CHAPTER 229: CHAPTER 229 ORIGINAL SIN 38

It’s not easy to achieve a dessert that is sweet but not cloying. Li Ming is a foodie, and his family is well-off, so he’s tasted countless dishes by renowned five-star chefs, yet none of their skills measure up to Yun Shuangshuang’s.

To make a dessert sweet, it often becomes too rich. Even if it doesn’t feel rich in the first few bites, after eating more, it still becomes cloying. To avoid being cloying, one inevitably has to sacrifice some of the sweetness, making it quite bland, which is almost unavoidable!

Li Ming ate seven rose pastries in a row and only came to his senses when Feng Jing fiercely stepped on his foot. He put down the eighth rose pastry, which he hadn’t yet started eating, and coughed a little awkwardly.

After wiping his hands with a napkin, Li Ming put on a serious expression and said to Yun Shuangshuang, "Sorry, I’ve been greedy since I was a kid. I lose myself a little when I see delicious food. Your skill is truly impressive, and also, I was a bit rude when I entered earlier. Please try not to mind too much. Also, I really am a director. I heard from your mother earlier that you are the owner of Red Dust and that the external affairs of the store need your decision. Coincidentally, I have some filming matters I’d like to discuss with you."

Yun Shuangshuang looked at Li Ming with a bit of confusion, "How does your filmmaking relate at all to my hotel business? What would you need to discuss with me? If you’re interested in using the Red Dust decor as a backdrop for filming, my store doesn’t have many customers right now. As long as you ensure not to disturb my guests, you can use it freely."

Yun Shuangshuang thought about it; the only connection between Red Dust and filmmaking is probably the antique-style decor!

But Li Ming shook his head and said earnestly, "I do want to borrow your Red Dust, of course, I will pay a location fee. What I want to discuss with you is my hope that you can make a guest appearance in my movie."

Yun Shuangshuang laughed a little and pointed at herself, saying to Li Ming, "Mr. Director, do you think someone like me, who has never been involved in movies and doesn’t even watch films or TV series, can act?"

Yun Shuangshuang wasn’t lying. In her past life, her family was so poor when she was very young that they couldn’t afford a TV. Later, she was busy making money, then busy escaping with Feng Jinyan and continuing to make money. After Feng Jinyan recovered, Yun Shuangshuang acquired a pair of cold and indifferent grandparents and a half-sister, Liu Man Ni, who was always picking on her. Until her death, she hadn’t watched many movies or TV dramas.

In this life, Yun Shuangshuang had a few years of leisure, but the total number of movies and TV dramas she’d seen could be counted on two hands, because compared to films and dramas, she preferred reading novels, all kinds of novels.

Li Ming isn’t stupid enough to let just anyone make a cameo in his movie. Still smiling, he said, "You needn’t worry about that. I want you to play a character who is a culinary goddess with both superb cooking skills and beauty."

At this point, Li Ming blushed a little. "Please forgive my earlier misconduct. When I was looking around your place for suitable filming spots, I visited the kitchen and saw how focused you were when making food. You looked absolutely beautiful, so I’m sure you can handle this role! It’s a very simple role to perform. You just wear a traditional costume and cook a meal. There are no lines, and you can simply be yourself!"

After speaking, Li Ming looked at Yun Shuangshuang expectantly, waiting for her response.

Yun Shuangshuang lowered her head and thought for a moment, feeling that it wasn’t impossible. She knew this movie by Li Ming would become hugely popular, and making an appearance in it would be equivalent to advertising Red Dust.

Moreover, Yun Shuangshuang didn’t plan to pursue a career in the entertainment industry. Acting once and then never again would not make her as recognizable as a star, with people asking for photos and autographs everywhere she went. This was a win-win situation with no downsides, so why not agree?

Having figured it out, Yun Shuangshuang nodded and said, "Since you have such faith in me, I can agree. Please give me your guidance in the future, and I’ve heard directors often have short tempers when filming, so if I don’t act well, please bear with me."

The last sentence was purely meant as a playful joke by Yun Shuangshuang, though she didn’t notice Li Ming’s face momentarily freeze.

Because Li Ming is notoriously a genuinely nice person in his daily life: fair, never exploiting stars under hidden rules, approachable, and able to have a great time chatting with staff. But the moment the camera starts rolling, he becomes a tyrant on set! He can berate delicate female stars to tears and shame male actors to the point where they’d wish they could disappear into a hole in the ground or die to atone!

After Yun Shuangshuang agreed, she found out that even though Li Ming had a rather bad entrance, he truly was something else. He even managed to convince every woman in the room, including Zhao Ying, who had just returned not long ago, to make cameo appearances in his movie.

It wasn’t entirely Li Ming’s fault for losing his composure when he entered earlier. Such a gathering of beautiful women, outside of the fictional world of movies, is indeed exceptionally rare in reality.

Yun Shuangshuang also thought it was quite peculiar. It’s not that there aren’t any beauties in the world, but it’s not as if you can grab one on every street corner. Yet, the female customers who came to Red Dust were exceptionally pretty! No wonder Li Ming was tempted to get these beauties to make guest appearances as vases in his film!

After finishing the business talk with Yun Shuangshuang, Li Ming was in such a good mood from how smoothly the day had gone that he decided to continue feasting. But when he turned around, he discovered that the plate of rose pastries and meringues in front of him, which had been full just a moment ago, was now empty.

Li Ming incredulously flipped the plate over and lifted it up to inspect it, eyes full of disbelief. Such a large pile! Just gone like that! He turned his head to see his two buddies, Wan Yan and Feng Jing, elegantly wiping their mouths with napkins, with satisfied looks on their faces.

Seeing those two empty plates, Li Ming was aggrieved! He looked at Wan Yan and Feng Jing accusingly, "You two bastards, don’t you have any childhood friendship left? So much food, and you didn’t think to leave any for me! How heartless you are!"

Wan Yan ignored Li Ming’s grievance and instead nodded at Yun Shuangshuang, "The girl’s culinary skills are quite impressive. I wonder if you’re interested in collaborating with our Quanwei Company. You provide the recipes, and I can give you a share of the profits, or I can offer you a stake in Quanwei Company as compensation!"

Yun Shuangshuang found this a bit amusing. She didn’t know what was happening today, one person discussing acting, another discussing collaboration, both offering money. It’s just a pity she can’t earn the collaboration money.