Before participating in this variety show, Li Chu had several guesses about the roles she might play. She didn’t think she had much acting skill yet, so she hoped to draw a character close to her own image, one that would be easier to portray. Instead, she got a highly difficult one right off the bat.
The difficulty was twofold: first, she wasn’t very good at conveying sensuality, and second, it contradicted her established persona.
The company wanted to build her image as a sweet, cute, and pure Omega girl. Before this persona was even solidified, she was about to shatter it. However, this contrast could be very eye-catching if she performed well.
The premise was performing well.
《The Female Overlord》 told a fictional historical story set in a near-modern wartime period. The gender setting, however, followed the secondary gender system from seven hundred years prior, meaning there was no ABO distinction, only male and female.
Li Chu was familiar with this setting; it was easy to substitute it with the framework of her previous world. In essence, the story depicted the rise of a female warlord amidst chaotic times.
The female lead was named Ling Yun. Born on a boat, her father was a sea bandit who died when she was ten during a government crackdown. She and her mother fled to the coast, eventually moving inland, making a living by selling fish.
At sixteen, she married a minor silk merchant. Possessing business acumen, she, her husband, and their families worked together, gaining renown locally. She transformed from a fishmonger into the matriarch of the Duan family, the largest silk merchants in Mingcheng.
However, the couple’s initial harmony devolved into constant arguments because she remained childless, leading her husband to take several concubines. Ling Yun had been pregnant once, but lost the child due to overworking the business, and struggled to conceive afterward. This deeply troubled her, so she channeled her energy into expanding their business empire.
Ling Yun was an extremely ambitious woman. She wasn’t content with just the silk trade, nor with limiting her business to the Mingcheng area. She wanted to expand to the coast, even owning her own merchant ships.
Perhaps due to her childhood experiences or genetic inheritance, Ling Yun had a particular love for the sea. But her husband restrained her, preventing her from appearing in public anymore, feeling their current situation was good enough.
Just as Ling Yun felt regretful, foreign armies invaded, and war engulfed the nation. Ling Yun harbored greater ambitions; she wanted to contribute to the country, or rather, she wanted to join an insurgent army or even lead one herself. Yet, her husband was content to wallow in Mingcheng, living a life of drunken indulgence and muddling through.
Amidst the war, Mingcheng paradoxically became even more extravagant, as if everyone was indulging in a final revelry. When an insurgent army breached the city, Duan Rui was still entangled with a courtesan.
The scene Li Chu had to perform was the following segment.
Duan Rui was on a flower boat, seeking pleasure with the newly famous courtesan Han Tao. Ling Yun burst in, demanding Duan Rui act like a man, only to be met with provocations from both Duan Rui and Han Tao.
The once-loving couple had chosen drastically different paths in life. Ling Yun, with bandit blood in her veins, intended to divorce Duan Rui and part ways. However, Duan Rui refused. Drunk, he struggled and argued with her, threatening suicide. During the scuffle, he slipped on a wine bottle and fatally stabbed himself in a vital spot, dying instantly.
Ling Yun had no intention of taking the blame. She turned to the other woman on the boat and, despite Han Tao’s pleas, ended her life. She then announced that her husband and the courtesan had died together for love when the insurgent army conquered the city.
She was a warlord, not a hero; fundamentally, she wasn’t a good person. Now a widow, she took her money and followers and joined an insurgent army, infiltrating its ranks. Step by step, she became the commander of that force, writing her own legend in the chaotic era.
Of course, Li Chu wasn’t too concerned with the subsequent legend. She and Ning Manqing were partners, tasked with acting out this scene on the boat.
Simply put, she needed to make herself seem like a famous courtesan, provoke the female lead, plead with the female lead, and then die.
Playing Duan Rui was a young actor named Chen Ying, who had ranked fifteenth in the third and fourth rounds, just barely making the cut. He was a twenty-year-old film academy student, considered decent among the new generation of actors.
He clearly lacked confidence in playing Duan Rui as well. After watching the clip, he fell silent along with Li Chu. They exchanged glances, their expressions conveying a mutual understanding of their predicament.
“I’ve never played this kind of role before… Seriously, he’s so pathetic, right? No ambition at all, and he even threatens suicide to stop his wife from leaving him.”
Chen Ying complained, feeling quite depressed about drawing this character.
“I feel like the roles the three of us got don’t match our real selves at all. Sister Manqing’s image isn’t like Ling Yun either.”
Chen Ying looked at Ning Manqing standing nearby, his face etched with worry.
Although Sister Manqing was an Alpha, and Ling Yun’s character was also very Alpha-like, they had completely different vibes. Ling Yun was essentially a female bandit, while Sister Manqing possessed an inherent elegance.
“I think Teacher Ning can definitely pull it off, but I’m doomed. Do I look sensual to you?”
Li Chu expressed her unwavering faith in Ning Manqing, but not in herself. She turned to Chen Ying and gave him what she thought was a coquettish smile.
Chen Ying paused for a moment, the horror on his face clearly indicating his rejection.
Chen Ying stated bluntly, “It’s weird. There’s an indescribable sense of incongruity, a bit unsettling.”
It was like an innocent person forcing a worldly air, making Chen Ying feel like he should immediately switch to a legal education program.
“Your expression and your eyes are wrong.”
Ning Manqing approached, and the faint scent of Cloud Mist Tea drifted around Li Chu.
“You don’t need to smile so obviously. Expressing this state requires the coordination of every muscle in your face, but the most important thing is your eyes.”
Ning Manqing lowered her gaze. When she looked up again, she seemed like a different person. Without saying a word, she simply gave Li Chu a deep look.
That single glance contained all the dazzling allure of the world.
“Understand? It’s a state, not a forced smile or affectation.”
Ning Manqing instantly snapped out of it, her speed in breaking character leaving Li Chu and Chen Ying stunned.
Chen Ying clapped enthusiastically like a seal, saying, “Sister Manqing is amazing!”
Li Chu seemed to grasp something yet didn’t fully understand. She took a deep breath and said, “I’ll practice in front of the mirror and try to find the right state!”
The three of them were already in a practice room equipped with mirrors on both the front and back walls, allowing actors to observe themselves and identify issues.
Li Chu practiced her gaze in the mirror, desperately recalling every relevant scene she had ever witnessed. Keywords like sensual, alluring, delicate, worldly, and decadent looped in her mind.
But she nearly made herself cross-eyed without finding the right state.
“There’s no desire in your eyes.”
A gentle voice came from above. Li Chu looked at the mirror, her gaze meeting Ning Manqing’s in the reflection.
A wave of Cloud Mist Tea pheromones, tinged with an orchid-like fragrance, washed over Li Chu. Her breathing quickened, and a sense of pleasure transmitted through her nerves made her unconsciously narrow her eyes.
The sweet scent of peach pheromones was drawn out by the Cloud Mist Tea, filling the air.
Li Chu pressed herself against the mirror, its surface reflecting her flushed face and eyes that now held a hint of allure.
“He can’t smell it, don’t worry,” Ning Manqing’s voice remained gentle but gained a husky edge. She moved closer to the mirror, her tone coaxing, “Still not enough.”
She had seen Li Chu at her peak allure, like a peach blossom first blooming—innocent yet dazzlingly, exquisitely captivating to the extreme.
Li Chu bit her lower lip. Although Ning Manqing was several steps away, her pheromones felt like an embrace from behind, invading her deeply.
