Chapter 347: Little Nan, You Also Pretend to Be Little Bei
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
This was her first time doing such a big thing with Little Bei, so Li Zhaodi was very nervous. She had followed Little Bei to the audition location, but she was afraid that she would be recognized, so she had stayed outside.
Because she didn’t know if Mu Jingzhe would be angry, and because Little Bei wanted everyone to guess, Li Zhaodi returned right after taking Little Bei back.
After hearing Little Bei recount the events, Mu Jingzhe said helplessly, “Your grandmother is too much. Why does she only listen to a child like you?”
“Because Grandma is wonderful.” Little Bei smiled. “I was originally afraid that I wouldn’t do it well enough, but when I saw that Third Brother, who’s the most familiar with me, didn’t notice anything wrong, I felt that it was feasible. In the future, I’ll join the production team using my brother’s ident.i.ty to film.”
Mu Jingzhe stroked Little Bei’s hair. As a girl who liked to look pretty, Little Bei usually treasured her hair dearly and liked to braid it in all sorts of ways and adorn it with hair ornaments. Previously, she had been very sad when it had been burned away. It hadn’t been easy for her to grow it, but in the end, it had been cut just like that.
“You cut it so short. What if you hadn’t pa.s.sed the audition?”
“That would have meant that I’m not as skilled as others. I really wanted this role, so I fought for it. If others can do it, I can too. While I’m still young and can act as a boy, I have to cherish this chance. Fortunately, I pa.s.sed the audition.”
Little Bei was vain, but she loved acting more, so she could compromise.
Little Bei stroked her hair and held back her tears as she said firmly, “It’s alright. Hair can always grow back. It’ll grow back in the future.”
Shao Xi’s heart ached at the sight of it. “If I had known, I would have made the protagonist a girl…”
“I was joking previously. Brother, your writing makes sense. Little Fish is very good. I like this role so much. Believe me, I can portray it well.”
“We believe you, but are you really going to join the production as Little Nan?”
Mu Jingzhe looked at Shao Nan. “Then does Little Nan have to pretend to be you?”
Shao Nan’s expression changed. “No, no way. I can’t pretend to be a girl. I’ll never be able to learn!”
Shao Nan expressed his conviction that this was absolutely impossible.
Although he said this… when the movie officially started shooting, he had no choice but to do it even if he didn’t want to or wasn’t able to.
“Third Brother… My good brother, I’m begging you. Please help me. Aren’t I your favorite sister? Just help me this once. I pa.s.sed the audition and even cut my hair.”
The preparations for the movie were completed, and filming officially started just before the winter break. Little Bei wanted to apply for leave and join the cast early, so Shao Nan had to cooperate.
When Shao Nan said that he didn’t know how to act as Little Bei, Little Bei immediately started to wheedle and kept calling him ‘Brother’ sweetly. She wrapped her arms around Shao Nan’s neck and would launch a round of wheedling attacks on him at any time.
“Brother, you only have to endure it for a little bit and just put on my wig. Don’t worry about anything else. I definitely won’t expose myself.”
“Brother, please help me. This is a big deal to our family. Mommy, Big Brother, and the rest spent so much time and effort on this. So did Second Brother. You can’t bear to let all this go to waste, right?”
“I know that I’m making things difficult for you, Brother, but I really don’t want to mess this up. If the director finds out that I lied to him, that I’m not you but a girl, he might replace me. You also know that after probing and asking him. Even if he continues to let me act despite his reluctance, he might have concerns. That won’t be good. Brother, I’m begging you.”
Shao Nan: “…”
When Little Bei wheedled, no one could take it. Shao Nan was no exception. Besides, this was indeed a big deal at home.
Little Bei didn’t mean to keep lying to the director. Back then, she had pretended to be Shao Nan because she liked the role too much and wanted to show that she could act as a boy well.
Although she had jokingly asked Shao Nan to act as her later on, she had originally planned to confess everything to Director Jiang. After all, she had to keep filming, and it wouldn’t be good to keep hiding it.
However, unfortunately, Director Jiang despised cross-dressing women. He was speechless when he saw cross-dressing women in movies and television dramas. He felt that even a blind person could tell that they were women and they were treating the audience as fools.
Therefore, he wasn’t wild about the idea of actors cross-dressing. When Mu Jingzhe asked him about it, it was just a precautionary measure. Now, she knew Director Jiang’s thoughts about this.
Director Jiang said that he wouldn’t accept it under any circ.u.mstances. He would only be convinced if he really saw a performance that persuaded him completely one day and no one could tell. Otherwise, he would curse when he heard it. He had made it clear that he wasn’t into this.
Director Jiang’s att.i.tude eliminated the possibility of her coming clean. Little Bei was afraid that Director Jiang would fly into a rage when he found out the truth and stop filming. She could only bite the bullet and hide it from Director Jiang to see if she could get his approval.
Shao Nan knew very well that this had happened, so in the end, he could only face death with a stiff face and stop shaking his head.
Little Bei circled Shao Nan and coaxed him for two days before Shao Nan finally relented.
Although he surrendered, his face still darkened when he saw Little Bei take off the wig on her head. “You don’t have to put it on for me now. We’ll talk about it later.”
“Alright, as you wish.” Little Bei smiled and put the wig back.
Little Bei had taken her hair back when she’d cut it. Mu Jingzhe had used the hair to make a wig. Although it was a little short, one couldn’t tell after the wig was on.
Later on, Little Bei had started to put on the wig every day, which temporarily comforted her injured little heart.
Little Bei liked wigs a lot, but Shao Nan was extremely resistant when he saw one. Still, the day when he’d have to wear it had ultimately arrived.
“I’ll go film then, Brother. I’ll have to trouble you to wear a wig today. Everyone knows that Shao Nan is going to film. We can’t let the cat out of the bag right from the start.”
In the past, Little Bei had been the one filming. Everyone was a little surprised to hear that Shao Nan wanted to film. However, Shao Nan had appeared on television before, so everyone accepted it quickly.
Little Bei had already disguised herself as Shao Nan. Her hair had also been cut according to the director’s instructions right from the start. She could act like Shao Nan at any time.
As he looked at Little Bei, Shao Nan felt like he was looking at himself. He nodded helplessly. “Alright, go ahead.”
Little Bei carefully put the wig on Shao Nan’s head. Shao Dong, Shao Xi, Xiao Wu, and Mu Jingzhe watched without blinking. When they saw him with the wig on, their eyes lit up.
After Shao Nan put on the wig, he did look rather like Little Bei.
“No wonder they say they’re twins. They can even change gender.”
Shao Xi couldn’t help clapping his hands. “Little Nan has become Little Bei. If only he wasn’t staring at me fiercely, it’d be great. Little Bei wouldn’t be so fierce usually.”
Mu Jingzhe held in her laughter and pulled Shao Xi away. “Stop mocking Little Nan. If it weren’t for his help, things would have been very troublesome.”
Mu Jingzhe helped Shao Nan adjust his wig to ensure that it wouldn’t fall off. “I’ll have to trouble you today, Little Nan. I’ve already applied for leave from the school on your behalf. You can stay at home and study. You don’t have to specifically act as Little Bei. It’ll be fine.”
Shao Nan had long finished studying the elementary school learning material, so it would be fine even if he didn’t go to school. The school was also very easy to talk to. He just had to wait for the final exam.
In order to prevent Shao Nan from feeling troubled, Mu Jingzhe also took him to the county city. Shao Nan could stay at home or go to the library to study.
In the next few days, the siblings started acting like each other.