Acting Out of Character (GL) - Chapter 28

Episode One had been filled with boring preliminary interviews, dry self-introductions, and talent performances awkward enough to make viewers curl their toes.

That wasn’t even mentioning the fieldwork or the winning team receiving bizarrely flavored yogurt. It was so miserable that, seeing the guests exhausted like dogs, the netizens did not even have the heart to mock them.

But the instant Episode Two began, the atmosphere was completely different.

It opened with the food-poisoning incident.

The viewers were dumbfounded.

How had they suddenly gotten food poisoning?

Was this real? The script seemed intense.

A camera installed in the corner near the ceiling captured Chen Ge vomiting in the bathroom. She bent over the sink, so only her hunched back and Luo Xin’s careful movements supporting her could be seen.

Luo Xin’s expression was grave, and her gaze remained fixed on Chen Ge’s face.

Apart from her usual composure, clear concern was visible.

The staff gathered around them and said something. Soon afterward, Luo Xin hurriedly took Chen Ge away.

【Chen Ge’s acting is genuinely excellent. She portrayed the pain perfectly, just like she actually had food poisoning.】

【Ahhh, Sister Luo Xin genuinely cares so much about Chen Ge!】

【I noticed that too. Luo Xin dislikes even sitting on the sofa and would rather stand the whole time, yet when Chen Ge was vomiting, she immediately went over to help without hesitation. If that isn’t true love, what is?!】

【I went up to the roof, screamed for a while, and came back! Did they go to the hospital? Did they hug and cuddle at the hospital?!】

【I’m furious. There was no camera following them to the hospital… We only got the entire farmhouse being poisoned.】

【What the hell? The poisoning was real?】

Everyone had assumed the food poisoning was part of a scripted setup.

But someone explained in the bullet comments that they had dug up news reports from that day. The production genuinely had suffered mass food poisoning.

Chen Ge was the first to fall ill and be taken to the hospital. Not long afterward, the entire production team also collapsed.

The director called emergency services, and the ambulances could not fit everyone. Even carrying them out left the medical personnel panting from exhaustion.

A camera in the corner of the room captured the emergency responders arriving at the farmhouse and helping members of the production into the ambulances. Some could no longer walk and had to be taken away on stretchers.

The screen then turned black, and a line of text appeared—

【Filming was suspended for one day due to mass food poisoning among the production team.】

After a moment of silence in the bullet comments…

【That’s terrifying… No one died, right?】

【What did they eat to poison everyone this badly? The directing team seriously lacks basic common sense.】

【Wait, what does this mean?】

After several scattered clips of the production making the best of their hospitalization—filled with a ridiculous, silly energy that made people smile despite themselves—the footage showed Song Ruyu’s manager bringing her over to apologize.

【I have five hundred question marks. So the food poisoning had something to do with Song Ruyu?!】

【The mystery is solved. She said she and Qian Yu picked wild vegetables by the roadside because they wanted to add another dish to the boxed meals, causing everyone to be poisoned.】

【Uh, this… For once, I genuinely don’t know what to say. Song Ruyu, you’re [incredible].】

【I laughed so hard my head fell off. Hahahaha, Song Ruyu, of course it was you.】

【The production actually forgave her just like that? Are they reincarnated Bodhisattvas? If it were me, I’d make her compensate until she had to sell her trousers.】

The netizens watching Our Rural Life and passionately commenting had not noticed that the amount of discussion surrounding this episode had already more than tripled compared with Episode One.

Moreover, the pacing and filming style of the poisoning incident were remarkably skilled. It even established suspense and tension, making viewers unable to resist continuing until they received an explanation.

And naturally, when the truth was finally revealed, Song Ruyu had once again brought disaster upon herself.

Already pushed into the center of public criticism, Song Ruyu received another wave of negative comments.

The topic 【Song Ruyu Poisoned the Production】 gradually climbed onto the “Rapidly Rising Topics” list through its own strength.

【Our Rural Life】 also reached the bottom of the trending list.

At that moment, Sister Si: “…”

I don’t think I can clean up this mess anymore.

Whatever happens, happens.

Song Ruyu called her repeatedly. Every time Sister Si heard the phone vibrating with a continuous buzz, irritation spread from the top of her head to her heels.

She answered in a low voice.

“What exactly did you do outside? Who did you offend badly enough for them to hang you up here and whip your corpse?!”

Song Ruyu held her phone, trembling all over.

“It was Chen—Chen Ge… She did this to me!”

“Chen Ge? Why would Chen Ge harm you? Didn’t you sincerely apologize to her?”

“I…” Song Ruyu was momentarily speechless.

Hearing her hesitate, Sister Si knew the matter was not so simple.

“Wonderful, Song Ruyu. So you merely put on an act in front of me, then turned around and continued scheming against her?”

Song Ruyu shouted in frustration, “Chen Ge is jealous of me! She flattered Luo Xin and joined forces with Feng Yunxin to suppress me! Are you even my manager? You should be on my side! I can definitely earn more money for you and the company than Chen Ge. How can you—”

Halfway through shouting, Song Ruyu realized that Sister Si had already ended the call.

Song Ruyu hid alone inside the bathroom. After screaming for so long, she was slightly deprived of oxygen. Panting, she glanced at the Weibo app on her phone.

Normally, she received few comments on Weibo, so she kept push notifications enabled, allowing her to immediately read her fans’ compliments.

The constant stream of insulting notifications had left her stunned.

She hurriedly disabled them.

Now that Weibo had become quiet, it created the illusion that the storm had already passed.

It should be over now, right?

Even if she had trended, something else would soon distract everyone.

How many people could possibly watch this unlucky show?

Taking a deep breath and clinging to hope, Song Ruyu opened Weibo again.

12,000 reposts, more than 4,000 comments, and over 999 private messages.

…

As though bitten by a wild beast, Song Ruyu immediately locked her screen.

After the day’s filming ended, the production heard that only two hours after Episode Two had gone online, its view count was already approaching three million. The show’s topic was still trending.

Everyone on the production team was stunned.

“What happened?”

“Did we film something we shouldn’t have? Are people criticizing us?”

Feng Yunxin glanced toward Luo Jingyi.

Luo Jingyi held her phone in one hand and was quietly sending a voice message.

Who else was capable of such an outrageous maneuver?

It could only be Teacher Luo herself.

Everyone Teacher Luo had worked with was a major industry figure. She could steadily manage projects worth hundreds of millions. Crushing a troublesome nobody like Song Ruyu was nothing.

Besides, Teacher Luo had personally written the script for Episode Two’s edit, and the postproduction team followed all her instructions.

How could it possibly fail to become popular?

Feng Yunxin smiled and said to the crew:

“Don’t overthink it. Our generous sponsor has simply begun using her strength.”

“But we’re already number eleven on the trending list…”

“This episode has only been online for two hours, yet it already has several million views. Could it eventually surpass a hundred million?”

Feng Yunxin calmly replied, “Would surpassing a hundred million be bad? Don’t you want the program you made to become a hit?”

Director Hu said, “Of course we do! We dream about it every day. We simply never received the opportunity before! I didn’t expect such a wonderful thing to happen the first time I worked for Director Feng. If the generous sponsor becomes happy, might she give us red packets too?”

Wearing the expression of someone who had transcended worldly wealth, Feng Yunxin waved her hand.

“Hey, don’t focus only on immediate gains. Don’t become too obsessed with red packets. Once you have a hit program in your portfolio, you’ll have more confidence when accepting future projects, won’t you?”

Everyone gathered together to watch the statistics. The discussion volume was also exceptionally high, and the production team smiled so broadly that their faces nearly blossomed.

Feng Yunxin continued admiring “the magnificent empire before Us.”

After observing the entire sequence of operations, Luo Jingyi sent Xiao Ke a voice message.

“Thank you. Once I return to Beijing, I’ll treat you to a meal.”

Xiao Ke responded almost instantly.

“Why would Sister Yi need to treat me? That woman surnamed Song simply had terrible luck. We originally only intended to parachute her onto the trending list. Who could have known that just as the publicity articles were prepared, Old Xu passed away? We couldn’t delay them. We barely did anything afterward. The netizens uncovered everything themselves with their sharp eyes.”

“So that’s what happened,” Luo Jingyi said.

“Exactly. We haven’t even begun properly promoting your show, yet the numbers have already risen. Human manipulation couldn’t have produced results this quickly. You could call it an accidental success.”

Xiao Ke chuckled.

“By the way, Sister Yi, when are you returning to Beijing? I’ll host the meal. Remember to invite Miss Chen too.”

Hearing those words, Luo Jingyi knew Xiao Ke had watched Episode Two and seen her playing the paper-cup water relay with Chen Ge, then cooking lychees together.

The corner of Luo Jingyi’s mouth lifted, though her voice remained calm.

“Stop fooling around. We were merely filming a program. It’s a promotional CP.”

Xiao Ke restrained himself at the perfect moment.

“Oh, Sister Yi even knows what a promotional CP is now. It seems you’ve done plenty of research. All right, then. I’ll wait for you to return.”

Luo Jingyi sent an OK emoji, slipped her phone into her pocket, and turned around.

Chen Ge had been waiting behind her for an unknown amount of time.

“What are you standing there for?” Luo Jingyi asked.

Fortunately, she had not played the voice messages aloud.

Chen Ge looked as though she had just returned from the center of a storm. Her entire body seemed unsteady, and her gaze was vacant.

“Sister Luo, are you free? I have something I want to tell you.”

“I am. Come.”

Luo Jingyi brought her to the terrace on the third floor of the farmhouse. A pair of small sofas and a coffee table stood there. When the evenings were not too hot, she and Feng Yunxin occasionally came up to talk.

After reaching the terrace, Luo Jingyi first switched on the mosquito repellent and floor lamp. Then she walked to the small refrigerator and asked Chen Ge:

“Alcohol or another drink?”

Sitting somewhat stiffly on the sofa, Chen Ge replied, “A regular drink is fine.”

Luo Jingyi studied her. “You can’t drink alcohol?”

“Mm… I get drunk easily.”

“Is juice all right? Watermelon juice. The production made it themselves.”

“Sure. Thank you, Sister Luo.”

Luo Jingyi handed her the watermelon juice and poured herself a glass of whiskey.

The glass cabinet there contained the special glass Zhao Lian had brought for Luo Jingyi.

The amber whiskey flowed over a large, round ice cube and down its outer surface. The ice gave a faint cracking sound as the liquor quickly filled nearly half the glass.

“Is it my imagination?” Luo Jingyi took a sip. “You seem slightly afraid of me right now.”

Chen Ge held the watermelon juice. “I’m not exactly afraid.”

“You saw what happened on Weibo?”

Luo Jingyi guessed correctly immediately. Chen Ge nodded.

“What did your company say?”

“The manager supervisor, Chris, called me personally and asked what happened.”

“How did you answer?”

“I only told them that my CP had been changed. I genuinely didn’t know what else had happened, so I said nothing more. Then Chris told me to… properly thank the production. She said Sister Si would come over again in a couple of days, then ended the call.”

Luo Jingyi knew roughly twelve people named Chris. She had no idea whether Chen Ge’s supervisor was among them.

“Have you watched the finished version of Episode Two?” Luo Jingyi asked leisurely.

Chen Ge’s face reddened. “I have…”

Luo Jingyi deliberately sounded curious. “Why are you embarrassed?”

“It feels like netizens nowadays are exceptionally skilled with words.”

Luo Jingyi, who had already watched it several times, asked, “Oh? What did they say?”

“They were… probably shipping a CP?”

“Whose CP?”

Chen Ge: “…”

Luo Jingyi’s usual tone was slow and unhurried, making her emotions impossible to discern. Chen Ge could not tell whether Luo Jingyi genuinely had not been paying attention to the show’s current situation or was deliberately saying this to embarrass her.

She could only answer honestly:

“Yours and mine.”

“Is that so?”

Seeing even Chen Ge’s neck turn red, Luo Jingyi felt thoroughly satisfied.

“We barely did anything, yet people are already shipping us?”

Her words reminded Chen Ge of that day’s filming.

When Luo Jingyi spoke beside her ear, the warmth had made it itch and burn, while her legs had involuntarily weakened.

When Luo Jingyi held her hand, Chen Ge’s heart had nearly stopped for an instant.

How strange.

Even now, Chen Ge had not raised her head to look at Luo Jingyi, yet she had unconsciously become nervous.

Luo Jingyi took out her phone and scrolled while drinking.

“Is ChenGe0411 your Weibo account?”

“Mm, it is.”

“You have more than eighty thousand followers. Impressive.”

“Over forty thousand followed me tonight, and the company bought more than twenty thousand.”

“You have plenty of comments too.”

Chen Ge hurriedly said, “Sister Luo, you shouldn’t read the comments.”

“Why?”

Luo Jingyi immediately opened the comment section.

It was filled with screenshots of her and Chen Ge together in the program, along with excited screaming everywhere.

Luo Jingyi was impressed. Every commenter seemed to possess advanced screenshotting skills.

When she stood behind Chen Ge while they cooked lychees, she had admittedly approached her deliberately. But in these screenshots, the way she looked at Chen Ge made it seem as though she intended to devour her on the spot.

【Ahhh, they’re so beautiful! Please continue giving us sweet moments in the next episode!】

【At this point, it’ll be difficult to resolve this without marriage!】

【Get married, get married, get married!】

【Actually… it isn’t good to bring CP shipping directly in front of the people involved.】

【All right, all right. Then I wish your friendship lasts forever!】

【Forever, forever, forever!】

Luo Jingyi continued scrolling. The entire comment section was filled with similar remarks.

After reading them, she calmly said, “This is what frightened you?”

“I wasn’t frightened,” Chen Ge emphasized. “I was worried you might feel awkward, Sister Luo.”

“I don’t feel awkward. I’m enjoying it. Or are you the one who feels uncomfortable? You never seemed uncomfortable when you promoted a CP with Song Ruyu.”

Chen Ge had never expected Luo Jingyi to say that.

Why was Sister Luo comparing herself to Song Ruyu?

“Speaking of Song Ruyu, where is she now?”

“I haven’t seen her for a long time. I heard the director say she’s hiding in her room and hasn’t come out.”

“Then let her hide. She’s probably received plenty of criticism after the episode aired. You shouldn’t continue sharing a room with her either. Take out your luggage. I’ll have Yunxin prepare a room for you on the third floor, so she won’t do anything foolish to you.”

Luo Jingyi arranged everything perfectly. Chen Ge did not need to worry about anything and only had to follow her lead.

When Luo Jingyi told her to retrieve her luggage, Chen Ge stood. She had already reached the stairs when she turned back.

“Actually, what I wanted to tell you was… thank you, Sister Luo.”

The warm orange light from the floor lamp illuminated only half of Chen Ge’s face, making the dimple in her shy smile appear even more obvious and adorable.

“You’re welcome.”

Perhaps because she had drunk some alcohol, Luo Jingyi felt her heart sway slightly.

“CPs don’t need to thank each other.”

Chen Ge burst out laughing and went downstairs with light, cheerful steps.

When Chen Ge reached the door to the room, she heard the sound of things being smashed inside.

She immediately pushed the door open.

Everything she had neatly arranged on the table had been swept onto the floor.

Her unlocked suitcase had also been opened. Her shirts and trousers had all been cut apart and lay scattered on the ground beside a pair of scissors.

Breathing heavily, Song Ruyu turned around. Her bloodshot eyes glared at Chen Ge, and she was still holding Chen Ge’s tablet.

“You bitch.”

Like someone who had gone insane, Song Ruyu advanced toward her.

“What method did you use to flatter Feng Yunxin? Why were you allowed to change CPs? Why are they promoting you so heavily?! Why did you scheme against me behind my back?!”

As she spoke, Song Ruyu prepared to smash the tablet at Chen Ge.

Chen Ge took one swift step forward, precisely seized Song Ruyu’s wrist, and smoothly twisted her arm behind her back. She forced her downward and pinned her against the table.

Song Ruyu felt a burst of intense pain in her arm. Before she could even see how Chen Ge had moved, her face was already pressed firmly against the tabletop.

She struggled wildly, screaming and shouting, but Chen Ge was far stronger. She had also specifically trained in combat and could restrain Song Ruyu effortlessly.

“What happened? Why are you fighting?”

Sun Ruibin, Yin Yin, and several members of the staff rushed over after hearing the commotion.

Seeing Chen Ge’s heroic stance while Song Ruyu resembled a mouse pinned beneath a cat, Yin Yin could not help exclaiming:

“Wow. What an unbelievably satisfying scene.”

The moment other people arrived, Song Ruyu shouted:

“Chen Ge hit me! Hurry and call the police! Have her arrested!”

Chen Ge looked coldly toward the corner of the room.

“Song Ruyu, I advise you not to make reckless accusations. There are two cameras in this room. Everything you just did was recorded. Camera operator, did you see it?”

Song Ruyu’s heart sank.

The insults on Weibo had driven her nearly insane. She had thought only of destroying Chen Ge’s belongings to vent her rage and had completely forgotten that there were two cameras inside the room.

The camera tilted up and down, as though answering Chen Ge.

“Good.”

Chen Ge said to Song Ruyu:

“Now we can call the police.”

Song Ruyu trembled with fury, but when Chen Ge took out her phone and prepared to dial emergency services, Song Ruyu quickly begged for mercy.

“Don’t—don’t call the police!”

Members of the directing team arrived. Seeing Chen Ge genuinely preparing to make the call, they feared the matter would become serious and hurriedly persuaded her to stop. They called people over to help gather and organize her belongings.

“Xiao Chen, don’t act impulsively. We can discuss and resolve this. There’s no need to involve the police.”

While Chen Ge remained silent, Luo Jingyi and Feng Yunxin arrived.

After learning what had happened, Luo Jingyi glanced toward Song Ruyu, who had been taken onto the balcony.

Feng Yunxin immediately understood.

She said to Chen Ge:

“Calculate how much you lost. I’ll make her compensate you! I’ll speak with her. She’s finished with this production. She can either go to the police station or get lost!”

Luo Jingyi nodded, and Feng Yunxin marched away with great determination.

Luo Jingyi helped Chen Ge stand and asked, “Are you injured?”

Chen Ge shook her head.

She had not been injured, but she had been furious when pinning Song Ruyu down and used too much strength. Her hand was now trembling slightly.

Luo Jingyi noticed the uncontrollable tremor.

She took out her phone and called Zhao Lian.

“I’m not returning tonight,” Luo Jingyi said.

Zhao Lian exclaimed, “Huh? Then where are you staying?”

“I’ll stay here with the production. Please come over and help me pack.”

Zhao Lian: “…”

The Empress Dowager was staying in the village?

Why did that sound impossible?!

“Bring all my luggage. Buy a brand-new quilt from the hotel and bring that too,” Luo Jingyi instructed.

Zhao Lian said, “Huh?”

While speaking, Luo Jingyi took Chen Ge’s still-trembling hand.

Meeting Chen Ge’s surprised gaze, she said:

“Chen Ge is sleeping with me tonight.”

Author’s Note:

Luo Jingyi: Don’t be afraid. I mean it literally.