Chapter 8

Watching Ranlong walk into the classroom unsteadily, Qiu An smiled with his eyes curved, turned around, went downstairs, and got into Xixi's car.

"Are you in a good mood today?"

Xixi steered the car and glanced into the rearview mirror. Qiu An was smiling with her lips pursed. When she smiled, she looked like a little girl who was reminiscing about the past.

"Yeah." Qiu An responded in a good mood.

"Because you saw Ranlong?"

"Well, it's because of Teacher Yaoyao, right? I haven't seen her for a long time."

Qiu An went to see Teacher Yaoyao this morning, and when she was putting on makeup, she was so nervous that she even put her lipstick on crookedly.

When I met old friends, memories flooded my mind.

Ranlong is a second-generation celebrity, having entered the entertainment industry at a young age and becoming a beloved child star. When she was ready for college entrance exams, she settled down and stopped taking acting roles. Ultimately, she was admitted to the acting program at Jilin Film Academy with high scores, where she continued her studies.

Ran Long, Qiu An and Yuan Chengyin met, got to know each other, got together and slapped each other in this leading film academy.

Qiu An is four years older than Ranlong, but she is not her senior sister.

Qiu An's identity in Jiying has never been public. He is an auditor who sneaks into the school and is chased away by security guards.

It’s not that Jiying didn’t offer advanced training classes, but Qiu An at that time had no money and no academic qualifications.

Qiu An dropped out of high school and left home before graduating. After struggling for a while in Hengzhen, she stumbled north. Her beauty, while a glimmer of hope for the children of capitalists, also landed her in a lot of trouble. Unwilling to commit to the powerful who coveted her beauty, she spent five or six years playing minor roles, with no prospects.

Finally she came to Jiying to try her luck and look for opportunities.

The acting department's professional courses are never taught in large classes. To ensure quality, a class or lesson typically has no more than 20 or 30 students. Everyone sits together, and the instructor quickly learns to recognize all the students' faces.

Trying to sneak in to class was impossible. Being politely asked to leave was the best that could happen.

Teacher Yaoyao was her first opportunity.

"Next semester, come to my class. There are two classes in that class together. If you stand in the corner, no one will notice you. I will call your name, so remember to be on time."

On the first day of class, Qiu An was delayed for a while by some crew matters, and had to negotiate with security because he didn't have a student ID. By the time he ran to the front of the classroom, he was already late.

Just three minutes after the bell rang, all the students in the classroom were already there.

Teacher Yaoyao is a notoriously strict tigress. No one dares to be late for her class.

Just as Qiu An was looking at the door, not daring to go in, Teacher Yaoyao dragged her to the podium. Seeing Qiu An crying and wanting to beg for mercy, Teacher Yaoyao did not let her go.

In front of everyone, he started scolding him.

Qiu An was embarrassed by the scolding, and couldn't wipe away her tears and snot, but at the same time, she was secretly relieved and grateful in her heart.

Because Teacher Yaoyao did not expose her identity as an outsider, her classmates will remember that she was scolded for being late, and what they will remember is, "the one in our class who was scolded for being late."

Standing among the students was Qiu An's second chance.

After being scolded, Qiu An stood at the back of the crowd, crying. Ran Long saw how sad she was, so he quietly walked around his roommate and stood next to Qiu An.

She took out a fragrant handkerchief from her pocket, placed it in Qiu An's hand, and whispered to her, "It's okay, don't cry. It's not worth it to waste time on this. She's a famous tigress."

In that class, it was Qiu An who was late, and it was Ran Long who was punished to stand on the podium for two hours.

So in the end, there were so many people that Teacher Yaoyao had scolded that it wasn't worth remembering. But the fact that he called her "Tigress" loudly and right in front of her, thinking his voice was quiet when the whole class could hear it, was rare and quite funny, and it was remembered for a long time.

"The one who likes to chirp crickets loudly."

Fortunately, Qiu An got her third chance, but she only regretted it later because she had seized it.

Ranlong's life had been smooth sailing. She thought it would continue this way. Qiu An thought the same at the time.

The acting studio that Qiu An later opened was for children who had similar experiences as herself when she was young.

During those years, she traveled all over the country and worked on countless large and small film sets in Beijiheng Town where many extras gathered. She saw too many people who had dreams and talents but were buried due to lack of opportunities.

She is very grateful that she had three opportunities and was not one of them, and can still provide assistance to these children.

But that doesn't mean she doesn't regret it.

-

Teacher Yaoyao only teaches Ranlong two classes a week. The classes are very short, but they are enough for her to bear.

Qiu An's acting studio is very popular, with classes every day from morning to night, just like an independent university.

Ranlong saw this and, using her connections to the studio owner, allowed her free access to various classrooms. She started with the most basic lines and body language training, spending more than eight hours in the studio every day.

I have to go back to live broadcast and play for three hours in the evening.

When others saw her, they all thought she was working hard for Yuan Chengyin's play.

Ranlong was so tired that she didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Only she knew that she worked so hard because she was afraid that Teacher Yaoyao would hit her on the palm.

She had delicate skin and tender flesh, so it really hurt when she was slapped.

You are such a grown-up, why are you still studying for your teacher?

She really wanted to give Yuan Chengyin and Qiu An another slap in the face.

Fortunately, Qiu An’s performance studio was not too far from her rental house. After enduring a month, the day for “Big Brother” to give her rewards finally came.

Last time, Ranlong missed the reward from "Big Brother" because she didn't have time to rush home for the live broadcast. This time she learned her lesson and borrowed an empty classroom from Qiu An, planning to use the local materials to start the live broadcast.

Qiu An happened to be in the studio that day and didn't know what she was doing. She personally found a classroom with the best lighting for Ranlong, and even asked the teacher who was supposed to teach there in the evening to move to another place.

A table, a chair, a mobile phone, a stand, and a small fill light. Due to limited conditions, Ranlong could only run a simple live chat.

"Is my makeup okay?"

Ranlong moved his face towards the front camera and casually asked Qiu An who was helping him fiddle with the equipment.

Qiu An adjusted the lighting, cleared the clutter in the background, walked in front of Ranlong, and looked at him carefully.

Ranlong had been stared at by her for a long time and felt uneasy: "Have you seen enough?"

Qiu An nodded: "That's enough, the makeup is fine, it looks good."

"You won't lie to me?"

"I never lie to you."

"Get lost, stop talking nonsense! Okay, I'm going to start the live broadcast, so don't stand here. Go somewhere far away where you can't hear me."

Ranlong chased Qiu An out of the classroom, and seeing her standing at the door trying to get in the way again, Ranlong had to chase her out again.

"There's nothing to be shy about. It's not like I haven't heard of it before."

I remembered that Qiu An said she had come to watch her miserable plight. But she didn't know that she was so shy during the live broadcast earlier, but now, hmm, she is so professional.

But thinking about letting Qiu An see my seductive and artificial appearance, it’s better not to do that.

"This isn't a question of being shy or not. You're distracting me by standing here. Don't delay me from making money."

Watching Qiu An walk down the stairs, Ranlong returned to the classroom, closed the doors and windows, and started the live broadcast.

"Hello, hello, I'm late! Sorry to have kept you waiting for so long..."

By the time Qiu An left the studio, it was already dark. The beginning of summer had already passed, and even if night came, it wouldn't feel too cold. The studio was surrounded by apartment buildings, and the evening breeze carried the pleasant aroma of home-cooked meals.

Braised spare ribs, fish-flavored eggplant, and braised prawns.

Life should be like this. It seems so easy, why is it so luxurious for her?

Seeing that Qiu An had no intention of getting in the car, Xixi took a thin coat from the car and gave it to her, but she waved her hand and said, "No, it's not cold today."

"There's still a little wind." Xixiduo insisted.

"Am I such a delicate person?"

Xixi was too lazy to argue with her about such inexplicable words, so she took the clothes back to the car. When she came back, she had a pack of cigarettes, a windproof lighter, and a cell phone in her hands.

Qiu An took out a cigarette from the box and gave it back to Xixi. Xixi also took out one and lit it.

"Smoke less." Qiu An advised her as he watched her skillfully take out a cigarette and light it.

"You better keep this to yourself."

"Little Assistant, stop being so arrogant."

Xixi was stunned for half a second after listening to it, then raised her eyes and met hers. Seeing the smile in her eyes that could not be hidden, she burst out laughing before her.

It turns out she was imitating her Xiao Ran. Even veteran actors can stumble one day.

"I can't imitate it." Xixi said truthfully.

"Then what should I say?"

"None of your business, leave me alone!"

After he finished speaking, the two of them held their stomachs and laughed until they were bent over.

Although this sounds corny, Xixi still wants to say: Boss Qiu hasn't laughed like this for a long time.

Although Ranlong is quite annoying, if Qiu An can keep smiling like this, then let her be.

The laughter gradually died down, the sparks between his fingers flickered in the twilight, and a wisp of smoke trembled as a sigh escaped from Qiu An's beautiful lips. The ending tone was filled with emotion, satisfaction, helplessness, and even a hint of regret.

She stared at the cell phone in Xixi's hand and raised her chin.

Xixi understood what he meant, picked up her phone, clicked on a fancy page with flashing barrages and love effects, and handed it to Qiu An.

When the person in the picture saw her coming, his eyes lit up, and he raised his throat and said in a sweet voice: "Boss Huanhuan~ Long time no see~ You are finally here~ I missed you so much~"

Qiu An glanced at Xixi.

Xixi was startled and quickly pointed to her ears hidden under her hair: "I'm wearing headphones and can't hear anything."

What Xixi didn't expect was that Qiu An actually took it seriously and reached out to lift her hair to see what was going on.

How rude! You can't do this even to your subordinates! Xixi stepped back and changed the subject: "Are you still giving me a reward today?"

"Well, just turn halfway."

"Understood."

"Can't you hear me?" Qiu An held her tightly.

"Please spare me, Sister Qiu An. I'm just a little assistant. If you don't want me to listen, don't leave your phone here with me."

"Do you think Xiaoran is cute?" she kept insisting.

Xixi's heart was in her throat. She said tentatively, "Cute?"

If you answer wrong, you will get a glare.

"No, no, no, it's not cute. I'm backward and can't stand the sound of clips."

"I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about her as a person."

"That's even more... unlovable. Honestly, Sister Qiu An, I'm a completely straight woman. I don't have any bad intentions at all, otherwise you wouldn't let me handle this."

"Okay, leave your phone here and wait for me in the car."

Hehe. Besides you, who else would fall in love with that psychopathic woman? It's good enough that she's not disgusting, she's even cute.

As Xixi walked, she had a slight mental breakdown.

Ranlong's assistant seemed to be quite envious of her, but she didn't know that the man in her family was not a good person either.