My Idol Secretly Loves Me: Chapter 4

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Chapter 4:

Luo Tang's was preoccupied with the makeup, so she couldn't witness Liang Zi Yue removing hers, but Cheng Cheng narrated everything to her in detail afterward.

She said that Liang Ziyue looked as dark as the bottom of a pot, and anyone could see her bad mood.

Actually, Luo Tang felt quite good about this turnaround. She couldn't help but comment, "This stylist is quite a character."

Cheng Cheng nodded in agreement, "She’s a wolf slayer." 

T/N: 是个狼灭: An internet term that means more ruthless than a ruthless person. An upgraded version.

The makeup process that followed was more relaxed. There was no need to deliberately aim for simplicity nor for heaviness, just a straightforward, beautiful makeup.

After the makeup was done, the makeup artist was very satisfied. "This is definetly the easiest makeup session I've ever had."

No need to cover pores, no acne or blemishes, no fine lines, no lip lines, and the features were stunningly beautiful—it couldn't be easier.

Luo Tang liked this sisterly makeup artist and thanked her with a smile.

After the makeup artist left, Cheng Cheng shared her worries from the morning.

She said, "You know, you are a real newcomer but not quite like the others who come from film academies." Lowering her voice, she added, "Haven’t you ever thought, what if you NG too many times and become a laughingstock?"

Luo Tang wasn't surprised, "Of course, I've thought about it."

Cheng Cheng was astonished, "…Ah?"

As someone who had never acted before, Luo Tang started reading the script a week ago. While recovering from a leg injury, she searched for "Quick Acting Lessons," "How to Control Micro-Expressions," and other similar videos at home, then practiced in front of the mirror.

Although she always ended up laughing at herself in the mirror for looking foolish, she actually started to find acting enjoyable during this process.

After briefly describing her preparation, Luo Tang was excited, "Come, come, come, I'll give you a live performance!"

"…" Cheng Cheng asked, "How?"

Luo Tang cleared her throat, not answering immediately, as if searching for the right mood.

"Xiao Chengzi." When Luo Tang spoke again, her tone suddenly became…noble and chilly.

"…" Cheng Cheng rolled her eyes in response and played along, "Your servant is here."

Luo Tang slowly extended her hand with her lips slightly raised, perfectly imitating the wicked charm of a demonic villainess, "Help me out, I need to deal with that little wretch."

Xiao Chengzi: "…"

And so it began.

Ten minutes later, a group of girls dressed in school uniforms, looking like teenagers again thanks to the makeup artist's age-reducing skills, left the makeup room.

Everything was ready outside.

The first few scenes didn't involve Luo Tang much, but since it was her first time filming, she was inevitably a bit nervous. She watched the close-ups and the extras entering the frame from a not-too-distant spot.

After filming the scenes where Liang Ziyue's character enters the classroom with her backpack and becomes friends with the second female lead, it was time for Su Yan's close-up.

Luo Tang watched intently.

Slightly different from the novel, in the drama, the male lead Gu Yu was a god of learning—but not so godly that he didn’t pay attention to a thing in class and still easily topped the grade. He wasn’t in that kind of mythical realm.

He was a highly intelligent teenager who went to school, played in class, played basketball, and sang all kinds of songs.

Gu Yu was popular with both boys and girls, often surrounded by people. He was occasionally dark with his friends but particularly cold towards girls.

The female lead, coming from a difficult background but pure and strong, naturally became the only exception.

"You are my only exception" – Su Yan's portrayal had to capture this essence to win over the readers and viewers.

The scene being filmed was of Gu Yu chatting and laughing with his friends before the teacher entered the classroom.

The second male lead in the drama was a lively character, hanging around Gu Yu's shoulder as he entered from the back door of the classroom and took his seat.

"Yu Ge, did you watch the Olympics this year?"

"Didn’t watch much."

"No way, how could you miss the Olympics!" After expressing his surprise, his friend continued, "Yu, you were completely out of touch all summer. What were you busy with?"

"I went to a math competition in another province."

"Stop, stop, stop—" His friend dramatically held his forehead, "You know, I'm sick."

"Yeah," Gu Yu nodded, his smile clearly mocking, "A disease that makes your brain hurt whenever you hear math."

The scene ended there.

In just two to three minutes, the images of the two young men were vividly portrayed: a lively, exaggerated underachiever and a seemingly cold but joking genius student.

"Cut!" Director Chen interrupted promptly, "Very natural, good job, keep it up, next shot."

The next shot was a close-up of other classmates.

Cheng Cheng was amazed, "That's why Su God is incredible, right? You see how cold he is usually, but just now, he was a living Gu Yu!"

Luo Tang was somewhat distracted, slowly responding with a "Hmm."

In reality, Su Yan was a man of few words, and Luo Tang knew well that his high school years were quite the opposite of Gu Yu's.

Yet just now, he had portrayed a bright well-off, sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy so vividly, every glance and every movement impeccable.

After some time, a cool voice came from above her head, "What are you daydreaming about?"

"…Huh?" Luo Tang was startled, and looking up, the idol she had just been fantasizing about was standing right in front of her.

He wore the classic blue and white school uniform, almost identical to what they wore back then. Seeing him in the uniform, Luo Tang was momentarily taken aback.

She stumbled, "Ah… no, nothing, I was just watching you act."

"Hmm."

"You…" Luo Tang, who couldn't muster the waves upon waves of rainbow farts she had learned on Weibo, blinked and dryly said, "You're really amazing." *

"…"

T/N: 彩虹屁: Internet slang referring to over-the-top praise and compliments. Literally means that even an idol's fart can be blown into a rainbow without changing the color. 

Su Yan paused for a moment, not directly responding to her compliment. He seemed ready to have a small talk.

"There are two or three more shots before it's your turn," Su Yan looked down, "Nervous?"

Luo Tang quickly denied, "No, not nervous."

Su Yan didn't say anything.

"Well, okay…" Luo Tang admitted honestly, "Actually, a little…"

For some reason, Luo Tang suddenly felt that if Luo Zhou was here, he would definitely retort without hesitation, "That’s what you get for wanting to randomly act and making a f*cking fool of yourself!"

She was grateful that Su Yan was not that kind of person.

"Shi Yin is not difficult for you." Before being called away, Su Yan's reassuring voice strangely had a calming effect, "Don’t worry."

"…"

Luo Tang's nervousness vanished by ninety-nine percent in an instant!

Ah, this is her idol!

Luo Zhou, that devil, doesn't even compare!

Unlike Luo Tang, who was immersed in her idol's care, Cheng Cheng, in the corner, was puzzled.

What did Su God say? How is Shi Yin easy to act?

And ...... what do you mean that for Luo Tang, Shi Yin is good to act?

Due to the inconvenience of moving equipment, the filming didn't follow the order of the series but by location. After finishing the classroom scenes of the first two episodes, they moved to other locations for a new round.

Luo Tang's next scene was at the end of the first episode and was her second encounter with the female lead.

The start of the first year of high school was military training, and the scenes during military training were to be set in the playground, so right now, it was a week after the start of the school year.

T/N: Chinese high school is three years, and all first years have compulsory military training.

The teacher had announced before class ended, "I will give you the opportunity to choose your seat freely, and you can move your things after class if you both agree."

Luo Tang's character, Shi Yin, who has had a crush on Gu Yu since junior high, couldn’t say anything when Gu Yu sat with his friend in the first week. But now, with the rearrangement of seats, she saw the female lead, Qi Yue, moving her books to Gu Yu’s desk.

Seeing the opportunity slipping away, Lady Shi Yin exploded and immediately confronted Qi Yue.

Unbeknownst to her, the female lead had already met the male lead outside school and agreed to become desk mates for some irresistible reasons.

So, a grand face-slapping awaited Shi Yin.

In this scene, Luo Tang's lines are few, memorable, and somewhat foolish.

Before shooting, Director Chen specifically instructed, "When you stand up from your seat and walk towards their desks. First, flip your hair then lift your head and look directly at the camera. Remember, this part will be in slow motion, so your eyes must not wander."

Luo Tang nodded, "Okay, Director."

Everything was in place. "Action!"

Director Chen watched the monitor.

Shi Yin's posture was straight, her head was slightly raised, her hair flip was natural, and when she looked at the camera, the director, who thought she would be a little nervous, found she was unusually calm.

Director Chen hadn't told her to act out the lady’s demeanor, thinking she probably wouldn’t get it right in one go and was just getting used to the process.

"Hey…" he heard his assistant say in surprise, "This newcomer, her eyes are not bad, Director Chen." Thinking for a moment, he found the right word, "She’s got the vibe?"

Director Chen didn’t reply, but he didn’t refute either.

Cheng Cheng, watching Luo Tang's first close-up, was genuinely worried for her.

Unexpectedly… she nailed it in one go.

She understood what Su Yan meant.

An ordinary person playing a rich young lady might fail to capture the feeling or overact. But when a real princess plays a rich young lady, how could it not be easy?

A sweep of her gaze was all it took.

Everyone was surprised that the newcomer managed it in one take. After some preparation, the next scene was up.

The highlight was here.

Luo Tang stood in front of the male and female leads.

Having almost memorized her lines, Luo Tang looked at Liang Ziyue and slowly said, "Qi Yue, swap seats with me."

Unexpectedly picked on, Qi Yue first reacted with a pitiful surprise, and then surely she would ask why.

Luo Tang smiled slyly, speaking unreasonably, "Because I want to sit next to Gu Yu."

"You saw," Qi Yue replied very composedly at this point, "Gu Yu and I have already agreed. Sorry, first come, first served."

"You don’t want to?" The villainous Shi Yin continued maliciously, smiling like a flower, oblivious to the upcoming slap in her face, "Then… why don’t we ask Gu Yu?"

Then, she turned her face towards Gu Yu, who was watching from the side, and lifted her chin, "Hey, Gu Yu, I want to be your desk mate, okay?"

The way she said "Hey" was irritatingly flirtatious.

Luo Tang exhaled in relief. Her part was over.

She looked into Su Yan's eyes, waiting for his closing line—"Classmate, didn’t you hear? First come, first served."

How handsome! How doting!

However, as Gu Yu met her gaze, he remained silent.

Su Yan watched her approach in her school uniform from the beginning of Luo Tang's in some slight trance. The good thing was that Gu Yu was supposed to look like he didn't have much of an expression, so it didn't matter if he was lost in thought.

But now, it wasn’t just about being absent-minded.

The same school, the same desks, even nearly identical uniforms.

Now, as she said those words, seven years ago… she had asked him the same thing.

Back then...

It was shortly after the start of their second year in high school. He had slept through class and woke up at noon to an empty classroom.

Vaguely, he heard a few girls in the hallway chatting.

"Hey, did you hear? The transfer student the homeroom teacher mentioned this morning actually skipped a grade from junior high!"

"F*ck, skipping a grade, that's awesome! Is she famous?"

"Oh! I heard from my brother that she was the junior high goddess. Remember when we voted on the school beauty? They only chose from the high school, but my brother’s class was not convinced."

"Ha ha ha! Oh my, so this beauty skipped to high school. Maybe she’ll replace the current school beauty…"

"I remember her name is…"

Su Yan, irritated by the noise, didn't bother listening further and left.

In the afternoon, Su Yan arrived early. The classroom was almost empty, and he laid down to sleep at his desk.

Until his sleeve was gently tugged.

Then, Su Yan's reputation in school was as a loner, withdrawn, and gloomy.

Always silent with his gaze cold, he eventually had no friends and was invisible at school.

So, when someone tugged his uniform, his first reaction was surprise.

He looked up.

A girl stood beside the seat next to him, wearing the junior high uniform, red and white.

"Hello, classmate, my name is Luo Xiaotang." She slightly tilted her head, smiling at him, "What's your name?"

Her beautiful almond eyes were full of light, her long hair hanging down, and her lips curved in a smile revealing bright teeth. Though young, she was already strikingly pure and cute.

Like the first bud of early spring, full of hope and vitality.

At that instant, Su Yan's eyes felt like they had been stabbed.

Connecting the noon conversation, skipping a grade… from junior high.

It was her.

His fingers tightened, his Adam's apple moved, and then he heard his own voice, stiff and unusual, "Su Yan."

The person in front of him was his complete opposite.

Soft, warm, her voice sweet as if dipped in honey, "Su Yan, Su Yan." She repeated his name, "I see the seat next to you is empty ah, so can I be your tablemate?"

Still stiff, "Yes."

Seeing him say yes, the young girl gleefully put her book bag down, pulled out a pack of plain white paper towels, and began wiping the dust off the table and chair.

The boy straightened up, and while she was not looking, he tidied up his desk.

She had no idea how fiercely his heart was pounding under his calm exterior…

Now, it was like a midnight reverie, time rewinding.

Every frame in his memory was clear.

To be honest, Luo Tang acted superbly, capturing the essence of a lady, her high-handed tone just right.

Shi Yin's line is: Hey, Gu Yu, I want to be your deskmate, okay?

And Gu Yu should have said: Classmate, didn’t you hear? First come, first served

Su Yan looked at Luo Tang condescendingly with his expressionless and cold face. His eyelids were drooped.

The girl's eyebrows are lively, just like before.

The corner of his lips moved slightly.

Su Yan raised her eyelashes a little, opened his thin lips, and slowly and clearly uttered two words. "Okay." "

..."

Luo Tang: "???"

Director: "???"

Liang Ziyue: "??????"

Su God, hello! Why did you tamper with the script?

There was a sudden silence in the air.

Director Chen looked confused: "...Cut?"

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