Seeing Rong Guang walk back with a heavy expression, Zhang Nanchuan, who was slurping snail noodles, lifted his sweat-drenched face and looked back at her.
Then Zhang Nanchuan thought for a moment, feeling that as the director, he should show some concern, so he said, “Finished watching?”
Rong Guang ignored him.
Zhang Nanchuan added, “Was it a shock?”
This time, Rong Guang glanced at him, then pursed her lips, moved an empty box over, and sat on it without moving.
She wanted to ask.
After all, Zhang Nanchuan and Chu Feiliang had known each other for a long time. Chu Feiliang’s very first project when she debuted was one of Zhang Nanchuan’s, so he must know something about what happened back then.
Even just a hint would be better than her own aimless guessing.
But given her current position, it was difficult to ask.
After thinking for a long time, Rong Guang sighed and said, “I just figured some things out and learned a few things, that’s all.”
Zhang Nanchuan adopted a posture of listening intently, tilting his head while slurping his snail noodles with a deafening noise.
Rong Guang looked at the layer of red in his bowl, her lips twitching. She thought to herself that people who didn’t have to worry about acne were truly happy; she wouldn’t dare eat something so spicy.
“It’s nothing.” Rong Guang mercilessly changed her tune, not planning to say any more to him. “I just had a sudden epiphany.”
Who hasn’t been young and reckless?
Back then, her mic was turned off on stage, and the whole group’s vocals were even auto-tuned, while she was the only one performing with a live mic. Then there was the time her costume was tampered with… and so on. In the end, didn’t she just laugh it all off and use even better performances to slap the faces of those who looked down on her?
If her mic was turned off, she could adjust her position in time and borrow a teammate’s.
And her skill was undeniable. Even with a fully live mic, she could elicit cheers from the entire audience and dominate the trending topics.
Even if there was a problem with her costume, she could adjust extremely quickly and react in the best possible way. Countless people in the industry had to praise her professionalism.
There was nothing that could stump her.
She couldn’t interfere with Chu Feiliang’s past, but as for her future, Rong Guang firmly believed she could soothe her sorrow and make sure she never showed that kind of pained expression again.
The evening’s scenes were filmed quite smoothly. The most takes they needed for any scene was three. However, Zhao Xiuqi had a bout of gastritis that night and had to go to the hospital, so their scene together had to be postponed until tomorrow.
When they wrapped up, it wasn’t even nine o’clock.
Zhang Nanchuan stared at the time on his phone, stunned for a long while before reacting. “It’s over this quickly?!”
The assistant director next to him was also in disbelief. “I was just wondering the same thing. Who would have thought it could be this fast…”
He was quite unsatisfied with the shoot. Rong Guang’s performance was too good; she didn’t even give him a chance to yell at anyone!
For a moment, Zhang Nanchuan felt his mouth was a bit lonely.
He sulked and paced in a circle twice. Unfortunately, the only person left nearby was Chu Feiliang, whom he didn’t dare offend, so he could only leave, holding in his frustration, like a big bear that failed to steal honey.
He was naturally tall and large. The sight of him walking with a hunched back and his hands behind him was particularly amusing.
Chu Feiliang raised an eyebrow, pulled out her phone, snapped a picture of Zhang Nanchuan’s back, and immediately sent it to the main cast and crew group chat.
Chu: For everyone’s enjoyment.
The group chat instantly exploded. From the assistant director down to the odd-job workers, led by Chu Feiliang, everyone started a Photoshop battle.
Chu Feiliang looked at her phone as she returned to her room, a relaxed and pleased smile constantly on her face.
However, just as the elevator doors closed, Chu Feiliang turned off her phone screen, no longer looking at the group chat messages, and glanced up at the floor indicator inside the elevator.
Then she slowly pressed a floor number.
Wang Lujie, behind her, was taken aback. “Sister Chu?”
“Going to see the little kid,” Chu Feiliang said lightly. “And to congratulate her for getting Director Zhang’s approval.”
Wang Lujie smiled at her words. “It’s quite funny, actually. Director Zhang pointed at her and said she’s your successor, that she’s a lot like you back in the day, with an unstoppable natural spark. He kept wondering why she went into the song-and-dance circle, not even considering how young you still are this year.”
Chu Feiliang let out a soft laugh. As the elevator ascended and after a brief feeling of weightlessness, she said, “Don’t mention that again. No one is like anyone else; everyone is an independent individual.”
Wang Lujie paused, then nodded. “Okay, I understand.”
Rong Guang had just gotten out of the shower.
The evening’s scene was about her outwitting the servants in the princess’s residence. Besides being quite satisfying, there weren’t any particular points that were easy to showcase her acting.
But she had been in makeup for a long time, had jumped into the artificial lake several times during the day, and later broke out in a sweat. She felt sour and smelly all over, so she had eagerly jumped into the bathroom as soon as she got back.
She had just applied a face mask when she heard a knock on the door.
So she stared wide-eyed at her reflection in the mirror for a long time. When the door was knocked on a second time, she decided to go open it with the mask still on.
—And so Wang Lujie was startled, and the cake box she was about to hand to Rong Guang fell to the floor along with her shock.
Rong Guang stared at Chu Feiliang at the door, stunned.
She wiped away the essence dripping from the corner of her mouth. “Sister…”
Chu Feiliang looked at her, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. “What… what kind of look is this?”
Rong Guang wanted to cry but had no tears.
If she had known Chu Feiliang would come looking for her tonight, she wouldn’t have chosen to put on a face mask at this time, not even if it killed her!
Thinking of this, she was about to tear off the mask and wash her face.
Chu Feiliang entered the room before she could, stopping her. “Don’t bother. I’ll just sit for a bit and then leave. It’s a hassle to put it on again. Save some time to rest.”
Rong Guang was stuck at the junction between the living room and the bathroom. She blinked her eyes eagerly and chose to go back and sit next to Chu Feiliang.
With the mask on, she couldn’t speak clearly. She mumbled, “Is there something you need from me?”
“Nothing.” Chu Feiliang was frank. “Can’t I come see you if there’s nothing?”
“You can.” Rong Guang nodded like a chick pecking at rice. “Of course you can, I couldn’t ask for more!”
“Couldn’t ask for more?” Chu Feiliang asked in return.
Rong Guang was so embarrassed her toes curled into the carpet. She seemed a bit too eager. “I mean… you’re welcome, very welcome.”
“Lulu, you can go back first.” Chu Feiliang turned her head to look at her assistant, who had thoughtfully found a bar stool and was sitting off to the side, waiting.
Wang Lujie didn’t refuse. She handed over the item she had prepared for Rong Guang again and said with a smile, “Teacher Rong, Sister Chu specifically had me go upstairs to get this for you before coming.”
Rong Guang’s eyes lit up. “A gift?”
“Open it,” Chu Feiliang said with a smile.
Rong Guang couldn’t be bothered with the mask on her face anymore. She excitedly opened the box, and her expression immediately became one of amusement and exasperation.
Chu Feiliang also looked embarrassed. She gave a light cough, glanced at Wang Lujie who was staring at the ceiling, and said, “…It happened so suddenly.”
Inside, the originally exquisite cake had been smashed to pieces. Chocolate shavings from the top covered the entire box, and the fruit filling had oozed everywhere. The scene was a total disaster.
“I was just getting hungry.” Rong Guang beamed, finding a sealed fork on the side. “Sister, how did you know I’ve been enjoying dessert these past few nights?”
“Just happened to… see it.” Chu Feiliang paused, then let out a laugh.
It hadn’t been long, but the fact that Rong Guang loved sweets was no longer a secret on set.
News about food, especially this kind of thing, spread the fastest among actresses.
Everyone was trying their best to find low-fat yet delicious things to eat, but Rong Guang alone would casually have a piece of cake every night, and cream cakes at that. It made many people’s teeth itch with craving. With so many people talking about it, she was bound to hear a thing or two.
Rong Guang casually wiped her face with a wet wipe and took a bite. The sweet fragrance spread from the tip of her tongue to the bottom of her heart.
She savored every bite for a long time. When the small, palm-sized piece of cake was finished, she still wanted more. She licked her lips, the light, clear fragrance still lingering at the tip of her nose, and said, “Thank you, Sister.”
“Mm.” Chu Feiliang watched her, pursing her lips.
Only the two of them were left in the room. The TV was off, making it exceptionally quiet.
Rong Guang suddenly felt a little nervous and clutched her bathrobe.
Chu Feiliang cleared her throat and asked, “Are you hot?”
Rong Guang went “Huh?” then reacted. She looked down and realized she had broken out in a light sweat at some point.
She nodded. “A… a little.”
She had been in a hurry to open the door earlier. Having just come out of the bathroom, she had casually thrown on a bathrobe, forgetting that wearing so much in this weather would get hot after a while.
“Loosen it a bit, don’t catch a cold,” Chu Feiliang looked at her and said.
So Rong Guang carefully loosened the belt and opened the front of her robe.
Underneath, she was only wearing a thin slip dress. The silky material felt cool to the touch and was very comfortable in this weather.
But Rong Guang carefully glanced down, her face turning a little red, and she slowly pulled the robe a little more closed.
Chu Feiliang noticed, and her face also reddened slightly. She probably understood instantly.
—Who, at home, after just taking a shower and planning to sleep, would bother to put on a bra, only to take it off again before bed?
She cleared her throat and asked, knowing the answer, “Just finished your shower?”
Rong Guang nodded. “Yes…”
Chu Feiliang said, “Smells nice.”
“You think so too?” Rong Guang looked up and smiled shyly. “I used a body wash you endorsed before. It’s really quite good.”
Now it was Chu Feiliang’s turn to be a little surprised. “The one from IS?”
Rong Guang nodded, almost going to the bathroom to grab the bottle as proof.
“The contract for that one expires this year,” Chu Feiliang said with a smile.
“Then… then I won’t use it anymore.” Rong Guang looked at her eagerly. “What product are you endorsing next? I’ll buy it to support you.”
This time, it was Chu Feiliang who fell silent.
She stared at Rong Guang meaningfully for a long moment before saying slowly, “It seems you like me quite a lot?”
Rong Guang was a little nervous, and also a little frustrated.
After all this time, and after saying it so many times, was Chu Feiliang only just now realizing she liked her?
She was a little disappointed, hanging her head as she said, “Yes…”
She had just showered, and the bath towel on her head was twisted into two buns, making her head look a size bigger. But her face was still so small, making her look even younger and incredibly cute.
Chu Feiliang leaned her head back, saw Rong Guang’s somewhat dejected expression, paused, and said, “I know.”
Rong Guang glanced up at her and replied sullenly, “Oh…”
“I just wanted to say…” Chu Feiliang’s lips twitched into a smile. “I’m also a fan of NO.1, and you’re my bias. I heard this afternoon that your group has a farewell ceremony scheduled for December. Teacher Rong, would you do me the honor of giving me two front-row VIP seats?”
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