Chapter 187: Seeing The Letter
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
Xi Mo lowered her head a little and stared at the bowl in front of her.
The hotpot soup bubbled and rolled. Steam filled the air. She didn't eat much. After she heard that she had to film a kissing scene with Ruan Yesheng, she seemed stunned.
Ruan Yesheng’s heart pounded. Out of the corner of her eye, she carefully glanced at Xi Mo.
She really wanted to know how Xi Mo would react.
Xi Mo seemed to notice it, and her gaze slid over to Ruan Yesheng.
Their eyes met in the rising white steam and hotpot smell. It felt even hotter than the steam, so they quickly looked away.
Seeing that both of them suddenly went silent, Gu Ru said, “What, do you both feel it’s hard to film this kissing scene?”
“...No.” Ruan Yesheng felt full of excitement and disbelief inside, but she looked much calmer on the surface and even smiled a little. “This is work, and it’s also for the film. If it can make the movie better, then of course I’m fine with it.”
She also trusted Gu Ru. Since Gu Ru wanted to film it this way, she must have her reasons.
Gu Ru had a sharp eye. She didn't film bad scripts, and she dared to film. Even if some content wasn't allowed, she would take many detours and quietly bury hidden clues everywhere, just waiting for people who truly understood her films to dig out the treasure.
Films couldn't be too bloody, but Gu Ru could use color tone, close-ups of actions, and camera language together to create killing scenes. They shook people deep into their souls, yet didn't make them feel uncomfortable at all.
In her early years, Gu Ru once filmed a movie with two female leads. Film lovers in the industry treated it as a classic. They watched her film with magnifying glasses. In the end, they found that Gu Ru had actually filmed a bed scene in it. But when it was released, the audience basically didn't notice it. The screen showed no direct shots. Later, Gu Ru’s fans used clues, logic, and props to conclude that the two female leads did have a bed scene, and they listed and proved it in detail.
People first thought it was touching friendship. Who knew it was love.
Ruan Yesheng’s generous response satisfied Gu Ru. Gu Ru nodded and looked at Xi Mo.
“Xi Mo, what do you think?” Gu Ru asked.
“I...” Xi Mo frowned slightly, and the look in her eyes was a bit complex.
Ruan Yesheng watched carefully, but she couldn't read Xi Mo’s thoughts right away. She was afraid Xi Mo would be unhappy, and even more afraid Xi Mo would refuse Gu Ru’s request. Few actors dared to say no to a famous director like Gu Ru, but she knew Xi Mo can.
Xi Mo never did things she didn't want to do. She didn't film kissing scenes before, and she truly never did.
When she said one, it was one.
And she had the ability to do that.
But Ruan Yesheng’s turbulent feelings soon calmed down, and even guilt rose. She realized she was secretly happy about getting a chance to film a kissing scene with Xi Mo. Was this not trying to use filming as an excuse to get close to Xi Mo?
Especially when Xi Mo might not accept it.
The more Ruan Yesheng thought about it, the more guilty she felt. On one hand, she was happy about the possible chance. She liked Xi Mo, and she couldn't control that. Any closeness from Xi Mo made her lose control. On the other hand, she felt like she was taking advantage of Xi Mo.
If... Xi Mo could truly agree to this kissing scene from her heart and not mind it, that would be best. She didn't want Xi Mo to force herself.
“I think this snowfield kissing scene is very important.” Gu Ru’s expression turned serious. When she talked about film, she always carried deep sincerity. “Although the kiss itself will not be cut into the final film, the aftertaste and reactions after the kiss are essential for deeply explaining the feelings between Xiao Ruojin and Yu Miao, and for shaping the film’s mood.”
Gu Ru paused, then said, “Xi Mo, I can accept any form of feeling in this world. It has nothing to do with gender, only with love. Of course, this is only my personal view. I can’t use it as a standard to demand others. If you truly can’t accept this way, you can tell me. I won’t force you. But I still want to try. I hope you can film it, because this scene is very important to the work.”
When Gu Ru said this, there seemed to be sparks in her eyes. They came from her burning love for film.
Xi Mo looked at Gu Ru, then her gaze finally fell on Ruan Yesheng’s face. She looked into Ruan Yesheng’s eyes and said, “I’ll film it.”
Ruan Yesheng froze.
Xi Mo quickly withdrew her gaze and said to Gu Ru, “I’m an actor of the “Seeing This Letter…” crew. Since I took this film and signed the contract with you, I’ll complete it as agreed.”
Gu Ru smiled sincerely. “That’s good. I’m relieved. I know you’re someone who values promises. Once you agree, you’ll do it. I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you everything at the start. In my view, you’re the perfect choice for Xiao Ruojin. To get you to agree, I admit I used some ‘methods.’ Please forgive me.”
“You’re being so polite that I’m not used to it,” Xi Mo said flatly.
Only she dared to talk to Gu Ru like that.
Gu Ru laughed even more and raised her glass to drink.
Ruan Yesheng lowered her head to cook food, and she couldn't hide the smile on her lips.
After eating hotpot, Gu Ru still had things to do and left by car. Only Ruan Yesheng and Xi Mo walked back to the crew hotel together.
It was already late at night. The temperature outside was very low. The cold wind slapped people’s faces and hurt. There were not many people outside the hotel. Ruan Yesheng stood in overlapping lights and shadows and looked at the dark sky. She felt some cold rain drifting down.
“Beijing is really cold.” Ruan Yesheng said meaningfully. “Maybe it will snow tomorrow?”
When Xi Mo heard this, her body suddenly tensed. She also looked up at the sky, then quietly took out her phone to check.
Ruan Yesheng glanced over and saw that she was checking the weather forecast. She almost laughed to death and said, “I just said it might snow tomorrow, and you’re already so nervous. You even checked the weather?”
Her eyes looked bright and shining under the lights around them. She lowered her voice. “Are you really that scared to film a kissing scene with me?”
Xi Mo: “...”
“No.” Xi Mo coughed lightly and put away her phone. “It’s just work. What’s there to be scared of?”
The wind blew even harder. Ruan Yesheng wasn't in a hurry to return to the hotel. She just looked at Xi Mo. “You’ve never filmed a kissing scene. You don’t have someone you like, and you’ve never practiced. Then do you... know how to kiss?”
The wind carried her words to Xi Mo’s ears. Xi Mo shuddered.
Xi Mo didn't answer.
“Can it be that you don’t know how?” Ruan Yesheng smiled without smiling. Her voice was full of teasing breath.
Xi Mo’s cheeks suddenly grew strangely hot. She thought of the dream she had in Yan Niang’s bar, the one where she was with Ruan Yesheng in the bathroom. At the most critical moment, she had apologized to Ruan Yesheng in the dream and said she... didn't know how.
A strange impulse surged up. As if to prove herself, Xi Mo said seriously, “Who says I don’t know? Even if I haven’t eaten pork, I’ve seen pigs run*.”
*没吃过猪肉，也见过猪跑 (méi chī guò zhū ròu, yě jiàn guò zhū pǎo) even if someone lacks direct experience, they still have some knowledge or understanding of a subject.
Ruan Yesheng laughed. “Then how many pigs have you seen run?”
Xi Mo: “...”
“You say it like you’re very skilled?” Xi Mo was unhappy. “When we acted together and ate cherries before, didn’t you say that was your... first kiss?”
Her voice lowered at the end.
Ruan Yesheng smiled in her eyes. She linked arms with her and leaned to her ear. “That was my first kiss, yes. But... I know how. If you don’t believe it, when we film, you can... feel it?”
Heat seemed to rise on Xi Mo’s neck. The rain threads from the sky fell on her skin and instantly cooled it.
Ruan Yesheng gently let go of her and walked toward the hotel entrance. She looked back and hooked a glance at her.
Xi Mo quickly followed and walked in, side by side with Ruan Yesheng.
The next day, the Seeing This Letter Is Like Meeting You In Person crew officially started filming.
Most crews were very superstitious. It was an unwritten rule to hold a starting ceremony on the first day. But Gu Ru always went her own way and didn't believe in that. She did none of those empty things and went straight to the point.
The first shot filmed was the first scene from the script reading, Yu Miao’s opening death scene.
The set was Yu Miao’s home. In the film, Yu Miao’s home was extremely important. Her lonely daily life, her warm times with Xiao Ruojin, and the heavy scene of the mastermind entering the house were all shown here.
Gu Ru spent a lot of effort choosing it and finally selected this old house. The house was quiet. Ivy climbed part of the walls. It was winter now, and the leaves were withered, showing a weak feeling. It matched the picture Gu Ru wanted.
As the film’s timeline changed, the layout of the house would also change. Sometimes the change was very hard to notice. It might just be the position of a cup on the table, but that was the key evidence of time passing.
The house had three floors and was rented out. Yu Miao was one of the tenants. There were nine other tenants, forming a group portrait. As the film moved forward, they provided plot clues to different degrees.
In the film, Yu Miao had depression and lived alone. She was a comic artist and serialized a comic online. It was a suspense comic. It wasn't popular, but because of its unique plot and art style, it still had a group of loyal readers.
Xiao Ruojin came from a wealthy family and was capable. She had her own publishing company.
They lived in two different worlds with no connection and lived their own lives.
Until Xiao Ruojin bought a villa. The villa had a former owner, but that owner passed away, so it was sold. Xiao Ruojin liked it and moved in.
Many flowers were planted in the villa. In her free time, Xiao Ruojin liked to take care of them. In the basement, she found a very delicate mailbox. She found it interesting and placed it outside the villa gate.
It was an age of fast information exchange. The internet had long replaced letters. Almost no one wrote letters anymore. Xiao Ruojin also didn't have the habit of writing letters. Putting a mailbox outside was mainly for decoration.
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
Sometimes, letters still arrived in the mailbox, mostly from banks or other companies, and they were not important.
But one day, Xiao Ruojin found a letter inside. There was no signature. She didn't know who sent it or where it was meant to go. But there was a strange stamp in the top right corner.
She opened it and found a letter inside. The handwriting was neat and graceful.
It said, “I saw a saying that if you bury a letter underground, it can be sent to another self in the world. This saying is ridiculous, but I still tried it. If I have a friend in this world, then it must only be myself, right?”
The words were full of deep loneliness.
Xiao Ruojin took the letter home.
A few days later, she went to the mailbox again and received another blank envelope. When she opened it, the paper inside had the same familiar handwriting.
This letter was simple. It said, “Cutting wrists must hurt a lot. I’m very afraid of pain.”
Xiao Ruojin frowned as she looked at these words.
This didn't feel like a letter.
It felt more like diary-style self-talk.
She thought someone nearby saw her mailbox and put these letters in to pour out their feelings. She didn't think it was a prank. Since someone put it in, maybe that person would come to check the mailbox. So this time, she didn't take the letter away. She wrote a line under it.
Xiao Ruojin wrote, “Life is the most precious. If you need help, please come find me.”
That night, after Xiao Ruojin came back from a walk, she checked the mailbox again.
There was another letter.
It was still from the same person. This time, the content clearly changed. It was no longer self-talk, but had a sense of dialogue.
There were only five words, “Excuse me, who are you?”
Author's Note:
Seeing This Letter Is Like Meeting You In Person.
“I saw the words you wrote to me, just like you’re right in front of my eyes.”
Filming begins.
