First Kiss Diary - Chapter 37

The next day during filming, Ji Ning felt that the atmosphere in the room was quite subtle.

As a producer, Ji Shiyan arrived earlier than the lead actor. Zhuo Gong, who was usually talkative, entered the makeup room and, upon seeing Ji Shiyan, hesitated to speak. He silently started doing his hair while reading the script.

Ji Shiyan wore headphones and listened to music, with a coffee placed in front of him.

Ji Ning’s eyes were fixed solely on that cup of black coffee. He curled up in his chair and muttered to himself: Drinking coffee without eating anything, no wonder the stomach is upset.

The once lively makeup room seemed to have been muted, even the sound of the hair straightener was minimized to the lowest.

Ji Ning glanced at Zhuo Gong, originally intending to suggest going over the script together, but Zhuo Gong sensed her gaze and stealthily glanced at Ji Shiyan, seemingly wanting to confirm that the man was wearing headphones.

Immediately after, Zhuo Gong moved closer to her ear: « Let me tell you… »

Ji Shiyan leisurely took off one earphone, calmly looking over this way, his clear eyes and stern expression all conveying the unspoken message, « Go ahead, I’m listening. »

…………

Zhuo Gong swallowed and shook his head at Ji Ning: « It’s nothing, I just wanted to ask what brand of body lotion you use, it smells pretty good. »

Ji Ning looked at him with a complicated expression for a moment before saying, « I haven’t been using body lotion recently. »

Zhuo Gong gave a forced laugh twice, and the makeup artist finally spoke up as well: « What about perfume? »

« I don’t really use perfume much either, » he replied.

She occasionally thought to use it, and the one she used was the brand endorsed by Ji Shiyan. She would spray a couple of bottles stacked together a few times into the wardrobe and that was it.

“Anyway, everyone has their own scent,” the stylist concluded, “and a person’s scent becomes their signature, hard to forget. For example, my ex-boyfriend liked to use a certain perfume, and later every time I smelled it on the street, I would reflexively think of him. No matter how much I tried to wipe it off, it wouldn’t go away, and it made me feel sick.”

The makeup artist laughed out loud: “Luckily, my ex-boyfriend didn’t wear perfume.”

Just like that, everyone laughed and chatted about perfumes and ex-boyfriends, and the atmosphere in the room relaxed again.

The morning scenes were filmed smoothly. After finishing the first half of the day’s shooting, Ji Ning slipped into the car to take a short rest.

Outside the car, it was still lively. Zhuo Gong was eating fruit while chatting with everyone. The smile on his face faltered slightly when he saw Ji Shiyan walking over slowly.

Fortunately, Ji Shiyan stopped at the director’s tent and didn’t come any closer. Jiang Sheng’s voice came from nearby: « Is being a producer fun? You never take on commercial gigs, but you’re quite proactive about being a producer here… »

Jiang Sheng turned his head, saw Zhuo Gong, and then smiled as he walked over to him: « Oh, isn’t this the young master Zhuo who’s so keen on shipping himself with Ji Ning! »

Zhuo Gong looked down at the script, unwilling to admit defeat, thinking, what’s so funny? Don’t you know your own artist ships himself with Ji Ning too??

It was at this moment that last night’s video, along with all the little details, flooded his mind. After pondering for a while, Zhuo Gong suddenly had an epiphany.

He suddenly slapped his forehead.

If he had known earlier that the seemingly pure and indifferent, but actually scheming, senior named Ji also had designs on Ji Ning, he wouldn’t have foolishly obediently gone off to the side to memorize lines back then!

As a senior, to be so hypocritical, using the excuse of sharing experience, but in reality… in reality using the two-person world to bring himself closer to the interaction distance with the CP?

Zhuo Gong gritted his teeth.

Actually, he had a good impression of Ji Ning even before filming « Stars, » but that feeling was only from seeing her a few times backstage from afar. It wasn’t until he found out they had a chance to collaborate that, with a bit of selfishness, he strongly recommended her. She did act well, so she landed the lead female role.

Later, while filming and rehearsing lines together, he gradually discovered Ji Ning’s seriousness and professionalism, as well as her occasional stubbornness and endearing moments of silliness.

I thought at least we could happily finish filming with her, but who would have expected…

Jiang Sheng slowly sat down beside Zhuo Gong: « Did you come across any new CP videos yesterday? Share some? »

Zhuo Gong thought of the bombardment he received last night, holding the script and shaking his head: « Forget it, you might as well ask Shi Yan. »

Ji Shiyan?! » Jiang Sheng sounded like he had heard the biggest joke, « You want me to ask him for CP videos? Hahaha, what a joke. At his age, he probably doesn’t even know what Bilibili is!

He not only knew, but was also quite good at it.

Zhuo Gong expressionlessly pulled his lips into a straight line.

The videos you sent me yesterday all had high barrage comments and high view counts.

///

After finishing filming at night and returning to the hotel, Ji Ning was greeted by Song Yu, who was doing weight-loss exercises while eating sushi.

Ji Ning pressed his neck: « You still don’t have classes these days? »

What, are you kicking me out? » Song Yu stuffed a meat floss sushi into his mouth and said unclearly, « I haven’t been here long and you’re already impatient with me! Have you ever been this impatient with Ji Shiyan like you are with me?

Hearing this comparison, Ji Ning immediately laughed and retorted, « Then would you sit cross-legged in front of Jiang Chuan while eating Oreos all over yourself? »

What’s wrong with that? Jiang Chuan is like a husband I’ve been married to for fifteen years now. Only Pei Hanzhou deserves me to always maintain a ladylike image.

……

Alright, another person again.

Ji Ning, not surprised, pulled the script from the bedside table and began the daily script selection time.

Hey, I was bored this morning and looked at the scripts you left on top. Is your next project going to be chosen from these?

« Yes, » Ji Ning said, « The slightly better options right now are ‘Phantom Healing’ and ‘Mu Kong,’ choose one of the two. »

I saw gossip about ‘Mu Kong’ today, a big IP, and the male lead has been decided. He’s a major star who debuted in a Korean group and officially returned to the country three months before his contract expired. Damn, his fans are really numerous. Once, when they held an event at the International Plaza, I couldn’t even get through the door.

A big IP plus a high-traffic movie, high class and high popularity. It would be weird not to take it, right? Are they paying well?

Ji Ning raised an eyebrow, « Their pay is indeed the highest. »

Then take it, damn it! » Song Yu said boastfully, then looked at Ji Ning, « Are you taking it?

Hard to say.

« Mukong » is a movie, and « Illusion Healing » is a costume TV drama. Logically, TV dramas usually pay more than movies, while movies have more prestige. But since « Mukong » managed to cast a popular star who just returned to the country as the male lead, it proves they really spent big on the salary, after all, popular stars are expensive.

Although the pay for « Illusion Healing » was low, because it is a xianxia drama requiring a lot of special effects, most of the budget was probably allocated to the production itself. She understood this well and even felt that spending money on the drama was more worthwhile.

Song Yu clicked her tongue, « High pay, big IP, popular star—aren’t those enough to tempt you? »

So many big IPs plus traffic still aren’t enough to sober me up? » Ji Ning flipped the script, « Seemingly the most attention-grabbing, but actually the easiest to flop.

It’s just that fan circles are good at controlling comments and promoting, traffic naturally brings discussion, giving all sides the illusion that the movie is very popular. In reality, most of the traffic doesn’t know how to act, and the performances are only accepted by fans. Many viewers, drawn in by the promotion, end up yawning continuously in the theater after a short while.

Moreover, the chosen traffic star for « Mu Kong » has no acting experience at all. It’s just a gimmick that looks promising. The box office is guaranteed by fans, so it won’t be particularly bad, but as for reputation… it’s doubtful. Whether the big production can break even is still unknown.

A few years ago, audiences were still willing to buy into traffic stars, but now the audience is clear-headed and no longer willing to be taken advantage of.

The main issue is that the script for « Mu Kong » is quite average. It’s unclear if all the budget was spent on the male lead, but many large-scale scenes that should have been included were rushed through, giving off a strong sense of insufficient funding.

Just looking at the script, she really didn’t have a strong desire to act in it. It was only because the original book had a huge fanbase and the director was good that she was slightly swayed.

In comparison, although « Huan Yu » isn’t a top-tier IP, it’s still a decent opportunity. It has a top-tier director and lead actors, the script is well-written, the characters are well-developed, and the plot has strong conflicts. Aside from lacking the hype that « Mu Kong » had, everything else meets the standards of a quality drama.

After pondering for several nights, Ji Ning decided to accept « Huan Yu. »

Costume dramas are the easiest genre to become a hit. This year, the big hits have basically all been ancient romance dramas. She hasn’t acted in a costume drama for a long time, so trying it out wouldn’t be bad.

She feels that she still can’t forget the original intention of acting, can’t forget the most basic ethics of an actor, and can’t be misled by the restless market. Acting well in her own roles is the most important thing.

After hearing her decision, Song Yu nodded: “Makes sense. After I talked to you last time, I thought it over and felt that ‘Mu Kong’ is really just flashy but shallow. Working with top stars might look prestigious, but it’s actually easy to get criticized.”

“It’s just that I missed out on a lot of small money, which makes me a bit heartbroken…”

Not necessarily, » Ji Ning said, « It depends on whether you look at it from a long-term perspective or just the present.

Although it seems like a missed opportunity now, if « Phantom Healing » gets good ratings, her value will also rise accordingly.

If you always focus on immediate benefits, being short-sighted, it’s hard to manage yourself well.

That day, Ji Ning went to bed early. After Song Yu finished editing the video, he looked back at her for a moment before slipping under the covers.

Actually, occasionally Song Yu admired her a lot. In the entertainment industry, with so many various temptations, many people find it hard to see clearly, but she could. She knew what she wanted and firmly walked towards the distance.

///

A few days later, the filming of the show « First Kiss Diary » resumed. Ji Ning vaguely felt that there didn’t seem to be much time left for the variety show, but hadn’t specifically calculated how many days remained.

That day they went to an amusement park in France, a country where even the language exudes lingering romance, and every inch of the air seemed wrapped in love.

Since they were abroad, there was no clearing of the area; after all, the clearing back home was already harsh enough, and the audience probably didn’t want to see the surroundings empty every episode.

Except for the occasional person who would turn to look at them, no one came over to disturb them.

After entering the amusement park, Ji Shiyan went to get a map, while Ji Ning stood still for a moment, noticing someone selling blue ice cream with a sea salt flavor.

Sea salt has always been very attractive to her, so she weaved through the crowd and lined up by the ice cream machine.

Just as she got two ice creams, one large and one small, she heard someone call her name: « Ji Ning! »

It seemed rare to hear his voice deepen like that. Ji Ning turned around: « What’s wrong? »

Ji Shiyan frowned and walked up to her: « I almost couldn’t find you. Why are you running around everywhere? »

There were many people here, and he only found her position by leaning on two chubby cameramen.

“I’m here to buy ice cream,” the girl said, waving the cone in her hand, a faint sparkle decorating her smiling eyes and eyebrows. “Here.”

At this moment, all the words of blame seemed impossible to say.

Forget it, Ji Shiyan thought to himself, let her run around as she pleases, he could find her himself if necessary.

The man turned his head and saw that there was still someone selling balloons not far away, so he bought one and brought it back.

“Hold out your hand,” he said.

Ji Ning didn’t understand why, licking her melting ice cream while extending her finger.

He wrapped the balloon string around a few times and tied it to her index finger.

The girl looked up at the balloon floating in mid-air: « Why is it like this? »

To make it easier to find you.

After completing the « marker binding, » they chose the first item and walked towards the park.

They bought VIP channel tickets; there weren’t many people waiting, so the process went quickly.

You need to swipe your ticket card before entering the attraction. Ji Ning took her ticket out of her pocket and passed it over the machine, her reddened fingertips catching the man’s eye.

Why are your fingers so red?

She finally noticed it was a bit tight, raised her hand, and looked at her fingers: « It seems the rope was tied too tightly. »

With the blood circulation blocked, the front half of her finger joints naturally turned red.

The man lowered his head and untied the rope. Ji Ning suggested, « …How about I hold it in my hand? Or tie it to the washing label on my clothes. »

After speaking, she let out an « oh » again: « My tag was cut off. »

She has sensitive skin, so all the tags on her close-fitting clothes are removed in advance.

The man seemed thoughtful: « Are you wearing the ring? »

« What ring? » She blinked.

The one I gave you.

Of course, I carry it with me all the time.

But at this moment, telling the truth was really embarrassing, so Ji Ning coughed twice and patted his pocket: « I don’t know, let me check. »

When he felt a round object in his pocket, he raised his voice with good acting skills and « accidentally » said, « I happened to wear the clothes from that day today, so the ring hasn’t been taken out yet. »

Under the gentle sunlight, she seemed to hear someone chuckle softly.

It seemed to resonate with her earlobe, making it feel a little warm.

The man opened his palm: « Then give it to me. »

She obediently handed over the ring, watching him tie a knot in the string around the ring, then reached out to tug the string to test its tightness.

After feeling it was about right, he slid the ring onto Ji Ning’s index finger.

It got stuck at the second knuckle; it could be worn, but it was very tight.

The man pulled it out and tried the middle finger, but it still didn’t fit.

Naturally, he switched to the ring finger. Ji Shiyan pushed the ring inward along the direction, and when it passed the second knuckle, he suddenly realized something and clearly hesitated. Just as Ji Ning thought he was going to pull it out—

The man slowly pushed the ring all the way to the base.

Author’s note: Rounding up, we can directly congratulate this newlywed couple on their marriage! (Just kidding)

On Qixi Festival, let’s double-tap for a special amusement park date