Cheng Xiaohua paused, a hint of hesitation flashing in her eyes before she finally made up her mind and said, "Jinxia, are you in love?"
Cheng Xiaohua reached out and grabbed her hand, sincerely saying, "If you are in love, you must tell me, don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone!"
Cheng Xiaohua straightened up, putting on a listening attentively expression, "Go on, who do you like, it’s not Luo Dingxin, is it?"
A trace of helplessness crossed her face as she slowly spoke, "Sister Xiao Hua, when did I tell you that I was in a relationship?"
Now it was Cheng Xiaohua’s turn to be dumbfounded.
He Jinxia stood up, patted her shoulder earnestly and said, "Being in love is a lifetime matter. I will surely tell you if I decide on someone, but I am not in a relationship right now, so you don’t need to worry about me ."
In the end, she reached out and rubbed Cheng Xiaohua’s head, "Be good, remember to buy ’Six Walnuts’ to drink."
— You need to replenish your brain. Chapters fırst released on novel-fire.net
Cheng Xiaohua’s mouth twitched, her face a portrait of wanting to cry.
No, it’s not... she felt that she hadn’t made a mistake, but, Fat Emperor didn’t seem like someone who would lie...
He Jinxia’s days filming in the production crew went smoothly, except some were quite sad that "Xiongxiong Fruit Store" didn’t continue, even spending a few days waiting around before finally accepting the reality that it was not going to open.
A few days later, He Jinxia and the actor playing the male lead, Gu Runfei, had their scenes together, and she got a good understanding of Gu Runfei’s acting skills.
Gu Qiao seemed to be keeping a close watch on Gu Runfei, being particularly demanding, and each time he made errors while filming with He Jinxia, the lack of comparison spared no hurt feelings. After several such instances, Gu Runfei felt resentful whenever he saw He Jinxia.
On the surface, the actors got along well, but behind the scenes, He Jinxia was gradually ostracized by some actors in the crew.
After Luo Dingxin invited He Jinxia to a meal once again and she declined, Luo Dingxin couldn’t sit still any longer. Fortunately, he was filming in the same scene as He Jinxia, so he approached her and asked in a low voice,
"Have you been avoiding me lately?"
He Jinxia’s eyes flickered, and she shook her head.
Luo Dingxin stared intensely at her, "Then have you been avoiding all of us lately?"
He Jinxia calmly said, "No, you are overthinking it."
Luo Dingxin frowned, confusion crossing his face, "Then why haven’t you been coming to the dinners?"
That was quite a straightforward question.
He Jinxia couldn’t help but look up at him, unsure if Luo Dingxin was just being straightforward or if there was another reason.
She smiled slightly and said, "No time, I need to study the script every night, I also need to work out, and I don’t drink alcohol, attending would probably make me the odd one out."
Gu Runfei liked to drink, and there were numerous incidences where drinking had disrupted his filming. He Jinxia felt she just couldn’t click with such a person.
Being the male lead of the crew, it was impossible not to invite Gu Runfei to gatherings, so she simply and decisively refused them all.
Luo Dingxin’s lips twitched, and his heart suddenly began to beat more rapidly. He wanted to ask her if she would attend the gathering if he invited her alone, but before he could muster the courage to speak, a shout entered his ears:
"He Jinxia! Come to group B for the cooking scene!"
He Jinxia responded, offered Luo Dingxin an apologetic smile, then turned and hurried off to group B to film.
Luo Dingxin watched her retreating figure, his fists clenched slightly, but ultimately he said nothing and turned away as well.
"Scene 128, take 1, action!" The clapperboard was sounded, and instantly, He Jinxia’s expression changed on camera.
She focused intently on the dish in the pot, her slender hands gracefully stirring, enhancing the aroma of the food.
Bowing her head to smell the dish, He Jinxia’s eyes curved into a smile. "It’s almost ready!" she said.
The maids and servants watching nearby couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration, praising her, "The second young mistress’s cooking is really fragrant, truly inheriting the master’s skills!"
"Yeah, yeah, just smelling it makes my mouth water!"
"I heard this isn’t even her specialty. Her best dish is Buddha Jumps Over the Wall; that’s really impressive..."
The character Su Qingwan, played by He Jinxia, took out a brocade handkerchief to wipe the sweat from her forehead, then lifted the pot and poured its contents into a plate set aside.
She said to the maid waiting nearby, "Take it away."
The maid hurriedly nodded her head.
"Cut!" Director Gu Qiao carefully reviewed He Jinxia’s expressions again and, finding no issues, called out, "Passed!"
This approval, conveyed in a single word, allowed the extras to sigh in relief. Yesterday, Luo Sifang was also shooting cooking scenes, but it didn’t go smoothly, spending a whole day filming only three cooking scenes, with more than twenty left unfinished.
Director Gu had originally planned to finish all the cooking scenes for the actors within a week, but with Luo Sifang’s performance, just her portion alone would take at least a week—how could that work?
Yesterday, Director Gu had been stern-faced all day, and the entire crew was under pressure. Fortunately, today’s filming with He Jinxia finally broke the tense atmosphere.
Since this scene was set in the summer, the crew had specially installed a transparent protective film to cover the entire ceiling, and the heater was turned up inside the room.
He Jinxia, dressed in a light ancient costume, was forced by the heating to break out into a sweat, which at a glance, gave off a summery feel.
The makeup artist came forward to wipe her sweat and touch up her makeup. Soon after, the cooking scene resumed filming, this time capturing He Jinxia holding a knife and cutting vegetables.
Yesterday’s cutting scene had been completed entirely by a double, whose face was not shown, only her hands.
Luo Sifang wasn’t averse to cutting personally, but the shapes she cut didn’t meet Director Gu’s standards, necessitating a double.
Before shooting, Director Gu specifically asked He Jinxia if she needed a double, and without hesitation, she declined, saying, "Director Gu, let me try."
Director Gu had intended to suggest using a double if she felt mediocre to save time, but upon seeing He Jinxia’s calm and confident gaze, he immediately stopped himself, waved his hand, and allowed her a trial shoot.
As the sound of the clapperboard echoed, He Jinxia took up a knife and began to cut the vegetables in an orderly manner.
The sound of chopping resonated, and before long, plump eggplants were neatly diced, followed by potatoes peeled and sliced into strips, then bell peppers...
In her past life, as an Oiran proficient in ten complete skills, cooking was naturally one of her essential skills. Among many sisters, her culinary skills might not have been the best, but they weren’t the worst either.
At that moment, revealing such smooth knife work instantly impressed everyone present.
Upon closer examination, wow, it seemed she was even more skilled than the doubles who specialized in filming cooking scenes!