Garden of Eden

After the first round of performances of the two plays, Xue Tao even had her own super talk. Many fans said that her voice is very good, her singing skills have improved rapidly, and her sense of stage has become stronger and stronger.

Relying on these likes, Xue Tao started a new round of interviews.

However, the interview did not go well this time, not because the crew didn't want her.On the contrary, it is hard for her to find a scene that can make her feel so excited that she forgets to eat and sleep.Those plays were either bad scripts or bad characters, and some of them were even made up of references.

After hitting the wall repeatedly, Xue Tao gave herself a half-month vacation. During this time, she signed up for a refresher class to learn acting, and occasionally chatted with fans in the fan group.

What she didn't expect was that the turning point came so suddenly.

During a small chat, she inadvertently said: [I didn't find a good book... I don't really want to act...] But this sentence was diverted by someone's screenshots, and instantly set off a turbulent wave.

[She just acted in a few plays and then drifted away? 】【Laughing to death, who gave her the courage, Liang Jingru? 】【What did she act in, why don't I know? 】

Not only the audience, but even the director of the imported drama she starred in posted on Weibo, saying that she was playing a big role, and even asked to add a play to her role, but fortunately, as the director, he refused righteously.

Xue Tao didn't understand why he could turn black and white like this, and why the audience could trust others so easily.Those words that were taken out of context and pretentious words have now become her incriminating evidence, as if overnight, everyone wanted to beat her so that she would never stand up again.

When she opened Weibo, she could see people scolding her, and she even found fans who had supported her among these people.Xue Tao really wanted to explain to them that this was not the case, and that he was spreading rumors.But she only has one pair of hands, but rumors have grown wings. Her defense is weak and weak, and it will only cause another round of quarrels.

As a result, she no longer spoke in the fan group, let alone used any social media, and even stopped reading the actor recruitment information that she usually checked every day.She began to be afraid of expressing, let alone communicate with others.

Such days ended half a month later, on a rainy afternoon.

Xue Tao answered a strange phone call. She thought it was a takeaway, and then said: "Just leave it at the door, thank you."

There was silence on the other end of the phone for three seconds, and then a hoarse and sexy female voice came through: "Are you sure, you want to leave your audition invitation at the door."

The sound of electric current distorted the voice slightly, but Xue Tao still recognized its owner instantly.She felt that she was dreaming, if not, how could she have heard Tan Mengtong's voice.

Before she woke up from the dream, she heard Tan Mengtong say again: "Come see me tomorrow at five o'clock in the afternoon." She quickly said the address, and Xue Tao wrote it down on her lap in a hurry while answering.

As soon as she hung up the phone, an audition invitation came into her mailbox, with huge words on the cover - the Chinese version of the music movie "Legally Blonde".

Xue Tao pinched herself, it hurt so much, she wasn't dreaming.She rolled down from the sofa excitedly, not forgetting to protect the leg where the address was written.

"Ahhh - I'm going to see Sister Mengtong!" That's right, Xue Tao's happiness almost comes from the fact that she is finally going to meet Tan Mengtong.

Tan Mengtong's home is in the villa area. The white single-family villa is hidden in layers of green shade, abandoned by the sun, like a forgotten place.

Xue Tao rang the doorbell, and it took a long time before the door was opened.

Tan Mengtong's thin body was wrapped in a suspender nightdress, and the black skirt made her skin like snow even more.I haven't seen her for a few months, but she seems to have become thinner, even the bones on her arms can be clearly seen, and the bones in the joints seem to be about to pierce the muscles and come out.

She seemed to have just woken up, standing barefoot on the floor, scratching her disheveled hair back with her hands, and raised her chin: "Come in."

Xue Tao typed all the manuscripts on the road, but the moment she saw Tan Mengtong, she couldn't say anything.

"I...you...sorry!" She closed her eyes and shouted.

Tan Mengtong stood still and looked at her suspiciously.

Xue Tao had the first sentence, and said the following words easily: "Sister Mengtong, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that about you at the time. I don't know you well, so I judged you self-righteously, I am vicious and stupid , I sincerely apologize to you for my mistake!" After she finished speaking, she bowed ninety degrees.

"Finished?" Tan Mengtong's tone was calm, "Make me a cup of coffee, hot American style."

"what?"

Tan Meng glanced over with the same gaze, and Xue Tao immediately stood at attention: "Yes! Your Majesty!"

"Stop watching TV shows." Tan Mengtong didn't appreciate it.

Xue Tao handed over the coffee with both hands, Tan Mengtong just took a sip and put it down, then took out some mixed vegetables and chicken breast from the refrigerator, without any sauce, just stirred it and ate it.

Xue Tao couldn't help but slander. In her eyes, these things are called eating, and they should be called oral.

After taking the salad orally, Tan Mengtong gave Xue Tao the complete script for her to read, while he went for a run, practiced yoga and took a bath.

After a series of procedures were over, Xue Tao also finished reading the script.By this time, the clock was pointing to nine o'clock in the evening.

When Tan Mengtong reappeared, she was wrapped in a burgundy silk nightgown. She poured herself a glass of Macallan 18 and asked Xue Tao, "Would you like some?"

Xue Tao didn't drink at all, but seeing Tan Mengtong's snow-white and slender calves exposed under her nightgown, she nodded for some reason.

Tan Mengtong smiled, turned around and poured her another glass: "Plum wine, suitable for a child like you."

"I'm not a child," Xue Tao protested, and took a sip anyway. It was sweet and sour, not like drinking at all.

Tan Mengtong sank lazily on the sofa, picked up a cigarette and held it under his fingertips, but did not light it: "The audition at the end of the month, the intensive training for half a month next month, and the shooting cycle is [-] days. During this time, you have to guarantee Leave it alone, this director hates making plays."

Xue Tao nodded repeatedly, but felt something was wrong: "Wait a minute! But I might not be able to take this role, right?"

"Do you know who is participating in the competition?" Tan Mengtong casually mentioned a few names, such as a thunderous little flower, a well-known three-dwelling artist, Xue Tao is the least famous one among them, and the only one who has no experience in film and television dramas people.

When Xue Tao was gasping for air, Tan Mengtong almost choked her to death. She said: "None of these people can sing better than you. This is a musical movie, which is to put musicals on the screen and not choose musical actors. Who else can I choose?"

Xue Tao was unable to refute. Although Tan Mengtong was indifferent and indifferent, it miraculously aroused her fighting spirit.

"I'll try!" she said.

"It's not hard work, but it must be won. Do you have another way to go?" Tan Mengtong raised his glass and let the golden liquid flow down his throat, "From now on, you will live here, and there are still ten years before the audition. Eight days, I will teach you."

Until lying on the soft bed in the second bedroom, Xue Tao still felt unbelievable.A day ago, she was still trying her best to see Tan Mengtong.But now, she was already trapped on the quilt full of the fragrance of figs, and the lingering smell seemed to be embraced by Tan Mengtong.

She didn't know how lucky she was to have Tan Mengtong teach in person.All the pain of the past month was healed by this moment. If she had known that there would be such a result, she would be willing to make the pain ten times more violent.

According to the schedule set by Tan Mengtong, Xue Tao got up at [-] o'clock in the morning to open her voice, and then did a lot of physical training, interspersed with the study of the dances in "Legal Blonde". There are no difficult moves in the dance, and she can do it Learn from videos.

And at five o'clock, when she was exhausted, Tan Mengtong would get up and carefully prepare "delicious" fat-reducing meals for them.

Xue Tao is not fat, she loves aerobic exercise, has strong muscles and a healthy body shape, which is the foundation for supporting musical actors to perform continuously for two hours.But in front of the camera, people will be two times fatter than they look.Tan Mengtong said that since Xue Tao is destined to care about other people's comments, she can only use the simplest and rude way to keep people from pointing out her figure.

Xue Tao felt that this was a very irrational set of logic, but she seemed to have no better choice.

At nine o'clock in the evening, they will officially start vocal training.Tan Mengtong seemed to be teaching beginners, starting from breath, to vocalization, to articulation, and gradually corrected all her problems.She will also teach Xue Tao skills and performance methods, but more depends on her perception in a large number of connections.

Xue Tao's learning ability is very strong, such a one-on-one master class has only been carried out for three or four days, and when she sings the same song again, there has been a qualitative change.

A week passed quickly, and on Friday, the hourly worker came to the house on time to clean the villa.

Tan Mengtong was still sleeping, and Xue Tao was finishing her run and went downstairs to drink water, when she saw her aunt dragged out a big black bag from the kitchen, and there was a crisp sound of glass colliding inside.

"What is this?" She opened the bag and found that it was full of wine bottles, red wine, champagne, whiskey, sake, and even many beer cans.

Auntie smiled embarrassedly: "I just think it's a pity to throw these bottles away. I can still sell some money when I pick them up."

"No...it's fine."

Back in the practice room again, Xue Tao was a little lost, her mind was full of those wine bottles.

She only knew that Tan Mengtong woke up every night, but she didn't know when she fell asleep.She thought that Tan Mengtong's hoarse voice was due to illness, but she hadn't seen her take medicine for so many days.Moreover, she was mentally weak and suffered from severe weight loss. What was the reason for this?

After today's lecture, Xue Tao didn't go to bed directly.She waited quietly in the room for a long time, until she heard Tan Mengtong's footsteps going downstairs, and then quietly followed.

There is a private theater in the basement of Tan Mengtong's house, which has the best playback equipment and sound system. Whenever she wants to watch a movie, she will go there.

Seeing Tan Mengtong disappear around the corner, Xue Tao cautiously followed.Probably because he didn't expect there to be a little tail, Tan Mengtong didn't close the door, just in case Xue Tao hid in the shadow outside the door and observed secretly.

"John Wick" was playing on the screen. Xue Tao remembered that Tan Mengtong was a fan of Keanu Reeves.

I saw Tan Mengtong holding a glass of red wine, the wine in the glass, the nightgown on his body, the nail polish on his fingertips, and the blood blooming on the screen. These dazzling colors dyed the room bright red.

Xue Tao didn't know how long she stood, her legs were numb.She watched Tan Meng drink one glass after another, and the bottle of red wine soon bottomed out.

Tan Mengtong drank the last drop of wine and raised his hand to pause the movie.

"Come out." She said to the void.

In an instant, Xue Tao felt her hairs stand on end, and her blood coagulated in her body. It turned out that Tan Mengtong knew she was there all along, and the voyeurism she thought was all under Tan Mengtong's control.

She lowered her head and rubbed forward in small steps: "Why do you..."

Tan Mengtong glanced outside the door: "The night light there is not broken, it shouldn't be flickering on and off."

Following Tan Mengtong's line of sight, Xue Tao saw that there happened to be a small night light in the place where she was hiding, and she could think of how the shadowy light was blocked by her figure just now.

She was about to cry stupidly by herself, and scratched her head angrily: "Sorry, I'm just a little worried about you."

"You follow me if you're worried about me? And you don't even know how to follow me, did you stand there for half an hour?"

Xue Tao didn't know what was going on, why the initiative was completely controlled by Tan Mengtong within two sentences.

She wrinkled her nose and said courageously, "I want you to stop drinking. Drinking is bad for your throat!"

"Is it bad for your voice?" Tan Mengtong smiled, "That's right, you're right, are you done?"

"No!" Xue Tao said quickly, "There are still many people looking forward to your performance on the screen and on the stage, you...you have to stand up!"

"A lot of people look forward to it? Why don't I know?"

Xue Tao quickly took out the super chat and showed her: "Look, your fans are counting the days and looking forward to your coming out. They also said that in the days when you don't show up, they will show your works I've seen it many times."

"These people also include you?" Tan Mengtong slightly raised his eyebrows, looking at Xue Tao leisurely.

Blush gradually climbed up to the tips of Xue Tao's ears, and dizzy all over her ears again, she nodded slightly.

"Okay, got it, go to sleep." Tan Mengtong got up, as if he had compromised.

Xue Tao thought that her persuasion had some effect, she smiled like a little sun: "You promised me to quit drinking, right? At least get better every day, don't you?"

Tan Mengtong looked at Xue Tao's naive and cute expression, and a pair of dimples thicker than wine, and couldn't help pinching her face.

"Oh!" Xue Tao covered her face, but she didn't dare to protest, she just obediently stretched out the other side of her face.