CH 21

Filming lasted until seven o’clock that evening. For the last couple of scenes, Xu Jingzhe would insist on checking almost each and every take. He wanted to see if there were any problems with his expressions on camera. The wound on his neck did indeed swell. In fact, the makeup artist was almost afraid to apply pressure on it. Xu Jingzhe was worried that the pain would affect his performance. Towards the end, he even started to obsessively nitpick his facial expressions in each and every scene.

Director Liu was notoriously strict, but not even he was crazy enough as to drag out filming late into the night on the very first day. Once they wrapped things up, the production assistant took everyone out to dinner. Xu Jingzhe needed to watch his figure, so he couldn’t eat as much as he would’ve liked.

Luo Yaoye felt that he was a little too nervous. “It’s only the first day, Mr. Xu. Don’t push yourself like this.”

Xu Jingzhe knew that she was right. He drank a glass of honey water. Finally, he decided to have an extra bowl of rice.

As she was helping her boss unpack his luggage, Zhu Xiaoxiao found that Liang Yu had already prepared a medical kit for him. Xu Jingzhe clearly hadn’t known about it because, when she told him about it, his expression had gone blank for a moment or two.

“In my suitcase?” He was rather uncertain.

Zhu Xiaoxiao nodded. “There’s a bunch of medicine and health supplements, ascorbic acid, cod liver oil, amino acid, melatonin. If you have trouble sleeping at night, you could try taking some.”

Xu Jingzhe slowly nodded. He seemed to find it rather inconceivable. He couldn’t help but ask, “Did Liang Yu say when he’d be arriving?”

Zhu Xiaoxiao: “Xiao Luo said that his flight will arrive tomorrow.”

Xu Jingzhe hesitated for a moment. “Should I pick him up?”

Zhu Xiaoxiao received a bit of a fright. She cautiously said, “You have a scene tomorrow morning. Do you … want to ask for leave?”

Xu Jingzhe’s dedication to his job wasn’t fake. He spent three hundred and sixty-five days a year filming. He could have a forty degree fever in the morning and still continue filming in the afternoon. He definitely wasn’t the kind of person to delay a film’s progress with his personal affairs. If he were to actually break precedent for Liang Yu, Zhu Xiaoxiao would start to wonder whether his “dedication” was a little too unbiased.

Xu Jingzhe must’ve also come to this realization. He looked at Zhu Xiaoxiao. Zhu Xiaoxiao looked at him.

“I’m going to go ask about tomorrow’s scenes.” He spoke suddenly. Then, he opened up his phone to text Director Liu on WeChat. “Ask Xiao Luo about Liang Yu’s flight information.”

Zhu Xiaoxiao could only respond, “Oh.” She turned back around and asked Xiao Luo for their flight number on WeChat. However, she was actually so nervous that she was sweating. She had the urge to sing from the mountaintops!

Director Liu hadn’t gone to sleep yet. When he saw Xu Jingzhe’s message, he replied, “What is it? Let me tell you this first. Anything else is fine, but you can’t change the script.”

Green Water’s screenwriter was very young, but he held a lot of weight within the crew. He even had the guts to argue with Director Liu. No one was allowed to change his script at random.

Of course, Xu Jingzhe wasn’t asking about the script. He asked if he could move his scenes to later in the afternoon.

“What do you have to do that morning?” Director Liu asked back.

Xu Jingzhe gave him a vague answer. “I need to pick someone up.”

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Xu Jingzhe had already asked for leave from the director. As a result, Liang Yu’s flight was actually scheduled to arrive early in the morning. Xiao Luo called Zhu Xiaoxiao before boarding the plane.

“Early morning flights are cheap. Plus, Mr. Xu won’t need to ask for leave.” It was a little noisy on Xiao Luo’s end. They were probably at the airport. “Liang Yu said that we shouldn’t ruin Mr. Xu’s perfect attendance record.”

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Xiao Luo asked, “Is there a difference?”

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Xiao Luo: “…”

Even though she was his younger sister, Liang Luo couldn’t really figure out what Liang Yu was thinking either. In her eyes, her brother was perfect. His temper might be rotten, but there wasn’t any question about his professionalism. He was able to make money, and he was able to take care of his family. He knew how to care for someone. Ordinary guys and gals definitely wouldn’t be able to match up to her brother.

There was just one problem.

Xiao Luo hung up the phone and peeked at Liang Yu. She hesitated for a bit, but, in the end, she decided to try and reason with him. “Ge, you shouldn’t call Mr. Xu so often. He’s busy with filming. He obviously isn’t going to keep his phone on him. Even if you call him, he’s not going to pick up.”

Liang Yu glanced at her. He didn’t seem to have reflected on his wrongdoings at all. “I know. It’s normal to miss calls when you’re busy. It’s not going to get in his way if I call him.”

Xiao Luo put her face in her hands. “You’re going to put him under pressure.”

“How am I putting him under pressure?” Liang Yu asked. “It’s not like I’m angry with him.”

Xiao Luo: “…”

Liang Yu still has the audacity to make excuses. “Isn’t this fake relationship part of our job? Isn’t it a good thing for me to be so dedicated?”

Xiao Luo: “Sure, whatever you say. Let me just say this. In your previous relationships, they all said that you were problematic or whatever, but none of them actually have anything they can blackmail you with. However, yesterday, you made fifty-six phone calls while I was away.” Xiao Luo had to take a breather. Just thinking about it made her blood pressure spike. “Nowadays, cell phones have records of these things. If you guys break up one day and the media asks for the reason behind the breakup, how are you going to explain those fifty-six missed calls?”

Liang Yu stared at her for a while. Then, he looked away. He seemed a little peeved. “He wouldn’t do something like that.”

Xiao Luo earnestly tried to persuade him. “I don’t think he’s that kind of person either, but think about your past couple of breakups. Can we please not do this kind of thing?”

Despite saying all of this, Liang Luo was very clear. Even if he knew that he had a problem, Liang Yu wasn’t going to change it. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to change, but, rather, he couldn’t change. Once it came to romance, Liang Yu’s methods tended to lean towards the extreme.

As long as he cared for Xu Jingzhe, he couldn’t seem to control himself.

Liang Luo didn’t even want to think about what would happen if Liang Yu actually fell in love with Xu Jingzhe. If Liang Luo still had a conscience, she ought to write two large words on a sheet of paper: “Run away!” Then, she should stick it onto Xu Jingzhe’s door.

There weren’t a lot of people on this early morning flight. Liang Luo, who had been working around the clock, could hardly keep her eyes open. Liang Yu, on the other hand, was full of energy. He was still scrolling through pictures of the latest collections from several fashion brands on his iPad.

“What do you think of this one?” They were traveling first class. Liang Yu stuffed the iPad in front of Xiao Luo for her to see.

Being able to fly first class was something other assistants in the industry would kill for. Xiao Luo covered herself with a blanket. Whoever wanted this kind of “blessing” could take it. She really couldn’t do this anymore.

“Don’t buy clothes for Mr. Xu anymore.” Liang Luo glanced at the picture. She knew that it was Xu Jingzhe’s size and style. “Based on the rate at which you’re buying clothes, Mr. Xu will be able to wear a different outfit for breakfast, lunch, and afternoon tea without a single repeat.”

Liang Yu frowned. He didn’t believe her. “I didn’t buy that many clothes.”

Liang Luo continued listing all the things he had bought. “There’s also the bags, the shoes, the jewelry.” She paused and looked at her brother. “Stop making Mr. Xu wear your watch all the time! It doesn’t even fit him!”

Liang Yu replied indifferently, “I can just get the strap adjusted.”

“…” Liang Luo couldn’t help but ridicule him. “If you really can’t control yourself, just buy him an island. You can lock him up there whenever he’s not working.”

Liang Yu paused. He actually seemed to be considering it. He asked in a serious manner, “Can I actually do that? Will he accept it?”

Liang Luo’s eyes widened. She was about to go crazy. “It’s not an issue of whether or not he’ll accept it! It’s illegal! Illegal!”

Xu Jingzhe knew that Liang Yu was taking an early morning flight, so he didn’t feel like going to sleep. The film crew had a bus. He ran over to look at it several times, In the end, his rationality finally won out, and he decided not to bother the driver for a personal affair. However, Zhu Xiaoxiao wouldn’t let him drive over to the airport himself.

“It’s all mountain roads, and it’s dark outside. You’re an actor. What would we do if something happened to you?” Zhu Xiaoxiao’s worries were justified. Xu Jingzhe wasn’t an unthoughtful starlet, so, naturally, he couldn’t be willful.

Xu Jingzhe didn’t sleep, so Zhu Xiaoxiao didn’t dare go to sleep either. Instead, she sat with her boss in the yard of the farmhouse. Although the holidays had already passed, the temperature at night was still terribly low in the mountains. Zhu Xiaoxiao brought two blankets from their room and placed them on Xu Jingzhe like a big cotton jacket.

“It smells a little musty.” Zhu Xiaoxiao lowered her head into the blanket and sniffed. She felt a little bad. “I should’ve checked the blankets yesterday. I can’t believe I made you sleep with this last night.”

Xu Jingzhe said gently, “Don’t worry. It’s not like I can smell it once I fall asleep.”

Zhu Xiaoxiao: “Didn’t you have a hard time sleeping?”

Xu Jingzhe smiled, but he didn’t reply. He couldn’t tell her that his not sleeping well had nothing to do with the blanket. That would be too unreasonable.

The guesthouse they were staying at was already one of the best in the area. Each room had its own bathroom. However, there weren’t any single-person bathing accommodations. If they wanted to take a bath, they’d have to go to the hot springs.

Zhu Xiaoxiao suggested that Xu Jingzhe soak in the hot springs if he got too cold.

“It’s easier to get sick if you go from a cold place to a hot place.” Xu Jingzhe was actually pretty good at resisting the cold. He was more worried about other things. “Go get me a couple of under-eye patches. I’ll wear them while I’m waiting.”

Zhu Xiaoxiao obediently did as he asked.

Xu Jingzhe had already completed his skin care routine earlier. He stuck two of the patches under his eyes. He also tied the hair hanging in front of his face into a little pigtail on the top of his head. Then, he simply started reading the script on his cell phone.

Towards the middle of the night, Zhu Xiaoxiao started nodding off. Her head bobbed up and down.

Xu Jingzhe gently woke her up. “Go inside and sleep. Don’t catch a cold.”

Zhu Xiaoxiao dazedly agreed. “Mr. Xu, you should go to sleep as well…”

Xu Jingzhe told her that he would, but he didn’t actually move. He quietly sat in the yard, wrapped in a blanket, reading his script as he waited.

Dawn tended to arrive faster in early spring. After swapping out his under-eye patches for the nth time, Xu Jingzhe found that the sky upon the horizon had turned into a grayish marble white. He stared at the scenery for a while. He could hear the sound of birds chirping. Someone’s voice rang out into the silence. It seemed that they were asking for a room number.

Xu Jingzhe stood up, still wrapped in his blanket.

Liang Yu was dragging a suitcase by himself. He was wearing a baseball cap. Since he was so tall, Xu Jingzhe could already see his face from above the wall. Xu Jingzhe subconsciously took a few steps forward. Once Liang Yu walked through the gates, he instantly caught sight of Xu Jingzhe.

“You didn’t sleep?” Liang Yu seemed a little uncertain. “Were you waiting for me?”

Xu Jingzhe opened his mouth. He suddenly felt a little ashamed to admit it, but, no matter how he looked at it, it wasn’t really appropriate for him to lie right now.

“Mn.” Xu Jingzhe tried his best to keep calm. “I couldn’t really fall asleep, so I decided to just wait for you.”

Liang Yu stared at his face for a while. Then, he suddenly smiled. He reached out his hand and removed the under-eye patches from Xu Jingzhe’s face. He seemed incredibly happy. “Couldn’t fall asleep? Who do you think you’re fooling? You were waiting for me, plain and simple.”