Chapter 1786: Taking It Again

"Brother Yan, this is my first time traveling abroad to such a distant place."

Shen Ranran sat by the window, gazing out at Jingcheng receding further and further away, before turning back to speak to Wang Yan beside her.

"It's my first time too," Wang Yan said with a smile. "Once we become famous and earn money, there will be plenty of opportunities to travel abroad in the future, whether attending events or touring overseas."

"Even so, I'll never forget this first trip abroad, coming with you, Brother Yan, to attend the film festival."

"It's for the film where you played your first leading lady."

"Without you, Brother Yan, there would be no today." Shen Ranran lightly tapped Wang Yan. "Brother Yan, you always hide your achievements and fame so deeply."

"That's because all of you already know my achievements and fame."

They were flying in economy class; Wang Yan sat in the middle seat, with Xin Baiqing occupying the aisle seat beside him.

The rows ahead and behind were not far away; hearing the conversation between Wang Yan and Shen Ranran, some passengers couldn't resist standing up slightly and craning their necks to see who was bragging so blatantly.

Thus, Wang Yan, displaying extreme social anxiety, struck up conversations with everyone, flashing a bright smile as he promoted their film on the plane, announcing that it had been selected for the Berlin Film Festival and would be released domestically in April, urging everyone to keep an eye out for news. He even dragged along the somewhat shy and bashful Xin Baiqing and Shen Ranran to greet everyone and so forth.

This time, no one thought Wang Yan was bragging; under such public scrutiny, accompanied by such a beautiful young lady, there must be some truth to his words, so everyone kindly expressed their support. Some were even heading to the film festival themselves, promising to attend the screening and show their support.

The journey passed in a daze; upon landing in Berlin, the exhausted group immediately rested at their hotel.

Wang Yan, of course, felt no fatigue; after dropping off his luggage at the hotel, he leisurely went out for a stroll.

Berlin was a major city, and Europe in this era was quite prosperous, making the streets of Berlin very scenic.

Come to think of it, he hadn't spent much time abroad, so everything here looked fresh and new to him. Walking along, he spotted a camera shop, so he naturally bought a film camera and began taking photos right there.

Alone, unhurried, he street-photographed amidst the sea of people, completely relaxed and utterly at ease; such a feeling was truly comfortable...

After the film festival opened, the selected films began their screenings.

Wang Yan, Shen Ranran, and Xin Baiqing were unfamiliar with the procedures, so they followed the arrangements made by the staff sent over by the film studio. After the film ended, they engaged in dialogues with reporters, film critics, and the like.

The most exhausted person was actually the translator, an overseas student hired by the film studio.

Because the film involved rather profound topics, the discussion required specialized vocabulary that was also quite lengthy, causing the translator to struggle immensely, stuttering and stammering through the effort.

Wang Yan pretended not to understand, wearing a smile that met social expectations, watching the overseas student translate while sweating profusely, listening to the student's error-ridden translation.

Despite this, the foreigners present managed to grasp the gist; they generally understood the meaning and clearly perceived Wang Yan's intentions as the creator.

After the event dispersed, Shen Ranran asked, "Brother Yan, they seemed quite happy; does that mean they have high hopes for our film?"

Wang Yan replied, "Perhaps they were just being polite."

"But I've heard foreigners are straightforward, unlike us domestically with all our complex social niceties," Shen Ranran said innocently.

"Where in this world can one escape social niceties? It's not as if when asking someone for a favor, you can just walk up and say, 'Do this and that for me.' People say these old Europeans possess the demeanor of gentlemen and nobility; how did that demeanor arise? Think about it: if everyone were straightforward, could those noble lords still remain elegant?"

Wang Yan changed tack, saying, "However, I think they do hold us in relatively high regard; don't roll your eyes at me, I have confidence in the film I directed. Social niceties only exist between parties of somewhat comparable standing; we are nobodies, so what social niceties could they possibly have with us? If we were truly inadequate, they would likely have mocked us a few times instead."

Shen Ranran shot him an annoyed glance: "You've managed to have the last word on everything."

"I'm merely correcting your 'I've heard'; forming such lofty and unique impressions of foreigners before even having much contact with them only makes you diminish yourself beforehand, so how can you possibly conduct business with them later? You must first treat foreigners like grandsons."

The film studio staff member clapped his hands delightedly: "Director Wang's words are absolutely correct; I can't stand those domestic bastards acting like grandsons to the foreigners; we must be tough."

Wang Yan glanced at him, confirming he was just echoing his own sentiments, shook his head with a smile, and said, "Let's go; we should also see how others' films turned out. Let's stroll outside a bit more; since we've come all this way with great difficulty, we should walk around and see more. I even bought a camera to take photos of all of you."

There were many films; since everyone's English wasn't great, they couldn't understand much anyway, just grasping the general idea. Among the Chinese-language films, there was 'Forty Years Old,' directed by Ann Hui, which won Best Actress, and another called 'Pink Powder,' directed by Li Xie Shaohong.

As fellow nominated directors, Wang Yan naturally went up to greet them, but since they weren't familiar with each other, the interaction wasn't warm; a simple nod sufficed before they parted ways.

After watching these two films, the film studio staff and Xin Baiqing wisely avoided being a nuisance; the two of them entertained themselves, while Wang Yan spent his time eating, drinking, and having fun on the streets of Berlin with Shen Ranran.

After dining out, the two strolled leisurely through the streets.

The average temperature in Berlin during February hovered around zero degrees, and coupled with the fierce westerly winds, it was still quite cold.

Shen Ranran wore a coat and a knitted hat, her hair dancing in the wind, her cheeks flushed red from the cold.

"Brother Yan, I feel so happy playing around here," she said, hopping and skipping with great excitement.

"Since you called it 'playing,' how could you not be happy?"

"Are you happy?"

"Not bad; traveling abroad broadens one's horizons, and I've seen a bunch of beautiful foreign women."

Shen Ranran suddenly hugged Wang Yan's arm, leaning her entire body weight against him as she walked relying on him.

"Brother Yan, how do I compare to them?"

"Each has its own merits."

"And compared to Sister Zhuangzhuang?"

"Each has its own merits."

Shen Ranran said, "Brother Yan, you're being far too impractical."

"On the contrary, this is precisely the most practical approach; to make a comparison, there must be dimensions for comparison. Regarding a person's exterior, there are many aspects to compare: height, hair, eyebrows and eyes... how large the chest is, how perky the buttocks are, how long the legs are; only such a huge collection of traits constitutes a person. How can you compare? And how could any comparison ever be complete? Saying 'each has its own merits' is perfectly fine."

While speaking, Wang Yan pressed down on Shen Ranran's hand and withdrew his arm. "Stop pulling and tugging; what kind of propriety is this?"

"I insist on pulling and tugging; here in a foreign land, no one knows us, so what propriety is there? Look, those foreigners are even smiling at us; they must think we're a couple, assuming we're just playing around."

Shen Ranran hugged Wang Yan's arm even tighter, as if trying to hang entirely onto his body.

Ever since the plane departed from Jingcheng, Shen Ranran had become very bold, displaying strong aggressiveness and subtly launching a fierce assault on Wang Yan.

Otherwise, why would the film studio staff and Xin Baiqing be so understanding? They were all sharp-eyed; they could see this pair was about to become a scandalous couple, and in such matters, one must naturally pretend not to know.

Thus, Wang Yan withdrew his arm again; Shen Ranran, after all, still had some sense of propriety and didn't continue clinging to his arm, but as they walked, she still leaned toward Wang Yan as if boneless, bumping into him then moving away, moving away then bumping again, truly resembling a couple playing around.

Returning to the hotel along this path to rest, Wang Yan had just finished washing up when he heard a knock at the door.

Wearing his pajamas, he went to open the door and found Shen Ranran, also in her pajamas, standing at the entrance holding a bottle of wine.

"Brother Yan, I bought this wine today; shall we taste it first?"

However, before Wang Yan could speak, Shen Ranran walked in on her own, giving Wang Yan no opportunity to choose.

Wang Yan shook his head with a smile, closed the door, fetched two glasses, and watched Shen Ranran open the wine. Yet, merely from opening the bottle, Shen Ranran's face had already turned somewhat red.

"You haven't even drunk yet; why is your face already red?" Wang Yan feigned ignorance.

"Maybe it's because I just took a shower. Let's start!"

Shen Ranran poured the wine, then sat on a chair to the side holding the stemmed glass; she crossed her legs, hiking up her pajamas to reveal the splendid sight of her long, fair thighs.

"Brother Yan, I see women in foreign movies drinking red wine like this; how is my acting?" Shen Ranran swirled the glass, took a small sip, and cast a coquettish glance at Wang Yan.

Wang Yan said with amusement, "Are the movies you watch decent?"

"How are they not decent? Then do I look decent? Brother Yan~"

"I don't think you look decent either."

"Not being decent is exactly the point!"

Shen Ranran tilted her head back and drained the red wine in her glass, then slammed the cup heavily onto the table. She suddenly stood up, took two strides to stand before Wang Yan, hiked up her pajamas, and straddled his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Brother Yan, I just want to be indecent."

"Why put yourself through this?" Wang Yan looked as though he were utterly helpless.

"It's not hard; not hard at all."

Shen Ranran lowered her head to kiss Wang Yan's mouth, clumsily extending her tongue, only to be pushed away by him.

She said, "Brother Yan, we are abroad; after we return, we'll be just like before. Sister Zhuang won't know."

Wang Yan shook his head: "It's not about Zhuang; it's about you. There's no need for you to..."

"There is a need; a very great need!"

Shen Ranran spoke with firm conviction, "Brother Yan, do you remember what we discussed by the lake the day before you started filming? Back then, I... everywhere one went, they spoke of seniority and connections. In the half-year since I acted in your film, you introduced me to several crews; it's indeed much better than when I worked as an extra—at least now I have lines and small roles lasting a few minutes, and the money I earn is enough to live on. That's already very good.

But Brother Yan, I want to play a leading role, or even a supporting one would do. Yet to achieve that, one must accept the unspoken rules; or as you told me before, even to be chosen for those unspoken rules, one must be deemed worthy by them, and still have to queue, waiting until others are finished before it's my turn..."

Shen Ranran recounted at length the hardships she had endured mixing in this trade, using this to show that her decision was carefully considered.

"Only you, Brother Yan, in order to let everyone pursue their dreams, at a critical moment in your company's development, put up two hundred thousand in funds to make a film. You treat everyone well, and you never demand anything in return from anyone. Other crews badmouth behind people's backs, but behind our crew's back, people only speak well.

You even let me play the female lead, and unlike those big bosses, you don't scheme to take anything from me. We were complete strangers meeting by chance, yet you treat me so well. Brother Yan, from childhood until now, apart from my father, you are the one who has treated me best.

I've figured it out, Brother Yan; rather than let others have the advantage, I'd rather let you have it. Moreover, I truly, truly like you, Brother Yan. I don't know why; perhaps I am a very bad woman—clearly knowing you and Sister Zhuang are deeply in love, yet I still can't help liking you.

But it doesn't matter; Sister Zhuang won't know! Brother Yan, rest assured, I won't cling to you; after we return to the country, we'll be just like before!"

Having said this, Shen Ranran kissed him again; she kissed with great force, as if trying to stuff her entire self into Wang Yan's body.

She spoke so clearly and plainly, and her actions were so proactive and direct; although Wang Yan had already reached the realm of remaining unmoved even with a beauty on his lap and unperturbed by any wind, at this moment there was clearly no need to spoil the atmosphere.

Thus, Wang Yan once again became one of a shameless couple.

However, he was prepared for this and bore no psychological burden; after all, once something happens for the first time, one accepts it. Once this slippery slope is begun, there is no going back.

Shen Ranran was a person of persistence, and one who knew what she wanted; in the original story, she had planned to first be with Tao Liangliang, and then go keep Chu Caiyuan company, though in the end she never took that step.

But afterward, Chu Caiyuan still secured a role for Shen Ranran; later, Shen Ranran endured criticism and did not wish to continue, yet she felt she owed Chu Caiyuan, especially since he still had to lose money, so Shen Ranran, with a clear conscience, engaged in the unspoken rules with Chu Caiyuan...

And now Wang Yan was simply a peerless good man, so Shen Ranran making such a moth-to-flame gesture was entirely reasonable.

Shen Ranran woke up in her own room; having enjoyed half the night in pleasure, to avoid unnecessary trouble, she had endured the pain of returning to her own room.

Upon waking, she saw Wang Yan sitting in the room reading a book; after a simple tidying up, she began drinking chicken soup.

"Brother Yan, this chicken soup is truly delicious. It must be hard to buy so many ingredients over here, right?"

Wang Yan smiled: "Indeed, it's not easy to buy; I went out early in the morning and ran around quite a few places before finally finding the Chinese district, where I bought these."

This was, of course, a outright lie; Shen Ranran's actions were reasonable, and he, being shameless by nature, had naturally made preparations.

"Brother Yan~ you treat me so well."

"Eat and drink more."

Shen Ranran nodded, then asked again, "Brother Yan, how come I've never seen you make this before?"

Hearing Wang Yan's explanation, Shen Ranran then said, "So after you got together with Sister Zhuang, you made chicken soup for her too?"

"It's to replenish vital energy; of course I made it for her."

Shen Ranran drank the soup in silence; after a long while, she muttered, "If only I had met you first."

"Where would there be so many 'if only's? Indulging in the past does us no good. The past cannot be changed, the future cannot be predicted; the most important thing is to seize the present."

"Right! Seize the present!"

Shen Ranran reached out her hand, and Wei Ge Ge laughed coquettishly...

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