The Green Tea Actress Has Too Much After-Show Drama - Chapter 19

“I thought… you’d feel awkward with her around.”

Qiu An pondered for a moment before asking, “She’s the director, and I’m the actress. Why would I mind her being here?”

“Not like she’s such a great actress herself,” Ran Long muttered under her breath. “Couldn’t even handle a simple kissing scene.”

“What was that?”

“Nothing. Should we kiss now?”

Ran Long scratched her ear, feeling flustered. She glanced around her messy room, then at the living room. Originally, she’d had time to stall and mentally prepare while walking to Yuan Chengyin’s room, but now…

“Do you want to pick a spot? The bedroom, living room, or even the bathroom? I’m fine with any of them.”

The bathroom? Seriously?

Her own room was a disaster. Her suitcase lay wide open, clothes strewn everywhere, and underwear and socks hung drying by the window, a vibrant red display.

In contrast, Qiu An’s room felt almost uninhabited. Her suitcase was neatly closed against the wall, the bottles on her vanity arranged like soldiers standing at attention, and not a single garment lay out of place—everything was likely tucked away in the closet.

Wait, where did Qiu An hang her underwear? Surely she wouldn’t have sent such personal items to the hotel laundry?

Ran Long’s gaze drifted toward the balcony.

“Not the balcony,” Qiu An said. “We can’t risk getting photographed.”

“So you’re still smoking on the balcony? After a year of running the studio, you’ve allocated the entire budget to public relations, haven’t you?”

“Let’s go to the living room,” Ran Long said, reaching to turn off the bedroom light, concealing the messy room.

The moment she sat on the sofa, Ran Long’s unease intensified.

She watched Qiu An first draw the balcony curtains, then pour a glass of water and ask if she wanted to wet her throat. Standing by the coffee table, Qiu An picked up the remote to adjust the lighting and asked:

“Is the light too bright? Should I dim it? Does the warm light feel too hot? Should I switch to a cooler tone?”

Ran Long realized Qiu An was expressing her nervousness in her own way.

Ran Long hadn’t been particularly nervous before, but seeing Qiu An go through such elaborate preparations made her palms sweat.

“I don’t think the lighting is the problem. Let’s just turn down the air conditioning.”

They immediately lowered the temperature to 20 degrees Celsius.

With no more preparations to make, Qiu An finally settled properly on the sofa. She sat very politely, keeping a wide distance from Ran Long—enough space to fit another Yuan Chengyin between them.

Ran Long scooted closer, and Qiu An picked up her water glass and took a sip.

Awkward. Silence. Baffling.

You were the one who wanted to practice kissing scenes, Ran Long thought. You were the one who came knocking on my door late at night. So why are you suddenly getting shy at the last minute?

Qiu An kept drinking water as if her throat were parched, but what was there to lubricate? They were just kissing; no sound was required.

What exactly is Qiu An so embarrassed about? Ran Long wondered. Yuan Chengyin’s presence isn’t the issue, so does that mean she’s uncomfortable kissing me?

But Qiu An wasn’t a novice. She had kissed Yuan Chengyin and had likely filmed plenty of kissing scenes for work… right?

Well, I haven’t really paid much attention to Qiu An’s films and TV shows.

Ever since Qiu An became famous, Ran Long’s teeth would itch whenever she saw her face on TV. She’d fantasize about hugging the screen and biting down hard, tearing through that hypocritical facade.

So how could Qiu An, the universally acclaimed Best Actress, forget her character and blush like a schoolgirl the moment she kissed Ran Long?

Ran Long stole a glance at Qiu An, who immediately averted her gaze and began stalling again. “Is twenty degrees too cold? I’ll turn up the thermostat. We should be careful not to catch a cold, even in summer.”

What’s with all the fussing?!

It was as if they were a newly dating couple, still too shy to fart in front of each other, meticulously planning the perfect kissing atmosphere.

But that would never happen. They would never be a couple, and such a perfect moment would never come.

Ran Long steeled her resolve. She grabbed Qiu An’s wrist, pinned it to the sofa, and cupped Qiu An’s face with her other hand. Closing her eyes, she leaned in for the kiss.

She misjudged the force, lightly bumping her teeth against Qiu An’s. Afraid that pulling back now would drag out the night, Ran Long simply continued kissing her.

Qiu An’s breath hitched, but she didn’t make a sound, even when the bump stung. She closed her eyes and let Ran Long take the lead in this sudden kiss.

Ran Long had always thought the saccharine kisses described in movies and novels were just artistic embellishments. But now, she could actually taste sweetness on Qiu An’s lips.

On set, their kisses had always been interrupted by Yuan Chengyin before they could deepen. Only now did she finally get to savor the flavor.

Whether it was from lipstick or something else, the lower lip tasted even sweeter than the upper one.

Sitting side-by-side wasn’t ideal for kissing. Ran Long almost turned her entire body toward Qiu An. She loosened her lips slightly, then knelt on the sofa like Yu Youxuan, leaning in to continue the kiss.

In the blink of an eye, Ran Long noticed a faint blush rising on Qiu An’s cheeks. Her half-closed eyes seemed to shimmer like a pool of spring water, carrying the misty allure of a beauty fresh from her bath.

What was that word again…? Besotted?

Qiu An’s saliva-slicked lips glistened under the lamplight, resembling a ripe, dew-kissed honeysuckle berry.

Even a backpack full of snacks couldn’t rival the allure of this single fruit on a spring breeze-kissed day.

Honeysuckle berries don’t typically ripen in spring, making this solitary fruit all the more precious. It had endured the long winter’s snow and biting winds, waiting to be plucked by her on this belated spring outing.

Ran Long set down her backpack, using it as a footstool, heedless of the snacks inside being crushed underfoot.

She swept her long hair behind her ears, leaned down, and gently took the fruit Qiu An offered between her lips, sucking lightly.

Her tongue, accustomed to tasting sweetness, grew restless with mere lip contact. She tentatively extended her tongue, gently licking the fruit.

In claiming this pleasure, she surrendered herself completely.

Perhaps because they were alone, Ran Long didn’t need to maintain her usual cautious reserve, free to savor this coveted taste without fear of interruption.

Even if it was Qiu An, it didn’t matter.

Perhaps it was precisely because the person she was kissing was Qiu An that Ran Long dared to savor the moment so recklessly.

Ran Long knew that no matter what she did, Qiu An would always forgive her.

She had seen Qiu An at her most vulnerable and helpless, completely dependent on and trusting her, and had also witnessed Qiu An’s boundless tenderness toward her.

Even though Qiu An was an actress, a Best Actress, a lotus flower that had bloomed atop a snowy peak after climbing step by step from a dirty, treacherous mountain ravine, Ran Long found it hard to believe that those past emotions were merely products of Qiu An’s extraordinary acting skills.

Even though Ran Long was convinced that Qiu An had betrayed her, she couldn’t truly treat her like an enemy.

Ran Long remembered how bad Qiu An could be, but she also remembered how good she could be. She remembered the pain, but she also remembered the sweetness.

It was similar to why Ran Long didn’t particularly like Sister Hou. Sister Hou wasn’t professional enough, her mind wasn’t sharp, and she often spoke ill of Ran Long behind her back.

In truth, when Ran Long received the audition invitation, she could have used it as leverage to demand that the company replace Sister Hou with a more qualified manager. In fact, several people had caught wind of the opportunity and secretly approached her. But Ran Long knew that when she was down on her luck, Sister Hou was the only one who had been willing to pay attention to her and buy promotions for her live streams. So letting Sister Hou ride this wave felt only fair.

And Qiu An? That was a different story altogether.

Qiu An had done far worse to Ran Long than Sister Hou ever had, but when she was good, she was far better.

Whenever Ran Long scrolled past photos of Qiu An walking the red carpet in a custom-designed gown, adorned with high-end jewelry, she would occasionally pause to take a second look.

In the dead of winter, dressed like that? You’ll freeze to death, she’d think, while simultaneously wondering, Doesn’t her stylist know she’s sensitive to the cold? They should at least add a shawl.

Her fans are completely blinded by Qiu An’s lies, believing her rags-to-riches story of someone without connections or cunning, she’d think, while also acknowledging, Someone who once couldn’t afford a second down jacket is now wearing millions of yuan worth of luxury goods. That’s quite inspiring.

Lost in her thoughts, Ran Long accidentally licked Qiu An a little too suggestively.

“Mmm~”

Perhaps sensing Ran Long’s boldness, Qiu An let out a soft, low moan.

It didn’t sound like resistance, but rather permission.

You may enter, it seemed to say.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t a kiss between lovers, not one meant to be so intimate.

Ran Long had to find another way to suppress the urge to deepen the kiss.

She lowered herself to sit on Qiu An’s lap. Before she could make a move, Qiu An’s icy fingertips brushed against her neck.

Ran Long instinctively wrapped her arms around Qiu An’s waist, pulling her into a tight embrace.

The moment their bodies pressed together, Qiu An trembled slightly, her engorged lips parting in soft moans that sent a ticklish shiver through Ran Long’s heart.

Ran Long ended the kiss just before her rationality drowned and her body spiraled out of control.

She jerked backward, pulling Qiu An forward slightly as if the latter were reluctant to break the contact.

Panting softly, Ran Long wiped her mouth, using the gesture to hide the flush creeping across her cheeks and the lingering longing in her eyes.

I want to continue so badly… to plunge my tongue deeper, to tear into her flesh until I reach her soul.

Afraid that another second of hesitation would shatter her self-control, Ran Long scrambled off Qiu An’s lap, moving with frantic urgency.

She grabbed Qiu An’s cup and gulped down large mouthfuls of cold water, not caring whether Qiu An had used it or drunk from that spot.

We’ve already kissed. Who cares about such trivialities now?

The cool water soothed her throat, finally calming her agitated nerves. When she glanced back at Qiu An, the flush on her face had faded slightly.

Wanting to break the charged silence, Ran Long blurted out the question that had been nagging her: “It’s just acting. Why are you so shy?”

“You’re quite shy yourself,” Ran Long retorted.

Ran Long knew this perfectly well, but she brazenly declared, “My blushing is part of my character! You can’t look so submissive! Yu Youxuan is the dominant one, right?”

Qiu An frowned in thought for a moment, then asked Ran Long, “Submissive… what does that mean? And dominant, what is that…?”

Ran Long barely suppressed the urge to roll her eyes, cutting her off. “Come on, you’ve slept with women before! Don’t play dumb with me! If you can’t play the dominant role, just wait for Yuan Chengyin to yell at you and disband the crew!”

Qiu An fell silent, her expression darkening.

Afraid she’d made Qiu An cry again, Ran Long quickly backtracked. “Hey, it’s okay. We still have two days. If we practice hard, we still have a chance.”

“Alright. Thank you for your hard work.”

“It’s not about hard work…”

Qiu An’s earnest reply made Ran Long feel awkward. Her face began to burn again, and she quickly made an excuse to escape. “Never mind, I’m going to take a shower. You should get some rest.”

When no response came, Ran Long saw Qiu An pull a sofa cushion into her arms. After fidgeting for a moment, she asked, “Are we… continuing tonight?”