Chapter 4: Male Actor X Rich Female Protagonist (4)
Having said her piece, Cen Si Miao shut her eyes and waited for his response. Wu Li Chen licked his lips lightly, seemingly in thought. His head tilted down and the neckline of his shirt fell, exposing his tanned skin.
Chuckling, his throat vibrated lightly. "Cen jie is surprisingly good to me."
Cen Si Miao stared.
His eyebrows were full of seriousness, but his tone was extraordinarily gentle.
Her gaze couldn't help but still for a few more moments.
Damn these new regulations.
It had just rained heavily, and it was incredibly humid. Coupled with the heat, standing outside was like standing in a steamer, with just a little movement one would be covered in sweat.
The makeup artist's forehead was dotted with sweat as he held his makeup bag in one hand to draw makeup on for other people. Right after she put on someone's foundation, the eyeliner would smudge.
She ran around with all her might, but nobody appreciated her efforts. Some of the actors were so hot that they were irritated. Their arms were draped in the wide sleeves of ancient costumes as they made their assistants fan them. At this moment, the makeup artist's gaze drifted across them and promptly muttered under her breath, tone upset.
They were lacking in manpower, with one person assigned to three others. The makeup artist anxiously went over to the next scene's supporting actor to help him touch up his makeup. Just as she'd run over, she heard the director tell them to hurry up through his loudspeaker.
Wu Li Chen was studying his script while eating a popsicle. He was tall in stature, so sitting on a tiny stool made him look very awkward. Ever since Cen Si Miao had appeared, the number of jobs he'd taken had risen.
This time, although the television series wasn't a big one, his role was that of a cannon fodder supporting lead, obsessively liking the female lead. This scene was one where the supporting male lead would expose his true feelings and confess to the female lead—full of explosive emotion.
Ye Min Chi was wearing a gauze skirt and standing impatiently with her assistant who was holding an umbrella over her head. Seeing Yan Li Chen walk over, she was a little startled for a moment before she cleared her throat. "Let's start."
In a split second, her expression changed, becoming unreadable, and her whole body started to tremble lightly. Her eyes were filled with fiery anger as she stared at the person before her with hatred. "All of these things…You were actually the culprit behind them! Your heart is too poisonous. I'm so blind, actually letting you deceive me."
Wu Li Chen lowered his head, a bitter smile on his lips, before he raised his head to glare at her. "You think I'm cruel? Really…"
"Cut!"
The director slammed his hat down. "What is this nonsense acting."
Of course, he wasn't talking about Ye Min Chi.
Wu Li Chen went back to look over the script, furrowing his brows. He was hardworking, and when compared to other supporting actors he stood out, but when acting together with Ye Min Chi, coupled with this kind of difficult scene, he paled in comparison.
He really just couldn't get into that state of mind. This character really seemed like a madman.
How could there be such a person?
As such, during the second take, he got scolded again.
The director looked at Wu Li Chen scrutinising the script, and sighed before explaining.
"I'll tell you now, this kind of feeling is called loving and hating at the same time, his obsession is at its peak, so you should just think of something that you hate so much that your teeth itch, yet cannot get angry at due to your own feelings.
Wu Li Chen bit his lips, his expression changing subtly.
During the next take, Ye Min Chi could tell that it was slightly different. As usual, she showed the appropriate expression, but suddenly Wu Li Chen violently raised his head, his expression filled with madness and angry hatred.
His chin lifted slightly, and his tone was uncertain. "Have I ever hurt you?"
Ye Min Chi's voice unconsciously softened. "You…You've hurt Xu ge."
"What do their lives have anything to do with me?"
"You…you…”
Wu Li Chen laughed bitterly. "All you ever think about is him, yet you've never once looked at me. The last time we met was during the Hungry Ghost Festival [1]. Now it's already the middle of winter." [T/N Hungry ghost festival is in August/September]
"Cen…" His larynx moved, and he paused. "In the past you used to bully me, so naturally I'll seek revenge."
Wu Li Chen's eyes were filled with malice, almost as though he wanted to break her bones, and his whole person was brimming with the desire to hurt her. Ye Min Chi's legs felt weak, and she could only stammer her lines out.
Still, the outcome was to the director's expectations, and he only said that the two of them were a good pair.
Several people had come over to watch the footage, and Wu Li Chen's expression seemed quite difficult.
As he rested, he swiped the screen to open WeChat. In his chat with Cen Si Miao, it still showed their conversation last week.
Nothing more than a few words.
She had to be the one to find him, during other times he was not to bother her.
Wu Li Chen yawned, this person's mind was quite strange, spending lots of money only to drink water that was worth 2 dollars.
…
He had entered her chat completely by accident.
The selfie that she'd just sent had been taken in front of an art gallery, showing only half of her side profile. Her eyes were tilted towards the camera, framed by thick eyelashes, and a delicate collarbone was revealed.
Cen Si Miao hadn't contacted Wu Li Chen for the past few days on purpose, instead sending him a selfie after two days. She was hoping that his feeling of being wronged could cool down, otherwise she wouldn't be able to complete her tasks.
As for whether the painting in the gallery was good, she didn't know, but the frame was quite beautiful. Right after looking at two paintings, she'd been taken along to a store nearby to eat dessert.
That person looked very beautiful and spoke warmly. As she joked along with Cen Si Miao, she stepped into the store and saw someone. Eyes alight, she waved before walking towards her.
Cen Si Miao's expression was slightly bewildered.
Lu Qi was very affectionate. "This is my close friend, she was waiting here for us."
The, she turned to the person sitting and said, "This is someone I just met, isn't she pretty? Her name is also nice, she's called Cen Si Miao."
The person's eyes curved. "Hello, I'm Xu Senni."
Cen Si Miao smiled as she extended her hand. "It's nice to meet you."
Sitting on the sofa chair, drinking some orange juice, she smiled as she heard the two of them speak. Her mind had already gone somewhere else.
Today, she guessed that this stage had been specially set for her.
Cen Si Miao felt a little stupid.
Xu Senni suddenly changed the topic, and lowered her voice. "Does Si Miao like any of the paintings here? There's a well-known exhibition going on right now."
Lowering her head, Cen Si Miao swallowed a mouthful of orange juice, brows furrowed as she thought back, before her eyes curved and she lightly said, "What did you like best? Let's see whether both of us think alike each other."
Xu Senni unconsciously straightened her back and raised her chin, and her words seemed to carry a hint of arrogance. "All of these paintings are not bad, by my favourite is The Beast. This painting is Impressionist, yet…"
Cen Si Miao quietly listened to her, nodding from time to time, before hesitating for a while. Noticing this, Xu Senni's voice lowered a little, but she suddenly frowned out of nowhere.
Her face was quite ugly, but she held her tongue and said, "Do you disagree?"
Cen Si Miao took a deep look at her before sighing lightly. "How rare, for me to be able to meet someone so knowledgeable about paintings."
This sentence could be taken in two different ways. If Xu Senni didn't have eyes, it could've been taken as a compliment.
Lu Qi, expression unchanging, shook Xu Senni before striking up the conversation again. Her expression had darkened a few shades.
Her gaze seemingly unfocused, she pretended to lightly say, "Ah, you really did marry well, the rings you normally wear are already so large, I bet there's no need to even mention your wedding ring."
Xu Senni laughed, "Isn't it just a ring? Right now I'm not working, if he were to look elsewhere for another woman, I wouldn't even have time to cry."
Immediately, Lu Qi raised her voice. "If he dares to find a mistress, you don't need to worry, I'll help you beat him up."
Cen Si Miao was busy eating her ice cream.
"Is Si Miao married?"
She nodded.
Xu Senni's eyes curved subtly. "How does your husband treat you?"
Cen SI Miao sighed. "He's so busy that he's never at home."
Lu Qi frowned, and lowered her voice to talk to her. She should always be vigilant, and shouldn't let her own husband play around outside, otherwise it would be too late for her to even cry.
Out of the blue, Cen Si Miao suddenly opened her eyes wide, her eyes full of surprise and doubt. Lu Qi thought that she hadn't been convinced, and was about to advise her further, before hearing her speak.
"Who cares about feelings? It's fine with me that he's not at home, I can come back as late as I want, and I feel very free. Furthermore, he's always caring, and gives me lots of money to spend, so I can buy whatever I want."
Xu Senni and Lu Qi were stunned, unable to speak.
Cen Si Miao sighed. "Both of you don't know, I'm 24 this year, and he's older than me by 6 years, being together for so long doesn't really have any meaning to me. I just hope that he doesn't return."
Xu Senni felt that her throat was very dry. "But, but your husband…"
She hadn't finished her sentence before Cen Si Miao took out her bag. "Look at this, this is the newest edition, doesn't it look nice? I only had to take his card out to buy it."
"My shoes are really expensive, and I can't dirty them when it rains. I only found out when I spoilt one of them."
Xu Senni hadn't even had the chance to speak before Cen Si Miao looked at her bag. "Aiya, how are you still carrying last season's bag?"
Xu Senni's face was a bit stiff. "I, I just felt that this one looked nicer, so I decided not to change."
Cen Si Miao's sincerity could cut. "A bag loses its value after two months. Since your husband loves you so much, he definitely can't bear to see you scrimp like that."
Xu Senni dug a huge spoonful of icecream.
After returning home, Cen Si Miao's whole body felt hot, even though she'd only walked a little bit to get inside, her whole body was sweating. Lying down on the sofa, she switched the air conditioner on and unlocked her phone.
Her WeChat groups had a lot of notifications.
Turning over, she found Xu Senni's recently added WeChat ID, and told her to meet up when they had the chance to. Continuing on, she suddenly found Wu Li Chen's.
Her eyes squinted.
Her efforts in sending a selfie hadn't been wasted.
After going off work, Wu Li Chen went to bathe before he laid on his bed. He was about to close his eyes and rest, but found that he couldn't fall asleep.
Unlocking the screen, he leaned back on his pillow to look.
After a few minutes, he still hadn't reacted because he was just too tired. Suddenly, he received a WeChat notification, took a deep breath and opened it.
Cen Si Miao: Is this a convenient time to talk?
Wu Li Chen: I just returned, it's only me right now.
A minute passed, but there was nothing from the other side, and he was about to frown before he realised there was some sound coming from his phone.
Her voice was light and refreshing. "Hello?"
He was stunned for a moment before clearing his throat. "Hello, are you at home now?"
The voice coming through the speakers sounded slightly tired, and there was a spoilt tone that he hadn't noticed before, saying that the weather had been too hot today. Wu Li Chen agreed from time to time.
After the other side had stopped talking, he paused for a moment before continuing.
"How was the art gallery?"
Hearing her continue, he lowered his head and looked before taking off his belt. His phone was further away, and his breathing wasn't that heavy.
Suddenly, in front of his eyes, she appeared, lying on the sofa.
Her skin was snow white, and her cheeks were reddish, seemingly confused.
"Are you resting now?"
Cen Si Miao answered lazily. "Yes, lying on the sofa."
There was no movement from the other side.
She frowned and looked at her phone. The connection hadn't failed. "What are you doing?"
He paused. "Hand joint workout."
Hungry Ghost Festival: This happens during the seventh month of the Chinese calendar, and is also known as Zhong Yuan Jie in Chinese. It’s time where the souls of the dead roam the Earth (sort of like Halloween, or Samhain, but not really). Chinese people will offer things like incense or food to the souls of their deceased family members. Another thing that goes on is getai, where performers will sing and dance to entertain the souls of the deceased. Gauze skirt that Ye Min Chi was wearingA little late, but fourth chapter of the week! Got japanese with a friend yesterday and it was hands down amazing I love japanese food.