Chapter 2
When Sister Hou rushed to the door, Ranlong was still sleeping soundly in the rental house.
"Who is it?! What are you making such a fuss about so early in the morning? Didn't I make a note? Just leave the takeaway at the door!"
Ranlong climbed out of bed sleepily, swept down her nightgown that had rolled up to her belly, let her hair form an arch on her head, and got out of bed looking half human and half ghost.
I looked at the time. It was only eleven in the morning. Who was so blind as to come to her house at this hour? Didn't they know that she didn't officially wake up until two in the afternoon?
I woke up feeling grumpy and a little doubtful.
Is it a friend? What friends does she have? No one has visited her house in ages. The police? Ever since her first attempt was criticized by her biggest fan, she hasn't tried to do anything on the livestream again. It can't be, is it, a debt collector?
The knock on the door was so loud that Ranlong was too lazy to put on his slippers. He just put on a denim jacket and walked towards the door.
When I looked closer through the peephole, I found that the person looked familiar, but not familiar enough to call out his name.
"Which one are you?" Ranlong asked from the doorway, the soundproofing of the rental apartment was poor. Her bare feet rubbed against the slightly dirty entrance mat, the plastic threads scratching and making her soles itch.
"I'm Xiao Hou!"
"Little monkey? I thought you were at least a human being."
"Uh, the Marquis! I just took over as your agent!"
"Hey, Marquis~" Ranlong rubbed the corners of his eyes and pushed open the door, flicking the eye secretions in his hands onto the person who came in. "Tell me, how do you want to torture me?"
"What's torturing you? Forget about anything else, come and take a look at this audition invitation!"
Sister Hou stuffed the tablet into Ranlong's arms without saying a word. Driven by adrenaline, she showed a rare strong side.
Ranlong glanced at the email title and sender with a very calm expression, neither happy nor surprised. Sister Hou almost suspected that she was illiterate.
Ranlong walked into the house without opening the door. This was her way of inviting people in.
He lay down on the sofa, folded his long legs that had not seen the sun for a long time, and curled them up in a corner of the sofa, ready to read the contents of the email in detail.
Hou Jie closed the door and couldn't find the guest slippers in the shoe cabinet, so she had to walk into the house barefoot. She found a single sofa for herself and was about to sit down when Ran Long stopped her, "What are you doing?"
Sister Hou didn't react for a moment, but her butt remained frozen in mid-air. "Me? I didn't do anything?"
"You're wearing these trousers that have been rubbing against each other all day, and you're just sitting on my sofa? They're made of fabric and hard to clean."
"Then where do I sit?"
"Stand, sit on the ground, or take off your pants." Ranlong said calmly.
Sister Hou's temples were throbbing. She'd heard of people who acted like big shots, but no one in the company was capable of such trolling. This was the first time she'd been subjected to such unreasonable harassment. Unexperienced in handling this situation, fearing she'd offended this tyrant again, Sister Hou didn't dare resist and could only sit on the cold tile floor.
After playing big, Ranlong happily clicked on the attachment, which contained a detailed plot summary and character introductions.
After reading it carefully, Ranlong found that this is a script with two female protagonists and a same-sex theme:
The two female protagonists were high school classmates, one a young painter and the other a model. Their mutual interest in painting led them to an exploration of the human body. As they bonded, their exploration quickly turned into a passionate affair, repeated over and over again, a journey that left them lost in thought.
With the sketchbook stolen, the naked girl in the picture went from being a beloved and quiet teenager to being the object of ridicule by adolescent children, and the relationship between the two also suffered.
Many years later, the woman who was once painted came to the painter's exhibition. By then, the painter had become the wife of an entrepreneur...
It's a very clichéd story, but also very bold. Ranlong thought, the boldness lies in the fact that this film may not be released in China.
The role assigned to Ranlong in the email is the woman drawn in the story.
However, this is not important because: "I don't act."
The three words Ranlong uttered sounded resounding to Hou Jie. Listening again, she realized it was the sound of her heart falling to the ground and shattering.
Sister Hou used all her hands and feet to get up from the ground, her eyes wide open, and she rushed in front of Ranlong like a goldfish: "What?! Did I hear correctly? What kind of acting are you not going to do? Not in Director Yuan's film?"
"You heard me right. I'm not acting, so please help me push it off."
"You, aren't you...why? There has to be a reason, right?"
"This is Director Yuan's film. If I'm the protagonist, then the other protagonist is Qiu An. So, I won't act."
"Just because of Miss Qiu?"
"Because of Qiu An."
"No!" Sister Hou was so angry that her tone became urgent, "This is a great opportunity for you to make a comeback. I don't know what happened between you two, but the other party has forgiven the past..."
Before she could finish her words, a bony hand of Ranlong flew out from her side and pinched Sister Hou's jawbone. He showed no intention of holding back his strength and stared at her with eyes full of anger.
Ranlong gritted his teeth and said, "The other party, let bygones be bygones? Say that to me again and see?!"
Sister Hou's jaw was about to be crushed. She was so scared that she trembled and said, "I was wrong... Sister Ran, I won't say anything more. I was wrong..."
Upon hearing this, Ranlong released Sister Hou's chin, but his eyes were still filled with lingering anger.
Sister Hou felt the sunken muscles on her cheeks slowly rebounding, and goose bumps belatedly crawled all over her back.
How could she forget the complaints she had just memorized from the Black List?
[Crazy criticism, feels like there is a tendency towards violence, can't afford to offend]
Rubbing her cheeks, Sister Hou had a premonition that this movie was her chance to change her destiny, bar none. She wouldn't allow her cowardice to let this golden opportunity slip away. She rallied and asked,
"What exactly happened between you and Miss Qiu?"
"None of your business."
…
"Let me tell you, Sister Ran," Sister Hou insisted. "If you have any concerns about the crew, please tell me. This is the best project Hulu Media has ever taken on. The company will definitely devote all its resources to protecting your rights!"
"Oh? Really?"
"certainly!"
"Are there any extra-long RVs with kitchens and bathrooms?"
“It must be!”
"How about getting me a makeup team and a team of ten or more assistants?"
“It must work!”
"How about replacing Qiu An?"
“Didn’t ask…?”
She hadn't heard correctly. What kind of company was Hulu Media, and what kind of celebrity was Ran Long? Even if she had the guts to do it, she couldn't replace Qiu An!
"No problem?" Ranlong raised his eyebrows with a smile.
"This...this doesn't mean that the other role must be played by Miss Qiu. How about we go for an audition first?"
"Oh, the bag belongs to Qiu An. How could Yuan Chengyin give up her precious heroine and spend so much effort to find someone else to play the role? I don't want to go."
Sister Hou straightened her body, and her squatting position suddenly turned into a kneeling position. For her own glory and wealth, she would not hesitate even if she was asked to kowtow.
"Sister Ran! Please!"
"I said I'm not going! Go back to where you came from! Don't stay here and bother me!"
Sister Hou, who was kicked out of the house, cried and screamed at the door for half an hour.
When her voice was about to break, Sister Hou finally gathered herself together and muttered in a hoarse voice, "Haha. It's just an audition. It's not certain whether you'll get in or not. What are you doing here, being so arrogant? If you don't go, I'll recommend another artist to go!"
Just as she took a step to go down the stairs, the door behind her brushed against Sister Hou's back and was thrown open with a bang. The wind almost blew Sister Hou away with her bag.
"What did you just say?"
"I, I, I, I didn't say anything, Sister Ran!"
"Listen up, as long as I audition and the casting team dares to select people fairly, there's no chance that I won't be chosen!"
"Of course! I know! Sister Ran! You can do it!"
"How old are you this year?" Ranlong suddenly asked out of the blue.
"Two, twenty-five."
"I'm not as old as you, so don't call me Sister Ran anymore." Ran Long looked down at her. "You're my agent now. How are you going to accompany me to sign the contract when you're dressed like a student? From today on, no one is allowed to call you Little Monkey. Call me Sister Hou."
"But……"
"No buts! I haven't finished yet, listen to me, go pick out some formal clothes right now, throw away those backpacks and those cartoon hairpins! I don't care how you do it, just find a way to get taller! And why is your hair so limp? Go get it! Perm it—"
Sister Hou is short and immature, and she's humble when dealing with those in power. She doesn't yet have the skills to be her own person. Height-increasing shoes are uncomfortable, and maintaining permed and dyed hair is a hassle. Cartoon hairpins are her favorite... hopefully, these changes will be effective in future business negotiations.
"Got it!" Ranlong's pressure was so strong that Sister Hou almost saluted her. After a while, she confirmed in a low voice, "You just said, sign a contract? So you plan to go for an audition?"
“I’ll go!”
…
Set.
Sister Hou brought the food that the old lady had eaten and walked to Ranlong’s RV.
The door of the RV was ajar, and warm yellow light leaked out through the gap in the door and the curtains. Sister Hou's hand on the door handle paused, and she seemed to hear a very strange and subtle sound coming from inside the car.
An ominous premonition came to my mind, and the warning voice in my mind kept saying:
Don't open the door. Don't open the door. Don't open the door.
The sticky water stains rubbed against each other, making a smacking sound, one after another, without any regular pattern.
The sound of fabric rubbing against fabric was not very loud, but a little rustling, which always reminded her of Qiu An's silk shirt.
Speaking of Qiu An, Sister Hou really envied her assistant.
Following such a movie queen with great acting skills and huge popularity, not only did he receive a lot of pay and trophies, but the key point was that Qiu An was beautiful, kind-hearted, and didn't put on airs or make trouble.
Sister Hou felt like she was being swayed by the wind and rain, being ordered around on set every day. One moment she wanted sour plum soup freshly brewed from the pharmacy, the next she wanted seasonal red apples, and the next she wanted an iced Americano that wasn't too bitter.
Regardless of whether what Ranlong said was reasonable or not, Sister Hou didn't know where Ranlong got so much time to manipulate her in various ways.
I don’t know why a big movie star like Qiu An is willing to take on such a role with her master. Is it because she lost the game of truth or dare?
The scene we shot two days ago took a whole day to shoot, and the lighting technician was almost going crazy from the lighting, and even the director was so angry that his eyes were red and tears were welling up.
The key point is that anyone with a discerning eye can see that it's Ranlong's ancestor's fault, but the person involved is stubborn enough to shirk responsibility, saying that Qiu An acted poorly and didn't cooperate.
Hoho! In front of Qiu An, what kind of little pudding is her master?
The actress, out of consideration for her ancestors' reputation, followed her lead and took all the blame on herself. But she, on the other hand, spread her hands and said, "I'm a big shot!"
"That's what I said. It's all her fault for not cooperating with me!"
Oh, she's gone! She's not even blushing after dyeing it, even Sister Hou is embarrassed for her.
I really don’t know how Ranlong’s face got such a thick skin. It’s thicker than cowhide.
If she had a little bit of face, would she be so shameless as to show her master the displeasure?
I really want to be transported to Qiu An's assistant. Is there any such exciting novel for her to read?
Wait a minute, what just happened? Why did you think of the assistant?
By the time Sister Hou came to her senses, she had forgotten why she had paused outside the RV. The food was getting cold, and she had to rush to get it to the little ancestor.
Ranlong complained about the smell and didn't allow her to use the microwave in the RV. If she was not satisfied later, she would either run all the way to the dining area to heat up the food, or shamelessly heat it up in Qiu An's car.
If she had a choice, she would definitely choose the first option, but Ranlong forced her to choose the second. Ranlong has no shame, but she has dignity!
Don’t you think about what kind of person Qiu An is? What would it be like to heat up meals in her car every day?
Complaining in her heart, she vented her anger and dissatisfaction on her hands and pulled the car door open with force.
This was the most reckless act that Sister Hou regretted in her life.
If she hadn't been afraid of pain, she would have poked out her own eyes on the spot.
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