Chapter 157 To put it bluntly, he is a freeloader

Director Zhang Yifeng has a shrewd eye indeed.
Who would have thought it would be such a coincidence that he picked this father and daughter duo to play the adoptive father and adopted daughter in the film!
It is simply out of this world!
Bai Lu held it in and held it in, keeping it bottled up all the way until they finished dinner and returned to their small earthen cottage, before she finally said to her father, "Should I just turn down this role?"
Lu Yiting asked her calmly, "Because of me?"
Bai Lu looked at her father with a deadpan expression.
What else could it be?
Lu Yiting was silent for a moment. As they reached the doorway of the small earthen cottage, he said leisurely, "Lu Lu, you are a professional actress and you should have professional ethics. This role is a huge challenge for you, and it's a great opportunity. But if you truly cannot get past that mental hurdle, it's fine to turn it down."
Bai Lu stopped in her tracks and looked up at her father: "The female lead is me, but will Teacher Lu be acting in it as well?"
Lu Yiting replied, "Since I have accepted this role, then no matter who the female lead is, I will play it. I am very clear that I am working."
Bai Lu and her father locked eyes, a fierce internal battle raging within her.
She is a professional actress too!
She also loves this challenging role very much!
Yet, to play a taboo romance with her father...
After a long pause, she clenched her teeth and bowed deeply to Lu Yiting: "Teacher Lu, whenever my performance falls short, I hope you will help me out a lot."
Spoken strictly as an actor to an actor.
A faint smile flickered across Lu Yiting's face: "Alright."
"Teacher Lu, see you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow."
The father and daughter went their separate ways, entering their respective earthen cottages.
Mei Mei kept his hands jammed deep inside his pockets, clenching them into fists so tightly that his fingernails dug deeply into his flesh.
He called her Lu Lu, without avoiding suspicion or concealing anything.
When she hesitated about playing a taboo lover with him in the film, he was the one who urged her that she ought to do it.
It seemed he was the one who loved more deeply.
As soon as they stepped inside, Xiao Dan couldn't help asking her, "Xiao Lu, isn't it wonderful to act opposite your idol? It's an opportunity countless people would kill for! You said it yourself earlier, even if you had to pay the penalty for breach of contract, you'd still go as long as you could collaborate with the Movie Emperor Lu. Why on earth did you want to turn it down just now?!"
Bai Lu: "...It's a long story."
Sister Hua Hua chimed in: "It must be too much pressure to play lovers with your idol, I understand."
Bai Lu: No, you don't understand.
Xiao Dan patted his chest: "Thank goodness Movie Emperor Lu gave you that pep talk just now, otherwise you would have abandoned the idea and made the terrible mistake of turning it down!"
Are you kidding me? How many years has it been since Movie Emperor Lu seriously made a film? That poverty-alleviation movie where he played a village party secretary doesn't count—Movie Emperor Lu purely did that for charity.
The original novel had won countless awards, coupled with Zhang Yifeng, a top-three master director at the helm, a domestic tier-one powerhouse production team, plus Movie Emperor Lu starring as the male lead—before filming even started, this movie was already destined to be a massive blockbuster!
Even though the subject matter was a bit taboo and certainly couldn't be screened in domestic theaters, art-house films of this genre are the absolute darlings of film festivals!
Most importantly... this meant acting opposite Movie Emperor Lu, acting opposite him!
Only an idiot would turn this down!
Xiao Lu had almost been that idiot!
Sister Hua Hua, who hadn't read the original novel, secretly asked Xiao Dan, "Are there any intimate scenes?"
Xiao Dan wore an expression of deep regret: "None. In the original novel, the adoptive father and daughter harbor a suppressed, restrained, and secret love for each other. The most intimate contact between the father and daughter in the entire book is when they lie on the same bed embracing each other while committing suicide, at which point the daughter kisses the adoptive father's neck, and the adoptive father kisses the daughter's forehead."
Sister Hua Hua also revealed a look of disappointment: "What a pity."
Xiao Dan: "It's an absolute pity."
Bai Lu could no longer bear it. She abruptly pushed open the window, clenched her fists at the two people outside, and snapped: "That's quite enough out of both of you!!!"
If there were even a tiny shred of an intimate scene, she would rather be an unprofessional actress and absolutely reject the role!
...
The documentary filming was nearing its end, with *Schools in the Great Mountains* being the final segment. Once completed, the production would wrap up.
Lu Yiting fully embodied "senior care," dumping all the filming tasks onto his dear daughter while he leisurely cradled a large porcelain jar, sipping tea and basking in the sun.
Every single day, Bai Lu cursed her father a thousand times in her mind.
Complining aside, the filming wasn't delayed in the slightest.
She lived up entirely to her nickname, "Bai One-Take."
They concluded all the filming for the documentary well within the scheduled timeframe.
One must remember that the expected shooting schedule had been estimated based on Lu Yiting's pace.
"My dear, I finally understand why old Zhang was so stubbornly insistent that you had to play the female lead." Director Qi looked at her with the gaze of a predator eyeing a juicy piece of meat, "Xiao Lu, look here, Director Qi also has a film in the works, would you consider it?"
Bai Lu's lips twitched violently: "Give me a rough summary of the plot first."
Director Qi rubbed the tip of his nose: "Well, the script hasn't actually been finalized yet."
Bai Lu: "...?"
"I just wanted to lock you down first so you wouldn't get snatched away by someone else."
"Director Qi, this is utterly absurd."
"---My apologies."
As soon as filming wrapped up, the crew packed up their gear and caught the afternoon flight back to Beijing.
Bai Lu was staying for one extra night and wouldn't leave until the next day, flying straight to the variety show's destination—this time in Bangkok.
She sat in the courtyard of the earthen cottage, soaking up the sun, stealing a moment of leisure amidst a busy life.
Xiao Dan handed her his iPad: "Xiao Lu, carry me in ranking up."
She still hadn't turned on her phone.
Bai Lu: "...Log in to the account."
The moment she logged into the game, she was astonished to discover that the Immortal Fairy had actually started playing mortal games!
When she logged in last time, the Immortal Fairy hadn't been playing at all.
And in just three days' time, the Immortal Fairy had actually reached Platinum rank.
As expected of the Immortal Fairy, brilliant at everything he does.
Xiao Dan urged her: "Why aren't you entering the room yet?"
"I'm tired today, I don't feel like playing ranked matches." Bai Lu had already tapped open a chat window with no profile picture.
-- Bai Xiao Lu is invincible and cute: A-Sui, you're playing Honor of Kings and you didn't even tell me, you're holding out on me!!!
-- Bai Xiao Lu is invincible and cute: We literally chat on WeChat every single day!!!
That aggrieved accusation bled right through the screen.
-- Huo: Weren't you filming today?
-- Bai Xiao Lu is invincible and cute: It's wrapped up! / Grinning smile
-- Bai Xiao Lu is invincible and cute: Are you busy? Do you want to play a game together?
-- Huo: Sure.
Since Bai Lu was already at the Grandmaster rank, she couldn't queue for ranked matches with a Platinum player, so she started a normal match instead. Xiao Dan disliked playing normal matches, complaining that too many people practiced new heroes there and it ruined the gaming experience.
Just as well—Bai Lu didn't want to carry him anyway.
Seeing that the Immortal Fairy had instantly locked in an ADC (marksman), Bai Lu instantly locked in a support.
After playing one match, she figured out the Immortal Fairy's gaming proficiency... to put it nicely, he heavily relied on his teammates.
No game sense, no positioning, and absolutely zero tempo. He honestly farmed minions, followed up instantly when the support CC'd the enemy or the jungler ganked, and threw out skills to output damage.
As for team fights, there were none to speak of. He would just stubbornly stick to the bottom lane, clear minions, push towers, advance to the high ground, and destroy the crystal.
To put it bluntly, he was a total carrier-passenger.