Shrine - Chapter 42
Chapter 42
After returning home, Ruan Ruan still couldn't calm down.
She thought about many things, including the talent show where she debuted. Back then, to promote traditional culture, Fresh Orange TV invited four renowned directors to remake films based on the Four Great Classical Novels. They launched a massive talent show, and in the end, two of the films were successfully produced. Dream of the Red Chamber, however, was shelved for various reasons.
Ruan Ruan had tried out for more than one project. She went to the Xindu division to audition for Journey to the West but didn't make it past the initial selection. Then she took a car to the Beicheng division for Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The casting director glanced at her resume and said disdainfully, "We're selecting actors for the remakes of the Four Great Classical Novels. Have you even read them?" She quickly said she had, practically wanting to raise her hand and swear an oath, but the look in his eyes made it clear he didn't believe her.
Her reverence for cultured people and her lack of confidence began then. And now, after all this time, Dream of the Red Chamber had landed in her hands, and she even had a choice of roles.
She took out the gift box from the dinner party and placed it on the coffee table. Opening it, she looked through the items one by one. They had even included a Polaroid camera, along with a solo photo of her taken with it at the banquet. Even though the image had already developed, Ruan Ruan habitually shook it before holding it up to look. She was radiant and stunning, exuding an air of nobility.
She looked like a perfect fit for Dream of the Red Chamber.
Ruan Ruan knelt on the carpet, lost in a daze for a long while.
After Shi Ran finished replying to her team's messages, she asked what was wrong. Ruan Ruan touched the project proposal and said, "I've seen the announcement for this play before. I never thought I'd get to be in it."
"I debuted through an acting competition—the one for the Four Great Classical Novels remakes," Ruan Ruan continued. "Back then, the girls in the Red Chamber group were the most cultured. When we did our makeup together, they would be reciting poetry."
"There was a 'Daiyu' who I was on good terms with. She was preparing for the scene where Xiangling learns poetry. She asked me to play Xiangling and run lines with her, saying that if I couldn't recite the poem, I could just recite 'Moonlight before my bed' instead. I recited it, but she couldn't remember her lines."
"She was very unhappy. She kicked me out of her dorm room and never spoke to me again."
Ruan Ruan knew back then that some people, no matter how friendly they appeared, deep down believed she was different from them. If she acted the same as them, it was an insult to their sense of superiority.
"I always felt she wasn't worthy of playing Daiyu." Ruan Ruan finally looked up, staring straight at Shi Ran.
"What happened later?" Shi Ran asked.
"Later, she placed third in her group and wasn't selected, but she still entered the entertainment industry."
"Her name is Zhang Nuoran," Ruan Ruan said.
Shi Ran's eyes widened in surprise. She had never mentioned this past. The way she had asked if Shi Ran knew Zhang Nuoran before, she had seemed like a complete stranger.
Little Bread was very good at holding things in and enduring. If not for this twist of fate, she might never have spoken of it.
"So I want to play Xiangling." Ruan Ruan closed the brochure without looking at the other roles.
If, as Shi Ran said, news of her signing was already starting to leak, then Zhang Nuoran would probably be paying attention to her. If the first project officially announced for her was Xiangling, who knew how much Zhang Nuoran would remember.
Would she worry that I might say something? Especially in front of Shi Ran, whom she wants to get close to.
Let her guess, just like how I kept guessing why I was kicked out of her dorm back then, Ruan Ruan pursed her lips.
Shi Ran tilted her head and stared at her intently for a moment, then smiled.
Ruan Ruan softly lowered her upturned lashes, a little embarrassed. She put the items back into the gift box one by one, then opened the brochure again. "Producer Tao is really amazing," she murmured.
To be able to introduce her to this production over a single meal, and to make the process so comfortable, with none of the pressure from a resource provider—it was completely different from the kind of dinner meetings she had imagined. So thoughtful, so gracefully influential.
"They," Ruan Ruan's eyes peeked out from over the top of the brochure, "all seem to be from An University."
She said it in a small voice, as if she were a thief. An University was the top university in the country.
"Mhm."
"No wonder. All those paintings at her home, those English books." Ruan Ruan buried her head again, like an ostrich.
She thought Shi Ran wouldn't say anything more, because that's how they usually were when they were alone—not much to talk about. But Shi Ran suddenly asked her, "Did you two get along well?"
"Who?" Ruan Ruan didn't react for a moment.
"The producer."
At the card table, Ruan Ruan had worried that her acting skills wouldn't be up to the standards of a stage play. Tao Jin had said gently that after a few years of doing theater, she had come to feel that so-called acting was really about the extent to which one was willing to express oneself. Therefore, it wasn't about technique, but about sincerity and baring one's soul.
Those words dispelled all of Ruan Ruan's concerns. She played a card and mused, "I can do that."
Tao Jin smiled and reached out. "I'm sorry to do this, but... kong."
Ruan Ruan furrowed her brow in frustration. The expression wasn't over the top, but it was incredibly vivid—a side of her even Shi Ran had never seen.
She scratched her wrist, as if having a strange allergic reaction.
Ruan Ruan lowered her eyes and thought for a moment, her heart reacting before her mind. She carefully felt the beating in her chest, smelled the ink on the brochure, and asked Shi Ran, "Are you..."
"She has a girlfriend," Ruan Ruan didn't know how to say it, so she just blinked and whispered.
But Shi Ran was clearly not satisfied. Her cool brow furrowed for a brief moment before relaxing. The answer seemed to imply that if Tao Jin didn't have a girlfriend, she would indeed be Ruan Ruan's type.
Mhm. Gentle, beautiful, well-mannered, highly educated, from a good family, and good at socializing. Shi Ran could help Ruan Ruan, and so could Tao Jin.
And with a single play, she had reached right into Ruan Ruan's heart, as if she understood her better than others who had shared her bed.
Shi Ran turned her face away to look at the humidity reading on the wine cabinet. The line of her jaw looked surprisingly delicate. She unconsciously dragged her elbow, then her fingertips roamed upward, rubbing her wrist as she had before.
Ruan Ruan put down the brochure and sniffled. "Shi Ran."
The little rabbit between her ribs thumped away, but she didn't know what to say. Shi Ran was jealous. They both knew it, but neither had the standing to call it out.
"Hm?"
"Can you help me find Sister Qin?" Ruan Ruan sat down, leaned against her, and linked her arm through Shi Ran's, snuggling up to look at the phone. "I want to see the kittens."
The kittens were still at Jingyue International, being looked after by Shi Ran's other assistant, Sister Qin.
Her soft breaths fell on Shi Ran's shoulder, a subtle form of coaxing. Shi Ran handed her the phone, but Ruan Ruan refused it. "You find her. I'll watch." She lowered her other hand and wrapped it around Shi Ran's waist.
She could hear Shi Ran's heartbeat, faint and lonely. Other people were wonderful, but there was something that struck her more deeply than Dream of the Red Chamber—the hand that had gently touched her back. Ruan Ruan wouldn't say these things; she would only remember them with all her might.
Shi Ran unlocked her phone and opened the chat with Sister Qin. The cursor blinked. She gave Ruan Ruan a cool glance.
"Ask her if Xiao Hei and the others are eating well."
Ruan Ruan poked the screen, her earnest lashes fluttering. Her face, fresh as a peach, was right next to Shi Ran's neck.
She lowered her head and kissed Ruan Ruan. Ruan Ruan took the opportunity to grasp her wrist and tickle her palm. For some reason, at this stage of their relationship, the words "thank you" were becoming harder and harder to say.
She cupped Shi Ran's face, kissing her meticulously, lingeringly. As she took the corner of Shi Ran's mouth between her lips, she called her name: "Shi Ran."
Shi Ran responded with a soft hum, and Ruan Ruan continued to suck on the soft side of her tongue.
The two only separated after they had kissed their fill. Ruan Ruan cleared her throat and hugged Shi Ran. "I don't want to give Xiao Hei and the others away anymore."
"Can you keep them for a while? Once I join the cast of Shrine, I'll rent a place nearby and take them all with me."
"People get attached. The more time I spend with them, the less I can bear to part with them."
"I'm going to name them now. What do you think I should call them?"
She hadn't said much, yet it felt like she had said everything. She had feelings for the kittens, and of course, for Shi Ran too. By inviting Shi Ran to name the kittens, every time she called one of them, she would be reminded of Shi Ran.
She felt a slight weight on the back of her head. Shi Ran had raised her hand and was stroking her hair.
"If I were a cat, you'd hear me purring when you pet my head like this." Ruan Ruan smiled, pursing her lips and shrinking her neck.
A cat only purrs when it's most comfortable and happy.
Shi Ran's fingers moved down and scratched Ruan Ruan's chin. "What about this?"
"Purr, purr, purr."
"And this?" She rubbed her earlobe.
"Purr, purr, purr, purr."
"You shouldn't be in Dream of the Red Chamber," Shi Ran said, withdrawing her hand, her expression placid. "There's a more suitable show for you."
"What is it?" Little Bread was instantly intrigued, looking at her with expectant eyes.
"Calabash Brothers."
Comments
Post a Comment