After Transmigrating as the Vicious Female Supporting Character, I Ran Away While Pregnant - Chapter 22.2

The next morning, Li Sheng took Ranran to kindergarten. After handing Ranran over to the teacher, Li Sheng still reluctantly touched Ranran’s head again. “Study well at kindergarten, get along well with your friends, and if anyone bullies you, you must tell the teacher. When you get home, you also have to tell Mommy. Understand?”

“I understand!”

Li Sheng drove to the production crew. On the passenger seat was the second version of the family portrait Ranran had drawn last night. Because the first version’s technique had not been good enough, Ranran was not very satisfied with the family portrait she drew, so she had brought it to kindergarten.

As for this second version, Ranran was relatively satisfied with it, so she had pestered Li Sheng to bring it to the production crew and show it to Mo Yueshuang.

Li Sheng felt extremely jealous. Right now, before knowing anything and before acknowledging each other, Ranran already treated Mo Yueshuang so well, calling her Auntie Mo this and Auntie Mo that all day. If one day she found out the truth, then what would happen?

When she arrived at the crew, Mo Yueshuang was still having her makeup done, and the other staff members were also rushing to prepare the props and set for the scenes they were about to film.

Li Sheng wanted to go find Mo Yueshuang, but Director Wen stopped her.

“Li Sheng, come here.” Director Wen held the script in his left hand and a thermos cup in his right. With messy hair and dark circles under his eyes, he walked toward Li Sheng. “Can the romantic scenes be changed?”

Li Sheng stopped and looked at Wen Tingzong. She took the script he handed over. The script had been circled and marked with pens of several different colors, and many analysis notes and reading impressions had been written in the blank spaces. The parts circled the most in red pen were the interactions between Di Xue, played by Mo Yueshuang, and Luo Ziyue, played by Xie Shixian.

“After the apocalypse breaks out, Luo Ziyue, played by Xie Shixian, meets Di Xue, played by Mo Yueshuang. The two of them also go through life and death together many times. Luo Ziyue, played by Xie Shixian, is taken away by the base’s research institute because of her special ability, and Di Xue, played by Mo Yueshuang, is determined to become someone above others partly so she can transfer her friend out of the laboratory and prevent her friend from being treated like a lab rat.”

“Luo Ziyue, played by Xie Shixian, has no friends. Aside from dealing with those researchers who have already lost their humanity and with cold machines, the person she knows and trusts the most is Di Xue, played by Mo Yueshuang.”

“Since Di Xue, played by Mo Yueshuang, can’t accept being together with the male slave Chen Zhe, played by Le Yuantian, then we can arrange a little romantic subplot between her and Luo Ziyue, played by Xie Shixian.”

Luo Ziyue was Li Sheng’s previous life. However, the name Luo Ziyue was an alias Li Sheng had chosen when writing the biography in order to avoid the embarrassment of using her real name.

So the director was suggesting that she and Di Xue develop a romantic subplot?

This kind of thing would be rejected without even thinking about it. However, at this moment, Li Sheng pondered for a while and asked Wen Tingzong, “Did an investor come to you?”

“Ai.” Wen Tingzong nodded helplessly. “If it were an investor, that would be fine. This time, the suggestion came from the people above responsible for reviewing it.”

“Mm?”

“Recently, the higher-ups in F Province have been unstable. The number one was taken down, and the number two was suspended. The two vacant positions are only being temporarily filled, and there are plenty of people below watching and wanting to fight for them.”

“The Same-Sex Marriage Law was only enacted in recent years, and there are still many people who reject and oppose it. In private, some even forbid their children from being gay. Someone suggested that our film could add some elements in, to better promote it to the public.”

“Can’t you refuse?” Li Sheng’s brows furrowed tightly. She was unwilling to change the plot, but if there really was no other way, then they could only settle for a second-best option.

Wen Tingzong hesitated, and Li Sheng immediately understood that he also wanted to add romantic scenes.

“In this film, Di Xue will not develop romantic feelings with anyone. If the suggestion from above really can’t be refused, then change someone else’s scenes.”

Wen Tingzong’s eyes sparkled. The main plot was grand and magnificent. The original-work fans loved the female lead’s transformation and the direction of the plot after the apocalypse. There were also a small number of scholars drawn in by the knowledge of the apocalypse. Quite a few people put on airs and made promises, insisting they would find some flaws.

Unfortunately, all of these were Li Sheng’s personal experiences. They were wisdom condensed over thousands of years from her world. There were many things Li Sheng did not understand the principles or rules behind, but when used in the plot, they were reasonable and followed the rules. Those who wanted to challenge and nitpick were undoubtedly asking for trouble.

The people watching for the above reasons did not make up the majority. Although it was a bestseller, the world’s population was large, and if he wanted to show it to the world through a film, he inevitably had to add some elements the public liked.

In human nature, there was great love and small love, struggle and pain, redemption and despair. Only by blending these together could they cut open a gap in the audience’s hearts and pour all these contents inside one by one, allowing everyone to experience the essence of this film and allowing each person’s feelings to undergo changes that were largely similar yet slightly different, so they could feel the real emotions this film brought them.

The story was good, but it was too hard and unyielding. It lacked a little of the desperate tenderness in the apocalypse. Wen Tingzong felt it would be better to add some desirable emotions. The story in the book was too dark, and people who were not mentally strong enough might even find it somewhat difficult to accept.

Rape, looting, and kidnapping were everywhere. “Even a tiger does not eat its cubs” seemed like a joke. After the apocalypse, money was no longer important, but individual interests and team interests surfaced in a more realistic way.

“The romantic subplot between Chen Zhe, played by Le Yuantian, and the base leader, played by Guan Anru, can be changed.”

Director Wen was still immersed in the joy that this film would finally have a romantic subplot. He had not expected Li Sheng to arrange the male lead with a single sentence.

Wen Tingzong received a shock, and his reaction was a little slow. Only when Li Sheng walked toward the temporary work cubicle built for her did he react. Just now, before Li Sheng left, she had said that she would give him the revised script tomorrow morning.

It was a good thing that Screenwriter Li had passion, but Di Xue’s scenes were not allowed to be changed at all. Compared to how readily she agreed to change the male lead’s scenes, it made the male lead seem as if he had been picked up for free.

Li Sheng was not a true creator. She did not have a God’s-eye view, nor would she feel that each character in the book was a “child” she had created. It was only that when Wen Tingzong made the suggestion, inspiration suddenly flashed through her mind. She thought of Chen Zhe eventually completely throwing away his pride and dignity, climbing into the base leader’s bed in order to survive, to take revenge, and to disgust Di Xue.

To summarize: Di Xue was played by Mo Yueshuang; Chen Zhe was played by Le Yuantian, one of the first batch of male artists under Jiawei Media Entertainment; and the base leader was played by Guan Anru.

The changes in expression when these three people heard about and saw the notice were very interesting, especially Guan Anru. He had never accepted same-sex romantic scenes before, yet his debut had been arranged by Li Sheng just like that.

Li Sheng took the family portrait Ranran had drawn and found Mo Yueshuang. By now, Mo Yueshuang’s makeup had already been prepared, and she had also changed into her costume.

“Li Sheng, why are you here?”

Joy, surprise, confusion, and also a little grievance because they had not contacted each other for half a month, and when they finally met again, Li Sheng had been avoiding her.

Even Mo Yueshuang herself did not notice that the indifferent temperament she had developed over many years in the entertainment industry would break down one by one after meeting Li Sheng.

Li Sheng did not know that Mo Yueshuang had been looking forward to her appearance these days. Of course, even if she knew, she would not have fulfilled her wish.

“Ranran finished drawing the family portrait. She specially asked me to bring it to you.” Li Sheng took out the drawing. Mo Yueshuang accepted it and opened it on the spot to look.

Ranran had drawn it very seriously and carefully. Because this was the first family portrait in her memory, she had drawn it with great care and detail. After finishing it, she even asked Li Sheng to take many photos, afraid that if the original painting could not be found in the future, they could still keep the photos as a souvenir.

In the distant background of the painting, there was a house drawn with just a few strokes. Outside the house were several cars. She did not know how to draw the cars, but she had drawn the car logos very seriously. Several luxury car logos were displayed brightly. Mo Yueshuang suddenly thought of the scene where Ranran had left her addresses. In the little one’s understanding, there was no concept of showing off wealth yet, but she had already shouted it silently.

There was also a plane parked on the lawn. At the center of the drawing was Li Ran. On the left was Li Sheng, and on the right was Mo Yueshuang.

Mo Yueshuang looked very seriously and carefully, then praised, “It’s very vivid, and the content is very warm. I like it very much.”

When Li Sheng heard Mo Yueshuang praise her daughter, her heart also became happy. The corners of her lips lifted slightly. “Mm, I’ll pass that on to her.”

Holding the drawing, Mo Yueshuang asked Li Sheng, “Can I keep it?”

“Mm?”

“I mean, can I keep this drawing?” Mo Yueshuang was very expectant. Li Sheng lowered her eyes and thought deeply. Then she shook her head. “This is Ranran’s homework.”

“I see.” Mo Yueshuang regretfully handed it back to Li Sheng. Li Sheng took it and carefully put it away. Her precious daughter’s first family portrait naturally had to be kept by her. How could she let Mo Yueshuang benefit from it?

The two of them chatted for a while longer about the child. Unfortunately, the good moment did not last long. Just as their conversation was becoming lively, Guan Anru rushed in angrily, startling the makeup artist and assistants present.

Li Sheng was already used to all kinds of sudden situations. Especially since she had mentioned changing the script to the director today, she would not be surprised no matter whether Guan Anru or Le Yuantian came to find her these next few days.

“Li Sheng, did you deliberately change my scenes?”

A questioning sentence was spoken in an affirmative tone, showing that Guan Anru was truly furious.

This person was the eldest young master of the Guan family. There were many people in the crew who respected and feared him, but Li Sheng did not take him seriously. Facing Guan Anru, Li Sheng’s attitude was the same as when she faced Ji Ruodong.

“Mr. Guan, changing the script was the director’s arrangement. The director also listened to the suggestion from above. How did it become me deliberately changing your scenes?”

“Furthermore, I am the original author. What I changed is only the story content of the characters I wrote. If you don’t like it, you are entirely free not to act.”

“I believe that with Director Wen’s status in the industry, this role will not lack competing actors. There are still many people in the industry with better acting skills than you. If you want to give up the position, I will very much look forward to it.”

“Li Sheng! You!” Guan Anru was furious. How had he not discovered back then that Li Sheng was so sharp-tongued and eloquent?

Li Sheng smiled coldly. “Even if you are the eldest young master of the Guan family, you still have to obey the director’s arrangements in the crew. Even if you are the eldest young master of the Guan family, you should still follow our script when filming. I say this scene must be changed. If you disagree, you can leave right now.”

Would Guan Anru leave?

He would not. Among the four great families, the Li family ranked first. Although the Guan family ranked second, the difference between first and second was not small at all. Back then, after his eldest uncle passed away, his father took over halfway and left the company swaying in wind and rain for a period of time. If not for his grandfather still holding things down, the Guan family might have fallen to the bottom of the four families.

Now that things had finally stabilized, it was also because five years ago, Li Sheng had publicly broken the agreement and fled from their engagement ceremony. Old Master Li and Mr. Li, in order to clean up after Li Sheng and also compensate him for his wounded heart after his fiancée ran away, had taken quite a bit of care of the Guan family over the past five years.

The Chi family and Ji family, ranked behind them, had already released news that they were going to form a marriage alliance. Ji Ruodong and Chi Yunman’s engagement ceremony was this month.

Could he go against Li Sheng at this time?

He could not.

Even if Mr. Li had said back then that he would cut ties with Li Sheng, those were only angry words at the banquet. No official statement had ever been issued, and Old Master Li had never said anything about cutting ties.

Li Sheng was still the young lady of the Li family. Although Li Sheng had an older brother, Li Junhao, no matter how outstanding he was, he was still an adopted son. The Li family would ultimately belong to Li Sheng.

Guan Anru’s anger gradually calmed down. It was not that the Guan family was too weak and did not dare collide with the Li family. It was just that if two icebergs collided, neither side would gain any benefit. What he feared most was that the Ji family and Chi family would cooperate at that time, while the Guan and Li families did something stupid like the snipe and clam fighting, allowing the Ji and Chi families to profit.

Guan Anru had come here very suddenly, and now he had been rebuked by Li Sheng even more suddenly. There were plenty of people gathered outside the door watching the show.

They saw Guan Anru’s expression change extremely quickly, and after only a few breaths, it calmed down.

This piece of gossip made their hearts tremble with fear. So Li Sheng was actually this tough? She was so unyielding even in front of the eldest young master of the Guan family. Was her backing hard, or was her life hard?

“Li Sheng! Don’t go too far.” Guan Anru was angry, but from the time he learned the news and rushed over to now, after being rebuked by Li Sheng and calming down, less than five minutes had passed.

These five minutes were enough for him to think clearly about the pros and cons of clashing with Li Sheng. Guan Anru restrained some of his temper, and because Mo Yueshuang was present, he seemed to withdraw his edge and appeared much calmer.

“I am a professional actor. I have no objection to changing scenes, but I also have my bottom line as an actor. I hope Screenwriter Li will think carefully when revising the script.”

“I will strictly revise according to the production team’s requirements. Please rest assured, Mr. Guan.”

After sending Guan Anru away, Mo Yueshuang let out a breath of relief. She looked at Li Sheng worriedly and wanted to ask whether Li Sheng was confident about this matter. If it could be left unchanged, then it would be better not to change it, so as to avoid angering Guan Anru.

But before Mo Yueshuang could express her kind intentions, Li Sheng looked at the closed door and let out a cold laugh.

“No wonder he’s only the backup male lead.”

Li Sheng said this in an extremely low voice. No one present heard it clearly, but Mo Yueshuang, who was very close to her, did hear it. She could even clearly distinguish the tone in Li Sheng’s words.

Li Sheng was disdainful. She seemed to look down on Guan Anru, and this disdain was even stronger than the disdain she had shown toward Ji Ruodong before.

For an instant, Mo Yueshuang felt that the distance between her and Li Sheng was very, very far—so far that she might never be able to catch up in this lifetime.

A nameless sense of loss swept over her, making Mo Yueshuang feel even more stifled.

Fortunately, the morning scenes were scheduled tightly. Once the crew got busy, they had no time to chat and gossip. This also gave Li Sheng’s ears quite a bit of peace and allowed Mo Yueshuang to calm down a little more.

Wen Tingzong held the script and explained the scene to Mo Yueshuang, Xie Shixian, and another actress, Fang Yitang, together.

This was the scene where the female lead, Di Xue, rescued a lone survivor, Yayuan, played by Fang Yitang. This ability user had not yet awakened her ability at this point, but on the night before she was to be sold, she awakened a strength-type ability. With her bare hands, she tore apart the iron cage at the marketplace and punched one head after another, creating her own rebel team.

Later, this survivor would betray Di Xue. It was not because of some deep hatred, but because under the high-pressure situation of the apocalypse, her mind collapsed, and she became somewhat crazed and insane.

Some people said she fell in love with Di Xue, but this love was too dark and heavy. After being rejected by Di Xue, she wanted to destroy everything Di Xue had, until she could imprison Di Xue by her side and keep her forever.

From far away, Li Sheng paid attention to the situation here. She could see that during the director’s explanation, Xie Shixian intentionally or unintentionally looked toward Mo Yueshuang beside her many times, her gaze filled with endless tenderness.

Li Sheng lightly rolled the tip of her tongue. Only after feeling a little pain did she turn her head away and stop paying attention to their situation.

“There is a kidnapping scene where Di Xue’s ability is exhausted and you take her away. When the time comes, your eyes need to be as crazy as possible.” Wen Tingzong was somewhat mentally tired. Yesterday, there had also been a scene where Fang Yitang had to show a vicious, calculating expression toward Mo Yueshuang, but that scene had NG’d many times.

Mo Yueshuang’s acting skills were good. Xie Shixian and Fang Yitang were both still newcomers. Although they were professionally trained, they ultimately lacked on-set experience and could not yet freely control and release their emotions. But if they were given more time to ponder and enter the role, they could also complete it very well.

Wen Tingzong did not force her too much. He placed today’s kidnapping and humiliation scene at the very end, filming Mo Yueshuang and Guan Anru’s scenes first, giving Fang Yitang plenty of time to find the right feeling.

Mo Yueshuang was rehearsing with Guan Anru on set. Li Sheng checked the time and estimated that she could prepare lunch.

She was not used to eating boxed meals with the crew, so the hotel room arranged for her nearby by the production crew had been turned into a snack kitchen by her.

At this moment, she said something to the assistant director and went straight back to prepare lunch.

“People really have different fates. It isn’t even one o’clock yet and she already left. Look at us. We still have to film one more scene before we can eat boxed meals.”

“She’s the original screenwriter they paid a lot to invite. If we dared to be late or leave early, we probably wouldn’t even have boxed meals.”

“That’s true. Mo Yueshuang and Young Master Guan are still filming too. We have nothing to say. Hurry and tidy up these props and send them over.”

Li Sheng had been on set these days, but it was only that her own sense of presence was low. It did not mean other people did not notice her. When she left, not only did the staff know, even Mo Yueshuang, who was still rehearsing, saw it.

“Cut!” Wen Tingzong scratched his head, pulling out a few strands of hair. Unwilling to accept it, he waved at Mo Yueshuang. “Mo Yueshuang, you, you, you. Come here.”

Seeing Wen Tingzong’s expression was not very good and his condition was also not great, could it be that her performance in that scene just now had been too poor and had provoked Wen Tingzong’s anger?

But Mo Yueshuang felt that her acting in that scene just now had still been quite good. At least, based on her filming experience over the years, the feeling of that scene had been excellent.

Wen Tingzong called her over, but what he talked about was not Mo Yueshuang’s problem. Instead, he asked Mo Yueshuang, “Tell me your view of this scene.”

Mo Yueshuang watched the playback of her performance just now through the screen. She held a gun and executed a traitor, decisive and ruthless, shooting an unfaithful and useless person dead without any mercy.

Combined with Di Xue’s personality and experiences, Mo Yueshuang had expressed all the emotions in this scene. Looking purely at acting skills, it was good.

Mo Yueshuang carefully watched it once and thought seriously. She felt that this scene had been acted well, but the director seemed very dissatisfied. So where exactly was the problem?

“Director Wen, I understand.” This was Di Xue’s first time killing a subordinate. Although being cold, ruthless, and decisive was her nature, and killing decisively also fit her very well, it was still her first time after all. Di Xue had only forced herself into becoming a war god in the apocalypse, but in truth, she was still an ordinary person. A person of flesh and blood, someone who would silently erupt and suffer when her beloved pet died.

“It lacks hesitation and the struggle before hardening her heart.”

When Mo Yueshuang said this, Director Wen nodded, his eyes filled with joy. “You really do have very high comprehension. That’s exactly what I mean. Although when we film, we shoot scene by scene, when the audience watches, they will consider the entire film. The film’s runtime isn’t long. It isn’t like a television drama, where there is enough time to display a character from all angles.”

“What we can do is put effort into these small details.”

Director Wen had people touch up Mo Yueshuang’s makeup. Once everything was ready, they tried another take.

In the end, it still NG’d. Mo Yueshuang acted out the inner struggle according to their idea, but Director Wen still felt something was missing.

Mo Yueshuang’s acting skills were impeccable, and this scene was filmed very smoothly. But Wen Tingzong looked at it and still felt somewhat dissatisfied.

After the NG, Mo Yueshuang also came over to watch her own performance. Visually, there was nothing wrong, but it could not withstand careful savoring. If one carefully felt it, the emotions were still not in place. There was a feeling of someone smiling instead of crying when they were overcome with sorrow.

“Director, isn’t this a little too delicate? Expressing so much in one shot—can the audience accept it?”

Not to mention whether they could accept it, it would probably be very difficult for them to even notice the female lead’s hesitation and struggle in a single shot.

“Change it to a close-up. Shoot this part again.”

With Director Wen’s command, the production crew got busy again.

After going back and forth several times, they finally passed. Wen Tingzong let out a breath of relief. “Everyone has worked hard. Rest now. Eat lunch and have a proper break. We start work at three in the afternoon.”

They could finally eat. The starving crew members took their lunches and began wolfing them down.

As a wealthy young master from an influential family, Guan Anru’s food was excellent. Today’s lunch was no exception. It was just that before coming, he had instructed his assistant to prepare one extra portion, and now he had it sent to Mo Yueshuang.

But Mo Yueshuang was called away by a phone call from Chen Yue.

At the hotel, Mo Yueshuang saw the manager who had paid her no attention for nearly half a year.

“Sister Deng, why are you here?”

“The artist I manage is filming here, so of course I have to come take a look.”

Deng Meijiao had managed Mo Yueshuang for almost eight years. Back then, after Mo Yueshuang became popular from one drama, the company arranged her under Deng Meijiao. Deng Meijiao was Da Yi Entertainment’s best manager. She had strong professional ability, a sharp eye, and was good at negotiating with production crews to secure benefits for artists.

But earlier, the company’s attitude toward Mo Yueshuang had been very clear. Deng Meijiao still had other artists under her. Although she also wanted to say a few more good words for Mo Yueshuang within the company, the new artist was also a good seedling, and her salary was paid by the company. There was no need for her to fall out with the company over her small working relationship with Mo Yueshuang.

And so Deng Meijiao took the other artists under her and seemed to somewhat avoid suspicion around Mo Yueshuang.

At first, Mo Yueshuang felt somewhat melancholy about it, but she quickly thought it through and could understand.

It was just…

“Sister Deng, did you come to see me this time because something happened?”

The exhaustion in Deng Meijiao’s eyes was not hidden at all, and her tone was somewhat cold and hard. “Last year, President Wan passed away, and Da Yi’s upper management changed. Now Da Yi’s vice president, Liu Qian, has also resigned. The company has brought in another batch of newcomers.”

Mo Yueshuang did not quite understand. Deng Meijiao sneered a few times and simply stopped leaving any fig leaf, saying everything clearly.

“Da Yi is almost finished. Instead of properly running a company, they’ve started doing the business of pimping.”

“What, what?” Mo Yueshuang found it somewhat unbelievable. Da Yi had been founded by Wan Jincheng with his own hands. After President Wan passed away, it was normal for Da Yi’s upper management positions to shift, but how had things changed into this now?

“Everywhere involves profit. I know you are focused on acting. Even if these dirty things came to you, you wouldn’t agree. But what I’m afraid of is…”

“The one in power at Da Yi right now is a mad dog. Previously, Vice President Liu still watched over things somewhat out of consideration for old President Wan’s past kindness. Recently, there have been frequent ugly incidents. Vice President Liu was also afraid that after working hard for a lifetime, when he was about to retire, he would have a shit basin扣ed onto his head. Now that Vice President Liu has left, Da Yi will only become more and more rampant.”

“These past few days, I’ve been handling the handover. Tomorrow, I’m leaving too. After so many years, we watched Da Yi rise step by step. Now, with them messing around like this, sooner or later it will be over. I remember you still have one year left on your contract. If you can endure, then endure until it passes. If you really can’t, then leave earlier too. Don’t be reluctant to spend money on the breach-of-contract penalty. The current Da Yi is no different from a demon’s den.”

Deng Meijiao said what she needed to say and did not hide any of the reminders she should give. It was just that before leaving, she still felt a little uneasy. She said to Mo Yueshuang, “Little Xie is a good child. She signed with Da Yi in a hurry to treat her mother’s illness, and that contract was for ten years. I don’t know what will happen to her in the future. It’s my fault. Back then, I shouldn’t have brought her into Da Yi.”