Chapter 353: Sister Shuang Is Here; Go Hide In The Guest Room First.
There were two layers of meaning in Changqing’s words and both of them were possibilities.
As for the latter possibility, she hadn’t done it with other men before, so there was nothing to compare. Besides, she was so timid last night that she didn’t dare to take a look.
However, if it was the first possibility, she would be unhappy. She’d rather that it was the latter possibility. Actually, there was nothing bad about that.
Just as her thoughts were running wild, Ge Shuang called. “Are you up yet? Hurry up. I’ll come over to fetch you in half an hour.”
Sister Shuang was coming to fetch her? Duoyao clambered up in fright and washed up in a rush before going downstairs. There was an aromatic fragrance wafting out from the kitchen.
She went over and saw Yan Molun holding a frying pan, stirring the spaghetti inside. He heard movement and turned his head to look at her. “I saw a packet of spaghetti in your house so I cooked it for breakfast. You’re okay with that, right?”
“Oh, yes.” Duoyao nodded. Her stomach happened to be rumbling. It was great to have a boyfriend. Otherwise, she would be too lazy to cook noodles and usually just made some hard-boiled eggs at home.
Yan Molun was about done and lifted the pan up to split the noodles into two plates. After that, he fried two sunny-side ups with runny yolks.
While Duoyao was waiting at the side, she couldn’t help but glance at his pants and started to let her imagination take flight to where it shouldn’t.
“Done.” Yan Molun turned around. “Why are you spacing out?”
“I’m not spacing out.” She turned her face away as she blushed embarrassedly, taking the plates to the dining room. She took a bite. It wasn’t bad. As expected from someone who survived overseas.
“Did you sleep well last night?” Yan Molun smiled gently.
Duoyao’s fork trembled. After a while, the corner of her lips twitched. “I slept pretty well.” Well my foot. I was dreaming the entire night.
“That’s great.” Yan Molun smiled. “Are you coming back today?”
“I don’t know.” Duoyao was bewildered. “Why do you not seem busy at all?”
“When I’m busy, I’m very busy, but when I’m free, I’m very free,” Yan Molun said lightly.
Duoyao ate pretty quickly. When she finished the last spaghetti noodle, the doorbell rang. She shuddered. “Oh no. Sister Shuang is here; go hide in the guest room first.”
Yan Molun frowned, obviously unhappy about what she said.
“Sister Changqing is my manager. She doesn’t allow me to be in a relationship. You agreed to not announce it.” After a while, her phone rang. Duoyao pushed Yan Molun to the guest room.
“Aye, I can stay here, but I want my reward next time,” Yan Molun said angrily.
“Alright, alright.” Duoyao closed the door. She picked up the call while she cleared the plates.
“Duoyao, I’m at your doorstep. Why aren’t you opening the door? Don’t tell me you’re still sleeping,” Ge Shuang said.
“No, I was in the toilet.” When Duoyao ran to the door, she saw the men’s shoes by the door and stuffed them into the cabinet quickly.
She opened the door to the gate hurriedly and Ge Shuang walked in wearing her heels. When she saw the Mercedes in the courtyard, she frowned. “There’s someone in your house?”
“No, I bought it recently,” Duoyao said awkwardly. “I found the sports car I had previously was too flamboyant. It’s not that great, so I bought a slightly low-profile Mercedes. That way, I won’t attract any attention when I go out.”
“That’s better.” Ge Shuang nodded and didn’t probe further. However, when she saw Duoyao’s style of dress, she got angry. “Why are you dressed like this? Change now and get out of the house. Don’t tell me you want Director Xi Bolai to wait for you?”
“Oh, oh, oh.” Duoyao rushed upstairs immediately. Because she was afraid Ge Shuang would wander around, she basically rushed down while putting on her clothes.
Ge Shuang came out of the kitchen with a sharp gaze. “Didn’t you just wake up when I called you? How did you have the time to make noodles?”
“I made them myself after your call,” Duoyao said, pretending to be calm. Hopefully, Ge Shuang wouldn’t discover the plates she hid.
“Aren’t you usually very lazy and would rather eat out than eat at home? How did you manage to cook so quickly?” Ge Shuang was a little suspicious. Managers were usually very sensitive about their artistes dating. She used to have many artistes dating privately behind her back. Besides, she found Duoyao’s recent attitude towards Kang Anhe a little strange.
“I was famished.” Duoyao pouted. “Let’s go. Didn’t you say we shouldn’t let Xi Bolai wait too long?”
Ge Shuang nodded and left with Duoyao.
They took Ge Shuang’s car and on the way, Duoyao was pretty nervous. “Sister Shuang, I don’t even know what Xi Bolai wants to film and you haven’t even shown me the script. Will I get chosen if I just go like this?”
“Xi Bolai has always chosen his actors based on the aura they exude. I think there’s a high chance. When we contacted him, he agreed immediately. In the past, we never had it so easy, so there’s only one possibility—he must’ve watched the movies you shot in the past and he’s very satisfied with you,” Ge Shuang said with a smile.
...
When the two of them arrived at the designated hotel, Xi Bolai had already been waiting for a while. Xi Bolai was a famous overseas director. His movies had won several major awards and those that didn’t win any awards were also nominated.
Duoyao shook hands with Xi Bolai. She said agitatedly, “I’ve watched the movies you directed, especially the film Return that you directed in 1998. Our teacher in university often mentioned it as teaching material.”
Xi Bolai chuckled. “Do you know what film I want to direct next?”
Duoyao shook her head.
Xi Bolai passed her a book. When Duoyao saw the title, she became even more agitated. This was the hottest-selling mystery novel in the past three years. It swept up all major awards within its first year of publication and took the champion spot for two months in a row in the New York Times. She had read this book before and it was still fresh in her memory. “I’ve read this book before.”
“What do you think of the female lead?” Xi Bolai asked with a smile.
Duoyao scratched the back of her head embarrassedly. “I find her pretty pitiful. Although she’s an evil and vicious character in the entire book, she was just forced by society then. No one’s entirely right or entirely wrong. If I were to take on her character, I would make her a loveable and hateful character.”
“That’s very difficult to balance.” Xi Bolai raised his brows. “You would be able to pull it off. From my knowledge, your past roles have all been idol-like characters. This is the real test of your acting skills and might even tear apart your image as an idol completely.”
Duoyao became even more agitated as she listened to him. “But as an actor, isn’t the most important thing bringing your character to life? Our teacher once told us that he taught us acting not so that we could become idols but to make us become outstanding actors.”
“Ruan Yang also told me that. I heard you two were taught by the same teacher,” Xi Bolai said with a smile.
“You know Ruan Yang?” Duoyao was very agitated.
“I met her once in an award ceremony in the States.” Xi Bolai nodded. “She’s the actress I admire the most out of the younger generation. I hope you don’t mind me saying that.”
“Of course not. Ruan Yang and I are very good friends.” Duoyao was very happy that someone would praise Ruan Yang like that. Ever since the incident with Xin Ziao, the public had been scoffing at the mention of her name. There were very few people who remembered that she had once put in a lot of effort into the creation of art.
“I have a very good impression of her,” Xi Bolai said. “One of my friends worked with her once and I heard she once did 20 retakes in the Northern winter all for a shot. Even the director and staff couldn’t take it, but she kept persevering. When she finished the shot, she fainted from the cold straight away. She doesn’t allow for any flaws in her movies and she uses her soul to sculpt every single character. It’s such a pity that women often fail in the face of love. To be honest, even the older generation of actors might not be on par with her when it comes to acting. She really shouldn’t have left this industry. Her life should be dedicated to the arts.”
Duoyao was stunned. She was totally unaware that Ruan Yang had once pushed herself to do these kinds of things. She had never heard Ruan Yang talk about it before. How much had she been keeping from them?
“Yeah, she shouldn’t have left,” she said softly.
Xi Bolai lamented, “Actually, the first person I thought about for the female lead was her. I contacted her several times but she rejected me. After that, she recommended someone to me and that person was you. I’ve specifically watched some of your movies. Pardon me for being too honest, but I think you still can’t be compared to be Ruan Yang. However, you’re already not bad among the current popular artistes.”
Duoyao was stunned. So Ruan Yang mentioned her to Xi Bolai.
“I only wanted to see you today and pass you the script. You can have a good look at it and study it. We’ll meet in Shanghai at the end of the month then you can choose a segment to perform for me then. If I like it, we’ll sign the contract.” Xi Bolai shook her hand once again.
...
When she walked out of the hotel, Ge Shuang said with a smile, “Ruan Yang isn’t bad indeed. She even gave you such a chance in the end. You have to grab hold of this chance.”
Duoyao was already so agitated that she couldn’t calm herself down. She took out her phone and called Ruan Yang. “I met up with Director Xi Bolai and he told me that you recommended me to him.”
“I didn’t purposely recommend you to him; I just mentioned you casually.” Ruan Yang yawned. “You’re pretty immoral to call me in the middle of the night.”
“I’m sorry, it’s almost noon over here,” Duoyao said seriously. “Actually, you shouldn’t have rejected this role; you’ve worked so hard for films. Xi Bolai told me you once fainted after braving the Northern winter cold and doing 20 retakes. Why didn’t you tell us about something so drastic? You keep everything from us.”
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