First Kiss Diary - Chapter 08

Jining woke up on the sofa the next day. Her disciplined internal clock managed to wake her up even in her drunken state. She subconsciously rolled over and silently tumbled onto the carpet.

The girl rubbed her eyes in confusion as she opened them strangely, taking a few seconds to slowly stand up like a sloth, then awkwardly called Nono as if at a loss.

She was about to ask herself why she was on the sofa when she suddenly remembered drinking before passing out, and last night… during the shoot.

She gripped her phone, her voice trembling slightly: “What did I do last night?”

“I can’t explain over the phone. I’ll come to your room,” Nono replied.

Nono clarified everything in just five minutes, but Jining wished she hadn’t heard any of it.

She actually made the top star bend his knees just to take her picture, and dared to boast that she would hit him if the photos didn’t turn out well—

After the show airs, her fans might tear her apart on Weibo and let her know what true devotion is.

Now she really wanted to punch herself: “Why didn’t anyone tell me I have such guts when I’m drunk?”

“Who knew,” Nono said, “I’ve never seen you drink before. I thought you were allergic to alcohol.”

Actually, she wasn’t allergic; she just didn’t like alcohol. So she would avoid drinking at social gatherings whenever possible, and if she couldn’t avoid it, she would just take a sip. Plus, she didn’t know her limit and was afraid of losing control after drinking.

But when it was Ji Shiyan who offered her the glass, she couldn’t refuse, and she didn’t know what got into her last night, she just downed it in one go.

As it turns out, she really can’t handle alcohol at all.

After sighing on the sofa for ten minutes, Jining resigned herself to washing up and prepared to be blacklisted by the entire crew and Ji Shiyan for her drunken behavior.

Just as she finished brushing her teeth, Nono told her, “The screenwriter is calling.”

Surely, she wanted to scold her for ruining the show’s plot, Jining took a deep breath and answered, “Sis, I promise I won’t drink anymore.”

“Not drink anymore? Why not? You have to drink, drinking is fun! Drinking is so much fun!” the screenwriter sister exclaimed excitedly.

Jining: ??

The screenwriter sister was very excited: “You’re amazing! Everyone was praising the drunk scene last night, it was so interesting, it’s like your little ears suddenly turned into a true warrior’s, the response will definitely be great, even the parts that haven’t been edited yet are fun, you’ll definitely trend when the show airs, it’s so cute.”

Jining: ??

“Wasn’t I supposed to ruin the script?”

“No, not at all, that’s your highlight, I was racking my brains trying to figure out how to give your character contrast and highlights, I didn’t expect you to have a natural variety sense,” the screenwriter became increasingly excited, “this is destined for you to become famous, I’m rooting for you, sis!”

After hanging up the phone, Jining was still a little bewildered. She didn’t expect the screenwriter to like her drinking… Will she have to drink again in the later episodes?

She rubbed her forehead and decided to deal with it when the time comes. Tomorrow, she had to audition for “There Are Stars Here,” so she better prepare well.

“There Are Stars Here” features the typical idol drama setting, with an outgoing girl paired with a reserved boy. It tells the story of two people who missed each other due to circumstances years ago and reunite in college. The interaction between the male and female leads is sweet, and the plot is interesting, with a large number of loyal fans.

She had two scenes to audition for, one where the female lead substitutes for someone to sign in for class at the university reunion, coincidentally meeting the male lead who is substituting for the teacher. He intentionally calls her up to solve a problem. The female lead smiles and asks, “If I solve it correctly, can I add you on WeChat?”

The second scene is when the male lead, who has been planning for a long time, interacts with her. They are placed in a room facing each other, answering each other’s questions. The male lead asks her, “Do you still like me?” and she, with a slight wave of emotion, recounts the reasons why she left him years ago.

It’s not difficult to perform, but performing well also requires a certain level of skill. She carefully pondered the psychology of the female lead, annotated it point by point, and then looked for suitable ways to present it. Once she had thought it through, she started recording herself with the camera, only feeling satisfied after five or six takes.

After everything was done, it was already 8 o’clock in the evening. She took a rose bath, applied a face mask, and quickly went to bed.

She woke up at five o’clock the next day.

By six thirty, after getting dressed and styled, she arrived at the studio, where Sun He happened to be as well.

Besides Sun He, there was also Yang Qi auditioning today. It was said that the director had also auditioned four other actresses yesterday, and there was even one with a high popularity.

With so many people competing for one role, either you need a strong background or you need to shine brighter than others with a background.

Obviously, Sun He belonged to the former category. While Yang Qi was still reading the script, she was already enthusiastically chatting with the director, bringing coffee and discussing recent events. If one didn’t know better, they would think she had already been chosen for the female lead.

In fact, she exuded an air of superiority, as if to say, “I’m already chosen, no need for others to try so hard.”

Ji Ning suddenly found it amusing. She took the script and waited on the side, occasionally flipping through her own performance videos from yesterday, finding some details to improve.

The first one to audition was Yang Qi, with a performance that was neither outstanding nor disappointing, just stable idol drama acting. Although she occasionally pouted and widened her eyes, her beautiful features added to her performance.

Next was Sun He. It’s really hard to describe Sun He’s acting. It was like watching an AI perform, with only surface movements and expressions, devoid of any emotion. She seemed to exist outside of all the other actors, in a different dimension or time, reciting lines mechanically.

However, Ji Ning could still tell that the female lead hadn’t been chosen yet because Sun He’s performance this time was very serious. During the second scene’s crying scene, she actually burst into tears, albeit a bit too forcefully, which startled the male actor opposite her.

Sun He must really want this role, Ji Ning thought.

“Okay, Ji Ning, your turn.”

To match her character, she straightened her curly hair this morning, dyed her brown hair black, and wore a school uniform with a skirt. Her makeup was very light, fitting the school background perfectly.

The director was surprised to see her, not expecting her to take the audition so seriously.

If this kind of costume and makeup already met the character’s requirements and created some highlights, then Ji Ning’s performance next was what made everyone forget to blink.

She added many details to the character to make it more vivid, even preparing a solution to the problem she had to solve on stage. After writing down the solution, the girl lightly tilted her head, her beautiful eyebrows and eyes curved upwards, and she asked cheerfully and brightly, “Teaching assistant, if I solve this problem correctly, can I add you on WeChat?”

Up to this point, her acting was already above the passing line, but while waiting for the answer, her other hand was behind her back, nervously adjusting her dress. It was a quick and forceful movement, accompanied by a slight swallowing motion, as the concern in her eyes was quickly covered up by a smile.

Having been apart for several years, she wasn’t sure if the other person still had feelings for her, so she spoke lightly, jokingly, but inevitably nervously.

The director was engrossed in her performance, only realizing to call cut and move on to the next scene after being reminded by someone else.

The next scene was about the female lead explaining the misunderstanding. In the novel, it’s written that two people are separated by a room, but the set was quite simple, just a board separating them. Yang Qi almost laughed during her performance because of this, but managed to restrain herself the second time.

However, Ji Ning quickly got into character. After the other person asked the simple question, “Do you still like me?” she suddenly felt a sourness in her chest, bit her lip, unable to imagine that such a proud person would retreat to this extent for her, and decided to lay everything out.

“My childhood neighbor was very kind to me, he took a lot of punishment for me, and all the kids in our alley treated him like an older brother. He loved history, he said he wanted to study archaeology in the future,” the girl took a deep breath, “But he was diagnosed with bone cancer right after the high school entrance exam, and couldn’t go to high school, let alone study archaeology.”

“On the day I finished the college entrance exam, he received a notice of critical illness. When the results were announced, I went to see him for the last time,” her voice choked up visibly, “He said I was great and told me to fulfill my dreams.”

The girl suddenly looked up, tears streaming down her cheeks, maintaining a calm sadness, her voice so soft it made people want to hug her, “But he’s such a good person, who will fulfill his dreams for him?”

The girl suddenly looked up, tears streaming from the corners of her eyes as she spoke softly, maintaining a sorrowful calmness, her voice so gentle it made one want to embrace her: “But he’s such a good person, who will fulfill his dreams for him?” The director pressed his chest, feeling a dull ache somewhere inside.

“Fantastic! The emotional portrayal of the characters was spot-on, even the emphasis in tone was just right. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen such great lines from a young actress.”

“I suddenly wanted to study archaeology for him. After filling out the application, I didn’t dare to contact anyone. And because we promised to study the same major, I was afraid you would give up your dreams for me, so I left suddenly…”

“Later, I thought about finding you, but I was afraid you no longer liked me.” She lowered her eyelashes. “Am I, so cowardly, still worthy of your affection?”

“Okay, cut—” The director stood up and applauded. “Well done, go back and wait for the news.”

Sun He, having seen how much the director praised her performance and how little he said to Ji Ning, couldn’t wait to go over and take credit: “Director, how did I do today?”

The director found it a bit difficult to answer, ambiguous: “There was improvement.”

Sun He got even more excited, eagerly asking, “So, who performed better, me or Ji Ning?”

Ji Ning: …

Perhaps in this miss’s eyes, the quality of acting depends entirely on how loudly one cries.

“Your improvement is significant,” the director replied candidly, “but Ji Ning’s performance is still better.”

Sun He looked smugly at Ji Ning, only to receive a negative response. Her face turned green in an instant.

“Hilarious,” Nono laughed in the car, “that change of attitude was brilliant. She really has no clue about her acting skills. A couple of compliments from the director and she thinks she’s already won an award.”

Ji Ning rested his eyes, “But the list hasn’t come out yet, so no one knows who will be chosen.”

In the acting industry, there are too many variables and the water is too deep. Even if everyone thinks she acted well, it doesn’t mean she’ll be the lead.

Three days later, she attended her close friend Sheng Qiannight’s birthday party in City Y. When Ji Ning arrived, the luxurious private room was already crowded. Having just got off the plane, she went to the restroom to freshen up. After washing her hands, she saw her phone light up, a message from Nono: [Great news!! You’ve been chosen as the lead actress for “Starry Night”! Contract signing the day after tomorrow!!] [Also, the program “First Kiss Diary” is planning to reschedule, so next week you and Ji Shiyanshould prepare for promotional materials.]

She smiled, replying as she opened the door: [OK.]

It seemed she couldn’t achieve what Sun He was hoping for.

But as soon as she opened the door, she was greeted by a flawless, high-definition handsome face.

She didn’t expect to encounter Ji Shiyanso unexpectedly here, and she remembered her behavior from last night. Ji Ning’s expression was unreadable, and she turned to leave.

Unexpectedly, he raised his hand to block her path, pressing her against the left side of the door frame with his height advantage.

He casually teased, his voice tinged with amusement, “Where are you running off to?”

“I’m not… not running.” Her tongue felt itchy, and she awkwardly pressed against the marble counter behind her, her body lifting slightly, bumping into his chin.

…

What was happening?

She subconsciously looked up and saw a bandage on his chin, forgetting everything else. She stared at him, then awkwardly asked, “Your chin?”

“Yeah,” the man replied casually, “you did that.”