A OO Love After Officially Announcing with the Best Actress - Chapter 5

“This upward gaze is very important. When the long shot pushes in, I need a close-up of your eyes where the emotional change is clearly visible,” Shen Feng patted Lin Ke’s shoulder. “Understood?”

Lin Ke looked up. Lin Bingran was on the second-floor window looking at the scenery, both elbows resting on the windowsill, her gaze distant and lingering. The curiosity and ignorance of a young girl belonging to Li Fengling were already gone; she moved in and out of character very quickly.

Seeing Lin Ke dazed, Shen Feng continued to coach her: “In Chu Feng’s eyes, besides being starstruck, there should be confusion and a stirring of the heart. This is a scene of love at first sight; she doesn’t understand it herself yet and doesn’t know what it means, but the information here must be sufficient. You have to let the audience feel this emotion so that all future emotional fluctuations have a trace to follow. This scene is vital; it lays the foundation for the future relationship.”

Shen Feng’s throat was dry: “Got it?”

Lin Ke: “Director, let’s do one more take.”

Shen Feng glanced at the monitor. There was only one sliver of natural light left. She pressed the walkie-talkie and said, “One more take.”

The scene started from after Lin Ke was drenched. Xiao Wang held a small ladle filled with water to re-soak the hem of Lin Ke’s clothes before quickly retreating out of the shot.

The production assistant snapped the clapperboard again.

Chu Feng wrung the water out of her clothes and looked up. On the grey wall bathed in orange light, Li Fengling leaned against a corner of the round window. Twilight and sunset formed a vivid boundary line, and a thin shadow from the eaves sliced the picturesque scene into two frames.

Half of Li Fengling’s body was hidden in darkness, while the other half bathed in warm, soft light.

The wonder in Chu Feng’s eyes flashed by, quickly turning into confusion. She clearly saw the girl’s expression change from a suppressed smile to alarm—timid and panicked—taking a step back to merge completely into the darkness.

Chu Feng was grabbed by the elbow by Mrs. Zhou and pulled down the steps. She looked back; the figure at the round window had vanished, and a hint of curiosity was added to her emotions.

The entire scene—coordinating movements, positioning, and shifting between close-ups and long shots—was filmed until nearly eight o’clock, exhausting the last bit of orange from the horizon.

The horizon turned from warm orange to pale white, then to light grey, until night fell.

“Cut.”

There were many things to do today, so no other scenes were scheduled.

Shen Feng shouted: “That’s a wrap.”

the actress playing Mrs. Zhou was a veteran. She let go of Lin Ke and asked if she had squeezed her too hard.

Lin Ke shook her head, speaking softly to the senior. She took the towel handed over by Lu Tu to wipe off the water.

Lin Bingran came down from upstairs, followed by a round-faced girl who gave Lin Ke a harsh glare as they passed.

Lin Ke: “…”

Lu Tu said: “That’s Lin Bingran’s little assistant. It’s normal for her to dislike you.”

Lin Ke glared back. Her temper was a bit short because the filming hadn’t been smooth, but it was also true that she had dragged Lin Bingran into working overtime. So, with a mix of irritation and guilt, she whispered to Lu Tu: “Then why didn’t you help me glare back?”

Lu Tu was extremely surprised. “That’s the Best Actress’s assistant! How would I dare!”

Lin Ke nodded in understanding and looked up. Shen Feng and Lin Bingran were indeed old friends; they sat together reviewing the footage just filmed, chatting back and forth.

Everyone finished up one by one. Everyone passing Lin Bingran praised the Best Actress, and she responded calmly, appearing like an aloof master.

Lin Ke hadn’t performed well tonight. Lu Tu thought she was unhappy and coaxed her: “Once you become a Best Actress, you’ll be above millions. I’ll be above ten thousand and below only one!”

“Above millions? Isn’t that an Empress?” Lin Ke grumbled disdainfully. “You’re an Omega, why would you want to be a head eunuch of the Western Depot?”

Lu Tu: “…”

“It’s alright,” Shen Feng said casually, pointing at the screen to draw Lin Bingran’s attention to Li Fengling in the scene. “That dividing line from the sunset was a pleasant surprise. Your shot is excellent—very mature and natural, with no visible traces of acting.”

Lin Bingran frowned slightly. Shen Feng had high standards for filming, and Lin Bingran was a “drama nerd” herself. Her shot was “excellent,” so “alright” clearly referred to Lin Ke.

Shen Feng then said: “A movie tests a director’s skill. I’ll teach her. Maybe it’s because she hasn’t done a movie before and isn’t used to the big screen yet.”

Lin Bingran’s expression wasn’t exactly warm. She said, “You’ll have to put in a lot of effort then.”

Shen Feng sensed something was off: “Don’t give me that useless talk. You invested half the money in this movie. If you have time, teach her. I’ll push back the schedule for that scene later.”

Lin Bingran hated teaching juniors the most. She said: “I’m heading back first.”

As soon as Lin Bingran left, Shen Feng beckoned Lin Ke, who had been squatting nearby for a long time, to come over.

Lin Ke murmured: “Director Shen…”

Shen Feng told people to pack up the equipment and said casually: “The filming was alright.”

Lin Ke’s wilted expression regained its spirit.

Shen Feng was no doting mother. She added: “Yours was ‘alright,’ but my comment for Bingran was ‘brilliant’.”

Lin Ke was speechless and nodded slowly. Emotional scenes were her weak point. She hadn’t hidden this from Shen Feng since the audition. Now that the first scene hadn’t gone smoothly, she was curious about why Shen Feng chose her.

“Director Shen, I’m sorry. I’m not good at emotional scenes.”

Lin Ke lowered her head; she had dragged down the progress of the whole crew.

Shen Feng lit a cigarette and handed it toward Lin Ke out of habit.

Lin Ke extended her long fingers to grip it; her posture was that of a veteran smoker.

Shen Feng paused, asking suspiciously: “I’m used to handing out cigarettes, but do you smoke too?”

Lin Ke withdrew her hand awkwardly. “No, smoking is harmful to health.”

Shen Feng: “…”

Lu Tu would definitely pinch her thigh if she heard that. Lin Ke ran off dejectedly.

All the way back to the hotel, the pressure inside the van was very low.

Xiao Wang was driving in front, and Lu Tu was on the phone flattering a producer. Lin Ke sat in the car in a daze, her thoughts drifting, eventually landing on the Great Demon King.

At the hotel, Xiao Wang went to park. Lu Tu was busier than a big star; she pressed the floor button for Lin Ke and let her return to her room alone, taking a moment to cover the receiver and comfort her: “Don’t overthink it, get some rest early.”

Lin Ke took the empty elevator up. Her phone rang just as she reached her floor. Lin Ke answered, “Dad, Mom.”

Lin Bingran stepped out of the elevator, carrying a packed order of dumplings. The hallway wasn’t wide, and a figure was standing right in the center, blocking the way.

Lin Ke: “I’m doing okay…”

It seemed she was in the middle of an intense call. Lin Bingran stood quietly, not wanting to give a “kind” reminder. She lowered her head to scroll through her phone to pass the time.

“Keke, the internet says you’re filming that kind of movie. Is it true?”

Lin Ke’s parents were in their fifties. Ever since she stepped into the entertainment industry, they had slowly learned to use Weibo and Baidu.

Lin Ke pressed her hand to her forehead, trying to find ways to comfort them, but her face was already red to the roots of her ears. She said: “It’s an art film. There are no intimate scenes; if there are, it’s a body double.”

On the other end of the line, her father grabbed the phone and doused her with cold water unhappily: “Body double?! How high is your pay that they’d get you a double? You’re not some big star!”

Lin Ke was poked in her sore spot and argued weakly, “After finishing this movie, I will be a big shot!”

The phone was snatched back by her mother. “Keke, you shouldn’t talk nonsense. Being a star and filming movies requires being even more low-profile…”

The phone was snatched away again.

Lin Zhen: “You still need to keep yourself clean and maintain your dignity!”

Lin Ke nodded repeatedly, realizing she had been standing in the same spot for a long time. She took small steps toward her room.

She reached the corner, a few steps from her door. Not many people lived on this floor.

In her ear were her parents’ bickering but warm words, with the background music of a television set intentionally turned low.

Lin Ke was completely immersed in the call, stopping and starting, acting spoiled for a moment, and even sounding like she was choking up for a second.

Lin Bingran was operating her Weibo alt-account, searching her own name tags to see what the haters were up to lately.

She held grudges; she took screenshots of a bunch of accounts and sent them to her assistant, instructing Guo Rongrong to bundle them for the studio so the studio could issue lawyer letters one by one.

As she scrolled, she found a “little hater” with quite a bit of popularity.

Nearly three million fans. This person had liked her “black material” a while ago, and now stood right in front of her, acting spoiled with her family in a sugary-sweet voice.

A WeChat message suddenly cut in. Lin Bingran stood where she was and began to reply.

It was her manager, Du Yi.

Lin Bingran: [What’s the matter?]

Du Yi: [Fans are visiting the set tomorrow. I’ve already told Rongrong; keep an eye out.]

Lin Bingran mused for a moment and replied: [Is it safe?]

Du Yi: [They are all old fans from the support club.]

Lin Bingran replied that she understood, but her attention was drawn by a sudden snort.

Lin Ke had reached the door of room 602 at some point, her hand on the doorknob, wearing a face like she was about to spit out her food.

“Dad! Mom! That’s a persona!” Lin Ke growled lowly.

Lin Zhen was displeased: “What is a persona? I went out today and was blocked by neighbors. I was asked for the seventeenth or eighteenth time if I’ve gone abroad, if I’m the richest man in some province or another. Your eldest uncle even came to the door yesterday to borrow money!”

Lin Ke: “…”

Lin Ke explained: “A persona… my persona is just the company covering up some real information and faking some virtual identities. Saying I have a ‘richest man’ father is to… protect me, and gain fans along the way.”

Lin Zhen only half-understood. He said: “You must clarify! Where would the family have money to lend out everywhere!”

Lin Ke pressed her temples. “I know.”

The call ended. Lin Ke leaned against the door, panting. From the corner of her eye, she spotted a shadow and suddenly whipped her head around.

Lin Bingran?

Why was she here?!

How much of that phone call did she just hear?!

Lin Bingran folded her arms and smiled: “This is quite a big scoop.”

Lin Ke’s scalp tingled. She twisted the doorknob and swung the door open. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

Lin Bingran didn’t linger; she didn’t like small talk with people she wasn’t close to. She walked straight to 601—she lived opposite Lin Ke.

“Wait.” Lin Bingran turned around.

Lin Ke hid most of her body behind the door, revealing only her head. Remembering her “fan” persona, she said: “…Teacher Lin, I made you work overtime today. I’m sorry.”

Lin Bingran was a bit surprised. She speculated for a moment and asked: “Are you afraid I’ll leak your scoop?”

Her feelings of guilt had been entirely misdirected. Lin Ke’s expression almost cracked. her chest heaved, and a bit of pheromone leaked out, drifting in front of Lin Bingran.

Lin Ke: “Teacher Lin, please get some rest early then. See you on set tomorrow.”

Lin Bingran smiled. After bullying someone, she still acted like a “refined scumbag.” She said: “It’s fine, little fan. Keep your pheromones tucked away.”

Lin Bingran even called out her pheromones so casually!

So annoying! Lin Ke couldn’t help but slam the door—two minutes after Lin Bingran had entered her room.

With no more sound behind the door, Lin Bingran placed the dumplings on the living room table. Just as she was about to open them to eat, a call from Shen Feng came through.

Lin Bingran slid the screen to answer.

Shen Feng asked: “How do you like the new room?”

Lin Bingran put the phone on speaker and set it aside. She broke apart the disposable chopsticks and said, “It would be better if the person next door wasn’t a wet-behind-the-ears little brat.”

Shen Feng laughed: “I couldn’t help it. There were too many people coming and going on the floor you stayed on before; I was afraid you’d be uncomfortable. The sixth floor is good—fewer people, quiet.”

Lin Bingran thought of the scene in the hallway. She poked a dumpling, dipped it into the separately packed chili sauce, rolled it twice until the dumpling turned from white to red, and then fed it into her mouth.

Shen Feng was still at the set, looking at today’s shots in the director’s studio.

From the corner of her eye, she saw a fruit salad. Remembering it was sent by Lin Ke, she opened it to eat. Then, as she took the container to wash it, with her Bluetooth earpiece on, she suddenly said: “Why is there another container?”

Lin Bingran: “Hmm?”

Shen Feng said: “The fruit salad container. Xiao Lin didn’t take it back?”

Lin Bingran squinted her eyes and thought about it. Oh, she had snatched it from the kid today. After eating, she had washed the container, put it aside, and then forgotten about it.

The phone flashed, accompanied by a beep.

Lin Bingran picked it up to look. A dumpling was still hidden in her cheek as she chewed slowly and methodically.

Little Hater: “Teacher Lin, you’re secretly buying late-night snacks to eat; does your assistant know?”

Lin Bingran froze, her eyes narrowing slightly.