Oh No, My Tail Has Been Seen! - Chapter 12

Chapter 12

◎Grilled Fish◎

“Senior, are you up?” Xu Sheng’s voice came from outside. Su Miao groggily opened her eyes, looked at her phone, and saw that it was already 10 AM. She loved sleeping in on days without early classes, and she usually didn’t get up until noon when she was at home.

“Senior, are you in there?” Xu Sheng called again. Su Miao immediately sat up, grabbed a robe, and went to open the door.

She was still in a relaxed state from just waking up. Her hair was a little messy, and the sunlight outside was so bright that she squinted her eyes. Her skin was still smooth and translucent, even without makeup. To Xu Sheng, she looked as adorable as a little bunny.

“I just woke up.” She was a little annoyed. How could she have forgotten to set an alarm last night? Being woken up like this made her seem a little lazy. “Give me ten minutes, and I’ll be ready.”

“Okay.” Xu Sheng was completely star-struck. It wasn’t until Su Miao took a step back that she remembered to say, “I’ll be waiting for you in the dining hall.”

“Mm.” Su Miao closed the door, quickly washed up, and put on some makeup. She finished by applying a dried rose-colored lipstick to make her makeup look softer. In exactly ten minutes, she rushed out the door and headed toward the dining hall.

Xu Sheng wasn’t idle either. She had made two breakfasts and placed them on the table. When Su Miao arrived, she was pouring coffee. The meals were identical: toast with jam and a fried egg.

“Did you make this?” Su Miao’s eyes widened. She was doomed. She never had to do any housework or cook at home. She had no idea how to do either.

“Yes, you can start eating. I’ll be done soon,” Xu Sheng said, gesturing for her to sit down. Su Miao didn’t want to refuse her kindness, so she pulled out a chair, spread some jam on a piece of toast, and started eating quietly. While eating, she wondered what she could do for everyone. Kindness was a two-way street, and her upbringing wouldn’t allow her to simply accept others’ kindness.

While Su Miao was thinking, Xu Sheng brought over a cup of coffee with a perfect heart-shaped latte art on top. For some reason, looking at the beautiful coffee, she couldn’t help but think of Bai Jin’s attempt at latte art that had failed and turned into a circle. She picked up the cup and took a sip. The taste was different. This coffee was sweeter and had a richer milk flavor. It was easier to drink, but it wasn’t the same as the one she remembered.

“Is it good?” Xu Sheng asked, watching her actions. For some reason, Su Miao looked thoughtful after drinking it.

“It’s good,” Su Miao said with a smile. “This is the most beautiful latte art I’ve ever seen.” Xu Sheng was a little shy and covered her face. “It seems my part-time job paid off. I used to work at a cafe and practiced latte art for a whole month.”

“You worked at a cafe?” Su Miao was a little surprised. Acting students usually found roles as extras to gain experience.

Xu Sheng’s smile faded slightly. She nodded and said, “Something happened back then, and I really needed money. The pay for acting gigs was too low, so I just went to work at the school’s cafe.” Although she didn’t say what had happened, it sounded like it wasn’t a good thing. Su Miao knew she shouldn’t ask any more questions.

“By the way, you said you were going to revise the script. Is it done?” They were going to rehearse soon, and she hadn’t gotten the script yet. She didn’t know what Xu Sheng had changed.

As soon as she finished speaking, she received a document on WeChat. The file name was the same as the one Su Miao had given her, but with an added note in parentheses that said “Xu Sheng’s revised version.” Su Miao chewed on her toast and started reading the script.

The beginning of the story was the same. The little mermaid watched as the prince got engaged to the princess, and then she revealed that she was the one who had saved him. At this point, the story began to change. The prince was filled with regret after he found out he had been deceived, so he wanted to treat the little mermaid even better to make it up to her. But the little mermaid had been cursed by the witch and couldn’t return the prince’s love. She would soon turn into sea foam. On the day she was about to turn into sea foam, she kissed the prince, looked at her lover one last time, and then disappeared. The prince never married and lived his life alone. He loved to sit by the sea, hoping that his mermaid would return to him.

It was still a tragedy, but in Xu Sheng’s version, the little mermaid’s efforts were rewarded. She was no longer giving without receiving anything in return. The prince spent his entire life paying for his mistake. But Su Miao didn’t think this was a good ending for the little mermaid. If this was a dead end, she would rather the person she loved live happily ever after.

But this was the story Xu Sheng wanted to revise, and she respected Xu Sheng’s decision. “Let’s go with this version.”

After breakfast, the two of them went to the rehearsal room. There were three rehearsal rooms in total, and only one was empty. They went into the empty room. When they turned on the lights, Su Miao saw many cameras inside. The crew must have installed them to film content for the show. A few crew members came in shortly after them and started working quietly in the corners.

“I asked Li Yaxun to play the role of the princess. She’s busy with something right now and will be here soon. Let’s start with the scene where she reveals the truth,” Xu Sheng said, adjusting her hair in the mirror. She had a sharp bob, and she was a little taller than Su Miao, about 175 cm. When she got into character, she really did look like a prince. The little mermaid couldn’t speak, so Su Miao didn’t have to memorize any lines. The lack of words actually made the acting more difficult. She needed to accurately convey the emotions of each scene to make the audience feel what she felt. Xu Sheng didn’t make her wait long after she memorized her lines and gestured for them to start.

Su Miao closed her eyes and adjusted her emotions. When she opened her eyes again, she was the little mermaid. She was helpless and on the verge of tears. She was holding a white letter in her hand. When she saw the prince approaching, she eagerly walked toward him, but every step was like walking on a knife’s edge. The pain was so intense that she couldn’t help but cry.

“What’s wrong?” Xu Sheng went over to hold her arm, noticing the letter in her hand that she wanted to give to her. “Is this for me?” Su Miao nodded.

Xu Sheng took the letter and started to read its contents. She then looked at Su Miao with a look of disbelief. “You’re telling me that you were the one who saved me, not her?”

Su Miao nodded. She took off her white lace gloves, revealing the scars she had gotten from saving him. Xu Sheng was even more shocked. She had always wondered why the princess didn’t have any scars on her hands when she had been so badly injured from saving her. Now she finally had the answer. He hugged Su Miao and said, “I’m sorry. I’m just now recognizing you.”

Su Miao shook her head, looking at him with deep affection. She raised her hand and gently caressed his face to comfort him. She had once blamed him, but seeing his remorseful expression now, all of her resentment vanished. The person she loved, even if they only frowned, was enough to make her hurt for a while. How could she possibly have the heart to blame him?

Xu Sheng just stared at Su Miao blankly. The two of them looked at each other for a long time. It wasn’t until Su Miao broke character first and gently pushed Xu Sheng away. “You’re a really good actor.”

Xu Sheng also broke character, stepped back two paces, and let go of the arm she had been holding. “You are too.”

“Can we come in?” Zhang Linyu knocked on the door. Another actress was with her. Su Miao remembered her name was Li Yaxun.

“Yes, you can.” Su Miao waved them in.

Zhang Linyu smiled and walked over. “Yaxun told me you were rehearsing a stage play. All the roles are here, but you might be missing someone to do the monologue, so I wanted to volunteer. Do you think I can?”

If she said no, it would seem like she was being exclusive. “Of course,” Su Miao said, nodding. With the princess, they could rehearse the entire scene.

After a morning of rehearsing, their performance began to take shape. When the director saw this, he immediately had the staff bring them props and better lighting, saying that he couldn’t miss out on this kind of short drama that would be great for the show.

The few of them worked all day and finally perfected the scene. The production crew recorded it and sent the raw footage to everyone.

“I can’t take it anymore. I need to go eat,” Zhang Linyu said, covering her stomach. She was also hungry from doing the monologue. She had been hungry since breakfast and couldn’t take it anymore. After saying that, she immediately ran to the dining hall. Su Miao looked at Xu Sheng, who was still immersed in the video. She patted her shoulder and said, “Let’s go eat, too.”

“Mm,” Xu Sheng replied, and she went to the dining hall with Su Miao and Li Yaxun. The production crew had said that except for the first night’s dinner, they had to cook for themselves. Since they had been rehearsing all day, no one had cooked.

As soon as she entered the dining hall, Su Miao saw Zhang Linyu, who was so hungry that she was eating sliced bread. When she saw Su Miao come in, she held up the bread in her hand. “Want a slice?”

Su Miao didn’t hesitate and took a slice, putting it in her mouth. “Thank you.”

“How about we order takeout?” Xu Sheng suggested.

“Yes! I’ve been hungry all day, and I’m really craving some meat,” Zhang Linyu said. She felt that sliced bread wasn’t enough to satisfy her hunger. Li Yaxun also nodded, agreeing with her suggestion. “We don’t have time to cook, so takeout is faster.”

Since it was her idea to rehearse the stage play, and everyone had helped her fulfill her wish, Xu Sheng didn’t hesitate to order takeout for everyone with her own money.

“What do you want to eat?” Xu Sheng asked, feeling overwhelmed by all the options on the takeout app. She couldn’t make up her mind.

“Grilled fish,” Zhang Linyu blurted out.

Su Miao’s face instantly went pale.