Chapter 80
Her face was even more beautiful up close, and a faint scent of pears wafted into his nostrils. Luo Mingxiu's Adam's apple bobbed as he stared intently at her.
Only after Shen Li slightly furrowed her brows did he utter a single word, "Good."
Her lips lightly touched the tip of his ear before leaving.
"Oh right, I seem to remember that you had English scores on your resume, what were they again? Your spoken English should be fine, right?"
Another question had already been raised, and Luo Mingxiu, still immersed in the afterglow of the happiness he had just experienced, said again, "Okay."
"Okay?" Shen Li saw him touching his ear in a daze and patted his arm to bring him back to his senses. "How good is your English? Answer seriously."
"I have an IELTS score of 7.0, and I watch movies without subtitles most of the time," Luo Mingxiu answered truthfully.
“That’s good. There aren’t many lines in this play, so as long as the spoken language is fluent, the main thing is the tone and rhythm…” Shen Li took the script from his lap, selected a passage, and said, “I’ll read one line from here, and you can read the next one.”
"The truth you're chase is just the tip of the iceberg, floolish personal heroism!"
"The truth you seek is nothing but the tip of the iceberg, foolish heroism!" This is the villain's line after exposing the protagonist's undercover operation, and the protagonist's response to the next line is crucial in portraying his true nature.
"What I did break your lies, police handle the rest. Not showing off, countless suffer, some give in, some show true selves, but more hold justice."
—What I did was enough to expose your lies. The police will handle the rest. I'm not trying to be a hero. Countless people in this world suffer. Some compromise, some reveal their true nature, but many more always uphold justice.
The first time Shen Li heard Luo Mingxiu speak English, his pronunciation was clear and natural, and his deep voice carried the words slowly. She was slightly stunned, feeling as if her ears were being gently scratched, and the itch gradually spread from the side of her neck to her heart.
"How is it?" Luo Mingxiu asked her.
“Very standard,” Shen Li ignored her slightly flushed face and refused to admit that she was charmed by his voice. “When you watch foreign movies, do you often imitate the characters’ lines?”
"How did you know?" Luo Mingxiu nodded. "I do have this habit, especially with the three movies you acted in. I watched them repeatedly. Except for the French one, I can recite the lines of the other two English ones."
“That’s because you’ve been reading a lot and practicing unconsciously. Your lines sound natural, without the logical stress issues I had when I first read a foreign language script.”
"However, when we rehearse later, you should notice that the character's tone needs to be more firm."
"Okay, I got it." Knowing he had surprised his girlfriend, Luo Mingxiu couldn't help but smile. "Is my English good? I can record it on my phone for you to listen to."
“No,” Shen Li shoved the script at him. “Do you think I’m like you, enjoying collecting audio recordings and listening to them repeatedly?”
"Your voice is beautiful. That's why I collect it. You speak Chinese, English, and French beautifully when you act in movies."
"Before we were together, I liked to fall asleep with your movies playing in the background. Now that you're my girlfriend, the voices from those movies have come to life," Luo Mingxiu said, holding Chen Li's hand. "Do you think I can resist listening to them a few more times? I love listening to you talk."
Unexpectedly, a joke led to a tender confession.
Shen Li stared at him blankly, and he lowered his eyes, blushing.
The love she couldn't see before had been dripping into a lake in his heart, and now that lake was slowly flowing into her heart, rippling out in circles.
From then on, those unseen acts of tenderness took shape.
.
The mock interview results were better than expected, but Shen Li did not slack off at all. She still watched the entire recording and, based on the acting teacher's advice, compiled the key segments that the director was inclined to test, and went over them again.
Of course, Luo Mingxiu was also very motivated. With such a good girlfriend helping him, he felt incredibly happy and confident working towards a goal.
On Sunday, Luo Mingxiu and his team flew to Country B, and Shen Li finally had time to rest in her soft bed all day.
Online, the topic of the Best Actress award at the Magnolia Awards is generating a lot of buzz. This year, ten dramas were nominated, only one of which is a period drama: *Detective Xie Huaixi*.
Shen Li and Sun Qi have both received nominations from the jury for this drama, for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress respectively. The final results will be announced on the evening of the 27th, which is the day after tomorrow. Shen Li will attend the red carpet and gala at that time.
However, she needs to get some rest before that.
Preparing auditions for others is different from preparing them yourself; she knows her own abilities very well and won't put in much effort.
But this was Luo Mingxiu's first time working with a foreign film. She not only acted alongside him, but also helped him analyze the film during filming, always trying to consider all aspects. Helping someone is exhausting.
The following evening.
As dusk seeped into the second floor of the villa through the window, Shen Li woke up to the warm light, drew back the curtains, and stretched. She had slept from noon until now without being disturbed by any noise; it was so comfortable.
She went out onto the balcony and took a few breaths of fresh air, watching the white trail left by an airplane as it streaked across the sky, dissipating in the golden-red glow of the sunset.
He took off last night, he should have arrived by now, right?
Thinking of this, Shen Li turned around and rummaged around in the quilt for a while, then pulled out her phone, which she had played with until it shut down before going to sleep, and charged it. She then took out her tablet.
Upon connecting to the internet, more than a dozen messages popped up.
From the moment he got off the plane to the designated city, and then to the hotel, Luo Mingxiu sent her pictures almost the entire way, including scenery and food. Following the records, it felt like watching a business trip vlog.
The last message was sent an hour ago; it simply said: "Goodnight."
Shen Li glanced at the top of the screen; it was six o'clock. It was indeed bedtime for him. She sent him a goodnight GIF and then went to his Moments.
The puppy's pear: Arrived at a small village.
The accompanying image below the text is a nine-grid layout, with a selfie of him in the middle. The lake is icy blue, the sea and sky blend into one, and he sits on a boat with his hair styled into a neat slicked-back look by the sea breeze. His expression is nonchalant, and the corners of his lips are slightly upturned, like a still frame from a movie, handsome in a nonchalant way.
A video call popped up, and Shen Lixin jumped. She answered, and someone appeared on camera with hair that was clearly styled before bedtime, a stark contrast to the scene just now.
"Did you just wake up?" Luo Mingxiu asked, noticing her curled up in bed with her hair a little messy.
"Hmm, it's been six o'clock since my afternoon nap," Shen Li silently saved the picture of her slicked-back hair and set it as her wallpaper. "It must be very late where you are, right? Why aren't you asleep yet?"
“I tried to doze off but couldn’t fall asleep,” Luo Mingxiu said, sitting up against the headboard with a smile. “Seeing your like, I knew you were awake and wanted to chat with you. I haven’t heard your voice all day.”
Seeing him keep laughing, Shen Li laughed too: "Silly boy, you've been abroad before when shooting for magazines, why are you so excited? You look like a country bumpkin who just arrived in the city."
Luo Mingxiu barked twice: "The mongrel didn't go into the city, it went into the village."
"The village I live in now has a very strong artistic atmosphere. The director said it was the filming location for some scenes. Have you seen the pictures I sent you? They are so beautiful."
“I saw it. I’ve only seen those scenes in two movies. They’re pretty obscure places,” Shen Li said. “Why did you go to the filming location for your first audition? Are there very few people auditioning?”
"Yes, the casting team eliminated many people who did not meet the requirements. There were ten people in the group for my role. Mr. Weber said that if there were too few people, we would go to the venue to audition. During the selection process, we would arrange different roles every day to see how well each person understood the script."
"This is the first time I've seen this format before. Going to the scene might be more immersive..." Shen Li swiped to the post she had just seen on WeChat Moments, noted down the location, and switched to the map to search for nearby businesses and security agencies.
I breathed a slight sigh of relief when I found out that there were manors and residences there used for filming.
"What's wrong?" Luo Mingxiu asked, noticing her serious expression.
"Check if it's safe over there," Chen Li asked. "Send me the name of your hotel too. Are Liang Jin and the others staying at the same hotel as you?"
“Yes, we live on the same floor,” Luo Mingxiu said, then paused, realizing what he meant and laughed, “Are you worried I’ve been scammed?”
“Hmm,” Shen Li nodded, “It’s definitely not like you’re a big director like Mr. Weber, but you’re unfamiliar with the area and you’ve traveled so far for the audition. I’m afraid someone might impersonate the director’s team and lure you away for sex.”
"Notification: all the documents have been verified, and the director is also at this hotel. Don't worry, we've already met." After saying this, Luo Mingxiu paused for a moment, then smiled at her with pursed lips.
"Why are you laughing?" Shen Li suddenly got goosebumps. "Could it be that the real Luo Mingxiu has already passed away, and the person I'm talking to now is an AI?"
As soon as he said that, the other person burst out laughing: "You have such a vivid imagination. I'm laughing because you care about me, and that makes me happy."
Luo Mingxiu looked down, picked up something, moved his fingers a few times, then looked up and leaned closer. He was also using a tablet to make a video call, and he held the phone screen in front of the camera. It showed his chat history with Xiaowen.
Luo Mingxiu: "Have Xiaowen send you my work log every day, then you won't be scared anymore, right?"
Shen Li: "I know you're safe, that's enough. There's no need to increase anyone's workload."
"Liang Jin also gave the same instructions. The assistant is supposed to keep a record every day so that he can summarize it and report to President Cheng after returning to China. It won't be a problem to send you an extra copy."
"Alright then." It's true that an assistant can keep track of the artist's progress at any time, and it's good to have a copy of his work records with her, so she can feel more at ease.
As soon as I agreed, Xiaowen sent me today's log and thoughtfully included tomorrow's plans at the end.
Seeing the audition time for tomorrow, Shen Li urged, "Hang up, go to sleep. You have to be on set at six o'clock tomorrow morning, so you need to get a good night's sleep."
“Wait a minute,” Luo Mingxiu lay down and looked at her from the side, “Tomorrow is the Magnolia Awards ceremony. I’ll be auditioning and won’t be able to watch the live broadcast. Remember to let me know after you win the award.”
"Are you so sure I'll win?" Shen Li smiled.
Luo Mingxiu raised his eyebrows: "Of course."
Besides Shen Li, there are three other nominees for this year's Magnolia Awards. Among them is Liu Jingwen, who is nominated for a modern suspense drama, also in the suspense genre. He is predicted by many bloggers and netizens to be a dark horse and surpass Shen Li to win the Best Actress award this year.
One reason why some netizens favor newcomers is that Shen Li's drama is an ancient drama, and in previous selections, very few ancient dramas were nominated and won awards.
Secondly, Liu Jingwen is a well-known second-generation star with powerful connections. She has only been in the industry for two years, but she has almost exclusively received film and television resources from serious production teams. In another relatively authoritative selection, she defeated a veteran actor to win the Best Actress award.
Given this speculation, coupled with the fact that this is Shen Li's first period drama, and the Magnolia Award being the only award she has never received before, this is a significant development.
Therefore, those who follow the trend online have no hope that Shen Li will win the award.
In reality, however, there are many fans of Shen Li who are eagerly anticipating her winning an award. This would allow her to make history and become the first actress in the arts to achieve a grand slam of the six major domestic film and television awards.
On the way to the red carpet, Shen Li watched a prediction video from a certain influential blogger, a hint of sarcasm in her eyes.
The video caption reads like it was written by a hater, mocking her previous Cannes runner-up finish, saying she stopped improving herself in order to promote newcomers, and that her acting skills have declined, etc.
However, there is no specific analysis or advice regarding her acting skills. Instead, the videos use sensational headlines and biased language to guide public opinion, making it easy for ordinary viewers to have their original thoughts distorted.
Moreover, there are many similar videos on the three major platforms, as if they were mass-produced, making it hard not to feel that someone is smearing us behind the scenes.
Such tricks were child's play to someone as experienced as her.
"Detective Xie Huaixi" was not well-received when it started filming, but it became a huge hit after it aired. When it comes to period detective dramas, no one doesn't know Xie Huaixi. The platform was named the most profitable in its financial report last year. Shen Li is very confident in her role.
As for the rumors about whether that actor has powerful connections, they are not very credible, and she is not interested. The judging standards of the three major domestic TV drama awards are similar, and she has won the other two awards before.
If someone could really interfere, she wouldn't have taken the time to act in TV dramas that she was interested in, even with so many film scripts to choose from.
Upon arriving at the scene, Shen Li snapped out of her thoughts, handed her phone to Xiao Yu before the car door opened, then bent down to get out of the car and greeted the flashes of light outside.
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