Uneasy daily life

Feng Bin and Hua froze for two seconds, unable to utter a single word. Instead, feeling inexplicably guilty, they quickly walked around to the side.

The white figure took a step to the side, put his hands on his hips, and blocked the way.

Feng Bin and Hua walked to the left, and Bai Ying blocked them to the left. She walked to the right, and he followed and blocked them to the right.

The two jumped around, but made no progress.

Ah! Never mind, let's hurry and find my sister!

Feng Bin and Hua's sense of crisis surged, so they decisively pulled to the left and quickly pulled back to the right, charging forward recklessly towards Freedom!

boom!

Feng Bin and Hua bumped into the chest of the white figure who hadn't moved.

Before the stunned Toyohama Kazuka could react, she felt a restraining force pressing down on her waist and back... She was being hugged?!

"Stickman captured successfully!"

Bai Ying happily lifted Feng Bin and Hua off the ground like pulling up radishes.

The unsettling feeling of being suspended with their feet off the ground, the tension of being forcibly held, and the chaotic feeling of their minds racing with thoughts—all these combined to cause a string of words to flash through Feng Bin and Hua's dazed minds.

I'm going to be pinned against the wall in a split, and then they'll go in and out of me until I give birth to eight babies!!!

Suddenly, their feet touched the ground, and before they could react, they stumbled to the side, instinctively reaching out to brace themselves against the wall. Looking up, they saw a white figure rushing towards the film set.

what--

Ahhhhh!

Chapter Seventeen: A Kind of Pain...

If you remove all the nonsensical parts from the script—such as the idea that if you gather all twelve heroes and hold a battle, the winner can have a wish granted; the idea that we siblings have a deep bond and deserve extra money; the idea that everyone should unite and help each other, and let me run first—it seems quite normal.

Calm down, and start to think that the script has some merits; I must be imagining things.

Based on the general script, individual character scripts, and scripts I saw from some of the actors, the plot of the entire film highlights a complex mix of emotions that transforms into a multitude of poisons.

On the edge of the set, Mai Sakurajima sat in a chair, studying the script carefully despite the mental strain. The challenge to her acting skills was much greater than that of the idol dramas she had filmed before.

The struggle for teen idol dramas is how to showcase individual characteristics within an overly normal, bland, and predictable plot devoid of any ups and downs.

The young director struggled with how to make the script appear normal to the audience amidst overly absurd, chaotic, and meaningless plots.

How should I act?

bang bang bang...

The footsteps suddenly drew closer.

Sakurajima Mai looked up in confusion, and a white figure charged towards her in the sprinting motion of a sprinter, followed by Toyohama Kazuka in the same pose, her face full of murderous intent.

Perhaps not wanting to disturb the filming, the two remained silent and quickly ran to Mai Sakurajima, circling the chair and changing direction repeatedly, one advancing while the other retreated, one going left while the other went right, and vice versa.

Fengbin and Hana couldn't catch the white figure, and stopped panting. They couldn't help but stomp their feet in frustration, pointing at the white figure standing behind Sakurajima Mai's chair: "Sister, look at him!"

Sakurajima Mai glanced behind her and said, "Yeah, I saw it—what did the hater do to make you angry this time?"

"Yes," Bai Ying said in surprise, "How did I make you angry?"

"..."

Feng Bin and Hua's expression froze. Recalling the events... if she had to put it that way, deliberately blocking the road? A primary school kid's tricks, it's not really that infuriating, is it? A hug? If it's between boyfriend and girlfriend, a hug doesn't seem like a problem—ahhh! She can't just think of weird things because of a hug, can she? But this guy was definitely doing it on purpose, deliberately, intentionally, maliciously!

Seeing her younger sister stammering and seemingly hesitant to speak, Mai Sakurajima raised an eyebrow and sighed, "I'm telling you guys—be serious when you're working. When it's time to work, concentrate. And Hana, don't pay any attention to the hater, and the hater, don't do anything weird..."

Bai Ying bent down from behind the chair, reached out, and wrapped her arms around Sakurajima Mai's shoulders, resting her chin on the top of her head. Her eyes were on the script in Sakurajima Mai's hand: "Are you seriously studying the script of a bad movie director? You're not giving up on yourself and preparing to add another label to your resume as a bad movie actor, are you?"

Sakurajima Mai froze for a moment, then swiftly raised her hand, pinched the white figure's cheek, and pulled hard, saying in a low, urgent voice, "Let go!"

The white figure released his grip at lightning speed. Sakurajima Mai looked at him blankly, pulled over a chair, and sat down. What did he mean by giving up so easily? Where did your persistent, annoying spirit go?

"Hmm? What's wrong? Isn't that enough?" Bai Ying hesitated. "Shouldn't you be more focused during work hours? It wouldn't be good if your colleagues saw you on set, would it? Isn't a simple hug to relax enough? Sigh, the Brave Plus is really good at being cute..."

Bai Ying sighed and opened her arms: "Come, let me give you the strength to work—"

I acknowledge your boomerang technique!

Mai Sakurajima remained expressionless, stepping directly on one of the white figures' feet and leaning forward slightly to steady herself.

"So just kick this guy."

Feng Bin and Hua grunted twice and then kicked Bai Ying in the shin.

“We’ll talk about teaching him a lesson when we get home.” Mai Sakurajima rubbed her temples, picked up the script, and asked, “Black Fan, is this script the director wrote... about something that actually happened, but with some random elements mixed in? There are twelve main characters in it. The ‘Chukuji Ni's radical young man’ that I play is the director’s second brother, and the ‘drinking, dreaming older woman’ that I’m playing is the director’s eldest sister…”

Feng Bin and Hua were stunned for a moment, then scratched their heads and pondered, "Speaking of which, the 'childhood autistic and socially anxious girl' I'm going to play does indeed know how to draw... Could it be Yu?"

“It’s normal artistic creation. Although the artistic creation of bad film directors has become abstract to another level, it will still contain some personal experiences and emotions.” Bai Ying reached out and took Sakurajima Mai’s script, quickly flipping through it. “Your character lacks explosiveness. It’s clear that you wanted to write a carefree character, but the otherworldly air is too far removed from the audience. And this poem is just a pretentious doggerel…”

Mai Sakurajima asked, "Most of my scenes involve drinking and talking in my sleep. How do you think I should act to make my scenes expressive enough?"

"Um……"

Bai Ying carefully studied the script, vaguely discerning some meaning, and laughed heartily: "To have the most powerful impact, naturally we should start with appearance!"

Mai Sakurajima: "?"

"Whew! I'm going to find a director of terrible movies to revise the script right now, she'll definitely be willing to do it!"

Bai Ying excitedly ran towards Nian with the script in her hand.

Mai Sakurajima's eyes twitched slightly, a sense of foreboding washing over her, but it was too late to stop it!

A moment later, after filming one scene, the director announced that they would immediately film several scenes involving Mai Sakurajima, and handed Mai a revised script.

……

……

The night was dark and the wind was high. The mountain village was desolate, and the ancient well was deep and secluded, echoing with mournful cries.

"Gurgle... Hahaha... Waaah... Huff... Gurgle gurgle..."

Strange sounds echoed, like someone laughing or crying, occasionally mixed with the sound of drowning bubbles.

The young girl held a large calligraphy brush in her hand, looking around cautiously. Suddenly, she noticed a Taoist robe and a wine gourd next to the ancient well.

"Huh? Isn't that my eldest sister..."

Snapped!

A pale, slender hand gripped the well opening, and a white-clad figure with damp, jet-black hair cascaded down, its face completely obscured, as it climbed out of the ancient well.

"Gulp! According to scientific research, there are no ghosts in the world. Ghosts are just people's curiosity... No, that's right... I'm just dreaming. In the dream, I only need to close my eyes and then open them again to wake up..."

The girl muttered something to herself, squeezed her eyes shut, and then opened them.

A damp, shadowy figure in white stood before them, long black hair completely obscuring their features; only a mumbled, indistinct voice could be heard: "...Xi..."

Clatter, clatter, clatter...

"Xi, what Xi? I didn't kill you! You, you, you, you, you, you, don't talk nonsense..."

The girl's teeth chattered, her whole body trembled, and she looked suspicious, thinking that this should be a person rather than a ghost.

She carefully turned the large calligraphy brush around and gently lifted the other person's long hair.

It has no face, only the back of its head.

Just then, a few dark clouds drifted by, obscuring the moon in the night sky, and shadows filled the girl's face.

"what--!"

Just then, a powerful shout rang out, instantly shattering the girl's trembling defenses.

She grunted, rolled her eyes, and stiffly lay back.

"The more I drink alone, the more awake I become; sitting for a long time, all sounds fade away. Gazing into the distance, the lights on the mountaintops are like new clothes. The bright moon smiles gently, and I sit in the green peaks, welcoming guests. Let's drink and be merry. I urge the wind to fill my cup to the brim and invite the night to play chess under the stars."

"Let us speak of a thousand years, discuss ten thousand generations, and not hasten the wine. Raise our cups in celebration, and let all things revel with me. If the evening is not yet over, let us stroll back and invite each other to the well, to continue our discussions of the past and present. Opening our eyes, we ask our good friends, 'What night is this?'"

The white-clad female ghost turned around, her steps unsteady, her voice booming. She held a calligraphy brush in the gesture of holding a cup, raising her arm to toast the moon in the sky. As if finally unable to hold back, she let out a few burps: "Burp... What night is this? What night burp... Oh... Isn't this tonight? Hahaha... Hmm... What night is this night!"

"Come, come, let's drink three hundred cups together tonight..."

The white-clad female ghost bent down, grabbed the limp girl by the collar, and swayed as she walked toward the well.

He muttered something again halfway through the journey.

"Hiccup... A well? How did I get here... Oh well, home is home..."

Just as the girl was about to be shoved into the well, she suddenly opened her eyes, and in her confusion, she exclaimed, "Big sister! Wake up! How did you end up sleeping in the well?!"

"Hiccup... Why can't a well sleep?"

There's water in the well!

"The so-called 'harmony between fish and water' is indeed pleasurable! Haha..."

"You're not a fish!"

"Fish! You can go there, hiccup—I can go there too!"

"Wake up! Stop pushing! Help! Someone help me!!!"

"Good boy... hiccup..."

"What do you mean 'be good'?! Big sister, wake up!"

"Be obedient!"

Screams, shouts, and murmurs instantly roused the village. Several villagers went outside to see what was happening, and there, under the moonlight, a figure in white with black hair, whose features were obscured, was trying to shove the screaming and struggling stranger into the well…

The sleepy villagers were instantly jolted awake by the scene.

"There's a ghost—!!!"

"Don't be afraid! There are many of us!"

"What the hell? Call the police!!"

The scene shifts to the police station.

The woman, dressed in a Taoist robe, with her hair neatly combed, revealing a beautiful face, exudes a mature yet carefree air befitting a nun, making it impossible to associate her with the water ghost of the mountain village.

"Name."

"Three three."

Why try to push someone into a well?

"Inviting someone to your home as a guest—pulling them in and not letting them leave."

"Is the well your home?"

"Thought it to be true".

"So what did you do last night?"

"Uh, last night... I must have slept in the well?"

Why are you sleeping in the well?

"The moon is in the well, and the moon wants me to drink some more."

"...Continue drinking?"

"We had just been drinking on the hilltop for a while when Moon couldn't outdrink me and left. But it wouldn't have given up and chased after me. It can really hold its liquor; it's a true friend."

"How much did you drink?"

"Most of the night."

"Are you sober yet?"

"As if awake."

"..."

The police officer was taking notes on the conversation, his mouth agape as he tried to suppress his urges, essentially doing a verbal exercise routine.

The woman took out a gourd from her waist, pulled out the stopper... and suddenly noticed the policeman's gaze.

"There's water in here."