Wendy pinched me from behind.

I immediately forced a smile. "Teacher Bruce, I’m looking forward to working with you."

After the opening ceremony, William cheerfully squeezed in between us and threw his arms around our shoulders.

"With Julia and Bruce's faces, plus my carefully crafted script, I’m really expecting a lot from this!"

The first scene started filming that afternoon.

When I saw the "first meeting kiss scene" highlighted in red on the schedule, I finally understood what William meant by "breaking the norms."

What kind of film set starts with a kiss scene?

"This is to help the actors get into character quickly," William explained, rubbing his hands behind the monitor. "Joy Mitchell and Wesley Green are meeting for the first time and are immediately attracted to each other’s looks. I want that explosive chemistry!"

We nodded, and Director William turned back to continue adjusting the set.

Wrapped in a down jacket, I sat on a folding chair, watching as the stylist adjusted Bruce's tie.

He was wearing a white shirt for this scene, the sleeves rolled up to reveal his well-defined forearms.

I had to admit, this guy definitely deserved the title of "national boyfriend."

"Julia," Wendy suddenly handed me a bottle of mouthwash.

"Can you make sure it’s not off-center?" she asked.

I took the bottle, swished the mouthwash, then spat it out, quietly replying, "William wants a real kiss."

Wendy frowned. "Then treat it like you're kissing a steak!"

Five minutes before the scene began, Bruce suddenly walked over to me.

He was nearly 20 cm taller than me, his shadow completely engulfing me.

"Teacher Julia," he said, offering me a mint with a challenging glint in his eyes.

"Do you want this?"

I grabbed the candy and popped it into my mouth, crunching it. "Thanks, Teacher Bruce, but I heard that during your last kiss scene, your co-star complained it was like chewing on corn. Let’s hope you don’t 'chew' through William’s scene."

The sharp snap of the script supervisor Jason’s clapperboard echoed.

In an instant, I slipped into Joy’s character.

In the script, Joy, frustrated after being harassed by a business partner, messes up a major deal and gets scolded by her boss. She drowns her sorrows at a bar.

Bruce—now playing the elite investor Wesley—happens to be working at the bar for a friend.

Joy mistakes Wesley for a bartender and orders a drink.

According to the script, our gazes should collide with intense, passionate chemistry.

But when he actually looked at me, I was momentarily lost.

His eyes, usually filled with indifference, now held the "aggressive" intensity described in the script.

"Sorry," his fingertips brushed mine as he handed me the drink Joy had ordered.

"Do you want more lemon?"

That was Wesley's line.

I was supposed to reply, "The drink’s already sweet and spicy, do you really need more acidity?"

Then he’d say, "You don’t look happy. Let’s add some lemon to tone down the spice."

An outdated, cheesy pickup line.

But when Bruce said it in that deep, sultry voice, my ears inexplicably started to burn.

"Cut!" William suddenly shouted.

"Julia, why are you blushing? Joy would be rolling her eyes internally and flirting with Wesley through her gaze!"

Laughter rang out from the crew.

I caught a glimpse of Bruce’s lips twitching, clearly holding back a laugh.

Wendy was frantically signaling from the sidelines, and Kevin was watching us warily.

In the second take, I nailed the emotions William wanted.

As Bruce leaned in closer, I heard him whisper my name in a breathy voice, "Teacher Julia."

I reflexively blinked.

He seized the opportunity, pulling me into a deep kiss.

The peppermint candy I’d eaten before the shoot still left a cool sensation on my tongue.

That coolness contrasted sharply with his warm lips, and for a moment, I almost forgot to breathe.

His professionalism snapped me back into reality, and I tilted my chin up to meet him.

He kissed me, leaning over the narrow bar counter.

I sat just outside the counter, and I could see his Adam's apple move as he leaned in.

He pressed his lips against mine for what felt like an eternity.

But William hadn’t called "cut" yet.

I felt him gently release my head, his hand cradling my face as his lips still lingered on mine, soft and lingering.

My neck ached from the angle.

"Cut! Perfect!" William shouted, jumping up from his chair.

"That’s the tension I was looking for! This combo is a visual feast!"

As Bruce pulled away, his thumb casually brushed the corner of my mouth.

His eyes had returned to their usual playful look, the intensity of the scene gone.

"Sorry, Julia. Hope I didn’t nibble too hard, huh?"

I took the tissue Alice handed me and wiped my lips quickly, forcing a smile under Wendy’s sharp gaze. "Bruce, have you been taking special lessons? Truly dedicated."

William waved us over from behind the monitor.

"Great energy in that scene. Just pay attention to this angle..."

William pointed to a few camera positions.

"Go touch up your lipstick. We’ll shoot a few more angles for this scene."

By the time we wrapped up, it was late.

I dragged my exhausted body back to the hotel, and just as I was about to collapse onto the bed, my WhatsApp buzzed with a message from Bruce.

It was through the group chat that William had insisted we join.

For "necessary communication" between the male and female leads, William had insisted we stay in touch, in case he needed to make any last-minute script revisions.

"Julia, could you change your lipstick for the next kiss scene? This one tastes too bitter."

I stared at the message, my finger hovering over the keyboard. I typed, deleted, and retyped my response.

"Bruce, are you really that free? Shouldn’t you be rehearsing lines or getting into character instead of worrying about lipstick? Or are we working late again?"

After sending it, I felt like it wasn’t sharp enough, so I added a smiley emoji.

A few seconds later, he replied, "Don’t worry, Julia. My performance is always steady."

Heh.

Wendy was right—this guy definitely had ulterior motives.

Anyone who’d been involved with Wendy’s ex was bound to be trouble.

I shut off my phone and tossed it onto the bed, rushing to the bathroom to scrub my face furiously.

The kiss scene had been reshot multiple times by William from different angles.

Even now, I could still see a faint red tint on my lips in the mirror.

I squeezed out a generous amount of makeup remover and rubbed it across my lips, scrubbing them with vigor.

That jerk Bruce, always finding excuses to get close, and his kissing technique was awful.

William never allowed breaks during filming.

Bruce had missed the script read-through before filming because of an unavoidable prior engagement.

Since filming started, we’d been on set every day.

The schedule wasn’t arranged by episodes; instead, they filmed all scenes in one location before moving on to the next.

The crew was always good at keeping things under wraps.

The first day Bruce and I filmed the kiss scene in a studio, and nothing leaked out.

But modern urban dramas sometimes had outdoor shoots, and where there’s outdoor filming, there’s bound to be paparazzi.

Sure enough, the day after we filmed a street kiss, Bruce and I were trending on Weibo.

#Bruce Julia Kiss Scene Leak#

The accompanying photo was a candid shot from the set the day before.

Bruce had lowered his head to kiss me, while I tilted my face back, my fingers subconsciously clutching his shirt.