Acting Out of Character (GL) - Chapter 8

“Xiao Chen, even your ears have turned red.”

When Chen Ge heard Director Hu say this, she lowered her head with a stiff smile. Her mouth was still stuffed with pastry, puffing out her normally slender cheeks.

Luo Jingyi watched Chen Ge’s reddened ears move slightly as she chewed and found them rather cute.

The urge to continue feeding her arose. Once Luo Jingyi saw that she had swallowed everything, she asked:

“Would you like another?”

Chen Ge had politely intended to say, “No, thank you,” but Director Hu continued filming while frantically signaling for her to keep eating.

An actor’s instinct was to follow the director’s instructions.

She quickly swallowed the remaining crumbs in her mouth, nodded obediently at Luo Jingyi, then parted her lips slightly.

Luo Jingyi said, “Open wider.”

Chen Ge: “…”

She silently obeyed.

After hearing this exchange, Director Hu and the driver did not even dare breathe too loudly.

Had this woman been sent by the heavens to save their show?

How was she so good at this?

After placing another pastry into Chen Ge’s mouth, Luo Jingyi did not look away. She continued watching her eat in silence.

Chen Ge’s face felt as though it were about to catch fire beneath her gaze. She covered the lower half of her face and lowered her head.

Luo Jingyi had not expected a young woman with such a cold-looking face to become embarrassed so easily.

She closed the pastry box and asked Director Hu, “Do you have enough footage?”

Director Hu switched off the GoPro and hurriedly said, “Enough, definitely enough! This part will certainly make it into the final episode.”

“All right.”

Luo Jingyi placed the pastry box on Chen Ge’s lap. Two pieces remained inside.

“Hm? I’m already full,” Chen Ge said.

“They’re yours.”

Luo Jingyi was somewhat germaphobic. Had it not been for the effect they needed to create for the show, she would never have fed someone herself.

Now that she had already offered the food to Chen Ge, the remaining two pastries seemed to have been tainted with the other woman’s presence. Even though Chen Ge was an adorable young woman, Luo Jingyi still felt slightly uncomfortable about eating them.

She certainly would not eat the remaining two. Rather than waste them, she might as well give them to Chen Ge.

Chen Ge did not think that deeply. She merely assumed Sister Luo was worried that she had not eaten enough and had therefore given her everything left in the box.

Sister Luo was such a wonderful person.

Chen Ge exercised regularly and had a fairly large appetite.

For her, exercise did not merely help maintain her figure and energy. It also allowed her to eat a few extra bites of delicious food.

She did not restrict her diet much at night either. She ate whenever she was hungry, though never excessively.

But Luo Jingyi’s pastries were simply too delicious. Chen Ge could not resist and finished all four pieces.

The outer layer was soft and glutinous, with a milky fragrance, while the filling contained salted egg yolk and shredded coconut. They truly were not very sweet and had none of the cloying taste she disliked. Unexpectedly, they suited her preferences perfectly.

After finishing, Chen Ge used a tissue to collect the crumbs that had accidentally fallen onto her clothes and the seat. She placed every one of them inside the box, closed it securely, then tucked it into her backpack.

Luo Jingyi, seated beside her, watched the entire process.

Because of her profession, Luo Jingyi loved observing people.

Ever since childhood, she had never been especially skilled at blending into groups. She only socialized when circumstances forced her to.

Compared with superficial conversations filled with empty courtesies, she preferred standing in a corner and observing each person’s clothes and small habits, as well as their expression and choice of words when speaking.

Through such tiny details, she could speculate about someone’s personality and circumstances and gain a clearer understanding of their truest self.

When she was young, she had merely thought this behavior made her somewhat different from ordinary people. After growing up and meeting more colleagues in her profession, she discovered that many screenwriters shared similar habits.

By observing the details of a person’s behavior, Luo Jingyi could identify the motivations supporting their actions.

The most appealing quality of her scripts was their realism.

Every action taken by the characters she wrote had a foundation. Her characters were complex and fully developed, while their behavior conformed to their personalities and internal logic, making the stories more convincing.

Luo Jingyi had maintained this habit of observing people throughout her life. It had become an occupational instinct.

At that moment, the person under her observation was Chen Ge.

Luo Jingyi watched Chen Ge carefully clean up the tiny crumbs, then lowered her gaze to the fingertips closing the pastry box.

Chen Ge’s nails had been trimmed neatly and cleanly.

She wore no nail polish, nor did she leave any white edges. Her ten fingers were long and slender, their tips tinged faintly pink.

She was a clean and tidy young woman who knew how to take care of things.

Director Hu was no longer filming. He sat in the passenger seat playing with his phone and sending WeChat messages.

Luo Jingyi was too lazy to move and remained seated beside Chen Ge.

Chen Ge did not know what she ought to do. Would playing with her phone seem disrespectful when someone had deliberately chosen to sit beside her?

Searching for a topic, Chen Ge asked Luo Jingyi, “Sister Luo, will you be a permanent guest?”

“No. I’m only here to help Old Feng out of a difficult situation. I’ll leave after filming enough material for two episodes.”

“Oh…”

“They’ll replace me with another partner for you afterward.”

Chen Ge nodded. In almost the same instant, Luo Jingyi detected a faint trace of disappointment in her partially lowered eyes.

They were an exceptionally expressive pair of eyes.

Curious, Luo Jingyi asked, “You’re an actress?”

“Mm… More or less.”

“More or less? Either you are or you aren’t. How can there be a ‘more or less’?”

Luo Jingyi often spoke without any expression on her face. It did not mean she was in a bad mood, but without a smile, she naturally looked fierce.

Chen Ge became slightly uneasy and answered honestly:

“I’ve acted in films, but that was many years ago.”

“What happened afterward? No one offered you work?”

Chen Ge smiled and shook her head. “I haven’t worked in more than a year. This web variety show is my first job in all that time.”

“That seems unlikely. Your overall qualities are quite good.”

Chen Ge was pleased to receive praise from someone who appeared so formidable, even though the other woman might only have been saying it out of politeness.

“I mean it.”

Luo Jingyi’s gaze fell on Chen Ge’s smooth, firm face.

The young woman’s clean oval face was genuinely no larger than a palm. Her black hair fell across her shoulders, silky and glossy.

She looked immaculate.

As though possessed by some strange impulse, Luo Jingyi—who usually disliked physical contact—raised a hand and held Chen Ge by the chin. She slowly turned her face from side to side, carefully studying her front and profile as though appreciating a work of art.

Her gaze paused briefly on Chen Ge’s thick lashes before moving to the delicate tip of her nose. Her upper lip had a full, pronounced Cupid’s bow, and there was a slightly reddish mole on her neck.

Everything about her face had grown in exactly the right place.

Luo Jingyi stared at that mole and could easily imagine mentioning it while describing one of her female leads, had the character possessed such a mark.

She might even emphasize it during a particular scene.

She would certainly insist that the director capture a close-up of the mole.

The curve of Chen Ge’s jaw was graceful, and her attractive chin was perfectly proportioned.

Chen Ge’s features possessed an extraordinary amount of tension before the camera. The moment her face appeared before an audience, people would want to know the story behind her.

Her entire face could appear upright and dignified or soft and seductive, as long as someone taught her how to use it.

She was a work of art only halfway through being polished.

She clearly contained tremendous artistic potential, but Luo Jingyi was certain that Chen Ge herself did not know how to control her own charm.

At present, she was still somewhat rough around the edges.

She needed a pair of skillful hands to sculpt her carefully.

Chen Ge had never expected this woman to suddenly hold her chin and turn her face from side to side. Her breathing nearly stopped.

Noticing that Luo Jingyi was carefully examining her appearance, she joked, “My face is completely original. One hundred percent untouched.”

Luo Jingyi also realized that her actions had been somewhat inappropriate. She released her and said:

“All you’re missing is a director to offer some guidance and open up your Ren and Du meridians.”

Chen Ge did not say anything else. After smiling, she turned to look out the window.

Outside was the silent black road at midnight. Only the light spilling from the van and a scattering of distant lights illuminated the dark night.

Chen Ge’s face was reflected clearly in the window.

Earlier, only her ears had been red. Now her entire face was flushed.

When they reached the hotel’s main entrance, Luo Jingyi got out of the van. Director Hu wondered whether he should also get out and help carry her luggage, but a bellboy was already waiting, so she probably did not need him.

Looking through the rearview mirror, he saw that Chen Ge had already climbed out.

Chen Ge and the bellboy each took one suitcase and helped place Luo Jingyi’s luggage onto the hotel trolley.

Luo Jingyi said, “Thank you.”

Chen Ge smiled shyly.

When she returned to the van, Chen Ge saw Director Hu holding the GoPro again and asked in confusion, “You filmed that too?”

“That’s what makes it a reality show,” Director Hu said. “Affection revealed naturally. Perfect.”

“Stop joking, Director Hu. Sister Luo is Director Feng’s friend, and she probably… already has a lover, right? What affection am I supposed to reveal? Those suitcases were huge. I only helped because I was already there.”

Chen Ge added silently in her heart: Besides, I’m straight.

Director Hu suddenly thought of something and turned around to ask, “Was Qian Yu the one who told you to pick her up?”

Chen Ge nodded.

Director Hu considered it. So that little bastard had been behind the whole thing.

He gave a dry laugh and muttered to himself, “Then you were probably tricked.”

Chen Ge did not hear clearly. “What?”

But after thinking it over, Director Hu decided that this wealthy woman was certainly someone important.

Who could predict the fortunes and opportunities of the entertainment industry?

Xiao Chen was foolishly kind. Perhaps she had unexpectedly stumbled upon a treasure.

Author’s Note:

Luo I’m Only Looking and Touching, Nothing Else Jingyi: Clean, beautiful, and waiting to be cultivated. This is my little CP.

Chen Although She’s Straight, One Tease from an Older Woman Makes Her Blush Furiously Ge: C-Cultivated? Does that mean what I think it means?

Luo Jingyi: No.

Chen Ge:
(Relieved.)

Luo Jingyi: It’s even more vivid than what you imagined.

Chen Ge: ??