Chapter 87 Not as Painful as Your Hit [Seeking First Subscription]

The old villas on Fushan Road are hidden among lush plane trees, with red tiles and yellow walls, carrying the exotic charm left over from the German occupation period.

The production crew chose this location because it perfectly matched the setting of Wei Yihang's family: an ordinary Qingdao family living in a somewhat old house in the old city.

Tonight's scene to film is the one where Wei Yihang argues with his parents.

This is one of the highlights of the entire film, and also the shining moment when Wei Yihang's character bursts forth.

He went into the room, where teachers Zhu Yuan and Xin Baiqing were already inside.

The two were rehearsing their lines at the dining table when they saw him enter. Zhu Yuan smiled at him and asked, "You're here? Are you nervous?"

Li Ran nodded honestly: "A little."

Xin Baiqing stood up, walked over and patted him on the shoulder: "It's okay, just follow your instincts. Let's treat this scene like a family arguing, and make it real."

Li Ran nodded without saying a word, then silently walked to a corner, closed his eyes, and began to gather his emotions.

The lighting was adjusted, the camera was set up, and the script supervisor started recording.

Filming begins.

The moment Li Ran opened his eyes, he changed completely.

Wei Yihang stood in front of the rickety dining table, looking at his parents sitting opposite him.

Their faces were etched with exhaustion, and with a feigned air of heartache.

The string that had been taut in his heart for so long suddenly snapped.

He stood up, abruptly lifted the dining table, and kicked away the tissues that were placed under the table leg.

Those few tissues drifted to the ground, like all the barely maintained dignity this family had left.

"The table legs have been unstable for a long time," he said, his voice low and trembling with suppressed emotion.

He turned to Xin Baiqing and picked up the phone with the cracked screen from his father's hand: "And your phone, the screen is broken and there's nowhere to get it repaired."

Xin Baiqing, who plays the father, stands there with a furrowed brow, saying nothing.

Li Ran's gaze swept over Zhu Yuan again: "After you two get off work, one of you goes to pick vegetable leaves, and the other sneaks off to drive fast..."

His voice grew louder and louder, and something that had been suppressed in his chest for a long time was surging up: "This family wasn't like this before... I don't want to see you like this either."

"Why are you worrying about this?" Xin Baiqing suddenly raised his head, his tone stiff. "We're happy to."

Li Ran looked at him and said, word by word, "I'm not willing."

The air seemed to freeze for a moment.

Then, the words that had been suppressed for so long poured out like a flood: "Your desperate efforts to save my life only make me feel like a burden..."

His voice began to tremble, and his eyes reddened, but no tears fell.

That was Wei Yihang's stubbornness, his stubbornness in refusing to cry in front of his parents even if it meant death.

"I'm not grateful to you at all..."

These words were like a knife, piercing the hearts of three people.

"If I don't run outside and get some fresh air, I might as well be dead!"

"Snapped!"

Xin Baiqing looked at Li Ran and slapped him hard across the face.

The room fell silent.

Li Ran was knocked to the side, a red mark appearing on his face.

He stood there, motionless, without covering his face; he simply stood there.

After a long while, he slowly turned his head and looked at his father.

There was no anger or resentment in those eyes, only a heartbreaking calm.

"Card!"

Director Han's voice rang out, tinged with obvious excitement:

"Okay! Passed!"

Li Ran stood there, still immersed in her emotions and not yet fully recovered.

He closed his eyes, took a few deep breaths, and slowly separated Wei Yihang from his body.

Xin Baiqing walked over, looking at him somewhat embarrassed: "Did it hurt?"

Li Ran touched her face and smiled, "No, it's fine, Teacher Xin."

Xin Baiqing still felt a little guilty: "I couldn't control myself just now. As we were acting, you got me involved. Your eyes were so real that I got anxious and hit you too hard."

Li Ran chuckled awkwardly: "That just means I acted pretty well."

Zhu Yuan also came over, looked at his face with concern, then turned and glared at Xin Baiqing: "You too, were you really going to hit him?"

Xin Baiqing awkwardly touched his nose, not daring to refute.

Director Han watched the playback again and nodded in satisfaction: "This take is excellent, the emotions..." "And the timing is perfect. Let's shoot a few more close-up shots, then we'll wrap up for today."

This isn't a no-go, it's a recommendation for the treasure book "Chinese Entertainment: Starting from Retirement, Sweeping Through the Domestic Entertainment Industry":

After the reshoots were finished, Li Ran returned to the hotel at 11:30 p.m.

I pushed open the door; the room was lit.

Liu Haocun was lying on the bed, watching the latest episodes of "Minglong Boy" on his tablet.

She was wearing a loose T-shirt, her hair was casually held back with hair clips, and her two little feet were sticking out of the air, swinging back and forth.

Hearing the door open, she didn't even turn her head: "You're back?"

Li Ran walked in, looked at her, and said, "Hmm. Why aren't you asleep yet? You have a scene to film tomorrow morning."

Liu Haocun rolled over, placed the tablet on his stomach, and looked at him: "I'm not sleepy, I'll go to sleep after watching this episode."

Li Ran ignored her and took a change of clothes into the bathroom.

When he came out drying his hair, Liu Haocun was still lying on the bed, but the tablet had been put down.

She was scrolling through something on her phone when she heard the noise and looked up at him.

"What happened to your face?" she suddenly frowned.

Li Ran paused for a moment, then touched his left cheek; it shouldn't be too noticeable anymore.

"It was Teacher Xin who hit me during filming."

Liu Haocun immediately sat up and leaned closer to look at his face: "You really hit him? And so hard?"

Li Ran smiled and said, "It's nothing, it's just filming. Besides, Teacher Xin said that I got her involved and she couldn't control herself."

Liu Haocun stared at his face for a few seconds, then reached out and gently touched the still slightly red spot.

"Does it hurt?" she asked, her voice much softer than before.

Li Ran looked at her bright, doe-like eyes and smiled. "It doesn't hurt. It was much lighter than the last time you hit me!"

Liu Haocun withdrew his hand and snorted: "Then next time you tell Teacher Xin to emphasize it more."

Li Ran smiled and reached out to ruffle her hair: "Alright, you should go to sleep now."

……

As the days went by, filming progressed smoothly.

Liu Haocun and Li Ran are increasingly resembling a couple deeply in love.

During breaks on set, she would always stick close to him, either leaning against him while scrolling on her phone, taking selfies with him, or drawing little figures on his hand with a marker.

Li Ran didn't dodge, letting her do whatever she wanted. Occasionally, he would reach out and ruffle her hair, and she would squint her eyes and smile, like a kitten being stroked.

Once, Xia Yu saw the two of them huddled together on a chair looking at their phones and couldn't help but joke, "You two might as well just get a marriage certificate, so you don't have to show off your love in front of us every day."

Liu Haocun blushed and glared at him: "Teacher Xia Yu, we're cultivating our character's emotional connection!"

Xia Yu laughed heartily: "Right, right, right, cultivate feelings, and then we should hold a wedding after filming wraps up."

Zhu Yuan, standing nearby, laughed and chimed in, "Then I'll have to sit at the head table."

Xin Baiqing casually added, "If you sit at the head table, where am I supposed to sit?"

The group burst into laughter.

Director Han filmed all these interactions, saying he wanted to use them as promotional material.

He specifically sought the opinions of Li Ran and Liu Haocun, and neither of them objected.

Li Ran knew perfectly well that this was the way things worked in the entertainment industry: the more openly you showed off, the more fans would think it was just a publicity stunt.

If you try to hide it secretly, you're more likely to get solid evidence exposed.

Besides, even if they really did date, as long as the celebrities involved don't admit it, the fans will brainwash themselves.

"They're just in business."

"It's just that the atmosphere on set was good."

"Don't overthink it, we're all good friends."

He saw far too many examples like this in his later years.

……

September arrived quietly.

The weather in Qingdao is starting to cool down, and the sea breeze carries a hint of autumn.

The filming of "A Little Red Flower for You" is also coming to an end.

The day after tomorrow is the day we wrap up filming.

After finishing work in the evening, Li Ran and Liu Haocun sat on the sea embankment, looking at the dark blue sea in the distance.

Liu Haocun leaned on his shoulder and asked softly, "We're almost done filming, are you sure you want to leave?"

Li Ran thought for a moment: "A little."

Liu Haocun laughed: "Me too."

She paused, then suddenly said, "Li Ran, I think I really can't live without you anymore."

"It seems like I got so caught up in the acting that I got completely absorbed in it..."

Li Ran remained silent for a few seconds.

He slowly began, "So you were acting all along!"

Liu Haocun didn't say anything, but just rubbed his head against his shoulder.

After a while, she whispered, "Li Ran, I think I might actually like you."

Li Ran lowered his head and looked at her.

She didn't look up, but gazed at the distant sea, the moonlight softly outlining her profile.

"Yes, I like you too!"