Chapter 28: I Want You Tonight

President Gong gave her two instructions and sent her back up to rehearse. Wu Di was there too. Wu Di looked quite polite; as soon as Cheng Jinzhi came up, he greeted her. “Miss Cheng, you’re here.”

Cheng Jinzhi looked at Wu Di again. Watching from below, she’d already found where the problem lay. Wu Di was a Best Actor, and Rong Si was a Best Actress. Why was she fine in front of Rong Si but not in front of Wu Di? Because Rong Si was a guiding actress. She seemed cold, but when you acted opposite her, she could lead you—leading your character development. Wu Di’s kind of leading was more like being reformed within his character’s construct. The lines were the same, but when the audience watched, they’d notice the subtle details. Audiences couldn’t articulate it—it was just that Wu Di’s acting was good, and everyone opposite him seemed to lose a bit of their presence. Wu Di seemed warm and outgoing, but he was actually a suppressing actor.

Perhaps because Wu Di was young, this trait of his wasn’t yet obvious. So President Gong, watching from below, had spotted it. He’d called her down and told her to read the script—not really to read the script, but to watch the stage. President Gong didn’t say it outright, so Cheng Jinzhi had genuinely read the script for quite a while.

“Mm.”

“Then shall I run lines with you?”

Wu Di truly looked very respectful. Probably many people let their guard down offstage. Cheng Jinzhi suddenly thought of Rong Si. When Wu Di had shaken Rong Si’s hand, Rong Si’s smile wasn’t the smile of entering character—it was clearly two rivals sizing each other up on their respective sides. Cheng Jinzhi recalled the earlier performance. Wu Di only seemed “well-behaved” in front of Rong Si. He knew Rong Si was no pushover, so why clash head-on? Going through the motions made the impression even stronger.

She’d simply been lucky before. Since her rebirth, the first actor she’d acted opposite was the once-in-a-century Rong Si. She’d been too careless, forgetting that in the martial world of acting, victory belonged to the strong.

“Okay.”

The scene they rehearsed had Wu Di’s page boy asking about the Prince Consort’s wedding night. The page boy had been worried all night, terrified the Princess would discover his young lady’s identity as a woman.

“Everyone’s gone below. What are you still standing here for?” Cheng Jinzhi tapped the table, gathered her robe, and sat down with a spin.

Wu Di was visibly startled. The Cheng Jinzhi before him now was completely different from the one hours ago. Same movements, but the look between her brows had changed drastically. Strange.

“Mas…” The page boy, seeing no one around, almost forgot himself and prepared to call her “Miss.”

“Mas what?” Cheng Jinzhi picked up the teacup and glanced at Wu Di.

“This one… this one was thinking…”

Cheng Jinzhi looked at Wu Di. Wu Di’s acting really was good—his attention to the details of a minor character was spot on. Wu Di clearly had a born sense of drama. “Things in this household are quite different now. If you continue as you were…”

Cheng Jinzhi set down the teacup, lightly sighed, and said slowly, “Then I’ll have to prepare some travel money for you.”

“This one was wrong…” The page boy hadn’t even knelt when Cheng Jinzhi caught his arm. “My tone was a bit harsh just now, but it was for the sake of both our lives and safety. You understand, don’t you?”

“This one understands, Prince Consort.” Wu Di said, keeping his head down as he exited.

This scene mainly laid the groundwork for the page boy’s “carelessness.” President Gong watched Cheng Jinzhi and finally showed a slightly satisfied expression. Though the scene was foreshadowing, Cheng Jinzhi gave the other actor material to build his character, and also added a stroke of careful deliberation to her own.

Since the Lantern Festival performance was coming up, rehearsals were intense. Twenty-four hours a day, at least twenty were spent on stage. The actors coming off stage grabbed sleep in every spare moment. Sleeping in makeup was terrible for the skin, and soon Cheng Jinzhi had a pimple sprouting on her forehead. In this cold weather, her internal heat was raging. One evening, Cheng Jinzhi came off stage, sat down, and found her newly bought coffee missing. Probably someone drank it. She didn’t pay it much mind and had DC go buy her another.

Before DC returned, Cheng Jinzhi leaned back in her chair and fell asleep. She didn’t sleep well—her neck was strained, aching sharply. Just then, a soft hand caught her neck. Only then was she comfortable. She drowsily opened her eyes and smelled Rong Si’s perfume—subtle and pleasant, helping her relax. If it had been anyone else, her morning temper would’ve flared long ago.

“The back of your neck is stiff. You probably pulled a muscle.” Rong Si said, massaging her neck. “I’ve set up a small stove in the back and brewed some tea. Drink a few mouthfuls. It relieves fatigue and clears heat.”

President Gong was also drinking tea in the back. Seeing Cheng Jinzhi, he waved her over. “Today, we’re benefiting from your presence. What a treat.”

“Rong Si’s tea is brewed well.” After drinking, a vice president dug at his cup, scooping the leaves into his mouth. He spat out the stems and chewed the leaves. “These leaves are so tender. Miss Rong, where did you buy these?”

“If you like them, I can bring you a pack tomorrow.”

“How could I impose…”

“I think you can. A teacher taking things from his student.” President Gong said. “Rong Si, don’t bring him anything. If you really do, tomorrow he’ll be asking you how to brew and steep tea, clinging to your leg for another pot.”

Rong Si ladled Cheng Jinzhi a bowl of tea, looking at the pimple on her forehead. “Tomorrow, I’ll brew another pot.”

“Delicious.” Cheng Jinzhi drank several mouthfuls in a row. Whenever she visited the temple, her grandmother would brew her a pot of fine tea. Sip tea, look at the bamboo—the old lady’s life in her later years was quite content. The only thing the old lady worried about was her. From childhood to now, she’d never stopped causing trouble.

“Miss Cheng, that’s not how you drink it.” The vice president, pained by Cheng Jinzhi’s “guzzling,” said, “Sip. Sip it slowly.”

She should’ve never come to the back. Even drinking tea, someone lectured her. “Is my grandmother coming the day after tomorrow?”

“Yes, a day early.” A staff member said. “She said she wanted to see your rehearsal.”

A couple days ago, her grandmother had called her. “The show’s in a few days. It’s not too late to fake an illness now.”

She was afraid Cheng Jinzhi would make a spectacle on stage.

“Just wait for my brilliant performance.”

“The more you say that, the more anxious I get. Fine. If you won’t fake illness, I will.”

Grandma was terrified of seeing her granddaughter’s “car crash scene.” When she’d first heard about the Lantern Festival arrangement, she thought her student the president was trying to curry favor with her.

On rehearsal day, the pimple on Cheng Jinzhi’s forehead had subsided a bit; with makeup, it wouldn’t be too obvious. The whole play wasn’t that long, since there were other programs. After coming off stage, Cheng Jinzhi hurried backstage to change, barely touching her makeup before running to the front row. Her grandmother sat up front.

“This is your granddaughter? Playing the Prince Consort? Excellent, just excellent.” The other judges heaped praise on her.

When Grandma had first come, she’d been a little anxious, telling Cheng Jinzhi she’d brought heart medication and to act as she pleased without worrying about Grandma’s condition. Now Grandma’s pride was written all over her face. “Oh, it’s nothing.”

“She really has your flair from back then. No question she’s your own granddaughter.” These judges constantly touted Cheng Jinzhi’s grandmother.

Grandma was fairly calm about her own affairs. When it came to Cheng Jinzhi, she couldn’t help but smile. These judges knew exactly what medicine to prescribe—by the end, they’d nearly boasted Cheng Jinzhi up to the heavens.

“Alright, alright, enough. Let’s watch the show.” Towards the end, Grandma glanced at Cheng Jinzhi, afraid she’d start floating on air, and cut off the judges’ praise.

On Lantern Festival day, the theater was basically packed, with a crowd lingering at the entrance. The actors had to come in through the back door, taking nearly half an hour to get inside. Both inside and outside the door, there were fan support groups.

“Times really have changed. All these newfangled things.” President Gong laughed, pushing aside a light board before him. “What does this mean? ‘Top is Above’?”

“Is that about Rong Si?” President Gong glanced at Cheng Jinzhi beside him. “And this one too—’Prince Consort Goes to Sea.'”

“…” Cheng Jinzhi didn’t know what to say.

The whole country was into shipping now. A female celebrity who didn’t do a little girl-on-girl on screen could hardly call herself popular.

The audience for this performance was all young viewers. When it came to the “Wedding Night” of 《The Female Imperial Son-in-Law》, they all began to stir. The stage play 《The Female Imperial Son-in-Law》 spawned another burst of trending searches. Seeing the momentum was good, DC bought press releases and put them out that very evening. 《Hi, Lover》, riding this wave, also hurriedly released behind-the-scenes clips.

The reposts of the 《Hi, Lover》 clips weren’t huge—they didn’t catch netizens’ interest. But a few marketing accounts took one particular shot and made it into a GIF: while the people in front were playing a game, Cheng Jinzhi in the back was playing with Rong Si’s hands.

Rong Si wore the red team’s uniform; Cheng Jinzhi wore the blue team’s. Cheng Jinzhi’s hand first accidentally touched Rong Si’s, then, like she’d discovered a new continent, she scratched Rong Si’s palm, then squeezed her fingers. Rong Si had no expression. When Cheng Jinzhi squeezed her fingers, she lowered her head and interlaced their fingers. Rong Si looked at Cheng Jinzhi and said, “Don’t mess around.”

The top comments translated it as:

“I want you tonight. It’s definitely that—I studied lip-reading, like me!”

“Well-earned of a dating reality show. They’re tearing each other to shreds up front but still feeding dog food in the back. Sorry, I’m not eating this. Someone get me a vat.”

He Xi even reposted it, attaching his own “life is over” expression. “This was my face at the time.”

When He Xi reposted, Gu Ah reposted too, posting a photo of her and He Xi squatting on the ground watching Rong Si feed Cheng Jinzhi water up front. “I don’t know what we did wrong.”