Snow-Kissed Rose (GL) Chapter 77.1

Song Yingshi's words were partially true.

Since everyone was already certain that something was going on between her and Huai Xu, Song Yingshi didn't mind speaking ambiguously before them. As for Huai Xu…

Song Yingshi was afraid Huai Xu might overthink, so she refrained from repeatedly testing and teasing Huai Xu.

However, just when Wan Jiao and Lu Xuewen were madly exchanging glances with their lips raised to the sky, and when Song Yingshi was feigning ignorance and lowering her head to avoid Huai Xu's gaze, Kou Lengyu passed by their table, laughing as she asked, "Why? Will you two be kiss—"

"Lengyu, isn't your dance still a little lacking?" Song Yingshi calmly and swiftly interrupted before Kou Lengyu could finish her words.

Facing Song Yingshi's calm and pressuring gaze, Kou Lengyu thought about her practice results and guiltily closed her mouth. A moment later, she said, "I'll be going, then."

As Kou Lengyu walked to her friend's table, she became confused.

Was kissing something that couldn't be mentioned? Or was her team leader and Little Shi particularly shy in this regard?

…

After lunch, the production crew gathered the trainees in the second-floor lobby for a game of guessing the celebrity guests' identities.

Trainees were divided according to their teams for the third public performance, and each team was required to send a representative out to play a minigame. The winner would receive a hint related to the guests, and the first team to guess the guests' identities would also receive a mystery prize.

Song Yingshi wasn't interested in the interactive game. She already knew the answer, so it wouldn't be fair to the others for her to participate. Hence, she simply smiled and chatted with those around her as she leaned against the sofa's armrest. At the same time, she subtly observed Huai Xu, who sat next to her on the sofa.

Song Yingshi's gaze would start from Huai Xu's dense eyelashes, proceed downward to Huai Xu's refined nose, and then swiftly jump to Huai Xu's chin while nimbly avoiding Huai Xu's lips. She repeated this cycle over and over.

Song Yingshi didn't have any ulterior motives in her observation. Her eyes simply had a mind of their own and would constantly shift toward Huai Xu on their own.

Meanwhile, Huai Xu, who innately disliked participating in such interactive activities and had limited knowledge about the entertainment industry, was also casually chatting with the people around her. After two months of getting along, her relationship with her peers had developed to a point where she was comfortable making small talk with them. Although her voice remained indifferent, anyone who had heard her speak two months ago would know it sounded much softer now.

Although the two centers of Team Falling Asleep weren't interested in the game, Chen Wan was the opposite. Whenever she represented her team in the minigames, she seemingly became a veteran of variety shows as she kept pumping out highlight-worthy performances one after another.

Li Taoran and Kou Lengyu were also interested in the guessing game. Although they disliked using their brains, they had maxed out their social skills, so they split up and gathered all the information they could from the other teams. Under the trio's combined efforts, they eventually gathered enough hints to reach the answer:

"The guests are from the film 'Soul!'" Chen Wan shouted. "But who will be visiting? The leads? The director? Or could it be the entire cast?!"

"Congratulations to Team Falling Asleep for winning the game and mystery prize!" the staff member overseeing the game announced. Then, to leave everyone in suspense, the staff continued, "As for who exactly the guests are, you'll find out in the evening."

…

At 4 PM, the trainees concluded their practice for the day. They returned to the dormitory in sweat-soaked uniforms to tidy up their appearance and prepare for the evening recording session.

Many trainees sighed in relief as they could finally stop thinking about practice for once, and they merrily chatted as they made their way back:

"I wonder who it will visit? Will Fu Shu come? His face is my type."

"Big Sis Yi Siyi is also pretty! I love her very much!"

"I still prefer to see Fu Shu. I especially love how he looked in that… I can't remember the movie's name, but it's where he emerged from the shower and revealed his eight-pack abs. That scene was simply…"

"You better not take your clothes off here!"

After waiting for the chatting trainees to leave, Song Yingshi waited for the elevator to arrive on the seventh floor before she nonchalantly asked Huai Xu, "Looks like many people like Fu Shu. Do you have any impression of him?"

Recalling the original novel's plot, Song Yingshi had to admit that compared with Song Ming and Zheng Qiyi, Fu Shu was more befitting of the male protagonist role.

Fu Shu was the latest to appear, appearing only when Huai Xu was 24 years old. At the time, Fu Shu was already a three-time Best Actor Award winner, becoming a true emperor in the entertainment industry. Moreover, he had switched to operating behind the scenes, rapidly accumulating capital and influence.

If Song Ming was a desperate simp and Zheng Qiyi an emotional manipulator, then Fu Qi could be deemed a rational madman.

However, Huai Xu was only 18 years old right now, and both Zheng Qiyi and Fu Shu had appeared before her years in advance due to the force majeure of the plot. They had yet to attain the success and influence they possessed in the original novel, and they were fragile and insignificant before Song Yingshi.

Of course, even if Song Yingshi were to encounter Fu Shu at his peak, she wouldn't be afraid of him. The only thing that worried her was that…fate seemed adamant about bringing Huai Xu and the male protagonists together. This was completely outside her control, and she had no idea what else fate had in store for Huai Xu.

Fortunately, Huai Xu didn't seem interested in going along with fate's arrangements as she seemed to harbor only feelings of despise and rejection toward Song Ming and Zheng Qiyi…

While Song Yingshi was thinking as such, she heard Huai Xu saying, "Fu Shu? I know what he looks like."

Song Yingshi nearly stumbled when she heard this answer. Surprised, she asked, "How do you know what he looks like?"

"I've seen his posters at a cinema," Huai Xu answered.

Huai Xu worked a part-time job at a cinema last year. While on duty at the entrance, a four-year-old girl tripped on a display stand while running and scraped her knee. The parents blamed the cinema for being inconsiderate of children. To appease the parents and avoid responsibility, the manager pushed the blame onto Huai Xu.

It was common for employers to shove the blame onto part-timers. Huai Xu didn't bother to clear her name and simply quit. On her way out, she looked back at the display stand, and Fu Shu just happened to be in the poster on display.

Song Yingshi never knew about this fateful encounter, but she did know that the last movie Fu Shu starred in was released last year. This meant that Huai Xu knew about Fu Shu earlier than her!

Dammit!

Song Yingshi walked toward the bedroom with her head lowered. After taking two steps into the room, she turned around and looked at Huai Xu with an annoyed expression.

As composed as Huai Xu usually was, even she was made uneasy by Song Yingshi's stare. Carefully, she asked, "Is something…wrong?"

Song Yingshi gnashed her teeth and put on an insincere yet sweet smile as she answered, "I thought about the acting matter."

Huai Xu: ?

How did Song Yingshi's brain work to suddenly go from talking about Fu Shu to thinking about acting?

Huai Xu wasn't the only one wondering this question. Even Song Yingshi didn't expect that the first time she would genuinely think about resuming her acting career in this life would be because Huai Xu had remembered a poster of one of the dastardly male protagonists.

So you like to remember posters, huh? Just you wait! I'll make a dozen different posters for each movie I film in the future! No, make that 34! One for each province in the country! If the movie goes international, I'll make one for each country! You'll be sleeping on the couch if you fail to remember even one of them! Song Yingshi thought spitefully, conceiving many torturous ideas around the theme of posters. She even imagined Huai Xu tearfully begging for mercy while she showed no mercy.

As Song Yingshi was lost in her imagination, she occasionally sneered or looked solemn.

Meanwhile, Huai Xu quietly observed Song Yingshi's rich display of emotions for a moment before turning to tidy herself. From time to time, she'd glance back, only to find Song Yingshi wearing a new expression. When she was done cleaning up, she turned around to find Song Yingshi wearing a smile.

It was a pure and uncontaminated smile that made Song Yingshi's face glow.

Huai Xu was momentarily stunned by this sight. She raised an eyebrow and asked, "Are you finally happy?"

Song Yingshi patted some toner onto her face and pressed her hands against her cheeks, making herself look like a chipmunk. With smiling eyes, she said, "Huai Xu, I feel so childish."

Song Yingshi couldn't help but laugh when she looked back at her thoughts. They were truly childish thoughts.

Huai Xu observed Song Yingshi laugh as she grabbed the lipstick bag Song Yingshi was reaching for. Then, she sighed, "Little Shi, you make me feel unfulfilled."

"Is the lipstick bag too light?" Song Yingshi asked, tilting her head.

Huai Xu: "..."

Song Yingshi's straight-woman thinking would always pop up at the most improper moments to give Huai Xu a fatal blow.

Huai Xu silently placed the lipstick bag on Song Yingshi's lap and gently flicked Song Yingshi's bangs with her fingers. Looking into Song Yingshi's eyes, she smiled and asked, "Why did you recover without coaxing?"

Song Yingshi shielded her bangs and blinked at Huai Xu in confusion.

"Can you let me coax you from now on?"