if your energy is failing. But it’s understandable that you have high standards. I imagine no Heyi or Dikun in the capital can surpass your beauty and figure.”
This was blatant mockery and humiliation. Lin Lang even licked her lips, as if savoring the brief intimacy in the water.
The Eldest Princess’s features, darkened by the water, were as vivid as an ink painting. She wore a seemingly gentle smile, but the beautiful red lips uttered words of insubordination and disrespect.
Fu Yuan was naturally angered. Since becoming Regent, apart from the Eldest Princess, who had dared to disrespect her? Now this grown-up wolf cub was mocking her in such a vulnerable state.
“It seems the Princess has read all her books in vain, not even knowing how to write the words ‘propriety’ and ‘shame’! I am your aunt, how dare you…”
Fu Yuan gritted her teeth, emphasizing her words to mask her own guilt. She knew that to deceive others, she must first deceive herself. But before she could finish her harsh words, she started coughing violently, her breath still ragged from nearly drowning.
“If you weren’t my aunt, would I have saved you?” Lin Lang changed her form of address, glancing coldly at her before walking away, leaving Fu Yuan to struggle to her feet and stumble after her.
“Great! That’s a wrap!” Seeing the two about to walk out of the set, Zhou Xinyuan immediately called cut.
The assistants waiting nearby immediately surrounded them, draping bathrobes over their shoulders.
Zhou Xinyuan said a little sheepishly, “The improvisation just now felt really good, much more expressive than the scripted version. But I might have missed a few shots. Could you two go back and reshoot a couple now?”
Li Chu and Ning Manqing nodded, taking off their bathrobes and returning to the set.
Li Chu said as they walked back, “It’s a good thing you helped me get into character just now, or I almost broke out of it.”
“I should have told you beforehand. But you responded very well, very naturally.”
Ning Manqing had acted on impulse. She could have followed the script, but as she looked at Li Chu, she felt that if she were Lin Lang, she wouldn’t be able to resist that impulse. So she went with it.
She and Li Chu didn’t have the same understanding of Lin Lang’s character. Perhaps it was because they were embodying different perspectives. Li Chu felt what the character she was playing felt.
Li Chu felt that Lin Lang didn’t love Fu Yuan, because Lin Lang was a very rational person, which was evident in later dialogues and plot developments. But Ning Manqing felt that Lin Lang did have feelings for Fu Yuan, just that their definitions of love were different.
Fu Yuan’s definition of love was being able to give up something for the other person, while Lin Lang’s definition was being able to persevere for the other person.
They loved each other while walking in opposite directions. Ning Manqing thought that, in fact, her personality was somewhat similar to Lin Lang’s.
But Li Chu wasn’t Fu Yuan. She always looked at her with such trust and unwavering determination, as always, with starlight in her eyes.
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