My Feelings Can Wait - c15

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The reason why Ji Youyan chose this script for Ruan Ningwei was after careful consideration. First, she took into account Ruan Ningwei’s acting skills. Hence she picked a scene she had already acted in before so that she would be comfortable. Second, there was no outstanding original work to compare her acting to, so it would not be easy to see many differences. Third, it was a good idea to pick a scene that she had starred in in order to have more publicity and exposure. Moreover, the most important thing is that the rules of the competition did not say that one cannot act in a scene that they had already acted in and the program team did not take ask Ji Youyan to change the script even after they saw it, so technically speaking, it was not considered a foul, only a trick.

Obviously, Jing Xiu also knew this and she approved it, “Of course, it’s considered a loophole in the rules and I can only say that you are very clever.”

Ji Youyan was on pins and needles, mulling over how to speak without hurting Jing Xiu’s face and yet successfully defend Ruan Ningwei.

Liang Zhen commented, “I do think that we can’t say that she can’t act well just because she’s acting in a scene that she has previously acted in. I mean, she also needs to have acting skills for her to act in the first place, right?”

Jing Xiu mused, “Inside this scene, only the ending was changed and it was changed very well. But, there is also the last line in which she did not act well.”

“The scenes that have been performed can be performed well and the only part where she did not act well was that one line that was not there in the original scene. Can this even be considered good acting?” She cross-examined without mercy.

Liang Zhen was embarrassed and speechless when he was denied face. He hadn’t seen the original film, so naturally he didn’t know about it. With 99 clips, apart from Jing Xiu, who had enough time to watch the original work?

Ji Youyan wanted to die. The final ending was deliberately changed by her for Ruan Ningwei to make the ending more tense, but she didn’t expect it to be a clever mistake.

The atmosphere in the room was so stagnant that Ji Youyan suspected that a pin drop could be heard, so she smiled and rounded up the situation, “Teacher Liang and Teacher Jing both have valid points. I guess, if we take this as the topic of debate, everyone can stand up against each other for three hundred rounds, right?” Suddenly, she pretended to lightly point at the bottom of the stage and said, “Oh, Ting Ming, you’re nodding your head so happily, have you already picked your side?”

The male player who was suddenly called out was dumbfounded and reflexively waved his hands, while the others on the floor were amused by his awkwardness and even Ruan Ningwei, who was at the center of the argument, laughed.

After laughing, Ruan Ningwei was very modest, and sincerely admitted, “Thank you, Teacher Liang, Teacher Su and Teacher Ji for acknowledging me and thank you, Teacher Jing for correcting me. It was because I was opportunistic and my acting skills were not good enough that I made a mistake there, which made Teacher Jing suspicious. I won’t dare to do it again next time.”

Her attitude was so honest and upright that Liang Zhen and Jing Xiu had nothing to say. Everyone looked at each other awkwardly and Su Lihang chimed in, “Let’s grade, I can’t wait for my card.”

And so, they smoothly went into the grading session. In the end, Liang Zhen still insisted on an A, Su Lihang and Ji Youyan had a B, and Jing Xiu also had a B. Altogether, Ruan Ningwei was graded as a B.

It was already dark when the first phase of the competition was recorded. The contestants dispersed and went back to the hotel cafeteria for dinner, while Director Chen Desheng also greeted the staff and grabbed them for dinner. The director and several mentors left for the hotel in the same chauffeur car. After dinner, everyone still had work to do and would then proceed to record the clip of the mentors selecting their students.

At the dinner table, Su Lihang said with a big grin, “I’ll offer a toast to Teacher Jing. I’ll drink a toast, you do as you please.” After saying that, he drank it all and said curiously, “Teacher Jing, can you reveal something? What did you mark on your script?”

Ji Youyan immediately stretched her ears to listen, she was curious too!

Jing Xiu asked him back in confusion, “What are you referring to?”

Su Lihang thought that Jing Xiu didn’t want to talk about it and muttered, “Can’t you talk about this too? Teacher Jing, you’re too tight lipped.” He changed the subject, toasted with Chen Desheng and continued undeterred, “Director Chen, you should tell us, Teacher Jing is too cool.”

Chen Desheng smiled like an old fox and explained to Jing Xiu, “Teacher Jing, Lihang is curious about what sort of persona the program team has assigned to you.”

Jing Xiu’s chopsticks of steamed bok choy stuttered slightly and replied with a faint smile, “The program team didn’t assign me a persona.”

Ji Youyan and Su Lihang were both incredibly stunned for a moment and even Liang Zhen, who was still a little upset and pretending to be indifferent, couldn’t help but look at Jing Xiu more.

“Then you put up such a show!” Su Lihang gently marveled, “You’re so daring, Teacher Jing.” 

The general perception of Jing Xiu has always been that she has good acting skills, acts in a low-key manner, is a bit high-strung but polite, and is a perfect example of a quiet, out-of-this-world fairy figure. This is her first reality show since her debut. In just the first episode, she is so sharp and aggressive, which can add a serious and dedicated old captain persona if it’s good, but more than likely it will cause a riot on the internet.

Even Liang Zhen found that it was a pity that such a big star was working with them. In fact, when Jing Xiu came to participate in this show, he was unable to understand her motives. For people like Jing Xiu, it was completely unnecessary to participate in such a reality show. As long as she continues to make movies, the legend that belongs to her would not die.

Jing Xiu laughed at everyone’s surprise and jokingly said, “I don’t sound like I’m being complimented. Director Chen, Mr. Su is also very outspoken, should you consider giving him a new persona?”

Su Lihang laughed and begged for mercy.

When it was almost time, Jing Xiu placed down her chopsticks and went to the bathroom to clean up her appearance. Ji Youyan naturally followed suit a minute later. 

When she arrived, Jing Xiu was standing in front of the sink, calmly looking into the mirror to fix her lipstick. It was obviously just a normal action of applying lipstick, but for some reason, Ji Youyan found it very sensual and couldn’t help but lick her lips.

Jing Xiu pursed her lips for a moment and glanced at Ji Youyan from the corner of her eyes. Ji Youyan quickly returned to her senses and lifted her feet to enter the bathroom.

She habitually closed the door and turned back to see Jing Xiu’s eyebrows slightly raised, with a bit of inquiry and amusement in her gaze. Ji Youyan suddenly thought of something in her expression and her face instantly turned a little red in embarrassment, and she hurriedly opened the door again.

Before… they did not meet in this kind of place or occasion. The two were often separated, so occasionally when they could attend an event together, it could be considered a rare date for them. On more than one occasion, she had pressed Jing Xiu in front of a similar washbasin and kissed her…

Jing Xiu tugged at the corners of her lips, feeling happy and amused. She covered her lipstick and turned to leave, but Ji Youyan called out to her unannounced, “A’Xiu.”

Her eyes, which were completely different from her own hazel, were dark and shiny. Once upon a time when they were kissing, Jing Xiu had sighed with emotion more than once. She lowered her eyes and paused in her steps.

Ji Youyan walked to her side, turned on the faucet to ease the embarrassment, and pretended to make small talk with Jing Xiu naturally, “Although the show will be edited later, it will be good if some scenes are not cut more controversially on purpose by them.”

Jing Xiu’s heart settled, unable to say whether she was disappointed or something else. She asked lightly and rhetorically, “So what?”

“So I’m worried that if your critiques are too direct and serious, it will not be good for you.” Ji Youyan politely suggested, “You know, nowadays, public opinion is always easily biased. I’m worried that in case someone has ulterior motives, it will affect your formerly established persona and ruin the impression of some passersby who don’t know you.” Being too impartial can easily offend people.

Her words were from the heart and Jing Xiu understood her good intentions, but they also brought back the unhappiness that had always piled up before the breakup, making her restrain herself from responding coldly and stiffly, “I’ve never relied on my persona to make a living. I just do what I have to do and say what I have to say.”

Ji Youyan’s smile turned stiff and she blushed in embarrassment. 

Yes, how could she have forgotten that Jing Xiu had never liked to painstakingly fabricate and sell a so-called persona for the sake of fame and fortune.

Jing Xiu saw Ji Youyan’s face change and her hand that was squeezing her handbag gradually whitened with force. She eased her tone a bit in the end and explained, “As an actor, my job is to make the audience enjoy my performances and as a mentor on this show, my job is to let the contestants know their strengths and weaknesses and let the audience improve their appreciation, which I think is the first thing I need to consider. Whether it’s the real me or the persona that I run, there will be people who like it and people who don’t like it. Since this is the case, I have nothing to lose by choosing the part of the fan base that really appreciates me, right?”

Ji Youyan was stunned.

In her previous life, Jing Xiu’s frankness, openness, and confidence had made her ashamed of herself, and now, Ji Youyan felt even more embarrassed.

She suddenly felt that it was ridiculous and redundant for her to make such practical considerations for Jing Xiu. Jing Xiu was different from her. It wasn’t hard to see how she looked in her eyes.

The fact that she still doesn’t have the same state of mind and bottom line as Jing Xiu doesn’t completely change just because she was reborn once. Ji Youyan was lost in thought as she allowed the water to wash over her hands endlessly, freezing them to the point of numbness.

“Jing Xiu.” She whispered her full name and Jing Xiu looked at her with implacable eyes and heard her ask, “Is it actually annoying for me to be so self-righteously concerned and pestering?”

Ji Youyan smiled bitterly and looked sad. She began to reflect on her past life, perhaps the current Jing Xiu really didn’t want to be too much involved with her anymore; perhaps the resistance she had shown since the reunion was all real and it was her own self-consciousness that was excessive that became self-satisfied and complacent.

Shouldn’t she rely on the chance of her previous life to presumptuously continue to obsess over it?

Jing Xiu’s fingernails that were clenched tightly in her pocket sank deeper into her palm, unable to say yes or no to that one question.

The person she first loved had the brightest, cleanest eyes in the world and was so gentle and confident when talking about her dreams that she seemed to glow. The current Ji Youyan killed the former Ji Youyan, but she still loved her. But after the accumulation of disappointment again and again, she exploded.

After the breakup, she never got over her. The love was sunk deeply into the marrow of her bones, and the pain was also sunk deeply in the marrow of her bones. She had expectations for Ji Youyan, but she also had pangs of pain that Ji Youyan had given her.

“What do you think?” After a while, Jing Xiu lowered her snow-white neck, her voice was soft, and she asked rhetorically.

The author has something to say.

Teacher Jing: Stop talking, kiss me.
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This translation is presented by Nocturne Translations.