Truly Dedicated to Art (Lily ABO) - Chapter 10

Chu Li curled up on the bamboo couch, gazing out the window at the fine rain threads sweeping across the bamboo leaves with a soft rustling sound. Raindrops fell from the eaves onto the bluestone slabs, splashing into tiny ripples.

“Come, let me see your wound.” A gentle female voice sounded beside her ear.

Xue Zhao wore a simple cyan robe, her long hair loosely pinned up with a single bamboo hairpin. She sat at the edge of the couch and reached out to pull open Chu Li’s collar. Chu Li instinctively shrank back. The vivid bloodstain on her left shoulder stood out sharply against her plain white clothes. Seeming to notice how odd her reaction was, she looked up cautiously to observe Xue Zhao’s expression.

A few strands of Xue Zhao’s hair were damp from the moisture and stuck to the porcelain-white side of her neck. This cyan robe made her look as if she had stepped out of the misty, rainy Jiangnan region, giving her a touch more worldly warmth than when she sat solemnly in Xuanji Palace. She let out a soft sigh, her voice quiet and lingering. “We’ve become this distant now? Where has the Li’er who used to cling to me and act spoiled whenever she got even a small injury gone?”

“I’m not being distant. I’m just afraid of scaring Master.” Chu Li hurriedly denied it. She lowered her head, her voice muffled. “How could I ever become distant from Master?”

When the front of her robe was pulled open, the ferocious wound was still oozing blood. Xue Zhao took out a jade bottle from a lacquered box, dabbed ointment on her fingertips, and gently applied it to the injury. “You’re treating me like some sheltered young lady who has never seen the world. After we descend the mountain, remember to call me Senior Sister. Got it?”

The cool sting of the ointment on the wound made Chu Li’s body tremble uncontrollably. Xue Zhao’s fingertips moved along her arm, and every time her finger pads brushed her skin, an inexplicable electric sensation made Chu Li restless. Even as the rain outside gradually softened, she could still clearly hear Xue Zhao’s light, shallow breathing. One glance downward and she could see those long lashes veiling the captivating eyes beneath.

“Se… Senior Sister.” Chu Li’s throat tightened. She hadn’t felt this panicked even when she had been fighting the demonic cultivator with her life on the line earlier. A sudden sharper sting made her suck in a cold breath.

“Does it hurt?” Xue Zhao’s fingertip pressed lightly on her shoulder as she wrapped the gauze around the wound layer by layer. “This is so you’ll remember exactly how much it hurts.”

Her tone didn’t sound like scolding, nor like teaching… Chu Li couldn’t figure out what kind of tone it was. She only felt her heart pounding wildly.

Something seemed ready to burst out of her chest.

“Cut!”

Song Feici collapsed onto the couch in relief. Her assistant immediately rushed over with a small fan to cool her down.

This was an important emotional scene after Chu Li and Xue Zhao descended the mountain and fought a demonic cultivator. At this point, Chu Li still didn’t know what lay ahead or the truth behind her sect’s extermination. She only knew that she seemed to have developed some unspeakable feelings toward the master she had always respected and loved.

Wei Lan had revised this emotional scene more than ten times and still wasn’t satisfied.

Yu Shuinao drank the iced water Xiao Tang brought her, then stood up and walked behind Wei Lan to watch the monitor together.

Suddenly, she heard Wei Lan speak, almost as if talking to herself but also like she was asking a question: “Doesn’t it feel like no matter how many times we change it, it’s all pretty much the same? Like there’s no point?”

The dozen or so versions they had revised were all very subtle adjustments to the emotional layers. This level of strictness was something Yu Shuinao had never experienced on other sets. In any other crew, these versions would have been perfectly usable.

During her time with the crew, Yu Shuinao had received quite a few NGs, but Wei Lan had never exploded or harshly scolded her like the rumors said. Instead, she had been relatively patient, explaining the scene to her and giving clear, in-depth guidance. It truly lived up to her reputation for being able to train actors.

Yu Shuinao took another sip of iced water, lost in thought.

Wei Lan turned around, saw her expression, and suddenly smiled.

Her inherently gentle and sweet appearance, stripped of its usual strict shell and enhanced by this smile, revealed her natural charm.

“I just feel that you can present this character even more perfectly.” Wei Lan’s tone was unusually serious and not lazy.

For a moment, Yu Shuinao couldn’t tell whether Wei Lan thought her interpretation of the role wasn’t deep enough or whether she simply had very high expectations for her. Her past experiences and self-perception made her hesitate.

Water droplets from the bottle slid down onto Yu Shuinao’s hand, cool and refreshing. She snapped back to reality.

She gave Wei Lan a standard, polite smile. “I’ll work harder.”

…

The secret realm was surrounded by mountains on all sides, thick fog filling the air. Sunlight pierced through the dense mist and shone directly onto the central stone platform.

Chu Li hurried to the front of the stone platform. Its surface was covered in moss. After brushing it away, dense, intricate runes were revealed underneath. The mysterious patterns seemed to come alive, slowly moving across the stone surface.

The sunlight grew stronger. Fine golden light scattered from the center of the platform as a sword case slowly rose.

The sword case was pure snow-white, with phoenix feather carvings on its surface. Chu Li placed her hand on it. The warm jade-like texture felt faintly hot. When she opened the lid, golden light blazed even brighter, and a sharp sword aura shot straight into the sky.

The scabbard and blade themselves looked ordinary, no different from the most common sword in any ordinary sword shop. There was nothing to suggest this was the demon-slaying divine sword “Asking Heart” once used by the ancient war god Ming Yi.

Chu Li cried out in excitement: “Senior Sister, look! It’s the sword of the Supreme God Ming Yi…” She couldn’t resist reaching out to touch the blade, but the sword aura sliced her finger. Blood slid down the blade, leaving a strange, demonic red mark.

“What a sharp sword…” she murmured, her obsessed eyes burning with the passion of a sword cultivator.

No sword cultivator could resist the temptation of Ming Yi’s sword.

Xue Zhao took half a step forward but stopped. Her eyes darkened slightly…

“Cut!” Wei Lan called stop.

“No, Shuinao, your eyes and rhythm are still wrong. At this moment, Xue Zhao must maintain her composure. On the surface she’s happy, beneath that is the sense of control that her plan is going as expected, and the final layer of pity needs to feel more natural and unconscious.”

Sweat slid down Yu Shuinao’s temple. She took a tissue and wiped it away. “Sorry, let’s do it again.”

Song Feici took a sip of water. Sweat ran down her chin into her collar, but her tone remained light as always. “It’s okay, Sister Shuinao. Don’t rush. Take your time.”

The afternoon heat came in waves, the temperature rising higher and higher. It was an outdoor shoot. To avoid messing up the actors’ appearance, the industrial fans were only turned on at half power before being shut off. Combined with the heavy headdresses and thick costumes, the heat was unbearable. That made the guilt during NGs even stronger.

Moreover, Xue Zhao’s emotions in this scene were multi-layered, complex, and full of contradictions. The character herself was relatively reserved. Acting too restrained made the emotions unclear, while being too expressive made it seem exaggerated. No matter how detailed Wei Lan’s explanations were, there was always a gap between theory and practice.

“Cut. Shuinao, that look is wrong.”

“Cut. Shuinao, you’re holding back too much.”

“Cut. No, no. That tone is nothing like Xue Zhao at all.”

The entire afternoon was spent in endless stops. In the end, Wei Lan’s tone grew increasingly impatient and irritated.

“Cut. Wrong again. I just told you about the layers — you need to show layers, understand? This emotion is too direct. Is this how the character is supposed to be portrayed?” Wei Lan’s voice grew sharper. She scratched her hair, sweat-dampened strands sticking messily to the side of her face. “Didn’t we already fix this problem earlier? Why do you keep making the same mistake again and again? Were you always like this when acting before?”

“I’m sorry… Let’s try one more time.” Yu Shuinao’s face still looked calm on the surface, but inside a storm was raging.

She didn’t know why she couldn’t get this segment right. Was it because she was truly untalented and stupid? Was she simply not suited for this profession?

“Were you always like this when acting before?”

She almost answered inwardly.

Yes.

Exactly like this.

Otherwise, why would she have ended up having to become someone else’s mistress just to get work?

The more she tried to break down the emotions, or even tried to perform them formulaically according to the director’s wishes, the harder it became to convey the right feeling.

She said “sorry, let’s try again,” but she knew deep down that another take would be the same. But what else could she say? Could she just quit?

“What do you mean ‘try again’? Do you want to exhaust everyone to death?” Wei Lan slammed the script onto the table and slumped back in her chair. “Wrap up for today. That’s it.”

Even though she knew deep inside that she couldn’t perform well today, the moment she heard Wei Lan’s words, a wave of relief washed over her — followed by even heavier feelings of powerlessness and self-doubt.

“I’m sorry for wasting everyone’s time.” She spoke with deep apology.

“It’s really okay.” Song Feici tugged at her sleeve. “Everyone has scenes they get stuck on. Don’t overthink it, Sister Shuinao. Just rest well and we’ll try again tomorrow.”

Yu Shuinao forced a smile. “Thank you, Feici.”

Song Feici was about to say something more when Xiao Tang walked over with her phone and whispered a few words to Yu Shuinao. Yu Shuinao let out a soft sigh.

“I still have something to do later. Thanks for your hard work today.”

…

Steam filled the bathroom.

Yu Shuinao tilted her head back, letting the water cascade over her body. The warm stream soothed every inch of her skin.

She remembered what Xiao Tang had told her earlier — Xie Yixuan had come to F City.

After an exhausting day both physically and mentally, she still had to go have dinner with her sponsor.

Noticing the slight resentment in her own thoughts, she smiled bitterly.

If there was no sponsor, with her level of ability, she probably wouldn’t even have the chance to feel exhausted.

She adjusted her mindset and carefully dressed up.

She wouldn’t let the emotions from the day affect her work tonight.

Yu Shuinao carefully checked her makeup in the mirror and curved her lips.

A very standard, very perfect smile.

She was in good condition.

She gathered her things and left.

The car was waiting at the appointed location as scheduled.

The moment she got in, she met a pair of deep, dark eyes.

Xie Yixuan wore a moon-white silk shirt. The slightly open collar revealed delicate collarbones. She had on dark gray high-waisted cigarette pants, her long legs crossed. A silver ring on her left hand paired with a small, exquisite silver round watch.

Even in the sweltering summer heat, she still looked noble and languid.

“Xie… President.” Being stared at by those eyes, a sense of awkwardness she had never felt even on stage almost showed on her face. The perfect smile she had checked before leaving was completely forgotten.

Perhaps because of the temporary marking, a faint cedar scent lingered at the tip of her nose.

She stared blankly at the woman in front of her, forgetting all the warnings she had given herself before leaving — not to bring the day’s emotions into the night, to actively provide emotional value, to be a responsible and dedicated canary.

In that moment of daze, a cool hand gently touched the side of her face.

“Hm. Unhappy?”

The same clear, penetrating voice as when they first met.

And right now, her state of mind was exactly the same as that day — powerless, lost, at a loss.

Hot tears suddenly slid down.

They dripped onto her hand.