016
Tang Ruoyao: [Did Jiejie ask you to give me the ointment?]
Guan Han: "……"
She forwarded the text to Qin Yinong, asking her for how to reply.
Qin Yinong fell into silence.
She didn't expect that even though she had been so roundabout, Tang Ruoyao could quickly guess not long after delivery that Ruan Qin was instructed by Guan Han, and that the person behind Guan Han must be herself.
What surprised Qin Yinong more was that when she knew about this, her first reaction was not anger, but a feeling similar to pride.
Qin Yinong was sitting on the sofa, holding her phone, reading the text that Guan Han had forwarded over and over again, her lips curling up involuntarily.
The kid is really smart.
In the next moment, she started to worry about Tang Ruoyao again. With this kind of cleverness, why didn’t she put it to the right use? Only ever used it to guess her intentions, making mountains out of molehills.
Qin Yinong sighed.
Guan Han received an answer.
Qin Yinong: [Pretend you don’t know anything about it]
Guan Han: [OK]
While waiting for the reply, Tang Ruoyao sweated more and more in her palm. She had to temporarily put down the phone, and drew two tissues from the tissue box to wipe the sweat. Just when she picked up the phone again, dingdong——
She especially set the text notification.
Guan Han: [What ointment?]
Tang Ruoyao: "……"
Tang Ruoyao didn't press further, she directly called Ruan Qin.
Ruan Qin had separated from Guan Han, who warned her with cold eyes. When she received Tang Ruoyao's call, the lingering fear was still there, and there was a hint of flattery in her tone: "What's the matter?"
Tang Ruoyao: "The ointment works very well."
Ruan Qin smiled wryly: "That’s good."
Tang Ruoyao: "Help me ask Guan Han if there’s still more available, and send me two more bottles if yes."
Ruan Qin was taken aback.
Didn’t Guan Han ask her not to say who sent it?
Tang Ruoyao said nonchalantly: "Are you still with her?"
Ruan Qin felt a little strange, but she answered honestly: "Not anymore."
That means they were together.
Tang Ruoyao had already got the answer she wanted, managing to suppress her elation, and said flatly: "Forget it, I'll talk to her next time."
Ruan Qin: "Okay." She didn't want to see Guan Han anyway.
Tang Ruoyao turned off the call.
She lowered her head and put down the phone, took the bottle of ointment back in her palm, and rubbed it with her fingertips. The corners of her lips rose uncontrollably, and her expression softened a lot.
Qin Yinong still cares about her, she just doesn't want to let her know that she cares about her.
What was the reason? Tang Ruoyao couldn't tell for the time being, but it was enough for her. What she shouldn't ask for more, she wouldn’t; she just wanted to stay the same to spend the last year.
Maybe when she thought about this experience in the future, it would feel different.
If it weren't for Qin Yinong, her current situation would be very different. She didn't dare to think about how different it would be, but it would definitely not be any better than now.
One year.
The contract with Qin Yinong was expiring in one year, what was she going to do?
Tang Ruoyao slowly narrowed her eyes.
Ruan Qin was easy to solve and could be ignored. As for the others... She now had Qin Yinong’s power as backing and the title of Best Actress. The class she could associate with had reached a whole new level, she just didn’t know if Qin Yinong would allow her to make connections.
Qin Yinong was a person with a strong sense of possession, and might not allow her to be out of her control.
Tang Ruoyao bit her lower lip slightly, before dismissing the idea.
It's still better to just figure things out slowly.
If not she would just annoy her again. There was only one year left so she should know her place, lest there be twists and turns.
Tang Ruoyao picked up the remote control and pressed the start button to continue watching her documentary.
The only thing she could do now was to keep improving her performance and preparing for every opportunity that would fall in front of her in the future. The entertainment industry is very chaotic and miserable. It's where capital and unspoken rules prevail, but that doesn’t mean that there is no way out for the capable. She already has some fame to her name, and she must firmly grasp it.
Tang Ruoyao's eyes flashed sharply, and then it disappeared.
***
Qin Yinong sat in the living room reading scripts the whole afternoon. Although scripts screened by An Ling are guaranteed in terms of quality, Qin Yinong doesn't like repeated roles. Actors can also have a comfort zone. The same kind of acting will earn you expertise, but it will also form a habit. This habit unconsciously makes their performance decline. Therefore, it is best for an actor to spontaneously disrupt himself and break through his comfort zone. Ease puts a huge limitation on the actor's creativity.
Qin Yinong discarded a bunch of scripts at hand, and in the end only kept the same-sex teacher and student script that An Ling jokingly gave her. The female teacher is married and has a son. In this double-forbidden relationship, she has been struggling at the ends of reason and emotion, enduring restraint. Such a role is not new to Qin Yinong, but it is full of novelty and challenge when put in a homosexual context.
A few years ago, there was a saying that went "I just fall in love with a person, gender doesn’t matter." Homosexuality and heterosexuality have no special difference except for the gender of their love partner. However, in Qin Yinong's view, because homosexuality is a niche group with a small population, and because there is no legal binding between the partners, the purity of emotions between them is sometimes far deeper than that between men and women. Their sense of dependence, inseparability and attraction are something worth studying.
For an avid actor, it is more important than anything else to be able to perform a challenging role that breaks through themselves. As for whether it can be screened in the mainland, Qin Yinong has no shortage of domestic awards. Besides, if she has a good production team, she might even be able to win awards abroad. This script involves both feminism and homosexuality, and some other contemporary issues. To some extent, it conforms to the mainstream international public opinion and judgement criteria for awards in recent years.
This made Qin Yinong suspect that Chai Ziqiu wrote this script according to foreign selection standards. Chai Ziqiu isn’t arrogant about his talents. He has written a few business scripts which received good box office returns, but he hasn't achieved much in art films for the time being. It's not that he couldn't write any, but for the success of a movie, the script is only the most basic part. Since there are too many others involved in production, the script might be changed beyond recognition. His few art films have suffered, and he was ridiculed by people in the industry.
Qin Yinong's heart moved, and she swiftly called An Ling.
An Ling picked up: "Aren't you on vacation?"
Qin Yinong: "I have finished reading the scripts you gave me."
An Ling: "You’ve finished?!"
Qin Yinong said: "Some of them I just flipped through and threw away." Although there are many good scripts, they are not quite complete, and still need to go through many challenges.
"Yeah yeah," An Ling asked, "So?"
Qin Yinong pinched a corner of the script with two fingers, and the script was turned over with a rustle of paper: "Call Chai Ziqiu to write a complete draft of the unnamed same-sex script and send it to me."
"Didn't you say it’s not polished enough, because there is no producer or director?"
Qin Yinong licked her lips: "I'll be the producer myself, and I have a few candidates for the director. I'll go and check it out."
An Ling has been working with her partner for many years, and she understood her meaning without elaboration: "You want to get the name of Ping An Media out?"
Qin Yinong hummed: "So I need to grasp the first movie well."
Qin Yinong has just established a media company called Ping An Media. Her studio is getting bigger and bigger, so it is imperative to set up an entertainment company. Whether it is to sign a new artist or invest in film production, it is much more convenient to have your own company.
In addition, her reputation is terrible. Aside from the name Qin Yinong, other than entertainment media, very few passers-by would dig for who is the owner of Ping An Media. This is also good for her artists, so they won’t have to deal with as much malice.
It's something that kills three birds with one stone, why not do it?
An Ling was a little worried: "Are you sure you can win awards?"
Qin Yinong raised her eyebrows, and said, "When have I ever taken a shot and come home empty-handed?"
An Ling choked, and was shocked speechless at her arrogance for a long time.
Qin Yinong smiled: "Just messing with you, it doesn't matter if I fail. Although I haven't saved up much money, I can still afford a movie. Also, did you think I've been in the industry for so many years just for nothing? If I want to shoot a movie, nevermind whether it has potential to win awards, with just my name, a lot of people will invest."
An Ling teased: "How about I also invest in it?"
Qin Yi faintly refused: "No, it can't be broadcast in the mainland, and you won't get a lot of share at the box office. It's a loss."
An Ling: "Yet you..." Still let others invest?
Qin Yinong knew what she was thinking, and said in a plain tone: "They are all outsiders, you are not."
An Ling couldn't help but feel warm.
Among the artists she has managed, there are many young and sweet people who can coax people, but they cannot compare with Qin Yinong's flippant attitude that still expresses care and special treatment, which makes her feel even more moved. It's like the strength of wine, there may be nothing at first try, but after sinking into the flavor, you will feel endless aftertaste.
No wonder why they say the moment when the iceberg melts is the most alluring.
An Ling suddenly felt a little jealous of Tang Ruoyao. Just listening to one line of you’re not an outsider had already made her lose her mind, willing to spare no effort for Qin Yinong. With the way Tang Ruoyao had to listen to her sweet words, it was a miracle that she was still alive.
"I'll contact Chai Ziqiu." An Ling did not forget to remind her before hanging up, "You have a good rest."
"I know."
Qin Yinong put down the phone, raised her hand and gently pressed her eyes that were sore from overuse. The clock in the living room struck three thirty, and the alarm clock that was set in advance rang. She pushed herself off the sofa with both hands, planning to knock on the door to get Ji Shulan up.
Ningning ends school at 4:30.
She had just walked to the door when it opened from the inside.
The surprise in Ji Shulan's eyes flashed by, her lips mumbled, and she called her nickname: "Dudu."
"Mom." Qin Yinong calmly retracted her hand that was raised in the air, stepped sideways, and said with a small smile, "We should go."
To avoid traffic jams on the road, the two set off half an hour earlier. Fortunately, the road was clear, and it was only four o'clock when they reached the kindergarten. The two of them sat in the car for a while, each had nothing to say. When the teacher leading the children appeared at the school gate, Ji Shulan dragged her hobbling legs out of the car. Like many parents, she searched for the child by the side of the road.
Qin Yinong is a public figure, so she stayed in the car, looking out from the window shade.
There were too many children, and they all looked almost the same. Her eyes were already tired, and she was dazzled after watching for a long time, so she simply closed her eyes.
After a few minutes, or more than ten minutes, the rear door was opened, and light flooded in. Qin Yinong had already put on sunglasses and a mask, but she still turned her head away. After the door was closed again, when there was no risk of being photographed, she turned her face back.
Sitting on Ji Shulan’s lap was a little girl, wearing a snow-white princess dress and small black patent leather shoes. She looked only two or three years old. She had a delicate face, her eyes as bright as black grapes, her lips were pursed, and she looked timidly at the tightly covered woman in front of her.
Qin Yinong took off her sunglasses and mask, slightly curled the corners of her lips, and asked softly, "Don't recognize me?"
The little girl hid in her grandmother’s arms, looking as if she wanted to pounce on her but didn’t dare to. Ji Shulan lowered her head to give her an encouraging look, and held her out. The little girl watched Qin Yinong’s expression, and carefully climbed onto her legs.
Qin Yinong put her hands steadily around the girl, bowed her head and kissed her tenderly on the tiny face that looked just like her.
Ningning's little face immediately showed a little blush, so shy that she buried her face in her neck, her little hand grabbing her collar, and her childish voice called: "Mom."
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[Note 1]: "The purity of emotion..." comes from an interview with Hu Jun, with some changes from the original words
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translated and edited by noba