First Kiss Diary - Chapter 51
Ji Ning wasn’t exactly sure how the conversation suddenly turned to astrology.
“What zodiac analysis?”
Wasn’t he filming an xianxia drama just now? What does a period costume show have to do with zodiac signs?
Ji Shiyan lowered his eyes and looked at the horoscope chart on her phone screen.
Jiang Sheng’s earlier words still echoed in his ears. To prevent her from being influenced by those “Scorpios don’t need romance” comments, the man let his own selfishness show and hinted, “That’s not necessarily accurate.”
At that moment Ji Ning followed his gaze and noticed she had somehow switched to that page.
She swiped right twice to exit and said, “I accidentally tapped the wrong thing just now.”
“Do you usually read it?” the man asked.
She hadn’t fully understood why, but still cooperated: “I look at it occasionally.”
When her luck wasn’t great during Mercury retrograde, she would check when it would end.
He seemed to understand and nodded.
Looking doesn’t mean she believed it completely; it seems the situation Jiang Sheng mentioned might also exist. Although Ji herself thought it was highly unlikely, she couldn’t ignore it.
So Ji began to plan ahead for herself again: “Then what do you think about the heavens…”
He hadn’t finished speaking when the director stood up from his chair and came over to them. “Everyone’s here?!”
“Go ahead and get your hair and makeup done first. We’ll call action in a bit— they’re still adjusting the camera positions.”
Ji Ning had arrived too early today; the costume and makeup crew were still on their way.
The director looked at the two actors, grinning from ear to ear. “No kidding, this pairing in our crew is unbeatable.”
Good-looking, great acting, and still part of a recently concluded trending CP; the TV drama’s subject matter was also advantageous — it would be strange if it didn’t become a hit.
Ji Ning suddenly remembered and asked, “What happened to that male actor who bailed right before filming started?”
“He was poached by another production,” the director said. “That team had been searching for an actor for over three months, their start date kept getting pushed back, so they had no choice but to steal someone. Money talks, you know. Luckily, Shiyan took the role.”
At first, when they went to approach Ji Shiyan, he had no expectations at all. It was purely an accidental mass message that happened to include him, and when the man simply replied, ‘Send me the script to take a look,’ he nearly dropped his phone into the sink.
Someone who has been canonized in the film world agreeing to star in a historical idol drama—no one who saw it wouldn’t feel like they were dreaming.
The industry’s unspoken rule runs like this: there’s a wall between film and TV. Some artists can carry TV ratings but lack box-office draw; others deliver hit after hit at the box office but vanish without a trace when they appear in television dramas.
Being able to handle both TV series and films makes someone a treasure in the industry; those who not only can do both but also achieve outstanding results are the darlings of every investor and production team — so cherished they might as well melt in the mouth.
Among the new generation of actors, only Ji Shiyan fit that description; he hadn’t taken a TV drama role in a long time, let alone starred in an idol series, and who knew what a sensation the official announcement would cause.
Ji Ning went ahead to get her makeup done, while Ji Shiyan stayed behind chatting casually with the director and producer.
It seemed he had also invested in the show; their conversation was about topics beyond the script.
He was no longer like an ordinary actor—he had his own company, could invest, and therefore enjoyed a certain say.
So the man lived very freely now: he didn’t have to flatter anyone or endure slights. With traffic, talent, and money, even the investors had to show a little respect.
While she was doing her makeup, Ji Ning heard the crew beside her gossiping.
“Do you think if Ji Shiyan comes to act in the drama, his fee will be set really high?”
“I heard it’s very high. But you could guess—when someone of that caliber takes on a historical idol drama, would the production dare to be stingy?”
“But aren’t most of our show’s big expenses on special effects? If we spend so much hiring actors, what if there isn’t enough left for the rest of the budget?”
That question had just flashed through Ji Ning’s mind a moment ago; of course she still hoped the whole production would be completed to a high standard.
“What are you thinking, how could there be no money?” an insider revealed. “Even if the pay is astronomical and Ji Shiyan is added, do you think the investment will be less? The budget will at least multiply several times. Don’t worry—with him involved, the show will only get better.”
True.
The worries in Ji Ning’s heart evaporated. She remembered someone saying earlier that Ji Shiyan was the light of the crew, a sure win.
Soon the crew’s light arrived; Ji Shiyan sat beside her and began doing hair and makeup.
Historical dramas have much more elaborate hairstyles than modern ones, with all kinds of hair ornaments and intricate rules. Actors have to get up and start makeup before dawn.
The stylist held the wig up behind Ji Shiyan, compared it, nodded in satisfaction, and then put it down.
Ji Ning naturally turned her head to look, somewhat lost in thought.
Ji Shiyan saw her bite her lip, as if about to speak but holding back, and couldn’t help raising an eyebrow. “Got a question for me?”
As a fan, of course she had a bunch of questions she wanted to ask.
At that time he had spent over a year transitioning from idol dramas to serious dramas; no one expected him to come back.
Ji Ning glanced over cautiously. “Why did you suddenly take this show? To return a favor?”
After hearing her question, the man chuckled. “I don’t have that many favors to repay.”
“I haven’t done a period rom-com in a long time; this character is pretty fresh, and there are quite a few fight scenes.”
The scripts being handed to him right now are either the kinds of roles he’s already played or have stories that aren’t rich enough at their core. “Phantom Healing” is a bit better — the plot is tight and the action scenes offer plenty of opportunity for him to shine. He’s been wanting to do some action work lately.
Of course, there was also the director’s line — we might need to shoot a kissing scene, would you mind?
He minded, of course he minded.
Letting Ji Ning kiss another man — was he dead?
So after a brief discussion it was settled, and the crew accommodated him by starting filming early.
Speaking of the script, Ji Ning also agreed: “This script is really well written.”
I heard the screenwriter is Jiang Xiaoran, who has written several hit dramas—she’s a writer whose work is pretty much a guarantee of quality.
“Phantom Healing” tells the story of the Healer and the Ascended Immortal. A Healer appears once every ten thousand years; the moment they touch any living thing, they restore it to the peak of its life. Wherever they pass, withered trees bloom again and faded flower cups open in full.
The heroine was an apricot-blossom spirit a thousand years ago; after diligent cultivation she ascended to become an Immortal. The bloom before her ascension was the most vital moment of her life—if touched by a Healer, she would lose her immortal bones, and the centuries of cultivation that made her an Ascended Immortal would turn to dust.
Except for the one night each month of the full moon, Yu Zhe could never touch Xing Hua, because every mistimed contact of his would bring her pain.
They were two people doomed not to love each other, but defying fate has always been the audience’s favorite part.
So Ji Ning was very confident in this script; as long as the makeup, costuming, and post-production made it look prettier, the ratings would definitely be fine.
During the long makeup-and-hair session, Ji Ning dozed off with his head tilted. When he woke and opened his phone, looking at his Weibo page, he finally remembered that an hour earlier he had checked his phone to see how the final episode of “First Kiss Diary” had aired.
It had already aired last night. She expected the front page to be full of wails, but to her surprise everyone was very upbeat and… surprisingly fired up?
It turned out the summary of the “Double-Click Couple” super-topic used to read “just double-click and you’ll know.” Now it had been changed to something far more specific—
I can be single, but Shuangji must get married.
It was five o’clock in the morning, and the super-topic was still buzzing as if it had been flooded with bot followers.
【kswl! What is keeping me up at five in the morning—is it love, is it responsibility, is it the damn double-tap sweetness! Sweetness!】
[Please everyone comment so I can make sure I’m still alive (Teacher Sa oxygen.jpg)]
[That singing part was so sweet that at midnight my eyes lit up, I shot upright like a carp and, all fired up, did twenty sit-ups and ended up collapsing the bed. My mom, roused by the noise, left three monstrous bumps on my head, but even bleeding from the nose I have to say: it was all worth it.]
I left the fan group, but the world outside remained lively; the mouse-girl seemed to be celebrating like it was New Year every single second.
Hot search will definitely be credited, and entertainment accounts will certainly ride the trend.
[“The last episode of ‘First Kiss Diary’ aired yesterday. Besides a highlights rerun this weekend, the six guests will also say goodbye to everyone. All the CP fans hope the show won’t end with the music stopping. Analyzing the three couples on the program: Jiang Chuan and Li Yujia are from the same company; Zhang Yan and Shen Xin’s fans get along well. Personally I think these two couples have the highest chance of making it. The most popular pair have too much heat and their hardcore fans fight every day; plus the two actors’ excellent skills make it hard to guarantee authenticity. The woman is in a career upswing, so the likelihood of a breakup ending is too high.”]
Below, there were almost no fans of any other ship — they were all double-click supporters.
[I don’t want what you think, I want what I think. Listen to me: the Double-Click couple is the sweetest, truest, most blissfully happy in the whole world, okay? One person can decide—just listen to me.]
[Match—just one word. I’ll only say it once.]
My world consists only of workdays and New Year—if Shuangji doesn’t go in and out hand in hand with me, I’m a corporate drone; when Shuangji appears with a double click, then it’s New Year for me.
It seemed the producers hadn’t aired the necklace segment yet. She could even imagine how many custom-made engagement rings she’d get to admire after they aired that part as a weekend bonus..
Did another hour and a half on hair and makeup, changed into the outfit, and finally we could start shooting.
She came too hastily this morning; she hasn’t yet checked which scene they’re supposed to shoot.
He opened the notebook and glanced at it; Ji Ning felt as if, in the bone-piercing cold of midwinter, he was a little overheated.
She asked Nono to confirm: “Which scene are we shooting today again?”
“Didn’t we say this morning? Episode 24, scene 1007. See, it’s on the call sheet—you looked at it, didn’t you?”
“I did look,” Ji Ning sniffed, “I… just want to double-check.”
She blinked with slightly unfocused eyes, then looked at that scene again with earnest attention.
Do film crews nowadays always start shooting with a kissing scene as soon as filming begins?
Why do I have to kiss on the very first date??
Why is the stage manager scheduling rehearsals like this???
She choked back tears as she stared at the sky, but there was nowhere to vent her grievance.
The scene had been set up; if she walked off the job now, the director would have her pack up and leave the crew politely, then quickly find a new actress to act opposite Ji Shiyan.
Moreover, an actor with basic professional decency cannot say no at a time like this.
Ji Ning took a deep breath, held it, and slowly exhaled, forcing himself to calm down.
What else could he do? Might as well try anything — he opened his phone and searched for kissing scenes to watch.
The more wholeheartedly the actors kissed in the scenes, the more detached Ji Ning felt, uncontrollably imagining the scenarios that might follow.
She pressed the side of her head, then heard the class officer calling for people: “Get ready, it’s about to start.”
He folded back the small fleece blanket, pressed the heat pack, and Ji Ning very unenthusiastically cheered himself on in his mind.
Fortunately this scene didn’t have many lines, otherwise she thought she might still forget them.
Compared to her, the man was much more composed and calm.
She watched Ji Shiyan put down the script in his hand, loosen his neck, and stand ready in front of the camera.
Do you have to loosen your neck before filming a kiss scene?
Ji Ning felt her heart start to drum; she couldn’t tell what she was feeling in that moment. Her mind had gone foggy and unable to think, relying entirely on instinctive reactions to keep her together.
When the man cupped her cheeks and pinned her against the doorframe, Ji Ning felt all her senses shut down at once, as if thrown into a deep sea, bobbing up and down.
He tilted his head closer, the tip of his nose brushing hers in a teasing, intimate way. She had already forgotten whether the script called for this and what she was supposed to do, and instinctively flinched back.
“Cut!”
The director looked at Ji Ning in the camera, whose face was as red as a pillar in a standoff: “Why are you dodging! Some characters with shyness need to pull back a bit, but this scene is the moment their feelings heat up — no dodging.”
“Lift your face, get closer, put your arms around his neck, kiss properly.”
A proper, wholehearted kiss is already hard enough to accomplish, and this director added three more prerequisites.
Too difficult — this is harder than crying three liters of tears.
Ji Ning clenched her fist and had to answer, “Mm.”
The man’s hand reached over, his fingertips pressing into her fist, gently forcing it open.
“No need to be so recklessly brave, relax.”
The second time, she was indeed trying to convince herself to relax—right before his lips met hers.
She didn’t know if he’d just eaten candy; his breath carried a hint of mint. At that moment, feeling like a fish on a butcher’s block, she thought the whole lower half of her face had turned into the gray static of a broken TV.
After being frozen for a while, she felt as if she’d warmed up a bit; her lips regained a slight sense of feeling.
The professional actress’s mind was full of the director’s requirements at that moment. She raised her hand to wrap around his neck, thought about how everyone kissed on TV, and returned the gesture in a haphazard, messy way.
This time the director didn’t call cut midway; instead, after watching them finish the kiss he nodded calmly.
“Okay, one more.”
Ji Ning: ????
She felt a bit lightheaded at the moment: “Still bringing that up?”
“Of course, that kiss just now,” the director said earnestly as he looked at her, “Ning Ning, have you never filmed a kissing scene before?”
Ji Ning parted her lips but didn’t speak.
Ji Shiyan turned around to defend her: “She’s never filmed before, don’t blame her.”
The director also looked at her in surprise.
“You’ve never filmed before? That’s okay, don’t carry any psychological burden. We’ll take our time and work on it; we can get a good take, no rush.”
Before the third round began, Ji Ning looked down at the floor tiles to rehearse the sequence.
A man’s fingers suddenly covered hers, the pads of his fingers landing on her hand afterward.
Her ears were burning hot; his fingertips were cold, which, in contrast, felt quite pleasant.
Ji Ning stared at him dazedly.
“Get used to it.”
The man rubbed his fingers, paused, then said, “Don’t move later, I’ll do it.”
Alright, alright.
Fine, fine, fine.
You come.
Anyway, I don’t want to live anymore.
Author’s note: Salt (to the director): So loyal! Worth me turning down three gigs to rush over and kiss my wife (not really)
Ji Shiyan: The author’s note claiming Lu Ling, author of “First Kiss Diary,” said this is purely fabricated, a rumor, and has been sued.