Chapter 41: Their Heads Are Close Together And They Were Whispering To Each Other
This translation is originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
Ruan Yesheng lowered her head to look at her phone attentively. Unexpectedly, Xi Mo suddenly spoke, startling her. She was so scared that she almost didn't hold the phone steady. However, her mental resilience was always strong. She slightly tightened her fingers to grip the phone firmly, then looked up at Xi Mo. At first, she was slightly stunned, then a relieved smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.
Because she always had to portray Xi Mo, she remained vigilant in front of others, afraid that any mistake might reveal her true identity. Over time, this constant vigilance inevitably led to fatigue. Only in front of Xi Mo did she feel no burden, experiencing a sense of ease where there was no need to hide anything.
"Why are you following me?" Ruan Yesheng blinked.
Xi Mo said coldly: "Please pay attention to your wording."
As she spoke, she glanced at Ruan Yesheng, then proceeded to push each door of the stalls in the restroom, making sure there was no one inside before feeling at ease.
“So cautious." Ruan Yesheng put away her phone and smiled while observing Xi Mo's series of actions.
Xi Mo has been at the top of the industry for many years. There are countless paparazzi who wish to track her 24/7, wanting to dig up information about her to attract attention and make big profits. Unfortunately, somehow, Xi Mo's information is famously hard to uncover within the industry.
Xi Mo has no scandals, so those paparazzi used to stake out and track her year-round. Despite putting in enormous effort, most of the so-called "materials" they managed to capture in photos were of this kind of style.
Movie Queen Xi Mo strolls alone, enjoying delicious food! Now let's see what delicacies the goddess has chosen!
Xi Mo appeared at the airport, wearing a black trench coat that showed her goddess-like aura! Let’s take a look at how the goddess used to dress up beautifully!
Xi Mo attends a certain jewelry brand's spring new product launch! Now, let's take a look at which international brands the goddess used to endorse!
The vast onlookers always feel as if they're collapsing whenever they see news about Xi Mo, wishing they could drag out those paparazzi and give them a good beating. What happened to those promised universe-shaking, heart-rattling super big revelations? Isn't it tiresome to always deceive people with Xi Mo's mundane activities like shopping, dining, and buying things?
"Zhuo X, you useless waste! After staking out for half a year, you come up with this useless material? You call yourself the number one paparazzo in Mainland China!"
"If you're a human, you eat, stroll, and dress up. Can't you provide some powerful revelations? You're wasting my traffic!"
"One day, whoever can reveal who Xi Mo's lover is, I will livestream eating three hundred kilograms of raw garlic! Pay attention! It must be real evidence! Don't fool us honest people with those vain tricks! "
"I mean, does Xi Mo have an addiction to loneliness? The style of each revelation is really peculiar."
The onlookers are angry, but the fans are delighted.
"Hahaha, take away our goddess who's professionally seen eating and strolling alone in the news every day!"
"Wasn't it said there'd be a big scoop on Wednesday? Just spill one, let's take a look! Hahaha!"
"The goddess is the goddess, a breath of fresh air, hahaha!"
The high difficulty in digging up information about Xi Mo is because of her meticulous thinking, extremely private and reclusive personal life, and lack of a social circle. There's hardly anything sensational that can be captured through secret photos. Some paparazzi who have been following her for a long time even developed a strange idea that Xi Mo might possess extremely strong anti-investigation capabilities. After all, how could a celebrity be cautious to such an extent? It's not just a fear of having information exposed; it's as if she fears for her life.
"Partition walls have ears, so of course you have to pay attention." Xi Mo said with a straight face.
Ruan Yesheng nodded, feigning a humble demeanor to accept the advice. Although she confirmed there was no one else in the restroom, it was better to avoid suspicious conversations outside. Earlier, having such discussions privately in the hotel room was fine. However, seeing Xi Mo's serious expression, she couldn't help but want to laugh at her meticulous demeanor.
"Let me rephrase my question," Ruan Yesheng said with a smile, "Is there a reason why you're following me?"
"Can't I come and use the bathroom?" Xi Mo asked back.
"Of course," Ruan Yesheng continued to smile and accept Xi Mo's firm words.
After a moment of silence, Xi Mo said, "I noticed you finished dinner in a hurry, looking quite anxious. I thought something urgent might have happened to you."
Ruan Yesheng took out her phone, lowered her head, and typed a sentence in the notes app, something inconvenient to say aloud. She then showed it to Xi Mo: "I knew you cared about me."
Xi Mo: "..."
Ruan Yesheng smiled even more cheerfully, her expression was as if petals could float from her eyes and brows. Xi Mo also took out her phone, maintaining a composed expression, and typed two words to show her: "Shut up."
Ruan Yesheng thought to herself how adorable Xi Mo was and mischievously continued typing: "My mouth is indeed closed."
Then, Xi Mo typed: "Stop."
Ruan Yesheng: "..."
As the two were conversing, they suddenly took out their phones to silently communicate through typing. It might seem odd if observed by others, so Ruan Yesheng put her phone away, saying, "It's nothing much, just wanted to check today's official announcements. It's not very convenient at the dining table, you know."
Xi Mo couldn't do anything about her and said, "Don't stay here. Someone will come later. Let's go to the lounge. I'll accompany you."
Ruan Yesheng was pleased to see Xi Mo volunteering to accompany her. Xi Mo glanced at her, then turned and walked out of the restroom. Ruan Yesheng hurriedly followed, walking beside her. As they passed through the corridor and no one was nearby for the moment, Ruan Yesheng leaned in closer and whispered to Xi Mo, "You know what, I was really holding it in just now. Everyone was looking at their phones, but I couldn't."
This translation is originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
She got too close, and when Ruan Yesheng's breath reached her, it brought a warm, slightly tickling sensation. Without showing any reaction, Xi Mo subtly moved her ear slightly away and said, "I wasn't looking either."
"You didn't look, but you were constantly perking up your ears, listening earnestly to their discussion. You should know everything by now."
Xi Mo: "..."
Why aren't you eating? Why just watch what I'm doing?!
"From now on, if you really want to look at your phone while eating, go ahead, don't hold back," Xi Mo said somewhat helplessly
"No." Ruan Yesheng refused "righteously": "This will destroy your image as a high mountain flower.”
Xi Mo: "..."
"Did you just see Shen Qingbie's Weibo?" Xi Mo frowned and asked.
"I saw it. That is what I was looking at just now."
"Do you think there's something wrong with her?"
"No." Ruan Yesheng's eyes were a little wandering: "Maybe she is helping Yan Mu promote it. Isn't she on good terms with Yan Mu?"
Xi Mo said no more.
"I actually..." Ruan Yesheng suddenly started to speak but then stopped.
"What?" Xi Mo turned around and looked at her.
Ruan Yesheng seemed to ponder for a moment before whispering, “It's just that Lu Qingming mentioned that there are some shoots to attend to in a few days, so I'll have to leave Hengdian temporarily. But after the busy schedule, I'll have two days off. Will you be free then? Can you teach me horse riding?”
Xi Mo was already skilled in equestrianism. Growing up in a wealthy household, her father excelled in horse riding. He often went to the equestrian field with some influential figures from the business and political circles, occasionally taking her along. Consequently, her father insisted she acquire expertise in this skill.
Most actors cannot ride horses, and many even feel afraid. If they fall off a horse and get injured or disfigured, it would be disastrous. Additionally, horse riding is not a skill that can be quickly learned. Consequently, actors often film scenes while sitting on a fake horse, which only has the upper part of the body, and for distant shots, a stunt double is used for horse riding.
To convey a sense of speed, sometimes this half-body fake horse is placed on a moving truck. As a result, actors shake their bodies on the fake horse, pretending to ride vigorously, and shout the lines from the script loudly and excitedly:
"Ziwei, I want to hold you like this and fly to the end of the sky! The last time I held you like this while riding a horse was in the secluded valley, but never galloped like today! I like you so much, too much!"
"Me too!"
"I didn't hear what you said clearly!"
"Me too, me too, me too! As much as you do, I do as much as you, no no, Erkang, more than you!"
"No, Ziwei, you couldn't possibly like more than me! Because I'm already full of it!"
...and so on.
No one knows who established this rule.
Because Xi Mo knew how to ride, when she later acted in films, being dedicated as she was, she rarely used a fake horse or a stand-in for filming. It was mostly her personally on set unless the scene involved a high risk in riding or difficulties in maneuvering while shooting moving horses, in which case she avoided getting on. On the other hand, Ruan Yesheng couldn't ride. However, in this particular scene in Sui Ting, there will be a horseback escape from pursuit, even though the character Deng Sui wouldn't ride according to the setup and it was Ding'e carrying her from behind, Ruan Yesheng still needed to mount a horse.
When Lin Qitang came to coordinate the script, he asked whether to partially introduce real horse filming to enhance realism in post-editing, or to use fake horses and stunt doubles throughout, combined with post-production effects. Lu Qingming was present at that time. As he was accustomed to seeing Xi Mo personally ride horses, and this time it was just for a few shots sitting on a real horse, he felt it was no big deal. Hence, he agreed to use real horses. When it came to coordinating with Xi Mo, she texted Ruan Yesheng for her opinion. Ruan Yesheng replied affirmatively. With Xi Mo's confidence in her equestrian skills and given the circumstances, she naturally agreed to incorporate real horses into the shooting.
Xi Mo was slightly surprised, saying, "When I asked you at that time, you said it was okay. I thought you had learned to ride horses? Haven't you filmed horseback scenes before?"
“I don't know how to ride. I haven't filmed many movies before, and there were no scenes requiring horseback riding in them,” Ruan Yesheng was quite calm about her brief and short-lived stardom in the entertainment industry, saying, "After that, as you know, I became obsolete, no more film offers."
Xi Mo also felt somewhat regretful about Ruan Yesheng's experience, her tone softened a bit as she said, "If you had replied then that you couldn't, I wouldn't have agreed to the plan of using real horses for the scene. Why did you say 'okay' at that time? What were you thinking?"
This time, Xi Mo wasn't worried. She could handle it in place of Ruan Yesheng. However, she was thinking long-term. She was concerned that if Ruan Yesheng's body returned to normal in the future, people would have the established belief that "Ruan Yesheng can ride horses." If other directors heard about Ruan Yesheng's supposed horse-riding abilities and decided to film a few scenes with her riding real horses for editing purposes, it would be inconvenient as Ruan Yesheng didn't actually know how to ride.
She could help Ruan Yesheng do many things that Ruan Yesheng couldn't do originally.
She also wanted to help Ruan Yesheng achieve them.
But if everything goes back to the way it was before, and Ruan Yesheng can't handle it, then it's better for her not to help her.
To avoid causing trouble for her.
"Because I know you can ride a horse." Ruan Yesheng replied.
"But when you change back, you still won't know how to ride."
"So that's why I asked you to teach me. Once I learn, it won't be a problem, right?" Ruan Yesheng's eyes had a cunning and mischievous glint, like a fox spirit.
Xi Mo: "..."
"And you are so good at horseback riding. I don't know how to do it at all. What if others find it strange? I think I still need to learn to ride a horse, so as not to reveal my secret."
"Okay." Xi Mo reluctantly agreed, "When you're done and back, I'll teach you. Just don't go back to Hengdian. Come to my stable. Paparazzi can't shoot there."
Although she agreed, Xi Mo vaguely felt that Ruan Yesheng's hesitation just now wasn't about her teaching horse riding, but something else.
But Ruan Yesheng didn't say anything, and it was hard for her to ask.
"That's great." Ruan Yesheng moved closer to her.
Xi Mo turned her ears away again, lowering her voice: “Stop whispering in my ear all the time.”
"Aren't you afraid that others will hear your secret?" Ruan Yesheng's voice became even lower.
Xi Mo followed suit and lowered her voice: "By doing this, others will find it even more strange."
Ruan Yesheng's voice was now extremely low, leaning in closely, almost speaking in a way that could send shivers down one's spine: "Everyone on the set knows we're familiar. Who says friends can't whisper to each other?"
Upon finishing her meal, Liu Yusi emerged from the private room and was greeted by the sight of Xi Mo and Ruan Yesheng walking over shoulder to shoulder, heads close together, and whispering to each other.
Liu Yusi: "..."
In any case, Liu Yusi finds Ruan Yesheng displeasing no matter what. During the official announcement, her position was clearly higher than Ruan Yesheng's. Who knew that today, countless netizens online are discussing Ruan Yesheng's beauty and works from a long time ago? Ruan Yesheng is prominently placed high on the trending list, leaving her far behind. Now, she sees Ruan Yesheng walking and whispering to someone, instantly feeling that Ruan Yesheng is strange.
How come Sister Xi is also acting strange?
"Hello, Sister Xi." Liu Yusi greeted the famous actress warmly, and then greeted the other one in a casual tone: "Miss Ruan."
Xi Mo originally had a stiff expression while Ruan Yesheng whispered. On the contrary, Ruan Yesheng had a smile that seemed about to overflow from her eyes and mouth. Now, when they saw Liu Yusi approaching to greet them, both instantly straightened their bodies and simultaneously changed their expressions in a split second.
Xi Mo smiled and said kindly: "Hello, Miss Liu."
Ruan Yesheng returned to Xi Mo's previous expression of neither salty nor bland, and nodded gently: "Miss Liu."
Then the two of them continued walking along the corridor.
Liu Yusi was left alone in a daze: "..."
She didn’t know why, but she felt so annoyed.
