Chapter 127: Absolutely Thrilling

The finished short film was expected to run only five minutes, but the amount of footage shot was several times that. Since many of the scenes were difficult to film, they could not possibly wrap everything in just a day or two.

After the hardships of the first day, the second and third went much more smoothly. The work consisted either of filming indoors against a blue screen or shooting dialogue scenes on location, both of which were far more comfortable than being suspended in the air for long periods.

The indoor blue-screen scenes were the sort in which the script provided the setting, everyone imagined the rest, and the background was added later through special effects.

The main purpose was to include more of the game's breathtaking scenery, landscapes that would be nearly impossible to find in the real world.

Even the rooftop scenes filmed on the first day would later be filled with distant vistas from the game—what someone standing at that height ought to see, and so on. The goal was to promote the game, which meant not wasting a single second of those five minutes.

Still, Chu Luoxi found the second day's shoot rather painful. She had been suspended far too brutally on the first day, leaving every muscle in her body aching exactly as if she had overexerted herself through intense exercise.

Since there was no great rush to finish filming, Li Xun had the crew work for half a day and rest for the other half. Chu Luoxi was extremely surprised. Director Li was famous for his eccentric temper, but clearly he was not entirely devoid of human feeling.

“How are you today? Are you still sore?” Xiao Jingxuan asked worriedly. It was rare to see Chu Luoxi so listless. Fortunately, she maintained a spirited appearance whenever she faced the camera; otherwise, Li Xun would probably have exploded.

In truth, Chu Luoxi's condition was already quite good. She suffered only a moderate degree of muscle soreness. For some people, even if it was not their first time, being suspended in the air at such an intense height could leave them vomiting from the motion, with their limbs gone limp and their bodies unable to take in food. That was what truly looked frightening. Fortunately, Chu Luoxi had none of those symptoms, though Xiao Jingxuan was still deeply worried, knowing it was her first time.

“A little. Much better now.” Looking limp and languid, Chu Luoxi picked up her chopsticks and began to eat. Her appetite was not especially good, but at least she could still manage a meal.

Muscle soreness was terribly unpleasant, so whenever she did not need to appear alert, her expression became somewhat dull and weary. This was a clear warning that she needed to strengthen her physical training. The little martial arts practice she did in ordinary times was nowhere near enough to cope with a situation like this.

“Big Brother Lan, find me a gym sometime soon. I really need to start exercising.” Chu Luoxi turned to Lan Lun, who was sitting nearby. Her entire body seemed languid, and a sudden, alluring quality had entered her demeanor.

Lan Lun, who considered himself well acquainted with every kind of beauty, could not help staring for a moment. He quickly recovered, however, and nodded in agreement. At the same time, he instinctively glanced toward Xiao Jingxuan. Seeing that the great god was staring off into space with shining eyes, apparently oblivious to everyone else's reactions, Lan Lun finally relaxed from the bottom of his heart.

He knew his childhood friend too well. He had no desire to endure that inexplicable killing intent. Besides, the man was extraordinarily vindictive. Only those who had grown up with him, such as Lan Lun and Leng Lu, knew just how petty the great god could be.

“Make it quick. I start my internship in the second half of the year. If I have to go through this again, I won't need to film anything at all,” Chu Luoxi muttered with a sigh. Being an actress was physical labor too.

Having Lan Lun find the place for her was essential. Lady Rou had brought her far greater fame than she had expected, and with this promotional video on top of that, she was afraid she might be recognized even in an ordinary gym.

What troubled her was not actually being recognized, but what would happen afterward. If some commotion broke out and she had to clean up the mess afterward, she might as well find a comfortable gym from the beginning. Fans were not a problem. What depressed her was the omnipresent paparazzi. If they used the incident to write another round of outrageous reports, the favorable situation she had worked so hard to establish would be ruined.

Once one's reputation deteriorated, restoring it was extremely difficult.

The promotional short progressed slowly not only because the filming was difficult, but also because of the frequent costume changes. The cast had to change outfits repeatedly from head to toe, inside and out, which consumed a great deal of time.

Flowers blossomed in profusion, a riot of brilliant colors. Amid that breathtaking scenery stood a pair of lovers as radiant as immortals. They turned back to look at each other and exchanged a smile of a hundred charms. The tenderness in that single glance seemed to last for a thousand years, leaving everyone with nothing but envy and longing.

Expressing the story through their eyes was already second nature to Chu Luoxi and Xiao Jingxuan. They had worked together twice before and had done this sort of thing several times, so they handled it with practiced ease. Compared with performances that required physical contact and expended real effort, this was wonderfully comfortable.

After five days, filming was finally complete. Ironically, Chu Luoxi was feeling more energetic by then, because nearly all her soreness had disappeared. The timing was almost absurd.

After Great God Xiao treated everyone to a lavish meal, the small crew disbanded. Xiao Jingxuan would take care of everything that remained.

With nothing weighing on her, Chu Luoxi returned to school and began preparing for her final examinations. At the same time, she gradually completed the necessary paperwork. Once she entered her internship in the second half of the year, she would have far less time to return to school.

After several years as classmates, everyone was about to go their separate ways. As the final examinations approached, more and more people began inviting one another out for meals, and Chu Luoxi and her two friends were invited most often.

Among their classmates, the three of them had done the best for themselves. They had already made a name for themselves, so everyone wanted to strengthen their ties with them. If they ever needed help in the future, it would be good to have someone willing to respond.

It was simply a normal exchange of goodwill. Those who had not yet achieved anything did not necessarily lack promise for the future. Since no one had any grudge against anyone else, there was no need to make enemies. Thus, whenever they had time, the three of them accepted every invitation. They even discussed inviting the entire class, along with several teachers, to a meal of their own.

The bonds between everyone grew stronger at astonishing speed.

Ah, that youth which was about to pass away. Chu Luoxi smacked her lips and sighed repeatedly.

While the other students were filled with the excitement of graduation and the novelty of searching for work, her state of mind had already grown old. She could no longer feel that sense of something precious slipping away forever.

Once the examinations ended, everything was over. Dragging her luggage behind her, Chu Luoxi leisurely moved into the apartment Lan Lun had found for her long before. It was a high-rise apartment, chosen mainly because she had heard the property management was capable and the surroundings were pleasant. She had no objections at all.

That evening, however, Chu Luoxi discovered that the person living opposite her was none other than the great god himself. She was thoroughly dumbfounded. What was Big Brother Lan playing at? Why had he not told her about something so important beforehand?

He had left her standing there like an idiot, giving Xiao Jingxuan yet another chance to laugh at her for no reason.

Well, she had never had much of an image to preserve in front of the great god anyway. She had already made a great many jokes of herself, so one more hardly mattered.

With so many lice already on her head, she might as well stop caring. She had simply decided to let the situation collapse completely.

“Heh-heh, Senior Brother Xiao. I didn't know you lived here too!” Chu Luoxi scratched her head and asked foolishly.

The expression on her face and the awkward movement of her hand revealed that she had no idea how she was supposed to react. This unexpected surprise was simply too stimulating.

“Yes.” Xiao Jingxuan smiled faintly.

At once, it felt as though the whole world had burst into bloom. He had not been laughing at her in the slightest.