After Filming a WLW Movie With My Straight Girl Crush 1

Chapter 1

In the early morning of March in Mist City, a thin fog hung like gauze, and the air was thick with a damp chill.

Xu Ling, wrapped in a down jacket, got out of the car and yawned. Last night’s shoot had gone on until two, and now, not yet seven, she was already up for an on-location scene.

“How did you sleep?” the assistant director, Liang He, asked her.

Xu Ling forced a wry smile and answered honestly, “Not well, but I’ll do my best.”

Liang He patted her shoulder. “Tough work, tough work. It’s going to be a bit tiring later, so get something to eat first.”

“Okay.” Xu Ling stuffed a scallion and pork bun into her mouth. The scallion flavor was strong, just how she liked it. It would leave a bit of an aftertaste, but it didn’t matter since she wouldn’t be seeing Qin Cong’an this morning anyway.

Xu Ling ate as she went through the rehearsal, walking the route for the upcoming shoot with Director Chang Ning and Liang He.

She listened attentively without letting it interrupt her meal, downing three large buns in a row.

Just as she was about to turn back, Xu Ling suddenly noticed Qin Cong’an standing over there, watching them.

…The bun in my hand isn’t so tasty anymore.

She didn’t have any scenes this morning, so what was she doing here? If Xu Ling had known Qin Cong’an was coming, she wouldn’t have eaten buns with such a strong flavor.

Qin Cong’an was dressed in a black down jacket, her long black hair cascading down, exuding a pure coldness that perfectly matched the foggy day. Her face was small, but her indifferent expression gave her a powerful aura.

Xu Ling suppressed the urge to eat another bun, clutching the one in her hand as she walked back.

When Chang Ning saw Qin Cong’an, she squinted, asking with some curiosity, “What are you doing here?”

“To watch you direct,” Qin Cong’an replied faintly.

“Alright.” Chang Ning nodded. This wasn’t her first time working with Qin Cong’an; she knew the actress was always serious about her craft.

Xu Ling kept her mouth tightly shut and moved to the side, where a stylist tidied up her hair.

They were in the middle of filming the movie She and Her and the Knife. The protagonists, Wen Xi and Jian Yu, were both assassins living on the fringes of the city. They were fraught with conflict, yet utterly dependent on each other.

For most of the film, the two actresses appeared on screen with almost no makeup, just a light dusting of powder to control shine. Their hair was also kept simple, usually tied up in a high ponytail to keep it out of the way during missions.

But today, Xu Ling’s character, Jian Yu, was in a state where she hadn’t had time to tie up her hair. Believing that Wen Xi might have been killed, she had run out in a panic, her hair disheveled, to search for Wen Xi in every place she might be.

Xu Ling sprinted through the old residential buildings. From rehearsal to the official take, she ran the route several times, until her entire body was drenched in sweat.

Although it was only ten degrees Celsius, Mist City was humid, and she was sweating more than she would on a thirty-degree day.

The fog dissipated.

It was no longer the effect Chang Ning wanted. The morning shoot was over, but Jian Yu still hadn’t found Wen Xi. Xu Ling would have to continue filming this part tomorrow morning.

“Good work,” Chang Ning praised her. “You’re finally getting into character.”

“It’s because Director Chang is a good teacher,” Xu Ling said modestly, wiping away her sweat. “I’ll work even harder from now on.”

She glanced in Qin Cong’an’s direction. Qin Cong’an was eating a boxed lunch and didn’t look over.

Xu Ling secretly watched for a moment. How can someone look so elegant even while eating a boxed lunch? Like a black swan, but the way her cheeks move when she chews is kind of cute…

“Miss?” The person in front of her called out. “Do you want to eat now, or over there?”

Xu Ling snapped out of her daze and looked at the young crew member distributing meals. She patted her stomach and said, “I’ll eat over there later. I don’t have much of an appetite right now.”

She had been running all morning, and the three large pork buns had been fully digested, but now she only felt a little nauseous and couldn’t eat.

Besides, what she really wanted right now was a good nap. She was exhausted.

Xu Ling was grateful that she wasn’t sharing a car with Qin Cong’an. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to catch up on sleep at all.

The group drove to the afternoon shooting location.

It was on the rooftop of an old building, which served as the two protagonists’ main base. They lived on this rooftop, enduring the scorching sun and torrential rain.

In short, it was cold in the winter and hot in the summer—a place completely unsuitable for living.

But it was secluded enough, and perfect for training. There was a large open space for exercise, and even for practicing shooting.

Qin Cong’an had a training scene in the afternoon. During that scene, Xu Ling was supposed to sit to the side, eating a watermelon while watching her practice.

After Wen Xi finished training, she would ask Jian Yu to train with her, but Jian Yu would act spoiled and refuse.

It was a very slice-of-life scene, one that would be easy to film as long as they got into character.

The afternoon sun was brilliant, chasing away much of the chill. The view from the rooftop was beautiful.

Since she might have to eat a lot of watermelon later, Xu Ling only had a few bites of lunch. She was determined not to have any NGs and to do her best to get into character.

But the moment Xu Ling saw Qin Cong’an walk over, she nearly had a nosebleed.

Qin Cong’an was wearing a pair of navy cargo pants on her lower half and a utility tank top, revealing the fine lines of her arms. To accentuate a wilder look, she had been dusted with a dark foundation, which made her arm muscles stand out even more.

Xu Ling was completely stunned. She looks so… damn… The theater in her head was running wild, and she wanted to chop out the part of her brain responsible for imagination. Does it have to be so active? How did it conjure up an image of her, looking just like this, taking me apart in bed?

Qin Cong’an’s gaze shifted over. Xu Ling immediately lowered her head and fiddled with the watermelon. This watermelon is so round.

Xu Ling swallowed hard, trying to keep anyone from discovering her secret. She was in love with Qin Cong’an. No one knew. It was a secret she would take to her grave.

Having a crush on a straight girl—whether the girl herself found out or other people did—would only lead to social suicide.

The scene went smoothly, with only one cut in the middle.

Chang Ning said, “Xu Ling, focus a little more on the watermelon. Don’t stare at her so much.”

“Oh, okay.” Xu Ling thought she had been very focused on eating the watermelon. Was it that obvious? But when Qin Cong’an was hitting the target, the lines of her arms, that flying ponytail—how could it not draw her gaze?

During a break, Xu Ling, who was only wearing a slip dress for the scene, wrapped herself in a jacket and went to the restroom. It wasn’t watermelon season yet, but this one was surprisingly juicy.

As she came out, she happened to hear Qin Cong’an’s voice from outside.

It sounded like she was on the phone with someone.

Xu Ling stopped in her tracks and listened for a moment. She absolutely refused to think of it as eavesdropping. She was just passing by and suddenly didn’t feel like walking, so she accidentally overheard.

“Yeah, I’m not hurt. I’ll be careful… I know, stop nagging… I have to go back this weekend, but we’ll see about meeting up. I might be busy then.”

It sounded like the call ended.

Xu Ling guessed the person on the other end was her boyfriend, but she quickly dismissed the thought. Not necessarily. Her tone was a little impatient.

But her theory was shot down the very next second.

It was the voice of Qin Cong’an’s manager: “Xie Jing?”

“Mhm.”

“He really cares about you. He calls every day to ask if you’ve been hurt.”

“He does,” Qin Cong’an said, her tone flat.

At that, Xu Ling’s heart sank. It wasn’t impatience; it was the confidence of someone who knows they are loved, something that could almost be seen as a form of coquetry. Besides, Qin Cong’an had a naturally reserved personality; she probably wouldn’t have a drastically different side even with a lover. From the sounds of it, it was Xie Jing who was the clingy one.

Xu Ling listened as they discussed the shoot for a while longer. Only after hearing their footsteps fade away did she step out, feeling somewhat lost.

Fortunately, during the subsequent takes, she spent less time looking at Qin Cong’an and focused on eating the watermelon, which was the effect Chang Ning wanted.

Jian Yu loved Wen Xi deeply, but since they had been together for many years, it wasn’t realistic for her to be staring at her partner every single moment.

That week, there were important night scenes scheduled in a small alleyway—a chase sequence. It was a major action scene, both time-consuming and exhausting to film.

Mist City’s terrain was peculiar, and Chang Ning had chosen one of its most characteristic locations, full of twists, turns, and steep inclines.

This was a challenge for the entire crew.

After filming for an entire night yesterday, they had only managed to capture a small portion.

It would likely take several long nights to finish this scene.

And that was assuming things went smoothly. On a not-so-smooth day, like today, a sudden downpour started in the evening.

This unexpected event threw the entire night’s plan into disarray. After a discussion with everyone, Chang Ning decided to call it a night. The past two days had been tiring anyway, and with everyone working around the clock, no one had gotten a proper rest.

“Hotpot is on me tonight, everyone come!” Chang Ning announced, then turned to the two lead actresses. “You two should come as well. You can just blanch things in the water.”

They had to maintain their on-screen appearance, which meant they couldn’t eat oily foods like this. Getting bloated would be a disaster, and eating too much would affect their agility, which wouldn’t look good in action scenes.

Qin Cong’an agreed.

Xu Ling was quite surprised. She had thought Qin Cong’an would rather not eat with everyone and would use the time to go back to the hotel to sleep or video call her boyfriend.

Since she was going, Xu Ling naturally had to go too.

The hotpot restaurant was near the hotel, and their group filled up all the tables.

Everyone ate hotpot, chatted, and drank.

Xu Ling and Qin Cong’an sat at the same table, next to each other, but they didn’t seem particularly close.

Neither of them had a dipping sauce bowl in front of them, only a bowl of water. For the most part, they only ate the items cooked in the plain broth of the dual-sided pot.

Xu Ling used to be a model, so she was long accustomed to eating “healthy.” She could go a whole month eating nothing but tomatoes and cucumbers.

But that was during her modeling days. After she quit, she wanted nothing more than to eat heavy, flavorful food every day. But during filming, she couldn’t.

Besides, sitting next to Qin Cong’an, she was too self-conscious to eat, especially things like garlic.

Qin Cong’an ate a fair amount. The training scene today had burned a lot of her calories.

Xu Ling ate distractedly the whole time, but she drank a lot of alcohol.

Liang He advised her to drink less, but she insisted she was fine. “I don’t usually get puffy from drinking.”

“You should still worry about your stomach.”

“I have an iron stomach,” Xu Ling said with a smile. She just wanted to drink. The thought of Qin Cong’an’s boyfriend annoyed her, and what was even more annoying was that she had no right to be annoyed.

But Xu Ling hadn’t expected that after a few glasses, Qin Cong’an, who was sitting beside her, would also say, “Drink less.”

Xu Ling glanced at her. The alcohol was already starting to hit, and she thought, What right do you have to tell me what to do? But she still managed an “mhm” and stopped drinking.

Qin Cong’an definitely wasn’t saying it out of concern, Xu Ling knew that.

She was just giving a reminder to the actor she would be sharing scenes with. She certainly didn’t want Xu Ling to affect the shoot.

But Xu Ling was willing to interpret it as concern.

The downpour outside continued.

“What’s with this weird weather,” Chang Ning complained, having had a bit to drink herself. “It was fine during the day, and the forecast didn’t mention rain, but now it’s pouring like this.”

Liang He consoled her, “Nothing to be done about it.”

“Hah, you’re right, there’s nothing to be done. It’s not the first time, but I’ll never get used to it. It’s always so frustrating when the schedule gets delayed,” Chang Ning sighed.

Qin Cong’an rarely initiated conversation, but this time she did. “It is quite annoying.”

After dinner, they returned to the hotel.

The alcohol left Xu Ling feeling a bit dizzy. She should have just passed out, but her mind was buzzing with energy, and she wasn’t the least bit sleepy.

She opened her phone, only to see that the first post on her feed was from CP fans of Qin Cong’an and Xie Jing.

The photos in the post were of their interactions at an event. Xie Jing was always paying close attention to Qin Cong’an, and the usually aloof Qin Cong’an had offered some response.

People shipped this pair because of the subtle difference in warmth Qin Cong’an showed Xie Jing compared to others. It was a minute difference, but one that sharp-eyed CP fans would never miss.

Xu Ling was tempted to use her side account to reply:

—That’s right! Congratulations! You’re shipping a real couple!

Frustrated, she tossed her phone aside, then suddenly stormed out of her room, went next door, and knocked forcefully.

“Who is it?”

“Me.” Xu Ling didn’t know if Qin Cong’an would recognize her voice. And even if she did, so what? That inexplicably familiar “me” made it sound like they were close. She added, “Xu…”

But before she could finish, the door opened.

Xu Ling looked at the woman who opened the door. She had already showered and was wrapped in a bathrobe, her hair half-dry and falling over her shoulders, just a little past their length. Xu Ling loved her hair at this length; it was the most suitable for her—at least, that’s what Xu Ling thought.

Her hair gave off a pleasant fragrance, like a mix of citrus and mint.

It smells so good… Xu Ling didn’t know where she got the courage, but she reached out, boldly yet carefully grasping the strands of hair that lay on Qin Cong’an’s shoulder.

Qin Cong’an immediately took a step back, frowning at her. “Do you need something?”

Xu Ling didn’t answer. Instead, she walked inside and closed the door.

Xu Ling walked to the window, looked at the rain still falling outside, and said, “The rain is so heavy.”

Qin Cong’an came over and stood behind her, arms crossed. “So? Are you scared of the rain and can’t sleep alone?”

It wasn’t that she was scared of the rain, but she really couldn’t sleep alone.

Xu Ling turned around, leaning against the window to face her. She licked her lips. “Yeah, I can’t sleep.”