Free Web NovelChapter 148: Chapter 139: Coming_2
"Director Ding, this is our school’s old faculty dormitory. It hasn’t been used in years, and the building is quite dilapidated. Principal Wu suggests that you find another place to film. He is considering your safety, you see..."
The man spoke politely, but Director Ding directly rejected the suggestion, "Thank you for Principal Wu’s kind offer, but we’re here to uncover the truth, and that’s also Ms. Shengnan’s original intention."
Upon hearing the name ’Ms. Shengnan’, the man’s face turned unsightly, but it was only for an instant before he regained his composure, "Alright, then please suit yourselves. Here are the keys."
Taking the keys from the man, Director Ding frowned, "Wait, why are there only three keys?"
"Oh, I forgot to mention. The three rooms on the left are dormitories and correspond to these three keys. Don’t go into that small room on the very right; it was previously a storage room. It’s quite messy, and the key has been lost," the man explained before tactfully taking his leave.
As darkness fell, the group approached the building and unlocked each of the three doors in turn. The rooms were very dim, as the man had said. It looked like they hadn’t been lived in for a long time, with a layer of dust on the floor and a stale odor in the air.
Surprisingly, the lights in the rooms still worked—old-fashioned square black switches that flipped up and down.
All three rooms had a dormitory layout: a wooden bed, one or two old desks—the kind discarded by students—and a line strung across the room, presumably for drying clothes. The rooms were small and poorly lit, giving an oppressive feeling after a while.
After inspecting all three rooms, Director Ding chose the one on the far left, which was in a slightly better state of preservation. He then directed his crew to clean and set up the scene in preparation for the upcoming shoot.
Once everything was ready, Director Ding called Yang Xiao and Nie Hexiang over to discuss the plot on the spot, "Chu Xi, after careful consideration, I’ve decided you’re better suited to play the disturbed male teacher than Song Yan. There’s a certain unique quality about you. I can’t put my finger on it, but you have great potential."
Yang Xiao: "Thank you, Director Ding!" ƒгeewebnovёl.com
"Tonight’s scene involves the male teacher, who, after a day of testing, can no longer suppress the urges within and plans to make a move on his student. So after school, under the pretense of sharing music and teaching her to dance, you invite her to your remote dormitory. You used to have a local teacher living next door, but you concocted a reason to send him home."
"Tonight is the perfect opportunity for your move. You must display the male teacher’s desire and madness. After several unsuccessful tests, you will finally drop your pretense and prepare to use force, even hit her... the prop will be that workbook—the same one you used to teach problem-solving in the classroom earlier in the day!"
"Yes, that’s right, the workbook! The one you were using to teach the students during the day. We’ll do a close-up of it. By day, you are a gardener, nurturing your students. By night, you transform into a crazed demon. We want to highlight the extreme contrast, the lofty profession hiding an ugly soul."
"And remember, when you start hitting her, you must say your lines. Hang on a second." Director Ding rummaged through his pocket, pulled out a crumpled piece of paper and read it in the dim light, "You have to shout it out loud, ’You despicable creatures, for thousands of years have been nothing but appendages to men, mere tools. I will beat you to death today, and see who can save you?!’
"This line is a must. You can improvise the rest, but it must be in this style. You understand what I mean, right?"
"!!??"
Yang Xiao was stunned. What kind of nonsensical lines were these? Could a normal person say such things? They didn’t seem like the words of a scriptwriter but rather those of petty instigators of trouble.
"This... these lines are really odd, aren’t they? And Director Ding, I must remind you that this dialogue is a bit inappropriate. If it actually appears in the movie, I’m afraid we’ll be criticized out of the industry," Tang Cui couldn’t keep silent even though it wasn’t her scene.
Unexpectedly, Director Ding’s mouth curled into a smile, and his eyes narrowed, "Criticized? That’s exactly what we want! How else will we generate buzz? Notoriety is still fame; we’re taking an unconventional approach. Don’t worry about the rest; that’s Ms. Shengnan’s business. We just need to follow the requirements and shoot."
Yang Xiao didn’t really care what they were shooting; after all, the movie was never going to be released. However, from the malicious dialogue and the director’s arrangements, it was clear that this movie was not so simple. More crucially, a crew member brought in a square cassette player and placed it in the corner of the room. Under the dim light, this scene felt eerily familiar.
Yang Xiao quickly remembered where he had seen it before: in the script box. There was a photograph of the exact scene he was now looking at—an old desk with a red square cassette player on top, set against the backdrop of a small, cramped concrete house.
Without a doubt, they had recreated that very scene.
Rain suddenly started to pour from the sky without warning, falling rapidly. The sound of raindrops hitting the leaves of trees created a pitter-patter sound, and everyone had a bad premonition, but Director Ding was unusually excited.
"This is perfect, heaven is helping me! Chu Xi, shoot quickly. And Xia Xiuyan, you need to enter the scene soon—the rain at night, a kind female teacher braves the rain to come over, but just happens to see a male teacher committing violence through the window!"
"Lighting, pay attention to the lighting. When the female teacher appears, find a good angle. The light on the female teacher’s face should be soft. Chu Xi, you should look down at that moment, your profile hidden in the darkness. Remember, we want to keep the angles sharp—that’s a prominent male feature. Just one point—emphasize the gender characteristics of the two characters, good versus evil. We must show the contrast between male and female roles, it has to be a contrast!!"
"Fucking hell, you guys are really cruel," muttered Lu Ji, standing not far away.
Unexpectedly, Director Ding had ears sharper than a donkey’s and immediately turned his head in that direction to question him, "Lu Ji, what are you mumbling about?"
"I was saying Director Ding is very insightful!" Lu Ji quickly echoed insincerely.
Soon, under Director Ding’s command, the plot officially began. Yang Xiao and Nie Hexiang ran into the dormitory through the rain. Nie Hexiang was very considerate, worried that the teacher might be cold, she took the initiative to start a fire in the charcoal stove. Meanwhile, Yang Xiao, standing behind her, was staring at her intently.
Nie Hexiang’s upper body was soaked by the rain, and her entire body emitted a scent akin to tempting blood, while Yang Xiao was like a wicked wolf lurking in the darkness.
With trembling fingertips, Yang Xiao clenched his hands so tightly that his knuckles turned slightly pale under the pressure. He was ready to strike several times but held himself back each time, knowing it wasn’t the right moment. Despite the heavy rain, it wasn’t enough yet.
He turned around, took out his beloved cassette player, and pressed the play button. The dynamic rhythm spilled out, and in that moment, the beast within overpowered his sanity. He pounced, grabbed Nie Hexiang’s clothes, his ferocious face becoming even more terrifying in the dim light.
Nie Hexiang’s screams and pleas for mercy were drowned out by the music and the noise of the rain, and no one knew of the sins being committed in that room. In the struggle, Nie Hexiang surprisingly erupted with tremendous strength, pushing the beastly Yang Xiao away, which, of course, had been planned in advance.
Enraged by the humiliation, Yang Xiao grabbed a workbook and lashed out at Nie Hexiang, "You lowly creatures are born to serve others, pretending to be chaste martyrs. Don’t you just want money? I can give it to you, as long as you..."
Next, it was Xia Xiuyan’s turn to enter the scene. Yang Xiao was calculating the timing, but in the next second—
"Bang!"
The window shattered, glass shards scattered everywhere, and a stone smashed through the glass, hitting the wall. It rebounded and almost hit Yang Xiao.
A bolt of lightning streaked across the rainy night, and for a moment, Yang Xiao froze. With the brief illumination, he caught a glimpse of a figure outside the window, standing on the small, disordered dirt hill behind the dormitory, dressed in a beige suit amidst the storm.
"Aah! Aaah!!" Nie Hexiang let out a piercing scream, collapsing to the ground. She too had seen it.
