Shrine - Chapter 91
Chapter 91
"This drama?" Ruan Ruan's eyes widened as she tried her best to recall.
This was that movie that had been trending before, the one with a story so bad it was laughable. Ruan Ruan pulled away from Shi Ran's shoulder and looked at her, blinking blankly, unable to process it for a long moment.
"You're going to act in it?" She slowly lowered her head, frowning as she asked Shi Ran in a whisper.
"Mhm."
Ruan Ruan's translucent eyes blinked again and again, the small mole beneath her eye trembling with anxiety. How could Shi Ran possibly act in a drama like this?
Shi Ran was famous for cherishing her reputation and was extremely cautious when choosing projects. She had even sequestered herself for half a year at the peak of her popularity to immerse herself in a role. Everyone said that Shi Ran was different, that she was an artist with the face of a top-tier star.
No devout artist would accept such a terrible script, and Shi Ran certainly wouldn't.
Ruan Ruan bit her lip, feeling a little helpless. She took Shi Ran's hand, stroking her palm, and asked in a small voice, "Why?"
"To make money." Shi Ran gave a cool smile, turning her hand over to clasp Ruan Ruan's fingers, the tip of her index finger gently scraping against Ruan Ruan's clean nail.
"Make money?" Ruan Ruan pressed her lips together into a wrinkled crescent, her gaze shifting to the left as she thought.
"They're offering a lot," Shi Ran added, now teasing Ruan Ruan's middle finger.
A tingling sensation spread from her nail, but it was nothing compared to the numbness in her heart. Ruan Ruan's gaze instantly softened. "Is it because of the pressure of bankrolling【Shrine】?"
Shi Ran wasn't an ATM; her balance was also finite.
"You could think of it that way," Shi Ran said, looking at her with her beautiful eyes, half-joking. "I actually do a lot for you."
Ruan Ruan sniffled, gazing at her like a little kitten.
Shi Ran smiled and lowered her head to continue scrolling through the flying pages sent to her phone.
"Really?" The guilty little bread rested her head on Shi Ran's shoulder. She felt a pang of sadness. She really hadn't paid that much attention to Shi Ran before, just assuming it was a case of "teasing a project." She had clearly seen the news about her but hadn't even bothered to ask. But saying any of this now was useless. She leaned against her obediently, firmly etching this lesson into her heart. From now on, she would pay close attention to every little thing concerning Shi Ran.
"It's actually a favor for a friend, a role I couldn't turn down. They originally wanted me to play the female lead, but I refused. It's just a special appearance." The other party was using her to generate hype for the female lead, and she had tacitly agreed. "I also want to try a different path. I've never acted in this kind of comedy before."
Ruan Ruan felt much more at ease, her eyelashes fluttering against Shi Ran's cheek. "Can you do a good job?"
Shi Ran thought for a moment. "I think so."
Ruan Ruan wrapped her arms around hers. "Then you were lying to me just now."
She was starting to act spoiled in front of Shi Ran, without even realizing it herself. Shi Ran swiped to the next page. "I didn't lie. I have a love brain."
"You're still saying you have a love brain," Ruan Ruan pouted her lips and said in a muffled, Crayon Shin-chan-like voice, "If you can't do it, I won't want you anymore either~"
Shi Ran leisurely swiped her thumb across the screen. "You really pulled that off."
Ruan Ruan laughed, her eyes bright and her teeth pearly, brimming with spirit. Shi Ran enveloped her in her peripheral vision and curled her lips into a smile as well.
Her little cat officer had come back to life. She used to be just like this—sweet and spirited, soft yet resilient.
Shi Ran pulled out her left hand, letting it travel up from between Ruan Ruan's legs to gently squeeze her inner thigh. "Cook for me."
"I don't want to." Ruan Ruan rubbed her ankles together.
Shi Ran turned her head to glance at her.
"I want to be myself, to accept my own selfish desires. Not wanting to cook is my selfish desire," Ruan Ruan said in a small voice, leaning against her. "I can order food for you, baby."
"If I want to eat something you've made, when's your next available slot?"
"Let me check," Ruan Ruan said, closing her eyes to search her mental schedule. "The day after tomorrow."
"Okay." Shi Ran agreed.
The following days were both tense and relaxed. Ruan Ruan and Shi Ran both threw themselves into their respective shoots, rushing to make progress. To meet the schedule, 【Shrine】 was even being edited as it was being filmed. The good news was that the internal screening for the first season received excellent feedback. Coupled with the popularity of Ruan Ruan and Zhong Yi's CP, the platform's rating jumped directly from A-grade, past A+, to S-grade. This was a rare rating for a revenue-sharing drama. The platform approached Dianxing Entertainment to discuss a partnership, hoping to participate in subsequent commercial development, such as merchandise, IP-linked tea beverage collaborations, and future group variety shows or concerts.
At the internal investment meeting, they saw the market's confidence in dual female leads and believed that 【Shrine】 had great potential, both in terms of watchability and the topicality of its thematic discussions.
In contrast to the intensity of their careers, Ruan Ruan and Shi Ran's life together was much more relaxed. After work, they would go home, cook, wash the dishes together, and then casually watch a variety show or a movie before studying their respective scripts.
Sometimes Ruan Ruan would ask Shi Ran for advice, and then pay her with edible little bread. Shi Ran could clearly feel Ruan Ruan's growth, not just in the strengthening of her inner self, but also in her body.
If a person's rebirth begins with knowing oneself, then positive feedback will also manifest physically. The timidity and softness in her eyes and brows were slowly sloughing off like snakeskin. She would be beaded with a thin layer of sweat in bed, her eyes slightly open, looking at Shi Ran as she was being pleasured, and would place Shi Ran's other hand on her own fullness.
She was still shy, still didn't make much noise, but she would slowly pleasure herself and softly ask Shi Ran to make her feel even better.
The entertainment industry was always in flux. At the end of the month, the two variety shows Ruan Ruan had previously recorded went online one after another and became minor hits. This was especially true for a mystery-themed variety show where she and Zhong Yi were guest stars. They had a familiar chemistry, and she would unconsciously tug on her sleeve when she was scared. Many sweet moments were edited from the footage, and the marketing accounts hyped it up intensely.
There were even projects they hadn't been approached for that started teasing Ruan Ruan and Zhong Yi as potential leads.
This was a good sign. It meant she was on the radar of investors, could attract the attention of gossipmongers, and had value for generating hype.
Ruan Ruan began to taste what it was like to be famous. It happened suddenly one day. On her way to the set after getting her makeup and styling done, she noticed that there were more proxy photographers. There were also some young girls holding up their phones, following her. They didn't say anything, just followed her silently. After she got in the car, they all rushed forward to say, "Bye-bye." "You can do it, Ruan Ruan." "Eat more, you're so thin." "Rest well."
These words rushed in during the brief moment before her car door closed, as if they had made a pact among themselves to fall silent once the door was shut so as not to bother her anymore.
Ruan Ruan sat inside, looking at them through the tinted window. She had been watched by crowds before, so the gazes of a group were not unfamiliar. But they weren't like the young girls who had been following her recently, who looked at her with sparkling eyes and only offered a few quick, quiet words of encouragement.
She could feel the love in their restraint.
Ruan Ruan pressed her lips together and raised her forearm to wave from inside the car. They excitedly crowded around, some of their faces flushing red, saying something she couldn't hear. She was about to roll down the window, but as soon as a crack appeared, the girls all chattered at once, "No, no, don't open the window, it's too windy."
Ruan Ruan nodded, rolled the window back up, waved goodbye again, and the driver stepped on the gas.
The moment the car started moving, she lowered her head, her eyes turning red.
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