When the plane landed in Rongcheng, the sky was a bit overcast and the air was damp.
It's a completely different world from the dry summers of Capital City.
The convoy arranged by the program team took the people directly to the High-tech Zone.
The car turned into an apartment complex along the street. The buildings were not tall, and the facades were made of dark gray stone. There was a convenience store and a coffee shop downstairs.
President Fang rented two duplex apartments in advance, on different floors of the same building.
Cheng Che and Ning Qing live on the sixteenth floor, while Zhao Yiming, Actor Zhou, and other staff members live on the twelfth floor.
The two apartments have the same layout, one upstairs and one downstairs, but the photos were mainly taken of the apartment on the sixteenth floor.
When President Fang handed the keys to Cheng Che, he added a special note:
"This set was specially decorated according to your lifestyle. There are two bedrooms upstairs and a living room and kitchen downstairs. The main shooting areas are the living room and dining room. Just shoot however you usually interact, don't worry about the camera."
Cheng Che took the keys and glanced at Ning Qing.
Ning Qing stood to the side, her gaze lingering briefly on the floor-to-ceiling window in the living room before returning to her own side. She reached out and took her key, weighing it in her palm.
In the afternoon, Director Zhou called the two of them to the living room and talked about the comic convention.
"The venue has been arranged." Director Zhou sat on the sofa, scrolling through the communication records on his phone. "The Century City New International Convention and Exhibition Center is hosting the comic convention this weekend. The organizers were very welcoming when they heard you were coming. They gave us a separate booth area and arranged a security passage so we can enter and exit without using the regular visitor flow."
He paused, looked up from his phone screen, and glanced at Ning Qing:
"But there's something I need to mention beforehand. You two will be cosplaying for the anime convention photoshoot."
Ning Qing was drinking water, the cup hovering near her lips, not being put down.
"Cosplay?" She put her cup down on the coffee table, her voice tinged with barely concealed surprise. " Director Zhou, you didn't tell me you wanted to cosplay."
Director Zhou put down his phone, his expression quite composed.
"I spoke to your agent. She said it's fine, and you can experience it for yourself."
Ning Qing didn't respond.
She sat on the sofa, tapping her fingers twice on her knees, her gaze fixed on the flowchart on the coffee table, but clearly not reading the words.
Two seconds later, she looked up, her voice slightly softer than before, but her eyes were bright. "Can I choose a role?"
"Of course. You can discuss it with Cheng Che and choose a pair."
After Director Zhou left, only Cheng Che and Ning Qing remained in the living room.
Ning Qing took out her phone and scrolled through it, then looked up at him. The screen displayed an encyclopedia page featuring Naruto characters.
"How are Naruto and Hinata doing?"
Cheng Che raised an eyebrow.
He thought she would choose some niche, distant role, but she ended up with a nationally popular one.
Are you serious?
He turned his head to look at her, and the look in his eyes made Ning Qing feel uneasy.
"Seriously."
Ning Qing raised her fist menacingly.
She shoved her phone in front of him, slightly raising her chin, making it very clear that she had to agree whether he liked it or not.
I watched Naruto when I was a kid. Hinata is my favorite character.
When she spoke of her "favorite character," there was an unusual certainty in her tone, not her usual nonchalant one, but rather a sense of "I cannot compromise on this."
Cheng Che looked at her for two seconds and suddenly remembered that Ning Qing appeared to be a mature and sophisticated woman, but actually had a two-dimensional side.
Cheng Che smiled and said, " Naruto it Naruto."
After saying that, he got up and walked into the house. "But your figure isn't suitable for Hinata."
After saying that, he closed the door.
Ning Qing was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, then shouted fiercely, "Who said that! I have a great figure!"
The next morning, only the two of them were in the living room.
The production crew's cameras were set up in a corner with red lights on, but the cameramen and staff were all in the next room.
Director Zhou previously stated, "No script, you guys do it yourselves."
Cheng Che came out of the bedroom after changing into Naruto's clothes: an orange and black sports jacket, dark pants, his headband tied a little crooked, and his hair still unkempt.
He glanced at himself in the living room mirror and felt he looked somewhat out of place.
When Ning Qing came out of the other bedroom, he turned his head and paused for a moment. He wore a dark blue short jacket with beige pants, and a mesh top underneath clung to his waist. His long, dark blue wig hung down his shoulders.
She stood at the top of the stairs, holding onto the railing, not coming down immediately.
Hinata's outfit looked surprisingly good on her.
She possesses a quiet temperament, which complements Hinata's introverted yet determined nature.
Moreover, Cheng Che hadn't paid much attention before, but Ning Qing actually had a great figure. Her mesh inner layer was a bit fitted, with a clean waistline, and the lines of her shoulders and neck extended from the neckline of her short jacket, making her look slender but not thin.
He never expected there to be so much more to it than he thought.
It seems Ning Qing is an honest man and is telling the truth.
"That's a bit strange."
Ning Qing lowered her head and tugged at the hem of her coat, then shifted her gaze to the window, as if she didn't dare to look at other people's reactions.
Cheng Che shook his head, his tone firm. "It's not strange. It looks quite similar."
Ning Qing turned her gaze away from the window, glanced at him, her lips twitched slightly, and she walked down the stairs.
Then the two of them stood in front of the coffee table in the living room, stumped by the pile of cosmetics.
The production team provided a set of basic cosmetics, but did not provide a makeup artist.
There's no script for the interactive elements, and you even have to do your own makeup.
Ning Qing picked up the eyeliner pencil, drew a couple of lines in front of the mirror, but it was crooked, so she erased it and started over.
Cheng Che stood to the side and watched for a while before reaching out and taking the eyeshadow palette.
"I'll draw it for you."
Ning Qing glanced at him, a hint of distrust in her eyes. "Can you?"
"Drawing is similar to applying makeup, isn't it?" Cheng Che picked up his eyeshadow brush, dipped it in a little light brown powder, and said, "I've seen others do it."
Who drew this?
"My mom."
Ning Qing paused for a moment, then sighed and looked up at him, "Alright, be gentle."
Cheng Che leaned closer to her and brushed her eyelids twice with a brush.
The movements were very light, but clearly haphazard; the brush strokes were completely out of sync with the shape of the eyes.
Ning Qing's eyelids felt a little itchy from his brush, and her eyelashes trembled twice.
"Don't move."
"You're making me itchy."
"Just bear with it."
After finishing the eyeshadow, Cheng Che felt something was missing, so he picked up a blush brush, dipped it in a thick layer of powder, and drew a circle on each side of her cheek.
After finishing the drawing, he stepped back, examined it closely, and nodded in satisfaction. "All done."
Ning Qing glanced at herself in the mirror.
Then there was a two-second silence in the living room.
The face in the mirror had smudged eyeshadow and two big, round red blushes, just like the kind of makeup our homeroom teacher would give every girl in a high school arts festival.
Ning Qing's face turned red from the base of her neck all the way to the tips of her ears.
" Cheng Che." Her voice was flat, so flat it was almost frightening.
"Um?"
You call this makeup?
Cheng Che glanced at his work, then at her expression, and took half a step back.
"I think it looks great, rosy and healthy."
Ning Qing grabbed the blush brush from the coffee table and threw it at him.
Cheng Che turned his head to dodge, and the brush flew past his ear and landed on the sofa.
He chuckled, turned and ran to the other end of the living room, with Ning Qing chasing after him, Hinata's long wig swinging behind her.
" Cheng Che, you stop right there!"
"I drew it really carefully for you!"
"You drew a monkey's butt!"
The two walked around the living room twice. Cheng Che tripped over a sofa leg and almost fell. By the time he regained his balance by holding onto the wall, Ning Qing had already caught up with him, grabbed his headband, and pulled him back.
Cheng Che tilted his head back slightly as she pulled him, then smiled and raised his hands in surrender, "Okay, okay, I was wrong, I'll redraw it."
Ning Qing loosened his headband, took a couple of breaths, and noticed that her cheeks were still flushed from the rouge she hadn't wiped off. Combined with her puffed-up expression, she actually looked quite pretty.
She glared at him, turned around and walked back to the mirror, picked up a cotton pad and wiped off the two red patches on her face, then redid her makeup again.
After finishing her makeup, she turned around, glanced at Cheng Che still standing there grinning foolishly, and said in an annoyed tone:
"Come here, it's your turn."
Cheng Che walked over and sat down.
Ning Qing took the eyeliner and drew Naruto's whiskers on his face. She drew them quickly, completing the three lines in one go, with much more pressure than when Cheng Che drew them for her.
Cheng Che felt a little pain from her drawing, but he didn't dare to say anything.
After finishing the drawing, Ning Qing put the brush on the table, stepped back, and glanced at it. "Done."
Cheng Che looked in the mirror and saw that the facial hair tattoo he had done was much better than what he had done himself.
He turned his head to say something nice, but Ning Qing had already turned and left, leaving him with the back of her head and Hinata's long wig swinging back and forth.
In the next room, Director Zhou sat behind the monitor, watching the two people chasing each other on the screen, while several staff members next to him covered their mouths and laughed so hard their shoulders shook.
President Fang held his teacup, a forced smile playing on his lips.
"This footage," Director Zhou said, a satisfied smile in his voice, "Is sure to be a hit when it airs."