RED Chapter 129

“Wow… Impressive…”

Chi Feiran said, “Handsome, isn’t this what you call taking things out of context?”

Rong Jin refused to admit it, insisting it was straightforwardly an intimate scene.

Chi Feiran almost wanted to applaud him and humbly asked, “Bro, the kiss is through glass. Can that really be considered intimate?”

Rong Jin argued, why not? The glass is only a few centimeters thick. If it’s thin enough, you might even feel the other person’s warmth!

Seeing Rong Jin solemnly scrutinizing the script’s glass kiss scene, Chi Feiran felt his boyfriend wasn’t just an Oscar-winning actor; he was the world’s king of jealousy.

Rong Jin corrected him, “Don’t call me ‘bro’, call me ‘husband’.”

Chi Feiran thought there was no harm in verbally giving in a little and asked, “Husband, what do you plan to do with these highlights?”

Was he planning to cut down on such a chaste scene even more? Would he end up only exchanging glances with the female lead?

Looking at Rong Jin’s expression, Chi Feiran felt Rong Jin probably preferred there be no glances exchanged at all—perhaps even better if they were in separate worlds, with just a bit of reminiscing.

Hmm, this sounded a lot like “Heroic Bones.”

Chi Feiran was utterly embarrassed, then realized that the only acceptable option for Rong Jin would be a solo reminiscence scene, with no shared frame at all.

He leaned over, kissed Rong Jin on the lips, smacked his lips as if savoring something, and then said with a smile in his eyes, “It’s not even sour.”

So why was he so jealous?

Rong Jin didn’t find it shameful to be jealous, but despite his jealousy, he wasn’t someone who would interfere with his partner’s career. If there were truly inappropriate scenes that were unnecessary, he might voice his opinion, but it would only be a suggestion. Ultimately, it was up to Chi Feiran to decide. As a competent actor and an adult, he should have his own judgment and choices.

Rong Jin sighed, sounding a bit melancholic, “I’m just preparing myself mentally.”

So I won’t be overwhelmed when I see the finished film.

Chi Feiran looked at those “highlights” again, thinking his endurance was truly…

Then he heard Rong Jin say, “Come on, get ready. We’ll try all of them.”

Chi Feiran: “…”

Did he understand correctly? Looking at Rong Jin’s expression, he felt he hadn’t misunderstood, but…

Chi Feiran awkwardly pointed at the character requirements in the script. The female lead was described as a pure and beautiful female student.

Rong Jin shamelessly said, “I’m also pure, beautiful, and a university student.”

Chi Feiran didn’t doubt Rong Jin’s acting skills; he doubted his own. To imagine Rong Jin as a female university student—really, too difficult!

Rong Pure smiled slightly. The Oscar-winning actor’s performance was so convincing that he looked genuinely pure, scaring Chi Feiran into a shiver. Rong Jin then said, “Actors have many things to practice. Here’s another lesson for you.”

It sounded serious, and it indeed made sense. Good actors need to face many challenges, like portraying a “pure female student.” Who knows, it might actually happen in the future…

But rational thinking was one thing; Chi Feiran genuinely felt that no matter how noble Rong Jin’s words sounded, at heart, it was just jealousy!

Rong Jin smiled, “Keep reading.”

Chi Feiran nervously finished the novel. After carefully taking character notes, he calmed down to study the script.

The tentative title of the film was “Sweet and Sour.” The story was just like its name, sweet and sour. The plot wasn’t very dramatic or complex. The original novel’s humor made it very popular, showing that the author had a talent for writing. The sense of youthful passion and sweet-sour emotions was depicted in a detailed and amusing way.

The adaptation involved the original author, preserving the novel’s essence very well without drastically altering it. This was good, but such adaptations set high expectations for actors. They needed to match the character’s image and convey subtle emotions convincingly.

Chi Feiran didn’t shy away from the challenge; on the contrary, the harder it was, the more he liked it. This would be the first film where he carried the box office on his shoulders, so he couldn’t deny having ambitions and dreams for it.

When RAN acquired the rights to “Sweet and Sour,” they aimed to make it a genre classic. However, due to the declining market for youth films and other factors, the project was shelved. If Li Yuan hadn’t dug it out from the archives, it might have waited even longer.

Chi Feiran didn’t know how long “Sweet and Sour” would have waited for its male lead in the original timeline, but he knew it wasn’t time to dwell on those questions. Rather than being overly cautious and worrying about all sorts of things, it was better to focus on what he needed to do.

Rong Jin noticed his distraction and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Chi Feiran shook his head and smiled, “Nothing.”

A new life, a fresh start—he shouldn’t always think about those things.

Chi Feiran put all his energy into the script. Reading it wasn’t hard, but fully understanding it was another matter.

Using the character notes he took from the novel, Chi Feiran began to delve deeper into the character’s inner world, mainly trying to capture that sense of youth…

Chi Feiran internally sweated, thinking no one would believe him if he said this out loud.

And then there was another matter…

Rong Jin looked at him, “Ready to start?”

Chi Feiran quickly said, “No, no, no! Let me prepare a bit more!”

Finding a youthful mindset was already challenging, and now he had to act opposite a “pure” and “beautiful” partner. He genuinely felt being an actor was hard!

After preparing for a while, Chi Feiran finally managed to suppress the weird feeling and nodded, indicating he was ready to start.

About two minutes later, he shivered violently, jolting himself out of character.

Rong Pure said coldly, “If you act like this on set, you’ll get scolded.”

Chi Feiran rubbed the goosebumps on his arms, feeling embarrassed to look at his boyfriend’s face—not just out of shame for his unprofessionalism, but also because he was afraid of recalling the mental image!

Rong Jin’s performance was flawless. He could convincingly play a female university student or even a transgender one. That’s what a professionally trained actor is like!

But Chi Feiran couldn’t handle it…

Because he had to imagine Rong Jin as the female lead, Chi Feiran kept telling himself that wasn’t Rong Jin, but the girl he had a crush on—the pure and beautiful female lead.

Then his mind conjured up the image of a truly “pure” and “beautiful” Rong Jin, in female attire, which was simply unbearable to look at!

Trying not to think about it made him think of it even more. People’s self-control is really lacking. After being shocked by himself a few times, Chi Feiran felt he and Rong Jin wouldn’t be able to “exercise” tonight. If he imagined that scene during their activities, he feared he might develop some physical dysfunction.

Rong Jin watched Chi Feiran’s reactions, seemingly enjoying the show, but didn’t suggest stopping their practice.

After a few more shivers, Chi Feiran’s competitive spirit was ignited. He realized that while he kept falling out of character, Rong Jin’s performance remained consistently stable. He didn’t even need to review the playback to know that Rong Jin’s first and last takes were identical!

Maybe even improved with each take.

And what about himself?

Chi Feiran took a deep breath, realizing that if he kept getting distracted by the fact that it was Rong Jin, he would be a failure.

Time passing seemed surreal. In the past, he relied on Rong Jin to get into character; now, seeing Rong Jin threw him off… Well, this wasn’t quite accurate, as Rong Jin was deliberately making it difficult for him, but the principle remained.

Chi Feiran knew a professional actor should overcome such distractions. Rong Jin might be teasing him, but he was also teaching him, helping him become a better actor.

After deeply exhaling, Chi Feiran said, “Let’s go again.”

Unspoken love hid in his eyes, afraid to look too long for fear of being discovered, yet unable to resist glancing at her. They were so close, how could they hide their affection in their voices?

Their fingers touched briefly, like an electric current passing through.

Both pulled back their hands, pretending to be calm, but it was the height of awkwardness, unnoticed by either.

Feeling his pounding heart, he liked her.

Chi Feiran had experienced this feeling himself. He had once secretly liked Rong Jin, carefully hiding his affection. Now, sinking into the character, the emotions merged perfectly.

After the scene ended, Rong Jin commented, “Good.”

Chi Feiran, withdrawing from the character’s emotions, took a deep breath and said, “I think it’s not good…”

Initially, he feared he couldn’t immerse himself, but now he worried that during the actual shoot, he might replace the female lead’s face with Rong Jin’s—that would be terrifying!

Rong Jin’s evaluation of this concern was a smiling, “That’s fine.”

Chi Feiran: “…”

What’s fine about that! Wasn’t this supposed to be educational? It was all a scheme! It must be!