After Transmigrating As The Film Empress Sister’s Kept Alpha - Chapter 13

Orange sunset clouds spread across the horizon, edged with pale purple and gold. The sun had not completely set, yet the moon had already clocked in early for work.

The director wore a baseball cap over his messy hair. Squinting up at the moon, he seemed extremely satisfied with its enthusiasm.

It had arrived early. As soon as the sky darkened, they could begin filming tonight’s scene.

“We’re fortunate. Without this moon, we would have had to add it in post-production.” The director was a short man in his fifties or sixties who loved strolling around the set with a thermos during breaks. “I still prefer real scenery. Our production doesn’t have the budget for high-quality special effects, and cheap-looking ones are meaningless.”

“You’re right. The moon looks beautiful tonight,” Shen Yishu agreed with a smile after listening to the director explain the scene.

Ji Xiangyu did not respond.

The largest expense in the production’s budget was her salary.

Her reputation within the industry had not been particularly good over the past few years, mainly because her pay had continued rising with her popularity.

However, no drama starring Ji Xiangyu had ever truly failed, no matter how poor the rest of the production was.

To guarantee stable ratings after release, many expensive adaptations of popular IPs were still willing to hire her.

“By the way, Xiao Ji, are you doing the scene yourself later, or should we call in a kissing double?” After expressing his admiration for the moon, the director suddenly remembered tonight’s scene and turned to ask her.

“Can we use camera angles instead?” Ji Xiangyu asked softly.

The director looked troubled.

Since he preferred real locations, he naturally also preferred genuine kissing scenes.

When he had first entered the industry, actors had neither the enormous salaries nor the pride they possessed now. Back then, they had actually kissed.

Had it been anyone else, he might have tried persuading them.

However, Ji Xiangyu’s status was too high. He did not dare press the matter. If she insisted on using camera angles, then he could only film it that way.

Shen Yishu held a small notebook containing the important points the director had just explained.

This was the drama’s only kissing scene.

Afterward, Zhou Yi and Li Jin would have very few opportunities to spend time alone together.

Zhou Yi exhausted herself supporting Li Jin’s rise to power, devoting all her effort and calculating every possible move before finally placing Li Jin on the throne.

After Li Jin ascended the throne, Zhou Yi became empress, yet they saw each other even less frequently.

Aside from banquets held during festivals, the two rarely spent time alone.

Later, Li Jin changed.

Ji Mu’s love for Zhou Yi was restrained and enduring.

By then, Zhou Yi had already lost her desire for romance and cared more about the authority held within her hands.

The most intimate thing she and Ji Mu ever did was hold hands while looking at the moon together.

This kissing scene represented the young Zhou Yi’s most genuine experience of love and would greatly test Ji Xiangyu’s acting ability.

When explaining the scene, the director had focused particularly on her. She needed to portray a young woman’s shyness while also displaying the courage that belonged uniquely to Zhou Yi.

Using a kissing double would make filming even more troublesome.

The director clearly intended to shoot close-ups, so Ji Xiangyu did not consider using one.

Shen Yishu looked from the director to Ji Xiangyu, then quietly made herself smaller and pretended she did not exist.

“I’ll do it myself,” Ji Xiangyu said after two seconds of silence.

The director was overjoyed and repeatedly praised her professionalism.

The makeup artist called Ji Xiangyu over.

As she stood, Ji Xiangyu glanced at Shen Yishu with a complicated expression.

Shen Yishu did not understand the emotion in her eyes.

She was merely mourning her first kiss.

Admittedly, she was not someone who cared greatly about ceremonial significance. Even so, the thought of giving away her first kiss while filming still made her heart ache.

The bad news was that she possessed no right to object. The director had not even bothered asking for her opinion.

The good news was that her kissing partner was Best Actress Sister.

Overall, she was not losing out too badly.

The sky finally darkened completely.

A bright moon hung high above carved beams and painted rafters, illuminating the winding corridors.

Following the tiled roof with her gaze, Shen Yishu saw silver light gently falling into the center of the courtyard, bright yet never harsh.

At that moment, she truly felt as though she had returned to the Great Xia Dynasty.

She was Li Jin, heading toward a nighttime meeting with Zhou Yi.

Beautiful scenery on a perfect night—

Excellent conditions for flirting.

Ji Xiangyu wore a pale yellow cross-collared ruqun and delicate makeup.

Her brows resembled distant mountains, her lips were red as sunset clouds, and her fair face carried the freshness of peach blossoms.

She looked exactly like the young Zhou Yi stepping out of the novel.

Shen Yishu, meanwhile, wore a black ruqun and no obvious makeup.

To emphasize Li Jin’s pitiful circumstances, the makeup artist had deliberately made her appear more haggard.

The lighting boards and cameras were put into position.

The director instructed Zhou Yi to stand in the courtyard while the boom microphone was moved above her head, ready for filming to begin.

A small pond stood within the courtyard.

Under the night breeze, its surface rippled with silver light.

Zhou Yi stood beside a stone near the pond, nervously twisting her fingers with her head lowered.

Moonlight illuminated only one side of her face. From the camera’s angle, the audience could only vaguely glimpse her unease.

She was not yet Empress Zhou, who would later rule from behind the curtain and command the nation.

She was merely a young woman waiting to meet the person she loved.

“Scene one—action!”

Li Jin lifted her skirt and hurried from the winding covered bridge.

She ran faster and faster. The moment her delighted face came fully into view, she shouted loudly,

“Sister!”

Taking two steps at once, she rushed toward Zhou Yi and threw herself directly into her arms.

The impact forced Zhou Yi two steps backward.

Zhou Yi gently pulled Li Jin from her embrace and was about to pretend to reprimand her when she noticed the exhaustion in Li Jin’s features.

“Have they been mistreating you?”

Zhou Yi cupped Li Jin’s face and carefully examined it beneath the moonlight.

Her gaze was so deeply affectionate that Shen Yishu immediately entered character.

Before leaving her room, Ji Xiangyu had sprayed herself with a citrus perfume to conceal the faint rosemary scent clinging to her.

The fragrance of citrus was youthful and faintly sweet, like a young woman quietly confessing her feelings.

The night was too gentle.

The evening breeze was too tender.

And a lover’s gaze was far too intimate.

Meeting Ji Xiangyu’s eyes, Shen Yishu held one of her wrists and shook her head.

“I simply missed you too much.”

When a scumbag said, “I missed you,” it was like a student automatically answering “Here” during attendance.

They had said it so often that the proper emotion appeared instinctively.

Rich, sincere emotion—as though it were a genuine confession.

Even Shen Yishu froze for a moment after the words left her mouth.

In her previous life, she had never flirted with anyone.

Forget saying something like I missed you—she had rarely even chatted casually with people.

“You’re still such a child.”

Zhou Yi was clearly pleased and smiled gently.

In the original novel, Zhou Yi was two years older than Li Jin and had served as her study companion. She remained in the palace until Zhou Yi reached marriageable age.

“Sister, when will we finally be able to stay together openly?”

Li Jin held those cold hands and asked the woman before her with an aggrieved expression.

However, Shen Yishu found herself remembering the softness of Ji Xiangyu’s palm when she had pulled her from the floor the previous night.

“Wait a little longer.”

Sadness floated in Zhou Yi’s eyes as she patiently coaxed the child she had watched grow up.

“It will be soon.”

“Really?” Li Jin asked delightedly.

Step by step, Li Jin tempted Zhou Yi into sacrificing everything for her.

Zhou Yi would risk all she possessed, only to lose the entire game and be left with nothing.

Yet Zhou Yi knew none of that.

She simply loved Li Jin deeply and planned everything on her behalf.

“It will be soon. You must behave and avoid angering the Empress Regnant for the time being,” Zhou Yi carefully instructed her.

“I understand. I always listen to you. I’ll do whatever you tell me to do, and I won’t do anything you forbid.”

Li Jin put away the spoiled arrogance she normally displayed inside the palace and adopted an obedient expression.

She knew Zhou Yi could never resist her when she behaved this way.

“I’ll help you obtain everything you desire.”

Zhou Yi stroked Li Jin’s soft, long hair.

The young woman in black immediately brightened. Her haggard appearance disappeared, leaving only a girl’s vivid happiness.

“Don’t talk about those things today, Sister.”

Li Jin stepped back several paces.

“We finally have a chance to meet. I don’t want to listen to any of that.”

Zhou Yi tilted her head and asked with a smile, “What do you want to hear?”

Li Jin circled the pond, her skirt blooming like flowers around her feet with every step.

As she walked, she counted aloud.

“I want Sister to say you missed me. I want Sister to say you like me.”

“And…”

Li Jin returned to Zhou Yi’s side, leaned closer, and whispered,

“I want to kiss Sister.”

The courtyard was a private residence belonging to Zhou Yi, located near the outer edge of the capital.

It was already late at night, and the surroundings were nearly silent. Occasionally, a stray cat could be heard crying somewhere nearby.

The wind lifted Li Jin’s long hair.

She bent slightly, her lips near Zhou Yi’s ear as she murmured softly.

Her gentle breath brushed Zhou Yi’s ear, causing the delicate pale earlobe to flush pink.

Zhou Yi did not answer.

Li Jin refused to move away.

She resembled a puppy pressed against its owner’s side. Unless her owner spoke, she would remain there forever and never leave.

The moon grew even brighter, making the conflict in Zhou Yi’s expression increasingly apparent.

Should she obey propriety and social convention—

Or fulfill the request of the person she loved?

“If Sister finds it difficult, then forget it.”

Li Jin pouted.

“I only miss you because it has been so long since we last met. After we part tonight, who knows when we’ll see each other again?”

Since childhood, Li Jin had always known precisely how to grasp Zhou Yi’s weaknesses.

Sure enough, after hearing those words, Zhou Yi finally nodded gently.

Li Jin was overjoyed.

She had merely wanted to try asking. She had never expected Zhou Yi to truly agree.

She stepped around to stand before Zhou Yi and lifted Zhou Yi’s face in both hands, staring at her without blinking.

The shoulders of the young woman in pale yellow trembled slightly.

She was so nervous that she could no longer maintain her normally composed expression.

“Don’t be afraid, Sister. Close your eyes.”

Zhou Yi obediently closed them.

The instant Li Jin kissed her, Shen Yishu abruptly left the scene and returned to herself.

Ji Xiangyu’s lips were relatively thin, yet they were still soft beneath hers.

Their breaths intertwined.

Shen Yishu could almost hear how violently the heart inside her chest was pounding. Even her hands began trembling uncontrollably.

Two beautiful lovers kissing beneath the moon and confessing their feelings should have formed a perfect romantic scene.

Ji Xiangyu counted the seconds before opening her eyes.

What she saw were Shen Yishu’s thick eyelashes, fluttering gently like a butterfly spreading its wings.

The eyes hidden beneath those raven feathers contained emotions that did not belong to Li Jin.

They held Shen Yishu’s own bewilderment.

Ji Xiangyu: “…”

She immediately fell out of character and blinked.

The camera happened to push in for a close-up of her face.

Without hesitation, the director called a stop.

“Cut! Xiao Ji, what happened?”

Ji Xiangyu pulled away from Shen Yishu and wiped the saliva from her lips with the back of her hand.

She shook her head.

“It’s nothing, Director. I became distracted for a moment. Let’s do it again.”

Shen Yishu: “…”

She had to kiss her again?

That brief, dragonfly-like touch had already made her heart race fast enough to send her to the hospital.