After Saving The Villain, He Had Sex With The Female Ghost. Chapter 10
byChapter 10 Yu Mansion (VII)
Director Zheng sounded like he was in a good mood. Chu Yu asked, “Director Zheng, did you see the trending topic?”
“I did, yes, it’s great. Our movie is going to make a name for itself. Just wait and enjoy the ride,” Director Zheng said with a chuckle.
Hearing this, Chu Yu understood. She exchanged a few polite words and hung up the phone. Given the usual behavior in the industry, the photos were definitely spread intentionally by Director Zheng, and she probably even bought the trending topic herself.
The only person truly concerned about this crisis, frankly speaking, was Chu Yu herself.
The next day, despite the major incident, the crew still reported to work as usual. Under Director Zheng’s coercion and persuasion, everyone in the group arrived, except for Chengzi, who should have been recuperating in the hospital but was currently resting at Chu Yu’s home.
After the shocking events at Yu Mansion, everyone looked listless today. The lead actress had been scared nearly unconscious several times by Chu Yu. Outside the set, various media outlets crowded with their long lenses and cameras, all waiting for a big show.
No drama unfolded. During a break, Chu Yu picked up the script to continue studying it. She had been too busy lately, worrying about Chengzi, thinking about Li Heru’s whereabouts, and memorizing lines. Her brain felt like a waterlogged sponge, heavy and stuffed inside a paper skull, ready to collapse at the slightest pressure.
The film had now reached the point where Huaisang had finished killing and entered her recollection phase. In Huaisang’s memoir, she was no longer a pitiful youth toyed with by fate, but had blackened into a vengeful ghost. Her cause of death changed from “being caught wearing the mistress’s clothes, mistaken for a capitalist’s brat by an angry mob, and hanged” to “being discovered stealing by the mistress, going on a killing spree, and finally being beaten to death by the swarming crowd.”
Strange, this absurd direction didn’t seem like something Director Zheng, a person who pursued art, would write.
The previous plot was somewhat consistent with Meizhi’s background, showing that Director Zheng had researched Yu Mansion thoroughly. However, the latter half of the plot collapsed, turning a complex, rounded character into a boring stereotype.
“Director Zheng, I need to speak with you.” Chu Yu walked toward her with the script. Director Zheng was on the phone. Just as Chu Yu was about to leave, Director Zheng said to the person on the other end, “Yes, good. Come over now,” and hung up.
“What is it?” Director Zheng asked, smiling. Chu Yu voiced her opinions, omitting Meizhi’s specific cause of death, only expressing her confusion.
Director Zheng listened, smiled without speaking, and then lightly tossed out a sentence: “I think respecting the original prototype is more important.”
? Respect what? Respect the prototype?
Utterly helpless, the contracted worker had no choice. Chu Yu had to return to the set. This time, she wasn’t playing a ghost; she was playing the living Huaisang, with two braids and simple cloth clothing, looking very lively and energetic.
The actress originally playing Huaisang’s friend was called over by Director Zheng. Everyone was confused. A few minutes later, the actress left, wiping away tears.
The crew stopped working and waited for a long time. Then, someone emerged from the makeup room—pale, with almond eyes, and looking a bit shy.
Chengzi walked out wearing the costume of Huaisang’s friend. Director Zheng put her arm around Chengzi and introduced her to everyone: “Chengzi, she’s replacing Xiao Na, playing Huaisang’s friend, A Fen.”
Everyone applauded in welcome. Chu Yu rubbed her face, confirming she wasn’t dreaming.
While everyone dispersed to prepare for filming, Chu Yu leaned close to Chengzi and whispered, “Why are you here?”
“Director Zheng contacted me, first asking about my health, then saying she wanted to give me a role where I show my face. She said it was best if I came today,” Chengzi whispered back.
As far as Chu Yu knew, the actress who was dismissed was connected to an investor. Was Director Zheng risking offending an investor just to give Chengzi a role?
Soon, Chu Yu understood why Director Zheng wanted Chengzi here.
It was because Meizhi had also arrived.
Meizhi’s body was gnawed and looked like mangy dog skin. She grinned maniacally and lunged straight for Chengzi. Ming Wanli wasn’t present today. Everyone saw the light bulbs in the room flicker wildly, and Chengzi was being choked, unable to scream. The cameraman once again dropped the camera and ran out. Chu Yu leaned against the wall, feeling a bit faint.
Everything felt like a loop. The only difference was that Director Zheng immediately picked up the camera and started filming Chengzi while cursing, completely ignoring the furious ghost in front of her.
Meizhi bit Chengzi’s neck. Chu Yu grabbed an incense burner and smashed it toward her. The burner hit Meizhi’s forehead, but she was unfazed, looking determined to achieve her goal.
Chengzi’s face was paper-white. She opened her mouth to scream but couldn’t. To a normal person, she was floating in the air in an arc, an extremely terrifying sight.
Just then, Director Zheng shoved Chu Yu aside. The dark hole of the camera, like a gun muzzle, aimed closely at Chengzi’s horrific state.
This action enraged Meizhi. She raised her face and looked coldly at the lens. Director Zheng didn’t notice. Her expression was frantic, and she moved even closer.
“Get away! Stop filming!” Chu Yu yelled as she ran toward her, but she was too late. The next moment, Chu Yu watched Director Zheng fly backward, slamming hard into the wall. She clutched her chest and dry-heaved a few times. Meizhi released Chengzi and turned toward Director Zheng.
Chu Yu seized the opportunity to pull Chengzi into her arms. She hadn’t intended to save the self-destructive Director Zheng and was dragging Chengzi toward the stairs. However, when they reached the doorway, she saw that Meizhi hadn’t attacked Director Zheng.
Meizhi lowered her head and sniffed Director Zheng’s neck, a look of confusion on her face: “You’re clearly not the bloodline of that family, so why do you smell like them?”
Director Zheng leaned against the wall, gasping for breath, seemingly unaware of Meizhi’s presence.
Meizhi looked somewhat lost. At this moment, she finally looked like a fifteen-year-old youth. However, the next second,
A talisman drawn with cinnabar slapped onto Meizhi. Instantly, crackling electrical sparks flew. She shrieked, but the current wrapped tighter and tighter. Finally, with a clang, Meizhi fell straight onto the floor, unconscious.
Director Zheng wiped the corner of her mouth and said calmly, “Fortunately, Ming Wanli left me a protective talisman, otherwise I would have truly fallen into the hands of this beast today.”
Director Zheng slowly stood up. Outside the window, dark clouds obscured the sun, and the light inside the room was dim. Against the light, Chu Yu couldn’t see her expression clearly.
“Take Chengzi to rest well. You’ve worked hard, but in the future, please don’t interfere when I am working,” she said.
Chu Yu put Chengzi down and slowly picked up a prop golf club nearby. She pursed her lips: “Chengzi was your bait. How much do you know about this ghost… Who are you?”
Director Zheng didn’t answer. A casual voice came from the corridor: “She is a descendant of the person who hanged Meizhi back then.”
Hearing the voice, Chu Yu snapped her head around, only to see Li Heru, who had been missing for a long time, walk in with a slight smile, wearing a sharply tailored gray outfit. Behind her followed the old woman, whose eyes were swollen from crying.
After not seeing her for several days, the peacock was displaying its feathers. Chu Yu’s neck was stiff, unsure what to say.
Li Heru approached her, gently squeezed her hand, and then turned to look at Director Zheng. “If you hadn’t sent Ming Wanli to hunt me down, I wouldn’t bother getting involved in this mess. But now that I’m in, none of you should expect to have an easy time.”
Li Heru flicked her finger, and the net of heaven and earth that bound Meizhi instantly vanished. The old woman rushed forward, tears streaming down her face.
Director Zheng’s face was terrible. She clenched her fists and gritted her teeth: “Where is Ming Wanli? What did you do to her?”
“Dead,” Li Heru said. Chu Yu glanced at her and, seeing no resentment energy above her head indicating she had killed someone, felt relieved.
Director Zheng’s eyes widened, her expression momentarily tearing apart: “I should have focused on dealing with you earlier, instead of letting this dead ghost distract me.”
Had Li Heru been hunted by Ming Wanli during the days she disappeared? Combining the fragments of conversation and Director Zheng’s previous abnormalities, Chu Yu realized something.
“The person who killed Meizhi back then was your ancestor, but Meizhi didn’t recognize you, which means you’re not blood-related. Are you adopted?” Chu Yu frowned.
This also explained why Director Zheng insisted on portraying Meizhi as a flat villain—because her ancestors were the murderers, and she was trying to whitewash them.
Chengzi stammered, “Is your sister Zheng Ping?” Everyone’s attention immediately focused on Chengzi.
Chengzi looked uncomfortable but still said tremblingly, “I heard my grandmother say that among the families cursed back then, only ours and the Zheng family were left. The Zheng family was the first to suggest hanging that girl, so they suffered the heaviest punishment.
I heard that the first child of this generation, Zheng Ping, had her head chopped off by a ghost when she was a teenager. Since then, their family has never had another child. They only adopted a girl after Zheng Ping’s death, praying that the non-blood-related girl would survive.”
Chu Yu immediately thought of the headless youth wandering in Yu Mansion. This seemingly ordinary haunted house had such a tragic and terrifying history. For a moment, everyone fell silent.
The old woman’s tears dried in her eye sockets. She trembled as she asked, “What are you going to do with Meizhi?”
“A proper send-off.” “Grind her bones to dust!” Chu Yu’s and Director Zheng’s voices rang out one after the other. Their eyes met, and the air was thick with gunpowder.
Neither backed down. Chu Yu sneered, “Why don’t we hear Meizhi’s opinion?” She kicked the closed-eyed Meizhi. Li Heru cast a small spell so Director Zheng could hear Meizhi speak.
Meizhi had been awake for a while. Forced by the two factions fighting over her fate, she didn’t dare speak and simply played dead. Now that she was suddenly called out, she had no choice but to stagger to her feet.
“I… I think staying as I am is quite good…” Two dagger-like glares were thrown her way. Meizhi swallowed: “I choose a proper send-off.”
Chu Yu clapped her hands: “I respect her opinion. Do you have any lingering obsessions? Can you tell me now?” she asked Meizhi.
“I…” Meizhi looked left and right, thinking that since her past was completely exposed anyway, she might as well go all out: “Don’t film me as a villain in this movie. I had my reasons. Also, can you please not film the part where I was beaten to death for secretly wearing the mistress’s clothes? It’s too embarrassing. Change it to a more dignified death.”
Director Zheng scoffed, “Then let’s grind her bones to dust.”
Chu Yu raised an eyebrow and pointed to the timid old woman beside them: “Don’t you have anything to say to her?” Meizhi’s face stiffened. She turned her face away from everyone. The old woman embraced her and pleaded, “It’s not embarrassing at all. I know you had your reasons, and I truly was wrong…”
The old woman was about to say more, but Meizhi quickly covered her mouth. The two limped toward a side room.
Chengzi was still shaken: “She won’t run away, will she?” Chu Yu smiled as she watched them: “She won’t.”