Shrine - Chapter 5

Chapter 5

That day, Ruan Ruan barely slept at all.

She wrapped up work at 2 a.m. but was still buzzing with excitement when she got home. Wu Mei, her eyelids half-closed, watched her like a ghost as she fought off sleep. Because Ruan Ruan couldn't sleep, she got up to brew some dark plum soup.

"I told you, she still remembers me, right?" Ruan Ruan placed the Black Cat Detective plushie on the kitchen counter, then decided the kitchen smelled too much like food. After washing her hands, she moved the Black Cat Detective to the sofa.

"It smells so nice." She sniffed it, as if it carried Shi Ran's scent.

In the variety show she did with Shi Ran, Shi Ran's role was a senior inspector, and Ruan Ruan was her subordinate, a probationary inspector. The two of them solved cases together. Back then, Ruan Ruan was so nervous that she would flinch at the slightest scare, like a startled kitten. The post-production team had slapped three big words on her character card—Little Cat Officer.

That was the origin of the nickname.

Fans had called her that when they met her at the airport, but hardly anyone mentioned it anymore.

Ruan Ruan tilted her head, her eyes strained from staying up so late. In the blurry lamplight, she gazed at the Black Cat Detective, her heart still pounding.

It was like when she was scooping out rock sugar just now and accidentally scooped it right into her chest.

She felt like she had a jar of candy in her chest, clinking and clanking, from which she could pull out a piece or two.

Shi Ran remembered her and even gave her a small gift. This was truly delightful.

Wu Mei just watched her, smiling along. Before she could say anything, she saw Ruan Ruan suddenly stand up, wiping her damp hands on her pants. "Did I put in too much sugar just now?"

As she walked toward the kitchen, she asked Wu Mei, "How many pieces of rock sugar did I put in last time?"

Wu Mei laughed, her voice hoarse. "Who remembers that, my dear?"

"Are you going to sleep or not?"

Ruan Ruan stirred the soup, leaning over to smell it. "I still want to taste it, to see if it's too sweet. I'm sorry, Mei Mei, for waking you. I'll be quieter, okay?"

Wu Mei came over and wrapped an arm around her neck. "Sigh, I'm tired too, but I can't sleep either. I'm past the point of exhaustion. I'll keep you company, help you taste it."

"You're the best." Ruan Ruan smiled, her lips pressed together.

"Good thing we don't have scenes tomorrow," Wu Mei rested her head on her shoulder, the steam from the dark plum soup wafting around them. "Are you going to bring her the soup tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I said I'd bring it tomorrow," Ruan Ruan said, a little embarrassed, smiling softly. "But I forgot I don't have any scenes tomorrow."

Wu Mei laughed at her foolishness, but she too was excited about this small interaction with Shi Ran. At three-thirty in the morning, in their rented apartment, the two girls were kept awake all night by a tiny bit of favor.

---

They finally fell asleep around seven. Wu Mei couldn't get up at all, lying on the bed and snoring softly. Ruan Ruan didn't wake her. She got up on her own, packed the dark plum soup from the fridge, added a few ice packs, placed it in a location box, and pulled it with her to the set.

She sat under the canopy again, feeling like she was setting up a small stall.

Around ten-thirty, Shi Ran arrived. This time, she didn't have as many people with her. The stern-looking offline event manager wasn't there, which made her seem less intimidating. Xiao Lin greeted Ruan Ruan, holding a few fan letters, and said she was going inside first and would come find Ruan Ruan later.

Ruan Ruan put away her stool and carried the dark plum soup inside. Shi Ran's lighting double was rehearsing her blocking. Shi Ran sat on the side, flipping through the script, exchanging a few words with the on-set assistant director, and then a few more with the second female lead.

The second female lead said something, and Shi Ran suddenly smiled, a smile so beautiful it was as if snow was melting in her eyes.

She turned her head with a smile and saw Ruan Ruan. "Hi," she greeted.

After that single word, the smile vanished, like snow that melts at a touch.

A spark ignited in Ruan Ruan's heart. She swallowed lightly, her ears turning red. "Hi."

She hadn't had time for makeup today. Her face was bare, and the small mole under her eye looked vulnerably vivid and alluring.

Shi Ran's gaze lingered on the dark plum soup for two seconds. Ruan Ruan said softly, "I came to give the dark plum soup to Xiao Lin."

Shi Ran smiled slightly and looked at Xiao Lin. The smile vanished again as she asked her lightly, "Didn't you say it was for me?"

Ruan Ruan remembered the fans fawning online, using a popular phrase to tease: "When Shi Ran smiles, life and death are uncertain."

Her inscrutably aloof eyes always made people nervous. Even when she had a smile on her lips, the smile was very faint.

"It is for you," Xiao Lin scratched her head. "Yesterday, she really did say she'd bring it for you."

Shi Ran must be easy to get along with; the staff around her weren't afraid of her at all.

"Yes, yes, yes, yes," Ruan Ruan quickly said. "Because you're filming, I thought I'd let Xiao Lin put it away first. I wanted to give it to you, because you gave me the plushie yesterday."

Her words were a bit jumbled, and both the director and the second female lead laughed. Ruan Ruan felt a little awkward, because she had only prepared one bottle and had originally planned to secretly slip it to Xiao Lin.

Shi Ran didn't say anything, just reached out and took it. It was cool to the touch, with beads of condensation on the bottle. Ruan Ruan handed her a tissue to wrap around it.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. I'll head out now, I won't disturb you." Ruan Ruan politely excused herself, left the set, and let out a soft breath.

Her chair outside had been put away, and she didn't feel like going out again, so she sat where the props were yesterday and played on her phone. Wu Mei was up and said she had something to do today, so she wouldn't be coming over.

As she was chatting, the props master walked over with a plate of fruit. "Hey, you're here?"

"Yup~" Ruan Ruan looked up and smiled.

"Didn't you say you have no scenes today? Still came to observe?" She had chatted with the props master for a while yesterday, so they were already somewhat familiar.

"Yeah, I came to learn." Ruan Ruan's smile was always soft, just like her name.

The props master chuckled and put down the fruit platter. "Here, have some props."

Ruan Ruan stared at the tangerines for two seconds. The peels were green and thick, clearly sour. She reached out, peeled one, and the sour scent stung her eyes. "Are these for Teacher Shi and the others to use later?"

"Yeah, she probably won't eat them. You can have a couple." The props master also looked down at her phone.

Ruan Ruan took a bite. It was indeed terribly sour. She grimaced as she forced it down, shaking her head. "No, no."

"What's wrong?" The props master looked up at her.

"Shi Ran likes to improvise with props during rehearsals. It's very likely she'll eat this tangerine."

Ruan Ruan remembered that during the variety show recording, Shi Ran couldn't resist peeling a tangerine and eating it while she talked.

"This is too sour," Ruan Ruan suggested thoughtfully. "It wouldn't be good if it affects her line delivery."

"Huh? What should I do then?" The props master's eyes widened. "How about I tell the assistant director to remind Teacher Shi not to eat it."

Ruan Ruan had seen an interview with Shi Ran before where she said she always really eats in her scenes, because if props have no interaction with the character, they are just props, devoid of life.

So Ruan Ruan decisively rejected the idea. "That's not a good idea. How much time until they're needed? I'm free right now, I'll go pick some sweet ones for you."

"Oh my god, sweetie, you're the best~" The props master's eyebrows drooped, looking a little touched. "These are for the scene after next, so there's still time. It's just that I can't leave, you know."

The props master had to wait on the side during filming to change the set at any moment.

Ruan Ruan quickly said it was no problem and went out with a sun umbrella.

Having spent a long time at the film studio, Ruan Ruan was familiar with all the shops and even the small vendors. She quickly picked out some fruit and was back in just twenty minutes. Her eyelids were still swollen, her face flushed from the heat, and a thin sheen of sweat beaded on her nose.

She handed the warm plastic bag to the props master and sat down to rest.

---

It was almost noon when the set suddenly became noisy. Ruan Ruan, holding her phone, turned to look. The commotion grew louder, and many crew members craned their necks and walked over. Ruan Ruan put away her phone and followed the crowd.

"Director, you really can't do this." It was the third female lead, who was in a scene with Shi Ran. Shi Ran was sitting on the sofa while the third female lead stood, her voice sharp and severe as she argued with the director.

"Yesterday, a whole page of revisions was added. I memorized it all night, didn't sleep at all, and today you tell me that page is scrapped and we're going back to the original. I already have so many lines, who can remember all that?"

She slipped in a curse word, muttering it quietly, glossing over it. Even in her agitated state, she still had some reservations.

On the sofa, Shi Ran finished peeling and eating a tangerine, slow and methodical.

The B-unit director came over, stood to the side, wearing headphones and resting a hand on his lower back. "What do you mean, you can't? It took you a whole night to memorize one page? Aren't you familiar with the first draft of the script? After we go through the revisions, don't we still have to follow the original script? Do you only memorize the next day's script the day before, and know nothing about what you haven't memorized? Didn't you look at it before filming started?"

"You didn't have scenes scheduled yesterday, did you? In a whole day and night, you only looked at one page of revisions? Huh?"

"Shi Ran also got revised pages. How come she can remember them? And she filmed all day yesterday."

Shi Ran, eating her tangerine, glanced up coolly, showing no intention of commenting.

The third female lead felt quite wronged. Being compared to others was the worst at a time like this. She took a deep breath, and tears welled up in her eyes. She was a starlet who had just become popular this year, and it was said her family was A9-level, so she had been pampered since childhood.

Her assistant hurried over to hand her water, but she didn't take it. She sat on the arm of the sofa, choking back sobs. "Can the number of lines for each person in each scene be the same? I've never seen so many revised pages on other sets, let alone being told of another change right on set."

"I'm talking about my situation, and you're talking about someone else. If you think only others can do it, then let them act the whole scene."

She sniffled, her breathing ragged, and turned her face away without another word.

The atmosphere on set was very awkward. Fortunately, this scene wasn't being filmed outdoors, so there were no proxy photographers to sneak pictures. It was all their own people, but such on-set conflicts were still rare.

Ruan Ruan stood in the crowd, watching Shi Ran's expression.

Shi Ran had no expression.

However, a woman in her early thirties standing nearby stepped forward, arms crossed, her makeup exquisite. "Don't drag our artist into this."

It was Shi Ran's executive agent. She gave the actress a three-quarters glance. "Why don't you find another place to discuss this? We'll go back to the car first."

She felt this starlet was having a fit, spouting whatever came to mind. To put it bluntly, even if news of a conflict with Shi Ran on set got out, it would still count as this person getting some clout.

Shi Ran nodded to the director as a form of farewell, got up to return to her trailer, and just as she finished the tangerine in her hand, she casually picked up another one.

"Pfft." Ruan Ruan, standing to the side, chuckled. She knew it. Shi Ran really did like tangerines.

The next second, she couldn't laugh anymore, because Shi Ran glanced at her.

She suddenly realized that everyone else had a solemn expression, and she was the only one smiling. Ruan Ruan pressed her lips together, sealing away her untimely expression.

Shi Ran and her entourage left, and the producer and the third female lead's manager went to the dressing room to talk.

Ruan Ruan waited for a while. The third female lead had her makeup redone and came out of her private rest tent, having mostly composed herself, though her voice still had a faint nasal tone.

As they were about to resume filming, the on-set assistant director asked the extras casting director to find Shi Ran's assistant and tell her they could continue shooting.

Ruan Ruan, who was nearby, overheard and chimed in at the right moment, "I'll go, Director. I was just about to look for Xiao Lin."

"Okay, okay, good." The extras casting director had to go communicate with other actors, so he was happy to pass on the task.

Ruan Ruan trotted over to the trailer. The door was open. She stood at the entrance and knocked twice. Xiao Lin came out. "What's up?"

"We're starting to film. I came to get you."

"Oh, okay, okay." Xiao Lin turned to say a few words to the person inside, then pulled Ruan Ruan. "Come on up, it's hot outside."

So Ruan Ruan boarded Shi Ran's trailer. It was huge, like a real house, with a living room, a small kitchen, a bathroom, and a bedroom. The walnut wood decor was both modern and luxurious, and the lighting looked exceptionally smart. Shi Ran came out of the bedroom, stood by the sink to wash her hands, and looked at Ruan Ruan in the mirror. "How come you're the one to notify us?"

"Um… I happened to be free." Ruan Ruan stood there, slightly ill at ease. There was actually another reason.

She looked at Shi Ran's profile as she washed her hands, her head lowered. Her neck was particularly beautiful. Any simple movement she made was like that of a celestial crane first arriving in the mortal world.

"Teacher Shi." Ruan Ruan watched her expression.

"Hm?"

"I want to explain. I… I wasn't laughing just now because of the argument, not to gloat or anything. It was because I saw you liked eating that tangerine. I bought that one, and seeing you enjoy it, I was…" a little happy.

"You bought it?" Shi Ran blinked, looking at her.

"Yeah, that's right. It was sweet, wasn't it?" Ruan Ruan smiled faintly, her lips pressed together.

Being an extra, brewing dark plum soup, buying props, notifying an artist to start filming…

Shi Ran thought for a moment, frowning slightly. "Do you have some kind of part-time job on the set?"

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