All right, this is the moment. He had been anticipating the filming of this scene like a basketball game. He felt the adrenaline coursing through his body. He had seen enough movies to know that the wedding kiss should look passionate, but also romantic, and above all else, perfect. The wedding kiss would be different from the other kiss scenes, which in and of themselves were completely different than the types of kisses that occurred in real life. In real life, people didn't need to worry about angles or where their noses needed to be.
As for the other kissing scenes, those would be shot very slowly, where his head would need to descend at a diagonal towards Shen Yue's so that the camera could catch their profiles and their lips meeting.
The wedding scene would be a different one entirely. This one would be more natural, more joyous, less scripted, and it would be the longest kiss yet.
He did not want to let anyone else know how inexperienced he was, but this would be his first kiss. He knew that Shen Yue had shot kissing scenes previously, and would no doubt have future kissing scenes, but he wanted her to remember this one. He wanted her to remember him.
For the first take, the director had given general instructions only: "It's your wedding day, you're happy, she's yours, make the kiss last a few seconds."
All right. I've got this. He began doing mental dribbling sequences in his mind. I'm going in for the layup.
"Action!" the director yelled.
He threw the bouquet over his head, grabbed Shen Yue by the waist, bent his head down towards hers, and kissed her the way he had seen it done in movies. He ignored the tingling sensation he felt in his stomach as his lips touched Shen Yue's and with the intensity of going full speed towards the basket, he went for it. Yes! I'm doing grea—
"Cut! That's not kissing," he heard the director say as he pulled himself away from Shen Yue.
"That's sloppy. You can't be sloppy," a staff member advised.
He nodded. All right, less sloppy. I can do this. He would need to be a little less passionate. He didn't miss that Shen Yue had slapped him. He knew she would give him a hard time about this because these scenes relied on him, which meant that any additional takes would be his fault. While he kissed her, she would follow his lead, only having to move her mouth and head ever so slightly.
Second take.
Finesse. He imagined himself shooting a three-pointer. He put his lips on Shen Yue's and gently sucked on them, with his head tilted at one angle, then at another.
"Be more accurate!" a staff member shouted. Shen Yue had slapped him again, although was it only his imagination, or did she seem to be enjoying this?
Third take.
Forget accuracy. I'm going to kiss Shen Yue and enjoy it. That's what will make it look real. He imagined that he was dribbling a basketball, shooting hoops in his old neighborhood. Shen Yue's lips are so soft, he thought. They taste like strawberries. His lips brushed hers and he kissed her gently and softly as though they were the only two people in the room.
"Cut!" He had kissed the wrong side. Or had he? Shen Yue had hit him once again for messing up, but he could have sworn that she had lifted her lips and moved them against his, too. Was he only imagining things?
As much as he enjoyed kissing Shen Yue, and he enjoyed it more than he cared to admit, he also wanted to get the scene right, and he felt like he was missing all of his free throws.
With each take, Shen Yue's makeup had to be redone, and he couldn't tell if she was getting annoyed with how many takes were needed or if she was just acting annoyed.
Fourth take. Fifth take. Sixth take. Seventh take. Eighth take.
Each time he kissed Shen Yue, it felt special. The tingling sensation in his stomach never went away, and the taste of strawberries lingered. He wasn't imagining things. Shen Yue is a great actress, but he knew he had felt her lips moving in response to his. Can it be real? Does she feel something?
He had seen her wipe her mouth at one point as if in disgust and that hurt him more than he thought it would.
Maybe it was just my imagination. Let's keep this professional.
***
Shen Yue was doing everything she could to control the flush she was feeling each time Dylan kissed her. What was this about? It couldn't be nerves. She had kissed Hu Yi Tian before, or more like Hu Yi Tian had kissed her before, so why was she feeling this way?
Could it be that I...like Dylan? The thought stopped her cold in her tracks. No, no, no, no. He is my coworker. He is a big goofball. We are professionals. Our job is to make people believe that we are in love. That's all.
She wiped her mouth, disgusted with herself. Get ahold of yourself, Shen Yue.
***
Wait, that's the wedding? Where are Shancai's parents? Where's Daoming Feng? Mrs. Yu? Why is Daoming Si flanked by Qinghe, Thomas, and Zhibu? Who are all those random people at the wedding? Why did Daoming Zhuang do a dance to River? Shancai's dreaming, right? Did they die from the hunger strike?
And what was up with that kiss?
She was disappointed with the ambiguity of the ending of Meteor Garden, but that didn't stop her from re-watching it a day later.
***
She received a question from one of her followers who was left listed as Anon.
"Do you think Diyue is real?"
She responded with a single word: "Absolutely."
