Chapter 20 p2
Everyone started sharing their stories one by one. Someone even turned off the lights to make the atmosphere even more eerie.
“Ten years ago, on a set I was on, we were also filming in a place like this, but even more remote. There was only one bar of signal. We wrapped very late that day, and it was raining. On the way back to where we were staying, suddenly in front of us…”
The door suddenly opened with a creak. Someone screamed in fright.
Qin Cong’an, at the door, saw how dark it was inside and flicked on the main light.
Everyone looked at her in terror.
Qin Cong’an looked at Xu Ling. Her eyes were also wide, and her cheeks were puffed out, like a startled squirrel.
“You scared me to death! We were telling ghost stories.”
“Sorry.” Qin Cong’an’s hair was half-dry. She was wearing long-sleeved pajamas. She sat down next to Xu Ling. “You can continue.”
Qin Cong’an picked up a bottle of cold beer, looked around but couldn’t find a bottle opener, so she knocked the cap off on the corner of the table and took a swig.
Everyone stared at her.
Is she filming a commercial?
Qin Cong’an was puzzled. “Not continuing?”
The person telling the story cleared their throat and continued, “Suddenly! We saw something white in front of us, floating from the hillside to the middle of the road. You know, it looked like a person. So we slowed down.”
“And then? And then?”
“And then we drove past and saw it was a plastic bag.”
“…”
“But at that time, it really scared our driver so much he almost had a heart attack. If he had really been scared badly, our whole car would have been done for.”
“That’s still pretty scary,” Liang He said. “But from what you’ve all said, it feels like you were just scaring yourselves. The most convincing ones also sound like you were just imagining things, a bit far-fetched. Has no one really encountered anything real?”
“I have,” Xu Ling said. “But not while filming. Can I tell it?”
Everyone looked at her expectantly, while continuing to eat.
“It was when I was abroad, staying in a very old hotel. It was said to be a converted manor of some aristocrat. I was sharing a room with another model…” Xu Ling paused for some reason and added, “Two beds.”
Qin Cong’an took a sip of beer.
“It was very late, and we were both asleep. I was half-asleep, but I felt like someone was talking to me. So I opened my eyes, and a very blurry, semi-transparent female ghost was lying on top of me.”
Someone quickly asked, “What was she wearing?”
“A very gorgeous nightgown, a sort of off-white, off-pink color. I felt like she was an aristocratic young lady.”
“A foreign ghost. Wait, what do you mean, lying on top of you? What kind of lying?”
“Just lying there,” Xu Ling gestured. “She was also talking in my ear.”
“What did she say?”
“I don’t know. I just knew she was talking, but I couldn’t hear what she was saying. It was like a jumble of garbled code.”
Some people were scared, while others looked intrigued. “Why does that sound kind of erotic?”
“…” Xu Ling quickly said, “No! It was very scary! Here’s the main point. I thought I was dreaming, or it was sleep paralysis from stress. But the next day, the model I was sharing a room with, she said she woke up in the middle of the night and saw something lying on top of me.”
“The ghost didn’t go to her bed?”
“No.”
Liang He had found it quite scary, but remembering how Xu Ling had been teased at the lesbian bar, he felt a little like laughing. “Are you sure it wasn’t a perverted ghost who was taken with your looks?”
“…” I shouldn’t have told this story. Xu Ling never expected it to be interpreted this way.
Liang He was actually scared too and was just trying to find a lighthearted way to interpret it. “Maybe she had never seen such a beautiful Asian cutie before and just wanted to play with you.”
Qin Cong’an finished her beer, stood up, and left the room.
Xu Ling sat for a while longer, not wanting to be teased anymore, and decided to go back to her room.
When she opened the door, she saw Qin Cong’an already lying on the bed, looking at her phone. Xu Ling licked her lips, said nothing, locked the door, and took her things to the bathroom. Her body felt sticky and uncomfortable.
After showering, Xu Ling also changed into long pajamas. After blow-drying her hair, she climbed onto the other side of the bed.
Thank god for the air conditioning; otherwise, she didn’t know how she would have been able to sleep.
Xu Ling also leaned against the headboard and played with her phone for a while. Although she was very aware of the person next to her, she soon got sleepy. It was already past four. If she stayed up any longer, the sun might be up. Fortunately, she could sleep until the afternoon tomorrow.
“Was the female ghost beautiful?”
Xu Ling suddenly heard Qin Cong’an ask. Perhaps because she was so sleepy, the voice sounded a little ethereal, like it was coming from hell.
She looked at Qin Cong’an and said with a puzzled “Hmm?” What kind of question was that? Did it matter if she was beautiful or not?
“Was the female ghost beautiful?” Qin Cong’an repeated, as if she really cared about the answer.
“I don’t remember.” Xu Ling put down her phone and closed her eyes. “I was so scared at the time, how could I have paid attention to that?”
“But you still remember she was wearing an off-white, off-pink nightgown.”
“Because that was the largest area. And I remember her hair was very long, brown, and curly,” Xu Ling said. “She was probably quite beautiful.”
“Oh.”
“Are your mosquito bites itchy? You can apply more medicine if they are.”
Qin Cong’an looked down and said in a soft voice, “Apply it for me.”
Xu Ling got out of bed to get the medicine, then climbed back onto the bed, took her arm, and dabbed the ointment on lightly.
As she was applying the medicine, her face was suddenly cupped, lifted up. Qin Cong’an leaned in and kissed her on the lips.
Xu Ling’s sleepiness vanished. The unexpected kiss startled her awake. When she came to her senses, she immediately kissed back. It was the slightly bitter taste of beer that the toothpaste hadn’t covered.
“Why?” Xu Ling asked.
“What?”
“Why did you suddenly kiss me?”
Qin Cong’an shrugged. “I don’t know. I just wanted to.”
Xu Ling’s heart was pounding. She swallowed and said, mimicking her calm tone, “Oh, I thought you liked me.”
Qin Cong’an smiled.
“Even the female ghost likes you. Of course I like you too.”
“…Why are you so concerned about the female ghost?” If it weren’t for the first half of the sentence, Xu Ling would have thought she was confessing. “Did Director Liang lead you astray? That time was really scary.”
Qin Cong’an didn’t answer.
Xu Ling sighed and went to the foot of the bed to apply medicine to her ankles.
After finishing, she was about to put the medicine on the nightstand. As soon as she leaned over, she was pulled by the waist by Qin Cong’an and pressed underneath her.
“Is this the position?” Qin Cong’an asked, lying on top of her.
Xu Ling swallowed and nodded.
“Are you still scared?”
It had been a long time. Xu Ling was no longer scared. And she had never encountered anything like that in the country, so she wasn’t scared. But she nodded again.
“Poor thing,” Qin Cong’an whispered in her ear. “Then I’ll help you desensitize.”
Xu Ling really didn’t know if that female ghost was beautiful, but this female demon, Qin Cong’an, was truly alluring.
The two of them slept until three in the afternoon before opening their eyes. They weren’t fully awake yet. They looked at their phones for a bit and then fell back asleep.
They didn’t really get up until dinnertime.
Just in time, someone had bought food. Qin Cong’an went to get two boxed lunches and returned to the room to eat with Xu Ling.
After dinner, they set off for the location.
As soon as they left the guesthouse, they were hit with a wave of heat.
Everyone complained, “This rain needs to hurry up and fall. It’s so stuffy.”
After arriving at the location and getting ready, they started filming.
Today, Qin Cong’an was digging a hole in a different spot.
After a few shots, to save energy, a few crew members dug it together.
Today, they were filming a scene where the two of them are burying a body and think someone is coming.
Jian Yu quickly jumps into the pit and hides with Wen Xi. All the lights are turned off, and their guns are drawn.
Fortunately, it’s a false alarm. But when they are leaving, they discover that the Meiji chocolate mushrooms Jian Yu had left in the car have been stolen.
Jian Yu is so angry she wails at the top of her lungs. Wen Xi says leisurely, “I think that person was quite nice, knowing you can’t eat too many sweets.”
The scene of the two of them hiding in the pit was not easy to film. Chang Ning adjusted the camera position for a long time, adding and removing things from the side. It took a long while to find the most suitable angle before they started filming.
Xu Ling was huddled in Qin Cong’an’s arms. They both smelled of mosquito repellent, the one Qin Cong’an had said stank.
At this moment, Jian Yu was more happy about being so close to Wen Xi than she was scared. She stared at her face and was pushed into her embrace by Wen Xi.
When Qin Cong’an’s hand cupped the back of her head, Xu Ling’s ears burned. She almost suspected she had some kind of special kink. The rougher Qin Cong’an’s actions, the more she liked it.
She was pressed into her chest. Xu Ling could no longer smell the mosquito repellent, only her pleasant scent.
She already knew all the toiletries she used, and none of them smelled like this. So this was a fragrance that emanated from within Qin Cong’an, one that made you want to lick her.
“Cut!”
Xu Ling was released, her eyes still a little unfocused.
Qin Cong’an asked her, “Did you hit your nose?”
Xu Ling shook her head. “It’s soft.”
“…”
She didn’t know if it was her imagination, but Xu Ling felt that in the subsequent takes, Qin Cong’an pressed her down even harder.
They filmed until past four that day. It seemed like it was finally about to rain. Everyone could smell that scent in the air.
The two actresses were once again drenched in sweat. After returning to their room, they took turns showering.
It really did start to rain, but it was a long, drizzling rain, not a satisfying downpour. It was still stuffy and annoying, but at least the temperature had dropped a little.
Everyone decided to go into town to eat. They also said there was a waterfall nearby, a 4A-level scenic spot, and they wanted to check it out on the way.
Xu Ling and Qin Cong’an were also planning to go, but just as they were about to leave, Xu Ling felt a dull ache in her lower abdomen and knew her period had arrived. She couldn’t go.
She told everyone and went into the bathroom.
When Xu Ling came out, she was surprised to see Qin Cong’an sitting on the bed, holding a box of painkillers.
“You’re not going either?”
“I didn’t want to go in the first place.” Qin Cong’an handed her the medicine. Xu Ling had said she would be in so much pain she would feel like dying, and her face was indeed a little pale now.
Xu Ling opened it and took one. She had some in her bag too, but she was too lazy to get them now.
“We’ve been on set for two months. Is this your first time?” Qin Cong’an asked with a frown. Her period symptoms were so severe, but she hadn’t seen her like this before.
“Mhm, I’m irregular,” Xu Ling said. “Sometimes it’s once every two months, sometimes once every three.”
Qin Cong’an pulled her to sit on the bed and had her lie down, covering her stomach with the blanket. “You’re too thin.”
“I’m not that bad. I know a girl who only gets it once a year.”
“Can you compare yourself to a normal person?”
“Aren’t people like you, who are regular and don’t have pain, the rare ones?” Xu Ling enviously touched her arm. What a healthy and beautiful body.
“What are you doing?”
“Just… touching. It feels good to touch. It doesn’t hurt when I touch it.”
Qin Cong’an looked at her skeptically. “Isn’t it the painkillers that are working?”
“How could the painkillers work so fast?” Xu Ling lifted the blanket. “Get in… you’re not going anywhere anyway.”
“Mhm.” Qin Cong’an got in and lay down next to her. “This time, I’ll warm your stomach for you.”
Xu Ling felt like she was her girlfriend.
Just as she had this thought, she saw Qin Cong’an start to look at her phone.
Xu Ling turned her face away, not wanting to see any more hurtful information on her phone.
“Look.” Qin Cong’an held the phone in front of her. “This should be where they’re going. It looks nice.”
Xu Ling only glanced at it before looking away. “Do you want to go or not?”
Qin Cong’an leaned on her shoulder without answering, continuing to scroll through pictures of the scenic spot. After a while, she exited and switched the city to North City, finding another scenic spot with beautiful natural landscapes.
“This place looks nice too. And there’s a resort hotel where you can soak in hot springs.” Qin Cong’an held the phone in front of her, scrolling through the photos one by one, as if recommending it.