"I belong to you. All of me from top to bottom, inside and outside."
"Do you know how hard it is to stop myself from coming to look for you?" Mo Ting said in a distressed voice. "I want to eat you up and swallow you whole."
Tangning clenched her fists as she stopped herself from almost saying some impulsive words. Words like, "I don't want to film anymore, I just want to stay by your side".
Or, "stop working and come keep me company".
But in the end, her words were replaced with silence.
Faced with silence, Mo Ting could tell that Tangning was trying to control her emotions, so he changed the subject to make things easier for her, "I will arrange everything you have asked for. Don't worry."
"Ting..."
"Huh?" Mo Ting responded subconsciously.
"Nothing. I just wanted to call your name."
"Take good care of yourself."
"Yes, I will," Tangning nodded. "However, I'm afraid the words I want to say to you will decrease."
"Why?"
"Because I'm afraid every word I say to you will reveal my wish to return to your side."
Hearing this, Mo Ting couldn't control his lips from curving upwards, "You don't need to endure so painfully. If you've reached your limit, just tell me, I can come visit you on set. Or, how about this, I can drop by once every week. Would that make the time pass faster?"
By doing this, no matter how long she had to spend on set, it would give her something to look forward to.
Tangning smiled as she nodded, "OK."
Actually, Tangning wasn't the only one to call Mo Ting everyday. Han Xiner also reported to him diligently about Tangning. From injuries down to what she ate, Mo Ting knew more about Tangning than she knew about herself.
But, no matter how much he missed her, he had to let her train on her own.
...
That morning, Tangning was to have her first filming session for the day. She was required to dress like a dirty beggar; a look that not many actors could accept.
It was bad enough that she was dressed in rags, her body also emitted an unexplainable stench. Then there was her hair; not only was it messy, there were a variety of dirty items stuck in it. On top of everything, there was a bloody gash across her left cheek. This ugly look wasn't something that many actresses could withstand, yet Tangning did not blink an eye.
"I suddenly feel pity for Tangning..."
"No wonder she was late today. She was probably frightened by this look."
"Actually, she's quite serious. Simply based on the fact that she is willing to accept what we wouldn't be able to accept, she's already beaten us all."
A few of the supporting actors stood to one side and discussed their thoughts. But, as Tangning appeared, they took a few steps back.
The director was famous for being exceptionally serious. If he wanted something to be smelly, to create a realistic effect, he would go to extremes.
"She smells so bad..."
"What did the director make Tangning put on?"
"Can't she smell it?"
In actual fact, Tangning was feeling a little nauseous. Seeing her expression was a little off, the director asked, "If you can't take it, feel free to go wash the smell off."
"Is OK, I can endure it."
"OK, let's start our first take."
The lights and camera were ready. In this scene, the little troublemaker was to pickpocket the Lord. Seeing he didn't have much of an expression and looked like an easy target, she decided to tail him.
Just as they neared a temple, the troublemaker snatched the Lord's sack and pulled out all the bread inside. She then quickly started chomping down on them.
Apart from playing out this scene, Tangning was also required to do many disgusting gestures, like picking her nose, walking with splayed legs and spitting on the ground...
"Why are you all here to watch Tangning?"
"We're curious... It was because this character was too disgusting that I decided to try for the third supporting character instead."
"The public have exaggerated her so much that we had to come have a look at how good she is."
All the other actors gathered on set to watch Tangning. In reality, they were here because they weren't convinced by her. Tangning was previously a model and had no foundation in acting. Everything she did was based on skills she learnt on the spot. So, they didn't expect her acting to be very natural.
"It's starting..."
Along the muddy road, a man dressed in a white robe walked deep into the forest holding a rucksack.
Suddenly, an unknown creature came jumping out of the bushes and swiftly snatched away the sack in his hands. She then sat on a rock with her legs apart, unfolded the white fabric and started stuffing her face with the bread inside.
The white-robed man took a few steps back. After taking a good look at the troublemaker, he said, "Leave one for me. I will take this road again tomorrow, I'll bring you a few more."
The little troublemaker laughed. With her mouth full of bread, she replied, "I'm not leaving any for you, hand over all your money."
"I only earn a few copper coins everyday from going down to the town and doing some fortune telling..."
The troublemaker refused to listen as she directly pounced over and climbed onto the man's back, taking everything that could be exchanged for money with her.
The man shook his head helplessly as he returned to the abandoned temple on top of the hill.
The next day, the man crossed paths with the troublemaker again. Once again, she climbed on top of him and tried to search his body for valuables. However, this time, he pulled out a copper coin.
But, the troublemaker still emptied him out.
On their third encounter...
...the man indeed had nothing to give her, so he ended up giving his robe to her.
The troublemaker put on the robe and followed him...
They eventually reached the edge of a cliff where she watched the man fly across to an abandoned temple on the other side...
...
"I'm getting goosebumps! Tangning looks like she's been possessed by the troublemaker."
"Although Tangning took a few takes to complete this scene, it was only because she wanted it to be perfect!"
"She's so serious even as a troublemaker..."
That evening as Tangning finished filming, Han Xiner ran over with the items Mo Ting had delivered. Tangning thoughtfully considered the actresses on set and asked for many female products and medicine. After this, the cast and crew had nothing else to complain about.
Especially since Tangning had specifically taken note that the actress with a lot of mosquito bites attracted mosquitoes because of her B type blood and she also bought medicine fot the actress with allergies.
Everything she did, forced the actors that originally disliked her, to admit defeat.
"Who would have thought, while we were insulting her behind her back, she responded to the hatred with kindness and did something that even my assistant wouldn't be able to do."
"I bet she was late today on purpose as well. It was her way of lowering the director's expectations."
"I give up. I can't get myself to hate someone that is so thoughtful. I admit defeat."
Above all, even the director was convinced by Tangning when she brought him a specialty product from the town.
Of course, Bei Chendong also received something. But, Han Xiner didn't know how to give it to him.
Everytime she stepped out of her tent, she would end up turning back.
"Should I go?" Han Xiner hesitated. However, just as she turned around, she ran into Bei Chendong's body.
"Ahh..." Han Xiner screamed in surprise. But her mouth was quickly covered by Bei Chendong.
"Quiet..."
"What are you doing?" Han Xiner struggled out of his embrace and took a few steps back.
"I went to wash myself in the nearby lake and just returned. Were you looking for me?" Bei Chendong replied calmly.
"No," Han Xiner distanced herself as her face turned red.
As he watched her move away, Bei Chendong's gaze darkened...