Just Friends

Chapter 1 Shen Yue (from Yue Yue's POV)

I was very nervous to meet my new partner. Unfortunately, no-one had organized any chemistry meeting before we got the parts. They casted us separately. So, I really didn't know what to expect and it made me stressed out.

What if I was going to have hard time connecting with him or creating this necessary bond between us. What if he was going to be difficult, some egomaniac, a guy concerned only with himself. I knew I'd been through it before. But I would hate to do it all over again.

I intensely googled this kid, so I could be at least a little prepared, but not much was there. I also stayed late, binge-watching Super Idol, just to get a point of who he was.

What I managed to gather was: for starters, he was younger than me, almost by 2 years. That should be to my advantage. Hopefully, I could become someone like a mentor, with a little more experience, for him. Besides the age difference, I'd also found out that he was a very vivid, confident, charismatic and, I guess, funny person. Not much of an actor yet, but he definitely had a potential. I could call him stylish. He also wasn't a bad looking guy, maybe not exactly my type, but certainly handsome. He seemed nice and I noticed that he was connecting with other participants very well, making friends easily.

But how nice would he be in person, I was yet going to find out. My last partner was the nicest person in a public eye, but behind the close door, he couldn't be further from that.

When the first day of rehearsals began, I was already in the zone, warming up, reading the lines, choosing some clothing with a stylist, trying on the makeup. I knew his arrival was scheduled for later in a morning, as well as the others, but that didn't help me to calm down. All the 'what ifs' were running through my head. Very shortly it became unbearable, every minute lasted for hours and I was pretty much struggling for the most of the time until his appearance.

When he finally walked into the dressing room, he passed by my chair unintentionally ignoring me. And I remained unspotted. From the first look he seemed to be such a bold person, the way he walked and talked, probably never in his life was he left unnoticed. A perfect Daoming Si. I felt it in my guts, the vibe he spreaded.

Our producer greeted him with a wide smile, which he generously returned, showing a dazzling million dollar one. They exchanged warm hugs. I noticed they were quite familiar with each other. She had casted him during the Super Idol show, that's probably why they seemed so close.

At that moment I felt a little jealous, he'd already had a connection with Angie, that I hadn't built yet in the slightest. But very quickly, jealousy was replaced with a torment. I was about to meet him officially.

'You need to meet Shen Yue. Oh here, she's right here.' I heard them from behind.

I just wanted to be already over with this nerve-racking anticipation, so, with a sudden boost of courage, I got up and turned rapidly, then looked upwards. Of course, thanks to that whole series of movements, my face landed precisely in his face.

Great Shen Yue, glad you still managed to make this even more awkward. I instantly thought to myself.

My cheeks turned red. His eyes, just like mine, went completely wide. Our noses were almost touching. For a second, I felt his hot breath on my lips.

'Oh. Sorry!' I exclaimed and immediately gave him some space by putting my hands on his chest (his eyes became even wider) and pushing myself into a little gap between the wall and my chair.

'Hi, nice to meet you' I stammered, while feeling the warmth and softness of his hand, as he shook mine.

'This is Shen Yue, she's your Shancai from now on' Angie pointed at me and looked at him, waiting. He stayed silent, instead of introducing himself.

'This is Wang He Di, he's going to play Daoming Si' she presented him finally. His eyes weren't leaving my face.

I didn't know how it was possible, but my cheeks got even more flushed.

'Hi' he simply said and smiled vaguely. He was probably regaining his confidence, because he followed with

'I heard you're very easy to work with', as his smile turned into smirk. 'I'm looking forward to it.' He finished fully smirking.

He had a thick accent. I remembered I'd read he was born in Sichuan Province, so Mandarin was his second language. Nice to have something in common with him.

Still with the reddest face and the feeling that I really sucked at leaving good first impression of myself, I quietly replied 'me too' looking directly at my feet. That seemed to give him a hint to continue this uncomfortable, tormenting moment for me.

'Shen Yue don't be shy, according to the script Shancai is the strongest character' I could swear I heard a short uncontrolled giggle in his voice.

Bravely, I looked up at him sensing he wasn't actually being malicious, just playful. And I was right his smile was huge, eyes were shinning. His obvious playfulness strangely made me feel at ease. Especially him saying my name. It got me thinking if he googled me as much as I did him. Remembering my name immediately after being introduced - doubtful. He had had to found it out earlier, just like I had his.

'Ok, let's go to the rehearsal room. Let's read together a few lines, before you'll meet the rest of the cast. Today is the inauguration day, after that you will all have 9 days to get to know each other a little and rehearse. Then we are going to start shooting' Angie interrupted the silence and the moment of just pure gawking at each other, that was already becoming a bit uncomfortable for me. Judging by his expression he would be able to stare at me till we both die and not find it uncomfortable even in a bit.

When we followed Angie, I suddenly became aware of his presence close behind me. I was wondering if he was checking me out. Today my bottom was wrapped in a pair of skinny jeans, so I felt really good about it. Maybe a little unconsciously I tried to pull off some sexy walk for him, thinking he was watching. But I'd rather not admit that to anyone, especially not to myself.

On the way we gathered our director Lin Helong and exchanged greetings. Wang He Di was observing my interaction with Lin. I heavily felt his gaze on me. To my distress, though he had been caught, he didn't even try to hide it. He kept staring at me. Confidence really must have been one of his strongest feature. I couldn't get a hold of his expression, his face was blank, maybe a little curious, but I wasn't sure.

Gasping with irritation, I turned away, under the pressure of his look. While turning, I caught a glimpse of his reappearing smirk. I thought that this was going to be a disaster reading. My heart was pounding like crazy. I needed to calm down somehow.

After we sat in a room, him and I beside each other, Angie and Lin across from us, she gave us sheets with some highlighted lines. Wang He Di moved his chair closer to mine. His near presence put me in a radius of the warmth he spread, magically relaxing me again, making my thoughts clear and focused. The reading session was about to start.