Chapter 35: I Like The Person I Like To Kiss Me
This translation is originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
Feng Tangtang had no idea about the "entanglement" between medicated oil and plasters. She was quite confused and busy eating. Then she remembered something and said, "Sister Xi, Mr. Lu mentioned that some fans will visit tomorrow. Can you tell me what time is convenient for you?"
Ruan Yesheng looked at her and asked: "Why are fans visiting so early? Did the crew announce it? Lu Qingming didn't tell me."
Feng Tangtang shook her head: "The official announcement will come in a week, but the photos from when we started filming have already spread online. Many fans know you're the female lead of Sui Ting. Some fan club leaders contacted Mr. Lu and asked if it would be convenient for them to come and see you in the next few days."
There are many types of fan visits. The most unpopular one is that a small group of people would come without notice, gather around the set, or sneak backstage. This not only makes it difficult for the actors but also causes unnecessary trouble for the production crew. Many celebrities have encountered such situations.
However, Xi Mo's larger fan clubs are very disciplined. Lu Qingming also arranges for his assistants to communicate with their leaders, discussing any activities in advance. After getting Xi Mo's opinion, they arrange feasible ones, taking care of the fans' desire to get close to their idol and avoiding any trouble.
In terms of interaction between Xi Mo and fans, Lu Qingming, a gold medal manager, has always done a good job.
Ruan Yesheng, upon hearing this, glanced at Xi Mo, who remained silent, calmly sipping her soup. Ruan Yesheng turned to Feng Tangtang and said, "I understand. I'll talk to Lu Qingming later. Let's continue with our meal."
Feng Tangtang nodded and picked up the bowl again.
The three of them gathered at the small table and ate for a while. Ruan Yesheng picked up a piece of braised pork ribs with her chopsticks and placed it in Xi Mo's bowl very naturally: "This is quite delicious."
Xi Mo stared blankly at the ribs in the bowl: "..."
Ruan Yesheng saw that she seemed to be frightened, and felt a little urge to laugh, but also regretted her abruptness. Since Feng Tangtang was present, she couldn't show her true feelings. She immediately took back the braised pork ribs and said in a nonchalant tone: "I forgot that you have severe mysophobia, sorry."
Xi Mo watched the piece of ribs come and go: "..."
Feng Tangtang was also frightened.
She knew that the relationship between her Sister Xi and Ruanruan was obviously much better now, and they were often together on and off the camera, but she never expected that her Sister Xi would take the initiative to pick up food for Ruanruan to eat.
...Although she took it back later.
Xi Mo ate in silence for a while, then picked up a piece of ribs and put it in Ruan Yesheng's bowl.
Then she looked at her: "Do you have mysophobia?"
Ruan Yesheng's eyes were filled with smiles and she said, "It depends on the person."
After saying that, she started eating the ribs in the bowl with peace of mind.
Feng Tangtang was even more surprised.
She and Ruanruan have known each other for a while. Ruanruan is indeed very tidy. She likes to clean and tidy up when she has nothing to do. But if you insist on being mysophobic, it is only mild. It is just a normal love of cleanliness. On the contrary, her Sister Xi has a severe mysophobia, after all, Sister Xi is too particular.
Why is it reversed now?
As slow as Feng Tangtang, she could not understand the situation in front of her at all.
She even felt some inexplicable and subtle aura surging on the small dining table, and suddenly felt that she should not be there, but should be under the table.
After dinner, Feng Tangtang packed up and left. Ruan Yesheng took this opportunity to ask Xi Mo: "What do you think of this fan visit? Do you need me to agree to it for you?"
Xi Mo was sitting and looking at her phone. When she heard Ruan Yesheng, she closed the page and put away her phone. She turned to look at her and said, "You can just decide. You don't need to ask me."
People nowadays are too reliant on their phones. Whether on the street, in the company, in restaurants, or even at home, there are always people looking at electronic devices, and many people respond to others while half-heartedly glancing at their phones. Real-life communication is becoming less and less common.
Ruan Yesheng saw Xi Mo put away her phone to talk to her. She noticed Xi Mo's respect for her from this small gesture, and couldn't help feeling warm in her heart.
Yes, from the time she got to know her a long time ago until now, Xi Mo has always been like this.
Even if the outside world says how proud and difficult to serve she is, that's because they don't truly understand her.
She's always well-mannered and has her unique gentleness.
But even though she thought she understood her, why did she always argue with her and say things that upset her in the past?
In the end, it was because she was too weak deep inside.
She was afraid of rejection from Xi Mo, afraid that if Xi Mo found out, she would avoid her. So, she deliberately wove a coat filled with thorns to disguise herself, engaging in heated arguments to catch Xi Mo's attention while making it difficult for her to discern her true intentions. It was as if staying by her side in this ridiculous way was enough.
So childish.
Ruan Yesheng curled her lips, smiled softly, and sat next to Xi Mo.
She didn't want to be weak anymore.
She didn't want to be childish anymore.
No need for masks anymore.
Xi Mo is just great.
She's so wonderful, and she simply wants to be close to her.
"I'm living as you now, so of course I have to ask you how you feel. If there are things you don't want to do, but I did it on your behalf, that wouldn't be appropriate." Ruan Yesheng said.
"You have a good sense of propriety," Xi Mo replied calmly. "I trust you."
Ruan Yesheng was stunned.
This translation is originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
After a moment of pause, Ruan Yesheng said with a smile: "At the beginning, you were so worried and wanted to follow me around, fearing I might tarnish your public image."
Xi Mo glanced sideways at her and said in a muffled voice: "That was then, this is now. Understanding between people takes time. Now that I know you, my perception of you naturally changes. I'm not a block of wood."
"You are a block of wood."
Ruan Yesheng's voice was soft, with a hint of vague annoyance, but also a little helplessness.
Xi Mo: "..."
It's unclear whether the current atmosphere is making Xi Mo feel strange, but she quickly changed the topic, "You can have Lu Qingming arrange the fan meeting for tomorrow. It's the weekend, and it's not easy for them to come. Daytime would affect the filming of the crew, and it's not safe to go back too late at night, so let's schedule it after dinner. They can have dinner and then go backstage at the set."
Ruan Yesheng's eyes flickered a little: "Okay."
Xi Mo was afraid that she might not be familiar with her previous interactions with fans, explained in detail, "Usually, the fans that Lu Qingming arranges for fan meetings are quite well-behaved. You don't need to be nervous, they won't have any unreasonable demands. Just try to cooperate as much as possible to avoid making them sad."
Ruan Yesheng pretended to be anxious, "What if they want to kiss my face? Should I let them? Do I need to cooperate with that?"
Xi Mo: "..."
Do you know what excessive demands are?
"This falls into the category of 'excessive demands'." Xi Mo rubbed her eyebrows: "Excessive demands cannot be accommodated. They won't do something offensive like that."
Ruan Yesheng nodded with a smile, "I understand, you don't like others kissing you."
Nonsense.
Xi Mo wanted to roll her eyes internally but maintained her composure on the surface, "Do you like it if someone kisses you?"
Ruan Yesheng smiled: "I like the person I like to kiss me."
Xi Mo: "..."
Ruan Yesheng asked again, "What if someone really kissed you? What would you do?"
Xi Mo smirked, "I don't like others kissing me, and I doubt anyone would have the guts either."
"What if the person you like kisses you?"
"I don't have anyone I like. No one has ever kissed me."
Ruan Yesheng smiled and said casually to cover up the sadness in her heart: "That's impossible, your parents must have kissed you when you were a child."
As soon as the words fell, the room suddenly became quiet.
After a long time, Xi Mo didn't say a word, she just sat there, like a wax statue.
Ruan Yesheng felt an unprecedented panic in this sudden deathly silence.
…Because she didn’t know anything, she realized that she might have said something wrong.
She subconsciously wanted to apologize, but she didn't know what to say.
"I'm sorry." Ruan Yesheng softened her tone and said in a low voice, "Did I say something wrong..."
"What you said is actually correct." Xi Mo intercepted her words: "My mother passed away not long after giving birth to me, but she must have kissed me at that time. It's just that I was too young at that time and didn't remember the only impression she left me with was in photographs. As for my dad, he was very strict with me. When I was little, he didn't even hold me, or at least I don't remember."
Ruan Yesheng didn't expect that such a topic would remind Xi Mo of sad things, and the guilt in her heart suddenly became deeper.
Although she and Xi Mo were college classmates, her understanding of Xi Mo's family background was limited to a very superficial level. College classmates would invite each other to play at their respective homes, but no one had ever been invited by Xi Mo. Everyone only knew that Xi Mo's family had a rich background. No one had ever seen her parents in person. The people who took Xi Mo to and from school were all her family's bodyguards.
At that time, some classmates who didn't like Xi Mo secretly said that she even brought bodyguards to and from school, which was so pretentious, for fear that others wouldn't know that she was rich, and they said all kinds of unpleasant things.
Later, some rumors spread that something had happened in her family, and her father had psychological trauma, fearing for his daughter's safety. That's why they had bodyguards to protect her.
What exactly happened, no one could provide a clear explanation. These were just random and illogical guesses.
Some people envy the rich, and combined with Xi Mo's own excellence that shines brightly, they sensed a hint of what terrible things might have happened to her, to the point that she had to bring bodyguards even when going to school, and some started to take malicious pleasure in it. These people deeply and specifically exemplify what is called "always can't stand others doing well" in dirty and contemptible thinking.
Xi Mo saw Ruan Yesheng's eyes lowered, with a hint of dimness and inexplicably felt that this made her very pitiable. Perhaps Ruan Yesheng is just like this, charming and tender. Even with a different body, that kind of lingering temperament hasn't changed, making it so that when she smiles, it's hard for people to look away, and when she's sad, she seems to have a kind of magic that makes people willing to do anything to comfort her.
"You didn't say anything wrong, no need to apologize," Xi Mo instinctively said softly, "It's just a chat."
Ruan Yesheng nodded, wanting to quickly divert Xi Mo's attention, and smiled gently, "Can you continue to tell me about your fans? Let's see how I should respond tomorrow."
Xi Mo looks quite calm now, and her response to Ruan Yesheng's suggestion is obviously also satisfactory. She says, "They usually bring gifts, and for valuable gifts, you must politely refuse and make sure they take them back. I don't lack anything, but some of them might have saved up for these gifts. There's no need to encourage them in this bad habit. For some handmade gifts, you can accept them, as they've put in a lot of effort. You can keep the others you like, they would be happy if you accepted. We talked about cooperating as much as possible; they won't do anything out of line. But if, by any chance, someone gets too excited and rushes to kiss you - I said 'if' - you should quickly run away. Gu Qisong and the other assistants will control the situation. You don't need to worry."
"Mm." Ruan Yesheng listened carefully and just took notes while repeating: "I must not let the fans kiss me. If someone wants to kiss me, I should quickly run away. Understood."
Xi Mo: "..."
"What if they want to hug? Have you ever given hugs to fans before?"
"This kind of situation is rare... but within the normal scope, it's acceptable. Of course, there are limitations on the number of people and the time. I don't like getting too close and intimate with others. A polite hug is reluctantly acceptable, the shorter, the better."
Ruan Yesheng chuckled, "I understand. So if someone really makes such a request, I'll hug them for a second.
She also raised her arms and crossed them as if hugging the air for one second. Then she miraculously sat upright again, transforming from fine to refined in a second, like a reserved lady, and asked her pretendingly: "Just like this, what do you think?"
Xi Mo: "..."
Did you really understand?!
I don’t think so!
Ruan Yesheng continued to cover her lips and smile, but her gaze was focused.
Xi Mo knew she was doing it on purpose. In the past, Ruan Yesheng used to irritate her, but now, looking at her smile, she didn't even feel the slightest annoyance.
She couldn't really be angry with her.
When she thought of this, Xi Mo became a little anxious.
This anxiety came without warning, and Xi Mo found it unfamiliar. When she tried to suppress it, Ruan Yesheng asked her: "So, do you want to come and see them tomorrow when they come?"
"I won't go." Xi Mo said decisively.
"Okay." Ruan Yesheng responded, obviously not believing her rhetoric.
The fan visit is scheduled for the evening of the next day.
In the summer, the nights were long, and the sky still had a lingering sunset glow at this time, with the heat of the day not completely dissipating.
The film crew had temporarily wrapped up for the day, and there was some time before the night scenes. Ruan Yesheng had finished dinner and was sitting in the rest area backstage, reading the script.
The door was open, and soon, she heard many footsteps approaching. Initially, they were brisk and fast, but as they reached the entrance, the pace slowed down considerably. She could vaguely hear Feng Tangtang's voice, "When you go in later, please remember to maintain order and don't cause chaos…"
