The Green Tea Actress Has Too Much After-Show Drama - Chapter 7

On the subway ride home, someone stepped on Sister Hou’s high heels, breaking one of them.

Limping home with one heel higher than the other, she felt like the sky was about to collapse on her head. These shoes had cost her several hundred yuan, a purchase she’d made with a bleeding heart. And now, they were sacrificed just after she’d put them on.

Well, whatever, she thought. She’d only worn them for contract negotiations anyway. She probably wouldn’t need them again.

Thinking about Ran Long’s audition performance today, Sister Hou’s heart sank. Judging by the casting team’s lifeless expressions, the audition had likely been a disaster.

What happens now? she wondered. She and Ran Long would both return to their usual half-dead lives, the only real casualty being her bank account.

Exhausted, Sister Hou took off her equally expensive suit and walked to the kitchen, pulling out a bag of instant noodles.

No egg tonight, she decided.

“Good luck to you~ Wishing you good luck…”

Her phone buzzed in her back pocket. Startled by the new ringtone she’d set that morning, Sister Hou’s hand went limp, and the noodle block fell into the kitchen waste bin. She picked it up with a pang of regret, rinsed it under the faucet, and then felt another pang at the waste of running water.

Sister Hou sighed. When you’re poor, even a few yuan or mao matter.

“Hello? Who’s calling?” Sister Hou answered absently, cradling the phone between her shoulder and ear while continuing to boil water and chop vegetables.

“Hello, are you Ran Long’s manager?”

“Yes, I am.”

“I’m the casting assistant for The Sound of Falling Leaves drama. I’m calling to inform you that Ran Long passed today’s audition.”

Crack!

A sudden cramp in her neck caused the phone to slip and crash to the floor. Sister Hou tossed the vegetables into the sink and shakily picked up the phone, which had landed face down.

She’d forgotten to apply a tempered glass screen protector. The screen was now spiderwebbed with cracks, and replacing it would likely be expensive.

But it didn’t matter.

“The signal’s bad here. What did you say?”

“Ran Long passed the audition. Can her schedule be coordinated?”

“Yes, yes, of course!” Sister Hou nodded vigorously, like a chicken pecking at grain, even though the caller couldn’t see her. No artist in the world had a more flexible schedule than Ran Long.

After hanging up, it took Sister Hou a long time to fully grasp the significance of the call. Her first instinct was to call Ran Long with the good news, but she couldn’t get through.

Meanwhile, Ran Long was preparing for her livestream in her rented apartment.

After sprinting up the high-rise stairwell, Ran Long nearly passed out when she finally reached her door.

The sweat from her audition had dried in Qiu An’s air-conditioned car, so she skipped showering, changed into a clean dress, fixed her hair and makeup, and settled into her gaming chair facing the camera and microphone.

Today’s viewership was particularly dismal. Looking at the artificially inflated “popularity” score—still barely reaching three digits—Ran Long felt disheartened.

Having started her stream late, she watched helplessly as earlier streamers had already reaped the bulk of the traffic and climbed to the top of the popularity charts. She could only wait for viewers willing to scroll down and discover her.

Ran Long refreshed the rankings. The top spot was dominated by a live broadcast of Heartthief Girls’ performance, drawing nearly all the site’s traffic into their room.

That damn group, she thought bitterly. Not only do they block my path offline, but they’re stealing my viewers online too.

After waiting in vain for “Top Big Brother” to appear, Ran Long lost interest in chatting. She accepted a paid gaming order and was about to switch to the gaming channel when a comment popped up in the lower-left corner of her screen.

Great Sage Equaling Heaven: Sis! Stop streaming! Check WeChat!

Ran Long rolled her eyes at the username. Ever since Sister Hou, under her guidance, shed the nickname “Little Monkey,” she had changed all her online handles to “Great Sage Equaling Heaven.”

So tacky. So cringy. And now she’s calling me “Sis” again.

Despite her annoyance, Ran Long obediently ended her stream and opened WeChat.

She had once suffered a live-streaming mishap. She had forgotten to end her stream before switching screens, accidentally revealing her homepage on an entertainment forum. It was quickly discovered that she was a rabid Qiu An hater who frequently stirred up trouble on the forum. Fortunately, Qiu An’s PR team acted swiftly, pulling the incident from trending searches within seconds, even in the middle of the night, and preventing any further fallout.

Though the incident hadn’t escalated into a full-blown scandal, it had thoroughly spooked Ran Long. Now, she habitually ended her stream whenever she opened her personal accounts.

Great Sage Equaling Heaven: Director Yuan’s crew called! They said you passed the audition!

Super Malevolent Woman: Oh. Tell them I’m not taking the role.

Great Sage Equaling Heaven invites you to a call.

“Sister Ran! You! You! You!” Sister Hou’s voice trembled, on the verge of tears. After a long pause, she finally managed to ask, “Why?”

“They still want me to play the role after that disastrous audition? There’s definitely a trap behind this. I’m not falling for it.”

“But, but, Sister Ran! Please! I—I need money for my grandmother’s medical bills…”

Her grandmother was perfectly healthy and often told her that in the workplace, one had to be quick-witted. If necessary, she could even ask old acquaintances at the hospital to issue a false critical condition notice.

“…and my younger sister is waiting for her tuition…”

Her sister had graduated from a prestigious university last year and been recruited by a top internet company with a high salary, earning 800,000 yuan annually.

“My credit card bill from last month is still unpaid! My heels broke, and my phone screen shattered! I was counting on you signing this contract to cover these expenses!”

All of this was true.

“Huh? Aren’t you on a fixed salary? What does my signing a contract have to do with your money problems?”

“Sister Ran, I’m your manager. When you sign a contract, I get a commission from the advance payment…”

“Tsk, I forgot about that. You’re getting off easy.”

“……”

The mention of the advance payment piqued Ran Long’s interest.

Her “Top Big Brother” hadn’t shown up to tip her tonight, probably chasing after the Heartthief Girls. In this industry, you can’t rely on just one patron.

She’d only paid her rent last month and hadn’t been able to send any money to Ms. Hu.

Ms. Hu, whose full name was Hu Fanghui, was Ran Long’s mother.

The woman had sent her the usual WeChat messages, showing no signs of distress. But Ran Long knew she wasn’t doing well. She probably couldn’t even afford an extra egg.

“Fine. I’ll go with you to negotiate the contract. Let’s squeeze them for every penny we can get.”

Yuan Chengyin had already prepared to be fleeced.

In addition to the main contract, she had Ran Long sign a supplementary agreement. The agreement required Ran Long to take intensive acting classes during the pre-production phase of the film.

Yuan Chengyin planned to conduct another audition with Ran Long before the script reading. If Ran Long’s performance still didn’t meet the standards for joining the cast, the collaboration would be terminated.

“Uh, what if the contract is terminated? Do I have to return the advance payment?”

“No.”

That’s surprisingly generous.

“Uh, then can I…”

“No! Focus on your lessons! Prepare properly!”

Oh.

Ran Long rarely woke up early, but she followed the address for her tutoring sessions to a suspiciously upscale residential area and arrived at a small villa. The surroundings were quite pleasant, and she didn’t think much of it, assuming the acting coach had arranged the lessons at her home.

It wasn’t until she lowered her gaze and saw the three-dimensional sign in front of the building that she realized her mistake. The sign boldly read: “Qiu An Studio.”

Ran Long’s face darkened instantly. She removed Yuan Chengyin’s WeChat account from her blacklist and immediately made a voice call.

“Hey, Yuan Chengyin, what’s the deal? Are you selling me off to Qiu An? You think she hasn’t tormented me enough already?”

“Why are you getting so worked up? Qiu An opened her own acting studio. They offer training courses to nurture new talent, so she can scout promising actors to sign. The studio hires top industry professionals and renowned university professors. You’re just taking a class—you might not even run into her! Besides, you’ll be working with her later anyway, so it’s good to start building rapport.”

“She’s only been famous for a short time, and she already has an acting studio? Talk about ambitious! Fine, whatever. Can’t I just take classes somewhere else? As long as I pass your test in the end, right?”

“You could, but Qiu An’s studio offers affordable tuition. Hiring a private tutor would be quite expensive.”

Ran Long had already given most of her advance pay to Ms. Hu. Asking her to spend more on training now would be a real stretch.

After weighing her options, she hung up, her face dark as she stomped inside and up the stairs.

At least Yuan Chengyin said I might not even see Qiu An, she thought.

“Xiao Ran, good morning!”

Qiu An stood at the classroom door, wearing a sleeveless top paired with high-waisted jeans and a thin shirt. Her long black hair cascaded casually over her shoulders, giving her a clean and refreshing look. Seeing Ran Long, she turned sideways and flashed a radiant smile.

Ran Long’s downturned lips looked like she’d just eaten something foul.

I’m going to kill Yuan Chengyin sooner or later, she thought.

“What are you doing here? Don’t tell me you’re my teacher? I’ll jump down these stairs right now,” Ran Long threatened, pointing to the steep staircase.

Ignoring her threat, Qiu An said gently, “I’m busy today. I have work to do and need to leave soon.”

“Hey, what do you mean ‘busy today’? Does that mean you’ll have time to teach me later? Yes, you’re much more famous than me, but when it comes to acting experience, you…”

“Ran Long? Class is starting. Why aren’t you inside yet? What are you muttering about at the door?”

A stern middle-aged woman’s voice boomed from inside the classroom, its few words turning Ran Long’s legs to lead.

Daring only to glance sideways, she clapped a hand over her mouth and whispered to Qiu An, “Who’s that inside? That voice sounds so familiar… Could it be Teacher Yaoyao?”

“That’s right, it’s Teacher Yaoyao. Hurry inside and don’t keep her waiting,” Qiu An said, patting Ran Long’s back reassuringly. She leaned into the classroom and called out, “Teacher Yaoyao, I’m leaving Xiao Ran in your capable hands.”

No wonder Yuan Chengyin was willing to pay the full fee upfront before the second audition. With Teacher Yaoyao overseeing the project, Ran Long had no choice but to accept the role, whether she wanted to or not.

Teacher Yaoyao had been the bane of Ran Long’s existence during her university years. Even after years in the industry, she still felt an overwhelming, primal fear in her presence.

“Where is she? Ran Long? Did you try to run away just because you heard I was teaching you?”

Teacher Yaoyao slammed her hand on the desk, the thunderous sound filling the large classroom and echoing into the hallway. She grabbed Ran Long by the shoulder.

It was unmistakably her. Teacher Yaoyao’s hand was her ruler—a disciplinary ruler.

It wasn’t just Ran Long who trembled in fear; the entire mansion seemed to shudder.

“No! No! Ran Long wouldn’t dare!” Ran Long replied, her voice rising in panic, yet her tone was weak and ingratiating.

She shuffled into the classroom, casting one last glance back at Qiu An. The hostility she had shown moments before vanished, replaced by the two words that had always filled her eyes when facing Teacher Yaoyao in her youth:

Save me.

And beneath that, a deeper plea:

Please.