Chapter 79: Contrast: Chen Duling, Innocent Yet Proactive

Given Chen Duling's cold and aloof nature, if the director had asked anyone else to get close to a member of the opposite sex, she would have refused on the spot.

Even if it meant losing the opportunity to play the female lead in this film, she would not compromise herself.

But as fate would have it, that person was Zhou Jin.

Sitting aside, Chen Duling's mind kept replaying every little detail from their time filming together.

Zhou Jin was indeed the most handsome man she had ever seen, with an impeccable physique, but that was not what attracted her most.

What truly made her heart flutter was Zhou Jin's flawless professional acting skill, and the extreme patience and gentle guidance he showed when teaching her how to act.

As a newcomer without formal training, thrust immediately into the leading role of a film, Chen Duling had been under unimaginable pressure during this period.

There were even several nights when she hid under her blankets, secretly shedding tears, and had thought about giving up.

It was Zhou Jin who stayed by her side, rehearsing with her, teaching her bit by bit how to find the right emotions and how to face the camera.

Under his guidance, Chen Duling felt her progress was rapid, and her originally fragile mindset had become much more resilient.

So, if the person she needed to get along with, or even create a CP with, was Zhou Jin...

The words of refusal reached her lips, yet Chen Duling found herself unable to speak them.

After returning to the filming set, Chen Duling's cold eyes couldn't help but keep drifting toward Zhou Jin.

She was constantly struggling in her heart: How should she bring herself to ask him out?

Several times, Zhou Jin stood right beside her; all she had to do was turn her head to speak, but the moment her eyes met Zhou Jin's deep gaze, the courage she had painstakingly gathered vanished instantly.

"No, there are too many people on set; if I invite him now, everyone will definitely misunderstand."

Chen Duling kept making excuses to herself in her heart.

It wasn't until the director announced that the day's filming tasks were successfully completed and everyone began to disperse that Chen Duling finally gritted her teeth and took out her phone.

She wanted to make a call, but felt it was too casual; she wanted to send a WeChat message, but feared she wouldn't express herself clearly.

After pondering back and forth, Chen Duling took a deep breath and decided to just go for it.

She went straight back to the hotel and stood outside Zhou Jin's room door, intending to bring up the matter in person.

The hotel room Li Yitong had booked happened to be right next door to Zhou Jin's.

She had been pricking up her ears, paying close attention to any movement from next door.

The moment she heard the sound of Zhou Jin's footsteps as he opened the door and returned, she immediately perked up; just as she was about to push her door open to find him, she stopped, turned around, and went back into the bathroom to look in the mirror.

In the mirror, she wore a sexy hip-hugging short skirt and black silk stockings, her beautiful legs straight and slender, already looking very pretty and seductive.

But Li Yitong looked left and right, feeling that something special was still missing.

Suddenly, the image flashed through her mind of the time she sent Zhou Jin a photo in a flight attendant uniform, and his unusually excited reaction.

"Could this guy be a pervert who likes role-playing?"

Li Yitong's big eyes lit up slightly.

What a coincidence; she was also a "pervert" at heart, except what she loved most was personally playing that role.

Although there was no makeup artist from the crew available now, having filmed every day for the past period, she had long since mastered Guo Fu's makeup and hairstyle.

Li Yitong skillfully applied simple makeup to herself, changed into a privately stored ancient costume of Guo Fu, and to make it even more realistic, she even specially strapped a prop long sword to her waist.

Looking at the "Guo Fu" in the mirror—charming and lively, with a touch of willful chivalry—a hint of cunning flashed in Li Yitong's eyes as she secretly clenched her small fist to encourage herself:

"This time, I'll definitely have Zhou Jin completely under my control!"

On the other side, Zhou Jin had just returned to his room; he casually took off his shirt, revealing his sturdy, solid upper body and clearly defined abdominal muscles, and was just about to go to the bathroom to take a shower and wash away the day's fatigue.

Just then, a knocking sound came from outside the door.

Zhou Jin knew Li Yitong was staying next door; today she had gone to meet Director Yu Zheng for an audition, so if she was knocking now, could it be that the audition went well and she had some good news to share?

Subconsciously, he picked up his shirt to put it on, but then thought better of it; since it was Li Yitong outside the door, he shook his head with an amused smile and threw the clothes back onto the bed.

His private relationship with Li Yitong was simply too intimate; apart from not having pierced that final layer of paper, they had already engaged in countless ambiguous acts of kissing and hugging.

Moreover, this girl Li Yitong was particularly eager for his body; whenever the two of them got intimate and emotional, her hands would always restlessly roam over his abdominal muscles.

Since they were already so familiar, why bother hiding anything?

Thus, Zhou Jin simply kept his upper body bare, walked over, and directly pulled the door open.

The instant the door opened, the lines Chen Duling had prepared stuck firmly in her throat.

What appeared before her eyes was not a neatly dressed Zhou Jin, but a male torso, bare-chested, solid and robust, with nearly perfect muscle definition.

Where in all her life had Chen Duling ever seen such a scene filled with visual impact?

No matter how cold and indifferent her usual personality was, at this moment her mind went completely blank.

Extreme tension made her instinctively open her mouth wide, a scream about to burst forth.

Before the sound could escape, Zhou Jin, with quick eyes and fast hands, subconsciously stepped forward sharply, his large hand clamping over her mouth and forcibly stifling that shriek.

Because the movement was so fast, the distance between the two of them was instantly reduced to the absolute minimum.

Chen Duling's body suddenly stiffened, her entire person instantly tensing up.

She had never had such intimate physical contact with any member of the opposite sex.

Immediately following this, extreme shyness surged up like a tide; her cheeks, along with her fair neck, instantly turned so red they seemed about to drip blood.

The distance was simply too close.

A strong scent of male hormones, coming from Zhou Jin's warm palm and bare chest, rushed unabated toward her face, completely enveloping her entire being.

In this narrow and extremely ambiguous atmosphere, a sensation she had never experienced before suddenly arose in the depths of Chen Duling's heart.

Her gaze involuntarily fixed on Zhou Jin's handsome face, so close it was within reach; meeting those deep eyes, her own gaze gradually became blurred, and her originally cold defenses completely collapsed.

"Thump-thump, thump-thump..."

The heart in her chest seemed to lose control, beating wildly.

Chen Duling felt her mouth go dry and her head spin, her legs gradually losing the strength to support her body.

Seeing Chen Duling's blurred eyes and her body softly collapsing before him, Zhou Jin finally realized what was happening and immediately let go of the hand covering her mouth with an apologetic gesture.

Deprived of support, Chen Duling's body went limp, on the verge of collapsing onto the floor.

Zhou Jin immediately reached out with his other hand and firmly caught her slender waist.

Through the thin fabric, his palm met a surface both soft and delicate; the exquisite sensation of holding such a slender waist made Zhou Jin's own heart skip a beat.

Feeling that powerful large hand at her waist, Chen Duling suddenly came to her senses, so ashamed she wished she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

She had originally summoned all her courage to knock on the door just to invite Zhou Jin out for dinner tonight.

She also intended to mention Director Su's wish for them to create a couple pairing and ask for Zhou Jin's consent.

Yet she never expected to stumble upon such an embarrassing misunderstanding that made her face burn.

Cold and aloof as she usually was, her inner world was now in total chaos; her mind had turned to mush, completely erasing the important matter she had meant to discuss.

Meeting Zhou Jin's slightly puzzled gaze, Chen Duling lowered her head, her voice trembling uncontrollably as she stammered out:

"Z-Zhou Jin... could we, maybe, have dinner together tomorrow night?"