The Green Tea Actress Has Too Much After-Show Drama - Chapter 42

“I… sigh, just let Ran Long tell you.”

“What’s with all the hemming and hawing? It’s just rehearsing lines! What’s so embarrassing about that? All this secrecy makes it sound like we’re having an affair!” Ran Long, seeing Yuan Chengyin’s cowardice, took over the conversation.

Qiu An’s eyes narrowed. “Rehearsing? Which scene?”

“What scene do you think? Whatever comes next in the script, of course. What’s it to you? Why are you being so nosy?”

Ran Long bristled at Qiu An’s sour expression. She wasn’t afraid of Qiu An’s icy glares—they couldn’t actually cut her. With so many people watching, Qiu An wouldn’t dare throw chicken soup at her or slap her, would she?

Besides, Yuan Chengyin had already admitted he liked someone else, and that someone wasn’t Qiu An. Wouldn’t it be better for Qiu An to give up already? Stringing her along with vague hints and unspoken feelings was just cruel.

“She’s the director! Why is she rehearsing with you instead of directing you? I’m your scene partner. If you need to rehearse, why didn’t you come to me?”

“What’s wrong with rehearsing with the director? No matter how well we perform, she still has the final say. We’re all actors here—why does it matter who my scene partner is? I can rehearse with Yuan Chengyin just as easily as with you. And if I need Sister Hou’s help, that’s perfectly reasonable too!”

Sister Hou, gnawing on a chicken leg, was startled by being called out of nowhere. She pointed a greasy finger at herself, her eyes questioning Ran Long: “Me?”

Ran Long rolled her eyes, exasperated by Sister Hou’s oil-slicked face and dim-witted expression.

Ran Long raised her voice in a minor tirade, but Qiu An remained stubborn, her eyebrows arched in defiance. After a tense standoff, Ran Long reluctantly conceded, “Fine, next time I’ll ask Sister Hou. Is that acceptable?”

A volley of icy glares shot toward Sister Hou.

Sister Hou immediately picked up the threatening signals, though she couldn’t pinpoint their origin. Instinctively, she waved her hands in frantic refusal. “No, no, no, no! I can’t act! Ran Long, you should ask someone else—anyone but me!”

Ran Long rolled her eyes again. Where’s your backbone? she thought. Why does everyone crumble at Qiu An’s petty tyranny? Does she think she’s the emperor?

Besides, if she couldn’t ask Yuan Chengyin, what was wrong with asking Sister Hou?

“Oh, Qiu An, really? It’s not a big deal. We’re all eating here—stop being so unreasonable.”

Ran Long never imagined she’d be the one saying such words to Qiu An.

This was Qiu An, the calmest, most rational, and least panicky of them all! Love truly makes fools of us all.

“Exactly, exactly! Stop being so unreasonable,” Yuan Chengyin murmured in agreement, earning a sharp glare from Qiu An.

“My apologies. I lost my composure,” Qiu An said, her tone softening. Ran Long and Sister Hou instantly felt the tension in the room ease, each letting out a relieved breath.

Xi Xi, however, knew better. Having worked with her boss for years, she understood that when it came to matters involving Ran Long, he wouldn’t let things go so easily.

Someone was going to die.

I’m going to die, Yuan Chengyin realized, understanding that his life still had one final trial to overcome.

Sure enough.

When he returned to the hotel and reached for his keycard, he found it missing. Just as he was about to call security, the door cracked open, and a hand—with distinct knuckles and skin like jade, a hand many would dream of kissing—pulled him inside.

Yuan Chengyin pressed his palms together in front of him, as if praying, and blurted out before the figure could speak, “I’ll talk! I’ll tell you everything! Ask anything, and I’ll answer truthfully. If I lie even once, may I be struck by lightning!”

Qiu An said coldly, “Not enough. Keep adding more.”

“I’ll never win Yao Ling over in this lifetime!”

“Fine. Tell me why Xiao Ran sought you out, what she wanted, and everything you know. The more details, the better.”

Yuan Chengyin cleared his throat and said cautiously, “She came to see me this afternoon and said she wanted to find… um… the feeling from the script… in me.”

“Which part of the script? What feeling?”

“You know, the… intimate scenes?”

“Intimate scenes. Continue,” Qiu An said expressionlessly, her voice icy.

Yuan Chengyin’s heart sank. She closed her eyes, swallowed twice, and finally managed to speak. “She asked me to take off my clothes, so I did. I took them off, off, off…”

“Exactly how much did you take off?”

“N-not everything! Just my T-shirt! I kept everything else on!”

Yuan Chengyin cracked open an eye to steal a glance at Qiu An’s reaction. Qiu An remained expressionless, but her aura crackled like she had already chopped Yuan Chengyin into a thousand pieces.

“Continue.”

Those two simple words made Yuan Chengyin want to drop to her knees.

“She said she didn’t feel anything, then told me to shower and put on your perfume. Still nothing. So she left. That’s it, really. She said she didn’t feel anything and that she didn’t like me anymore. Please, just stop being jealous, okay?”

“Why did she take my perfume?” Qiu An muttered, more to herself than to Yuan Chengyin.

Yuan Chengyin’s survival instincts kicked into overdrive. He immediately thought of the best way to appease Qiu An: “Maybe she actually likes you? She probably thought it was the perfume making her feel that way, so she borrowed it to test. When she realized it wasn’t the perfume, she left.”

Qiu An glared at Yuan Chengyin, her voice sharp with irritation. “Don’t talk nonsense!”

“Think about it—does what I’m saying make sense? Besides, you’re so into her and can’t stand seeing her flirt with other guys. Why don’t you just confess? I don’t think she dislikes you that much. If you put in a little more effort, you might actually have a chance!”

“Mind your own business.”

She’s being so fierce, Yuan Chengyin thought. Love really does make people crazy.

“She’s not very perceptive. I’m telling you, you need to confess soon! Once she gets more popular, more guys will start chasing her boldly. What if someone else snatches her up? Are you just going to keep trying to break them up?”

“Do you think I’m that kind of person?”

Yuan Chengyin shook his head, but inwardly he thought, Aren’t you?

“And what’s this about ‘accidentally being swept away by someone else’? Do you think Xiao Ran is that frivolous?”

“My dear grandmother…”

After returning to the hotel, Ran Long suddenly craved an ice cream bar. She went downstairs to buy one and, as she turned back, happened to see Qiu An emerging from Yuan Chengyin’s room.

Ran Long took a step back, ducking behind the corner to observe the lovestruck woman’s movements in secret.

She noticed that Qiu An seemed to be in good spirits. A smile played on her lips, and her eyes sparkled with happiness and shyness, as if she were basking in the afterglow of some blissful encounter.

Ran Long also saw Yuan Chengyin sigh deeply after Qiu An turned away, his face etched with exhaustion and helplessness as he closed the door.

No way, Ran Long thought, licking her ice cream bar. Qiu An wouldn’t have barged into Yuan Chengyin’s room and forced herself on him, would she?

Damn it, that’s textbook workplace sexual harassment!

Ran Long’s sense of justice surged. She had to rescue Yuan Chengyin from this hellish situation and expose Qiu An, the wolf in sheep’s clothing!

Once Qiu An had retreated to her room and closed the door, Ran Long strode over to Yuan Chengyin’s room and pounded on the door.

“Who is it?” Yuan Chengyin called out wearily. She desperately wanted to collapse onto her bed and sleep, but the insistent knocking sounded like the door was about to be kicked down. Dragging her exhausted body to the door, she cautiously peered through the peephole.

Sure enough, it was someone she couldn’t afford to anger standing outside.

Ran Long stood facing Yuan Chengyin’s room, but her eyes were fixed on Qiu An’s door, her posture tense and alert.

“Y-you… you…” Yuan Chengyin was genuinely terrified. “What are you doing here again? Go back to your room! Stop wandering around all day!”

“Don’t be scared, it’s Ran Long! Please open the door first, okay?”

“I know it’s you! Please, just go back to your room, okay? Tonight—no, this week—no, forever! Just stop visiting me, okay?”

The more Yuan Chengyin tried to avoid her, the more Ran Long became convinced something was wrong.

Ran Long patiently coaxed her, “Just open the door. We can talk things through slowly. I’ll help you!”

“There’s nothing to talk about! The best way you can help me is to just leave me alone!”

Seeing Yuan Chengyin’s refusal to open the door, Ran Long pulled out her phone and sent a message:

Super Malevolent Woman: Did Qiu An do something to you?

Super Malevolent Woman: Are you okay? Don’t do anything rash!

Super Malevolent Woman: Do you need legal assistance? I can help you!

Yuan Chengyin glanced at her buzzing phone, a wave of helplessness washing over her. Legal assistance… she might actually need that.

I’ll Get Rich OVO: Nothing happened. We just exchanged a few words. Go back and rest. You have an early shoot tomorrow.

Realizing she couldn’t pry any information from Yuan Chengyin, Ran Long took a deep breath, steeled her courage, and walked to Qiu An’s door.

Before she could knock, Qiu An opened the door.

“What’s wrong?” Qiu An asked. Though the woman had toned down her radiant, spring-like demeanor, it hadn’t completely vanished, leaving her with an unsettlingly twisted air that made Ran Long feel a twinge of fear.

But she couldn’t back down now! Sticking up for her friend was worth it!

Ran Long stepped into Qiu An’s room, slammed the door shut, and demanded, “What were you doing in Yuan Chengyin’s room just now? Did you… did you do something to her?”

Qiu An cut her off. “I didn’t do anything. You’re misunderstanding.”

“Don’t interrupt me! I’m not misunderstanding! How am I always misunderstanding you two? That’s impossible! I don’t believe you.”

Qiu An patiently explained, “She told me you asked her to rehearse lines with you. I just went to confirm and came back. Nothing happened. You can relax.”

Torn between doubt and suspicion, Ran Long chose to issue a warning. “Listen, just because you… slept with her doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want to her! No matter when, no matter what your past relationship was, no matter what your current relationship is, you need to get her consent before you… do anything to her!”

This time, Qiu An patiently listened to Ran Long finish speaking, her brow furrowing slightly as if seriously considering Ran Long’s words.

After a long pause, she said, “I never slept with her.”

“Oh, you’re pulling that again!” Ran Long snapped, her patience wearing thin. “Just don’t bully Yuan Chengyin, okay? I’ll be watching you, and I’ll call the police if I have to! Got it?”

Ran Long’s threats didn’t faze Qiu An. Her mood seemed absurdly good; after hearing about the police, she even chuckled softly.

“Alright, then you’d better keep a close eye on me.”

“You—!” Faced with Qiu An’s shamelessness, Ran Long was speechless.

Just when she thought Qiu An had reached her limit, the woman managed to sink even lower. “Oh, and if you’re worried about nailing those intimate scenes, you can practice with me first. Want to stay here tonight?”

“Who would want to stay here?!”

Ran Long stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

The more she looked at Qiu An tonight, the creepier she seemed.

This place was no longer safe. She’d better retreat to her own room.