Jiang Lai stuck out her tongue: "Sorry."
Jiang Lai is very good at winning people over; the young lady has already become her fangirl.
"It's only because you arrived early. If the filming schedule is delayed due to edema, Director Yu will scold you."
Jiang Lai nodded silently, biting her straw: "Indeed."
Jiang Lai was already thin, and she lost weight for the role, so even if she had edema, it wasn't too serious. However, Director Yu is an extreme perfectionist, and he wouldn't allow any of the actors on screen to have swollen faces.
The alternating hot and cold face compress method worked very well, and Jiang Lai's face was "saved". With the help of the makeup artist's amazing skills, a rebellious teenage girl appeared in front of the camera.
Even after all this time, Jiang Lai couldn't help but exclaim, "Your 'no-makeup' makeup is absolutely amazing!"
The young woman smiled shyly: "It's nothing."
With some time before filming began, Jiang Lai sat in a chair reading the script. Xia Fanrou, having finished her makeup and costume, came over and sat down next to her.
Jiang Lai looked up and said, "Teacher Xia, you look exactly like Jian Ning after you put on the costume."
Her praise was sincere, without any fancy words or embellishments, which was very pleasant to hear.
Xia Fanrou smiled and said, "Thank you."
"Teacher Xia, I have a question for you."
With an attitude of being open and honest with the younger generation, Xia Fanrou said, "Go ahead."
Jiang Lai put down the script, her eyes shining: "What were you feeling on the day you stood on the stage to receive the award? The day you won Best Actress."
Xia Fanrou smiled and asked, "You've seen it?"
Jiang Lai nodded: "I watch every award ceremony."
She longed for that stage, for that trophy, for recognition from the world.
Xia Fanrou replied earnestly, "I was really excited. I vaguely remember my legs shaking when I went on stage that day. It's the Hundred Flowers Award, one of the three major awards."
Jiang Lai was envious and sincerely admired her: "She's really amazing."
However, Jiang Lai was more envious of her father, a Grand Slam Best Actor in his prime. Whenever she returned to the villa as a child, she would rush into her father's study to admire his trophies. Although her mother also had many trophies, Jiang Lai didn't care about them; she had no interest in directing.
In the past, Jiang Lai would look at her father's trophies and dream that one day her name would be engraved on them.
For the first time, Lin Zhi stayed in bed late. Instead of sleeping, she stared at the ceiling with her eyes open, and spent half an hour cleansing her mind.
She raised her hand to cover her eyes. Last night, Jiang Lai asked her what she had been through, trying to see through her heart. Lin Zhi knew that she could never open her heart in this lifetime. Even Cheng Anan did not know that those memories were terrifying to her, something she could neither recall nor talk about.
During my junior year of college, a heavy snow fell in City A during winter. As the snowflakes fell, the city was covered in a blinding silvery white, and the gray-white sky made it difficult for vehicles to move.
The camera was pointed at the hotel bed, which was surrounded by people. At the director's command, the actors began their performance.
Lin Zhi was crying and begging for help when the male actor put his hand inside her clothes. The director didn't yell "cut," and the male actor continued his "performance" without restraint.
This is going too far; this isn't acting...
A resounding slap echoed through the hotel room...
Is it really necessary?
Is it necessary?
Is she sick?
The bystander's words pierced the girl's heart like sharp blades, and from that day on, her state of mind completely changed...
The phone alarm rang for the third time. Lin Zhi turned it off, got up to wash, and splashed cold water on her face to wash away the tear stains from the corners of her eyes.
Lin Zhi took three days off from her company and will fly back to City A tomorrow afternoon. Today she still needs to go to the film set to make some arrangements.
Looking at the clothes in her suitcase, Lin Zhi was a little worried. In the end, she chose a beige shirt, buttoned it all the way up to the top, afraid of revealing any marks. She paired it with a fishtail skirt, which accentuated her figure.
Lin Zhi's aesthetic sense is undeniably high; otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to discover and appreciate the beauty in people around her.
When she arrived at the film set, Jiang Lai was filming. She quietly walked to the monitor and stood behind Yu Wei, who was staring at the screen and did not notice her.
A gentle sea breeze stirred the girl's hair as the camera slowly zoomed in, gradually revealing Jiang Lai's face. Her face was very distinctive; Lin Zhi had seen her sexy in a dress and youthful in a T-shirt and shorts. It wasn't the clothes that defined her, but rather her; someone like her would have a wider range of roles.
Tall, small frame, square shoulders, swan neck...
"Click! The previous one passed, now we'll secure another one."
Yu Wei's voice pulled Lin Zhi back from her reverie. The makeup artist was touching up the actors' makeup when Yu Wei took a sip of water, turned around, and saw Lin Zhi.
"Vice President Lin is here. Would you like to see the replay? Xiao Jiang did a great job."
Lin Zhi shook hands with him and nodded with a smile: "Sorry to bother you."
Yu Wei readily agreed and asked the stagehand to bring over a stool: "What's the disturbance? Sit down and watch."
Not long after Lin Zhi sat down, Jiang Lai rushed over and smiled shyly when she saw Lin Zhi.
Yu Wei teased her, "Why are you shy when you see your boss?"
Lin Zhi hid her embarrassment and stared blankly at the screen.
Jiang Lai smiled and changed the subject: "Let me see the replay."
The actors who had just acted with her, as well as Xia Fanrou, came over to watch together, listening to Yu Wei's explanation as they watched.
"Here, you can make your expression a little more tense. Yu Xin is a problem student, and you are her teacher. You should be very troubled and frustrated. Can you understand that feeling of helpless anger?"
The actor playing the teacher nodded in understanding.
“Yu Xin performed very well. You can play freely in a moment. You understand your feelings for Jian Ning, right?”
Jiang Lai nodded, her cheeks flushed from the heat. She looked at Xia Fanrou, who smiled knowingly. Lin Zhi saw all of this.
Lin Zhi suddenly felt a little uncomfortable, but she didn't know why and didn't show it.
Yu Wei continued, "You can show some subtle eye contact, eye acting. There are some things the characters can't say, but their eyes don't lie. Can you express hidden love?"
Jiang Lai paused for a moment, processing Yu Wei's words: "Okay, that should be fine."
Yu Wei laughed: "Hurry up and do one more take."
"no problem."
The makeup artist began touching up the makeup; everything was ready.
The clapperboard snapped shut, signaling the actors to begin their performance.
Since this clause is guaranteed, the actors are free to improvise.
Before it started, Jiang Lai pondered how to express her love subtly, but after it began, she imagined the person sitting in the front row as Lin Zhi.
She ignored the teacher's criticism, her gaze shifting between the teacher and Jian Ning before finally settling on Jian Ning.
The camera captured her eyes, curved and smiling, conveying both girlish shyness and heartache and reluctance.
As psychologist Meribian once said, you may not say whether you love someone or not, but your eyes will betray your true feelings.
After the lines were finished, Yu Wei hadn't called "cut" yet. He stared excitedly at the screen, hoping for an even better performance from the actors.
Jian Ning seemed to sense something, and slowly turned around. Their eyes met, and Yu Xin's gaze trembled as he fled in panic.
"Click! Extra chicken leg today!"
Yu Wei was clearly excited and stood up to applaud the actors.
At lunchtime, Qi Chuan went to see Lin Zhi again. The two chatted and laughed, and Jiang Lai, jealous, vented her anger by eating rice.
She was too thin, so Yu Wei ordered her to eat normally.
Seeing her like this, Anna glanced at Lin Zhi and Qi Chuan not far away and said, "Qi Chuan and Sister Lin have been friends for several years."
Jiang Lai was taken aback, thinking to herself: I know, why are you telling me this? Why bring up something I don't want to talk about!
Anna continued, "Lai Lai, you mustn't let the role cause feelings to develop!"
"Cough cough cough!"
Jiang Lai choked on her rice, her face turning red, and the sound of her coughing drew Lin Zhi's attention.
"Who said that? Cough cough, who said that?"
Jiang Lai took a sip of water and took several deep breaths. It felt like the grain of rice was stuck in her trachea, so she took a tissue and blew her nose.
Seeing Jiang Lai's strong reaction, Anna finally believed that she didn't like Qi Chuan, and patted her chest repeatedly, "That's good, that's good."
Jiang Lai chuckled, unsure what to say. She looked up and met Lin Zhi's eyes. The latter was startled, quickly averting her gaze, her evasive manner resembling...
Like Yu Xin.
If Lin Zhi hadn't made a promise to her this morning not to fall for her, Jiang Lai would have thought that the other woman had fallen in love with her.
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Author's Note:
Lin Zhi: I'm straight, I won't fall in love.
Jiang Lai: Oh oh oh oh oh thank you so much to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2022-03-10 22:09:01 and 2022-03-11 22:35:33!
Thank you to the little angel who watered the nutrient solution: Hanks (10 bottles);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 17
Lin Zhi left very suddenly. She received a phone call while eating, and when she came back, there were tear stains on her face. Jiang Lai wanted to go up and care for her, but Qi Chuan kept blocking her, so she could only watch Lin Zhi leave the film crew.
Even with chicken legs added, the boxed lunch tasted bland, and she even started to wonder if the company had gone bankrupt.
During her short lunch break, Jiang Lai sent a WeChat message to Lin Zhi.
[What happened? You look terrible.]
Jiang Lai waited for a long time but received no reply. Her phone didn't ring again until filming started in the afternoon.
Lin Zhi wasn't ignoring her messages; she was just constantly on her way and hadn't had a moment to check her phone.
She was very upset.
"Xiaozhi, your father was in a car accident, and he was fully responsible... The ICU costs seven thousand a day... Mom really can't afford it. I'm sorry, Xiaozhi, I know I shouldn't have borrowed money from her, but..."