I Ran Away After Flirting with the Goddess - Chapter 22

Chapter 22

An Rongrong’s eyelashes fluttered. She lowered her head and took another small sip.

While her stomach registered it as unpleasant, her heart felt sweet.

Seeing that she didn’t reject it, Shen Lishu simply let her finish the whole bottle, while she herself pulled out her phone and opened Weibo to kill time before filming.

Her Republican-era movie was likely to be released around National Day, and the pre-release hype had already begun. A personal fan-edit of her, about ten seconds long, had been released and the response was exceptionally good.

Shen Lishu liked the promotional video posted by the director, scanned through a few Weibo posts that @-mentioned her and her private messages, and finally glanced at the person sitting obediently on the small stool next to her, drinking vegetable juice and chewing on the script. With a smile in her eyes, she lowered her head and posted a rare Weibo update.

Almost the exact moment Shen Lishu hit send, the phone in An Rongrong’s pocket buzzed.

She pulled it out in confusion. Seeing the notification pop up, her eyes widened slightly. She turned to look at Shen Lishu next to her in surprise, then hurriedly unlocked her phone to log into her Weibo side account.

An Rongrong had set Shen Lishu to “Special Follow”; as long as Shen Lishu posted, she would receive a notification.

Heaven knows the Goddess’s Weibo account was practically growing grass; now she was finally willing to update!

An Rongrong couldn’t even care about her script. Holding her phone with both hands, she clicked onto Shen Lishu’s homepage.

The Goddess’s new drama was about to be released, so she might be reposting a Weibo for promotion. Or perhaps it was an advertisement, an endorsement, or a magazine cover. Regardless of which one it was—whether it was pictures or video An Rongrong was ready to “lick the screen” and take frantic screenshots!

Entering Shen Lishu’s Weibo homepage, An Rongrong scrolled down excitedly, only to see that the latest update on Shen Lishu’s Weibo read:

@ShenLishuV: Young people nowadays are really serious about acting; they have a limitless future.

Young people?

An Rongrong blinked blankly, not quite reacting at first. Her breathing slowed down. Uncertain, she turned her head to ask Shen Lishu, “Sister, does this ‘young person’ refer to me?”

Shen Lishu raised an eyebrow and asked back, “Is there a second young person here?”

An Rongrong’s eyes lit up instantly. Her heart thundered, and her whole face glowed. She shook her head excitedly. “No, no, no! Just me, one young person! I’m the young person!”

It was her, it was her, it was her! The praise was for her!

An Rongrong excitedly took a screenshot as evidence, fearing that Shen Lishu might delete it right after posting.

Awoooo! Sister praised her! Praised her, this “young person,” for being serious!!! And she posted it from her main Weibo account!

An Rongrong’s breathing was heavy. She couldn’t help but lower her head and kiss the phone screen. Her heart felt as if it were filled with balloons, pulling her floating body upward; she was so happy she couldn’t express it in words.

What could be more joyful than receiving praise from your life mentor, crush, and personal Goddess all in one?

There was!

And that was being praised by her on Weibo in front of over a hundred million fans! Especially since Shen Lishu hadn’t posted for ages, and the only private Weibo she posted today was to praise her.

An Rongrong’s cheeks were flushed. Along with her bashfulness, she felt a sense of satisfaction—as if she could die without regrets. Two words were written clearly across her face: “Worth it!”

It was so damn worth it!

An Rongrong couldn’t stop whimpering softly. Pressing her phone to her chest, she looked up at Shen Lishu, twisting left and right on her stool. She felt that she really, really loved her!

Shen Lishu couldn’t help but laugh at her. “No ambition.”

An Rongrong grinned, her smile so wide her eyes disappeared.

At this time, the assistant director came over to announce that a new actor was joining the set and asked everyone to get ready.

An Rongrong had heard of this newcomer a rising “little flower” who had become popular in the last two years. She was about two or three years older than An Rongrong and had graduated from college not long ago. She had acted in several idol dramas, both as lead and supporting roles. Her acting was considered standard and couldn’t be compared at all to a gifted powerhouse like Shen Lishu.

An Rongrong had self-awareness. She knew a rookie like herself couldn’t compare to her either, which was why she had been so diligent this morning.

The new actress was named Ji Ning. In Sink, she played An Rongrong’s niece, Chen Yu, a college student.

Chen Yu and her young aunt Luo Yue had practically grown up together. Although they were a generation apart, the age difference was small, so their relationship was very close. Upon learning her aunt had a girlfriend, Chen Yu was shocked. Fearing her aunt was being scammed, she specifically came to inspect the girlfriend, Ye Tan. After a period of interaction, Chen Yu ultimately accepted Ye Tan and gave them her blessing. So, Ji Ning’s character was a bit of a “helper” role a very likable character.

Ji Ning arrived around 8:00 AM. An Rongrong stood beside Shen Lishu, watching her descend from the RV like a proud black swan, wearing sunglasses and holding her slender neck high.

“Teacher Ji, please come this way with me.” The assistant director introduced her to the director and lead actors.

Ji Ning walked in front, with her two assistants following behind. Her entourage was quite large.

An Rongrong bit the straw of her bottle, her gaze drifting toward the RV in the distance. Actually, she was still thinking about Shen Lishu’s Weibo post from earlier. Her mind was full of various ways to “cuddle” with her Sister.

But her silly appearance, in Shen Lishu’s eyes, looked like she was envious of Ji Ning’s RV and assistants.

Although An Rongrong had already signed, it hadn’t been officially announced yet. According to Su Lin’s plan, they would wait at least until the filming of Sink was finished. Because the theme of Sink was sensitive, if the hype around the actors became too high, it might affect the filming.

After all, Director Mao hadn’t even held a press conference since the start of filming, nor had he mentioned it on any social media apps. He wished the media wouldn’t pay any attention to his drama, so he could finish filming quietly and make a fortune in silence.

Shen Lishu glanced at An Rongrong. She felt that even if the signing wasn’t announced, she should send an assistant over first.

Shen Lishu lowered her head to send a message to Su Lin, not noticing Ji Ning walking toward her.

Before officially joining the crew, Ji Ning didn’t know the lead cast. She only had her own character and the full script; Director Mao had never revealed the leads to the outside world.

That was why Ji Ning was so shocked when she saw Shen Lishu.

A Best Actress! A living Best Actress! She actually “went out to sea” (took a queer role) to act in a Yuri drama!

Ji Ning had originally thought that a non-mainstream Yuri drama like this wouldn’t have any big stars. If it weren’t for the fact that the director was Mao Yi, she wouldn’t have come just to gain experience. It would have been better to take two more web dramas to rake in money; what was there to see in a film about two women messing around?

As for An Rongrong beside Shen Lishu, Ji Ning was even less of a stranger to her. Anyone who had followed the “melons” (gossip) over the last two days would know her.

Ji Ning’s eyes flickered between Shen Lishu and An Rongrong. Thinking back to Shen Lishu’s studio sticking up for An Rongrong yesterday, what was there left to not understand? The rumors weren’t false Shen Lishu was truly going to sign An Rongrong! Signing an obscure little star from a survival show background.

Before coming, Ji Ning had complained to her manager, Su Jiang, about arranging a Yuri drama for her not only was the genre niche, but it was also a minor supporting role. Now, she didn’t think that way at all.

Her contract was due to expire at the end of the year. Su Jiang had too many people under him; those with better acting and more traffic than her were a dime a dozen. Staying with him meant she wouldn’t get any good resources. But Shen Lishu’s studio was different. She only had one newcomer, An Rongrong, who was no competition for Ji Ning. As long as she signed with Shen Lishu’s studio, wouldn’t all the resources be hers to choose?

Yesterday while “eating melons,” Ji Ning was still complaining in her heart about why she didn’t have such good luck—and today, luck had arrived! A great opportunity was right in front of her; Ji Ning’s eyes flashed, and she decided to seize it!

No matter how many thoughts Ji Ning had, she didn’t show them on her face. Seeing Shen Lishu, she hurriedly took off her sunglasses, bowed respectfully, and extended her hand. “Teacher Shen.”

She had been wearing sunglasses until just now; taking them off only at this moment was quite telling.

Shen Lishu curled her lips into a faint smile. As if she hadn’t seen the extended hand, she lifted her cup of soy milk to change the subject. “Have you had breakfast?”

An Rongrong, standing nearby, thought she had misheard. She turned to look at Shen Lishu, feeling puzzled in her heart.

Is this not their first time meeting? Why are they asking about breakfast so familiarly?

Sister, where is your Best Actress coolness? Don’t be so approachable, okay!

An Rongrong took a sharp gulp of vegetable juice, her cheeks puffing out. The bun she had just eaten felt like it was soaked in vinegar, fermenting sourly in her stomach. When she first arrived, Shen Lishu hadn’t spoken to her at all, let alone invited her for breakfast. Why was it an exception for Ji Ning?

“Not yet.” Ji Ning withdrew her hand and shook her head. She too thought Shen Lishu had a good impression of her and hurriedly said, “I was in such a rush on the road, I haven’t had time to eat yet.”

She was actually trying to maintain her figure and dieting on purpose, hence not eating breakfast. But could she say that to Shen Lishu? Of course not. What Ji Ning was thinking now was that she could eat breakfast with the Best Actress to get closer. It seemed the internet rumors about the Best Actress being cold and hard to get along with were all false.

Ji Ning looked at Shen Lishu, waiting for the invitation. She had already seen the soy milk in the Best Actress’s hand.

Shen Lishu smiled slightly. Facing Ji Ning’s expectant gaze, she said, “Then your timing is really unfortunate. We just finished.”

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