Acting Out of Character (GL) - Chapter 14

Having carried a whole courtyard’s worth of taro back, everyone was tired to the point of collapse.

After a long day of toil, dinner time finally arrived, and the crew delivered a large table of bento boxes. Upon opening them, the guests found the dishes were identical to lunch—deathly spicy and throat-parchingly salty. The guests’ faces turned greener than the vegetables.

Is this really dinner? Why does it look exactly like lunch?

However, they were simply too hungry to be picky. With no other food available, they could only clutch their bento boxes and fill their stomachs. Luo Jingyi took one look and lost her appetite. She went to find Feng Yunxin.

“Is there more filming after dinner? If not, I’m heading back.”

Feng Yunxin replied, “Of course we’re filming! Tonight is the highlight! We’re shooting the romance segment.”

“There’s romance too?”

“Duh? Didn’t we agree on this? Did you already forget about the whole ‘forming a CP’ thing?”

“Oh, that? Isn’t that just pretend? And isn’t your script a bit all over the place? Farming plus romance—they don’t exactly go together.”

Feng Yunxin countered, “Teacher Luo, you just don’t get it. Nowadays, it’s all about the ‘mix-and-match’ and ‘contrast charm’.”

Luo Jingyi remarked, “I see the contrast, but I don’t see the charm.”

“Can’t be helped. That’s how the planning was done, and the script follows the sponsor’s requirements.”

Speaking of the script, Feng Yunxin began to feel restless again. Originally, she had tricked Luo Jingyi into coming not just to be a non-celebrity guest, but because she desperately wanted her to write the script. Although this web variety show was a mess, Feng Yunxin still had a basic professional ethic; having taken the money, she wanted to do it right. The current script was definitely unusable—it was too eyesore-inducing to look at.

But if Luo Jingyi were to rewrite it, it might actually come back to life. After all, Luo Jingyi wasn’t just good at arthouse films; she was a master of highly profitable commercial films. Audiences’ excitement points are universal—the fact that Luo Jingyi could write commercial hits meant she had an exquisite grasp of what the audience liked. A mere web variety show would be child’s play for her.

“Sister Yi—” Feng Yunxin said cooingly, “Why don’t you write us a fragrant, high-quality script, pretty please?”

“…Speak properly. I’ve finally realized you were targeting me from the very beginning, weren’t you?”

“Sister Yi always sees right through my little schemes!”

At 1.68m, Feng Yunxin was a decent height, but she looked particularly petite next to the 1.75m Luo Jingyi. Furthermore, with Luo Jingyi’s strong personality, even though Feng Yunxin was technically one month older, she never missed a chance to call her “Sister” and act coquettish; it didn’t feel out of place at all.

Luo Jingyi understood. Why had Feng Yunxin been so shamelessly persistent in dragging her to this reality show? It turned out this was the trap.

Luo Jingyi asked, “So you’ve even prepared the script work for me?”

Feng Yunxin grinned. “Isn’t the script your battlefield?”

“Fine.” To her surprise, Luo Jingyi agreed.

Before Feng Yunxin could celebrate, Luo Jingyi added, “I don’t know the standard rates for reality show scripts, but for an old friend, I’ll charge you the same rate I had for TV dramas seven years ago. At an average of 60,000 per episode, and with twelve episodes in this show, I’ll give you a package deal of 700,000.”

Feng Yunxin: “…Talking about money is so vulgar.”

Luo Jingyi: “You’re only just realizing I’m a vulgar person?”

Feng Yunxin waved her hand dismissively. “We are artists. We don’t mention money; it stains our elegant sensibilities.”

Luo Jingyi was amused. “Then tell me, what can we mention?”

“Please stop teasing me. If I actually gave you that 700,000, the crew would have to disband on the spot! How about I package myself and give me to you instead? Payment in kind.”

Luo Jingyi: “No thanks. If you were packaged for me, I wouldn’t even know which bin to put you in for trash sorting.”

Feng Yunxin knew her friend’s tongue was the sharpest. “Have mercy and stop arguing with me. Look, this current script is truly terrible, but I think they got one thing right. Although we have farming content, this is primarily a romance show. Farming is just the gimmick; romance is the focus. Who would watch if there’s no romance?”

“Work yourself to death farming by day, and then stay up all night romancing? Are you trying to squeeze the guests dry in one go?”

“That’s the pace of reality shows. Isn’t pulling all-nighters common when filming movies or dramas? We aren’t even pulling all-nighters here. I guarantee you’ll be in bed by midnight; nobody’s going to die. Teacher Luo, are you really not going to write it?”

“Still harping on it? I won’t write it. I can’t afford the embarrassment.”

Feng Yunxin knew her childhood friend was a woman of principle; the script was her life, so she didn’t push further. She took a bite of her bento and a sip of water. “Oh god, this bento… it got even saltier after being heated up for dinner.”

Luo Jingyi glanced at it. “I was wondering why dinner looked identical to lunch. It turns out it is the lunch. You guys really know how to save effort—buying a whole day’s worth of food at once? In this heat, aren’t you afraid of someone getting sick?”

“It was in the fridge. Who would leave it out in the sun?” Feng Yunxin spoke the truth. “The food issue is unavoidable; that’s the reality of a poor crew. Most ’50th-tier’ web variety shows have these conditions. The fact that we’re staying in this bright farmhouse is already a blessing from our sponsors. You didn’t eat at lunch—if you don’t eat now, aren’t you going to starve?”

Luo Jingyi supported her lower back, moving tentatively from side to side. “I can’t eat.”

“What’s wrong? Your back hurting again?”

Luo Jingyi remained silent.

“No wonder you were walking so slowly when you came back from the fields. It turns out your back was acting up again. I didn’t even notice, but that Xiao Chen girl did. Back then, when she was taking taro out of your basket, she was helping you lighten the load, wasn’t she?”

Luo Jingyi didn’t dare move too much; any sharp movement caused a piercing ache. She could only stand there swaying slightly. At this moment, she desperately missed her massage chair back home.

“Huh? Why is that Xiao Chen so attentive toward you?” Feng Yunxin took two bites of rice and couldn’t go on. She closed the bento box, took a sip of water, and focused on the gossip. “Could it be she recognized you as the great Screenwriter Luo and is trying to suck up to you?”

Luo Jingyi: “I’m disguised so well, how would she know? Besides, you think everyone is as opportunistic as you are?”

“Why are you attacking me? I’m just telling you to be careful. After all, you’re a person of high status. These young actresses today have terrifyingly sharp minds and methods.”

Feng Yunxin told a story about a previous crew she was with—a low-budget web drama. There was a girl who wanted to play the third female lead; she followed the director around all day, hoping he would recommend her. The director ignored her and was quite cold toward her, so the girl likely developed a grudge. She somehow got the director’s wife’s WeChat and sent a photo of the director taking a nap, cropped from the neck down so you couldn’t tell if he was clothed or not, implying they were having an affair. The wife stormed the set and nearly plucked the last two tufts of hair off the director’s head. The director’s face was scratched up before he even knew what was happening.

“See what I mean? These girls are all pretty and well-proportioned, but instead of focusing on improving their acting, they spend their time on these schemes…”

Luo Jingyi turned and gave her a cold look. “Xiao Chen isn’t that kind of person.”

Feng Yunxin blinked. “I wasn’t talking about Xiao Chen. I was talking about that other actress.”

Luo Jingyi: “…”

“What’s wrong? Xiao Chen helps you once and you’ve already developed feelings? You weren’t this easy to move before, Sister Yi—”

“I am correcting your improper mindset.”

Luo Jingyi took a breath to scold her further, but a sudden sharp pain in her waist made her break out in a cold sweat, silencing her.

“Whoa, that looks painful. Here, come lie down and I’ll give you a massage.”

“No need. Let’s just start the evening shoot quickly. The sooner we finish, the sooner I can go back and rest.”

Feng Yunxin said seriously, “How about I ask that Xiao Chen to come in and give you a massage? She should have a lot of strength in her hands.”

Luo Jingyi: “Do you think this is a massage parlor? Are you going to eat or not? If not, get out there and finish the shoot!”

Feng Yunxin was baffled. “…I’m just worried about your body! Is that a reason to yell at me?”

Luo Jingyi had no appetite and didn’t want to eat. Feng Yunxin wanted to spend some time in the bathroom, so Luo Jingyi didn’t bother waiting. She decided to head downstairs to see what tonight’s filming task was, hoping it would go smoothly in one take.

As she reached the first floor, a WeChat notification popped up. It was from her mother, who had sent two photos of her cat, Zuzong. In the photos, Zuzong was lying on someone’s lap, looking both delicate and fierce. Luo Jingyi could tell at a glance that those weren’t her mother’s legs—they likely belonged to Xiao Qiao.

Her mother followed up with a voice note: ” Zuzong was scratching at the door in the middle of the night. Scared me so much I did a literal sit-up in bed.”

Standing on the last two steps of the second floor, Luo Jingyi raised an eyebrow. Truly a cat that feared nothing in heaven or earth. She’d have to discipline that little wildcat when she got back.

At this moment, Chen Ge and the others were eating in the living room on the first floor. When a group of young people gather, it’s easy to start talking, and after spending the whole day together, they had grown much more familiar.

Song Ruyu mentioned she had been in Debut Now! Season 3, and the group immediately realized who she was.

Sun Ruibin: “I know! I saw that show; it was super popular recently!”

Song Ruyu played it modest for the sake of the show: “It was okay. It was popular, but I wouldn’t call it a ‘phenomenon’ level show.”

Sun Ruibin was the most active of the group. Remembering that Song Ruyu had called Chen Ge a “Film Queen,” he glanced at Chen Ge, who was eating quietly to the side. She really was an actress; she managed to make a bento box look like a high-end meal.

While Song Ruyu was still telling funny stories from her survival show days, Sun Ruibin’s attention had shifted to Chen Ge. He started asking her all sorts of questions about which movies she had been in. Chen Ge mentioned Skinny Dipping. Out of this group, only Dong Shenghong had seen it. But that didn’t stop Sun Ruibin from chatting enthusiastically with Chen Ge about movies.

They talked about favorite directors and favorite screenwriters.

Chen Ge: “My favorite screenwriter is Teacher Luo Jingyi.”

Yin Yin and Ren Yan immediately chimed in: “I love Teacher Luo too!”

Dong Shenghong: “Oh? If I recall correctly, wasn’t the writer for Skinny Dipping Luo Jingyi?”

“It was her…” Mentioning Luo Jingyi, Chen Ge’s face inadvertently flushed a faint red.

Yin Yin gossiped: “Is she really as difficult as the rumors say? Screaming at actors all day?”

Chen Ge said earnestly, “Although I’ve never met her, I don’t think she’s that kind of person. You can see her personality and attitude toward life through her scripts. To me, Teacher Luo feels a bit like a mother figure and a lighthouse. I’ve learned so much from her work…”

Luo Jingyi finished replying to the WeChat message, put her phone in her pocket, and stepped down. As she walked toward the living room, she overheard the latter half of Chen Ge’s sentence:

“…I’ve liked her for a very long time. No one can ever replace Teacher Luo Jingyi in my heart.”