After Filming a WLW Movie With My Straight Girl Crush 24

Chapter 24

The peaks were verdant, the clouds leisurely, and for once, the air was not humid and stuffy.

As she climbed the last stretch, Xu Ling grabbed Qin Cong’an’s hand, gritting her teeth and thinking about getting off work soon, and pulled herself up. Once she was over the top, the camera below couldn’t see them anymore.

After standing firmly, Xu Ling didn’t let go of her hand. She’s so tired, can’t she be rewarded for a little while? If asked, she could just say she forgot.

“Snake.”

Hmm? Xu Ling looked down at her feet and saw nothing, but it only took a second for her to react, curling up into a ball and burrowing into Qin Cong’an’s arms, like a large dog who didn’t know its own size, acting spoiled with its owner.

“You’re not scared at all, are you?” Qin Cong’an saw through her so-called act of fear, picked up a long branch, and waved it at the “snake.” “Oh, it’s a rope.”

Xu Ling looked at the “snake.” It was obviously a rope at first glance. She looked at her. “You didn’t really think it was a snake, did you?”

“No, I wasn’t wearing my contacts.”

“Oh.” Xu Ling knew she had a bit of a prescription, but could she really mistake it for a snake? Okay, whatever she said. “I’m really scared of snakes too.”

“Is that so.”

“Is there anyone who isn’t scared of snakes? Isn’t that a fear ingrained in human DNA?” But Xu Ling wasn’t actually that scared. Compared to snakes, she was even more afraid of mosquitoes.

Qin Cong’an seemed to believe her, nodded, and threw away the stick.

“You can come down now!” Liang He shouted from the bottom of the slope with a megaphone. “Follow the safety officer down, be careful!”

Xu Ling let go of Qin Cong’an’s hand.

Chang Ning checked the footage they had just shot and asked the two of them as they came down, “Do you have the energy to do it again?”

“…”

“Yes.”

Xu Ling raised her hand. “I’d like to rest for a bit first.”

“Of course, I wouldn’t make you go again right now,” Chang Ning said. “Get your breathing steady first.”

The costume designer wiped the dirt off their clothes. One of them was wearing a dark outfit, the other light, both with corresponding red patches, a good match. They looked beautiful and vibrant against the vast green in the shot.

A camera was filming behind-the-scenes footage. The person behind it asked the two of them, “Was that last trip tiring?”

The two looked at each other. “It was okay.”

The cameraman poked his head out from behind the camera. “Can you act a little closer? This scene is very important. The behind-the-scenes footage here is for promotion.”

Xu Ling’s eyes darted over, then she poked Qin Cong’an’s shoulder. “Look how strong she is. I feel like I was just pulled up. Not tired at all. Are you tired?”

Qin Cong’an still said the same thing, “It was okay.”

There it was, her usual promotional attitude, not pandering to CP fans, acting very distant. Xu Ling wrinkled her nose and said to the camera, “She’s pretending. Her hands are actually shaking.”

“Are they?” Qin Cong’an raised her hand and opened it.

Xu Ling stared at it as if inspecting it closely. After two seconds, she saw the large hand moving towards her face. She was stunned, and then she felt her head being ruffled.

And then, Qin Cong’an was gone. ?

Xu Ling was still standing there, stunned, watching Qin Cong’an’s retreating figure, thinking, who are you? Who said you don’t know how to do fan service? You’re very good at it.

The two of them climbed the mountain again. This time, they had experience and knew how to climb. It was a little easier than last time. In the shot, both of them looked much more relaxed, which was more in line with Jian Yu and Wen Xi’s state in this scene.

Chang Ning was very satisfied with the footage. “OK! That’s a wrap for the on-location shoot here. Pack up and let’s go back.”

Chang Ning confirmed the return time with the driver. “Everyone can rest in the car. When we get back, I’ll treat everyone to hotpot for a late-night snack. After eating, get a good night’s sleep. We’ll continue work tomorrow.”

Everyone was packing up. There were enough hands, but Xu Ling and Qin Cong’an also helped carry some light items. There was just too much stuff and equipment.

After a long and tiring journey back to the hotel in the city, everyone felt as relaxed as if they had returned home, letting out sighs of relief.

Xu Ling felt that she was probably the only one who still wanted to stay in that small, one-room guesthouse. Of course, the prerequisite was that she had to be with Qin Cong’an.

As long as she was with Qin Cong’an, she would be willing to live in a 200-million-yuan mansion and drive a 10-million-yuan luxury car.

Many people didn’t want to go for a late-night snack and just wanted to go to bed early. Xu Ling was the same, but she was dragged downstairs to eat by Yi Huai.

A little while later, Qin Cong’an also came down.

In the late-night hotpot restaurant, six tables were filled, with a case of beer on the floor next to each table.

Xu Ling drank half a bottle of beer before it was taken away by Yi Huai. Yi Huai put food in her bowl—meat, vegetables, and sweet potato noodles cooked in the clear broth, a complete nutritional meal—and told her to eat more.

“At worst, you can just drink two more cups of iced Americano tomorrow to reduce the swelling.” Yi Huai knew she didn’t gain weight easily, but eating too much would make her a little puffy on camera.

Xu Ling couldn’t stand bitterness at all and only wanted to eat sweet and fragrant things. The mere thought of iced Americano made her frown. She looked at Sister Huai and pleaded, “Then I want to eat from the spicy pot. Eating this tasteless stuff and drinking iced Americano, are you trying to kill me?”

“Fine, then eat some.”

At the table behind them, Qin Cong’an was pulled over to sit next to Liang He.

Liang He had drunk two bottles and was a little dizzy. After chatting for a while, he asked Qin Cong’an, “Hey? I just remembered. We’re more than halfway through the shoot. Why hasn’t your boyfriend come to visit the set?”

“Who?”

“Hehe—” Liang He laughed, leaning closer to her. “What’s there to hide? We all know. By the way, how did he react when he knew you took this script?”

Qin Cong’an pulled away and just shrugged in response.

“But it’s true. His drama is airing, and it’s doing so well. He must be very busy recently, no time to visit the set,” Liang He continued.

Qin Cong’an couldn’t hear Liang He’s voice very clearly. It was drowned out by Xu Ling’s loud laughter from behind. She didn’t know what they were talking about that was so funny.

“Have you had too much to drink?” Yi Huai asked, looking at Xu Ling, who was laughing for no reason. “It was only half a bottle of beer. Was the stress from this week’s filming too much?”

Xu Ling shook her head, her eyes shining, and said to the salted egg yolk shrimp paste in her bowl, which was perfectly to her taste, “Sister! This is so delicious! It made me laugh!”

“…” Yi Huai shook her head. It seemed the stress really was too much.

Xu Ling ate her fill, and even had egg fried rice. She hadn’t expected the egg fried rice at a hotpot restaurant to be so delicious. She had accidentally eaten a little too much. It seemed she would have to drink two cups of iced Americano tomorrow.

She returned to her room, a little lethargic. She felt like half of her body was saying, I’m not sleepy, while the other half was like it was dead. These past few days, she had lost track of day and night, and it was driving her crazy.

While showering, Xu Ling heard a knock on the door.

She thought she had misheard, but when she turned off the water, it was there, and it was her familiar knock.

Xu Ling immediately wrapped herself in a towel and went to open the door.

“What’s wrong?”

“Can you sleep?”

“Mhm, I can fall asleep the second my head hits the pillow.”

Qin Cong’an’s hand was still on the doorknob. Hearing her say that, she started to back away, about to close the door, but her hand was grabbed by Xu Ling.

Xu Ling looked at her cold face, swallowed, and pulled her in.

She immediately went back to the bedroom and into the bathroom. Just as she closed the door, it was pulled from the outside. Xu Ling held on tightly. Fortunately, the force quickly let up, and she swiftly locked it.

How could Qin Cong’an have the nerve to call her a rogue?

After showering and drying her hair, Xu Ling realized she hadn’t brought her pajamas in. She really hadn’t, not like Qin Cong’an.

As soon as she walked out, she saw Qin Cong’an lying on her bed, drinking red wine, with a glass for her on the nightstand.

In the small guesthouse, Xu Ling had felt like they were a poor cohabiting couple. Now, it felt like the noble benefactor Qin Cong’an was keeping her in a hotel. Of course, she was also keeping others outside.

Xu Ling clutched the towel at her chest and, under the gaze of those black cat-like eyes, went to get her pajamas.

Halfway there, Xu Ling suddenly felt it wasn’t necessary. She simply stopped, climbed onto the bed from the foot, and knelt on top of her.

Qin Cong’an looked at the slender calves revealed by her bold move, raised her wine glass, and gestured for her to toast with her.

Xu Ling didn’t get the glass from the nightstand. She held out her fist and touched it. “I just had some beer. I’m not drinking. Otherwise, I’ll have a headache tomorrow.”

“Oh.” Qin Cong’an didn’t say much and drank by herself.

Xu Ling saw her wine-stained lips, glistening and exuding a grape aroma mixed with her own scent. She leaned in, wanting to kiss her, but was pushed away.

“Didn’t you say you weren’t drinking?”

“A little bit like this is fine.”

Qin Cong’an tilted her head back to drink, and said slowly, “No.”

What did she mean, no? Xu Ling leaned in again, from her upturned throat, licking her way up to her perfectly full lips, tasting a hint of red wine, a rich aroma.

Back in the hotel, Qin Cong’an seemed to have regained some of her distance, but with a kiss, it melted away into water.

Xu Ling asked her, “Why did you come find me?” They were both so tired.

“I was afraid you couldn’t sleep.”

“Oh… oh?” Xu Ling was a little dazed. What did she mean, afraid she couldn’t sleep? But she wanted to ask more, only to see that Qin Cong’an seemed to have already fallen asleep.

Xu Ling whispered in a breathy voice, “Hey, An An.”

No response, only steady breathing.

Xu Ling looked at her face for a while. Long eyelashes, a small mole at the corner of her eye, lips reddened from her kisses.

“An An,” she whispered again. “I like you so much.”

After saying that, Xu Ling excitedly burrowed into the covers, then suddenly felt sad. She only dared to express her feelings when she was asleep.

Wait. Xu Ling remembered the day before they went to the mountains. She had been half-asleep and felt Qin Cong’an stroking her head. At that time, Qin Cong’an must have thought she was asleep too, but she could actually still hear her voice. It was just that she hadn’t spoken; she had only heard her sigh.

Could Qin Cong’an be in that half-asleep, half-awake state now?

Xu Ling nervously peeked at her with one eye. She had no doubt that if she saw Qin Cong’an staring at her, she would have a heart attack, just like that driver who saw the plastic bag.

But, Qin Cong’an was still asleep, lying quietly on the pillow like a feather.

Xu Ling felt disappointed again. It would have been nice if she had heard.

The first few days after returning to the city, the filming schedule was relatively light. First, to adjust their sleep schedules and prepare for the final, most difficult scene. Second, there were still too many fragmented shots that had piled up and hadn’t been filmed.

These few days, the crew was more tired, and the actors were a little more relaxed, but they had to keep moving.

In the car and during breaks, Xu Ling frantically read the novel and finally finished the “broken mirror reunited” WLW story. At one point, it was so angsty it made her cry her eyes out. By the end, she was smiling so hard her apple cheeks were stiff.

Qin Cong’an’s expression switched back and forth between indifference and calm. Anger and forgiveness, the two thoughts fought, with neither gaining the upper hand, a back-and-forth battle.

In the end, Qin Cong’an chose to silently roll her eyes and also picked up her own book to read.

Qin Cong’an was reading The Dark Room, which she had read when she was very young. Back then, she had just read it for fun. After entering the film academy, she had read it again, to read more classics and understand the psychology of different people. This time, she was reading it because of a Chinese stage play adaptation. She wanted to audition for one of the roles.

She had never been in a stage play before. If she could get this opportunity, it would be great.

After finishing the novel, Xu Ling saw that Qin Cong’an was also reading. Come to think of it, she had been reading it in the small guesthouse before, but she hadn’t noticed the title then. Now that she looked, wasn’t this the world-famous literature of infidelity?