Shen Baizhu didn’t hand it over. “Let me help you. I wasn’t being considerate of your feelings. You’re new to the industry, but I’ve been in the entertainment circle for over ten years. This kind of unspoken rule isn’t something I’m unfamiliar with. Sleep it off and you’ll feel better.”
As he spoke, the warm air from the blow dryer drifted over the top of Rong Shu’s head in a soft, humid wave. His long, well-defined fingers worked through her hair, gently combing it back and forth, back and forth. It was the kind of thing that could very easily make a person feel cherished and warm.
But Rong Shu looked up at him with grievance in her eyes, her voice coming out far too sweet from all the crying:
“Sleep it off and I’ll feel better? Is that what Shen-laoshi thinks too? Did some actress come looking for Shen-laoshi to… take advantage of him? Has Shen-laoshi… slept with other actresses before?”
She had completely misunderstood what he meant.
“I didn’t…”
“If I sleep with Shen-laoshi, will Shen-laoshi protect me? I don’t want Director Bai to sleep with me.”
Right at that moment, Shen Baizhu finished drying the back of her head and moved on to her bangs.
One hand swept her damp bangs aside, revealing that lightly flushed face underneath. Those wet, soft, rosy lips parted and closed, parted and closed, like they were about to let something unbearably sweet spill out.
He went still.
In just half a day, she had stirred something instinctive in him more times than he could count. Shen Baizhu didn’t believe in fate, yet his gut told him clearly that this girl in front of him was going to be his undoing. She was testing him.
“Do you want me to say yes?”
The blow dryer clicked off with a soft sound. His voice, when it came, was quieter than the night itself.
Rong Shu shook her head. “No. If Shen-laoshi agreed, my heart would shatter into pieces. I’ve been a fan of this person for seven or eight years. I don’t want his personal life to be a mess.”
“Then what kind of person do you think I should be?”
Rong Shu’s eyes lit up like little stars. She held up a hand and began counting on her fingers.
“Clean and self-disciplined. Speaks well. Respects women. Understands the struggles of smaller actors. Gets along well with coworkers,” she folded down her last finger, “you’ve hit every single one. A five-star idol, that’s what you are.”
An idol can only ever be an idol. Somehow, that made him feel a little sad.
Shen Baizhu said: “Should I wait for you to draw up a certificate of merit and present it to me officially?”
Rong Shu immediately put her head down and got to work making one. He had only said it offhandedly, but she had taken it seriously. She made an actual “Five-Star Idol” certificate and posted it on Weibo, and sure enough, a red notification popped up without a moment’s delay.
Shen Baizhu had been half-bracing for Rong Shu’s next message to be something like: “How did you find me on Weibo? And then you unfollowed me?”
Rong Shu’s tone was sly, like a little fox: “Shen-laoshi, you unfollowed me! Looks like you figured out my little scheme. I did it on purpose, posting on Weibo right next to you. I wanted you to remember my username.”
That little remark of hers had actually gotten him out of an awkward spot. She was good at looking out for people without making it obvious. Being around her just felt easy.
Under Rong Shu’s gentle reeling-in and letting-go, Shen Baizhu felt strangely off-balance. It felt like he was getting closer to her, and then somehow farther away at the same time. And the thing was, she wasn’t even trying to reel him in on purpose. At most, it was natural, effortless flirting.
There must be so many people who like her.
“Sorry, this Weibo account is public-facing.”
Rong Shu’s tone turned lazier, and she looked up at him with wide, innocent eyes. “I really do hope to have a way to reach Shen-laoshi. Could we add each other on WeChat?”
Shen Baizhu exchanged WeChat with her and handed her his business card. “WeChat messages might get buried. If anything comes up from now on, just call me directly. I’ll be there for you right away.”
Rong Shu started looking through the next day’s script. It was a bath scene.
A mischievous thought took root.
“Should we go over tomorrow’s scene together? I naturally run cold, and it’s a bath scene, so who knows how long the shoot will take. The water is definitely going to get cold at some point. If I start shivering in the middle of it, I feel like my acting career might as well end right there.”
Bringing it up made Shen Baizhu feel guilty. “That was me losing control.”
Rong Shu waved her hands back and forth. “No, no, no. You were just too warm, and I run cold, so it was a reflex. Totally normal, totally fine. I’m not at all bothered by it.”
Rong Shu stepped into the bathroom. The window inside had been left shut, and a thick, stuffy smell hit her square in the nose.
“What’s that smell? Something… fishy.”
T/N: She walked straight into a closed bathroom and caught a mysterious fishy smell at the very end of the chapter… the author really said “cliffhanger but make it weird” 😂 Also can we talk about how Rong Shu basically said “let’s rehearse the bath scene” with her whole chest and Shen Baizhu just stood there losing his mind 🫠 The five-star idol certificate was so real though, she really said here’s your award sweetie 🏆 See you in the next chapter where things are definitely about to get interesting 👀