Chapter 32: This Counts as Real Flirting

Qin Shiyue felt a little flustered. She quickly avoided Lin Qingyi’s gaze and lowered her head, pretending to be focused on the script. She told herself that this woman was straight—even if she was seductive, she was still straight. Besides, she was her love rival. She had to have some self-control. She could not feel tempted by every pretty woman she met. And more importantly, she was here to learn, to focus on her career. 

Once she thought about her career, her panicked heart calmed down a little.

Lin Qingyi had no idea about the little waves stirring in Qin Shiyue’s heart. Seeing her lower her head to read the script, she thought, this vase really lives up to her title—even from this angle, she’s ridiculously beautiful.

“Go over the revised lines again. In a bit, we’ll rehearse a few of the main scenes for tomorrow,” Lin Qingyi said, picking up the fork that was already stuck in the fruit. She speared a piece no one had touched yet and put it in her mouth.

“You’re not gonna memorize them?” Qin Shiyue asked, noticing Lin Qingyi had already set the script down and seemed completely focused on eating fruit, not memorizing lines at all.

Technically, the script had just been revised that afternoon, and Lin Qingyi had only just received it. Was it really okay for her not to memorize it? Unlike herself, who had already memorized the original script. Even though it’d been changed, the structure was mostly the same, and most lines were still there. She just needed to learn the updated parts.

"There’s no way to finish filming one episode tomorrow, there are not many takes, just look once and remember it." Lin Qingyi said disapprovingly.

"You... you remembered it just from looking at it just now?" Qin Shiyue asked in disbelief. Is this woman lying?

"There’s no need to memorize it word for word. As long as you remember the story flow, and roughly remember the lines, that’s pretty much enough. Is that very hard?" Lin Qingyi asked back.

Qin Shiyue felt like she had been humble-bragged. This woman really was living a bit too excessively. Being pretty and having good acting skills was already enough, but now she was telling her that she was smart too—was she not leaving anyone else a way to live? Qin Shiyue felt like her heart had taken another heavy blow. The little white flag in her heart had already been silently raised so many times that her hand was tired from raising it.

Qin Shiyue didn’t want to praise her, so she could only silently lower her head and keep memorizing the revised lines. In comparison, she looked especially stupid and unbalanced.

Lin Qingyi saw Qin Shiyue lower her head silently to memorize lines. It seemed like she had accidentally hit her again. Seeing this little rooster looking a bit deflated, she actually had the urge to reach out and pat her head. That would definitely be weird, so Lin Qingyi dismissed the idea.

Lin Qingyi felt she couldn't let this Flower Vase be too down, so she used her own fork to stab a strawberry and held it up to Qin Shiyue's mouth.

Qin Shiyue stared blankly at the strawberry that suddenly appeared in front of her lips. This woman was feeding her on her own?! Is this woman really not bent? In terms of flirting with women, she was completely outclassed. If she had that kind of skill, how would she have ended up divorced? It was bad enough that this woman was better than her in every way, but she was also better at flirting with women. It's just hateful! The problem is—why did she know how to flirt with women when she wasn't even bent? Why would the heavens give her this kind of skill? It should've been given to herself instead.

At that moment, Qin Shiyue suddenly remembered a cultured and excessive line from the Bible: “Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever doesn’t have, even what they have will be taken from them.”

Lin Qingyi was the former—she had abundance, and even more was given to her. And what she had in abundance was exactly what Qin Shiyue lacked.

“What are you spacing out for? Don’t you love strawberries?” Lin Qingyi saw Qin Shiyue spacing out and not opening her mouth. This was her first time feeding someone. If this woman didn’t appreciate it, then she really was being ungrateful.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" Qin Shiyue asked irritably. A straight woman shouldn't do things that easily cause misunderstandings.

"Feeding a strawberry. Is there a problem?" Lin Qingyi felt a bit annoyed. Her hand was already sore from holding it up, and this woman still wouldn't open her mouth. As expected, she was a dumb woman who didn’t know how to appreciate kindness. So she simply pulled the fork back and fed the strawberry into her own mouth.

"Haven't you heard that saying before?" Qin Shiyue only felt things went back to normal after Lin Qingyi took the strawberry away.

"What?" Lin Qingyi saw that she'd successfully shifted Qin Shiyue’s attention and smoothly followed up with a question.

"Straight women flirting with lesbians will be struck by lightning." That was practically a known saying in the lesbian circle. Qin Shiyue felt Lin Qingyi seriously deserved to be struck by lightning right now.

"Flirting?" Lin Qingyi was a little surprised when she heard that. She really had been teasing the Vase a lot tonight, but when she fed that strawberry just now, she hadn’t really thought too much. Yet after Qin Shiyue said that, it did seem like there was a bit of that meaning.

But this woman actually thought she was flirting with her and still refused it? That was really upsetting. It made her feel like she had no charm at all.

Since Little Boss Qin refused the teasing, then she would like to see if she could really keep refusing it.

"Then did Little Boss Qin get teased?" Lin Qingyi suddenly leaned in toward Qin Shiyue. Her gaze locked hotly on Qin Shiyue’s lips. Her hand once again touched Qin Shiyue’s face, gently stroking the beautiful cheek with clear lines right in front of her, and the tip of her finger faintly brushed against that sensitive little ear.

Qin Shiyue saw Lin Qingyi staring at her lips. It felt like the next second, the other woman is going to kiss her. Her cheeks and ears stroked by Lin Qingyi's hand felt numb. Having been flirted with, Qin Shiyue felt her face once again blush uncontrollably. Her body even seemed to be going stiff again. But having been teased by this woman several times, Qin Shiyue still kept a bit of rationality. This damned woman was definitely going to tease her again. This time, she definitely would not let her have her way.

Lin Qingyi had only meant to tease Qin Shiyue, but when she stared at Qin Shiyue’s lips, those slightly parted red lips looked more and more tempting, as if inviting her to taste them. Lin Qingyi could not help but move closer and closer to those lips, but just as they were about to touch, she was suddenly pushed away by Qin Shiyue.

Lin Qingyi was slightly stunned after being pushed. When she came back to her senses, she realized that she had meant to flirt with Qin Shiyue, but had almost lost control herself, all because she’d been seduced by Qin Shiyue’s beauty.

Qin Shiyue glared angrily at Lin Qingyi. This time, she really had not let this woman get her way. But even though her heartbeat had not calmed down yet, she had to admit, she almost let this woman succeed again. Blame it on this woman’s acting—it was just too good. She truly felt like this woman had nearly kissed her just now.

“Feeding a strawberry and Little Boss Qin always starts fantasizing. Now that’s what you call real flirting, isn’t it?” Lin Qingyi curled her lips as she spoke, then stepped away from Qin Shiyue, like it was nothing more than another harmless little joke.

“Whether it’s real or fake, don’t flirt with me again in the future. Even as a joke, there should be a limit!” Qin Shiyue said angrily. Doing this again and again—it was just too much.

The reason she was angry was because she realized that she really might have been teased by this woman. So she had to firmly stop this annoying straight girl from flirting with her again. What if she really started feeling something she should not? Then who would she cry to? This woman would never take responsibility after flirting. She already experienced one-sided feelings once—that was enough. She wasn’t going to fall for someone again all by herself.

"Why are you still angry? If you really can’t take it, then just flirt back," Lin Qingyi said. She was actually quite looking forward to Qin Shiyue flirting with her.

Qin Shiyue wanted to fight back, but she was not confident in herself. She felt she was not at that level and could not be more flirty than Lin Qingyi. Besides, Lin Qingyi was straight. What if she flirted with her and Lin Qingyi had no reaction at all? That would be so awkward, so embarrassing. Something with such a high chance of crashing into an iceberg—she better forget it.

Feeling she couldn't win, Qin Shiyue started sulking. She didn't know if she was mad at herself or at Lin Qingyi, or maybe both. She turned her back to Lin Qingyi and didn't want to pay attention to her anymore. She told herself that she came here to improve her acting. She should not think about all these messy things.

Seeing that someone was really mad at her, Lin Qingyi stopped teasing her. She let her focus on memorizing lines. After all, it was getting late. The serious stuff should not be delayed. Otherwise, she would end up sacrificing her own sleep time. Lin Qingyi checked the time and thought she probably would not be able to fall asleep on time tonight.

Qin Shiyue memorized her lines. Lin Qingyi, feeling bored, kept eating fruit. But somehow, the same plate of fruit suddenly tasted bland and uninteresting.

"Have you finished memorizing?" Over ten minutes later, Lin Qingyi took the initiative to ask.

Qin Shiyue nodded. In the ten minutes of memorizing lines, most of her anger had faded. But when facing Lin Qingyi, she still felt a little awkward inside.

“Should we call them in too, to simulate the feeling of being on set with other people around?” Lin Qingyi asked for her opinion.

Seeing how natural Lin Qingyi was, as if she did not care about all the flirting earlier, Qin Shiyue figured there was no need for her to be petty. She pushed down that awkward feeling and focused on the actual work. She did not want to fall too far behind Lin Qingyi. For some reason, that thought had never felt stronger than it did now.

“Sure,” Qin Shiyue agreed.

Seeing that Qin Shiyue had calmed down, Lin Qingyi thought this vase didn’t hold grudges and actually had a pretty good temper. She found the vase a bit more pleasing to the eye again.

Fang Xinhua and Bai Wenxi, who’d been chatting next door, came over to watch.

After starting the scene with Lin Qingyi, Qin Shiyue’s opinion of her shifted a little. Even though this woman was seriously annoying in private, when she got into character, she didn’t mess around at all. That kind of seriousness was a different kind of charm, totally unlike when she was flirting.

Qin Shiyue’s script was about a rich heiress. Everyone spoiled her and gave in to her, which made her willful and arrogant, full of princess syndrome. But then her family suddenly fell from grace, and the phoenix hit rock bottom. None of her so-called friends helped her. Later, she got taken in by the male lead, who was sunny, kind, and hardworking. She experienced a normal life and gradually got rid of her princess syndrome. It ended in a happy-ever-after.

Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=5821232
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com

“I don’t think I have princess syndrome. My personality is better than the female lead’s, right?” Qin Shiyue asked Lin Qingyi. Letting her play herself—was that how Lin Qingyi saw her? She started wondering if Lin Qingyi had some weird misunderstanding about her.

Lin Qingyi couldn’t help laughing when she heard that. This woman could really crack her up. Not only did she want to compete with her, she even wanted to compete with a fictional character? Having her play herself was just to help her perform better in this role. After all, acting as someone else was still too hard for Qin Shiyue right now. Lin Qingyi never meant she had to match the female lead exactly. Every actor naturally brings in their own style. The same role played by different people feels completely different. What an actor needs to do is blend into the drama and not stand out awkwardly.

Lin Qingyi thought if Qin Shiyue acted the female lead as herself, it would definitely be better than what the script described. This vase was obviously cuter and more likable than the female lead. She had so many fans, and it wasn’t just because of her looks.

Author's Note:

Lin Qingyi: Didn't get to feed her, didn’t get to kiss her either.

Qin Shiyue: Hmph, who’s to blame for that?

A little red packet drops at random.