"...Mm...Ruihuan...very beautiful." Lin Ruijiao swallowed hard, burying her head even deeper, not daring to look at the other woman. How could she be so foolish at a time like this? How had she failed to notice such stupidity? Her eyes flashed with dissatisfaction and regret.
In Ye Ruihuan's eyes, this performance meant that the clueless flower vase had finally learned to cling to powerful thighs and throw herself at her. However, she had absolutely no interest in Lin Ruijiao's petite frame.
Ye Ruihuan smiled without responding, then withdrew her gaze and asked, "Why are you at the set so early? Isn't it not time for your scenes yet?"
"Yes, I came early to learn. This is a great learning opportunity, and I don't have anything else to do anyway." Lin Ruijiao answered honestly.
"Fair enough... What did you learn today? Act out a scene from today's plot for me to see." Ye Ruihuan said casually.
As her words landed, Lin Ruijiao froze. Had the sun risen in the west? When had Ye Ruihuan ever been this kind in her previous life?
This was really difficult. She was just an ordinary extra now, without any of the acting experience from her previous life. She would have to put on an act for now.
She looked down, thinking about the scenes the two leads had performed today. This material was somewhat challenging for her in this lifetime—she had never handled such a role before, or rather, she had never had the opportunity to portray a complete character. So she would have to hold back for now.
"Pick any scene you like." Seeing her hesitation, Ye Ruihuan got up to pour herself a glass of red wine. The crimson liquid swayed in the goblet, dancing along with her current cheerful mood.
"Alright, then I'll perform the female lead's reaction after the male lead confesses to her." After speaking, Lin Ruijiao stood up and began to prepare.
She then showed a slightly panicked expression, her eyes jumping with excitement, as she gestured frantically toward Ye Ruihuan: "...You...how can you do this? We can't have puppy love."
Ye Ruihuan leaned against the bar counter, her flawless white arms resting on top, her other hand swirling the wine glass. Under the warm yellow light, the smile on her face was ambiguously mysterious.
"That's it?" She tilted her head back and took a small sip, the mellow wine flavor spreading through her mouth.
Lin Ruijiao swallowed. "That's it." Even if she had the ability, she couldn't show it now, especially not to Ye Ruihuan. At this moment, she was just someone with limited acting skills...
Ye Ruihuan beckoned to her. "You really can't have puppy love." The smile spread across her face like wine's fragrance. "And you can't drink either."
Lin Ruijiao: ... She had no intention of dating anyway.
Bathed in the warm-toned light, standing beside Ye Ruihuan, Lin Ruijiao inexplicably felt that she seemed somewhat gentle right now... The usual cold and proud Director Ye seemed to have disappeared... Her skin is so beautiful, Lin Ruijiao couldn't help thinking as she stared at her.
Ye Ruihuan's throat bobbed as she swallowed the wine in her mouth, a flush gradually spreading across her face. She set down the glass and turned around to face Lin Ruijiao with a smile. "The direction is right, but your acting really is terrible."
The wine's aroma spread freely. Ye Ruihuan's face was slightly flushed, even her smile was intoxicating. But her words were as brutally direct as always, striking right at the heart.
All of Lin Ruijiao's scattered thoughts were instantly swept away, her mood plummeting to rock bottom, ice cold. Even though this performance was deliberately poor, she didn't want to hear such words from Ye Ruihuan's mouth. She pressed her lips together, most of the smile disappearing from her face.
"Don't worry, with me here, I won't let you go out and embarrass our Huarui Entertainment." Ye Ruihuan's lips curved up confidently.
"...Mm-hmm." Lin Ruijiao, feeling speechless inside, could only nod helplessly.
"In this scene, just smiling isn't enough to show the character's full emotional range—your expressions are completely insufficient." Ye Ruihuan critiqued professionally, very expertly.
Then she changed her expression, slightly furrowing her brow while her lips couldn't help but curve upward, her eyes showing three parts hesitation and seven parts joy. After a moment, she said with complex emotions: "...You...how can you do this? We can't have puppy love."
Lin Ruijiao kept her eyes wide open throughout, not missing any expression on Ye Ruihuan's face. After watching, she couldn't help but nod—Ye Ruihuan's acting was indeed excellent.
"See?" Ye Ruihuan smiled suddenly, her expression returning to her normal self. Her delicate jade hand picked up the goblet again, the deep red liquid making her skin appear snow-white.
Smelling this rich wine fragrance, Lin Ruijiao nodded again, her head seeming somewhat unclear. She blinked with confused, innocent eyes, looking as if she were half-drunk.
Those round eyes looked incredibly innocent, carrying a misty gleam. When Ye Ruihuan lifted her eyelids to look, she accidentally fell into those clear eyes, drowning in them, unable to extricate herself.
After a long while, she finally turned away and took a sip of wine. "You should study the script more and research your character thoroughly." Her clear voice unconsciously took on a hint of hoarseness.
"Okay, thank you, Ruihuan." Lin Ruijiao thanked her perfunctorily.
"Heh..." This little rabbit... "Alright, you can go. I'm tired." Ye Ruihuan looked down at the nearly empty red wine in her glass, which reflected her unclear expression.
"Okay, I'm leaving." After saying this, Lin Ruijiao left without looking back.
Ye Ruihuan swirled her wine glass, the emotions in her eyes scattering along with the liquid. Time to sleep, she was getting a bit dizzy...
Back in her own room, Lin Ruijiao somehow suddenly felt that Ye Ruihuan in this lifetime was actually much better—she had even given her acting guidance. But still, it was better to keep her distance from this person.
The next day, Ye Ruihuan left the hotel early in the morning. Before leaving, Assistant Li specifically said goodbye to the director, solemnly expressing hope that he would take care of Huarui Entertainment's Zhou Yanyan and Lin Ruijiao. She also secretly sent a message to Zhou Yanyan: Take good care of the company's newcomer on set. These could be considered Ye Ruihuan's "rewards" for Lin Ruijiao.
After a sleepless night followed by sound sleep, Ye Ruihuan couldn't stop smiling on the return journey, looking extremely happy.
Assistant Li could see everything clearly through the rearview mirror: I bet right! It seems this Miss Lin is someone who listens to advice!
Lin Ruijiao still stayed on set every day, but her treatment on the crew was much better than before. Sister Zhou even shared her rest room, and not only that, the attitudes of other crew members toward her had obviously improved significantly—probably out of respect for Ye Ruihuan. The director also occasionally called her over to explain scenes and guide her acting.
Lin Ruijiao didn't pay much attention to these things, simply following the crew's arrangements and learning as much as possible. She only wanted to act well now. But undeniably, Ye Ruihuan had brought her many conveniences. Sister Wang beside her was extremely happy—signing with Huarui Entertainment was truly a great decision! Even Ruijiao's status had been elevated. In short, Lin Ruijiao was now living fulfillingly and comfortably on set.
But on the other side, Ye Ruihuan's happiness only lasted a few days before she started having dreams again. One day she'd have erotic dreams filled with Lin Ruijiao's figure, with the other woman seducing and tempting her as they entwined together; the next day she'd have nightmares with Lin Ruijiao still as the protagonist, though the specific events remained unclear—only the heart-wrenching pain left a deep impression...
Alternating dreams every other day, Ye Ruihuan felt she was on the verge of a mental breakdown. She didn't even like this substitute flower vase that much—why were all her dreams about her? How strange!
Outside, rain pattered quietly, creating a desolate atmosphere. Lying on her home sofa, Ye Ruihuan couldn't help but shiver. Just to be safe, she should contact that little rabbit.
This little rabbit too—after so many days, she hadn't even tried to show herself in front of her, so foolish... And what was that about "you look good"! Women's words really were lies.
Thinking of the dream where the other woman looked coquettish, leaning close to her with red lips parting, Ye Ruihuan felt somewhat parched. This was really seeing ghosts! The entertainment circle was full of beauties—why this little girl? Ye Ruihuan really couldn't figure out what about her was attractive...
Thinking this, Ye Ruihuan dialed her number.
At this moment, Lin Ruijiao was lying in bed studying the script, writing a character biography for her role. When her phone suddenly rang, she saw it was an unknown number and hung up.
Soon after, her phone rang again. She happened to be stuck on the character biography anyway, so she picked up her phone to look. It was a WeChat friend request with the note: I'm Ye Ruihuan.
Seeing these words, Lin Ruijiao's hand trembled as she accidentally hit accept. What did she want by reaching out? This lifetime's Ye Ruihuan was really abnormal.
Ye Ruihuan: [Not answering calls?]
These words made Lin Ruijiao's eyelid twitch. So that was Ye Ruihuan calling earlier—how troublesome.
[No... my phone showed unknown number...]
Lin Ruijiao hurriedly explained, adding an apologetic emoji.
Ye Ruihuan: [Hmph]
Just as Lin Ruijiao was preparing to reply, a video chat popup appeared. She couldn't help but swallow—this was really putting her in a difficult position. She couldn't exactly hit reject... After hesitating for a moment, she tremblingly hit accept.