Chapter 53: Special Treatment
The day was one for the books for the eleventh-graders of Shanghai Experimental Middle School, Class 1. It was so, so unforgettable that when they were almost thirty, they still remembered the appearance of that pretty, young girl.
“Hello, everyone. I’m Ji Ning, and from now on, I’ll be your classmate.”
A girl wearing a white dress was standing on the podium. Everyone was wearing their uniform, and she was the only one wearing casual clothing. The principal of this school was traditional and old, for he prohibited girls from wearing dresses. He claimed girls who wear dresses were flirtatious and coquettish, but this girl truly showed all of them what it meant to be fresh and ingenuous. The blush on her cheeks looked like natural rouge powders, and it was hard to tell if she was born like this or if she just felt shy in front of all these strangers. But her tone was so confident!
The sunlight during mornings was the softest, and also softened her body shape. It made her seem feeble and thin. The prettiest thing about her was her eyes, which were pure black like a spring, clear to the bottom. Everyone could see the smile in her eyes, but it made her look frail and helpless.
Ye Zian told the videographer, “Liu Man’s expression right now is perfect, give her a close-up.”
This belle made all the boys freeze. The class president, Gu Qing, saw how all his classmates were drooling because of his “stepsister,” and he was suddenly very angry. He wanted to take a piece of fabric and wrap it tightly around Ji Ning so nobody could see her.
He looked around him and suddenly saw, to his front, his strongest opponent, Duan Nanfeng, was also staring at Ji Ning closely. He, who was always indifferent and never willing to even give an extra glance to pretty girls, suddenly had such hot desires in his eyes.
Gu Qing suddenly thought of something, and his lips tilted up with a manipulating expression.
The class teacher gave Ji Ning a spot on the last row and closest to the windows. She sat down next to the window right before class started. She wasn’t particularly interested in the class, and neither was she in those classmates who were peeking at her. Her head was turned to the window, and her eyes seemed to be full of helplessness.
“Okay, cut,” Ye Zian snapped his fingers, “Take a break for ten minutes, and then we’ll continue.”
Liu Man had no parts in the next scene; her work was done for today.
Even though she was acting out the scene pretty well, her limbs were going numb from the cold weather. Everyone had to pause many times for her, so she didn’t want to make any more mistakes and pretended to be alright.
Feng Qingyu was wearing a dress, too, when she was filming yesterday. But she was an important person with an actual assistant. As soon as she finished her scenes, the assistant would rush up with her puffer coat, helped her put it on, handed her hot drinks, and made sure she didn’t catch a cold.
Liu Man was only an extra, and until now, a lot of people in the crew still didn’t remember her name, not because they had bad memories, but because they felt like there was no need to waste any time remembering the name of a girl who wasn’t even a star on the eighteenth tier.
TL’s Note: In China, superstars are classified into eighteenth tiers. The actors on the first tier are, of course, the most famous ones. The ones on the eighteenth tier are extras.
Liu Man wrapped her arms around herself and silently walked out of the classroom. The resting room was on the other side of the corridor, and she wanted to change into something warmer.
At this moment, a huge puffer coat was put onto her body from behind her, and with it came the scent of a perfume. Liu Man remembered this exact perfume; it was what she smelled when she first met Tang Tu at the Sophomore classroom.
Liu Man, surprised, looked back. Tang Tu was wearing his blue and white high school uniform, with his zippers still down. Tang Tu’s assistant was following quickly behind him, looking hesitant as if he wanted to say something.
The assistant was the one holding Tang Tu’s puffer coat all along, and he put the coat on Tang Tu like usual. He did not expect Tang Tu to take the puffer coat, chase after this new actress, and put the puffer coat on her himself.
This scene was too stunning for the assistant.
It wasn’t only him who was surprised; everyone in the crew was. Tang Tu and Liu Man’s tiers were way too different.
As a famous person, all his actions had to be perfect. Everything he did represent his attitude, so did Tang Tu mean he would protect this girl by doing that?
Sure enough, Tang Tu smiled at the gawkers and said, “She’s my underclassmen, so Professor Qiu wants me to take good care of her.”
Oh, so she was also a student at the Capital City Music University.
And she was also recommended by Qiu Jing?
Everyone suddenly understood.
Since Tang Tu mentioned Qiu Jing, the crew members stopped digging deeper. They even started thinking whether they should treat this girl better since she had a good relationship with Qiu Jing and Tang Tu.
Liu Man lowered her head during the whole time, and as she heard what Tang Tu said, she said in a soft voice, “Thank you.”
“No need to be so courteous with me,” Tang Tu said, “I will now tell my driver to send you back to the hotel for you to take a rest. It’s also best if you take a hot bath.”
“No, no. I’m fine,” Liu Man waved her hands to deny him.
“It has been decided. You have an important scene to film tomorrow, and what would you do if you catch a cold? I just don’t want you to slow us down. If you delay the film production, then Director Ye won’t be happy with you,” Since Tang Tu had already said so much, how could Liu Man still reject his offer?
Tang Tu’s driver was waiting right outside the school campus, and he carried out the order as soon as Tang Tu gave the command.
After Liu Man was gone, Tang Tu went back to the resting room. Qiao Xin walked in with two mugs of coffee, and he put one down in front of Tang Tu. Later on, there was going to be a rival show featuring the two leads, and they still had a lot of work to do.
“You’re pretty nice to that girl,” Qiao Xin laughed.
“Well, she IS my underclassmen, and it’s her first time taking part in the entertainment circle. If I don’t protect her, Professor Qiu is going to make me responsible,” Tang Tu took a small sip of the coffee and said at a speed that was neither slow nor fast.
“Yeah, right. Even though this is our first collaboration, I think you have a nice charisma. All I know is, some men don’t even take care of their girlfriend this well,” Qiao Xin insinuated.
He had been an actor for such a long time and had heard things about Tang Tu. There was a rumor that Tang Tu had a strong background, and he was not just relying on Qiu Jing. Tang Tu’s family probably had a high social status, or else, why would he be popular for so many years if he only filmed one movie? It would be impossible if he didn’t have someone supporting him.
Because he had a good background, Tang Tu was able to act all high and aloof; when he first became famous, he even rejected some small directors.
This kind of person would never give another girl special treatment just because of something Qiu Jing said.
Qiao Xin would never believe it.
Tang Tu smiled at Qiao Xin with the coffee in his hands, and the expression in his eyes read, “It doesn’t matter to me if you trust me or not, this is my business, not yours.”
Credits: Sydney