I Ran Away After Flirting with the Goddess - Chapter 32

Chapter 32

From the moment Shen Lishu brought up the topic of Ji Ning being recast, An Rongrong felt a prickling sensation on her back, as if eyes were boring into her. She nervously nibbled her bun in tiny bites, her eyes darting around, silently praying for the Goddess to change the subject.

This was too dangerous! She felt like there was a pit right in front of her.

Then, Shen Lishu actually changed the subject! She asked about the salary.

An Rongrong: Well, great. I’ve moved directly to the bottom of the pit.

When Ji Ning’s trending search came out, An Rongrong had been so angry that she called Aunt Xu without a second thought. She hadn’t considered the potential consequences for example, that Shen Lishu might wonder how exactly she got cast in this production.

“The salary… it’s just that much, the same as other newcomers.” An Rongrong’s expression was unnatural, her voice muffled. She didn’t dare look at Shen Lishu.

The Goddess’s eyes were like hooks that could snatch one’s soul! As long as she made eye contact, An Rongrong lost the ability to think. She’d be willing to take off as many layers as the woman asked.

An Rongrong chewed her bun rapidly; the more nervous she got, the better her appetite became. She felt like a rabbit being stared down by a fox. Even a light chuckle from Shen Lishu sent an electric current through her, making her scalp tingle. From fear.

Seeing that she wasn’t telling the truth, Shen Lishu narrowed her eyes slightly and took a sip of carrot juice. The atmosphere fell into silence. Their current state seemed to have reverted back to how they were before the wine tasting party.

An Rongrong loved and respected Shen Lishu, maintaining a sense of distance and not daring to act presumptuously. She was as well-behaved as a naughty student spotting the Dean of Students. At that time, An Rongrong didn’t realize that her behavior didn’t look like that of an “old fan” at all.

A real veteran fan’s first reaction upon seeing Shen Lishu would be to squeal on the spot; the second would be to rush over, grab Shen Lishu’s hand, and tell her she’s gotten thinner, urging her to eat more because “Mama’s heart hurts!” They would also nag her to start dating if she found someone suitable, since she was nearly thirty. If she didn’t find anyone, that was fine too they would love her forever.

See? That is the normal reaction of an old fan! They worry about everything for their Goddess afraid she’ll date, yet afraid she won’t. Afraid she’s working too hard, yet afraid she’s being too lazy. They don’t treat themselves as outsiders at all and just start nagging. To sum it up in one sentence: “To love someone to the core is to naturally ‘troll’ them.”

If they knew she was a picky eater, they would immediately report her to Xiao Zhang moving faster than the anti-fans! This group of die-hard fans who loved her like family were always on the front lines of “trolling” Shen Lishu…

In contrast, An Rongrong covered for Shen Lishu’s picky eating and secretly ordered milk tea for her to replace the vegetable juice and change the flavor. She was practically a traitor among the “trolling” fans!

Not to mention chatting with Shen Lishu. Back when An Rongrong first met Shen Lishu, she acted as if she were seeing her first love. She was tense and cramped, constantly trying to maintain her image, feigning calmness while her peripheral vision constantly stole glances.

Shen Lishu could just be sitting on a high stool, holding a paper cup and tossing her hair, and An Rongrong would be dazed and disoriented by the charm. Not to mention when the woman tilted her head back to drink water with a lazy smile on her red lips. That languid gaze, a casual sideways glance, carried its own innate elegance and flirtatiousness. Even if she wasn’t looking at her, An Rongrong was stimulated enough to have a “mental orgasm”!

Sometimes, the seduction of a mature woman lies within these careless glints of the eye. An Rongrong secretly harbored that love, watching Shen Lishu from afar. Later, it was “liquid courage” that emboldened the coward, leading to their relationship today.

Having grown accustomed to the mode of playful banter with Shen Lishu, the sudden reset to the pre-wine-tasting era made An Rongrong uneasy. Specifically, Shen Lishu’s silence made her feel apprehensive and a bit empty inside.

An Rongrong couldn’t help but fidget, her eyes darting left and right, her peripheral vision sneaking a look at Shen Lishu. She thought no one noticed, only to crash straight into Shen Lishu’s gaze!

Shen Lishu held her cup, swirled it gently, and tilted her head slightly, her thick, wavy long hair shifting to the other side. She just sat there, eyebrows raised and lips curved, watching her. Like a hunter waiting for the prey to walk into the net leisurely, lazy, and certain of success.

Caught red-handed, An Rongrong’s face turned a thorough shade of crimson. Her mouth twitched, and the teeth currently chewing the bun bit down hard on the tender flesh inside her mouth. It hurt so much she nearly shed tears.

This was the result of being distracted. An Rongrong was in so much pain she was swearing in her head; with watery eyes, she turned her head toward Shen Lishu, praying for some comfort.

To her surprise, the “dishonorable” Shen Lishu burst out laughing, turning her head away as her shoulders shook slightly.

An Rongrong: An Rongrong watched in disbelief, wanting to roar at Shen Lishu: Don’t think I can’t see you holding back your laughter just because you turned away!!!

Where is the sympathy! Where is it!

Shen Lishu demonstrated through her actions: there was none. An Rongrong’s appearance just now was too comical; Shen Lishu couldn’t quite control herself and was afraid she’d laugh too loudly on the spot, so she turned away. She was worried that the more she looked, the more she’d want to laugh.

Shen Lishu never expected that an originally serious, silent atmosphere would end in such a “silliness” (shadiaoke).

An Rongrong piteously took a sip of water, pulled out her phone, and used the selfie camera to check the mangled bit of flesh in her mouth. It was bleeding. She looked accusingly at the side of Shen Lishu’s face, straightening her back with a very resentful air.

But the moment Shen Lishu adjusted her expression and looked back, An Rongrong lost her nerve again, shrinking back and bowing her head to fiddle with her phone.

“That’s what you get for not telling the truth.” Shen Lishu took a deep breath to suppress the lingering laughter. She couldn’t be too schadenfreude, or An Rongrong would definitely “blow her top” (zhaomao).

Hearing her say this, An Rongrong knew that Shen Lishu probably already knew something.

“My salary,” An Rongrong pressed her thumb hard against the round peach-butt of the Crayon Shin-chan on her phone case, her voice as soft as could be, “is exceptionally low.”

Shen Lishu smiled. “How low?” It was normal for a newcomer’s salary to be low; it would be strange if it were exceptionally high.

An Rongrong’s eyes flickered as she mumbled, “Zero.”

Well, that is a bit low.

Shen Lishu took a sip of carrot juice and teased, “I thought you paid out of your own pocket to participate.” After all, considering An Rongrong’s acting when she first joined—where she couldn’t stop looking at the camera Director Mao letting her in even for a fee would have been a favor.

“That’s not it.” Hearing Shen Lishu’s tone was normal, An Rongrong perked up and said proudly, “I didn’t spend money.” She looked directly at Shen Lishu, her earlobes a bit hot. “But if paying money meant I could act with you, I’d be willing.”

Shen Lishu glanced at her sideways. Did she think saying a few sweet words would work? That she could coax her into happiness?

The facts proved she could.

Shen Lishu looked at An Rongrong curiously. “A zero-salary isn’t exactly a shameful thing. Why were you being so secretive about it just now?”

“I was afraid you’d think I don’t make money,” An Rongrong pouted, “and regret signing me.” If Su Lin knew about this, she’d definitely regret it until her heart turned green.

The “wealthy” Best Actress Shen didn’t care about An Rongrong’s pittance of an income. What she cared about was: “What is your relationship with Producer Xu?”

An Rongrong hesitated for a while but finally decided to come clean.

“She’s my aunt not biological. She has a very good relationship with my mother; I’ve called her Auntie since I was little.” An Rongrong picked at the peach pattern on her phone case. “She dotes on me especially; she’s always answered my every request.”

That was how she got into the Sink crew, and how Ji Ning was replaced.

Originally, Xu Xinyou mentioned she was interested in a GL script but wasn’t sure if she should film it. After all, compared to BL (Boys’ Love) dramas, GL was still too niche in the country, and not many people accepted it.

“Auntie, film it, film it!!!” An Rongrong’s first thought at the time was Shen Lishu and herself. Her eyes sparkled as she looked at Xu Xinyou. “I’ll act for you for free.”

Xu Xinyou laughed then. “You want to act with Best Actress Shen?”

“I want to even in my dreams!” An Rongrong looked at her piteously. “She’s the reason I entered this industry.”

Xu Xinyou seemed to be thinking of something and was dazed for a moment, then smiled with a sense of relief. “Then I’ll build a dream for you.”

Xu Xinyou had always known about An Rongrong’s little crush, so during casting, she suggested Shen Lishu, saying only she could handle the aura of Ye Tan. At that time, Shen Lishu’s Republican-era drama had just wrapped, and it wasn’t certain they could book her since she was planning to rest. Xu Xinyou didn’t give An Rongrong a definitive answer.

It wasn’t until the deal was closed that she told An Rongrong. At that time, she was stretching in the training room; after receiving the call, she was so excited she pulled her leg behind her head. To film this movie, she hadn’t even signed with a management company, fearing that subsequent commercial activities would affect the shooting.

An Rongrong’s thought at the time was: it’s worth retiring from the industry after finishing this!

The first lead, Shen Lishu, was set. The second lead was ostensibly still being screened, but it was just a formality for the director, Mao Yi. In reality, the “first lead” Shen Lishu was actually the one decided last. Because when the investment for this drama was being prepared, Xu Xinyou had already intended for An Rongrong to play the second lead.

In other words, if not for An Rongrong, Producer Xu might not have even considered investing in Sink. To put it another way, this was a beautiful dream An Rongrong spent several months weaving for herself out of her own selfishness. In the dream, she could kiss Shen Lishu, and even have “doi” (sex).

An Rongrong didn’t quite dare tell Shen Lishu the truth, fearing she would think she was “fantasizing” (yiyin) about her and feel disgusted. Sometimes looking back, An Rongrong felt her methods were a bit “sordid.” Binding Shen Lishu to act in this kind of sticky, emotional drama wasn’t a very honorable tactic.

But when you like someone and your head is full of thoughts about “doi-ing” her, how “pure” can you really be?

So An Rongrong only said, “I gave up my salary just to join the crew.” She wasn’t lying, she just chose to tell only a part of the truth. “Director Mao looked down on me because my acting was poor and I was a newcomer; he wasn’t willing to have me.”

When Xu Xinyou suggested An Rongrong for the second lead, Director Mao nearly jumped, refusing flatly with a gruff voice. An Rongrong looked up at Shen Lishu piteously. “It wasn’t until later, when he heard the budget wasn’t high and hiring other actors might cut into the production costs, that he reluctantly let me in.”

That was indeed something Director Mao would do.

Shen Lishu looked at An Rongrong. The girl’s black-and-white eyes were clear and beautiful, carrying an indescribable sense of grievance. So, like she said, what kind of hidden agenda could An Rongrong have? She was just a very simple child. The whole situation wasn’t as complicated as Su Lin thought.

Shen Lishu was in a good mood, especially after learning about the relationship between Xu Xinyou and An Rongrong. She took a big gulp of carrot juice. This stuff wasn’t so hard to accept once you got used to it.

“Director Mao has his own principles. If you really weren’t good enough, he’d rather not film than have you.” Shen Lishu reached out and pinched An Rongrong’s little face, speaking to comfort her.

An Rongrong was only twenty; her face was full of collagen, and it felt exceptionally good to the touch. When they first met, Shen Lishu would sigh that being young was different; now, touching An Rongrong’s smooth face, she only felt fondness. She wished she could reach out and pinch it every day! Just like An Rongrong couldn’t help pinching the butt of the Crayon Shin-chan on her phone case.

“Your aura and appearance are very suitable for Luo Yue.”

Director Mao’s big reaction back then was probably just a show for Xu Xinyou, to prevent her from stuffing more people in later. Don’t be fooled by Director Mao’s bushy eyebrows and big eyes making him look like an honest man; he had his own little schemes.

Speak of the devil.

Director Mao walked in with a heavy, low-pressure aura, his face hanging long. There was a sense of an approaching storm; everyone in the crew dodged him upon sight. Only Shen Lishu and An Rongrong sat their ground, like two petrels flying against the wind.

An Rongrong guiltily hid half her body behind Shen Lishu, feeling that Director Mao was surely going to eat her alive. A last-minute recast meant the scenes already filmed had to be reshot anyone would be irritable.

An Rongrong thought Director Mao would start by giving her a piece of his mind. Who would have thought his verbal barrage took a turn over her head and went straight for Shen Lishu?

“So much lingering over a meal! You see each other every day, what is there to talk about!” Director Mao got angry just looking at Shen Lishu. He believed the recasting of Ji Ning was Shen Lishu’s doing who else but her would cause so much trouble?

Look at how well-behaved and cute An Rongrong was; she was much more worry-free than the Best Actress! When Xu Xinyou first stuffed An Rongrong in, he thought she’d be a troublesome troublemaker. It turned out that since filming started, she was the truly honest child!

“We’re discussing the scene.” Shen Lishu’s eyes were filled with a smile; her mood wasn’t affected by Director Mao’s loud voice at all. She glanced sideways at An Rongrong, her red lips curving into a beautiful arc. “I feel like I didn’t perform well in the kiss scene last night.”

“I wonder if we could film it one more time?”

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