Chapter 287: To Define First Love
Yun Xiangxiang didn’t have any scenes to film this day. She took the time to go for the interview He Wei had arranged for her. With Milles’ help, her interview would be on the cover of a monthly. As for which monthly she would appear on, that was to be decided.
He Wei brought Yun Xiangxiang to meet SQ’s management after she was done with the interview. The management was a fashionable French lady.
She was SQ’s creative director. And she was only twenty-nine. A promising young lady, one might say.
“Yun, do you have a boyfriend?” Chloe blurted out.
From the moment she saw Chloe, Yun Xiangxiang thought the lady was trying to see through her, but Yun Xiangxiang knew she wasn’t an enemy.
Yun Xiangxiang chose not to answer this question. “My apologies. I don’t like to talk about personal matters during my work.”
“I’m sorry for the discomfort I must have caused you,” Chloe answered nicely. “I just think that a gorgeous lady like you must have many suitors. Lipsticks go well with love.”
Yun Xiangxiang was here to talk about SQ’s lipsticks. “No. I don’t share the same sentiments. Lipsticks should be tied to the user’s emotions.”
Those who were not in love could use lipsticks too. On some occasions, it was out of courtesy. Some regard it as their hobby. Some had to use it for work. There were a lot of reasons to use different shades of lipsticks.
But Yun Xiangxiang thought the deciding factor was what the user was feeling like on that day.
“You don’t seem to have any lipstick applied today,” Chloe looked at Yun Xiangxiang’s rosy lips.
“I want you to see me in my most natural state,” Yun Xiangxiang answered calmly. “I need you to understand that I can put on any lipstick color you throw at me.”
“Your confidence is fascinating. And it works well with our brand concept. Here’s to our collaboration,” Chloe toasted Yun Xiangxiang.
The business talk ended there, but Chloe didn’t pry further into Yun Xiangxiang’s relationship.
They talked about China’s culture and its specialties. Yun Xiangxiang tried her best to describe China.
She talked about the people, the views, and the unique things there. She could see Chloe’s admiration building up. Chloe had never been to China.
They had a meal together and said goodbye amicably.
“Brother Wei, don’t you think Chloe was looking at me strangely?” Yun Xiangxiang went into the car.
“Maybe she’s curious about you.” He Wei didn’t notice anything wrong.
Since SQ was looking for a spokesperson, they had to know everything about her.
Yun Xiangxiang shook her head. This was a woman’s instinct. Yun Xiangxiang couldn’t explain it to He Wei.
“There’s nothing between you and Chloe,” He Wei was at least sure about that.
Yun Xiangxiang didn’t know which part of Chloe felt wrong. She said nothing more.
“If you think it’s not okay, we can give this up,” He Wei noticed Yun Xiangxiang’s reaction toward this collaboration.
“That won’t work.” Yun Xiangxiang shook her head.
He Wei must have spent a lot of time and effort to get to this point in the endorsement.
They shouldn’t give up just because she felt weird. Even if He Wei would let her, she couldn’t accept it.
“It matters not. Paris has a lot of makeup companies we can choose from,” He Wei didn’t think much about it.
Profit wasn’t the only consideration in collaborations. It needed to be amicable, or else nobody would pour much effort into it. A collaboration rife with enmity would be disastrous. It would be better if they didn’t work together. At least they wouldn’t be enemies.
“It’s not certain if I’m going to get that endorsement. Let’s see what happens. They might not even choose me,” Yun Xiangxiang stopped this conversation from going on.
They didn’t hear from SQ over the next few days, but neither Yun Xiangxiang or He Wei were in a hurry.
Yun Xiangxiang seldom appeared together with the protagonists in “First Love.” She would only have an intimate scene with the male protagonist while he was swimming in his fantasy.
Kleon, the actor who played the protagonist, came to Milles. “I think you should add a kiss here. It will work better.”
Kleon was a twenty-seven-year-old French actor. He was a rising star who was just starting out in the filming world.
Milles chose new, popular actors for “First Love.” He had one rule: All of the actors must be good-looking.
Of course, they must be excellent in their craft too, which the protagonists delivered. She might not share a scene with the female protagonist, but Yun Xiangxiang did watch how she acted.
What Kleon suggested to Milles was the scene where he imagined sharing a good time with Amy among the romantic sea of lavender.
The original script described that the protagonist would hold Amy’s hand and turned back to smile lovingly at her, while the sun shone upon them.
Yun Xiangxiang had been getting along with Kleon for a few days. He was crazy about acting. She trusted that his request for the kiss wasn’t to take advantage of her but to create the atmosphere.
Milles pondered on it. “What do you think, Yun?”
Milles respected his actors. He thought that Kleon’s suggestion was fine, but he needed to respect what Yun Xiangxiang thought.
“I don’t see the need,” Yun Xiangxiang thought it through. “I know you think adding a kiss will show the love more,” she said.
“Yes.” Kleon nodded.
“But this is “First Love,” not passionate love,” Yun Xiangxiang inexplicably smiled. “I think falling in love for the first time should be a bit more awkward. A bit more reserved. A bit more simple and a bit purer.”
That was what Song Mian made her feel. Their first love was merely clean.
Of course, they would kiss when the time called for it. But she thought that everyone would cherish their first love carefully, instead of going at it with a passion.
Kleon agreed with Yun Xiangxiang. His hand was steepled under his chin. “Yun has a point. But according to the script’s description, I think that the scene wouldn’t be layered enough.”
Milles pondered over it. Finally, he decided to make a slight change in the scene with both the actors’ opinions.
The protagonist would hold Amy’s hand as they sauntered among the sea of lavender. As they stood under the sunlight, the sun’s brilliant gleam would cast down upon them, veiling the couple under its light. The protagonist would hold Amy’s face lovingly.
His fingertips would slide into the hair on her sides. Their eyes would meet, their gazes seeing deep within their souls. The scene would end with the protagonist kissing Amy’s forehead as a sign of his loyalty.
This innocent, dreamy beauty was what first loves should be like.
Kleon noticed that Yun Xiangxiang was an actress with her own opinions and could delve deep into her characters’ psyche. She was different from any Chinese actor he had in mind.
When they shared a scene, he noticed that Yun Xiangxiang could make him immerse himself in the scene. From then onward, he would frequently talk with Yun Xiangxiang about their dialogues.
When Yun Xiangxiang was done with this day’s filming, she suddenly received many bouquets of roses. One type of rose took up one bouquet.