Acting Out of Character (GL) - Chapter 34

Luo Jingyi had originally stayed in the village to prevent Song Ruyu from causing more trouble. Now that Song Ruyu was gone, Luo Jingyi still remained in Li Village instead of moving back to the hotel on Wuyi Mountain.

Since Luo Jingyi had not moved, Chen Ge naturally felt too embarrassed to leave either. The two continued living together in the villa.

Chen Ge assumed Sister Luo had stayed because she did not want to waste the effort and money her young assistant had spent renovating the place.

She had personally watched the assistant bring in an entire construction team to cover the walls with new wallpaper and lay carpet across every corner someone might walk through.

Every detail of the cleaning and disinfection had been completed to perfection, transforming the already rather luxurious villa into a palace.

When Zhao Lian heard Chen Ge describe it that way, she laughed.

“A palace is an exaggeration. This is simply Luo—cough, Sister Luo’s standard setup whenever she travels.”

Zhao Lian and Chen Ge had long since recognized each other. They even reminisced about their first meeting at the airport. Running into each other again here truly felt like fate.

At first, Chen Ge had not realized that Luo Xin was wealthy. She had only thought the woman smelled pleasant and always knew exactly what she wanted.

Now, after witnessing the scale of this renovation, she understood that a thin T-shirt costing several thousand yuan genuinely meant nothing to her.

Zhao Lian adored Chen Ge’s face. During their first encounter at the airport, she had hastily taken a photo with her and had been reluctant to let her leave.

Unexpectedly, they had met again here.

This time, Zhao Lian had plenty of time. She dragged Chen Ge through every imaginable angle for photographs, practically wanting one taken from the crown of her head.

By the end, Chen Ge’s face had become stiff from smiling, but Zhao Lian still had not had enough.

After finishing her call with Director Tao, Luo Jingyi headed toward the villa.

She saw Zhao Lian and Chen Ge sitting side by side on the swing in the small courtyard out front.

Zhao Lian held the camera in one hand while draping her other arm across Chen Ge’s shoulders. The two looked extremely close, and Zhao Lian’s puckered lips seemed ready to escape from her face.

“That’s right, exactly this angle…”

Zhao Lian’s mouth was about to touch Chen Ge’s cheek.

Just as she prepared to take the picture, Luo Jingyi’s gloomy face slowly rose between them.

“Oh my god!”

Zhao Lian jolted so violently that her phone fell directly onto the top of her foot. She grimaced in pain.

Chen Ge was startled too.

“Sister Luo, why do you keep appearing like a ghost?”

With both hands clasped behind her back, Luo Jingyi lowered her eyelids, looking distinctly displeased.

“What are the two of you doing?”

Zhao Lian picked up her phone and checked that the screen had not cracked.

“Isn’t it obvious? We two sisters are taking pictures. Sister Luo, do you want to join us for one?”

Luo Jingyi shook her head.

“Three people would be too crowded. I’m not interested.”

Zhao Lian: “…”

She detected the hidden meaning in Luo Jingyi’s words.

As the assistant who had spent the longest time beside Luo Jingyi, Zhao Lian’s ability to read her expression had reached expert level.

No matter how faint the signal Her Excellency released, Zhao Lian could receive it.

What did “three people would be too crowded” mean?

It meant two people would not be crowded.

The Empress Dowager was finding her unnecessary…

With excellent judgment, Zhao Lian immediately stood and moved away from Chen Ge, freeing the other half of the swing.

“Then I’ll take a picture of the two of you.”

Luo Jingyi had already seated herself calmly beside Chen Ge, yet she still said:

“What’s worth photographing?”

The corner of Zhao Lian’s mouth twitched.

You’re truly tsundere.

She continued giving Luo Jingyi a graceful way down.

“No matter what, this is your first time appearing on a variety show. Taking a picture with your little CP would make a lovely souvenir. Right, Chen Ge?”

Chen Ge was also quite happy.

“Yes, Sister Luo. Thank you for taking care of me during this time.”

Chen Ge had actually wanted to thank her for a long time.

Although Chen Ge was somewhat quiet, she was not made of wood.

She understood everything that had happened over the past several days and knew Luo Xin had taken special care of her. Without Luo Xin, Chen Ge would probably still be struggling against Song Ruyu.

Filming had also entered its latter half. They would probably separate soon.

Once everyone went their separate ways, there was no telling when they might meet again.

While Luo Xin was still beside her, Chen Ge felt that she should express her gratitude properly.

Seeing Chen Ge thank her so obediently, Luo Jingyi felt a trace of sweetness in her heart. She leaned against the back of the swing and waited for Zhao Lian to photograph them.

Zhao Lian still pursued perfection.

“Sister Luo, could you smile? Your expression is far too frightening.”

Luo Jingyi, who never smiled in photographs: “…”

She forced a smile.

It looked as though she might draw a knife and slit someone’s throat in the next second.

Zhao Lian said, “…Forget it. Just relax and don’t smile.”

Luo Jingyi: “??”

Luo Jingyi and Chen Ge sat close together on the swing, both with their backs perfectly straight. They were obviously stiff beyond belief.

In the end, Luo Jingyi did not smile and maintained her usual aloof expression.

Chen Ge, however, smiled sweetly and happily.

Zhao Lian looked at the photograph.

A cool older woman and a sweet younger girl.

Unexpectedly well matched.

It looked like a wedding photo.

Luo Jingyi said she had finished early today and wanted to watch Chen Ge perform the three scenes she had sent her earlier.

Chen Ge had been preparing for a long time. Luo Jingyi was finally going to watch.

“Then I’ll go inside and prepare.”

The instant she heard it was time to perform, Chen Ge became excited like a little rabbit spotting a snack.

“Go ahead,” Luo Jingyi said. “I want to record it. Remember to set up a camera.”

“All right. I’ll use my phone and find a good angle.”

After Chen Ge left, Zhao Lian pulled Luo Jingyi aside and asked when she planned to return to Beijing.

Zhao Lian said, “Sister Ling said a producer approached our studio. It’s a mainstream patriotic film, and they insist that we handle it. They won’t consider anyone else. Everyone at the studio is waiting for your decision, yet you won’t even check the group chat.”

Sister Ling was Lin Ling, the head of the screenwriting department at Luo Jingyi’s studio.

She was essentially responsible for every project Luo Jingyi did not personally write.

Luo Jingyi said, “Can’t Sister Ling decide for herself?”

“Last year, she accepted two projects, and you rejected both outlines. That probably left quite a shadow over her.”

Luo Jingyi could not argue.

She acknowledged that she had a strong need for control.

“All right. I’ll call her later. It’s getting late. Go back and rest.”

“Okay, then I’m leaving.”

Before Zhao Lian departed, she gave Luo Jingyi an especially playful wink.

“I’ll send you the photo of the two of you on WeChat in a moment.”

Luo Jingyi gave an acknowledging hum.

Zhao Lian had barely begun to leave when Luo Jingyi added:

“Send me all the pictures you took with Chen Ge too.”

Zhao Lian: “??”

After Zhao Lian left, Luo Jingyi stood outside the villa and received an entire stream of photographs.

She enlarged Chen Ge’s face on the screen.

Even under a high-definition camera, Chen Ge’s features showed no flaws or unflattering angles.

Luo Jingyi cropped out one photograph in which Chen Ge wore a faint smile and sent it to Director Tao.

Director Tao replied almost instantly:

“This is the female lead you’ve chosen? Isn’t she your little partner from the variety show?”

“It’s her. What do you think? Does her aura match my female lead, Chen Yao?”

“Her aura is good, but whether she can act is another question. She seems rather introverted on the show.”

“Wait a while. I’ll send you a video later tonight.”

Luo Jingyi called toward the house:

“Are you ready, Chen Ge? Can I come inside?”

Unexpectedly, Chen Ge did not answer.

“Chen Ge?”

Luo Jingyi asked again, but there was still complete silence.

She suddenly remembered that among the three scenes from A Minor’s Final Wish she had sent Chen Ge, one was extremely similar to their present situation.

The scene occurred quite late in the story.

The male lead, who was also the heroine’s husband, learned from the second female lead that Chen Yao had committed murder as a minor.

The person sleeping beside him was actually a murderer!

In a daze, the male lead returned home but remained outside the door, struggling internally instead of entering immediately.

Their newborn child was still inside, so he had no choice but to go back.

He decided to pretend he knew nothing, enter the house, take the baby away, and consider what to do later.

Unexpectedly, his key could not open the door.

The male lead stood outside for a long time, anxious and terrified, uncertain what his wife was doing.

But for his child’s safety, he could only knock and pretend not to notice anything, asking in a relatively casual tone:

“Chen Yao, why did you lock the door?”

Luo Jingyi had written the script herself.

Her memory for most things was not particularly good, but every detail concerning the characters had been arranged with meticulous care. She remembered every scene clearly.

At that moment, Luo Jingyi felt that she herself had become the confused and uncertain male lead standing outside the door.

She had been drawn into the real world of A Minor’s Final Wish.

Click.

The door slowly opened.

Chen Ge wore a washed-out T-shirt with wavy, stretched edges. Her hair was disheveled, and only a pair of vigilant eyes appeared through the crack as she stared at Luo Jingyi.

Chen Ge had applied makeup and changed her clothes. She looked haggard and neurotic, like a tightly stretched string.

Faint red veins could be seen in her eyes. That required no special preparation. Since joining the production, she had filmed every day under a demanding schedule, leaving her sufficiently exhausted.

Chen Ge said nothing.

She simply stared silently at Luo Jingyi.

The door did not open fully. She guarded against Luo Jingyi as though she were a stranger.

Luo Jingyi was rapidly pulled into the world of A Minor’s Final Wish.

The adorable, obedient Chen Ge she knew had vanished.

Standing before her now was the neurotic murderer—

Chen Yao herself.

“You’re back?”

Only after staring at Luo Jingyi for a long time did Chen Ge reluctantly utter those words.

They were indeed lines Luo Jingyi had written.

But the script contained no detailed descriptions of atmosphere or physical movement, nor did it construct the scene. Those matters normally belonged to the director.

Without a director present, every aspect of the performance had been arranged by Chen Ge according to her own understanding of the script.

Both of Chen Ge’s hands were currently hidden from Luo Jingyi’s view.

But judging from the muscles tightening across her shoulders and neck, she appeared to be gripping something with considerable force.

Perhaps a kitchen knife capable of splitting open someone’s skull.

The dim room behind her resembled a terrifying space that could devour people alive.

Chen Ge’s rigid expression gradually relaxed. She smiled and opened the door, allowing Luo Jingyi to enter.

“Why are you home so late today?”

The line should have been a question, yet when Chen Ge asked it, she seemed to have no desire for an answer.

She already knew why the male lead had returned late.

The delivery was perfect.

Tiny shifts in rhythm revealed the character’s thoughts.

Chen Ge fully conveyed the character’s vigilance, irritation, anger, and the faint trace of forced perfunctoriness she had no choice but to display.

She continued performing without needing Luo Jingyi to cooperate.

Luo Jingyi entered and saw that Chen Ge was indeed holding a kitchen knife, probably borrowed from one of the women working in the production kitchen.

Chen Ge stood in the middle of the room. All the windows were closed, and the air conditioner was off. The room was stiflingly hot, making the atmosphere even more eerie.

A layer of sweat formed across Luo Jingyi’s back.

“Dinner may be a little late today,” Chen Ge said with a smile. “But you probably ate outside already, so you aren’t hungry, are you?”

Chen Ge suddenly took a step forward and pressed close to Luo Jingyi.

The knuckles of her right hand, which held the kitchen knife, abruptly turned white.

Luo Jingyi noticed the detail.

Chen Ge had completely entered Chen Yao’s state of mind.

Her own husband had eaten with that inexplicable woman who had reappeared even though she should have died ten years ago.

What had they discussed?

Had that woman told him everything about her past—the history she had gone to such lengths to conceal all these years?

He already knows, doesn’t he?

Chen Ge lowered her head.

The desire to kill arose within her.

Yet as his wife, she still could not bear to harm the person she loved.

She wanted one final moment of tenderness with him.

It was tenderness, but also seduction and deception.

Chen Ge gently rested her head on Luo Jingyi’s shoulder and pressed her entire body against her.

Her ear brushed against Luo Jingyi’s, and she repeatedly rubbed her cheek along Luo Jingyi’s neck.

Chen Ge recreated the scene from the script with precise rhythm.

And at that moment, Luo Jingyi finally understood what Chen Ge had meant by a physical reaction.

Author’s Note:

Luo Jingyi: Screenwriter, add an extra chicken leg!

Chen Ge: You are the screenwriter!

Luo Jingyi: That’s true. Munch, munch, munch…