The Fake Daughter is a Max-Level Green Tea [Transmigrated into a Book] - Chapter 38

Chapter 38: Truth or Dare Is Too Risky

The first scene wasn’t highly difficult. Even Lu Chaoqing, who lacked formal training and acting experience, passed after only two NGs (No-Goods). Lin Chumu, on the other hand, didn’t make a single mistake and was able to lead and guide Lu Chaoqing throughout the entire process.

Lu Chaoqing hadn’t known much about Lin Chumu’s professional skills before, but during their actual scene, she realized the vast difference between someone who “crammed” and someone with professional training. It felt as if Lin Chumu held an invisible thread, unconsciously pulling at Lu Chaoqing’s every move; even the reaction of a racing heart seemed to fall exactly into place within her calculations.

Initially, Lu Chaoqing was trying her best to “perform,” but gradually she completely immersed herself in the role of Xiang Yunchen—the sensation of seeing a long-awaited beam of light walking toward her just as she was being abandoned by the world.

There were inherent similarities between Xu Mulin and Lin Chumu. Both were high-born young ladies of prestigious families who were meant to have a smooth life, flourishing under the shade of their family backgrounds. Their lives weren’t supposed to be tainted by filth so early on, yet Xu Mulin still walked toward Xiang Yunchen in her most helpless moment, extending an olive branch of unique tenderness and care.

Even though she didn’t know that this weak, isolated girl’s previous attempt to warn her about her brother was actually because she liked her.

The world in the script was different from reality; views on homosexuality there remained stuck in the outdated mindset of decades ago. While it wasn’t considered a pathology, it still faced many strange and speculative gazes.

Xiang Yunchen could only hide her sexual orientation. While many girls loudly and passionately expressed their love for the “sunny school grass” (popular boys) on the sports field, she could only secretly watch as those boys pursued her senior. Although Xu Mulin never responded and always rejected them with gentle firmness, the boys only received well-meaning teases in return.

Lu Chaoqing was sucking on a jelly pouch while memorizing her lines. she had a soft spot for sweet, soft, transparent foods like jelly and ice jelly; if she didn’t have to watch her weight, she’d want them for every meal. The sweet pear juice slowly entered her mouth. Her straight bangs were a bit in the way, so she had pinned them back with a clip.

Now the plot had shifted to the main leads, and Fang Qiuqi and Qiao Shuo were acting together. Even though the two looked like they belonged to different worlds when standing apart, they had an inexplicably strong “CP” (couple) chemistry when together. It didn’t feel like acting; they felt like a real young couple.

In the backlight, Qiao Shuo’s features looked as if they were exquisitely traced by a paintbrush, highlighted by shadows. This top-tier idol was flawless in terms of height, physique, and looks, often called a “masterpiece of the gods” by fans and passersby alike. Fang Qiuqi’s cold yet vivid beauty matched him perfectly—like the fiery collision of two suns, sparking countless flames at first glance.

Lu Chaoqing stared intently at the two while sucking on her jelly. When she saw Qiao Shuo reach out with his long, slender fingers to wipe something off the corner of Fang Qiuqi’s lips, she couldn’t help but smile, not even understanding where this excitement came from. Seeing Fang Qiuqi retreat a few steps in slight surprise made Lu Chaoqing’s shoulders shake with silent laughter.

The next second, her lap suddenly felt empty. Lu Chaoqing quickly looked down, only to see the woman’s fair, slender hand taking away the acting book spread across her knees.

Having stepped out of her character, Lin Chumu no longer possessed her previous tenderness. She handed her a tissue expressionlessly: “Wipe your drool; it’s about to drip onto the book.”

Lu Chaoqing hurriedly reached out to wipe her lips, but only ended up smudging her already messy lipstick. She looked up at Lin Chumu with dissatisfaction. However, the woman just burst into a smile and sat down beside her, her long legs stretching out: “What? You looked like a big bad wolf while observing the scene, your eyes glued to them. Are you looking at the handsome guy or the beautiful girl?”

Lu Chaoqing swallowed the “looking at both” that was on the tip of her tongue. Suddenly realizing this was a brilliant chance to farm favorability, she shamelessly began to spout “rainbow farts” (extravagant praise): “Handsome guys and beautiful girls aren’t nearly as good-looking as Senior; Senior is the one most to my liking.”

Lin Chumu didn’t fall for it at all. Instead, using Xu Mulin’s voice, she softened her tone slightly, narrating what she had just seen in a gentle, steady cadence. She leaned her head closer to Lu Chaoqing. The rock Lin Chumu sat on happened to be lower than Lu Chaoqing’s, immediately creating a posture where their shoulders were nearly touching, close enough to feel each other’s breath: “Is that so? But your eyes were practically stapled to them.”

This was the first time Lu Chaoqing had ever heard Lin Chumu use a voice that could arguably be called “coquettish.” Unlike the cheesiness she had imagined, the woman’s voice was incredibly natural. The slightly low-pitched tone perfectly conveyed disappointment and displeasure, yet it wasn’t aggressive at all. Looking at her from such a short distance, the soft and simple makeup made her whole face look much younger, losing its usual maturity and stability.

The coquetry of a “Big Sister” was the most lethal.

Even though the perfectly handled tone was clearly part of her character-immersion acting, Lu Chaoqing found she really couldn’t handle it. Despite mentally despising herself for being so weak-willed, her small hand had already honestly reached out to try and put an arm around the other’s shoulder—

In the next second, however, all expression vanished from the woman’s face, returning to her normal self. Lu Chaoqing’s hand didn’t have time to land; it hung awkwardly in mid-air. Unable to move forward or retreat, her face flushed red. After a pause, she pretended to stretch, arching her arms back.

Lin Chumu had only intended to tease her, but seeing this, she couldn’t help but laugh. It was as if a “laughter trigger” had been flipped; it was normal at first, but then she burst into a loud laugh, her shoulders shaking as she buried her face in her knees. This was the first time Lu Chaoqing had seen her laugh like this since they met.

The young girl couldn’t help but feel a bit of “shame-turned-to-anger”: “I was immersing myself in the emotion and character for acting!”

She was playing Xiang Yunchen! Seeing her favorite senior acting coquettishly toward her, she would naturally want to touch her—isn’t that just human nature? Besides, in this Yuri line, Xiang Yunchen was actually the more “dominant” one; she was a “white-cut-black” (appears innocent but is calculating), which would gradually be revealed in later chapters.

Lu Chaoqing was left at a loss by Lin Chumu’s exaggerated reaction. Seeing her expression gradually becoming aggrieved, Lin Chumu finally pulled herself out of her laughter and quickly apologized.

“I didn’t mean anything by it. I just thought it was a bit funny that my first time acting as a couple would be with my… sister,” Lin Chumu explained.

Lu Chaoqing didn’t notice the tinge of red on those fair earlobes; she was focused on the explanation, but she was clearly dissatisfied with it. From their first meeting, she had never considered Lin Chumu her sister, and she believed Lin Chumu couldn’t possibly view her as a sister either.

Especially given the “fire and water” relationship between the original owner and Lin Chumu. If they had contact before, with the original owner’s personality, she definitely wouldn’t have treated Lin Chumu as a sister. This awkward, perfunctory excuse was better left unsaid.

“But I’m not your biological sister, this line of thinking is dangerous!” Lu Chaoqing said seriously. “You are the daughter of Mom and Dad. Between you and me, and between me and Mom and Dad, there is actually no blood relation. You can’t really treat me like a sister.”

She actually wanted to say that if Lin Chumu really treated her like a sister, the previous ambiguity between them would make her feel lost. Moreover, when she eventually leaves, what would happen if Lin Chumu missed this “sister”? But the first reason couldn’t be said, and the second reason felt presumptuous, so Lu Chaoqing shut her mouth.

Lin Chumu: “Then why do you keep calling me ‘Sister’ (Jie)?”

Lu Chaoqing: “That’s not… ‘Sister’ (Jiejie) and ‘Jie’ are different. I haven’t called you ‘Jie’.”

Her voice grew smaller toward the end, but then she thought of something and spoke up: “By the way, from now on, I won’t call you ‘Sister’ except in front of Mom and Dad. Let’s change the title!”

“Call you Xiao Lin? Chumu? Chumu-jie?”

Lin Chumu froze for a moment, and a nostalgic look quickly flashed through her eyes, hidden away instantly. She pursed her thin lips and suddenly interrupted Lu Chaoqing: “If you really must call me something, call me ‘Chuchu.’ Actually… the name my parents gave me before was Chuchu.”

In fact, these “parents” were from her previous world. In Lin Chumu’s former world, she didn’t like the meaning of “Chuchu-dongren” (pitiable and moving) nor did she like such a cliché name that easily overlapped with others. After starting school, she discussed it with her parents and changed the last character of her name to “Mu.”

So her former parents used to call her “Chuchu” as a nickname. Now, she was the only one who knew that name. For some reason, Lin Chumu felt like sharing it with Lu Chaoqing now. Perhaps it was simply because when she was thinking of names, she thought of the homophone shifting loyalties; their names were quite fated.

Lu Chaoqing immediately started using it: “Then Chuchu, Chuchu-jie~”

Lin Chumu: “…”

She felt a bit strange hearing Lu Chaoqing call her that. Just as she was about to ask her to change back, a sudden warmth hit her face. Lu Chaoqing had pecked her on the cheek like a little chick, without any ulterior motive, simply expressing her happiness.

“I didn’t mean to offend Chuchu-jie, I just really like it when people open their hearts to me like this.”

Lu Chaoqing knew she could be very emotional at times, but after twenty years of this habit, there was really no way around it. The moment Lin Chumu told her her nickname, she could clearly feel the other party dropping her guard. At least in this moment, there was no suspicion or calculation between them; they were treating each other with sincerity.

She didn’t worry about favorability or intentionally flirt; satisfied, she released Lin Chumu’s neck after the kiss and ran off. Only the woman was left standing there, her gaze fixed on her retreating back for a long, long time.

Perhaps the incense lit during the opening ceremony worked; today’s weather was crisp and the progress was efficient. They not only finished the first part but even did a bit extra. Ji Xiuyuan was so happy he couldn’t stop praising the leads and the well-performing supporting actors.

Qiao Shuo played some LOL (League of Legends) with everyone in the evening before going to his room to write songs. Fang Qiuqi wanted to play a couple more rounds, but left when she realized there weren’t enough people. The only remaining actors from the main group were Zhao Qifei, Lin Chumu, and Lu Chaoqing.

Zhao Qifei wasn’t old—a newcomer who hadn’t been in the industry long. It was fine when Qiao Shuo was there, but once he left, he was the only boy present. He felt a bit embarrassed, so he made an excuse and slipped away quickly.

Only Lu Chaoqing and Lin Chumu were left in the meeting room that served as a lounge. While playing games earlier, Lu Chaoqing noticed that Lin Chumu didn’t seem to know how to play MOBA games. During team fights, five out of ten of her Nine-Tailed Fox’s skills would hit the minions, and she didn’t seem very interested. But since they finished work early and it was only ten o’clock, young people with “night owl” habits definitely couldn’t sleep if they went back now.

The two couldn’t play cards or Mahjong, and if she didn’t know LOL, she probably didn’t know PUBG either. So Lu Chaoqing suggested playing “Truth or Dare,” a game almost everyone knows.

“We’ll pick Truth or Dare randomly. If a Truth is no good, we do a Dare. If something is truly impossible—like confessing to the director—we skip it. How about it? But no cheating, we can’t skip punishments just because it’s only the two of us!”

Lu Chaoqing took out the cards on the table and shuffled them. she noticed the meeting room was quite well-equipped.

Lin Chumu didn’t have anything to do back at her room; her company affairs had long been handed over, and she was currently in a state of focusing solely on filming. Since she didn’t usually follow dramas or variety shows, she readily agreed to Lu Chaoqing’s little game.

But Lin Chumu soon regretted it.

She never imagined she could be this unlucky.

Their “Truth or Dare” involved comparing dice rolls. Even if Lu Chaoqing rolled a low number like 1+2 and was ready to answer a question, Lin Chumu would somehow pull off a 1+1 to “save” her. By the fifth round, Lin Chumu had already answered four questions, and her mindset was starting to crumble.

“Sixth round…”

Lu Chaoqing rolled a 2+2 first.

The dice clattered inside the transparent plastic box. Both pairs of eyes watched intently as the spinning dice finally came to a stop with two “6s” facing up—an unprecedented stroke of luck for Lin Chumu.

For a moment, Lu Chaoqing felt the person opposite her wanted to jump up in excitement, only restraining herself for the sake of her image. The corners of Lin Chumu’s mouth curled up uncontrollably as she drew a card from the pile and handed it over.

“Please bite the earlobe of the person closest to you for ten seconds. No laughing allowed during this time~”