Chapter 46 p2
After the “ghost” incident at the hotel, Xin Yao and Meng Wanqing became friends.
While Meng Wanqing had been ordered by Xu Jingyu to stay away from Xin Yao, Xin Yao’s friendly nature had eventually bridged the gap.
As it turned out, Meng Wanqing was even more afraid of ghosts than Xin Yao.
Filming the zombie movie was a daily torment, surrounded by gruesome creatures, her only consolation being the paycheck.
Xin Yao: “Then why did you accept the role?”
Meng Wanqing smiled weakly. “The director lied. She said it wouldn’t be scary.”
While Meng Wanqing was suffering on her set, Xin Yao was also facing her own challenges.
While her acting had improved significantly thanks to her daily practice in the system space, she seemed to have hit a plateau, unable to break through to the next level.
It was frustrating.
And with no scenes for the female leads for the next few days, she had plenty of time to dwell on it.
After much deliberation, she decided to seek Xu Jingyu’s advice.
Xu Jingyu, also free that day, was reading the script when Xin Yao knocked on her door. Seeing her, her expression softened.
“Yaoyao?”
Xin Yao, not commenting on the increasingly familiar nickname, walked into the room, her voice casual.
“Ms. Xu, I have a question for you.”
She usually called her “Ms. Xu” on set, but they both knew it was just a formality.
Now, in private, the formal address held a different meaning, a subtle flirtation that made Xu Jingyu’s heart skip a beat.
Xu Jingyu’s eyelashes fluttered. “Oh? What is it?”
Xin Yao, oblivious to her inner turmoil, explained her concerns.
“Lately, I feel like I’m overthinking things. Before filming a scene, I come up with several different ways to express the emotions, but when the cameras roll, it all falls apart.”
“The director has mentioned it a few times.”
Seeing Xin Yao’s genuine concern, Xu Jingyu also became more serious.
“Then perhaps you should go with your initial instinct, your first impression of the scene. Don’t overthink it. Just let the emotions flow, raw and unfiltered.”
Xin Yao, not quite understanding, asked, “Could you be more specific, Ms. Xu? Give me an example?”
Xu Jingyu thought for a moment. “Do you have a favorite movie?”
Xin Yao, having watched countless films to improve her acting, including several of Xu Jingyu’s, had a favorite.
It was one of Xu Jingyu’s earlier works, “Heaven’s Gate.”
In that film, Xu Jingyu had played a villain for the first time, a psychopathic doctor.
The doctor’s parents had been victims of injustice, their suffering leading to their deaths, and she had vowed revenge.
So, she had become a doctor, a healer on the surface, but a ruthless killer in secret, dispensing her own twisted form of justice.
She had vowed to cleanse the world of evil, one person at a time.
The role had been perfect for Xu Jingyu.
She was naturally aloof and emotionless, her gaze chilling, her face a mask of indifference.
But she was also incredibly beautiful, her rare smiles both captivating and unsettling.
The doctor, in her gold-rimmed glasses, wielding a scalpel, had been a chilling yet strangely alluring figure.
Even Xin Yao had found her slightly terrifying at times.
The film had been a box office hit.
But Xu Jingyu hadn’t been the only standout performance.
There was one scene in particular…
The doctor, dispensing her own brand of justice, had captured a woman who had abused her child, tying her to a chair in an abandoned factory and whipping her to death, an eye for an eye, making her experience the same pain she had inflicted on her child.
Despite Xu Jingyu’s powerful, almost overwhelming performance, the actress playing the mother had managed to hold her own, her own performance a powerful counterpoint to Xu Jingyu’s cold, calculating rage.
Without a single line of dialogue, her tears, her expressions, had conveyed the woman’s tragic story, her broken life, her love for her child twisted by desperation and despair.
The woman had been abandoned by her husband after giving birth to a child with intellectual disabilities.
She had worked three jobs to provide for her child, her life a constant struggle.
And because her child was prone to wandering off, she had been forced to tie him up while she worked.
And the child, in his innocence, had hated her for it.
The exhaustion, the hopelessness, the resentment of her child, it had all been too much for her to bear.
And now, she was being punished for her “crimes.”
What were her crimes?
Was it a crime to simply try to survive?
With each lash of the whip, the mother’s eyes, her tears, had told a different story.
She was a villain, yet also a victim.
Xin Yao had been captivated by Xu Jingyu’s performance, but she had also been deeply moved by the other actress’s portrayal of the suffering mother.
Xu Jingyu, listening to Xin Yao’s explanation, nodded.
“That scene. Do you want to try it?”
Xin Yao nodded eagerly. A chance to learn from the best actress in the industry was an opportunity she couldn’t pass up.
“Should we recreate the scene, or just start?” Xu Jingyu asked.
Xin Yao, wanting to fully immerse herself in the role, replied, “Let’s recreate the scene.”
The scene had been filmed in an abandoned factory.
The mother had been tied to a chair, her hands and feet bound, her mouth gagged, silently enduring the brutal whipping.
Xin Yao looked around the room, then grabbed a chair with a backrest and placed it in the center of the living room.
Xu Jingyu went to look for some rope, but there was none to be found in the hotel room.
After searching for a while, she returned with three of her own ties and a black leather belt.
“I couldn’t find any rope, so we’ll have to make do with these. Is that okay?”
“And I’ll use my belt as the whip.”
The props weren’t important. What mattered was the emotion, the performance.
Xin Yao didn’t hesitate. “Perfect!”
She sat down in the chair, eager to begin.
Xu Jingyu walked over and tied Xin Yao’s wrists together behind the backrest of the chair, using one of her black ties.
Then, she tied her ankles together.
She had originally planned to gag Xin Yao with another tie, a clean, unused one she had even sanitized.
But now, standing there, holding the tie in one hand and the belt in the other, looking down at Xin Yao, bound and helpless, she hesitated.
Xin Yao looked up at her, her gaze meeting Xu Jingyu’s.
The room was silent, neither of them speaking.
Xin Yao: Wait a minute!
This was supposed to be a rehearsal, but it looked like something else entirely!
And Xu Jingyu seemed to be getting the wrong idea!
And she was tied up! She couldn’t even escape!
Looking at the dangerous glint in Xu Jingyu’s eyes, she felt a surge of panic. She was about to be taken, right there on the spot!
Xu Jingyu’s thoughts, indeed, weren’t entirely pure.
Her mate, bound and helpless before her…
She looked down at Xin Yao, her eyes darkening, her desire growing.
Xin Yao was like a trapped bird, unable to escape her grasp.
The thought excited her.
And she wasn’t going to restrain herself.
Just as Xin Yao sensed the danger, Xu Jingyu stepped closer, her fingers tilting Xin Yao’s chin up as she kissed her.
It was a fierce, demanding kiss, fueled by her unrestrained desire.
Xin Yao, unable to move, could only endure, her body responding to Xu Jingyu’s touch, her senses overwhelmed.
She tilted her head back, her eyes half-closed, a soft moan escaping her lips as she tried to pull away, but the ties binding her wrists and ankles held her captive, her heart pounding in her chest.
After a long while, Xu Jingyu finally released her, Xin Yao gasping for breath, her eyes slightly glazed.
“The psychopathic doctor wouldn’t kiss someone like that,” she murmured.
Xu Jingyu’s fingers traced Xin Yao’s swollen lips, a soft smile playing on her lips. “But I would.”
Then, finally getting back on track, she began the rehearsal.
She gagged Xin Yao with the tie, then walked to the center of the room.
She rolled up her sleeves, revealing her slender wrists and forearms.
“Ready, Yaoyao? Let’s begin.”
Xin Yao, unable to speak, nodded, her eyes fixed on Xu Jingyu.
And as she nodded, Xu Jingyu’s demeanor changed.
She still looked cold and aloof, but her eyes, like polished black jade, now held a dangerous glint, her gold-rimmed glasses somehow amplifying her intensity, making her appear both elegant and deranged.
Xin Yao, easily drawn into the scene, her expression a mask of fear, struggled against the ties binding her to the chair.
But it was no use.
Xu Jingyu raised the belt and brought it down hard, the sound echoing through the room.
She hadn’t actually hit Xin Yao, of course, the belt landing on a nearby table, the sound, however, adding to the realism of the scene, helping Xin Yao get into character.
Xin Yao flinched, her body trembling, a muffled cry escaping her lips.
She thought: As the mother, captured and bound, facing such violence, her first reaction would be fear.
Then, the second lash, the third…
Each blow, each strike, the pain intensifying, her fear would turn to anger.
She wanted to live, but she was also filled with resentment. What had she done wrong? Why was she being punished? Why wouldn’t anyone listen to her, understand her suffering?
Tears welled up in Xin Yao’s eyes, her gaze filled with a mixture of fear and defiance.
Xu Jingyu, her wrist flicking, brought the belt down again, the sound echoing through the room.
Then, she used the belt to lift Xin Yao’s chin.
“Xin Yao, don’t hold back. Cry.”
Her voice, still in character, was cold and detached.
Dressed in a simple white shirt, holding a black belt, her gold-rimmed glasses reflecting the light, she looked like a true villain.
And they were both so engrossed in the scene, the sound of the whipping echoing through the room, that they didn’t hear the door open.
The sudden intrusion, the bright light from the hallway spilling into the room, revealed two figures standing in the doorway: Xue Ning and Meng Wanqing.
They had been chatting and laughing as they approached the room, but sensing the tense atmosphere inside, they had paused, their gazes fixed on the scene before them.
And what they saw was… shocking.
Xu Jingyu, her sleeves rolled up, holding a belt, had tied the beautiful young actress to a chair, and was now whipping her, her face cold and impassive, the black leather belt lifting Xin Yao’s chin, forcing her to cry.
Xue Ning and Meng Wanqing stared, their eyes wide with disbelief.
Then, Meng Wanqing’s ice cream scoop clattered to the floor, her voice a stunned whisper.
“Holy shit.”
“After all these years, Xu Jingyu has finally lost it.”
Leave a Reply