After Secretly Marrying the Top Celebrity, I Fell in Love - Chapter 6

Bai Yiyan wore a loose, long white T-shirt paired with black pure cotton hot pants.

Her long hair was tied up in a high bun at the back of her head, exposing her beautiful, pale, swan-like neck. A wet strand of hair clung to her neck, and a few clear, crystalline water droplets traced a path down to her collarbone.

“Teacher Ye, please have a seat first,” Bai Yiyan was the first to break the slightly awkward silence, saying, “I’ll get you some water.”

“Alright,” Ye Manqing nodded lightly.

Bai Yiyan turned and went into the kitchen. As usual, she took out two disposable paper cups, stacked them together, then unscrewed a bottle of mineral water and poured it into the cups.

Bai Yiyan emerged from the kitchen holding the water and handed the paper cups to Ye Manqing with both hands, before sitting down on the single sofa diagonally across from her.

“Thank you,” Ye Manqing politely thanked her, then gently placed the paper cups on the coffee table.

She turned to pick up the designer handbag that was beside her. Opening it, she took out a script. She reached out, extending the script towards Bai Yiyan.

“Xiao Bai, this is the script for Director Zhang’s new drama, Nine Heavens. The third scene is the one you need to audition with.”

“…!” Bai Yiyan was stunned for a moment and immediately rose from the sofa. She stepped forward and accepted the script from Ye Manqing with both hands.

“Two days from now, Director Zhang will hold an audition for the female supporting role,” Ye Manqing said gently.

The three words, “female supporting role,” were mentioned very naturally by Ye Manqing, but they landed differently in Bai Yiyan’s ears.

“Female supporting role?” Bai Yiyan’s gaze, which had been fixed on the script’s cover, paused. She suddenly looked up, her eyes showing surprise and excitement.

Bai Yiyan had never dared to hope it would be an audition for the female second lead, especially since this was a drama by Zhang Mingxiu. She had originally thought it would be, at most, a female fourth lead role.

“Yes, the female supporting role,” Ye Manqing nodded, continuing, “Besides you, two other actresses will be auditioning.”

“They are both fairly well-known actresses in the industry, and their acting skills are quite good. You even know one of them.”

“Then… I…” Bai Yiyan stammered slightly.

“Do you not have confidence in yourself?” Ye Manqing’s narrow eyes fixed on Bai Yiyan, asking in return.

“A little,” Bai Yiyan lowered her head slightly, whispering.

“Let’s just audition first,” Ye Manqing said.

“Thank you, Teacher Ye,” Bai Yiyan looked up, meeting Ye Manqing’s gaze.

“You’re welcome.” Ye Manqing’s eyes were like water, the narrow corners slightly turned up. “I believe you’ve seen what kind of person Director Zhang is usually like on set. He is giving me face by letting you audition, but that doesn’t mean the role is decided for you.”

“I need to make this clear. So, whether you get this role depends entirely on yourself.”

“Yes! I will definitely perform well,” Bai Yiyan’s phoenix-like eyes were fixed on Ye Manqing, her gaze filled with determination.

The brief conversation concluded.

Before Ye Manqing left, she proactively asked Bai Yiyan for her WeChat, and the two scanned each other’s QR codes face-to-face, adding each other as friends.

Ye Manqing put away her phone, squinted her long, narrow eyes, and said, “Now we are friends. You can directly ask me any questions you have on WeChat.”

“I might not be able to reply immediately, but I will naturally reply when I see your message later.”

Bai Yiyan: “Thank you, Teacher Ye.”

Ye Manqing suddenly paused, a gentle smile hanging on her lips, and softly said, “Xiao Bai, have you counted how many times you’ve said ‘thank you’ tonight?”

Bai Yiyan fell silent: “…”

Ye Manqing slightly restrained her smile: “You have two days. Familiarize yourself with the script as quickly as possible. If you pass the initial audition, there will be a callback.”

“During the callback, the artists will act alongside the female lead. Because, overall, this is a drama centered around the female protagonist; the female lead has a lot of screen time.”

“The female supporting role also has a significant number of scenes.”

Bai Yiyan: “Tha…” Just as the word “thank” left her mouth, Bai Yiyan immediately sealed her lips, her long, dense lashes trembling slightly.

Ye Manqing simply smiled softly, her voice so tender it could melt: “Good night, Xiao Bai.”

Bai Yiyan: “Good night, Teacher Ye.”

For the next two days, Bai Yiyan stayed in her rented apartment, going over the script, familiarizing herself with the lines, and studying the character positioning of the female supporting role.

First, she read the script from beginning to end more than three times, then focused on the third scene, memorizing all the female supporting role’s lines in that scene.

The two days passed quickly.

In the evening, just after dinner, Bai Yiyan received a WeChat message from Ye Manqing.

Ye Manqing: [Xiao Bai, I’ll have the driver pick you up at eight tomorrow morning for the audition.]

Bai Yiyan was momentarily stunned. She had been leaning back against the sofa, but instantly sat up straight, unsure how to reply to Ye Manqing.

Ye Manqing had sent the specific set location and audition time two days ago. However, Bai Yiyan never expected Ye Manqing to proactively suggest sending her driver to pick her up!

Will she be coming along?

Although they had met twice in private, Bai Yiyan still felt a bit nervous when facing Ye Manqing alone.

When she acted with Ye Manqing previously, Bai Yiyan was merely someone else’s stand-in, and their interaction was only within the context of the drama. But recently, Ye Manqing had appeared in her life; it all felt like a dream.

Ye Manqing debuted at seventeen, reaching the peak of her career immediately. She shot to fame overnight with a Republican era drama directed by Zhao Cheng—that was Ye Manqing’s first TV series and her first appearance before the national audience.

The following year, Ye Manqing successfully won the “Golden Eagle Award for Best Actress” for that role.

Over the next three years, Ye Manqing starred in two TV series directed by Zhang Mingxiu and was successfully nominated for the “Feitian Award for Best Actress” and the “Magnolia Award for Best Actress” for her outstanding performance in those dramas. Finally, after fierce competition, Ye Manqing secured both the “Feitian Award for Best Actress” and the “Magnolia Award for Best Actress.”

Five years after her debut, at the tender age of twenty-two, Ye Manqing became the youngest Grand Slam Best Actress in Mainland Chinese entertainment.

In the same year, Ye Manqing transitioned to the film industry, becoming a double Best Actress in only three years.

Eleven years after her debut, by continuously collecting heavy awards, Ye Manqing had firmly established herself at the pinnacle of the acting world. Her top-tier status had never wavered, and her life story was nothing short of legendary.

Bai Yiyan is twenty years old this year, a full eight years younger than Ye Manqing.

To use a popular internet phrase: Bai Yiyan grew up watching Ye Manqing’s dramas.

Such an outstanding actress, a legendary figure, is naturally also Bai Yiyan’s idol. However, Bai Yiyan is the type of person who doesn’t outwardly show her emotions and is good at hiding them, except for a slight instinctive nervousness when facing her idol.

Just as Bai Yiyan was slightly frowning, wondering how to reply to Ye Manqing’s message, the other party sent another WeChat message.

Ye Manqing: [See you tomorrow~]

Bai Yiyan was still guessing if Ye Manqing would go along tomorrow, but now she didn’t have to wonder; she was sure Ye Manqing would go.

In fact, Bai Yiyan should have guessed it earlier. Because the female lead of Nine Heavens is Fu Yu, who is Ye Manqing’s friend in the industry. They were classmates at the Central Academy of Drama, and their ‘fairy-tale’ friendship is well-known in the industry.

Bai Yiyan stared at her phone screen for a while, typed a line of Chinese characters, then deleted and edited it, carefully deliberating her reply.

Bai Yiyan: [Teacher Ye, see you tomorrow (smile)]

On the other side of the city, snowy moonlight spilled onto the wooden floor through the clear floor-to-ceiling windows.

The viewing room on the second floor of the villa featured three sides of floor-to-ceiling windows. Standing on the viewing platform, one could overlook the entire bustling city.

Ye Manqing, dressed in a crescent-white long dress, sat gracefully leaning against the sofa, her fingers clasping a black phone. After the screen went dark, the woman pressed it alight again.

It seemed casual, but this small action was noticed by Fu Yu.

“Waiting for whose message?” A pleasant female voice suddenly came from the opposite diagonal.

“No one,” Ye Manqing didn’t raise her eyes to look at her friend, only replying with two faint words.

Fu Yu stood sideways in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, wearing an emerald green long dress. The satin fabric was smooth and close-fitting, outlining her delicate, graceful figure, like a slender willow in the breeze.

A seductive, large wavy hairstyle was lazily draped over her back, with several noticeable streaks of raspberry red dyed throughout the thick curtain of hair.

A delicate, boneless hand held a transparent stemmed glass filled two-thirds with red wine. As she spoke, the woman lightly lifted her wrist and sipped the rich red wine.

“Could it be… a girlfriend!” Fu Yu’s curiosity was piqued, a gossipy smile hanging on her lips. “Do I know her?”

“No,” Ye Manqing finally brought herself to look up, meeting Fu Yu’s seductive, electric eyes.

Fu Yu lightly frowned, shaking her head helplessly at Ye Manqing, and said, “Teacher Ye, you are twenty-eight this year, and you haven’t had a single proper girlfriend. What are you planning, to live a life of solitude with a single lamp and the sound of morning bells and evening drums?”

“It’s truly a waste of such a divine face. Nüwa is truly unfair.”

Fu Yu is famously gorgeous in the entertainment industry. But no matter which female celebrity in the circle is framed beside Ye Manqing, they are all overshadowed, without exception.

Ye Manqing was already accustomed to her friend’s teasing and ignored it. She half-closed her long lashes, emptying her mind.

“Why not, just let me have you then?” Fu Yu said half-jokingly, half-seriously, winking.

“You’re not my type,” Ye Manqing suddenly looked up, meeting Fu Yu’s extremely charming electric eyes, speaking quite earnestly.

“Hmph, boring,” Fu Yu wrinkled her nose, somewhat sullenly taking a large gulp of red wine. “Then tell me, what type do you like?”

“…” In an instant, a somewhat familiar face surfaced in Ye Manqing’s mind. Her thin lips moved, and two words escaped.

“Simple.”

Having witnessed the deception and intrigue around her, Ye Manqing didn’t exactly hate it. But for her requirement in finding a partner, she had always held this one standard.

“Simple?! That’s too broad a scope,” Fu Yu said. “Then definitely don’t look for someone in the industry; there are very few simple people in the circle.”

Ye Manqing stopped talking, seeing that her friend was about to finish an entire bottle of red wine, and advised, “Don’t you have to accompany Zhang Mingxiu to select the female supporting role tomorrow? Don’t drink so much, you might not be able to get up.”

Fu Yu waved her hand, saying, “I can hold my liquor; this amount of wine is nothing.”

“Huh? How did you know that? I didn’t tell you, did I?”

Fu Yu lightly tapped her own head with her other hand. Could she really be drunk?

Ye Manqing got up, not answering her friend’s question, and said, “Stay as long as you like.”

With that, Ye Manqing turned, her flowing skirt brushing past a pair of creamy, snow-white legs. The bright moonlight happened to fall upon the woman, creating a distinct, hazy beauty.

“…” Fu Yu stood dumbfounded, once again captivated by Ye Manqing’s posture and stunned by her beauty.

“Simple?”

Fu Yu knew well that those two words were the least applicable to herself.

In this avaricious and materialistic society, perhaps only kindergarten children could be truly considered simple.

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