In an instant, Qin Ting's face felt as though it were on fire. She sat down without a word, turning the pages of her script with a furious rustle.
The man who had coldly refused her a second earlier seemed utterly oblivious. Pen in hand, he marked his script, considering the right tone for a particular passage.
Fortunately, his overworked throat had kept his voice low. Apart from Cheng Hexi and Hao Yuguang, who played the female lead and second male lead, no fifth person had heard what happened.
Qin Ting bit her straw and took a great slurp of her favorite milk tea. Imagining the tapioca pearls were the man beside her, she bit down viciously and chewed hard, her cheeks puffed out.
“Qin Ting, this is delicious. Shall we exchange contacts? Could you send me the shop's details?”
She looked up to see Cheng Hexi smiling at her, phone raised.
Gratitude all over her face, Qin Ting nodded vigorously. “Yes, of course! I'll add you!”
She hurried over and scanned Cheng Hexi's QR code. Hao Yuguang, sitting beside her, asked to exchange contact details too.
“You picked exactly the right drink for me. How did you know I like a strong tea flavor? Send me the shop too, please. I'll see if there's a branch near my place.”
“You're both too kind. I'm just glad you like them! I'll send you the details in a moment.”
Although Zou Songpu was reading his script, he listened as their conversation moved from drinks to food, then from food to entertainment. Filming hadn't even begun, and the three were already choosing local attractions to visit after the shoot wrapped. He glanced at the drink by his hand without speaking, then unscrewed his own water bottle and took a sip.
Thanks to the other two rescuing her, much of Qin Ting's embarrassment and resentment faded. Her performance during the afternoon read improved considerably over the morning's.
At the end, Director Qin even made a point of telling her she'd done well.
“Thank you, Director. I'll keep working hard!” Had her tail been visible, it would certainly have stood high behind her, its tip curved into a question mark.
After her first experience of a professional production's table read, Qin Ting talked nonstop in the car, telling Zhao Jing and Zhou Dao about the atmosphere, who else the director had criticized for insufficient emotion, and who had suggested changing a few words in a particular passage.
When she reached the part about buying someone a drink and being turned down, her spirits visibly sank. Her voice grew quieter too.
Zhao Jing said, “Zou Songpu hasn't drunk anything other people give him since the incident. I thought you'd have guessed. When I saw you order four drinks this afternoon, I didn't say anything because I assumed you weren't giving him one.”
“I thought I should thank him for reminding me to pay attention during the read, but I didn't know what he liked. I was going to order myself a drink anyway, so I got one for him too. I'd prepared myself for him not accepting it. I just didn't expect him to refuse so bluntly.”
“You think he was helping you. From his perspective, he may simply have seen you zoning out at work and didn't want you holding everyone up.”
That jolted Qin Ting awake. The few points Zou Songpu had earned in her estimation instantly fell to zero and threatened to drop further. At the same time, she privately swore never to be dazzled by his looks again. Tomorrow, the day after, right through to the end of the shoot, she wouldn't delay everyone by so much as a second.
Compared with other productions' table reads, today's pace had been extremely fast. Yet there was so much material that a notice in the scheduling group asked everyone to go even faster from tomorrow while maintaining quality and completing the required work.
Qin Ting had been lying on her bed with a face mask on, playing with her phone. As soon as the message arrived, she picked up the script and began reviewing the section scheduled for the next day.
“Have some more water. I can hear how hoarse you are.” Zhou Dao knocked and came into her bedroom.
Qin Ting held up a hand to indicate six. “I drank six whole cups today. And I had throat lozenges.”
“That's not enough. Tomorrow I'll bring you a big bottle too, and refill it during breaks. You're so hoarse it sounds like there's a motorcycle in your throat.”
“I'll drink! I'll drink right now!” Qin Ting scrambled out of bed, went to the kitchen, and gulped down a full glass. She cleared her throat. It felt much easier, and only then did she return, reassured.
“Xiao Zhou, have you finished editing the clips from our last livestream?”
“They're done. When are we streaming again? People in the group are asking.”
“After the table read. I'm so tired...”
She had been wound tight with nerves all day. Now, finally relaxed at home after spending another long stretch with the script, she was bound to feel sleepy. She certainly had no energy to think about streaming. Before finishing her sentence, she was already asleep.
So much intensive speaking had inflamed Zou Songpu's throat by the afternoon. Every swallow was an effort. Anticipating that he would ignore his condition in pursuit of perfect work, Zhuang Qian had contacted a private doctor in advance, who was waiting at his home well before he returned.
“Open your mouth. Ah...” The doctor carefully examined Zou Songpu's throat, then indicated that he could close it.
Standing nearby with folded arms, Zhuang Qian asked anxiously, “Dr. Gu, how much will this affect his work?”
By the end of the day, Zou Songpu had been unable to speak. Only after several hours' rest could he force out a little sound. The clock had just passed eleven. There were nine hours until the eight o'clock start announced in the group.
“I can prescribe something to relieve the symptoms temporarily, but the most important thing is for him to speak less and stop overusing his voice. Our staff can deliver it tomorrow. What time would suit you?”
“Five in the morning,” Zou Songpu said flatly, as though none of this concerned him. His striking throat seemed merely a colleague expected to cooperate with his work, with no right to a lengthy rest.
“We can leave at six forty and still make it. What do you need all that extra time for?”
“The script. I can't let myself delay everyone. I'm going to bed.” Zou Songpu stood. “Thank you, Dr. Gu. Sorry for the trouble.”
“Keep being stubborn. One day someone will bring you to heel.”
Zhuang Qian escorted Dr. Gu to his car, then called Assistant Chen and told him to prepare throat lozenges for Zou Songpu the next day and keep him from torturing his voice again.
“Also, find out where that drink he brought home came from. Don't forget to ask.” With that, the agent hung up and drove to a nearby hotel to rest.
From the second day onward, the table reads grew longer and the breaks shorter. By the latter half of each session, everyone was clearing their throats and sharing whichever lozenges they found effective. Everyone except Zou Songpu.
Beyond his lines, he grudged every unnecessary word, substituting nods and shakes of the head.
After observing him for several days, Qin Ting decided the man was utterly unpredictable.
During a short break, she nosily asked, “How many times have you read the script? I've read it three times.”
He glanced at her and said nothing.
She tried again. “I'm planning to sound dejected in this exchange. Zhenqing and her mother are homeless here, so I think they're deeply sad.”
“Add some anxiety and confusion.”
When she asked him why, he adopted the air of a man under no obligation to coach her, extinguishing her hope of turning it into a chat.
Still, she wanted to try once more. “Did you take that drink from the first day?”
The moment she asked, she felt the temperature around them drop by dozens of degrees. Afterward, no matter what she asked about the script, he gave no response. Not even a glance.
One clear benefit of table reads was that the actors had begun interacting in character before filming started. That should help the actual shoot run more smoothly.
At last the week-long read ended, with Qin Ting growing ever more energetic and Zou Songpu beside her growing ever more hoarse. Director Qin announced that once they reached the filming location, everyone would have two days to rest before the opening ceremony.