Chacha looked up at her and said, “Do you want to put it on now, Sister Guangguang? The little supermarket next door is having a sale. Two hundred yuan for a tin of makeup balm. Coconut and I waited for a long time. A lot of actors bought it, so I got one for you too.”
As she spoke, Chacha took out a box from her backpack as if presenting a treasure.
Rong Guang nearly tripped over the carpet on the floor.
Although the name was indeed a bit tacky… makeup balm was, in fact, one of the most commonly used products by makeup artists on film sets.
Its effect was similar to a makeup primer. It made makeup application easier, had good moisturizing properties, and was also perfect as a lip balm.
She licked her lips. She didn’t know if it was a psychological effect, but they seemed to be getting… drier and drier.
Rong Guang shook her head and said, “Put it… away for now. I’ll use it tonight, before I go to sleep.”
“Okay.” Chacha looked puzzled, with a worldly innocence, but she obediently put it away, muttering, “What’s the big deal about dry lips? If they feel dry, just give them a lick, like this—”
Chacha licked her lips in a very exaggerated way, accidentally going outside the lines. She wiped it with the back of her hand and said in a world-weary tone, “What’s there to be shy about.”
“You don’t understand.” Rong Guang sighed with deep meaning, suddenly a little worried about this silly child’s future love life.
She casually ruffled Chacha’s hair and said, “When you meet someone you like, you’ll know why.”
Chacha shook her head and opened the door before Rong Guang could.
Rong Guang watched Chacha’s carefree back and slowly let out a breath.
Anyone could lick their own lips.
The difference was who was doing the licking.
Licking her own lips… what was the point of that?
Her face started to turn red again.
Their room, however, followed the regulations and was of a standard accommodation level.
The room wasn’t large, about thirty square meters, with a private bathroom. The good thing was that it had an extended floor-to-ceiling window. Although there wasn’t much of a view, it made the whole room much brighter.
Rong Guang glanced at the two beds in the room, smiled, put down her bag, and said, “Is Chacha staying with me?”
Chacha nodded and pulled her suitcase into the room, bustling about so busily her feet barely touched the ground, like a little spinning top. “Yeah, I didn’t bring Grandpa’s memorial tablet; it’s being honored back home. I’m scared of the dark at night, so I don’t dare to sleep alone without someone with me.”
Rong Guang remembered Chacha’s habit from her past life and knew she was afraid of the dark.
In a room with absolutely no light, Chacha would even start to hurt herself. So later, whenever the two of them were together, she would always leave a small lamp on by the bedside.
Chacha watched, a little stunned, as Rong Guang plugged in the small nightlight before she could.
Besides her late grandparents, no one had ever done this for her.
Rong Guang stood in front of Chacha, patted her head, and said, “Go to sleep.”
“Mhm.” Chacha nuzzled her head against Rong Guang’s chest, blinking back the tears that were welling up unbidden. “Sister Guangguang, you’re so good to me.”
“You’re very good to me too.” Rong Guang stroked Chacha’s cheek, her own eyes stinging a little.
When she went to wash up, Rong Guang finally saw herself in the mirror.
No wonder so many people she passed on the way back to her room had blushed when they saw her.
So this was the look Chu Feiliang liked?
Rong Guang couldn’t help but think of the dance she had performed for Chu Feiliang that year.
She rarely performed Chinese classical dance on stage or in front of others.
Because she was in a girl group, and the market for girl groups didn’t require dances like Chinese classical dance, which was full of gentle elegance and classical charm.
On the contrary, what the girl group market needed more was power, and the kind of modern dance that brought passion and excitement to the audience during a live performance.
But she still remembered the look of appreciation, astonishment, and even… fascination in Chu Feiliang’s eyes when she performed that dance.
Sometimes, only another woman could truly understand and appreciate the beauty of Chinese classical dance.
And watching it up close, the dance itself could always evoke the strongest sense of resonance, a thrill that reached the depths of one’s soul. One could better grasp that almost ultimate grace and enchanting beauty.
Lifting her head to look at herself in the mirror, Rong Guang memorized her current makeup. In the future… if she had the chance, she planned to try it again.
The next day, Rong Guang was woken up by the sound of Chacha’s footsteps, which became a rather deliberate ‘thump, thump, thump’ after a while.
She could never comprehend the energy and stamina of a child. After all, for Rong Guang, the word ‘childhood’ was far too distant.
Rong Guang groggily got up to wash, while Chacha had already packed everything up and loaded it into a wheeled basket that was almost half her height.
“Is Sister Guangguang up?” Chacha asked excitedly. “I got a notification saying your makeup fitting starts at eight-thirty sharp.”
Before coming, Rong Guang had replaced Chacha’s old feature phone for convenience.
She had switched it to a senior-friendly phone that could use WeChat and basic social media apps.
Rong Guang got up to wash, brushing her teeth while asking, “Do we have the schedule and everything?”
“We have it all!” Chacha waved the paper in her hand and said professionally, “Let’s go eat first—Coconut said the cafeteria has Hulatang and small fried dough sticks today. We’ll head out with the car after we’re full.”
Rong Guang looked at the face in the mirror, so tender she wanted to take a bite out of it, and couldn’t help but sigh with emotion.
If this were her past life, after staying up until past three in the morning, she would have had to get up at six the next day. There was no way her mind could have kept up; she would have been groggy all day.
Not only would her mind be sluggish, but her skin would probably act up as well.
After admiring herself for a while, Rong Guang grabbed her bag and said, “Let’s go!”
The hotel they were staying at was one of the better ones in the area. Apart from the luxury suites on the top floor for the main cast, management, and some senior actors, the other standard rooms were evenly distributed among the other important supporting actors. There were quite a few of them, but not too many.
Rong Guang was up early enough, but some people were up even earlier.
When she went out to take out the trash, she saw Jiang Ruyi leaving with her assistant, looking glamorous and already in full makeup.
This made Rong Guang, who couldn’t even be bothered to wash her hair when she got lazy, feel a little ashamed.
Then she reflected on her shame for a second, finished throwing out the trash, and clapped her hands as she headed to the hotel cafeteria.
After Rong Guang finished eating with the two little ones, Chacha and Ye Zi were still a bit unsatisfied, each holding a few small quail eggs and slowly nibbling on them.
The shuttle from the hotel to the set ran every half hour, costing two yuan per trip. You could also get a monthly pass for a 20% discount. It was as punctual as a city bus.
When the three of them reached the stop, the black smoke from the previous bus hadn’t even dissipated, and its license plate was still faintly visible.
The three of them stood in the slightly bleak morning chill, getting a face full of exhaust fumes.
Chacha wiped her face and looked at the road where the bus had mercilessly disappeared. “This isn’t how the script is supposed to go, little Coconut.”
“I don’t think so either,” Ye Zi said, her words muffled by the food in her mouth. “The departure time was five minutes early.”
Besides them, other actors who had woken up a little later had also arrived.
Seeing that the bus had already left, most of them didn’t seem to care. They found a place to rest, ate their takeout breakfast, and waited for the next bus.
Chacha squatted by the wheeled cart, looking dejected. “To die before the battle is won.”
“No victory for Chacha today,” Ye Zi sighed, sitting on her own suitcase.
The two little ones looked at each other, their mouths turned down like tildes.
Rong Guang couldn’t stand it anymore. She turned to the people behind her and said, “Could I see your schedules?”
Some of them were supporting actors chosen from auditions. They had many scenes but no personal assistants, who would be assigned after they arrived on set today.
Before that, they had to do everything themselves, including getting their schedules.
Many people had found out who Rong Guang was yesterday, so as soon as she asked, someone took out their schedule and gave it to her.
“Their schedules are all over the place, with no fixed times,” Ye Zi said with a grave expression as she leaned over to look. “So they don’t need to rush. The early morning scenes usually don’t fall to them anyway.”
“But I need to rush.” Rong Guang rubbed her nose and said, “It seems some people just don’t learn their lesson.”
She frowned at the time, deciding not to wait for the bus.
“It’s a pity Uncle Zheng’s reputation is at stake,” Ye Zi said, swinging her legs as she sat on her suitcase. “It would be too tragic if he gets kicked out of the crew at his age because of some little vixen…”
Rong Guang didn’t quite hear what Ye Zi said and was about to ask when a modified RV slowly pulled up in front of her.
She recognized it as Chu Feiliang’s car at a glance and subconsciously stood up a little straighter.
The RV window rolled down, revealing the face of Chu Feiliang’s current assistant, Wang Lujie. “Good morning, Teacher Rong. Are you waiting for the bus?”
Rong Guang glanced inside but didn’t see Chu Feiliang. She wasn’t disappointed, though. She shook her head and said, “We missed it.”
“Why don’t you join us?” Wang Lujie said with a smile. “We’re heading to the same place.”
Rong Guang hesitated.
If it were just them in private, she would have gotten in immediately.
But with so many people and so many eyes watching, if she just got into Chu Feiliang’s car like this, would it reflect badly on Chu Feiliang?
The lead actress using her status to prey on a young actor, forcing her into an RV early in the morning to ‘read scripts’ or something…
Rong Guang was lost in thought.
However, there wasn’t much time for her to explain. Ye Zi had already dragged Chacha’s luggage and run onto the car with a whoop.
As Ye Zi ran, she shouted, “Thank you, Sister Chu! Did my brother ask you to give me a ride? Thank you so much—Chacha, my darling, hurry up!”
Rong Guang’s eyes widened, not comprehending how she had been abandoned by the two kids just like that.
This time, Chu Feiliang finally showed her face. She tapped lightly on the glass, her band-aid-wrapped finger looking even more conspicuous. “If you don’t get in now, you’re going to be late.”
Rong Guang stared at her without blinking.
Chu Feiliang seemed to enjoy being looked at like this by Rong Guang. The corners of her lips curled up. “Or, do you want to be late, delay the schedule, and get yelled at by Director Zhang in front of a hundred people?”
“I don’t.” Rong Guang took a breath, and with a pull of her right hand, she hoisted herself into the car using the handrail.
The RV was well-decorated, with a spacious interior that included not only a rest area but also an office area and a small leisure bar.
Chu Feiliang was sitting by the window, the curtain half-drawn, her eyes lowered as she read a script.
After getting on the car, Chacha and Ye Zi found a spot on their own and started playing a game of ‘jacks’ with the remaining five quail eggs.
Rong Guang finally sat down opposite Chu Feiliang and thanked her again.
Chu Feiliang looked up at her, her voice playful as she said with a smile, “We’re so familiar with each other now, are you still being so polite with me?”
As she spoke, she extended her right hand and tapped lightly on the table twice.
Then, she picked up a glass from the side, poured Rong Guang a cup of water, and her finger lightly touched the rim of the cup.
Rong Guang froze for a moment, and in an instant, she realized something. Her face flushed crimson.
That finger wrapped in a band-aid… wasn’t that the one she had bitten yesterday?
And that finger, having accidentally gotten a little wet, landed right on its owner’s pale lips as she drew it back.
Then, the fingertip was lightly sucked.
Rong Guang swallowed hard, feeling the air around them instantly grow much hotter.
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