The Quagmire of Desire: From Gambling Addict and Village Flower to Movie Queen

Liu Meiling took a deep breath and tried again.

This time she relaxed, her waist swayed, her hands moved naturally, and her eyes had a seductive quality.

The director nodded: "It's alright, that's good. Production assistant, make a note of it, come back tomorrow."

Liu Meiling breathed a sigh of relief; her palms were sweaty.

Su Wanni ran over and pulled her, saying, "Sister, you're amazing! You passed your first filming assignment, you're much better than me."

Liu Meiling smiled and said, "It's all thanks to your excellent teaching."

After finishing work, Su Wanni took her to a roadside barbecue stall.

Two assistants stood beside her pouring drinks, and Su Wanni, in her usual foul temper, said, "Sit down and eat with us. Don't just stand there, making it seem like I'm mistreating you."

The two assistants then sat down, and the group drank a few bottles of beer.

Liu Meiling remembered the male lead and asked curiously, "Who is that actor who plays the male lead? He looks quite handsome, but I don't recognize him."

Su Wanni took a sip of her drink: "I'm not really sure either. I heard he's a recent college graduate. Even though this is a low-budget web series, he got to play the male lead right after graduation. Apparently, he has a pretty good relationship with our executive director."

"Executive director?" Liu Meiling was taken aback.

"Yeah, what's wrong? Have you taken a liking to him, sister?" Su Wanni leaned closer. "Sister, you already have me, you can't be greedy."

Liu Meiling waved her hand: "I'm just curious."

A thought suddenly popped into her head: Could the executive director prefer guys with delicate, fair skin? That's how that guy gets the lead role. Holy crap, that's a creepy thought.

Seeing her lost in thought, Su Wanni called out, "Sister, what are you thinking about? Let's drink."

Liu Meiling picked up her beer and downed it in one gulp.

Back at the villa late at night, the two snuggled on the sofa watching clips of web dramas that Su Wanni had filmed before.

Su Wanni pointed at her character on the screen, who only had a few lines, and laughed loudly: "Sister, look, this is my highlight moment! Three lines, not a single one mispronounced! Even the director praised me. And there are other dramas too, look!"

Looking at her carefree laughter, Liu Meiling couldn't quite describe the feeling in her heart.

In the early hours of the morning, Su Wanni passed out drunk on the sofa. Liu Meiling covered her with a blanket and sat down next to her, smoking a cigarette.

She took out her phone and looked at the message Sun Xiaoyan had sent: "Be careful out there, call me if anything happens."

Liu Meiling replied with an "Mm" and put down her phone.

The television screen displayed a still of Su Wanni, dressed in costume, smiling at the camera, looking very beautiful.

Liu Meiling slowly stubbed out her cigarette and went into the bathroom.

As the hot water poured down, she closed her eyes, her mind a jumble of thoughts.

Should I try acting and become a star? Or should I go back to the card and mahjong parlor and live a stable life?

She thought back to the moment she stood in front of the camera today. Although she was extremely nervous, she was quite happy when the director yelled "Cut!"

Perhaps, this really is a path.

When she came out of the shower, Su Wanni was still fast asleep on the sofa.

Liu Meiling went over to look at her, then looked at the smiling face on the TV, and made a decision.

……

At 6:30 a.m. the next day, Liu Meiling groggily opened her eyes and felt something wet moving on her buttocks.

She slapped it across the face, with a loud crack.

"Ouch!" Su Wanni cried out, clutching her forehead.

Liu Meiling rolled over and glared at her: "What are you doing? I was wondering why I felt my underwear being pulled down last night, and a chill running through me. Did you secretly nibble on my butt in the middle of the night?"

Su Wanni scratched her head and chuckled, "Sister, I just felt that you smelled so good after your shower that I woke up in the middle of the night wanting to nibble on something. It's all because your butt is too nice."

"Get out of here." Liu Meiling sat up, pulled the blanket over herself, and said, "Get up now, aren't we going to the film set today?"

Su Wanni also got up, rubbing her eyes: "You know what, your butt really smells good."

"If you mention my butt again, I'll beat you up." Liu Meiling said, then got out of bed and went to the toilet barefoot.

After they finished washing up, Su Wanni changed into a white T-shirt and jeans, while Liu Meiling was still wearing the tight-fitting dress that Su Wanni had given her.

"You have a lot of scenes to film today, right?" Liu Meiling asked, a cigarette dangling from her lips. "It looks like you haven't memorized your lines at all. How are you going to act?"

Su Wanni waved her hand: "Most of today's scenes this morning are the first meeting between the female lead, who was in the brothel, and the male lead from yesterday. The main scenes are between the two of them. I can just memorize them when I get to the set."

"Back now?"

"Yeah, I have a good memory." Su Wanni laughed. "Sister, you can show more screen time today, just be a little more sexy."

"What's with all this talk about being sexy? That's just acting." Liu Meiling stubbed out her cigarette.

The two left the villa, where two assistants were already waiting at the door with breakfast in their hands.

Su Wanni took the breakfast and tossed one to Liu Meiling, then took a steamed bun and headed to the car.

When the car arrived at the abandoned factory film set on the outskirts of the city, Liu Meiling got out and saw that there were more people today than yesterday. There were more than a dozen extras, all dressed as shampoo girls.

Su Wanni pulled Liu Meiling inside, then suddenly stopped.

"The female lead is here today," Su Wanni said in a low voice.

Liu Meiling followed her gaze and saw a woman in her twenties standing in front of the hair salon backdrop. She had a great figure, wore denim shorts and a color-blocked short-sleeved shirt, looking simple and refreshing.

The woman had a straight back, long hair, a small face, and her breasts weren't very big, but they felt just right, easily encircled by one hand.

Liu Meiling took a closer look. The woman's legs were the same as Su Wanni's, but whiter and with more perfect curves. Her denim hot pants were so short that they looked like they would hit her crotch if they went any higher, and the edge of her pink underwear was showing.

She looked again and saw that the woman's armpits were visible through the cuffs of her T-shirt, and surprisingly, she had no armpit hair.

The solid-color bra completely covered the breasts.

"Who is this?" Liu Meiling asked. "She's quite pretty, but I don't recognize her at all."

Su Wanni curled her lip: "This woman is probably a third or fourth-tier actress, damn it, just a small-time actress named Lin Yeye. Look at the way she acts like she's a big shot, like everyone knows her."

Liu Meiling glanced at it a few times and saw that Lin Yeye was standing there rehearsing lines with a man. The man was the male lead with very fair skin and a thin build.

"What was that guy's name?"

"Zou Chen," Su Wanni said.

Su Wanni pulled Liu Meiling over to greet them. Lin Yeye smiled as soon as she saw them and said warmly, "Oh, Wanni's here! Is this your friend?"

"Yes, my sister, Liu Meiling," Su Wanni said.

Lin Yeye reached out and shook hands with Liu Meiling: "Hello, hello, is this your first time filming? If you don't understand anything, feel free to ask me. I've been on this set for half a month."

Liu Meiling smiled and nodded, "Okay, okay, thank you, sister."

But in his heart he was thinking, this woman is quite enthusiastic, but I wonder if she's really hot.

Zou Chen, who was standing next to them, simply hummed in response and continued reading the script, without even glancing at them.

"Let's go, let's go, she's so aloof." Su Wanni pulled Liu Meiling away.

Liu Meiling glanced back and saw that Zou Chen was still looking down at the script. Lin Yeye glanced at them, then turned back to talk to Zou Chen.

"What's wrong with that guy?" Liu Meiling asked. "Lin Yeye is so beautiful, why doesn't he even glance at her?"

Su Wanni chuckled, "Sister, didn't you notice? The way this man looks at women is the same way he looks at men."

"What do you mean?"