The Green Tea Actress Has Too Much After-Show Drama - Chapter 5

Unprecedented. One person’s audition stretched across an entire afternoon.

Apart from the two lead actors on stage, who seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves, everyone else felt utterly hopeless.

Strangely, no matter how terribly Ran Long performed, the director refused to say, “That’s enough, we’ll stop here.” Instead, he kept switching to different scenes.

By the end, they were even repeating the scenes from when she first entered.

So this is what it means to have connections, Sister Hou couldn’t help but sigh.

Yuan Chengyin stared blankly at the two actors, his gaze unfocused. He seemed to be exhibiting some repetitive behaviors. Even when their improvisation veered wildly off course and he forgot to call “Cut,” he merely scratched the table with his gnawed fingernails and murmured, “Mm, mm, let’s try that again.”

Qiu An also looked somewhat weary, but she simply smiled warmly at Ran Long and returned to her starting position, as if she were prepared to act with her until the end of time.

Ran Long watched Qiu An patiently comfort herself, willingly enduring torment again and again. At first, she felt a smug satisfaction, but it quickly lost its appeal.

“Alright,” Ran Long said. “Let’s wrap it up for today, Director Yuan. It’s been almost two years since I’ve filmed anything, and I’m just not in the right headspace.”

Qiu An’s eyelashes fluttered as she listened. When she opened her eyes again, her gaze remained lowered, unable to meet Ran Long’s. Her red lips parted slightly, and she murmured, “It’s okay…”

“Ugh, stop saying that! Tsk! Every day it’s the same thing—you’re just trying to play the victim here! ‘It’s okay,’ ‘It’s fine’—it wasn’t even a big deal to begin with, but you keep acting like it’s some unbearable hardship!”

Qiu An fell silent.

The crew members, who had worked with Qiu An before, were astonished. In their experience, she had never been one to passively endure or back down. They were utterly bewildered, yet dared not make a sound.

Seeing the tension, Yuan Chengyin quickly smoothed things over. “Alright, alright, let’s call it a day for now. We’ll pick up the rest tomorrow. Everyone’s worked hard today.”

The casting team members’ weary faces lit up at these words, as if they had been granted a pardon. They rushed toward the door like they were escaping.

Though Ran Long had just verbally attacked Qiu An, her mood remained somber. She had no intention of lingering for pleasantries and gestured for Sister Hou to leave with her.

Sister Hou, clutching her bag, dared not walk beside Ran Long, keeping a respectful step behind. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Qiu An and her assistant quickly catching up.

Only Yuan Chengyin and the producer, Sister Wang, remained in the room, staring at each other.

Sister Wang wiped the sweat from her forehead, thought for a long moment, and finally asked, “The investment you secured… it’s not from her father’s comeback, is it?”

“Of course not.”

“Then why are you so insistent on casting her? She’s lost her drive. What’s the secret here that I, as the producer, can’t know?”

Yuan Chengyin tossed the tissue containing Ran Long’s broken nail fragments into the trash can and sighed three times in succession. “Just think of it as a debt I owe from my younger days. Hmm… Xiao Ran wasn’t always like this.”

“Are you talking about her acting skills or… her personality?”

“Neither. She wasn’t like this at all.”

“Xiao Ran,” Qiu An’s voice called out from behind.

Ran Long didn’t feel like acknowledging her. Without turning around, she continued walking forward.

“Ran Long,” Qiu An called again.

Ran Long had no interest in playing games with her. She just wanted to hurry back to her rented apartment, take a hot shower, order takeout, and stream video games—return to her familiar daily routine.

“Ran… Ran Long,” Sister Hou stammered, nearly slipping and calling her “Sister” before quickly correcting herself. Her boss was in a foul mood, and misnaming her would inevitably trigger another tirade.

Ran Long heard the footsteps behind her stop. She turned around, bewildered, and snapped, “What do you want? Are you coming or not?”

“We’re coming, but the elevator’s right here,” Qiu An’s icy voice cut through the air like a spell.

“…Can’t I just take the stairs?” Ran Long retorted stubbornly.

“This is the eighteenth floor.”

“Even if it’s the eighteenth floor, I’ll still…”

“The stairwell is also here. If you want to take the stairs,” Qiu An glanced at the two people beside her, her expression unwavering, “I can accompany you.”

Sister Hou’s heart skipped a beat. She couldn’t decipher Qiu An’s true intentions, and she certainly couldn’t climb eighteen flights of stairs in these sky-high heels. She stole a quick glance at Qiu An’s assistant, who returned her gaze. Sister Hou quickly averted her eyes.

As expected, the assistant of a major celebrity was no ordinary person, exuding an imposing aura.

Ran Long was momentarily stunned before retorting, “Why would we take the stairs? Are you crazy?”

The elevator dinged, arriving at their floor. Qiu An’s lips twitched, a faint smile playing at the corners.

Ran Long, baffled by the sight, muttered loud enough for everyone to hear, “What’s with the smirking? Crazy.”

My dear sister, you’re the one who’s crazy! Sister Hou desperately wanted to tape Ran Long’s mouth shut, tired of her constant public embarrassments.

Qiu An’s assistant scanned her face into the building’s facial recognition system. With a glance, the elevator automatically switched to VIP mode, ensuring no one else would open the doors during their ascent.

The two pairs stood on opposite sides of the elevator. Qiu An and her assistant stared straight ahead, while Ran Long’s gaze swept up and down the two women. Sister Hou, meanwhile, wished the floor would swallow her whole.

“What’s your name?” Ran Long asked, eyeing Qiu An’s assistant.

The assistant glanced at Qiu An, who nodded slightly.

“Seriously? Do you have any autonomy? Do you need permission for something as simple as your name?” Ran Long scoffed.

Xi Xi remained composed, refusing to stoop to Ran Long’s level. “Just call me Xi Xi.”

“Are you a wage slave?” Ran Long pressed.

Xi Xi froze, instinctively turning to Qiu An for guidance again.

Ran Long snapped impatiently, “I’m talking to you! Why do you keep looking at her?”

“I’m Qiu An’s assistant, basically what you’d call a ‘working stiff’.”

“Oh, then do you know what time it is?”

Xi Xi resisted the urge to glance at Qiu An. Every time she looked at her, her gaze held three parts confusion, four parts exasperation, and three parts longing for workers’ compensation. Now she had to swallow it all down herself. She checked her wristwatch and replied evenly, “6:05 PM.”

“And do you know that this is the elevator’s peak evening rush hour?”

Xi Xi was taken aback. She finally understood: Ran Long was annoyed that she had activated VIP mode during peak hours, monopolizing a public resource.

Out of the corner of her eye, Xi Xi saw Qiu An suppressing a smile, showing no intention of helping her out of this awkward situation.

As if being a working stiff wasn’t annoying enough already.

“Ms. Ran, we’ve already signed a confidentiality agreement with Director Yuan. You may not have signed it yourself, but I’m sure you received either verbal or written notice. You know it’s rush hour. If someone saw us here, wouldn’t that be a breach of confidentiality?”

“True,” Ran Long nodded.

Xi Xi was utterly bewildered. Ran Long continued, “See that, Sister Hou? Look at her eloquence! You should learn a thing or two from her!”

Xi Xi: “……”

Sister Hou verbally agreed, but inwardly thought: Wait, girl, are you seriously out of your mind?

As they emerged from the underground garage, Sister Hou finally saw the driver’s message: he’d been called away to pick up someone else.

She turned to Ran Long and said, “The driver left early. We’ll have to hail a cab outside. It’s rush hour, so we might have to wait a while.”

“Tsk! Didn’t you promise that if I agreed to audition, the company would spare no resources to protect my interests? How quickly you’ve gone back on your word! You can’t even provide basic transportation?” Ran Long repeatedly checked the time on her phone, reminding herself she needed to get back to prepare for her livestream.

Sister Hou swallowed the retort, “You didn’t get the part,” and rephrased, “You’re right. I’ll report this to my superiors.”

Who says I’m not good with words? I’m practically a master of manipulation.

Ran Long rolled her eyes. “Enough with the excuses. Let’s just get in line for a cab.”

“I’ll drive you,” Qiu An, who had been walking ahead, stopped and turned back to look at them. “It wouldn’t be good for you to be seen leaving through the main entrance.”

Sister Hou’s finger hovered over her phone screen, awaiting her boss’s instructions.

“You’ll drive us?” Ran Long scratched her chin, a mischievous glint in her eyes. “Sure, you can drive. No need to trouble Xi Xi. You take the wheel.”

Sister Hou’s heart skipped a beat.

But Qiu An calmly agreed, “Alright.”

“Sister Qiu An…” Xi Xi began to protest.

“It’s fine, I can drive.”

“Great! Let’s go!” Ran Long grabbed Sister Hou by the arm and followed Qiu An.

Unfortunately, while Qiu An was willing to drive, Sister Hou was too nervous to ride with her.

“I-I live quite far away, you know. It’s practically across half of Beiji! I’m sure we’re not going the same way. I’ll just take the subway.”

Qiu An didn’t bother being polite and nodded in agreement.

“Sigh,” Ran Long sighed dejectedly. “How can you be so timid? How many lifetimes of good deeds do you need to accumulate to get a ride home from a major celebrity? And you’re turning it down?”

While Ran Long grumbled, Xi Xi caught Qiu An’s faintly resentful gaze and understood immediately. “I’ll take the subway too,” she said. “The traffic’s terrible outside, and the subway will be faster.”

“Xi Xi, you’re so easily embarrassed by compliments! You work so hard for Qiu An every day—it’s only natural for your boss to give you a ride home…”

Before Ran Long could finish her rant, Xi Xi handed the car keys to Qiu An, shoved Sister Hou into the elevator, and pressed the close button.

Ran Long watched Qiu An climb into a discreet, understated Mercedes-Benz. She followed, touched the passenger door handle, then changed her mind and slipped into the back seat.

Qiu An paused, then asked casually, “Not sitting up front?”

“I heard the passenger seat is the most dangerous place in the car. You’re so busy, you probably haven’t driven in ages, right? I’m perfectly fine back here.”

“Don’t you know how well I drive?” Qiu An’s hand rested on the steering wheel, her index finger tapping it twice.

Ran Long raised an eyebrow, noticing the soft, almost aggrieved tone in Qiu An’s voice.

“That was then, this is now. It’s been ages. Who knows what you’re like now?”

Qiu An didn’t reply, merely lowered her head, hiding her expression in the shadows.

“What, you don’t want to be my driver?”

Ran Long leaned forward, bracing her hands on the front seat back, peering through the gap to get a closer look at Qiu An’s face. Her expression seemed neutral, no signs of tears. Good, I can keep teasing her.

“You should’ve said so earlier. It’s not like I can’t get a taxi.”

“Take off your shoes and give them to me.”

Qiu An suddenly turned to look at her, the faint breeze carrying the last traces of her perfume—a unique, herbal scent—into Ran Long’s nostrils.

Their faces were so close Ran Long could feel Qiu An’s breath brushing against her lips.

Two lesbians, how disgusting.

Ran Long released her grip on the seat back and retreated into her seat.

“What do you want my shoes for? Afraid I’ll run away?”

“These heels aren’t practical for driving.” Qiu An slipped off her high heels and set them aside, flexing her toes to relieve the ache from standing all afternoon.

“Ugh, isn’t that a bit much? We’re both lesbians—it’s kind of gross.”

“What?”

“You heard me. We’re both lesbians. Isn’t this a bit much?”

“It’s just shoes. If you have nothing to hide, why would it be gross?” Qiu An’s tone remained even, her conscience clear.

“You’re the one with something to hide! Now you’re making it even grosser! Stop talking!”

“Alright, I’ll stop.” Qiu An said, a faint smile hidden beneath her composure, her mood brightening.

Ran Long took off her shoes, ready to hand them over, but paused. “You don’t have athlete’s foot, do you?”

She had always been cautious about sharing shoes, remembering her mother’s childhood warnings about the risk of infection.

Ran Long immediately regretted her question.

“Why would I have athlete’s foot? If I did, wouldn’t you have noticed by now?” Qiu An asked, genuinely puzzled.

“Well, that was then! Who knows if you’ve been sharing shoes with others these past two years!”

After a long silence, Qiu An suddenly turned serious. “Xiao Ran, I haven’t worn anyone else’s shoes.”