Rong Guang put down her chopsticks, her face serious. “It was an accident.”
Duan Nong was furious, but seeing that Rong Guang truly hadn’t done it on purpose, she could only let it go.
The meal ended happily for everyone. Chacha was so delighted she devoured two large bowls of rice, her belly becoming round and full. She finally got out of the car, patting her stomach with both hands.
“You’re heading back this afternoon?” Chu Feiliang asked, looking at Chu Siyue.
The three younger ones had already gotten out of the car to attend to their own business. Duan Nong actually had some professional questions for Rong Guang, and the two were engrossed in a fervent discussion over a script.
“Mhm,” Chu Siyue replied. “After you finish filming, if you’re feeling up to it, remember to go home and see Grandma. She misses you a lot.”
“I’ll go when I have the chance.” Chu Feiliang smiled as she saw Chu Siyue out of the car. “I have scenes this afternoon, so I won’t see you off.”
As she spoke, she glanced around. Chacha was bored, playing with a sensitive plant on the side, watching its leaves fold around her finger and then open up again, not tiring of the back-and-forth game.
Chu Feiliang raised an eyebrow. “Chacha, come here.”
Chacha looked up and ran to Chu Feiliang’s side, tilting her head up. “What is it, Sister Chu?”
“It’s nothing, just help your sister with something—go with your big sister to find Sister Lulu. I left something with her.” Chu Feiliang said with a smile, “Her phone is off, so I can’t reach her.”
Chacha nodded. “Okay!”
Chu Siyue gave Chacha a couple more glances. Finally, she couldn’t hold back. Watching Chacha’s retreating back as she went to gather her things, she asked Chu Feiliang, “Is that little girl an adult? Working on the set?”
“She’s Rong Guang’s little sister, always by her side. A very obedient little girl.” Chu Feiliang smiled. “Don’t be fooled by her age. She’s sharp as a tack and gets along very well on set.”
Chu Siyue smiled, her interest now piqued. “How old is she?”
“Fourteen or fifteen?” Chu Feiliang thought for a moment. “I don’t remember exactly, but she’s a prodigy. She skipped grades and is already a sophomore in high school.”
Now Chu Siyue was truly shocked. Watching Chacha hopping around and singing “Little Leaping Frog,” she said, “…You can’t tell.”
“You really can’t,” Chu Feiliang said. “Rong Guang has been called in as her guardian several times this month. Alright, she’s here.”
Chu Siyue and her people said goodbye to Chu Feiliang. Chacha followed beside Chu Siyue, glancing at her from time to time.
Chu Siyue found her behavior quite amusing. Even though she didn’t particularly like children, she couldn’t help but tease Chacha. “Why do you keep looking at me?”
“Because you’re pretty.” Chacha glanced at her again, her eyes clear, her words unabashedly direct. “I like you, so I want to look at you. Don’t you like me looking at you?”
Having been immersed in this industry for too long, Chu Siyue was stunned for a long moment upon hearing such undisguised words. Finally, she said slowly, “No. Look all you want.”
Chacha’s expression as she looked at her was like someone gazing at a beloved treasure.
So innocent and clear, without a single ulterior thought.
Being stared at with such a gaze, Chu Siyue didn’t feel the slightest bit of discomfort.
It was like… being stared at by the family dog. Not only was it not uncomfortable, but she even found it quite cute.
They didn’t say much more on the way. When Chacha led Chu Siyue to Wang Lujie, she happened to be coming out with a power bank and other things.
Seeing Chu Siyue, Wang Lujie handed everything in her hands to her, saying, “It’s all here.”
Chu Siyue nodded, put the things away, and glanced at Chacha. “Take her back with you later. Look after her on a daily basis.”
Wang Lujie smiled, patted Chacha’s head, and then casually flicked Chacha’s cheek with her index finger. “Got it.”
Chacha touched her own face, her eyes suddenly brightening.
Outside, the driver had already prepared the car. Before Chu Siyue got in, she suddenly felt her hand being grabbed by a soft and tender little hand.
The hand wasn’t as large as hers, nor was it particularly fair and delicate—it wasn’t the hand of someone who had been pampered—but the fingers were long and elegant.
She turned her head, surprised. “What is it?”
Chacha was a little nervous, so much so that her cheeks flushed red. Her eyes were sparkling and watery, making her look like a tender, puppy-like cub. “Um, sister, you… do you want to pinch my cheek? I won’t charge you if you do.”
Chu Siyue froze. “What?”
Chacha nervously squeezed Chu Siyue’s palm, thought for a moment, then brought Chu Siyue’s hand to her own cheek. “Like this, you can pinch it—Sister Guangguang loves pinching my face. I charge other people five yuan a pinch, but it’s free for you.”
Wang Lujie finally couldn’t hold it in anymore. She turned her head and let out a muffled laugh. While laughing, she said, “It’s true, boss—pinching Chacha’s face is just like one of those stress-relief toys. It’s incredibly satisfying. You know, a pinch a day keeps the wrinkles away.”
Chu Siyue raised her eyebrows. She applied a little pressure with her thumb and forefinger, pinching gently. Then, her hand felt a bit itchy, and she couldn’t resist giving it another careful rub.
After a moment, she withdrew her hand and said, “It really is…”
Chacha was finally happy too. She covered her inexplicably hot cheeks, took two steps back, and said, “Goodbye, sister!”
The next few days of filming went very smoothly.
Because of what had happened with Jiang Ruyi, Zhang Nanchuan had pushed all of her character’s scenes to later in the schedule. This freed up some time to further develop Duan Nong’s professional skills.
During her trainee days, Duan Nong had taken similar professional classes. She had always cast a wide net, knowing a little bit of everything, but she was far from mastering any of it until it was time to use it.
These past few days, perhaps influenced by the atmosphere on set, Duan Nong had been constantly observing the acting of the veteran actors in the cast. The two coaches beside her were also very diligent, constantly helping her refine the details of her performance and watching the playback over and over.
Rong Guang’s focus, however, was different from that of the coaches, and even from Zhang Nanchuan’s.
Zhang Nanchuan was not a director who stuck rigidly to the rules. In fact, he was the type of person who wouldn’t film strictly according to the script.
The cast could be changed, and the script could be changed. For him, all that mattered was being brilliant. As long as you were brilliant enough and had the ability to perform to your fullest potential, there was nothing that couldn’t be changed.
That’s why Rong Guang wanted Duan Nong to work on the character itself.
Duan Nong was a bit discouraged. “How else can I work on it? Isn’t this just a villainous cannon fodder role? …It all happened so fast, I didn’t even pay much attention to the character. Now I’m in for it.”
Rong Guang was also a little helpless.
Jiang Ruyi herself had debuted by playing villains. How many of the roles she was chosen for could possibly be good characters?
The character of Ding Wenren wasn’t a major part of the drama, but she could easily stir up the audience’s emotions.
There was no other reason. For one, it was because Ding Wenren herself was a villainous character who broke up lovers and wanted to climb the social ladder.
She wasn’t sharp enough, nor was she smart enough. Within the deep palace, she even harbored some unrealistic fantasies. She wanted to climb the social ladder, ideally to become the emperor’s concubine.
This was because the emperor had once saved her life during an imperial tour.
Even if he hadn’t saved her directly, it was because of the emperor’s command that her village was spared from the taxes levied by corrupt officials. Only then was she saved from being sold to a brothel by her parents, allowing her to live safely, eventually leave home, and successfully enter the palace.
Relying on her pretty face and sweet tongue, and since she didn’t need to save much money, she used it all on building connections. She actually managed to climb to the position of head palace maid.
And the plot begins to unfold from here.
Duan Nong clutched her head. “No, this is what I don’t get… Ding Wenren is such an expert in the business of inducing miscarriages, causing almost no children in the entire harem to survive, so how could she possibly make the audience like her?”
Her face was a picture of utter confusion. She couldn’t imagine how one was supposed to play such a character in a way that would make the audience like her.
Rong Guang shrugged. “Then let’s first analyze this: why could Ding Wenren, a palace maid with no background who rose to become a concubine, harm so many people and still get away with it unscathed?”
Duan Nong fell silent.
She looked at Chacha, whose eyes were also sparkling brightly beside her, and said, “Yeah, why is that?”
Just because Ding Wenren was pretty?
Who are you kidding!
Which woman in the harem isn’t pretty?!
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