Chapter 79

"You're not going to tell me about Klaus Weber's movie audition?" Shen Li's tone was cold on the other end of the phone.

As expected, Luo Mingxiu closed his eyes and said, "I didn't mean to hide it, I just need some time to think about it and wanted to wait until you come back before I told you."

"Is that so?" Shen Li sneered. "If that's really what you think, can you guarantee you'll tell me immediately when I return to China, instead of dragging it out like this?"

"I..." Luo Mingxiu couldn't continue.

Shen Li: "Are you planning to just go through the motions at the audition and then be rejected by the director as a matter of course? That would be exactly what you want. You don't want this role at all, do you?"

"say!"

Luo Mingxiu: "No, I know how important Mr. Weber's movie is to me. I just want to think it over more carefully. I'm not as great as you think. I don't want to invest too much time and energy in that slim hope, and I don't want us to be in a long-distance relationship."

“It’s only temporary, I can accept that,” she said firmly.

“We need to film in multiple countries, and it will be a year-long, intermittent shoot, with most of the time spent abroad,” Luo Mingxiu said. “I’m scared…”

"What are you afraid of?" Shen Li was a little annoyed. She tried her best to suppress her anger. "Luo Mingxiu, I've read the script. It's not that difficult for you to act. I can't understand why you're so conflicted."

"Do you genuinely feel it's not suitable? Or do you know you have the ability to act, but you're rejecting it just because you don't want to break up with me? I hope you can calm down and think it through, and give me a definite answer when you get back."

"Um, when are you coming back..."

Before he could finish speaking, the call ended.

.

The following night, after getting off the plane, Shen Li's phone kept vibrating, but she didn't have the heart to pay attention to it. The exhaustion from the long journey made her fall asleep as soon as she got in the car. When she entered the villa, Xiao Yu helped her put down her luggage.

Shen Li glanced at the time and said to her, "It's eleven o'clock. You can sleep here tonight."

"Okay, thank you, Sister Li," Xiaoyu was about to walk towards the guest room when her phone rang. She looked at Chen Li, "Sister, it's Brother Luo calling, should I answer it?"

Shen Li: "Ignore him, turn off your phone."

“Okay,” Xiaoyu pursed her lips, “I’m going to my room now, you should go to sleep early too.”

So sleepy that her eyelids were drooping, Shen Li didn't even take a bath before falling asleep the moment her head hit the pillow, and slept soundly through the night until the sun was high in the sky.

Knock knock knock—

There was a knock on the door, the person on the bed turned over, and then there were three more knocks.

"Xiaoyu," Chen Li said, half-closing her eyes as she looked outside, "Go have breakfast once you're up, don't wait for me."

There was no response from outside, so Shen Li called out again, "Xiao Yu?"

“It’s me,” a familiar male voice came from outside the door. “I made breakfast.”

Sure enough, the guy came running over. Shen Li propped herself up and said, "The door wasn't locked."

Luo Mingxiu entered the room, glanced at her, walked to the sofa, placed the plate he was carrying on the small round table, and sat down.

"Where's Xiaoyu?" Shen Li threw back the covers and got out of bed.

“I told her to finish breakfast and leave,” Luo Mingxiu replied. Seeing her walk past him, he added, “Eat first, then wash up, it’ll get cold.”

"Hmm." Shen Li turned around and came to his side, casually took a small cushion from the shelf and threw it on the ground, then bent her legs and sat down.

On the plate was a glass of milk and a few egg pancakes, topped with nut crumbs, a little honey, and a few pieces of fruit. The pancakes were golden brown and smelled delicious; just looking at them was enough to tantalize one's taste buds.

In this situation, she couldn't bring herself to offer praise, so she chose to bury her head in her food and eat silently.

The air was quiet; the only sound in the room was the gentle movement of plates.

Shen Li could see Luo Mingxiu's eyes out of the corner of her eye. This scene seemed to take her back to her childhood, when he followed Aunt Luo, who delivered the food, upstairs to give her the flowers he had made in his craft class.

That was the first time she let him into her bedroom, and he quietly waited for her to eat.

"Want some more?" Luo Mingxiu asked, a slight smile playing on his lips as he saw the pancakes were completely devoured.

Shen Li shook her head, still remaining silent and expressionless, before getting up to wash up.

In the bathroom, she saw a figure outside linger for a moment through the frosted glass door before quietly leaving.

"Ha—" Shen Li turned on the tap and splashed cold water on her face.

Is that question really that hard to answer? Does she have to be the one to say everything?

"Blockhead." After wiping the water off her face, Shen Li cursed under her breath, grabbed her phone, and went downstairs.

She heard noises coming from the kitchen; someone must be washing dishes inside. She sat on the sofa and waited for a while, but no one came out.

What's this person doing? Does he/she live in the kitchen?

Impatient, Shen Li slipped on her slippers and walked to the kitchen doorway. Peeking inside, she saw Luo Mingzheng mopping the floor, and the cabinets were sparkling clean.

"Did you come here so early just to clean? The villa has people who clean it regularly. If you have nothing to say, just leave. I don't need you to do it." Shen Li said in one breath and walked back to the living room.

Luo Mingxiu behind him stopped what he was doing, put the mop back in its place, and came out.

“The problem you mentioned yesterday, yes, the main reason is that I don’t want to be separated from you,” Luo Mingxiu sat down next to her and told her the answer. “I’ll be filming a movie abroad, and I won’t see you for a long time.”

Shen Li frowned slightly: "So you're going to give up such a good opportunity? Isn't that a bit too willful?"

“Willful?” Luo Mingxiu repeated the word, a hint of bitterness in his eyes.

“Chen Li, I know you love acting. Not everyone can put it as much as you do. In my heart, you are number one. You ask me what I’m afraid of? What I’m most afraid of is you leaving me. The farther away we are, the less secure I feel.”

“I’m afraid someone will take you away from me, just like in our senior year of high school, when my attention was slightly diverted from you, you married another man.”

"Am I not your girlfriend now?" Shen Li retorted. "Do you think I fall in love with every girl I meet? You don't trust me at all."

“What do you mean by ‘stealing’?” She looked directly into his eyes. “You treat me like your possession, thinking I have to be by your side at all times, and can’t leave your sight for even a moment?”

"If I were to go abroad to film this time, what would you do? Would you abandon your work here and come with me?"

“I…” Luo Mingxiu’s lips moved.

"Shut up," Shen Li glared at him. "If you dare to say you can, then retire from the entertainment industry. What kind of actor are you? You'd be much better off as my assistant, wouldn't you?"

“I don’t consider you my possession; on the contrary, I want to be yours. When I’m filming abroad, I can only see you a few times a year, and I’ll miss you terribly.”

"Won't you miss me?" Luo Mingxiu whispered these four words, his eyes reddening as if he were about to cry.

Shen Li: "Of course I'll miss you. You're filming abroad, not time-traveled. Can't we video chat normally? Besides, I have a lot of business that requires me to go abroad. Even if I don't, I can book a flight to see you whenever I want. We'll have time to meet."

She could find a flawless answer to every question he asked, pushing him forward so that he had no reason to run away.

Luo Mingxiu stared at her blankly, then finally lowered his head, speechless.

"Luo Mingxiu, do you still remember what you said to my parents? That day, you made such a solemn promise to them."

I thought you were dating with marriage in mind. I hoped you could play the male lead soon, and I was thinking of making a movie with you first, which would increase your fame in the film industry.

“I’ve always been thinking about our future. But your attitude toward work makes me feel like you have no plans and haven’t considered our future.”

Shen Li looked at him, her eyes reddening and glistening with tears.

"You just want to play around with me?" She forced a smile, a hint of mockery in it. "Fine, you're handsome and good in bed, I'll play with you, and we'll break up when I'm done..."

Luo Mingxiu felt a sharp pain in his heart as the words of the person in front of him tore at it, and he leaned down to seal her lips with his.

The sudden kiss almost suffocated Shen Li. He held her face in his arms and held her tightly to prevent her from struggling.

"Mmm... Luo Mingxiu... um." Shen Li's face turned red, and she leaned back. He took the opportunity to press her down on the sofa and continued to follow her, gently biting her, silencing all her moans.

"Well……"

Shen Li bit his tongue, and as she pushed him away, tears silently streamed down her nose. She turned and buried her face in the sofa, her shoulders beginning to tremble slightly.

“I’m sorry,” Luo Mingxiu crouched down, his voice trembling, “I was really scared. I know you were just saying it out of anger, saying it was just for fun… I want to marry you, be husband and wife, and grow old together. I can’t live without you.”

Shen Li looked up, tears streaming down her face as she complained, "If you wanted to, you should have told me about the audition sooner! If Director Meng hadn't called, I wouldn't have known that the director had contacted Liang Jin last month to talk to you. I was so naive, I thought you were just feeling down because filming had wrapped up..."

"What were you thinking when I comforted you? Didn't you ever think about being honest with me? I knew it in Cannes. I gave you the cold shoulder for a few days, just to give you a chance to tell me, but you still didn't..."

Seeing her face covered in tears, Luo Mingxiu's heart ached.

He regretted it. In fact, he regretted it the moment Shen Li asked that question. From his own perspective, he felt he needed to think things through before telling her.

If you put yourself in his shoes, if Shen Li had a problem and didn't tell him right away, he would also feel distrusted.

"I was wrong." Luo Mingxiu raised his hand and slapped himself hard, so hard that his cheek immediately turned red.

"What are you doing!" Shen Li didn't have time to stop him. She quickly looked at his face, realized that she was reacting nervously, and looked away.

"I'm sorry for making you so sad," he said, crouching down to meet her gaze and gently wiping away her tears with a tissue. "From now on, I'll discuss everything with you immediately and never be so self-righteous again."

After saying that, Luo Mingxiu hugged her and rubbed against her waist, like a puppy that had done something wrong begging for its master's forgiveness.

Ignoring him, he knelt beside her and kept rubbing against her, making Shen Li's stomach itch. She lost her temper, turned around and touched his face: "Silly dog, why did you hit me so hard? Do you know how important your face is? Don't do that again."

"Okay." Luo Mingxiu squinted his eyes, smiled, and kissed her hand.

.

The exact audition date was June 25th, leaving only a month for preparation, which wasn't enough time for someone working on a foreign drama for the first time.

Fortunately, Shen Li had encountered this extreme situation before. She sent her original plan to Luo Mingxiu for reference, and asked Liang Jin to suspend all his business and devote himself to the role in the script according to the plan.

"Director Meng inquired about Mr. Weber and found out that he not only focuses on the actor's role, but also on the understanding of the other actors' roles and the entire script."

In the practice room, Shen Li worked on the computer, dividing the lines into scenes according to the movie structure, and then printed them out separately.

She walked over to Luo Mingxiu and handed him the bound scripts, saying, "Time is tight, so I'll come to the company every day to rehearse with you. I'll play your opposite role."

First, we'll go through all the scenes, resolving any issues promptly. Finally, a week in advance, I'll have some directors and producers evaluate your performance according to international audition procedures—essentially a mock interview.

"Won't this interfere with your work?" Luo Mingxiu asked, flipping through the schedule and script pages.

She always guides him on the road ahead; he must have saved the world in his past life, otherwise, how could he have such a wonderful girlfriend?

"I've put all my business on the back burner. During this time, you don't need to worry about what's going on outside, who your competitors are, or what the progress is like. All I need you to do is clear your mind, believe in yourself, and see if you can do it."

"able."

"I definitely can," Luo Mingxiu emphasized again.

Shen Li relaxed, then suddenly remembered something and said, "My birthday is coming up soon after the audition."

"Hmm?" Luo Mingxiu looked up and smiled. "I haven't forgotten the gift..."

“Don’t bother preparing a gift,” Shen Li said, sitting down next to him. “Sun Qi once tried to play the lead role in a K country film. Although she didn’t win an award, many directors and producers saw her potential, and she got more film opportunities afterward.”

“So…” At this point, Shen Li moved closer, tilting her head back and breathing against his neck. She kissed his ear.

"Please take this role as my most special birthday present, okay?"