Luo Xinyao, the gentle, sunny actress, is only putting on an act. Her true self is sharp-tongued and caustic. She's a notorious “romance queen” in the industry, seemingly able to make anyone willingly fall into her tender embrace at any moment.
While appearing on a screenwriting variety show, she meets Wei Mingchan.
The only screenwriter on the show specializing in opera, Wei Mingchan has long, ink-black hair, deep eyes like cold springs at the bottom of a well, and elegant manners. Even sitting still, she looks like a saintly statue untouched by passion.
Away from the cold cameras, they lose themselves in desire, then put on an act for appearances. Their passion blazes like an autumn wildfire, burning through every corner beyond the reach of onlookers.
Riding the wave of their wildly popular ship, they join a film crew back-to-back and finish shooting a movie. Their feelings are carved into the characters' tragic love and hatred, becoming a tiny footnote in cinema history.
But clever people understand: there's no need to make things official to be together, and no need to say goodbye to part.
Late one night, the first snow of the year began to fall. Wei Mingchan emerged from the lavish private room, bringing with her the only clear scent amid the muddled reek of alcohol: juniper. Her deep eyes fixed on Luo Xinyao, sharp and cold, yet calm, as if she meant to see right through her.
Unfortunately, Luo Xinyao was far too drunk to read the depths and calculations in that gaze.
She couldn't tell whether it was the film or Wei Mingchan that had hollowed her out.
Luo Xinyao looked up at the boundless snowy night and decided to retire from acting and devote herself to theater.
Years later, Luo Xinyao sits behind the university, reading a script and biting down on a thin cigarette to get into character. She wonders what flowers to bring her young girlfriend tonight, while giving the producer, who still hasn't finished casting, a thorough dressing-down.
She is no longer the dazzling actress she once was. The street behind the university bustles with people, but no one pays her any attention.
Then her vision suddenly darkens. She looks up and sees Wei Mingchan standing beside the producer. The current megastar wears sunglasses and a mask, looking just like Luo Xinyao did the day they first met.
“Teacher Xinyao.” Wei Mingchan leans over and takes the cigarette, which has nearly fallen from her startled fingers. “Don't smoke in public.”
Luo Xinyao: “...”
Am I supposed to play lovesick enemies with a fling that lasted only as long as the dew? This is a challenge my career has never faced before.
What she doesn't know is that this reunion was planned long ago.
One reckless night, Luo Xinyao knocks a page off the table.
She reads an entire volume of a chilling plan. On the title page, there's just one line:
“Use a little poison on the tip of your tongue. Slowly, patiently, and slower still.”
Watching Luo Xinyao's bewildered, shocked expression, Wei Mingchan kisses her again. “Come on, a little more.”
Romance-queen actress × the crazy Kunqu opera performer she tames in reverse
1. The characters aren't based on real people. Please don't draw parallels to real-life show business or theater. The operatic elements are adapted to shape the characters; they may even differ from my own views. There is no right or wrong, good or bad.
2. Ten-year age gap. Luo is older than Chan.
3. Luo has a girlfriend at the beginning of the story.
4. Those who've read my books know that my version of show business isn't what people traditionally mean by “the entertainment industry.” Read with caution.
5. Includes a GL story-within-a-story.
6. Daily updates after the story goes premium.
Theme: You cannot swim toward a new horizon until you have the courage to leave the shore.
