A OO Love After Officially Announcing with the Best Actress - Chapter 21

“What are you rushing around for…” Lu Tu climbed into the RV and saw Lin Ke lying on the bed. “Hey! You haven’t even removed your makeup yet!”

Lin Ke climbed up and closed her eyes, letting Lu Tu wipe cleansing oil over her face. The dark foundation was wiped away bit by bit, revealing her red cheeks, full of collagen. Lin Ke’s long lashes fluttered nonstop, and her ears were pink and translucent, clear veins visible beneath the skin.

Lu Tu clicked her tongue in wonder. “Should I put a cooling patch on you?”

Lin Ke’s lashes trembled. Her lips pressed into a line, as if she wanted to say something but stopped.

Lu Tu said, “While you two were filming inside, I chatted with Fang Wuyu outside for a while. She mentioned you.”

Lin Ke’s heart instantly tightened. “What did she say?”

As if sharing in her glory, Lu Tu answered, “Teacher Fang said you have talent and a limitless future.”

That was all?

Lin Ke did not know whether she should breathe a sigh of relief.

Lu Tu sighed with emotion. “I wonder how Lu Meng is doing now.”

Lin Ke raised her eyes. “Why are you bringing her up?”

Lu Tu said, “You think I want to? I’ve been surfing online all day. How could I not see it? They’re still arguing even now. The topic’s heat keeps getting suppressed… it’ll explode sooner or later. Oh right, how was your filming today?”

It should have been pretty okay, Lin Ke thought. She had even kissed Lin Bingran into a daze. The final kissing scene had passed in one take, and Shen Feng had practically wanted to rush over and give her a thumbs-up.

“I can now compete with the film queen,” Lin Ke said, not modest at all.

The nanny van started and drove toward the hotel. Lu Tu flipped through her phone and reminded Lin Ke to go online less.

Lin Ke hit the nail on the head. “Is someone suggesting replacing me?”

Since Lin Ke had guessed it, Lu Tu did not avoid the topic. “It’s all CP fans getting themselves worked up. They’re saying Fang Wuyu and Lin Bingran’s No Return won awards, and the two of them are now a couple, so how suitable would it be for them to collaborate a second time on this kind of artistic romance film? Solo fans are arguing with CP fans, saying they want to ruin their jiejie. Several groups are fighting so fiercely it’s a mess. Don’t take it to heart. Film casting has so many hidden factors. It’s not like fans can decide whatever they want. Naive.”

“But…” Lu Tu considered Lin Ke’s feelings with the second half, speaking more vaguely. “In this industry, you do need to have a sense of crisis. Don’t worry. Just focus on acting well.”

Lin Ke looked out the window, understanding the deeper meaning behind that “but.”

After all, as an investor, Lin Bingran had a record of replacing actors halfway through a film.

In the award-winning No Return, Fang Wuyu’s role had once belonged to another actress named Lu Meng.

Back when filming was halfway through, Lin Bingran had overruled all objections and replaced Lu Meng, finding Fang Wuyu, who had still been a medical student at the time.

After No Return won awards, along with flowers and applause came online abuse and boycotts.

Eight years ago, on the same day No Return won its award, Lu Meng was hospitalized after attempting suicide by cutting her wrists due to severe depression. Later, she moved overseas. Even in low-tier foreign films from the past couple of years, Lu Meng could still be seen. Lu Meng had always pursued her dream. She had not disappeared into silence. Her resilience in struggling from rock bottom attracted a group of fans, and those people were still boycotting Lin Bingran to this day.

Especially in the past two years, with online marketing becoming widespread, unethical marketing accounts riding popularity, rival teams paying for articles to smear Lin Bingran, and self-media accounts digging deep into the industry’s secrets for clicks, the more popular Lin Bingran became, the more people popularized what had happened back then.

One sentence had spread to this day.

Lin Bingran soared ninety thousand li upward, stepping on Lu Meng’s corpse beneath her feet.

“Do you think…” Lin Ke asked Lu Tu, “there was something else behind what happened back then? Why has Lin Bingran never explained?”

Lu Tu was replying to messages on her phone. Hearing that, she casually said, “The replacement was real. Lu Meng’s suicide attempt was real. Lin Bingran already couldn’t defend herself no matter what. Whether true or false, can you sort it out clearly? Anyway, it’s all in the past. What’s there to explain?”

Lin Ke felt as if her lungs were being squeezed by a large hand. Her chest felt blocked, and breathing was difficult. She opened the car window for air, and a rush of hot air surged in, diluting the RV’s cold air-conditioning.

Lu Tu came back to herself and said, “Stop thinking about it. I know you don’t like Lin Bingran, and no one’s asking you to do anything else. Enter the role when you should, leave the role when you should. Thinking about this after work—isn’t that just making yourself uncomfortable?”

Lin Ke began picking at the seat cushion. She opened WeChat. Great Demon King’s message was still unanswered, the last one still asking about the whereabouts of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall.

Lu Tu turned and closed the car window. “The weather forecast says there’ll be showers. When you sleep tonight, don’t keep the air conditioner on all night. Be careful not to catch a cold. Where are the tea leaves Film Queen Lin gave you? Go back and brew a couple cups to drink, to prevent a summer cold.”

Lin Ke lowered her head, her eyes fixed on the phone screen, and gave a hum.

Before it was late at night, the steaming ground was suddenly struck by a downpour.

At ten o’clock, Fang Wuyu entered Room 601 with a medical kit.

Lin Bingran sat on the sofa, a small blanket draped over her body. Her nose was red, and she sneezed loudly.

“Achoo—” Lin Bingran rubbed her nose.

Guo Rongrong used the remote to turn off the air conditioner and said to Fang Wuyu, “She soaked in water for several hours. After coming back, she started feeling a bit unwell. We’re not sure if she caught a cold.”

Fang Wuyu asked, “Did you take her temperature?”

Guo Rongrong said, “37.3. A low fever. Doctor Fang, I’ll pour you a glass of water.”

Fang Wuyu handed Lin Bingran a thermometer, checked her mouth and eyes, and said, “It’s not serious. I’ll prescribe some medicine.”

Lin Bingran’s nose was flushed red, making her look like a sickly beauty. “Sorry for making you run all this way.”

“Have you eaten dinner? I’ll make you something,” Fang Wuyu said.

Lin Bingran said, “No appetite.”

Fang Wuyu said, “It’s been years since I last followed you on set.”

Lin Bingran pulled the blanket tighter. Her head felt heavy, and she only wanted to sleep. “What’s wrong?”

Fang Wuyu said, “Jie, do I still have a chance to act?”

Guo Rongrong took eight lifetimes to pour one glass of water.

Lin Bingran answered clearly, “Difficult. Prescribe something stronger.”

Fang Wuyu prepared the medicine, mixed several kinds together, and handed them to Lin Bingran. “You take very good care of Lin Ke.”

The door was knocked on. Lin Bingran swallowed a handful of pills, and bitterness spread through her lips and teeth.

Fang Wuyu crossed the sofa area in a few steps and opened the door before Guo Rongrong could.

The door opened. Lin Ke froze. The alpha before her stood at the entrance of Room 601, looking down at her from above and asking politely yet distantly, “Is something the matter?”

Lin Ke’s palms felt hot. “…I-I came to bring Teacher Lin something to eat.”

The pile of person on the sofa rose. Lin Bingran turned back and saw Lin Ke standing awkwardly outside Room 601, holding a clay pot in her arms.

“No need,” Fang Wuyu lowered her eyes. “But thank you. I’ll make her something appetizing later.”

Lin Ke grew even more embarrassed, as if coming here had only made her humiliate herself. Lin Bingran’s lover was right here—what was she coming to join the excitement for?

Guo Rongrong and Fang Wuyu, one tall and one short, blocked the doorway tightly like two great generals guarding the plaque of Room 601 as if it were the Southern Heavenly Gate.

Lin Bingran walked out. After catching a cold, her sense of smell was not as sharp as before, and only when she came closer did she smell the rich soup fragrance.

“For me?” Lin Bingran reached out, hooked one handle of the clay pot, and pulled it into her arms. She lifted the lid, and the fragrance hit her nose.

Chicken drumsticks, ribs, abalone, sea cucumber, dried scallops, shiitake mushrooms, tendons, pigeon eggs, and more had been slowly simmered for two hours into a thick soup. It was a simplified version of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall.

The rain was raging outside, and delivery could not get in. Lin Ke had pestered the hotel chef into making it.

When she brought it upstairs, her head had been hot with impulse. When she knocked, her heart had been full of anxiety. When Fang Wuyu opened the door, that suspended heart had almost dropped to the floor.

Now Lin Bingran had appeared in time, as if saving her life.

Lin Ke stammered, “…During filming this afternoon, the water turned cold. I was afraid you’d catch a cold, so I brought you something good to nourish yourself.”

Lin Bingran showed surprise and delight, making one suspect that a little food would be enough to lure her away.

Fang Wuyu was silent for two seconds, then smiled. “It smells so good. Do I have the honor of having a sip?”

Before Lin Ke could answer, Lin Bingran exhaled a hot breath, her curved brows furrowing as she said, “Don’t joke around with a child.”

Fang Wuyu was helpless and could only concede. “My mistake.”

Lin Bingran gave her a reproachful look, meaning she disliked how ambiguous Fang Wuyu’s wording was and feared it would make Lin Ke think nonsense.

Lin Ke watched and thought that she really had been unnecessary in coming here. But the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall had been something she had promised Lin Bingran early on, so she would just consider it repayment for Lin Bingran helping her run lines.

Managers were always omniscient. As soon as Lin Ke returned to her room, Lu Tu sent a message.

What did you go to the kitchen for?

Lin Ke pursed her lips and replied: I was hungry, so I stole a tomato to eat.

Lu Tu: Silly thing.

Lin Ke looked at the bathroom mirror. Inside it was herself, dazedly coming back to her senses.

She really was quite silly.

Lin Ke poked her index finger against the mirror. Poke, poke, poke. She kept poking until she deflated.

Her phone dinged.

Lin Ke grabbed it and looked.

Great Demon King: Why didn’t you sprinkle chopped scallions?

Lin Ke pressed her lips together. She had long forgotten about that.

She replied mysteriously: Are you questioning the chef’s skills?

The other side sent over a photo of the bowl scraped completely clean.

Great Demon King: Should I return the clay pot to you?

The bottom of the bowl was clean, without even a single drop left. Had one person drunk it, or had two people shared it?

Lu Tu sent a message, telling Lin Ke to check the call sheet.

Her earlier gloom had not yet disappeared. Lin Ke prepared to digest it for two seconds before replying. She opened the call sheet, and immediately, her breathing became difficult. She twisted up like a cat, clawing and picking at the bedsheet.

Little Anti-Fan: Just put it back in the kitchen.

When Lin Bingran received the reply, she held her belly and lay down in satisfaction. Guo Rongrong took away the bowls and chopsticks. Even though Guo Rongrong’s own stomach was growling, Lin Bingran had not shared a single mouthful with her.

The coordinator tagged people in the group chat.

Guo Rongrong opened her phone and said, “Tomorrow, we’re filming Scene Sixty-Nine.”

Lin Bingran’s stomach was round from eating. She leaned crookedly on the sofa. The script was right there on the coffee table in front of her, within reach, but she was too lazy even to grab it.

Guo Rongrong handed it over.

Lin Bingran opened it and looked. Her tone was calm and unruffled, dragging lazily.

“A bed scene, huh.”