A OO Love After Officially Announcing with the Best Actress - Chapter 4

At one thirty, Lin Ke stormed aggressively toward the director’s workroom. But just as she reached the doorway, she slammed on the brakes, switched into a sweet smile, and gently knocked on the door.

“Come in.”

“Director Shen.” Lin Ke smiled sweetly, holding the two boxes of fruit dessert Lu Tu had prepared. “Director Shen, I prepared two boxes of fruit dessert. Would you like to try some?”

Shen Feng was adjusting the monitor and did not even raise her head. “Just leave it there.”

With a thick-skinned smile, Lin Ke placed one box on the stand beside Shen Feng, then turned around.

Lin Bingran was sitting in the corner. Her script had slipped below the bridge of her nose, and her amber-like eyes were staring straight at Lin Ke.

“…”

Lin Ke stiffened. There were only two boxes of fruit dessert: one large box to curry favor with Shen Feng, and one small box for her own extra meal. She had specially come over early while everyone was resting precisely to prevent uneven distribution.

Lin Bingran raised an eyebrow, her gaze full of implication as it fell on Lin Ke’s arms.

Lin Ke lost her happiness. “Teacher Lin, would you like some?”

Lin Bingran did not respond. She pushed the script back up to cover her eyes. Then, just as Lin Ke was about to breathe a sigh of relief, she said, “Thank you. Leave it beside me.”

Lin Ke: “…”

Yesterday it was hotpot, high in oil. Today it was fruit, high in sugar.

At twenty-eight, her metabolism was still this good?

Lin Ke sat down on the other side and thought bitterly, I’ll just treat it as dieting. Once Lin Bingran gets fat, I’ll outshine her with my beauty.

People gradually arrived in the director’s room. Wang Bingbing sat down beside Lin Bingran, and the two naturally began chatting.

Zhang Du, Shen Kuo, and some of the main supporting actors also arrived one after another. These few scenes involved more than ten people, so the actors slowly gathered.

Lin Ke slightly curled her fingertips and gripped her script tightly, moving the folding stool under her butt even farther into the corner.

The script read-through first focused on several important scenes that would be filmed in the next few days.

Fortunately, the film did not have much nonsense. Everyone went line by line, interpreted the script, and joked around. Half the time passed just like that.

Lin Ke’s mouth was dry from speaking. She put down the script and shifted her gaze to the actress playing her older sister in the film—Wang Bingbing.

With that one glance, her gaze was inevitably drawn to Lin Bingran.

In the film, Lin Bingran played a girl the same age as her, sixteen or seventeen. Now that she was dressed for the role, she somehow looked completely natural and out of place in no way at all.

Lin Bingran’s lines were also good. Once she opened her mouth, her voice was somewhat different from her real voice—she was reading the lines in the state of the character, using that crisp, bell-like voice of a young girl.

A qualified actor could control their vocal cords. Changing vocal tone according to the character was a basic skill.

Lin Ke’s lines were a little weaker. Once her voice grew louder, she easily ran short of breath.

Wang Bingbing pointed out, “Don’t press your throat when you speak.”

Lin Ke said, “I’m afraid that if my voice gets louder, I won’t enunciate clearly.”

Shen Kuo said, “Your line delivery foundation isn’t bad. Is it because there are too many people and you feel embarrassed?”

Everyone laughed.

Lin Ke pressed her lips together. Actors needed a strong sense of conviction. She was still a bit too inexperienced. The moment she saw Lin Bingran, she thought of the relationship between herself and Lin Bingran in the film and felt awkward. And Shen Kuo and Wang Bingbing’s scenes were also very stimulating.

Shen Feng said, “You can try reciting aloud. If you stick with that method for a year or so, your line delivery will become very good.”

Zhang Du added, “Of course, you need to be careful. Don’t practice until you end up with broadcast-announcer syndrome.”

Everyone laughed aloud. The atmosphere was good, so Shen Feng naturally teased Lin Bingran.

“Bingran, aren’t you going to say a few words?”

Lin Bingran smiled. “Everyone here is a seasoned actor. You all know how to teach better than I do.”

Wang Bingbing said, “This is Bingran’s first time taking on a same-sex-themed project, right? Are you confident?”

Lin Bingran was calm and unruffled. On the contrary, Lin Ke was so nervous that she kept swallowing.

Lin Ke said, “Director, I…”

“You and Xiao Lin are playing lovers. You’re both omegas, so your genders can’t form a standard pairing. That means one important part of the tension is missing, so at other times, you’ll need to rely more on details and eye contact,” Shen Feng brought the topic back, looking at Lin Ke as she said, “I’m not worried about Bingran. Xiao Lin, have you dated before?”

Since this involved her private life, Lin Ke pinched the edge of her shorts tightly, wrinkling them even more. “I… haven’t…”

Shen Feng asked, “You’ve acted in a few dramas before. When filming romantic scenes, can you feel that back-and-forth tension between you and your CP?”

With an embarrassed expression, Lin Ke said, “When I played the third female lead, there were no romantic scenes. When I played the second female lead, I was a villainous cannon fodder and a lonely simp.”

“Pfft.” Shen Feng laughed.

Lin Bingran also pressed out the dimple by her lips. She had been sitting for too long without moving, her limbs feeling tired and numb, and she had grown sleepy reading the script. Now, Lin Ke had amused her awake.

Shen Feng then said, “Move over and sit next to Bingran. Cultivate some feelings. Aren’t you her fan? Look at Bingran and see if you feel your heart move.”

Lin Ke picked up her little folding stool, circled around Lin Bingran, and sat down in a more open spot. She seemed to catch a faint fragrance of tea leaves. Lowering her head, she said, “I respect Teacher Lin very much. I wouldn’t dare profane my idol.”

The entire room burst into laughter.

But Shen Feng frowned.

Lin Bingran stretched out her legs, and the edge of her pants brushed against Lin Ke’s calf.

Lin Ke reflexively drew back. Her attitude was unexpectedly full of dislike.

Like a parent arranging a marriage, Shen Feng asked, “Have you two added each other on WeChat? If not, add each other. If Xiao Lin doesn’t understand something, she can ask. Communicate more.”

Zhang Du said, “Let’s make a group chat.”

After the group chat was made, Lin Ke added everyone’s WeChat from the group. Only at the very end did she tap open Lin Bingran’s.

Lin Bingran’s WeChat name was an abbreviation of the initials of her name, and her profile picture was of a big domestic cat.

Lin Ke turned sideways to prevent Lin Bingran from peeking at her screen and silently typed three characters into the note section: Great Demon King.

At the same time, Lin Bingran was also typing three characters into the note section: Little Anti-Fan.

The blazing sun gradually sank westward, and it was no longer as hot. Shen Feng went to Group B to film Lin Bingran. Group A stayed behind with the assistant director to adjust the shots and film empty scenery shots and supporting roles.

This scene was being filmed in an old residence in town.

The old residence was built of stone bricks and wood, with a gloomy front gate. The entire building had details of naturally decaying wood and moss growing on stone.

According to the script’s background, this building had been unoccupied for too long. Today, a new household was moving in.

Their surname was Li. It was said that the master of the house was already in his sixties and had come here to retire. In total, eight or nine people had moved in together.

Lin Ke chose a quiet corner near the residence to prepare for the scene, watching the assistant director film the servants going in and out.

When new people moved into an old residence, everything inside and outside needed to be cleaned. There were not enough hands.

Fang the butler, played by Zhang Du, walked out and took out a silver dollar to call out to Granny Zhang. “Go into town and find two people who work neatly and have clean hands and feet.”

Granny Zhang bowed and left.

Such a small shot was filmed back and forth for an entire hour before it was finally done. After that, the assistant director called Lin Ke over to walk through the scene. It took half an hour to adjust everything properly, and by then, it was already dusk.

The sky shifted from pale yellow to fiery red. Clouds gathered and rolled. One moment, they looked like galloping horses; the next, they looked like soaring eagles.

The fiery sunset clouds reflected red light onto people’s faces. Lin Ke held her phone and snapped photo after photo, finding it unusually fascinating.

Shen Feng returned and took over the assistant director’s position to adjust the shots. First, she rushed to capture a set of shots of the fiery sunset clouds, then prepared to film the female lead and second female lead’s first meeting.

After Lin Bingran finished filming a scene with Group B, she joined Group A and waited to film. She had long since taken off the loose jacket and pants and changed into a qipao costume embroidered with gold thread.

The qipao was too large, and her chest was flat, making Lin Bingran appear somewhat thin and fragile, as if Li Fengling from the script had come to life.

To match the character’s image, Lin Bingran had also bound her chest.

After disappearing for most of the day, Lu Tu returned and brought Lin Ke some tea in a blue water bottle. “You’ve gotten sleepy waiting, right? Take a couple of gulps. It clears heat, detoxifies, and wakes you up.”

Lin Ke unscrewed the bottle and drank two mouthfuls.

Lin Bingran was speaking with Shen Feng. The two were leaning close together, looking at the clouds through the monitor.

Lin Ke had spent an hour preparing for the scene and had long since grown bored. After standing under the beam for another five minutes, she watched the eagle turn into an elephant, then lowered her head and said, “Why is this tea so astringent? And bitter too.”

“Mm.” A voice sounded by her ear. Lin Bingran smiled and said, “Maybe the tea isn’t good quality. If you want to drink tea, I can have my assistant send you some fresh tea leaves. They’re an agricultural product I endorse. That one isn’t astringent.”

Lin Ke’s scalp tingled. She had forgotten that Lin Bingran’s pheromones were Longjing green tea.

“Thank you, Teacher Lin.” Lin Ke barely squeezed out a proper smile, but in her heart, she was complaining that Lin Bingran was pretending like a big bad wolf with a fluffy tail.

Lin Bingran nodded and pointed to the second floor. “I’ll go up first.”

Lu Tu: “…”

Speechless, Lu Tu said, “Can I put a safety lock on your mouth?”

Lin Ke: “…”

All departments were ready.

Shen Feng said, “Positions!”

The script supervisor clapped the slate.

Fang the butler came out from beneath the corridor and directed the servants to rinse the ground and walls with a water hose. “Here, here, and here! Scrub off all the moss.”

“Rinse the beam above the gate too!”

A jet of water sprayed over.

“Aiyo!” Chu Feng cried out as water poured directly over her head, soaking her thoroughly.

Fang the butler quickly called for them to stop. The water hose moved away, revealing the drenched Chu Feng standing in place like a drowned chicken.

Fang the butler asked, “Who are you?”

Granny Zhou was slow on her feet and hurried over from behind. “What happened? Ah, Butler Fang, this is the child I found at the market…”

Chu Feng wrung out her clothes. Water dripped from the eaves with a steady patter. She raised her head to avoid it and curiously looked around, catching sight of a figure by the round window on the third floor.

A girl was wearing a qipao, with a small outer jacket draped over her shoulders, her skin as white as snow. She had originally been standing by the window watching the fiery sunset clouds, but she was drawn over by the commotion downstairs. When her gaze met Chu Feng’s, her smile had not yet fully faded, and a small pear dimple appeared beside her lips.

Chu Feng raised her head and stared, dumbfounded. She stood stupidly in place, not paying attention as a drop of water rolled down from the eaves and fell straight into her eye.

Her vision was turned mottled and colorful by the light of the setting sun. The sunset cast a faint layer of light over the girl’s body. Chu Feng did not dare blink, afraid she would miss the scenery.

Chu Feng was dragged inside by the arm by Granny Zhou. As she went down the stone steps, she stumbled and looked back. The person at the window had already left.

“Cut!” Shen Feng was not satisfied. “Prepare to do it again.”