The team quickly settled into work mode.
Xavier had clearly put real effort into recruiting talent. Aside from Kamisato Ayaka and Chevreuse, the rest of the actors were all seasoned professionals. Even so, the two leads held their own perfectly during their scenes together.
Lumine's job was a bit more demanding, but once she focused, there were hardly any issues.
"Cut!"
Director Furina waved her hand. "Not bad. The emotions came through really well. We can keep this take."
"Also, next time you operate the clapperboard, don't shout."
Paimon quickly covered her mouth. "Ah— got it… okay."
[Called out specifically]
[Furina is really strict with the juniors]
[She played a god for five hundred years. This is the pressure from someone at the top.]
The two leads both let out a quiet sigh of relief. Furina in full work mode was genuinely intimidating.
"…That was close. I was worried I'd be too nervous. What about you, Chevreuse?"
Chevreuse didn't seem bothered at all. Her lines weren't particularly difficult—probably because the director had adjusted them for her.
The actress playing the "mother" walked over and encouraged them. "You both did wonderfully. You don't look like first-timers at all. A little more confidence and you'll be perfect."
"Thank you for the encouragement."
Furina watched the footage on the Kamera for a moment, then announced they would shoot a few more angles before moving on to the next scene.
The next scene was the one where the two daughters return home and find their mother lying in a pool of blood.
"We'll get revenge. I promise you that. But not now…" Chevreuse's eyes were firm. "Let's go."
"…" Kamisato Ayaka's tears spilled over. "No… wait. We can't just let Mother die like this…"
"At the very least… let me place a rose on her chest…"
Ayaka knelt down and gently set the flower on the woman's chest.
"We only went out in the first place… to buy this for her…"
Even Chevreuse's strong exterior softened under Ayaka's gentle performance. "Alright…"
Ayaka turned away. "…Goodbye, Mother. We will avenge you."
"Cut—!"
Furina finally called it.
"Beautiful. That was outstanding!"
[Kamisato Ayaka's on-the-spot improvisation shocked Furina]
[Furina the auteur: Now this is veteran acting]
[Furina: Your crying scene has my approval]
Yoimiya ran straight onto the set. "Oh my god, Ayaka! You were incredible! Those tears—were they real? How did you do that?"
Everyone gathered around.
Ayaka explained that once the director called "action," she simply told herself to stop thinking about anything else. She just focused on feeling what the character was going through and let herself sink into the moment.
"It's similar to sword training. When you clear your mind and focus completely on what's right in front of you."
Furina was genuinely stunned by that answer.
This girl… could she actually be a genius at acting?!
[Reborn: I Became a Film Queen in Fontaine]
[I was reborn and returned to the day I first arrived in the Court of Fontaine…]
[Ayaka probably remembered her own mother…]
In that warm atmosphere, the day's filming came to an end surprisingly quickly.
"Phew! Is that it already? I didn't even get to play with the clapperboard enough!" Paimon complained.
It was obvious the little one had genuinely enjoyed herself.
"How are you feeling? Arms sore? You were holding the camera the whole time."
Lumine shook her head. Mu Yang had taken over for her during one of the breaks and even taught her some massage techniques afterward. So she wasn't tired at all.
The rest of the crew went off to rest. Chevreuse quietly slipped away to join Lumine and Paimon—they still had a case to investigate.
As for Mu Yang, he stayed at Debord Grand Hotel until noon before leaving. After all, he was only visiting the set, not part of the crew. Once Shenhe and Ganyu woke up, he still had to take them sightseeing.
"Master, you're back."
The moment Mu Yang returned to the apartment, Shenhe was already ready to head out.
"You went out for a walk. Why not rest a little longer?"
"It was enough. I also cultivated for a while."
"Not bad."
Compared to Shenhe, Ganyu was far less diligent about training. As the secretary of the Liyue Qixing, even with a team of secretaries under her and occasional time off, she still had a mountain of work waiting for her. On this rare vacation, she simply slept in a little longer.
Once she woke up, Mu Yang took both disciples to watch an opera.
Even though Furina wasn't available to perform right now, they were already in Fontaine—it would be a shame not to experience the local culture.
Along the way, Shenhe was full of curiosity about everything around her. Compared to Liyue Harbor, Fontaine's gears and machinery were completely new and refreshing.
However, as both an invention maniac and a cultivation maniac's disciple, Shenhe wasn't satisfied with just looking. After buying a wind-up toy from a shop window, she immediately began studying its inner mechanisms—how it moved, what kind of structure it used, what powered its functions…
In contrast, Ganyu seemed much more mature and worldly. She had lived in the mortal realm for over a thousand years. Although she spent most of her time in Liyue, she had traveled on business many times. Neighboring nations like Fontaine were already familiar territory.
"Senior Sister, aren't you going to drink it? It's really sweet."
Shenhe noticed Ganyu holding a cup of milk tea and hesitating.
"I already had two small cakes earlier, and a glass of juice before the meal. If I drink this too…"
If this milk tea went down, today's sugar intake would go way over the limit again!
Not to mention those two cakes had already pushed her over.
"Go ahead and drink it. I'll copy down a few meal plans for you later."
Mu Yang couldn't bear to watch anymore, but he understood Ganyu's struggle. No one wanted that embarrassing black history to repeat itself…
The three of them watched the opera together, and the day passed just like that.
— — — — — —
On the player side.
Following Lumine and Chevreuse, they tracked the guns all the way to the Gray River. Unfortunately, the trail ended there.
Chevreuse hadn't expected to solve the case in a single day. For now, they would continue filming as normal. Just like today, after shooting wrapped, they could investigate a bit more. Clues would turn up eventually.
"—As long as you sail through the fog long enough, you'll eventually crash into an island."
[Muskets and Roses — Act Two Complete]
Guinaifen stretched with a big yawn. "Ah—! Two more days of waiting, everyone. No more content today. I'm ending the stream."
[??? The lazy dog finally stopped pretending, huh?]
[Big streamer my ass—she only streamed for this long and she's already leaving?]
[Time to start hunting for character Easter eggs]
[We can go watch Mu Yang's film now]
"What? What?"
The moment Guinaifen saw Mu Yang's name, her energy returned instantly.
"Where do I watch it?"
Following the chat's instructions, Guinaifen guided her character to the Film Association entrance. A glowing yellow spot had already appeared there.
"Let me see… Infernal Affairs, A Quiet Day in Chenyu Vale…"
"Uh… I Am Milk Dragon, The Strongest Venom, Beria's Invasion…"
"Found it—Mu Yang's The Ballad of Buster Scruggs."
[Wait, bro, did we just scroll past a bunch of weird titles?]
[Don't worry about those details…]
— — — — — —