Shrine - Chapter 13
Chapter 13
Ruan Ruan had been to Jingyue International before, just once, to meet with a coordinator about her schedule.
The coordinator's room was on the 8th floor, while Shi Ran's was on the 21st, the very top of the hotel. The entire floor held only six presidential suites, served by a private elevator, ensuring maximum privacy. The entrance featured grand double doors, which opened into a separate foyer-style garden tended to daily by housekeeping. The inside was astonishingly large, like a complete residence. A wide living room was complemented by expansive floor-to-ceiling windows, and the curtains drew open intelligently the moment the door was opened. Shi Ran wasn't fond of music, so there was only the faint whir of the electric motor.
Usually, you didn't need to take off your shoes in a hotel room, but this suite was so luxurious and clean that Ruan Ruan hesitated.
"Come in." Shi Ran stepped inside in her boots, tapped a panel twice to adjust the lighting to a suitable evening brightness, and gestured toward the sofa, indicating for Ruan Ruan to sit wherever she liked. Then, she went to wash her hands.
After drying them, she took two glasses from the wine area, opened the wine cabinet, and pulled out a bottle of Dom Pérignon. She carefully selected the vintage; it would need about an hour to breathe.
"We didn't order any wine with the seafood just now, and I'd like a little something to drink," she explained.
The clear, lustrous champagne swirled, its fragrance gradually filling the air, like adding a subtle aromatherapy to the room.
"Mm, okay," Ruan Ruan said softly.
"Can you drink?"
"I can."
Shi Ran quietly opened the bottle and poured the wine. "During dinner, why did you switch seats?"
Ruan Ruan had been wondering what Shi Ran wanted to talk to her about, but she hadn't expected this to be the first question. She smiled and explained shyly, "I just finished work, and the smell of hairspray on me is really strong. I was thinking, since you're sensitive to scents, I was worried it would bother you."
In fact, she was currently sitting at one end of the sofa, maintaining a certain distance from Shi Ran.
Shi Ran glanced at her, then came over and sat down—not on the sofa, but by pulling over a single swivel chair and sitting across from Ruan Ruan with her legs crossed.
Are we about to start talking? Ruan Ruan felt a little nervous.
Shi Ran rested one forearm across her thigh, the fingertips of her other hand gently stroking the skin of her arm. The shadows between her fingers seemed like something she was toying with.
She pondered for a moment, then spoke in the midst of the faintly creamy aroma of the wine, her voice cool and clear. "The project Xin Chen mentioned, are you interested in it?"
Ruan Ruan's lowered gaze paused, then drifted up, hesitantly moving toward Shi Ran. She frowned slightly, not understanding what she meant.
"To be honest, I should be getting ready for bed right now, because I have a full day of appointments tomorrow from morning till night. So, I invited you here for a reason."
"I know you've been approaching me and creating some opportunities. I can guess that you have a purpose, too. I think we can have a frank discussion."
"I'm the only one staying on this floor at the moment. My room was also rigorously checked before I moved in—no cameras, no recording devices. Unless, of course, you're recording."
Shi Ran said very calmly.
Ruan Ruan pressed her lips together and looked back at her just as calmly. Then she took out her phone, turned it off in front of Shi Ran, and laid out the items from her bag—tissues, a power bank, gum, and a foundation compact—one by one on the table. Once it was empty, she set it aside.
She said nothing, yet it was as if she had said everything.
Ruan Ruan's shoulders were very slender, making her look disproportionately small on the large sofa. Her fingers rubbed together unconsciously; only this small gesture betrayed her subtle unease.
Unease. It was a complex unease, like the tiny bubbles that rise before water boils—the scalding heat was here, but so was the hope of the water coming to a boil.
"Are you interested?" Shi Ran's voice was no longer so indifferent; it could even be described as a little gentle.
Gentleness from beneath an iceberg was too encouraging. Ruan Ruan looked at her, her sparse eyelashes making her gaze seem adorable and direct. "I am."
She gave a tiny nod and pressed her lips together.
"How interested?" Shi Ran tilted her head, her eyelids drooping lazily for a moment.
"Interested enough to play the lead."
The words were very light, almost whispered, but speaking them caused a dull ache in her chest.
A desire that had never seen the light of day was too heavy. Merely exposing it to the air was as thrilling as if it had already been fulfilled.
The corner of Shi Ran's mouth twitched, and she smiled. Ruan Ruan dared to look, and saw no disgust or resistance in Shi Ran's eyes, which put her at ease.
But Shi Ran didn't continue the conversation. She set the topic aside, sniffed through her delicate nose, and began to habitually rub her wrist again.
"What I want to confirm next might be very offensive. If you feel uncomfortable, we can stop this conversation at any time."
"Okay." Ruan Ruan's gaze wavered, then fixed on her intently.
Shi Ran pressed her lips together, then released them, her head still slightly tilted. "What is your attitude toward sex?"
Ruan Ruan's brow furrowed. Clearly, this topic was not what she had anticipated.
She slowly opened her mouth, slowly bit her lower lip, slowly felt her ears turn red, and slowly lowered her gaze.
Finally, after slow and careful consideration, she said, "It's a desire, just like many other kinds of desire."
The blush wasn't because she felt ashamed of the topic, but because the stark collision between Shi Ran's cool gaze and her words made her tremble inside.
Shifting her posture slightly, a thin sheen of sweat broke out on her neck.
Ruan Ruan didn't understand why Shi Ran was having this kind of late-night conversation with her. If it had been a director, assistant director, or producer sitting next to her, she might have gotten the wrong idea. But Shi Ran's eyes held distant, unreachable stars, making one feel that even a millimeter of improper thought would be an offense against her.
And yet, she was the one who had said those words.
She was the one.
Shi Ran once again set this topic aside and jumped to a third one.
She extended her index finger, gesturing for Ruan Ruan to look at a book on the coffee table, and also indicating that she could pick it up and flip through it. "Have you read this book? Desire That Isn't Desire."
"No." The blush on Ruan Ruan's face gradually faded. She obediently opened the book and flipped through a couple of pages randomly, but her mind hadn't settled, and she couldn't take anything in.
"It's also being adapted for the screen. It's the project I mentioned at dinner, the one that clashes a bit with Shrine."
Ruan Ruan nodded, still unable to make sense of it all, and could only follow where Shi Ran's words led.
This time, Shi Ran didn't just touch on the subject and move on; she began to delve deeper.
"Just as you want to get the role in Shrine, I very much want to get this role. The director originally rejected me, but a few days ago I managed to get myself an audition. I might," Shi Ran paused, "only have this one chance."
Her words were devoid of emotion, but a growing sincerity could be heard in them. The creases in Ruan Ruan's heart were smoothed out, and she looked at her with empathy.
Shi Ran looked at the book in her hand and smiled. "The director rejected me before because I didn't have a clear image of the main character. I can't act it well."
"To put it more bluntly, if it's something I haven't observed, I can't portray it."
Just like that, she frankly revealed her shortcomings to Ruan Ruan—to a colleague, to a friend she didn't know well, and to a potential competitor.
Ruan Ruan's breathing rose and fell, long and deep.
"And the reason I managed to get another audition is because I observed someone who is very close to the female lead. I used her as a prototype to write a character biography, and it got the director's approval."
Ruan Ruan opened her mouth. She thought, I know why I'm sitting here now.
The cover of the book in her hands felt a little cool, which made her palms feel like they were burning.
With a not-so-bold look, she asked, Is it me? Shi Ran looked back at her, blinked, and nodded.
Ruan Ruan reached out, laying her fingers flat on the book's page, as if forming some faint connection.
"Then..." She swallowed lightly.
"In this film, there are several key scenes that are very explicit, about desire."
The wine had mostly breathed by now. It drifted through the air, slipping into one's breath, intoxicating the gaze.
"This kind of intimate reaction is something I can't observe in my daily life." The female lead's character was too unique to imagine through other means.
"And there isn't much time. The audition is next month."
Shi Ran's voice was both light and heavy. Ruan Ruan's heart suddenly leaped, as if she had choked on a strong gulp of wine.
What does she mean? She...
Shi Ran lowered her gaze in thought, then lowered her voice. "I want to portray this character so much that I'd be willing to first experience a similar intimate relationship."
Neither of them spoke. Shi Ran looked at the book Ruan Ruan was holding; Ruan Ruan looked at Shi Ran's gently rubbing wrist.
She heard the buzzing of a bee, beating its wings in her heart. There was a faint breeze, a faint vibration. A bee beats its wings to dry out moisture and get sweet nectar. And at this moment, Ruan Ruan's chest swelled. A bee was making honey in her destiny. She knew it. She knew.
Shi Ran's fingertips, resting on her knee, gently clenched.
"My height is 172.8 cm, my weight is 49 kg. I have no bad habits, and my private life is very simple."
After she finished, she closed her mouth and said no more.
"You..." Ruan Ruan suppressed her pounding heart and asked, her mouth dry, "What you mean is?"
Shi Ran looked up at her. "Accurately understanding a script's lines is a basic skill for an actor. Connecting everything I've said, how should you understand it?"
"I..."
Ruan Ruan gazed at her for a long while, the small mole under her eye both clear and hazy. Finally, she calmed down, closed the book, and placed it back on the coffee table.
"My understanding is, I help you." She watched Shi Ran intently.
They had briefly completed their reconnaissance of each other's desires. Ruan Ruan bit her lip hard, leaving an imprint in her heart.
Shi Ran nodded.
Ruan Ruan took a deep breath, her voice still small and soft. "Then, what about me?"
The moment those words were out, Shi Ran smiled. Ruan Ruan had finally dropped all pretense in front of her. The little cat officer was no longer hiding under a docile coat of fur; she was starting to show her sharp little teeth.
Shi Ran said, "You help me, and I'll get you into Shrine."
She saw Ruan Ruan's delicate brows move, her delicate eyes move, and the delicate corners of her mouth move.
These kinds of micro-expressions rarely appeared on Ruan Ruan's face, but this was likely one of her most captivating expressions.
"You can think about it. Come find me when you've made up your mind."
In the end, they never poured the wine, only enjoyed the entire process of it breathing.
Yet it felt like they had just recovered from a long night of drinking.
"How do I find you?" Send a WeChat message? For something like this, Shi Ran probably wouldn't want a chat history. Is there a secret signal?
Shi Ran smiled again, her lips red against her white teeth, as cold as a blanket of snow.
"Don't you already know how to find me?" she asked softly in return.
"Leave another little cat," Shi Ran said lightly, blinking.
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