Chapter 12
"Have we met somewhere before?"
Xixi's words sounded too much like a poorly crafted chat. If she had said that on the street, Sister Hou would have walked away without even turning back. But her tone was so calm, like a simple greeting, that Sister Hou didn't seem to be on guard at all.
"Are you also a graduate of Jichuan?"
"That's not the case."
"Then we probably haven't met. But I've seen you on trending searches. You often appear next to Qiu An. They say Qiu An is beautiful and her assistant is also beautiful."
"Yeah?"
Sister Hou wasn't sure if Xixi's question was about the first or second half of the sentence. After thinking for half a second, she decided to flatter her: "Yes, I think you're pretty too. The kind of pretty that could make you a celebrity. There's a huge gap between you and ordinary people like us."
"ill?"
“There are walls.”
"?"
"A cliff wall."
"Is that so? But I think you are beautiful too."
Sister Hou is self-aware. She knows that she has an ordinary appearance. From childhood to adulthood, few people praised her beauty. They all said she was pretty.
When she was little, she took it seriously, thinking that delicate and pretty was another way of saying beautiful. Only when she grew up did she realize it was an abbreviation for "average-looking, not too pretty, but not ugly either."
Besides, she didn't wear any makeup today.
Sister Hou also knew that what Xixi said was just a polite remark, but for some reason, after hearing this, she blushed secretly.
Separated by an aisle, Ranlong and Qiuan had no idea what was happening on the other side.
Ranlong originally just wanted to take a nap, but ended up falling asleep accidentally.
When she woke up from her sweet dream, she found herself drooling. What was even worse was that there was something cool around her mouth, as if someone was wiping her saliva with a wet wipe.
Ranlong didn't dare wake up. She was afraid that the person who was wiping her saliva was Qiu An. She was even more afraid that Qiu An would just stand by and watch, and that it was the flight attendant who was wiping her saliva.
After wiping it, he didn't stop there. He pressed his cool knuckles against her chin and gently lifted it up, closing her half-open mouth.
Ranlong fell asleep again immediately, not knowing whether he fainted from fright.
When she opened her eyes again, she saw the partition still between them, and Qiu An was sleeping peacefully. The corners of her mouth were clean, without a trace of dirt or moisture.
It felt like a slightly gentle dream, strange.
After getting off the plane, Ranlong and Qiu An got into two business cars sent by the crew and rushed to the set without stopping.
When we arrived at the destination, the venue for the opening ceremony had already been set up.
The opening ceremony was held in a private garden. A small LED screen sat at the back of the garden, and in front of it stood a red-clothed table and camera. A large incense burner sat in the center, surrounded by several plates of fresh fruit.
Although the opening ceremony was not open to the public and no media was present, there were already enough crew members present.
Qiu An's car arrived later than Ranlong's. After getting off the car, she naturally lifted the hem of her skirt, handed the phone back to Xixi, and walked into the crowd alone.
She had already put on her makeup, and she looked like a calm and charming socialite again, which was very different from the tired look she had just had, as if she had become a different person in the moment she got on and off the bus.
Ranlong can’t quite remember when was the last time he attended a film opening ceremony.
Yuan Chengyin had never made such a big splash before when filming student work. If we trace back, we probably have to look back to her days as a child star.
Come to think of it, it seems that she has never participated in the opening ceremony as the protagonist.
The crowd in front of her was completely unfamiliar to Ranlong. She had gone crazy in front of many crew members before, and the occasional glances these people gave her were not particularly kind.
Just because Ranlong doesn't have social anxiety doesn't mean she won't feel uncomfortable in such situations.
Yuan Chengyin did not show up for a long time, and Ranlong felt like an outsider, not knowing what to do.
She asked Sister Hou to touch up her makeup three times, and paced at the door for a while before, at Xixi's instigation, she silently moved into the crowd.
Before I knew it, I was next to Qiu An.
They are both leading actors, so it's normal for them to appear together.
Strangely enough, as soon as Ranlong arrived, Qiu An took her arm and supported her back, brought her in front of everyone, and introduced her seriously:
"This is Ranlong, the actress who plays Shen Zixin. Ranlong, this is Sister Li from the photography team, this is Brother Zhang from the lighting team, and this is the assistant director..."
The crew was initially worried about a potential conflict between Ran Long and Qiu An. In a large group, standing by one's side is crucial. Therefore, even the more outgoing and approachable members showed no interest in showing any interest in Ran Long.
But after Qiu An took the initiative to introduce Ran Long, the situation turned around and everyone greeted Ran Long enthusiastically.
The crew members come from all over the world, and many of them speak Mandarin with a thick accent.
Some people call her Ranlong, some call her Lanlong, some call her Ranrong, and some even call her Lanrong.
Strange.
The incense and candles were not lit, but the faint scent of sandalwood still lingered.
The New Year atmosphere is inexplicably strong.
Qiu An acted like an introducer, as if he was taking his newlywed wife home to pay New Year's greetings and introduce her to all the relatives.
She just came here to feel safe around people she knew, and she didn't say she had to pay the price of being treated as a newlywed wife.
After the introductions, while Qiu An was chatting, Ran Long took the opportunity to interrupt her and said, "Qiu An, why is your name before mine on the poster?"
She admitted that what she said was a bit of a conversationalist.
Whether in terms of popularity, achievements or traffic, she is not comparable to Qiu An in any way. Why does she demand that her name be ranked before Qiu An?
By initials?
"In alphabetical order."
Why?
"Initials?"
"Yes, yours is 'r', mine is 'q', and I'm in front of you."
Ranlong recited the alphabet silently in his mind.
rst. rst.
opq! opq!
"I'll go, just one person missing?"
"Well, just a little bit, you are ahead of me. Try harder next time."
Qiu An is very good at comforting people.
Just as I was feeling worried, Yuan Chengyin finally appeared in the crowd.
Ranlong was silently rubbing her hands together, she must find out the relationship between these two people today.
Yuan Chengyin walked to the bottom of the screen projecting the poster, invited several leading actors and heads of various functional groups to his side, and spoke a long and inspiring speech.
Ranlong was in a daze the whole time and only came to his senses when she said, "Now, let our opening ceremony officially begin!"
In just two or three years, Yuan Chengyin and Qiu An grew up to be influential figures capable of standing on their own, leaving her alone, still standing still.
What went wrong? She's beautiful enough to make a name for herself even with livestreaming. While her income is substantial, it shouldn't be monopolized by just one fan, right?
Is it because she didn't apologize to Qiu An? It's been so long, Qiu An's fans can't be so idle, right? Besides, he's still popular even if he's hated. She only has haters now, no fans.
Is it because she didn't accept Chiye Entertainment's invitation to sign a contract? Is there anything wrong with her not wanting to accept the unspoken rules?
It must be because of Half a Lifelong Life. If I had gotten that role back then, everything would have been different.
Yuan Chengyin had spent some time abroad, so the opening ceremony was much simpler than on other large crews. In a flash, the burning of incense and the distribution of red envelopes were complete, and the entire ceremony was over.
Ranlong tiptoed over to Yuan Chengyin, waved away the assistant director and the young assistant, and said, "Yuan Chengyin, I have a question for you."
"What's the problem?"
"Promise me first to answer truthfully."
"...That depends on what question you ask."
It's over, this guy has another secret. Yuan Chengyin is a very honest person. When she hides something in her heart, it will show on her face. When she was getting together with Qiu An, she also looked awkward.
"You have to promise me first."
"Well... well, if I can't answer, I'll just remain silent."
Ranlong thought about it and nodded in agreement. Silence is also a very important answer, which means that the answer to a question is usually the one people don't want to hear.
To prevent Yuan Chengyin from laughing, Ranlong asked a closed question: "You and Qiu An are dating, right?"
Yuan Chengyin's pupils dilated for a moment, and she froze for a second before turning around to check if anyone else was present. Fortunately, apart from the assistant director and the assistant, who occasionally glanced over with a sly look, there was no one else there who shouldn't be.
Seeing Yuan Chengyin's panic, Ran Long felt more certain and pressed him further, "Yuan Chengyin, answer me."
"What are you talking about, Xiaoran? How could I be with Qiu An..." Yuan Chengyin's voice deepened, "We are not dating. You really misunderstood."
"Eh~ Is that so?" Looking at Yuan Chengyin's confident look, Ran Long became hesitant again.
"Of course it's true. Who told you that we were dating?"
Ranlong didn't answer, but threw a new question to her: "Well, do you like her?"
"I don't like it. I really don't like it."
Facing Ranlong's suspicious gaze, Yuan Chengyin added, "I just finished worshipping Guan Erye. I can't possibly be lying."
The sky is big, the earth is big, but the God of Wealth is the biggest. Yuan Chengyin's answer immediately gained a lot of credibility.
"Then why did you hide from me that day?"
"Which day?"
"During the script reading, when I helped you get the script, you ducked for a second. And when I gave you some water, you were so anxious you almost died."
"Ah, that's... um..."
The circumstances of that day were truly unusual. Yuan Chengyin still felt a lingering fear when he recalled it.
"Hmm?" Seeing Yuan Chengyin hesitating, Ranlong crossed his arms, acting as if he was determined not to give up.
Yuan Chengyin hardened his heart and after careful consideration, he decided to save Qiu An and sell himself out: "I already have someone I like, and I'm still pursuing her. She was there that day."
"Who is it?"
"You're not familiar with it."
"Stingy. Is Qiu An familiar with her?"
"Qiu An is not familiar with her either."
"Okay, I get it, go ahead and do your work."
Ranlong was busy gossiping about which minor supporting character Yuan Chengyin liked. She picked up a branch and started playing with it, frowning and squinting, making occasional "tsk tsk" sounds.
The truth seemed to be much more interesting than she had imagined.
It turned out that Qiu An had a one-sided crush on Yuan Chengyin, but Yuan Chengyin already had someone in his heart.
Wow, that’s really interesting.
"Good luck~ I wish you good luck~"
Not far away, Sister Hou received a greeting call from her sister.
"Here we are, we are already in the city."
"The filming has started smoothly. We haven't had any rehearsals today. We'll be back to the hotel soon."
"Of course I'm not lying! Being able to join this group is a blessing that Ranlong and I have earned through eight hundred lifetimes! What, you can't stand seeing your sister's luck turn and climb up the social ladder?"
"She's fine today. She didn't give me any trouble. But I have to tell you, she was really weird just now. After talking to the director, she picked up a branch and used it as a lightsaber, and dubbed it in like a little kid. I don't know what bad ideas she's up to. As she was playing, the corners of her mouth inexplicably curled up, revealing a particularly weird smile."
"Oh, that's so scary."
Ranlong swayed from behind Sister Hou to her front, holding the branch in her right hand and hitting the palm of her left hand repeatedly. She adjusted the corners of her mouth and finally forced a murderous smile.
Sister Hou froze in place, holding her phone.
"Sister Xiao Hou, are you saying bad things about me behind my back again?"
Ga.
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