Acting Out of Character (GL) - Chapter 8

“Xiao Chen, your ears are completely red.”

Hearing Director Hu say this, Chen Ge bowed her head with a stiff smile. Her mouth was still full of pastry, making her slender face bulge like a little hamster.

Luo Jingyi watched her reddened ears twitch slightly with every chew. It was quite adorable. A sudden whim to keep feeding her surfaced. Seeing Chen Ge swallow the last bit, she asked:

“Want more?”

Chen Ge instinctively wanted to say “No, thank you” out of politeness, but Director Hu was frantically gesturing at her behind the camera, signaling for her to keep eating. An actor’s instinct is to follow the director’s lead. She quickly cleared her palate, gave Luo Jingyi an obedient nod, and parted her lips slightly.

Luo Jingyi: “Open wider.”

Chen Ge: “…”

She quietly complied.

Director Hu and the driver didn’t even dare to breathe too loudly. Is this lady a savior sent from the heavens? How can she be so smooth!

After placing another pastry into Chen Ge’s mouth, Luo Jingyi didn’t look away. She continued to watch her eat in silence. Being stared at like that, Chen Ge felt her face beginning to burn, so she covered the lower half of her face and looked down.

Who knew this girl with such a cold-looking face was actually so easy to fluster?

Luo Jingyi snapped the food container shut and asked Director Hu, “Is the footage enough?”

Director Hu turned off the GoPro and said hurriedly, “Enough, enough! More than enough! This segment is definitely making it into the final cut.”

“Good.” Luo Jingyi placed the container on Chen Ge’s lap; there were two pastries left inside.

“Wh—? I’m full,” Chen Ge said.

“They’re yours now.”

Luo Jingyi was a bit of a germaphobe. If it weren’t for the sake of the show’s “effect,” she would never have fed someone personally. Now that the item had been given away, she felt the remaining pastries had been tainted by someone else’s presence—even if it was a cute girl, it felt off to her. She certainly wasn’t going to eat them, so she figured it was better to give them to Chen Ge than to let them go to waste.

Chen Ge didn’t think that far into it. She simply thought “Sister Luo” was worried she hadn’t had enough to eat. Sister Luo is such a good person.

Chen Ge loved exercising, so she had a healthy appetite. To her, working out wasn’t just about staying in shape or keeping up her energy—it was so she could enjoy her food. She didn’t have a strict diet at night and would eat if she was hungry, though she usually stopped before getting too full. However, these pastries were so delicious that she couldn’t resist finishing the last two.

The outer layer was chewy with a milky fragrance, while the inside was filled with salted egg yolk and shredded coconut. They weren’t overly sweet or cloying, fitting her tastes perfectly.

After finishing, Chen Ge used a tissue to pick up the crumbs that had fallen on her clothes and the car seat. She placed them carefully into the box, snapped it shut, and tucked it into her backpack.

Luo Jingyi watched the entire process from the side.

Because of her profession, Luo Jingyi loved observing people. Since childhood, she hadn’t been particularly good at “blending in” with crowds; she only socialized when absolutely necessary. She preferred standing in a corner, observing people’s clothing, small habits, facial expressions, and the nuance of their speech over participating in superficial small talk.

To her, these small details revealed a person’s true character and circumstances far better than words could. As a child, she thought this behavior was odd, but as she grew up and met more colleagues, she realized many screenwriters shared this trait. By observing these details, she could find the “anchor point” for a person’s behavior.

The most attractive thing about her scripts was their realism. Every character she wrote had a foundation; they were multifaceted and full, acting in accordance with their personality and logic.

Her subject of observation right now was Chen Ge.

Luo Jingyi noted the way Chen Ge cleaned up the crumbs, and then her gaze moved to the girl’s fingertips as she closed the box. Chen Ge’s nails were trimmed neatly—no polish, no white edges, just slender fingers with tips that were a healthy, natural pink. This is a clean, organized child.

Director Hu was no longer filming; he was sitting in the front seat playing with his phone. Luo Jingyi didn’t feel like moving, so she remained seated right next to Chen Ge.

Chen Ge wasn’t sure what to do. Playing on her phone would seem disrespectful to someone who had specifically sat down beside her, right? So, she searched for a topic.

“Sister Luo, are you a permanent guest?”

Luo Jingyi replied, “No, I’m just here to help Old Feng out. I’ll leave after we film enough for two episodes.”

“Oh…”

“Your partner will change once I’m gone.”

Chen Ge nodded. Luo Jingyi read a flash of disappointment in the girl’s downcast eyes almost instantly. Those eyes really know how to talk.

Luo Jingyi asked curiously, “Are you an actress?”

“Um… I suppose so.”

“Suppose? You either are or you aren’t. Why ‘suppose’?”

When Luo Jingyi spoke, her face was often expressionless. She wasn’t in a bad mood, but her lack of a smile made her look very fierce. Chen Ge felt a bit flustered and answered honestly:

“I’ve been in a movie, but that was many years ago.”

“And after that? No one approached you?”

Chen Ge smiled and shook her head. “I haven’t had work for over a year. This variety show is my first job in all that time.”

“That shouldn’t be. You have excellent features.”

Chen Ge was delighted to be praised by someone who seemed as impressive as Luo Jingyi, even if it was just a polite compliment.

“I mean it.”

Luo Jingyi’s gaze lingered on Chen Ge’s smooth, tight skin. The girl had a clean oval face—truly “palm-sized”—with black hair scattered over her shoulders, so silky it shone. Spotless.

As if possessed, Luo Jingyi—who usually loathed physical contact—reached out. She cupped Chen Ge’s chin and slowly turned her head, examining her profile and front as if appraising a work of art.

Her gaze stayed briefly on the girl’s thick eyelashes, then moved to the bridge of her nose, her full Cupid’s bow, and finally a small, slightly reddish mole on her neck.

It’s in exactly the right spot.

Looking at that mole, Luo Jingyi could perfectly imagine describing it in a script. If her female lead had such a mole, she would definitely mention it—perhaps even emphasize it in a specific scene and demand the director get a close-up of it.

Chen Ge’s jawline was graceful, and her chin was perfectly proportioned. Her features had a natural “cinematic tension”; the moment that face appeared on screen, people would want to know her story. She could look righteous or alluring—all she needed was someone to teach her how to wield it.

She was a work of art only half-polished. She possessed a latent artistic explosiveness, but Luo Jingyi was certain the girl had no idea how to control her own charm. Right now, she was still a bit “raw.” She needed a skilled hand to carve her with precision.

Chen Ge had never expected this woman to suddenly grab her chin and turn her face. She nearly forgot how to breathe. Realizing Luo Jingyi was scrutinizing her looks, she joked:

“This face is the original version, 100% natural.”

Luo Jingyi realized her behavior was a bit inappropriate and let go. “All you’re missing is a director to give you a little nudge and open up your ‘meridians’.”

Chen Ge didn’t say anything else. She smiled and looked out the window. Outside was the silent, black road of midnight, lit only by the car’s interior lights and the distant, scattered glows in the dark night. Her own face was clearly reflected in the window.

Earlier, it was just her ears that were red. Now, her entire face was flushed.

When they reached the hotel’s main entrance, Luo Jingyi got out. Director Hu wondered if he should help with the luggage, but since the bellhop was right there, he figured it wasn’t necessary. Looking in the rearview mirror, he saw Chen Ge had already hopped out.

Chen Ge and the bellhop each took a suitcase and helped Luo Jingyi load them onto the luggage cart. Luo Jingyi said “Thank you” to Chen Ge, who gave a shy smile.

Back in the car, Chen Ge saw the GoPro in Director Hu’s hand again. Puzzled, she asked, “You filmed that too?”

“That’s what a reality show is,” Director Hu said. “That naturally flowing affection… exquisite.”

Chen Ge: “Stop it, Director Hu. Sister Luo is Director Feng’s friend. She probably… already has a partner, right? What ‘affection’ could I be showing? I was just helping out with those big suitcases.”

In her mind, Chen Ge added: And I’m straight.

Director Hu thought of something and turned to ask: “Was it Qian Yu who told you to pick her up?”

Chen Ge nodded.

Director Hu mused. So it was that brat’s ghost of an idea. He chuckled and muttered to himself, “Then you were definitely played.”

Chen Ge didn’t catch that. “What?”

But Director Hu thought to himself: This rich lady is definitely someone important. Who can predict fate in the entertainment industry? This ‘Little Chen’ is a bit of a naive do-gooder, but she might have just struck gold.

The Author has something to say:

Luo (I’ll just look and touch, nothing else) Jingyi: Clean, beautiful, waiting to be “cultivated.” This is my little CP.

Chen (Straight but blushing like crazy from being teased) Ge: Cul… cultivated? Does that mean what I think it means?

Luo Jingyi: No.

Chen Ge (relieved):

Luo Jingyi: It’s more vivid than you think.

Chen Ge: ??