tiantianyingshi

Before they started filming, Ye Zian told Liu Man and Yang Huayue, “Just act like you did when you were auditioning. Liu Man added a line at that time, and I think it’s great. I’ve already had it added into the script.”

Liu Man and Yang Huayue had already changed into their high school uniform, which was in blue and white. The duo were both tall and skinny, and when they wore these huge uniforms, the uniform was big enough to cover their butt. Their body curves couldn’t be seen, but there was a hip-hop style to it.

The make-up artist put Liu Man’s hair into a high ponytail and added a light layer of pink blush to her cheeks. She had no eye make-up but seemed extra childish and ingenuous. She looked exactly like a seventeen-year-old high schooler.

Yang Huayue had dyed her hair to a grayish-yellow color, and after she got into the cast, she dyed it back to black. She also curled her hair wavy, and she was going to pull them straight again, but Ye Zian said it was already good. In the script, although Ji An was younger than her sister, Ji Ning, she always put on more mature make-up.

Yang Huayue had her hair loose and had on a light layer of make-up. Her peachy-red eye shadow seemed very prominent, and she also put on lip gloss. Ji An was always like this. She didn’t like school and only liked putting on fashionable make-up. She was one of the worst students in eleventh grade.

The third scene happened in Gu Qing and Ji An’s house.

At this time, their house was not the high-tiered garden villa Yan Xialan, the female lead saw ten years later. It was in a small apartment building. It was a mystery of where the prop masters found this house — It looked dilapidated and impoverished.

Their apartment was on the third floor. Liu Man and Yang Huayue were walking on tiptoes when they came upstairs. The concrete stairs had chasms and cracks along with water. The walls were so filthy they were practically black, and the wallpaper was falling off. There were flyers everywhere and all kinds of trash and old furniture placed on the stairs. There was a certain stench lingering in the air.

This place used to be a dormitory for a company, but now it was just an apartment. To film this scene, the cast gave the owners of these apartments money beforehand so they could get rooms in hotels.

The prop master rearranged the room on the third floor to show how poor families would live. There were two rooms in total along with a tiny living room. One room was for Ji Liguo, Ji Ning and Ji An’s father, and Gu Qing’s mother, Gu Juan, to sleep. Another room was for Ji An. After Ji Ning came, the two sisters lived in the same room. Ji Liguo made a small bed in the living room for Gu Qing to sleep in.

All there was in the apartment were old devices and broken furniture; even the bedsheets were tattered. There was nothing of value in this house.

The students in Shanghai Experimental Middle school would probably never expect Gu Qing, a popular character in their school, to live in such conditions. Gu Qing was such a ray of handsome sunshine. He had good grades and was good at basketball. He could always be seen playing basketball, and he had a healthy skin color. He loved to smile, and when he laughed, he would have cute dimples. Every girl in his class had a crush on him.

He had much better-socializing skills than Duan Nanfeng.

But in his apartment, he didn’t even have a room that belonged to him. No wonder, excluding his academic grades and his basketball skills, there was nothing else he was good at, for tutoring and extracurricular classes needed money. Duan Nanfeng was different; he was never under the sun, had a good background, and knew how to play the piano. He got to travel out of the country and go on vacation whenever he wanted, and Gu Qing would never be able to do that.

What was even more ridiculous was, when Ji Liguo and Gu Juan married each other, Gu Qing was twelve, and Ji An was ten. That year, Gu Juan brought the twelve-year-old Gu Qing into this house, and he lived in the same room with Ji An, in the same bed.

This kept on for two years.

It was only until Gu Qing became fourteen-years-old did his parents realize it was inappropriate. They made Gu Qing sleep in the living room and left the bedroom to Ji An. Two years of living together, on the same bed, made Ji An, who had just started puberty, naturally develop a reliance on Gu Qing. Her entire world rotated around, and she gradually had a love for Gu Qing that was beyond siblings’ love for each other. She also thought Gu Qing belonged to her.

But at this moment, But at this time, her older sister, Ji Ning, returned from America. The outstanding Ji Ning attracted Gu Qing, and they mutually loved each other. Ji An also witnessed Gu Qing fighting against Duan Nanfeng just because of Ji Ning. She couldn’t suppress her jealousy and sense of danger that she would no longer be the closest to her brother.

“Sister, you have such good grades, good looks, good piano skills. You are such an amazing person, and you don’t lack anything. Give me brother, okay?” Ji An stared at Ji Ning; her face showed a pleading and miserable expression. There was even light, hidden hint of detest.

“Gu Qing is a person, not an item. He has his thoughts; I cannot determine what he does.” Liu Man frowned, her tone cold and light. She looked Yang Huayue as one would at a toddler who was throwing a tantrum, indifferently.

Yang Huayue laughed coldly, “Ha, he listens to whatever you say. He acts like a tamed dog in front of you.”

Liu Man berated angrily, “Nonsense.”

Yang Huayue’s eyes turned red, and she was glaring at Liu Man. Her eyes were filled with anger and jealousy. She looked like a monster.

“Stop pretending—I know how you think us unworthy of being family. You think so about my dad; you think so about me. Yeah, that woman brought you to America, and you lived a rich life. You became the daughter of a big family. Compared to you, I’m just a child in a poor neighborhood. I just don’t understand. How can a person be so biased? Am I not her daughter, too? God is fair. She died; she got what she deserved.”

“Presumptuous! This is irreverent and disrespecting to your elders!” Ji Ning, who had always had a soft voice and a cold temper, suddenly became angry. Her tone carried a sternness an elder sister would, but it also contained an extreme disappointment for Ji An.

Ji An still stubbornly stood there as she glared at Ji Ning. She made no response to what Ji Ning said.

“Mother gave birth to us and raised us, no matter how hard it was. You knew the reason why our parents divorced; she had no choice. You shouldn’t blame her, not to mention ignore the work she put into us. You should blame father! It was he who made Mother choose between you and me. It was he who forbade her to take us both. You have only him to blame for all your losses.”

Ji Ning’s face was red, and her tone got heavier and heavier, angrier and angrier as she went on. When she got to the last few words, she even lost her breath, and the entire room could only hear her heavy inhales.

Ji Ning stared at Ji An, who was staring at her, too. Ji Ning’s eyes were filled with anger while Ji An’s were surprisingly indifferent. She looked as if she did not recognize Ji Ning as her sister.

Then, her eyes suddenly skipped to somewhere behind Ji Ning, and she smiled strangely,

“Dad, why are you here?”

Ji Ning, surprised, turned her head around to see her father, Ji Liguo, standing behind her with a dull face. Ji Liguo’s face was already very long, and at this moment, it was expressionless and cold. He looked very scary.

Credits: Sydney