Chapter 174: Script Reading
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
The assistant didn’t dare let the actors wait long. Besides Ye Guangchao, the double-gold Best Actor, Xi Mo was also here. Both the Movie King and the Movie Queen were waiting, and there were many other well-known actors too. Even though Gu Ru could overpower all of them in fame and achievement, and they wouldn’t say anything if they had to wait, the assistant was still trembling.
But with Gu Ru’s temper up, he didn’t dare go in and persuade her.
“Please wait a bit. I’ll go check again.” The assistant smiled carefully and walked toward the room where Gu Ru was.
Ye Guangchao sat on the sofa and drank some tea. He looked at Xi Mo and Ruan Yesheng and said, “No rush. We can chat for a while.”
Ruan Yesheng smiled and nodded.
Ye Guangchao said, “I read the script many times. My role is really harsh to you two in the movie. Even I got scared. Once we start filming, please forgive me, haha.”
“Teacher Ye, when we start filming, please don’t hold back.”
When Ruan Yesheng talked with people, it was like a warm bright light fell on her. She said, “Only then the result will look real and natural.”
Ruan Yesheng and Xi Mo sat next to each other. Xi Mo didn’t talk much. She mainly listened to Ruan Yesheng and Ye Guangchao.
Ye Guangchao often played dark and gloomy roles, and his acting was so vivid that it gave people pressure. But in real life, he was talkative and liked to laugh. Sitting with the very social Ruan Yesheng, they naturally talked well.
Xi Mo’s phone got a message. It was from the Movie King Pei Tingquan: “You arrived in Beijing?”
“How do you know?” Xi Mo typed while listening to Ruan Yesheng and Ye Guangchao talk and laugh.
But in her heart she thought Ruan Yesheng smiled too much. She smiled at everyone. How could that be okay? When others saw her charming soft smile, it was easy for them to be drawn in.
“Isn’t today your script reading?” Pei Tingquan really remembered. “You focus on filming so much. How could you miss a script reading?”
“Mm, I’m at Director Gu’s place.” Xi Mo replied.
Ye Guangchao started talking about a movie he filmed before. He got a Best Supporting Actor nomination with that movie. While talking, he also shared his views on acting. There were many useful points. Ruan Yesheng listened with focus and kept nodding.
Xi Mo moved her eyes away from the phone and glanced at Ruan Yesheng.
Every time Ruan Yesheng heard professional acting knowledge, she was very eager to learn. This made her eyes look bright when she looked at Ye Guangchao.
Xi Mo: “…”
She also knew a lot about acting. She got many nominations and many awards. Why didn’t Ruan Yesheng talk with her about it?
“Let’s have dinner tonight?” Pei Tingquan was close with her. He didn’t hide anything. He invited her straight. “I also invited friends. All are familiar.”
Xi Mo wasn’t happy. She replied right away: “I’m not going.”
“Why not?” Pei Tingquan didn’t accept it. “We haven’t seen each other for so long. You won’t give me some face? My heart is broken. It can get better only if Xi Mo says yes.”
He even sent a panda with a sad face emoji.
Xi Mo really didn’t understand. Pei Tingquan was a god-tier Movie King, those sad eyes had captivated a bunch of fans, but in private with close friends, he sometimes talked like a little boy, so childish.
“Scram.” Xi Mo didn’t pretend in front of Pei Tingquan, just sent one word back.
After chatting for a while, Ye Guangchao naturally invited Ruan Yesheng to dinner: “Ruanruan, after today’s script reading, do you have time? Will you be interested in eating together?”
Xi Mo immediately perked up, and became very alert.
Although Ye Guangchao was much older than Ruan Yesheng, Xi Mo had seen many cases in the industry of older men going after younger women. If Ye Guangchao wanted to have dinner alone with Ruan Yesheng, she couldn’t help feeling nervous. Even though Ye Guangchao’s reputation in the industry was very good, and his private life was said to be clean, he was single, she just couldn’t feel at ease.
Ye Guangchao, being a proper person, immediately added: “It’s not just the two of us, there are others too, my friends. They’re in Beijing, they knew I was coming for the reading, and wanted to treat me to dinner, do you want to come see?”
Ruan Yesheng wanted to eat with Xi Mo, smiled and politely declined: “It’s your friend inviting you, would it be inconvenient if I went?”
“It’s just a casual meal, not a formal occasion.” Ye Guangchao said, “He has a good temper, likes making friends. You just said after finishing Director Gu’s movie you have no work planned, I want to introduce you to him. He has many very high quality resources, maybe you can collaborate later.”
Ruan Yesheng was slightly stunned. She could feel Ye Guangchao’s good intentions. He probably saw she had just returned to acting this year and had few resources, and wanted to help her.
“Thank you, Teacher Ye.” Ruan Yesheng was truly grateful, her words paused a bit, “It’s just…”
Ye Guangchao smiled and said, “I didn’t say who is treating us. That’s my fault. It’s my friend Pei Tingquan inviting us. Do you want to go?”
Xi Mo: “…”
Pei Tingquan’s name was known by all. If Pei Tingquan invited someone to dinner, there were not many people in the entertainment circle who would refuse.
Ruan Yesheng’s eyes lit up at once.
She was Pei Tingquan’s fan. She liked watching his movies a lot. Pei Tingquan’s acting was so natural that there was no acting mark at all. Whatever he acted, he became it. He was a real Movie King, sitting steady at the top of the film industry.
Compared to other movie kings, Pei Tingquan had one more striking point, he was handsome, and his body ratio was close to perfect. In this era that looked at faces, a person with skill and good looks could easily win many fans’ hearts.
Xi Mo looked at the message Pei Tingquan sent her. She hadn’t replied yet.
Before this, she once asked Ruan Yesheng whose acting she liked most. Ruan Yesheng answered Pei Tingquan without any pause. Now Ye Guangchao said he could take Ruan Yesheng to eat with Pei Tingquan. How could Ruan Yesheng resist this kind of invitation?
Pei Tingquan’s temptation.
Bah.
Xi Mo typed hard and replied to Pei Tingquan, “I changed my mind, I’ll eat.”
Pei Tingquan sent a sticker back at once and said, “I was waiting for that! But it’s not only us. I called Ye Guangchao too. Since he’s in the same crew as you, why not go with him directly later.”
Ruan Yesheng looked at Ye Guangchao, then turned to look at Xi Mo. She wanted to eat with Xi Mo, but she also did not want to miss this rare chance to meet Pei Tingquan. She felt torn. She was Pei Tingquan’s fan, but not a crazy one. She liked watching him act only because he acted well. She could learn a lot from it.
Xi Mo saw Ruan Yesheng like that and thought her heart was already flying to Pei Tingquan. How could she not watch her?
So she said in a cool tone, “I’ll go too.”
Ye Guangchao was not surprised. He laughed and said to Ruan Yesheng, “I knew Xi Mo would go. Xi Mo is Tingquan’s good friend. When Xi Mo arrives, Tingquan will surely invite her to eat. So I didn’t invite you ahead of the host.”
All of Ruan Yesheng’s trouble disappeared at once. She was happy, “Thank you for the invite, Teacher Ye. I want to go.”
“Then it’s settled,” Ye Guangchao said. “We three will go together.”
“Okay, Teacher Ye.” Ruan Yesheng said fast. Her eyes brushed over Xi Mo and she smiled in secret.
When Gu Cen and Li Siran walked in, Ruan Yesheng and Xi Mo were talking with Ye Guangchao. Gu Cen saw them and quickly pulled Li Siran over.
“Teacher Ye, Teacher Xi, Sister Ruanruan.” Gu Cen was always well-behaved in front of seniors. The first thing she did was greet them.
Li Siran looked more nervous than Gu Cen and bowed one by one.
After Ruan Yesheng and those two girl-group rookies joined the variety show recording, they became close fast. She stood up and talked with them. Gu Cen was not tense in front of Ruan Yesheng and said, “Sister Ruanruan, Siran and I came today just to see you and Teacher Xi. We’re not bothering you, right?”
“How could you bother us?” Ruan Yesheng said with a smile. “Thank you for coming on purpose.”
Gu Cen pointed at Li Siran, “She also auditioned for this movie before, but she didn’t get picked. She was even shy to come.”
Li Siran, “…”
Ruan Yesheng understood Li Siran’s feeling. After failing the audition, she must feel a big loss. But Ruan Yesheng could not comfort her, so she would not touch her sore spot.
“You haven’t started the table read yet?” Gu Cen was confused. “When I came earlier, I was scared I’d miss you. I wanted to wait for you.”
“Director Gu is busy being angry, do you want to go in and see her?” Ye Guangchao looked at Gu Cen like she was his little sister. He was close with her. And even though he still called her Director Gu in front of people, his tone sounded like Gu Cen and Gu Ru were familiar with each other.
Gu Cen was a rookie. Ye Guangchao would not be so clueless. He would not let a girl-group rookie walk in while a famous director was angry. That was asking to get shot. Unless he already knew that even if Gu Cen went in, nothing would happen.
“Then I’ll go find her.” Gu Cen turned and looked at Li Siran. “Wait for me here.”
She left after she finished talking.
Normally Li Siran always stayed with Gu Cen. Every time she met other people in the circle, Gu Cen was there. Now that Gu Cen left, Li Siran felt tense. She had this problem. She could not relax in front of outsiders and she felt shy to ask for contact information. So her network was always small. Only when Gu Cen stood beside her could she feel at ease.
Ruan Yesheng saw Li Siran’s restraint. She gave her some snacks from the table and talked with her with a smile. Li Siran’s nervous feeling faded.
She felt thankful to Ruan Yesheng.
The door of the room where Gu Ru was had no lock. Gu Cen did not knock. She opened it and walked in.
A long-haired woman stood with her back to her. She was talking to the assistant director whom she introduced to Li Siran before, “Enough, tell her not to come. Let her film her variety show.”
“…Okay, Director Gu.” The assistant director nodded fast.
Many people tried to please him in the crew, but a top director like Gu Ru was absolute authority. He was always careful in front of her.
“Go arrange the script reading. I’ll come right away.” Gu Ru looked down at her watch. She saw the time was long past. She frowned and said, “There are still a few days before filming starts, audition a few more.”
The assistant director quickly said okay. He turned to leave. He saw Gu Cen walk in. Gu Cen waved at him with a grin. He smiled kindly and said, “Xiao Cen, you’re here.” Gu Cen saw his face was pale and asked in a low voice, “Got scolded?”
The assistant director seemed very close to Gu Cen. Even though they had a big age gap, there was no distance at all. He nodded and patted her shoulder and whispered, “I’m going. Your sister is not in a good mood, coax her more.”
“What happened?” Gu Cen asked fast.
She did not want to run into her sister’s anger without knowing what was going on.
“That supporting actress I interviewed before is not coming to the reading. Director Gu got angry and replaced her.” The assistant director whispered. “You were there. You saw her.”
“The one who auditioned with Li Siran?” Gu Cen’s gloating was written all over her face. “She is not coming, that’s great.”
Assistant director: “…”
“Who told you to choose her instead of Li Siran?” Gu Cen snorted.
The assistant director was a fair person. “Her acting was better than Li Siran.”
“I don’t care.” Gu Cen said. “She has no sense of responsibility.”
The assistant director looked at her and smiled. Then he walked away helplessly.
Gu Ru actually heard the talk between Gu Cen and the assistant director. She turned back and said, “What are you doing sneaking around and mumbling over there?”
She wore glasses. Her look was sharp. But when she talked to Gu Cen, her tone was a bit fierce.
“Hehe, sister.” Gu Cen stuck to her shamelessly. “I didn’t mumble anything. I just missed you and came to see you.”
“Go away.” Gu Ru pushed her. “I’m going to the script reading. I have no time for you.”
“Sister sister sister sister sister.” Gu Cen called her many times. “The assistant director said the supporting actress didn’t come. You are looking for a new one, right? The assistant director showed you the old audition, right? There is Li Siran in there. She is my groupmate and my best friend. We’re tight sisters. Please look at her again. Give her another chance. She was upset for a long time after she failed last time. She also thought about her weak points. Try her again. She will be better this time.”
“She won’t do.” Gu Ru said without mercy. “Her acting is too superficial.”
“She is a rookie. It’s normal. You can train her.” Gu Cen said fast. “You are the best at training actors. Some who were rough before became born again in your hands.”
“Stop praising me.”
“Sister.” Gu Cen pulled on her arm. “Li Siran has no experience, but she is smart and loves to learn. She is perfect for a director like you to train. If you don’t believe me, give her a scene. She will act much better than last time!”
Gu Ru gave Gu Cen a sideways look.
Gu Cen then held Gu Ru’s leg. “Sister, please, please. Give Li Siran a chance. She really wants to act. Let her try again. Look at her progress.”
She even added, “And Li Siran has her own fans. She has many fans. They will buy tickets for her.”
Gu Ru frowned.
She is a commercial director. She wanted awards and box office. Sometimes she did use young traffic stars. Their fans would promote hard and would also help the box office. But she only chose the ones she could train. The ones who stayed stiff no matter what made her angry. She would rather not have that part of the box office.
“Just try once.” Gu Cen said. “Li Siran came with me. She is outside. You are having the reading today. Give her a chance.”
“Get up.” Gu Ru stared at her useless sister who was holding her leg. “Or I will hit you.”
Gu Cen stood up at once.
Gu Ru pushed her aside and walked out. Gu Cen ran to catch up.
Outside, no one was there. Only Li Siran was waiting. The assistant director came earlier and told the actors and staff to go to the reading room.
“Li Siran.” Gu Cen waved fast. “Come here.”
Li Siran saw Gu Ru. Her hands clenched tight. She was more nervous.
She already knew Gu Ru was Gu Cen’s sister. Maybe outsiders didn’t know, but their group all knew this secret. So the other members were all nice to Gu Cen. They wanted to get close to her.
Li Siran hurried over to greet her. “Director Gu, hello.”
Gu Ru handed her a script. “Read it. Come with me to the reading.”
Li Siran froze.
Gu Cen was very excited and pushed her, “Hurry and pick it up. I begged my sister for a long time. She finally agreed to give you one more chance. You must do well. Don’t act that bad again. You must let my sister see that you can improve.”
“Thank you, Director Gu.” Li Siran took the script. She felt almost dazed.
“It’s just to try the feeling. In the end if it is set or not, it depends on you. Later you follow us for the table read. When we reach the role you auditioned for, read the lines. I want to see your expression power.” Gu Ru said.
“Yes.” Li Siran almost sat stiff.
Gu Cen stuck out her tongue at her.
Li Siran looked at Gu Cen. She had no way to deal with this puppy, and just smiled.
When they reached the table read room, the actors and staff gathered around Gu Ru. Gu Ru put away her anger. Her face became kinder. “Sorry, something delayed me. I made you wait. Let's start the table read now.”
A big table was in the middle. The actors sat on one side and the staff sat on the other.
Based on the movie’s character relations, Nie Qi sat beside Ruan Yesheng. Li Siran sat beside Xi Mo, and Xi Mo and Ruan Yesheng sat next to each other.
Li Siran got the script the latest. When she auditioned before, she could only see a part. Now she quickly took a marker to mark her lines. But she was still very new to the script. It was hard to find all her lines in a short time. Her fingers shook without control when she turned the pages.
Xi Mo heard Li Siran’s breathing. It was a bit heavy.
“I’ll help you.” Xi Mo watched for a moment and said, “I know where all your lines are.”
Li Siran froze. “Teacher Xi.”
“You’ll act with me most of the time. I wrote down your lines too.” Xi Mo’s voice was calm.
Before Li Siran entered the girl group, she lived hard. No one helped her. She tasted cold hearts. After she entered the girl group, she found most feelings were plastic sisterhood. She only got close to Gu Cen. Now she felt Xi Mo’s care. She felt shocked and honored.
“Thank you, Teacher Xi.” Li Siran quickly pushed the script to Xi Mo. “You’ve gone to so much trouble.”
Xi Mo said nothing more. She quickly marked all of Li Siran’s lines one by one.
The table read started. The assistant director began the narration. “Interior. Before dawn. It is cold. The old window is half open. The wind shakes it. Rain hits the glass and keeps flowing down. A pot of flowers on the windowsill has withered.”
“A hand shakes and rises. It rests on the windowsill and reaches for the flower pot. The wrist of that hand is cut open. Blood runs down its forearm in thin lines.”
This was the first scene of the movie. The staff behind the scenes, especially the camera team, listened and thought. They took notes and thought about how to show this image better.
The head of the camera team cared a lot about the atmosphere. He said, “Director Gu, at this part I want to film the rain on the glass to look like blood splitting and flowing. Then I want the blood from the wrist to show a flowing contrast, then cut the scene.”
“That’s good.” Gu Ru nodded.
The camera team head wrote the note down.
The assistant director kept reading. “A soft sound comes from the room. A pen falls to the floor. The woman with the cut wrist never touches the flower. Her hand hangs on the windowsill, letting out a breath.”
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
That breath was made by Ruan Yesheng.
Ruan Yesheng entered the scene fast. She looked at the script. Her shoulders shook. Her breath began to tremble again and again. Her feelings moved step by step.
Xi Mo turned her face and stared at her.
Ruan Yesheng said her first line. Her breath drifted. A bit of despair but also relief showed on her lips. “...Good night.”
The assistant director read, “The woman’s body falls. She slumped under the window, dead. The rain outside splashes in and drops on her cold face.”
Right.
The first scene of this script was the heroine’s death scene, and she really dies. The first scene Ruan Yesheng would shoot was herself slowly becoming a corpse on a rainy night. Even though she only said one ‘good night’ now, she could already feel the pain.
Gu Ru’s double female-lead suspense movie is called “Seeing This Letter Is Like Meeting You In Person”.* In letter exchanges, this means “when I read your written words, it feels like you stand before me”.
“见字如晤 (Jiàn zì rú wù) a common opening phrase in old Chinese letters, similar to ‘...I hope this letter finds you well.’
She plays one of the two female leads, Yu Miao.
When the movie starts, Yu Miao is already dead.
After the police arrive, they find a suicide note written by Yu Miao on letter paper. The pen fell under the table. They check the cut on her wrist. Then they compare the suicide note with her medical history. They close the case as suicide.
The script changes scenes. The assistant director read, “Outside. In the villa garden. Xiao Ruojin is watering the flowers. A woman appears behind her. Xiao Ruojin has her back to her, not looking, busy with her own task.”
This part goes to Li Siran. In the movie she plays Xiao Ruojin’s younger sister, Xiao Chan.
“Stay away from him.” Li Siran’s voice held anger. “I warn you.”
Xi Mo said, “Who do you mean?”
“Don’t play dumb!” Li Siran gritted her teeth. “Stay away from my boyfriend! You took everything from me. Now you even want to take the one I like?”
Xi Mo let out a soft laugh. “That is your boyfriend? I thought he was a dog following me.”
She was very natural. Li Siran almost could not catch her rhythm.
Gu Ru stopped them. She looked at Li Siran to explain the scene. “This is not an idol drama. Do not act on the surface. Xiao Chan is a complex role. She hates Xiao Ruojin, her sister. But because they were close as children, she still holds some feelings for her. She does not hate her fully. Do not grit your teeth. Your feelings are not shouted through lines. They must hide in your eyes and the tiny moves on your face.”
Li Siran nodded fast. “I… I will do it again.”
“Okay,” Gu Ru said.
Li Siran acted again. This time she was more restrained and nuanced. Her eyes started to show feeling, with a bit of coldness. Her voice became finer than before. “Stay away from him. I warn you.”
Her eyes stayed on Xi Mo.
Gu Ru didn't say anything and let them continue.
The script reading steadily progressed, but with scene after scene, finishing it today was impossible. Movie scripts aren’t as long as TV scripts, but they’re tight and precise, needing a lot of effort to repeatedly study. After a while, Gu Ru let everyone take a break and freely share thoughts and feelings.
“Sorry, Teacher Xi,” Li Siran said, very ashamed, “I didn’t act well, couldn’t catch up to your performance.”
Xi Mo shook her head: “I think it’s fine. You’ve improved. When Director Gu says a scene once, you can adjust. Gu Ru actually likes newcomers who can take her guidance on acting, so don’t be nervous.”
“Really?” Li Siran asked anxiously.
“Of course it’s true,” Ruan Yesheng said beside her.
Feeling their care, Li Siran relaxed a bit.
“Sister Ruanruan, the lines you and Teacher Xi read are so good,” she sighed, “Even just reading the script makes me want to cry. When the movie is shot, how will it be? My lines just aren’t good enough.”
“Immerse yourself in the role, practice more.” Ruan Yesheng said, “Your role doesn’t have many lines, read them over, memorize them, slowly get the feeling. You can also ask Director Gu.”
“Can I still ask Director Gu?” Li Siran looked glamorous on stage, but actually felt very insecure about acting. She knew her weak points. “I feel like Director Gu won’t pick me.”
“She will pick you.” Ruan Yesheng winked, familiar with Gu Ru’s temper after all these years. She whispered, “Have you noticed, when you mess up, she tells you what’s wrong, and after you repeat a few times, she stops, doesn’t scold you. That shows she thinks you can be trained. Otherwise she would be mad and throw you out. How could you sit here so long?”
Li Siran’s eyes lit up but she didn’t dare speak.
Ruan Yesheng glanced and saw a woman bending over, sneaking around.
Gu Cen’s body was hidden by the table. She carefully moved closer, waved at Ruan Yesheng and Xi Mo, then squatted by Li Siran’s chair. “So, did you get picked?”
“…I don’t know yet.” Li Siran felt happy inside after hearing Ruan Yesheng, but said nothing.
“Just do your best.” Gu Cen patted her knee, “I’m here, I would even kneel to get you a role. At worst, she’ll just scold me.”
Li Siran: “…”
Gu Ru glanced at Gu Cen, snorted, and kicked her with her leg, “Do you think this is a place for you to come in? Can’t you see everyone is busy? What role do you have?”
The kick didn’t really hurt, just for show. Gu Cen pouted and muttered a bit, didn’t dare reply, then sneaked away again.
Xi Mo and Ruan Yesheng were both familiar with Gu Ru, actually they knew she had a sister, though they hadn’t really seen her. Seeing how Ye Guangchao and Gu Ru treated Gu Cen today, they guessed Gu Cen was Gu Ru’s sister. They didn’t say anything, and just watched from the side.
The script reading mainly involved reading the script together, focusing on emotion and line delivery. Time passed, and the group didn’t leave the reading room until past five in the evening.
Gu Cen had been waiting outside, sprawled on the sofa playing on her phone. Seeing Ruan Yesheng, Xi Mo, and Li Siran come out, she hurried over: “Let’s eat together, I know a really good place.”
Ye Guangchao laughed from the side: “Someone’s treating us to dinner. Gu Cen, do you want to come?”
His invitation was natural.
“Who’s treating us?” Gu Cen asked curiously. “Can I freeload a meal too?”
“Of course you can.” Ye Guangchao patted her shoulder. “It’s Tingquan treating, don’t worry, go join.”
Li Siran was startled, the Movie King Pei Tingquan?
She quickly tugged Gu Cen, whispering: “Teacher Pei is treating. Why are you going?”
“Why can’t I go?” Gu Cen muttered, unable to resist in front of Li Siran. “He’s my brother.”
Li Siran: “…”
Ruan Yesheng heard this and was a bit surprised. She wasn’t familiar with Pei Tingquan, and only admired him from afar, and had never heard he had a sister. Moreover, he and Gu Cen didn’t share the same surname.
Xi Mo, however, knew that Pei Tingquan and Gu Ru were step-siblings. After Pei Tingquan’s father divorced, he married Gu Ru’s mother and took Pei Tingquan along. Gu Ru was born to her mother and her previous husband, but for the sake of their careers in the industry, they never made this public. Pei Tingquan and Xi Mo were close, so he told her these details.
Come to think of it, Pei Tingquan’s first movie was directed by Gu Ru. Gu Ru was the one who could best bring out Pei Tingquan’s charm on screen.
Now that Gu Cen was Gu Ru’s sister, she naturally was also Pei Tingquan’s sister.
In the entertainment circle, many relationships are deeply hidden. Only those familiar with each other would know, and they protect their privacy. It’s only when entertainment reporters dig deep that some connections are revealed.
“I’m going to freeload dinner,” Gu Cen said, draping her arm over Li Siran’s shoulder. “You’re coming too.”
Li Siran was shocked. The top actor was Gu Cen’s brother, the famous director was Gu Cen’s sister, had Gu Cen saved the world in her past life? How did her connections get gilded like this?
Or maybe… dumb luck favors the fools.
No wonder even Teacher Ye Guangchao treated Gu Cen so well.
“Let’s go,” Ruan Yesheng said, seeing the mooching group growing larger, linking her arm with Xi Mo as they walked out. She whispered, “Do you think I should buy a gift? Would it be rude to show up empty-handed to see Teacher Pei?”
Xi Mo: “…”
Buy what?
“No need,” Xi Mo said sourly. “Pei Tingquan hates receiving gifts. Don’t buy anything, he’ll just get annoyed.”
“Okay,” Ruan Yesheng breathed a sigh of relief. “Good thing you reminded me, or I would have made a huge mistake.”
Xi Mo: “…”
Look at how nervous you are.
The dinner was at Pei Tingquan’s house.
Pei Tingquan’s place was huge, a standalone house. As soon as the door opened, Pei Tingquan came out wearing an apron. He had no airs at all, smiling warmly: “It’s really lively today, welcome, welcome.”
“Brother,” Gu Cen called out.
Since these were all people she trusted, unlike outside, she didn’t need to hide anything.
“Today I’ll make a new dish for you,” Pei Tingquan said, looking fondly at Gu Cen. Then he glanced at Li Siran: “You brought your friend today, huh? Xiao Li, right?”
“Hello, Teacher Pei,” Li Siran bowed quickly.
Pei Tingquan looked at Ruan Yesheng, still smiling. He was always so friendly.
Ye Guangchao introduced: “Tingquan, this is Ruan Yesheng.”
“I already know,” Pei Tingquan chuckled. “Miss Ruan is Xi Mo’s good friend. Welcome.”
“Hello, Teacher Pei,” Ruan Yesheng said. She felt a little nervous meeting her idol, but on the surface she stayed poised and graceful.
“All right, all right, all right,” Pei Tingquan nodded. “Welcome.”
Then he glared at Xi Mo: “Why didn’t you bring me a gift? You cheapskate.”
Xi Mo: “…”
Ruan Yesheng: “…”
I thought… he hates receiving gifts.
She felt like she’d been tricked by a block of wood.
Author's Note:
The movie “Seeing This Letter Is Like Meeting You In Person” starts, first scene, and the female lead Yu Miao is dead, thrilling right? 【. Don’t be nervous, keep watching and you’ll know~
Xi Mo, you are not the Universe's Straight girl, you are the Universe’s Vinegar King【.
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