First Kiss Diary - Chapter 42

“Get ready to start work, Ji Ningzhuo, Gong Yinyao, prepare yourselves!”

“Got it.”

Ji Ning responded, closed the script and stood up, unexpectedly noticing Ji Shiyan still standing where he was.

She shook the rolled-up script, “What are you waiting for?”

The man suddenly snapped back to attention; when he looked at her he paused for two seconds before saying, “It’s fine, go do your scenes.”

She nodded and walked into the arranged set, glancing at the camera positions beside her to find the right angle.

After filming a few scenes it was time for lunch break. Ji Ning finished eating and didn’t go back to the trailer; she stayed under the soundstage reading the script, waiting for the afternoon session to start.

As she read she found her mind wandering. Listening to the surrounding noises, sensing the dwindling crew, she thought that the production of “First Kiss” really might not have much time left.

Before melancholy had time to fully form, the familiar scent of amber and ebony drifted to her nose. Ji Shiyan glanced down at her script—he must have noticed she’d been staring at that page for a long time.

“Is there something you don’t understand?”

“No,” Ji Ning rubbed her fingertip along the bottom of the page, her voice soft, “I was thinking about something else.”

The man simply sat down beside her. “About what?”

Ji Ning looked up at the clouds for a moment, still not sure how to put what she was thinking into concrete words, and in the end asked in a half-hearted way, “Will you be at the set continuously over the next while?”

“If I don’t have work, I probably will,” Ji Shiyan asked her, “Why?”

“I just feel like you’re actually…” She got stuck halfway. After thinking for a while about which word to use, she said, “pretty attentive. When I first looked at the credits, I thought you were just a nominal producer, the kind who wouldn’t show up on set.”

Ji Shiyan was suddenly taken aback.

At first he was indeed only the nominal producer, but because they had just started filming a variety show together and he thought that getting to know her better would make the program more interesting, he planned to drop by the set just to take a look.

On the first day he wanted to see what she was like acting; on the second day he wanted to watch how she handled character details; on the third day he was curious about her routine on set… by the fourth and fifth days, he gradually couldn’t even tell why he followed the crew around whenever he had free time — it had probably become a habit.

Only now did he realize that he had already developed an interest in her back then; it was the peculiarities of the job that kept him from recognizing his own feelings for two months.

But if it hadn’t been for that spur-of-the-moment job he agreed to, he might never have had the chance to meet her, never have seen her dozing off with the script in her arms, never have watched her rehearse lines at the makeup table, never have discovered that little treasure of hers — a tiny horn full of delight.

Ji Shiyan thought for a moment about how he became a producer and said, “But at first I agreed to be the producer just to repay a favor.”

The first drama he filmed after debut was the one this director recommended; although it was an idol drama, it became a sensational hit at the time and opened up a lot of recognition for him. Now the director wanted to use his name as a producer, and of course he wouldn’t refuse.

Since she was serving as a producer, she would come to the set to check in — but if it weren’t for her, he wouldn’t be showing up so often. After all, he trusted the director’s ability.

Ji Ning took the opportunity and, a little unsure, asked, “So you took on The First Kiss Diary to return a favor?”

That question had been circling in her mind for over three months.

Given his position, how could he take on a dating show for the sake of career development? Besides, he’d always been low-key; even if it were a real romance, he probably wouldn’t want to flaunt it under everyone’s noses. Ji Ning had discussed this with Song Yu before, and they’d agreed he was the type who, even if in love, wouldn’t be one to show off.

Even the forum had to purge a section over this every so often, going into a frenzy debating Ji Shiyan’s true motives for joining variety shows.

The man replied, “Being introduced to drama resources before producing the show is one thing, but it’s mainly an issue for the investors.”

She quickly understood and said, “Oh.”

Everything became clear.

Ji Ning knew he was involved behind the scenes of Kiss Diary; given the investors and the show’s need for buzz, it wasn’t surprising that he would personally step in.

“There was another reason back then,” Ji Shiyan said, “I hadn’t traveled in a long time and planned to use the show as an excuse to get away and clear my head.”

Ji Ning didn’t expect him to treat variety shows like travel; thinking of all the places he’d been, he couldn’t help but laugh: “Then you must have had a pretty good time.”

Her finger pressed against the script, the tip showing a lovely pale blue-white curve.

From his angle, he could see the flecks of light on her eyelashes, lightly dancing as she blinked.

Very beautiful.

The man looked at her, unaware of when the corner of his mouth had lifted; he said in a low voice, “Of course.”

“I’m very happy.”

///

That night before bed Ji Ning, as usual, scrolled through Weibo; with a tap on his alternate account’s release key, a bunch of photos and videos of Ji Shiyan popped up immediately.

He hasn’t had many events lately, so most of what fans posted were edited videos they made themselves, plus some fan accounts that fixed up and reposted pictures that hadn’t been released before.

—That face, even if seen ten thousand times in real life, she would still be captured at the very first glance as she swept it past.

One big fan was doing some digging too, posting a set of behind-the-scenes screenshots from a commercial he’d shot before.

The man in the picture leaned against the window; the curtains billowed in the breeze, and he simply stood there raising his eyes to look at the camera.

Ji Ning’s heart raced; solemnly and reverently he tapped repost: [What he’s teasing isn’t the curtains, it’s my heart.]

By accident he also checked the comment box, and likes immediately started shooting up while comments increased as well.

[Sis, if you can talk, talk more—publish a book.]

[Hahahahahaha, you’re so good at talking!]

【nsdd[大拇指]。】

Ji Ning stared at the sudden surge of likes on her alt account, feeling a bit dazed. At that moment Song Yu came over again to ask her to help choose clothes: “Does the white look better or the red?”

Ji Ning, of course, knew the right answer: “You look good in anything, but I think red suits you better.”

Song Yu looked at her for a long time with an expression hard to describe. Then he slowly spoke, enunciating each word: “Why do I like hearing you tell the truth so much?”

Ji Ning:?

She was busy chatting with Song Yu and hadn’t paid attention to what she was looking at or doing on her phone. When she finally focused, she realized she’d swiped to the trending section—and found something related to herself.

[Someone dug up Ji Ning’s selfies from when he was still in school. Li Tao (rational discussion): What’s the difference between Ji Ning’s selfies from ten years ago and ten years later?]

Ji Ning opened the “selfie from ten years ago” and stared at it for a long time, unable to remember when she had taken such a photo. After thinking for a while she finally realized it was a candid shot taken backstage at a school event; it only looked like a selfie because of her pose and the angle.

The lighting that day was bad, making her a few shades darker. Compared to her selfies from ten years later, that account was probably trying to imply she had had whitening injections and face-slimming shots.

Seeing they couldn’t attack her for plastic surgery, those clickbait accounts started pushing a “minor cosmetic tweaks” narrative. After all, many female celebrities get subtle procedures these days; if they casually grab some comparison photos, they might outwardly praise how beautiful she is now, while stealthily planting the idea that she’s had work done.

Actually, people in the circle had long since stopped caring about these things. Even cosmetic surgery didn’t bother her — as long as she hadn’t gone under the knife and then kept pretending to be naturally born, that was what mattered.

But accusing her of things she never did—of course she wasn’t happy about that.

What difference could ten years make?

Ji Ning happened to be handy and neatly sent a quick message from his alternate account: [Can use beauty-filter apps to take photos now.]

She wasn’t the type to be affected by this anymore; she was simply thinking some clickbait accounts were so brainless that sometimes she just had to call them out.

She finished sending it, then went to take a shower. Afterward she went through a long, full skincare routine, intending to read for a bit before sleeping.

Halfway through the book, Song Yu suddenly jumped, exclaiming, “My sister, have you turned into a marketing account?”

“I didn’t,” Ji Ning had just denied, then froze, as if he’d thought of something. “Didn’t I use a sockpuppet account to transfer it?”

“The big account! The verified big account! Damn, how did I miss your Weibo because I was busy watching a show? Now it’s fine — it’s trending—”

Ji Ning pulled her phone out from under the pillow. When she opened Weibo, sure enough, the account logging in had an actor’s verification badge.

She wondered whether posting a little joke could really get someone onto the hot search. When she opened that Weibo post’s comments, what met her eyes was a burst of laughter.

Top comment: [“Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha I laughed so hard that everyone within a ten-mile radius will have to live with hearing aids from now on!!!”]

Second: [I can’t help but stan you, sis — you’re amazing.]

Third: [Babe, what beauty filter app are you using? If I get the same one, will I be able to take equally stunning selfies like yours! [longing][longing]]

Fourth: [What I lack is a beauty app? What I lack is this face.]

Ji Ning felt conflicted and turned to exchange a glance with Song Yu.

Song Yu nodded: “Yes, that’s right, just like you think — you attracted followers.”

…………???

What kind of weird way of attracting followers is this?

“Everyone’s now going through your past interviews, praising you as a hidden treasure girl.”

Song Yu put his hand on her shoulder: “The fact that you’re the interview circuit’s secret comedian—why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“…”

Ji Ning opened the trending page and found that she really had become everyone’s source of joy today. One account had compiled some of the funnier clips from her interviews:

[Reporter: A fan said there are stars in your eyes. Ning: Yes, I’m wearing star-and-moon contact lenses today.]

[Reporter: Why did you prepare exactly nine outfits for this MV shoot? Was it designed that way because you were filming on the ninth? Ning: Because if there were more, the nine-square grid wouldn’t be able to hold them.]

[Reporter: What’s one thing you can’t skip every day? Ning: Breathing.]

Many passersby also left cheerful comments below:

[I saw an interview the other day where they showed bare-faced photos of several female guests. The host was fawning over them, asking how come none of them have pores, their skin is so good—what skincare are they using? The other guests all started praising natural beauty, but Ji Ning alone said it was because the photos were airbrushed hahahahahahahahaha, so real.]

[Ning: Don’t ask me, there’s no outcome.]

[Everyone, don’t let her nonsense make you misunderstand the pretty younger sister. Our Ji Ning doesn’t use beauty filters or makeup and is still a porcelain-skinned beauty! Showing everyone bare-faced photos [image][image]]

Her name stood out prominently on the trending searches, followed by five words—

#Ji Ning, the Conversation-Killer#