Chapter 166 – Kidnapped Again (3)
'Twilight' was being filmed on a small island; it was a story about love and anticipation.
Lan Jinyao played as the female lead, Chun Xiang. Generation after generation had lived on this isolated island, and they fished for a living. At the age of eighteen, Chun Xiang was betrothed to a fisherman who was hard-working and steadfast. However, the night before their wedding, a luxurious cruise ship docked on the island. The cruise ship was empty when they checked; apart from an unconscious man.
After rescuing the man, the fishermen greedily eyed the gold and silver treasures found in the cruise ship and wanted to keep it all for themselves. However, those that entered the ship died, one by one. Seeing this eerie chain of events unfolding, everyone said that the ship was cursed, so no one was allowed to go in there. On the other hand, the man who was rescued by them was now regarded as an unknown castaway and had to be burned at the stake to return the peace to the Islanders.
Chun Xiang fell in love with this man. That evening, Chun Xiang gave herself to the man and led him out of the island. The man wanted to take her away with him, but Chun Xiang couldn't leave as she'd lived all her life there, so the man left and Chun Xiang desolately waited for him.
Many years later, an explorer came to the island and met Chun Xiang, whose hair had turned white. Only after the two of them talked about the past did Chun Xiang realise that the explorer was that man's son. The explorer had basically explored all his life just to relay the words 'thank you' to her. After hearing this, Chun Xiang didn't get out of bed the next day; she finally didn't need to wait any longer. She left the world at the age of one hundred and ten.
In fact, the island that Lan Jinyao resided in wasn't like how it was described in the story. It was an uninhabited private island that was owned by one of the investors. It was lent to the production crew solely to shoot this artistic film.
The scenery on this island was breathtaking. The air was fresh, and the water was clear. When Lan Jinyao arrived at the island, she instantly felt a light, salty sea breeze blow past, making her feel extremely comfortable.
As soon as Xiaolin landed onshore, she shouted towards the seamless sea with excitement.
Li Qi walked up to Lan Jinyao and said, "The scenery here is quite nice. Say, who do you think owns this wonderful island? One could come and live here for a week or two during their free time, and all their worries would be instantly swept away. The investor sure is rich!"
Lan Jinyao patted him on the shoulder and teasingly said, "Then you ought to quickly enjoy the coming few days. Otherwise, you won't have a chance to do so anymore."
"Hey!" Li Qi disdainfully chuckled and added, "When I have time in the future, I'll also buy a small island and then bring Xiaoyun along to live there. The two of us can then enjoy the sea breeze while watching the sunrise. How romantic! I feel happy just thinking about this."
Lan Jinyao was amused by his entranced expression and said, "Don't just think it; you have to live up to these words. Xiaoyun was born for the stage. What if you bought the island and someone doesn't want to live there with you? What would you do then?"
Li Qi was rendered speechless.
"Tsk, I just said these words and you're already unhappy. You haven't succeeded yet, so you still need to work hard!"
Following this, Lan Jinyao walked to her designated room. The room was clear and bright, facing the sea. At a glance, she could see that it was designed with the utmost care and a great sense of aesthetic.
She also wondered who was so leisurely and refined. The investor was very generous, willing to lend out the island to the crew and letting them wreck it.
Chen Zetao was still discussing the shooting location with the Assistant Director. The island looked stunning from every angle, but the scenery to be filmed ought to be desolate, dull, and dilapidated. If the scenes were to be re-processed later, then the effects wouldn't be as good.
Lan Jinyao went over to greet the Assistant Director, then said to Chen Zetao, "Director Chen, don't tell me that you want to destroy all the beautiful scenery?"
The Assistant Director was one step ahead of Chen Zetao as he replied, "Haha, no, we won't do that. We're just filming, not destroying the ecological environment. Later, we can use some props to make up for the desolate environment. It won't be too difficult."
Upon hearing this, Lan Jinyao nodded.
The Assistant Director then added, "Meimei, the scenery here is stunning. Would you want to live here for a longer period?"
Lan Jinyao went along with him and said, "Such beautiful scenery…I'm afraid that if I could live here, I'd wake up with a smile every day. I'd love to live here, but it's just that I don't know if the owner would allow me to stay."
"Haha, I'm sure the investor would agree to your request!"
Lan Jinyao noticed the double meaning behind his words and casually asked, "Does Assistant Director Li know the owner?"
"I know him, and you also know him. He's…" The Assistant Director suddenly paused, and then his eyes widened as he pointed behind her and smilingly said, "Isn't that him? Speak of the devil; he's here."
When Lan Jinyao turned around, she saw Jiang Cheng smiling at her affectionately. The instant she saw him, she felt her entire body stiffen.
The Assistant Director smiled and asked, "You know each other, right? Meimei and President Jiang are friends, right?"
Lan Jinyao retracted her gaze and faintly replied, "We're not friends; it's just that we've worked together before."
The Assistant Director didn't notice the difference in Lan Jinyao's expression at all. He walked up to Jiang Cheng and chatted with him. While Jiang Cheng was chatting, his gaze seemed to be following her. Lan Jinyao frowned and then quickly walked towards the house.
Jiang Cheng was definitely not this movie's investor. Besides, if Fu Bainian knew that this island belonged to Jiang Cheng, then he'd never have allowed them to use it as a shooting location.
Chen Zetao noticed the change in her attitude and hurriedly caught up to her up. "Meimei…"
Lan Jinyao quickly walked into the spacious house and saw that some of the actors were already resting on the sofa, so she headed towards the back of the house. She then chose a hanging seat and sat down.
Chen Zetao seemed to have guessed that she had something to say and sat down alongside her.
"Meimei, are you unhappy because you saw President Jiang?"
Lan Jinyao was in a bad mood, so her voice went a few pitches higher as she replied, "Aren't you asking the obvious? …I'm sorry, I'm not mad at you."
Chen Zetao smiled instead. "The Chen Meimei from the past didn't seem to be the kind of person who would apologise to others for doing something wrong."
Lan Jinyao realised that things weren't heading in the right direction, so she quickly changed the topic and asked, "Didn't you say that this island belonged to another investor? How could it be President Jiang's?"
"We'd initially thought that it belonged to another investor. Back then, when he'd said that he was going to lend us the shooting location, we were all baffled because that investor wasn't a very extraordinary person. It was only when everything was set that the investor told us that the island belonged to President Jiang."
Upon hearing this, Lan Jinyao's heart sank. Jiang Cheng had indeed come prepared. No wonder the Assistant Director had asked her whether she wanted to live here.
Chapter 167 – Kidnapped Again (4)
When Fu Bainian came to visit the set, Lan Jinyao had initially thought that he'd become furious upon seeing Jiang Cheng on the island. She even took the trouble to think about how to persuade him afterwards, but Fu Bainian's reaction was beyond her expectations.
Fu Bainian arrived in the evening. At that time, she was about to shoot a night scene. The cruise ship neared the island. When it docked, Chun Xiang and a group of fishermen boarded the ship to check on the situation.
Just as she was about to board the ship, Lan Jinyao saw Fu Bainian arrive. He'd donned a black suit and stood beside a staff member, staring at her with a burning gaze. Their eyes met and locked for a short while before she retracted her gaze and shifted her line of sight to the side, where Jiang Cheng was standing behind one of the staff members.
Both men were very tall, and they stood out from the crowd.
Lan Jinyao was sweating in her heart at this point, but she feigned nonchalance and moved her gaze away. She then followed the crowd and boarded the cruise ship. There were no lights on the cruise ship, so they had to wait on the master electrician to adjust the lighting. Lan Jinyao pretended to be scared of the dark and approached the man…
After finishing the scene, Lan Jinyao ran to Fu Bainian's side and asked, "How was my performance earlier?"
Although the smile on her face was radiant, her heart was filled with anxiety. The two men had now run into each other. If something were to happen, then things wouldn't end well.
"It was great! Our Meimei is the best!" Fu Bainian went along and praised her.
Lan Jinyao scowled at his words and retorted, "That was so fake! Is it really that hard for you to praise someone? With just one glance, one could discern that your words were false praises."
Fu Bainian gently pinched her nose, and then said, "What I've just said are my heartfelt words. In my heart, only you deserve the title of Movie Goddess."
Upon hearing this, Lan Jinyao laughed and threw herself into Fu Bainian's embrace.
Under the dim light of the night, the couple was very much in sync as they displayed their affection in front of the entire crew. It was as if they were deliberately showing off to a certain person. Following that, the couple walked towards their room hand in hand under the envious gazes of many.
Lan Jinyao was staying on the second floor. This house had many guest rooms, so it was the perfect place for hosting parties. After entering the house, Lan Jinyao brought Fu Bainian to her room. She'd just arrived today, so her luggage was in a complete mess after she'd rummaged through it. Everything was all stacked up on the bed.
Fu Bainian's mouth twitched at this sight, and he disdainfully said, "How messy!"
Lan Jinyao revealed an awkward smile and sheepishly said, "I just arrived today and started filming right away, so I didn't manage to organise my things yet. I guarantee that others won’t see this sight, nor will it be photographed by reporters. In short, I won't make you lose face."
Then, Jiang Cheng's face suddenly popped in her mind, so she quietly probed, "When you were on set earlier, did you see a particularly annoying person?"
A particularly annoying person…she must be referring to Jiang Cheng.
Fu Bainian's eyes were fixated on her for a while before he withdrew his gaze and nodded. "I did see one."
Hearing this, she hurriedly explained, "I really didn't know that this island belonged to Jiang Cheng. I-if I'd known…"
"If you'd known, then what? Would you have declined the role?" asked Fu Bainian with a raised eyebrow, somewhat amused.
Lan Jinyao remained silent for a while before nodding and saying through gritted teeth, "That's right! If I'd known, then I wouldn't have come here."
"Haha! Alright, you're already here, so don't start overthinking things," Fu Bainian gently laughed and said.
As if trying to discern whether he was telling the truth, Lan Jinyao stared into his eyes and asked, "So…you're not angry?"
Thus, Fu Bainian shook his head and replied, "Truthfully, I also didn't know before this."
That evening, the two lay in bed side by side. Perhaps, since Lan Jinyao was exhausted, she fell asleep quickly.
Fu Bainian stared at her quiet and sweet sleeping face and heaved a sigh.
He then recalled the scene he'd seen at the hospital. That familiar silhouette from that day completely resembled Jiang Cheng. That person's outfit and hairstyle were the same. Even though he'd only seen that man's back that day, he was convinced that they were the same person.
He couldn't tell Lan Jinyao these things. He thought: When they finished shooting this film, then everything would be okay. In the meantime, no matter what Jiang Cheng wanted to do, he'd be with her and wouldn't let her suffer even the slightest bit of harm.
The next morning, Lan Jinyao got up before daybreak. There happened to be a scene with a sunrise shot. The picturesque sunrise on the deserted island set off a pure and impeccable romance. How beautiful and poetic!
Lan Jinyao washed up and immediately went out. She didn't put on any make-up because there were make-up artists on set. Before she departed, she looked back at Fu Bainian; he seemed to be awake, but his eyes were still closed.
The sky was still dark, but the production team was already on location. As soon as Lan Jinyao arrived at the beach, she saw Jiang Cheng sitting alone in the distance, not blending in at all with the lively crew around him. Lan Jinyao suddenly felt that the view of his back was gloomy and lonely.
She coldly snorted in her heart. He wasn't one of the actors nor investors, yet he got up so early to watch them film the scenes. He sure had a lot of time on his hands.
Chen Zetao noticed her arrival and hurriedly waved at her. "Meimei, over here!"
As soon as Chen Zetao shouted her name, Jiang Cheng also turned around, and their eyes met. She didn't care and instead walked over to Chen Zetao's side.
The scene they were about to shoot was the dialogue between Lan Jinyao and the male lead. Chun Xiang fell in love with the male lead at this point, and this was also thanks to the beautiful sunrise.
Soon after, the make-up artist finished putting make-up on for Lan Jinyao, and the male lead was also ready to start filming. He sat on a big stone not far away, looking up at the sky. The view of his back was distant and cold. Lan Jinyao was dressed in a blue cheongsam adorned with shredded flower petals, walking barefoot on the sandy shore as she approached the man one step at a time. There was a look of pleasant surprise in her eyes, like that of a little girl.
Chun Xiang had lived on this isolated island all her life, and from her childhood until now, she'd only seen weather-beaten fishermen. She'd never seen such a good-looking man before. She wanted to get closer, but she was timid and didn't dare to do so, so she seemed somewhat hesitant and halted her steps.
That was until the man finally spoke.
"Come and watch the sunrise with me. I haven't seen such a clear and beautiful sunrise in a very long time."
The man was a businessman who was always on the move in the business world, so he barely had time to be idle like this. The temptation of money made people lose their nature.
Chun Xiang's cheeks flushed, and she trotted over before sitting down beside the man.
"I see the sunrise every day. It’s wonderful, but others don't have time; they're always so busy."
Her eyes sparkled as she spoke.
The man turned his head and looked at her, his lips curling up into a handsome smile.
Following this came the freeze-frame shot.