Chapter 3

"Let's rewind a bit and do some reshoots." Perhaps because Luo Mingxiu had performed so well today, he didn't show any signs of fatigue even after filming action scenes for most of the day in the high temperature.

Director Zhang believes he is a talented and hardworking actor, and doesn't want to blame him as the filming wraps up.

Adjust your mindset and try again successfully.

"OK, that's a wrap."

Shen Li was certain that Luo Mingxiu had seen her. As soon as he said it was time to wrap up work, he ran faster than anyone else. She was stopped by Director Zhang for a few words, and then he was gone.

The phone vibrated; Cheng Qingqing had sent her location—a restaurant near Hengdian. Cheng Qingqing, who had been her agent for many years, had always maintained the habit of treating her to a meal before work.

Cheng Qingqing: It's the same old dishes. I wonder what my brother's taste is?

Shen Li posted a question mark.

Cheng Qingqing: Aren't you taking him? I thought you two had reunited.

She wanted to, but Chen Li tapped on the keyboard with a headache: That kid is avoiding me.

Cheng Qingqing: Tsk tsk tsk, ungrateful.

Shen Li put away her phone and went to the restaurant with Xiao Yu. When she got in the car, she received a supplementary message from Cheng Qingqing: Don't overthink it. Maybe he's just embarrassed to let others know about your relationship.

What she said made sense, and she was willing to believe it.

The next day after work, Shen Li ordered milk tea for the whole crew, and she specially picked out the cup that she gave to Luo Mingxiu and put a note on it.

It said: Take the script with you, go back to your place and come find me next door.

"I'll tell you after I deliver it." Shen Li stopped Xiao Yu from asking any questions in her surprise and sent her to deliver the milk tea herself.

When Luo Mingxiu received the milk tea, he was having lunch with Xiaowen on set. He glanced at it and saw the sentence that appeared when Xiaoyu turned the cup.

After the person left, he quickly tore off the note, crumpled it into a ball, and held it in his hand.

"Xiao Wen, let's go." Luo Mingxiu stood up.

"Brother, aren't you going to eat?" Xiaowen was surprised to see that there was still food left on his plate. Usually, he would ask for more rice if there was leftover food and would always finish his plate.

"I have to go back soon, something urgent has come up."

Back at the apartment, Luo Mingxiu immediately took a shower, put on clean clothes, tidied himself up in front of the mirror, and then headed out.

Xiaowen watched his movements strangely and asked where he was going. The only response she got was the sound of a door closing hurriedly.

Luo Mingxiu arrived at the door next door. The script was rolled up and held in his palm. He paced back and forth for a while before finally deciding to raise his hand and press the doorbell. After pressing it, his heart suddenly raced, and he felt even more nervous than when he checked his college entrance exam scores.

The thought of escaping flashed through my mind, and my feet had already taken a step forward and turned around.

A voice came from the doorway: "Stop."

Shen Li glanced at the script in Luo Mingxiu's hand: "Still running away? Don't you want to hear me talk about tomorrow's scene?"

They have a scene together tomorrow, and the schedule is clearly written in the crew's group chat. She thinks there's nothing wrong with using this as an excuse to talk.

Luo Mingxiu went inside and closed the door.

Shen Li walked to the sofa and sat down. Xiao Yu had already been sent outside, so now it was just the two of them in the room. She focused her gaze on Luo Mingxiu, who was standing far away from her. Since entering the room, he had only been looking at the ground and turning the script in his hand.

She's already given him a chance to meet alone, but he's still keeping quiet.

“Lift your head up,” Shen Li said.

When he slightly raised his head, she stared straight at him.

The two stared at each other for less than ten seconds before Luo Mingxiu gave in. He opened the twisted script, slowly smoothed it out with his hands, and began to read it.

Shen Li's patience, which was already running out, was exhausted. She said angrily, "Do you really think I called you here just to look at the script?"

Why are you avoiding me?

"I thought you didn't want people to know that we knew each other."

Shen Li frowned, wondering who exactly didn't want people to know. Then she thought about how he was currently on the rise and indeed couldn't afford to cause misunderstandings or unnecessary scandals.

Then, softening his tone, he asked, "Why was the original number cancelled?"

"I lost my phone, along with my SIM card."

"Why didn't you contact me after you changed your phone? Aunt Luo must have my home address."

The air seemed to freeze, and there was no movement for a long time. Shen Li looked up and saw that his clenched fingers were white, as if he was very conflicted.

She had thought that if she saw Luo Mingxiu again, she would be furious. She would immediately rush up to him, grab him, and demand to know why he had canceled his phone number without a word back then, why he hadn't contacted her when he wanted to act, and whether he even respected her as his older sister!

Once she was in person, all her anger vanished. The coldness that Luo Mingxiu had shown during the audition completely disappeared when he faced her.

She still habitually bowed her head, and although there were complex emotions in her eyes that she couldn't understand, her unwavering piety remained unchanged.

After four years away, his return was as familiar as ever, which relieved Shen Li and made her feel at ease. Luo Mingxiu was always deep and thoughtful, and she had always been more tolerant than critical of her younger brother.

"Never mind, since we've already seen him and he's still alive, that's good enough. If we don't want to talk about the past, then we don't have to."

Shen Li's words were tinged with helplessness and a hint of amusement, as if she didn't take it seriously, but Luo Mingxiu noticed the worry in her expression and was taken aback.

"sorry."

Shen Li fell silent. For some reason, receiving Luo Mingxiu's apology made her heart clench.

Deep inside, it was like a ship swaying and drifting, and at the moment of reunion, it found a sense of stability. But the ship had been drifting for so long that it had long lost its direction, and she didn't know if her relationship with Luo Mingxiu could ever go back to what it was before.

Shen Li attributed this feeling to the melancholy of not seeing each other for a long time. She didn't want to think too much about it; she was still confident that she could repair their relationship.

"You're not allowed to disappear again." Shen Li didn't want to say anything more; this was her only request for him to acknowledge her again.

With a sentence that seemed to break the ice, Luo Mingxiu nodded, a fierce glint in his eyes: "No more."

The room fell silent again. After Shen Li stared at him for a while, Luo Mingxiu spoke up: "Teacher Shen, are you still looking at the script?"

"You keep calling me 'Teacher Shen,' there's no one else here," Shen Li complained. "What should I call you?"

"Sinking pear".

"Now you don't even want to call me 'Sister Sheng' anymore?" Shen Li laughed in exasperation.

Seeing that Luo Mingxiu remained silent, she sighed, "Are you embarrassed now that you're grown up? I still want to hear you call me like you used to."

Luo Mingxiu lowered his eyes, his gaze lingering on her face for a long time before he bit his lip and said, "Sister."

"Oh, good boy." Shen Li stepped forward and reached out to touch his head. However, Luo Mingxiu stood up straight and did not move, unlike before when he obediently lowered his head to let her do so.

"Does my sister still treat me like a child?"

Shen Li was stunned for a moment, then awkwardly ruffled his hair with her outstretched arm: "You've grown up, haven't you? It's only been a few years, but in my eyes you'll always be a little brother who hasn't grown up."

Luo Mingxiu looked at her silently, his expression unreadable. After a long while, he finally spoke with difficulty, "Um, it's been a long time. Can I hug you?"

Just as Shen Li was about to nod and hadn't agreed, she was pulled into an embrace, and a refreshing scent instantly enveloped her, as if she were in a pine forest after the rain.

The scent was the same as when he was a teenager, faint, and he couldn't tell if it was from the shower gel or perfume. Shen Li had asked him about it before, but to no avail, and ultimately attributed it to his natural body odor.

Luo Mingxiu lowered his head and leaned on her shoulder.

He held her tightly, and through the thin short-sleeved shirt she had changed into after work, she could clearly feel his strong arm muscles, his hot breath hitting the back of her neck, getting closer and closer.

Shen Li couldn't help but shrink her neck: "Okay, let go quickly, it's too hot."

Luo Mingxiu let her go.

"Why are you so hot? Have you caught a heatstroke? You've had some intense action scenes these past few days, and you've been sweating a lot. It's easy for you to catch a fever if you're exposed to a breeze."

Shen Li looked at his face and neck, which were completely red, and raised her hand to touch his forehead.

Luo Mingxiu tilted his head: "I don't have a fever."

“Okay,” Shen Li said, “I have first-aid kits on my RV and here. Come find me if you feel unwell.”

Luo Mingxiu: "Hmm."

After reading the script, Shen Li felt relieved. She had initially worried that Luo Mingxiu would not be able to keep up with the pace of the role change, but to her surprise, he not only carefully studied his own part of the story, but also marked her part.

The script also includes two pages of handwritten character biographies, neatly written with beautiful strokes, a pleasure to read.

Whatever his reasons for becoming an actor, his serious attitude towards acting is evident from his reading of scripts; this level of dedication is not a spur-of-the-moment decision.

"Come sit down." Shen Li beckoned, thinking to herself that this person was really something, not even tired of standing for so long.

Luo Mingxiu sat down beside her. Because they were so close, the fragrance he had smelled when he hugged her earlier wafted into his nostrils again. Without making a sound, he moved to the side of the sofa to make a little distance.

"This is the scene you auditioned for Director Liu, right?" Shen Li pointed to a spot in the script. It was the scene where Li Ze bids farewell to the sleeping Xie Huaixi on the eve of his death. Because this scene would be performed tomorrow, she needed to point out some issues in advance.

Luo Mingxiu: "Yes."

Shen Li said frankly: "I saw your audition video sent by Director Liu. The production team is considering you to play Li Ze. Your image and martial arts skills have added a lot to your performance. However, you still need to improve your emotional scenes."

"Wait, let me find that video of yours." Shen Li took out her phone and flipped through the files. The screen was very close to the person next to her, but she didn't try to hide it at all.

Luo Mingxiu could easily see her photo album with a casual glance. It contained a large number of screenshots of the roles she had played, and each set of pictures had a strange name.

—What's with that expression?

—Trash dialogue

—Watching is just acting

Luo Mingxiu smiled slightly and said, "Sister is very good at self-criticism."

Shen Li knew he had seen it, but said nonchalantly, "They're all comments from the show. I'm used to taking screenshots. The audience's eyes are sharp; the issues they point out are usually spot on."

Luo Mingxiu listened to her words and then quietly moved closer to her.

"Hey, did I delete that video of yours? I can't find it anywhere," Shen Li muttered to herself.

“I have it,” Luo Mingxiu said, taking out his phone. “I asked Director Liu for it after the audition that day. I also felt that I didn’t perform well and wanted to review it.”

"Why didn't you say so earlier?" Shen Li rolled her eyes at him.

Luo Mingxiu's heart tightened at that soft, coquettish look, and he quickly looked down to play the video.

“Here,” Shen Li said, dragging the progress bar to the question and rewinding it, “look at your performance just now, didn’t it look like you were talking to cannon fodder corpses?”

Luo Mingxiu looked at her and said, "You can criticize me, but you don't have to make fun of yourself."

Shen Li patted him: "Let me give you an example. The key point is that Li Ze knows he is about to die and is saying his final goodbye to the person he loves. Although unrequited love doesn't need to be exaggerated, it can't be too simplistic at the moment of life and death. It needs to be more palpable."

The more subtle the emotional scenes, the better. Even a slight change in the eyes can make a big difference, understand?

Luo Mingxiu: "Understood."

Shen Li: "I remember you used to have a crush on a girl, right? Was she from the same school or someone else? I can't remember. Anyway, try to get into character and let me see how your expressions change."

Upon hearing this, Luo Mingxiu lowered his eyes and remained silent. After Shen Li signaled for them to begin, he looked up again, and the look in his eyes was different.

Shen Li smiled and said, "Yes, that's the feeling. Isn't this how you can act well?"

Luo Mingxiu didn't speak, stared at her for a while, then pursed his lips and asked, "Does your sister also explain acting to others like this?"