Acting Out of Character (GL) - Chapter 14

After carrying an entire courtyard’s worth of taro back, everyone was so exhausted that their heads nearly separated from their bodies.

Following a full day of work, it was finally time for dinner. The production team delivered a large tableful of boxed meals.

When they opened them, they discovered that the dishes were exactly the same as at lunch—fiendishly spicy and unbearably salty.

The guests’ faces turned greener than the vegetables.

Was this really dinner? Why did it look no different from lunch?

But they were far too hungry. With nothing else to eat, they could not afford to complain and could only hold the boxed meals in their hands to fill their stomachs.

One glance was enough to destroy Luo Jingyi’s appetite. She went to find Feng Yunxin and asked:

“Do we still have filming after dinner? If not, I’m going back.”

“We do. Tonight is the main event!” Feng Yunxin said. “We’re filming the romance segment.”

“There’s romance too?”

“Of course. Didn’t we already agree on this? Has the esteemed elder forgotten about forming a CP?”

“Oh, that? Aren’t we only pretending to date? Besides, isn’t your script a little all over the place? Farming and romance have nothing to do with each other.”

Feng Yunxin said, “Teacher Luo, you don’t understand. Mixing genres is popular now. It creates an adorable contrast.”

“All I can see is the contrast. There’s nothing adorable about it.”

“We have no choice. That’s how the planners designed it, and the script was written according to the sponsor’s requirements.”

At the mention of the script, Feng Yunxin’s thoughts began stirring again.

When she tricked Luo Jingyi into coming, she had not only wanted her to fill in as the amateur guest. She had also been hoping Luo Jingyi might help rewrite the script.

Although this web variety show was a complete disaster, Feng Yunxin still possessed some basic professional integrity. Since she had accepted the money, she genuinely wanted to do a good job.

The existing script definitely would not work. It was so awful that it was painful to look at.

But if Luo Jingyi rewrote it, perhaps the show truly could be brought back from the dead.

After all, Luo Jingyi did not only write arthouse films. She was equally skilled at writing highly profitable commercial movies.

Audiences’ points of excitement were fundamentally similar. The fact that Luo Jingyi could write successful commercial films proved that she understood their preferences with extraordinary precision.

This was merely a small web variety show. She would certainly handle it with ease.

“Sister Yiii—”

Feng Yunxin said sweetly, “Why don’t you write us a wonderfully irresistible script, please?”

“…Speak properly. I understand now. You’ve been plotting against me from the beginning, haven’t you?”

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

Feng Yunxin was 168 centimeters tall, a respectable height wherever she went. Only beside the 175-centimeter Luo Jingyi did she appear especially petite.

Besides, Luo Jingyi had such a forceful personality that even though Feng Yunxin was one month older, calling her “Sister” and shamelessly acting spoiled had never seemed strange.

Luo Jingyi finally understood why Feng Yunxin had so persistently dragged her into this reality show.

So this was what she had been waiting for.

“You’ve already found me scriptwriting work too?”

Feng Yunxin grinned shamelessly. “Isn’t writing scripts your battlefield?”

“All right,” Luo Jingyi unexpectedly agreed.

Before Feng Yunxin could celebrate, Luo Jingyi continued:

“I don’t know how reality-show scripts are usually priced. Since we’re old friends, I’ll charge what I earned writing television dramas seven years ago. An average of sixty thousand yuan per episode. Your web variety show has twelve episodes, so I’ll offer you a package price of seven hundred thousand.”

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

Luo Jingyi said, “You’re only discovering now that I’m a vulgar person?”

Feng Yunxin waved one hand with great elegance. “We’re artists. We don’t discuss money. Talking about money damages our refined artistic sentiments.”

Luo Jingyi laughed. “Then tell me what you can offer.”

“Please stop teasing me. If we truly paid you seven hundred thousand, the production would have to disband on the spot! How about I give myself to you as a package instead? I’ll repay you with my body.”

“No, thank you. If you were packaged and delivered to me, I wouldn’t even know which category of garbage to put you in.”

Feng Yunxin knew her mouth could be vicious. “Please have mercy and stop arguing with me. The script we have is genuinely terrible, but there is one thing I think they got right. Although this show includes farming, it’s still primarily a romance show. Farming is only the gimmick. Romance is the real focus. Who would watch without romance?”

“They work themselves to death farming during the day and have to date all night too? Are you trying to squeeze every last drop out of the guests?”

“That’s the normal pace of a reality show. Isn’t staying up all night common when filming movies and dramas too? At least we won’t be filming through the night. I guarantee everyone will sleep before midnight. No one will die. Teacher Luo, are you truly refusing to write it?”

“You’re still thinking about that? No. I can’t afford the humiliation.”

Feng Yunxin knew her childhood friend had too many principles. Scripts were Luo Jingyi’s life, so she could not continue forcing her.

Feng Yunxin took a bite of her boxed meal and washed it down with water. “Good grief, this food. It became even saltier after they reheated it tonight.”

Luo Jingyi glanced at it. “I was wondering why dinner looked exactly like lunch. So it actually is lunch. Your team certainly knows how to save trouble. You bought the entire day’s meals all at once, didn’t you? In weather this hot, aren’t you afraid someone will get sick?”

“They were refrigerated. Who would leave them beneath the blazing sun?” Feng Yunxin answered honestly.

“There’s genuinely nothing we can do about the food. Our production is poor. These are basically the conditions for an obscure fiftieth-tier web variety show like ours. The fact that we can stay in such a bright, spacious farmhouse already means the sponsor has shown mercy. You didn’t eat lunch. Aren’t you afraid you’ll starve if you skip dinner too?”

Supporting her lower back, Luo Jingyi carefully twisted from side to side. “I can’t eat it.”

“What’s wrong? Is your back hurting again?”

Luo Jingyi did not answer.

“No wonder you were walking so slowly when you returned from the field. Your back was hurting again. I wouldn’t have noticed if you hadn’t said anything, yet Xiao Chen saw it. She took taro from your basket to help lighten your load, didn’t she?”

Luo Jingyi did not dare move too widely, or an intense soreness would flare through her back. She could only remain standing and sway gently.

At that moment, she especially missed the massage chair at home.

“Huh? Why is that Xiao Chen so attentive toward you?”

Feng Yunxin forced down two more bites before finally giving up. She closed the boxed meal, drank some water, and devoted herself to gossiping.

“Could she have recognized you as the famous Screenwriter Luo and be trying to curry favor with you?”

“My disguise is so good. How would she know? Besides, do you think everyone is as calculating as you?”

“How did this become about me? I’m only reminding you to be careful. Your identity is so distinguished, after all. Young actors these days possess terrifying schemes and methods.”

Feng Yunxin told her about the previous production she had joined, some shabby web drama. A young actress in the crew had wanted to play the third female lead, so she spent every day following the director around, hoping he would recommend her for the role.

The director ignored her completely and treated her coldly, so the young actress probably began resenting him.

No one knew how she had obtained his wife’s WeChat, but she secretly took a photograph of the director napping and sent it to her. She cropped out everything below his neck so no one could tell whether he was wearing clothes, then insisted she was having an affair with him.

As a result, the director’s wife charged straight onto the set and nearly tore out the last two clumps of hair remaining on his head.

His face was covered in scratches, and he still had no idea what had happened.

“Just think about it. These young women are all beautiful and well-proportioned, yet instead of focusing on improving their acting, they spend all their time scheming about this nonsense…”

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

Feng Yunxin paused. “I wasn’t talking about Xiao Chen. I meant that young actress from my previous production.”

Luo Jingyi: “…”

“What’s wrong? Xiao Chen helped you once, and now you’ve developed feelings for her? You were never this easily moved before, Sister Yi—”

“I was correcting your ridiculous way of thinking.”

Luo Jingyi drew a breath and prepared to reprimand her further, but a sudden stab of pain shot through her lower back, covering her in cold sweat and silencing her.

“Oh, that really does look painful. Come over and lie down here. I’ll massage it for you.”

“No need. Start tonight’s filming quickly. The sooner we finish, the sooner you can let me go back and rest.”

Feng Yunxin said quite seriously, “Why don’t I call Xiao Chen in to massage you? Her hands should be pretty strong.”

Luo Jingyi said, “Do you think this is a massage parlor? Are you still eating? If not, hurry outside so we can finish filming and be done with it!”

Feng Yunxin was baffled. “…I’m worried about your health. You’re scolding me for that too?”

Luo Jingyi had absolutely no appetite and did not want to eat anything.

Feng Yunxin wanted to spend some time in the bathroom. Luo Jingyi could not be bothered to wait for her, so she decided to go downstairs and see what the night’s filming task would be. Ideally, they could complete it smoothly in one attempt.

When she nearly reached the first floor, a WeChat message arrived on Luo Jingyi’s phone.

It was from her mother, who sent two photographs of Ancestor.

In the pictures, Ancestor was lying across someone’s lap with an expression that was both delicate and fierce.

Luo Jingyi recognized at a glance that these were not her mother’s legs. They probably belonged to Xiao Qiao.

Her mother followed with a voice message:

“In the middle of the night yesterday, Ancestor started pulling at the door. It frightened me so badly that I shot upright like I was doing a sit-up.”

Standing on the final two steps of the second floor, Luo Jingyi raised her brows.

Ancestor truly feared neither heaven nor earth.

Once she returned, she needed to discipline that little wildcat properly.

At that moment, Chen Ge and the others were eating in the first-floor living room.

A group of young people naturally found it easy to begin chatting. After spending the entire day together, they had also become much more familiar, making the conversation increasingly animated.

Song Ruyu mentioned that she had previously participated in Debut Now! Season Three, and everyone immediately looked enlightened.

Sun Ruibin said, “I know that show! I watched it. It’s been extremely popular lately!”

Song Ruyu politely promoted the program. “It was all right. It was popular, but it couldn’t quite be called a cultural phenomenon.”

Sun Ruibin was the most energetic person in the group. Remembering that Song Ruyu had previously called Chen Ge a future Best Actress, he glanced toward Chen Ge, who was quietly eating beside them.

She truly was an actress. She was exceptionally beautiful. Even while eating a boxed meal, she somehow made it appear as refined as a banquet.

Song Ruyu was still recounting amusing stories from her talent-show days, but Sun Ruibin’s attention had already moved toward Chen Ge. He began asking endless questions about which films she had appeared in.

Chen Ge said she had acted in Skinny-Dipping. Of the people outside the film industry, only Dong Shenghong had seen it.

That did not prevent Sun Ruibin from enthusiastically discussing movies with Chen Ge.

They talked about their favorite directors and favorite screenwriters.

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

Yin Yin and Ren Yan immediately agreed. “I like Teacher Luo too!”

Dong Shenghong said, “Huh? If I remember correctly, wasn’t Luo Jingyi the screenwriter of Skinny-Dipping, the film you acted in?”

“It was her…”

When Luo Jingyi was mentioned, a faint blush unconsciously appeared on Chen Ge’s face.

Yin Yin asked curiously, “Is she really as difficult as the rumors claim? Does she spend all day scolding actors?”

Chen Ge answered with complete seriousness:

“Although I’ve never met her, I don’t think she’s the kind of person described in those rumors. You can see her personality and attitude toward life through the scripts she writes. To me, Teacher Luo is somewhat like a mother and a lighthouse. I’ve learned so much from her scripts…”

After replying to the WeChat message, Luo Jingyi placed her phone in her pocket and descended the stairs.

As she approached the living room, she heard the latter half of Chen Ge’s statement:

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

Author’s Note:

Luo Jingyi: You like me.

Chen Ge: I like you the way I like a mother…

Luo Jingyi: You actually like your mother?

Chen Ge: …
(I’m going to jump into the Yellow River and see whether I can wash myself clean…)