Xiao Yi gazed at Ning Yaqing, envious, thinking how it would be nice to have the male god's mucus smeared on one's face.

"All right, this time we're done!" the director announced. "The sun is about to set, and we can't continue shooting."

Xiao Yi had lost interest in the final take, preoccupied with his fear of Lu Zhou finding out about today's headlines. Thankfully, Du Mei was arriving tomorrow, and they could leave after finishing the outdoor scenes.

Lu Zhou sneezed as he got into the car. Concerned, Xiao Yi said, "Is it getting worse?"

"I didn't sleep well last night," Lu Zhou replied. "Do you have any cold medicine? I just need a good rest."

"Sorry about today!" Lu Zhou's voice sounded a bit hoarse as he addressed the crew.

"No worries," the producer said, smiling.

"It's okay!" the director added. "The shoot went well!"

Afterward, Lu Zhou removed his makeup in the car and reclined. Back at the hotel, it was damp in the mountain area, so Xiao Yi turned on the air conditioning. He went downstairs to prepare dinner as requested by the producer, making some ginger porridge. Several people on the set had caught colds. They all had a bowl of ginger soup to help relieve their symptoms. Xiao Yi served Lu Zhou's porridge and left it in his room. Then, he went next door to call Du Mei. Since Du Mei might be on an airplane, her phone was switched off. Lin Yao, her colleague, answered the call and assured Xiao Yi not to worry. Du Mei was already dealing with the situation.

When Xiao Yi returned, he found Lu Zhou sitting alone, eating the porridge. "You're not going to take a shower tonight, are you?"

"Nah," Lu Zhou looked unwell, like a tiger without fire in its belly, and said, "You go ahead and eat."

"Ms. Du is coming tonight," Xiao Yi informed him.

"Got it," Lu Zhou replied.

Lu Zhou finished his porridge, took a cold medicine, and lay down. Xiao Yi was worried he might develop a fever in the middle of the night, so he moved to the adjacent room to sleep on the floor. He provided Lu Zhou with a glass of water and lay down where he was.

Around two or three in the morning, he heard voices in the hallway. He woke up groggily, checked his phone, touched Lu Zhou's forehead, and confirmed that he had no fever. Xiao Yi then climbed back into bed and began scrolling through social media. On Tianya, Weibo, and other platforms, he saw comments berating Lu Zhou. Whenever there was news of an artist involved in cheating, breaking up, or getting a divorce, it became a grand gossip affair.

"Is Wang Feng making the headlines today?" Lu Zhou suddenly asked in the darkness.

Xiao Yi was startled, not expecting Lu Zhou to be awake. He got up, asking, "Are you feeling better?"

Lu Zhou turned on the light and said, "Who was making a fuss outside just now?"

Xiao Yi replied, "I don't know... probably someone from the lighting department."

"During the day, they don't work properly. At night, they make so much noise," Lu Zhou complained.

Lu Zhou was lying in bed, cocooned in his blanket. He poked his untamed head out from under the covers. Xiao Yi asked, "Do you want something to drink?"

"Why did you come to my room?" Lu Zhou asked, surprised.

Lu Zhou scrutinized Xiao Yi, wary, and said, "Don't tell me you're trying to take advantage of me."

"I was worried you'd get a fever," Xiao Yi replied with a wry smile.

Lu Zhou, wrapped up like a cocoon, regained his strength, so Xiao Yi, sensing that he could speak again, turned off the lights and started browsing Weibo in the dark.

"Give me your phone, let me see what's trending today. Why are all these posts about me?" Lu Zhou asked, suspicious.

"It's Monday, and various media outlets are featuring you," Xiao Yi said. "I'll read you a summary of the popular topics."

"China's most handsome convenience store clerk, Baby Bro..."

"Touching story of a nanny in China..."

"Adding white vinegar to toilet cleaner..."

Lu Zhou interjected, "Entertainment."

"Understood. We have the Iron Horse Cold River hashtag, and location photos from our set," Xiao Yi said. "You look great here."

With that, Xiao Yi got up and handed his phone to Lu Zhou. The latter took the phone somewhat sceptically and saw a paparazzi photo of himself in full imperial attire, talking to Xiao Yi, which a fan had surreptitiously taken.

Lu Zhou began to scroll through the comments but found it difficult to do so as Xiao Yi snatched the phone from him.

"Let me see if they are bashing me," Lu Zhou requested.

Xiao Yi breathed a sigh of relief; he almost exposed Lu Zhou to comments criticizing him. He replied casually, "There aren't many negative comments. You're more popular than the Chinese currency, you know."

Xiao Yi enthusiastically scrolled through the comments and tried to find something about himself. He was excited to have become famous. He read, ‘The guy next to him is also handsome,’ which made him feel elated. He read through dozens of comments in search of anything about himself. Unfortunately, there were not many, and the majority were condemning Lu Zhou for standing on two different boats with one foot in each.

Xiao Yi wanted to say something but heard Lu Zhou snoring in his sleep.

He was relieved. Xiao Yi snuggled back under the covers, with his phone illuminating his face, and continued to browse forums and social media. Many people were condemning Lu Zhou, criticizing him for being unfaithful. This news was like a ticking time bomb, and Xiao Yi didn't know when Lu Zhou's reaction might set it off.

Xiao Yi suddenly felt very sad and sympathetic. He believed that Lu Zhou was actually quite pitiable.

Some people didn't necessarily do anything wrong, but life was just tough on them. Others were shamelessly immoral, yet they thrived, living life to the fullest.

*

Another day passed, and today's workload was heavy. After a month of working together, both the actors and the crew were in the groove. They had become more efficient. Lu Zhou was recovering, and they started the day by shooting fight scenes, including horseback riding through mountain passes, ambush scenes, marching scenes, and combat scenes.

In one action sequence, Lu Zhou swung his sword gracefully, and an extra exaggeratedly fell with a comical thud. The slow-motion footage would be edited in post-production to create the final effect. Lu Zhou single-handedly fought off five or six foes, all captured in slow-motion, making Xiao Yi find it quite amusing. The director and crew chatted and laughed, saying, "Xiao Yi, it's your turn now."

"What... what?" Xiao Yi was pleasantly surprised. "Can I also be in it?"

"Show your face," the director said with a smile. "There's no harm in that."

Xiao Yi was in shock. Was he about to appear on television? He was sceptical about his appearance, dressed as a Golden Soldier, with a large "Gold" character emblazoned on the back. He thought it was ridiculous since there would be no way the historical Golden Soldiers had such markings. Nevertheless, he was pleased to have a role in the scene and quickly rushed out of the makeup trailer.

Lu Zhou was busy pretending to fight, punching like a person from the nursing home in Nanshan and kicking like a kid from the kindergarten in Beihai. He suddenly noticed someone approaching, Xiao Yi. Lu Zhou grabbed the extra's collar and was about to deliver a slow-motion punch when he saw Xiao Yi's beaming sunflower-like smile.

Luzhou: “……”

Xiao Yi: “……”

They instantly look at each other face to face

The director then declared, "Cut! That was good!”

Xiao Yi was being held by Lu Zhou, and he leaned in; Lu Zhou was shocked. Xiao Yi took advantage of the situation and yelled at the director, "How can you cut it off? I haven't finished my performance yet!"

Lu Zhou said, "Let's do it again."

The director had no choice but to re-shoot the scene.
Lu Zhou struck a few times, and it immediately startled Xiao Yi. He thought, 'Luzhou really has some skill!'

They sparred, and Lu Zhou gradually forced Xiao Yi backward. Xiao Yi exaggerated his scream and then collapsed on the ground.

Lu Zhou was a little startled, saying, "Why are you yelling so loud? This is not a live recording, so why shout like that?"

Xiao Yi lay on the ground, immobile, like a dedicated lifeless body, not daring to move, holding up the ‘V’ hand sign toward Lu Zhou.

The director instructed all the supporting cast, , saying, "Step in."

Lu Zhou took his turn to strike down a few of them, and the director then yelled "cut." The scene of A Baoji being surrounded was completed.

Xiao Yi continued to lie on the ground, facing up, playing his role as a corpse and refraining from moving recklessly.

"Time for dinner!" Lu Zhou shouted, "Get up!"

Xiao Yi climbed back to his feet, grinning, and said, "How did it go?"

The producer showed Xiao Yi his phone and said, "You can visit the editing room tomorrow evening."

Xiao Yi was very excited, while Lu Zhou was bemused. Xiao Yi knew that Lu Zhou had just given him a reward by involving him in the filming. After Lu Zhou had given him a few practice blows, he even allowed Xiao Yi to face the camera, which was truly touching. So, he hurriedly expressed his gratitude to Lu Zhou and followed his lead.

On this day, there was also a night shoot, and all the outdoor scenes in the mountains had to be finished in the afternoon. The pressure on everyone was high, and even the director was beginning to push the pace. Most scenes had to be done in a single take, and anything not captured correctly was left to the editing process.

Xiao Yi couldn't help but think that the director was a bit of a bear for pushing everything onto the editing team. Xiao Yi wondered if they were some kind of superhumans. They could fix any bloopers in post-production, making him feel that the most important people behind the scenes in a production might not be the scriptwriter, director, male or female leads, but rather, the real unsung heroes might be the editors! It was a shame that the Oscars didn't have a Best Editing award, as it would be interesting to see an editor holding a small golden bear trophy while brandishing a pair of scissors.

Ning Yaqing has shown significant improvement compared to her initial days in the studio.

However, the romantic scenes between Lu Zhou and Ning Yaqing were still challenging, and they were fortunate that this was a night shoot. With campfires and various lighting sources surrounding them, lighting adjustments could compensate for any shortcomings in their expressions.

The night shoot finished, and the entire crew headed down from the mountains together. By the time they had dinner, it was already 7:00 PM. They needed to drive through the night to get back to Hengdian and be ready for the early morning scenes.

As they were about to get on the bus, Xiao Yi sneakily glanced at his phone. The trending topics on various forums were as follows:

The Crazy Dog-Abusing Rich Man, Lu Zhou.

The Two-Timing Scumbag Has No Chance of Going to Cannes.

Low-quality, Domineering Lu Ruler of the TV Series World.

Eight-One Filmmaking Circle's Soft Rice Cult Leader, Lu Zhou, with Left and Right Guardians, XX, XXX...

After three days of outdoor filming, everyone was exhausted as they boarded the bus, rushing to get back. Xiao Yi was driving, and Lu Zhou was in the back seat. Lu Zhou suddenly said, "Give me your phone."

Xiao Yi was taken aback and remembered the previous incident. He quickly said, "I've run out of data."

"Do you have games on your phone?" Lu Zhou asked.

Xiao Yi responded, "No."

Lu Zhou then said, "Give it to me, and I'll insert my card."

"Your card is in your bag," Xiao Yi said.

"Get it," Lu Zhou replied.

Xiao Yi had no choice but to hand over his wallet and phone. One hand on the steering wheel, Lu Zhou said, "Focus on driving."

Xiao Yi said, "It's not safe to use your phone at night, especially without the headlights on."

Lu Zhou didn't care and inserted his own SIM card. Xiao Yi thought, "Oh no, this is bad; I'm in trouble." He prayed that Lu Zhou would play a game or something. But to his dismay, Lu Zhou used the phone to scroll through Weibo.

Xiao Yi was internally mourning his fate. Suddenly, Lu Zhou's voice took on an unusual tone.

"You…" Lu Zhou's voice sounded different.

"What's wrong?" Xiao Yi asked, sensing something was off. " Zhou-ge, what's happening?"

"Nothing," Lu Zhou's voice instantly turned icy. "You drive."

Lu Zhou took a deep breath, and Xiao Yi shivered all over. But he had to keep driving; it was dangerous to stop on the highway, and Xiao Yi rarely drove, especially on highways. He felt like he was in a difficult situation since it was raining heavily and the road was slippery.

"Stop the car; I'll drive," Lu Zhou said.

"No," Xiao Yi protested.

"Are you resisting me now?" Lu Zhou roared.

Xiao Yi didn't respond. He decided to ignore him. The car's headlights pierced the darkness, and Lu Zhou played with his phone. Xiao Yi knew he was in trouble.

Lu Zhou tossed his phone aside and demanded, "Stop the car for me!"

Xiao Yi replied, "How can I stop on the highway? We need to reach a gas station to pull over."

Xiao Yi didn't know where Lu Zhou had thrown his phone. He nervously glanced at Lu Zhou through the rearview mirror. Then, there was a loud noise from the back seat, indicating that Lu Zhou had hit something.

Trembling, Xiao Yi found a nearby stopping point and pulled over. Lu Zhou got out of the car and tried to open the driver's side door. In response, Xiao Yi quickly removed the car key and got out of the passenger's side. Lu Zhou circled around the car and approached Xiao Yi, who was anxious, fearing that Lu Zhou was about to take out his frustration on him.

"Where are the car keys?" Lu Zhou asked with an angry expression.

With a cold winter rain falling from the sky, Xiao Yi shivered. He had to protect the car keys from Lu Zhou. "You can't drive. Mr. Du said so, he doesn't want you to drive, afraid you might act recklessly."

"Give me the keys!" Lu Zhou demanded, his face darkening.

Xiao Yi tucked the keys away. "I can't let you drive. Ms. Du insisted, and she doesn't want you to get upset."

Lu Zhou was furious. The sky was drizzling, and the winter rain was icy, chilling them to the bone. Xiao Yi pocketed the keys and said, "You can't drive, Zhou-ge. Ms. Du is worried that you'll lose your temper."

"Give me the keys!" Lu Zhou shouted.

Lu Zhou pushed Xiao Yi, and he fell to the ground. Lu Zhou grabbed Xiao Yi's collar and yelled, "You knew all along! You jerk! The entire crew is watching me make a fool of myself!"

 

Translator : DarNan