At noon, Lu Zhou put on a suit, looking sharp, and walked out of the hotel. Xiao Yi, yawning and wearing a baseball cap, sat in the driver's seat to drive Lu Zhou. They first went to Wansheng Street for lunch. Xiao Yi asked, "What's the plan for today?"

"Hide from people," Lu Zhou, wearing sunglasses, replied. "And go visit the set."

"Oh?" Xiao Yi thought, ‘You've got people to cozy up to too?’

Lu Zhou then asked, "What are you muttering about?"

Xiao Yi: “Nthing”

Lu Zhou exclaimed fiercely, "Is Lu Zhou trying to cozy up to someone influential once more?"

Xiao Yi quickly made a hushing gesture, afraid his voice might be too loud.

Lu Zhou said, "Let's go wait in line. Twelve buns, pack ten, leave two for ourselves."

Smelling the fragrance, Xiao Yi lined up to buy radish buns for Lu Zhou. Lu Zhou didn't eat, but gave one to Xiao Yi, saying, "Tell Director Du that I took you out for fun."

Xiao Yi: "..."

Xiao Yi thought Lu Zhou would at least take him to explore Guangzhou Streets or some other place. To his surprise, this was considered taking him out. Well, when the boss takes the employee out, one can't expect too much. After a while, they finished lunch. Lu Zhou took out a new phone Du Mei brought for him yesterday, made a few calls, and urged Xiao Yi to drive.

They arrived at the Qin Palace, and Lu Zhou, on the phone, was looking for the film crew. Security let them in, and Xiao Yi followed. He wondered who Lu Zhou was going to visit. Upon entering, they stumbled upon a group filming a movie.

Xiao Yi: "!!!"

Lu Zhou went to the set, and people gathered around in an instant. Lu Zhou greeted them with a smile and even gave a bun to the director. Xiao Yi was dumbfounded when he saw a male actor shaking hands and chatting with a supporting actor on the shooting scene.

A movie emperor?! It was Li Changzheng, a double winner of the Golden Rooster Award and the Best Actor at the Venice International Film Festival!

Xiao Yi's mind was filled with exclamations. Lu Zhou whispered through gritted teeth, "Do you want to die?"

Xiao Yi immediately snapped out of it. Lu Zhou changed his expression and smiled, saying, "Yes, my assistant here."

Xiao Yi quickly shook hands with the people in front of him. Several people joked, "We thought you were a newcomer from your company."

"Hello... everyone, hello, hello," Xiao Yi said, still in shock.

The director teased, "Greetings, Chief."

Everyone burst into laughter instantly. Three black lines appeared on Xiao Yi's forehead, and he felt the veins on Lu Zhou's face were about to burst. If they weren't on set, Lu Zhou would probably have thrown a punch and sent Xiao Yi flying to Hollywood.

"Come on, Xiao Yi, follow me," the PR girl said. "I'm Li Ye. Just call me Sister Li."

"Hello, Sister Li, hello," Xiao Yi bowed and said, "I saw the movie emperor just now and got a bit scared."

"Do you want an autograph?" Li Ye was straightforward, casually hooking his arm. "I'll get one for you later."

Xiao Yi felt like fireworks were going off inside him. Li Ye led Xiao Yi away. Xiao Yi looked back at Lu Zhou, who gave him a glance, signaling him to stay calm. Xiao Yi understood there might be some special task.

"Director Du called me yesterday," Li Ye said. "Today, the media is coming for an interview. Let's arrange it, and Lu Zhou can sit beside you."

"Me...media?" Xiao Yi asked.

"Yes, understand? With what happened to Xinran yesterday becoming a hot topic, and Lu Zhou coming to visit Director Luo today, you know," Li Ye explained.

"I see," Xiao Yi said.

"We don't release press releases in our crew," Li Ye mentioned. "On-site interviews. We'll leave ten minutes for you later. If there are any inappropriate questions, help Lu Zhou interrupt or cover. It's all up to you."

"Thank you, Sister Li," Xiao Yi expressed his gratitude. "Thank you, thank you!"

"Oh, no need to be so polite among ourselves," Li Ye said. "I've been unhappy with Zhang Xinran for a long time. I've known Mei Jie for many years."

Xiao Yi: "..."

"Just kidding," Li Ye smiled.

Xiao Yi: "Hehehe..."

Li Ye acted efficiently, showing a strong senior vibe. With just a few words, she managed to make her subordinates obedient. Several media outlets came over for interviews. Li Ye took Xiao Yi inside and prepared photos for them. When they saw Lu Zhou, no one seemed surprised.

Li Ye said, "Feel free, everyone." She reminded Xiao Yi in a low voice, "Don't lower your posture too much. Director Du has already handled everything for you guys."

Xiao Yi nodded quickly and led the reporters to Lu Zhou's side. Lu Zhou was friendly, greeted them, and when they started asking if he had broken up, he responded, "Our personalities don't match. It's also a buffer period because we agreed on it before. Goodbyes should be amicable."

"What about Yaqing?" someone teased. "Yaqing is a good girl."

Lu Zhou quickly waved his hand, saying, "We are just colleagues, nothing else." He signaled Xiao Yi with his eyes, and Xiao Yi hurriedly added, "Brother Zhou mostly lives alone on the set."

"Oh..."

Another reporter said, "Most of the time."

"The rest of the time, he stays with me," Xiao Yi quickly added.

Everyone burst into laughter. Lu Zhou said, "Sit, you've worked hard. It's almost Chinese New Year, and the weather is too humid. Xiao Yi..."

Xiao Yi hurriedly went to get hot drinks for them. Someone asked, "Teacher Lu, do you have a new target?"

"No," Lu Zhou said. "I plan to focus on acting for now."

As Lu Zhou casually rolled up his sleeves and wiped his face, revealing his wrist with scars, someone asked, "Did you get injured while filming?"

Lu Zhou smiled somewhat embarrassedly.

"Bit by a dog," Xiao Yi chuckled. "Last time he got scared and went to the disease control centre for a rabies shot in the middle of the night."

Everyone had a pensive expression.

After Lu Zhou finished the set visit, he left first. Xiao Yi got off the car and went to find Li Ye. Li Ye gave him a draft and said, "Take a look."

Xiao Yi glanced at it. It was a short script. Li Ye said, "Director Du plans to release the official statement later. Let her contact me in advance. This script will be released before our official statement. If we can't catch the headlines next Monday, release it tomorrow at noon. On Friday, we'll release the official statement. There are more people browsing Weibo and forums on Friday afternoon."

"Okay... can I make changes?" Xiao Yi asked.

"Sure, make changes," Li Ye said readily.

Xiao Yi used a pen to make a few changes on the script. He pushed all the content onto Zhang Xinran's head. Xiao Yi felt that it wasn't right to put everything on Zhang Xinran; it might make it seem too guided. So, he changed it back a bit. Li Ye burst into laughter.

"Sister Li, take a look..."

"Smart." Li Ye gave him another signed photo, saying, "When you have free time, come find me!"

Xiao Yi thought she was just saying that casually, but she really brought him a signed photo from Li Changzheng, with the words "To Xiao Yi." My God! Xiao Yi's eyes were filled with tears, feeling almost insane.

A stranger who didn't know him at all treated him so well. After Xiao Yi's initial excitement, he felt deep self-blame. If he could repay her sometime, that would be great.

Feeling guilty, Xiao Yi drove. Lu Zhou looked at him inexplicably.

"Sister Li is really nice!" Xiao Yi said.

"Lunatic," Lu Zhou's mouth twitched. "If it weren't for saving my face, who would be so kind to you?"

Xiao Yi knew he would get such a response and helplessly said, "Oh..."

Lu Zhou reached out and took the signed photo. Xiao Yi immediately begged, "Don't... Brother Zhou, I'm begging you..."

Lu Zhou said, "Who's this? You have a big shot in front of you, and you're asking someone else for an autograph? Can one be more famous than me?"

Saying that, Lu Zhou looked at the photo and fell silent.

Indeed, Li Changzheng was more famous than him...

Lu Zhou casually threw the photo, landing under the seat near the accelerator. Xiao Yi thought there was finally a time when he couldn't be pulled up. But Xiao Yi remembered Lin Yao's reminder when he first became an assistant. He didn't pick up Li Changzheng's signed photo to avoid stimulating Lu Zhou. He stepped on the accelerator and left a shoe print on Li Changzheng's face.

The movie emperor, the real male god, my Li Changzheng, I'm sorry. I can't offend my boss. Let's endure it for now, Xiao Yi thought silently.

Xiao Yi: "Are we going back?"

Lu Zhou: "Go back? Are you waiting to date with Ning Yaqing?"

Xiao Yi: "..."

Xiao Yi: "Go..."

Lu Zhou: "Just go."

Xiao Yi drove in circles near the fountain, and Lu Zhou angrily said, "What the hell! Always turning! Are you driving a Ferris wheel or a roulette wheel?"

Xiao Yi: "I don't know where to go..."

Lu Zhou was utterly frustrated with Xiao Yi. "Can't you make a decision? Are you even a man? If I don't tell you where to go, you have nowhere to go?"

Xiao Yi thought, ‘Why are you more indecisive than Law Kar-Ying? (NT: a Hong Kong actor, here the allusion is about one of his roles, in Journey to the West). Are you even a man?’ He pondered for a moment. Since Lu Zhou had no specific destination in mind, he decided to have some fun.

At four in the afternoon, they arrived at Pingyan Dongfu Cableway.

Lu Zhou sat expressionless in the cable car, and Xiao Yi reported the completion of the counterattack to Du Mei over the phone.

"Is it fun?" Lu Zhou asked indifferently.

"Hehe, really fun," Xiao Yi said. "How about we take a photo together?"

Lu Zhou: "Get lost!"

After getting off the cable car, with few tourists due to the cold weather and off-season, Xiao Yi found a less crowded spot. Lu Zhou could finally take off his sunglasses, and they looked down at the entire Hengdian from a high vantage point.

"I've been here during filming before," Lu Zhou mentioned. "It rained heavily back then, and we shot for a full five days. I was so frozen that even my mother wouldn't recognize me. And I had to do wire stunts next to the rocks. Be careful of fans."

"Just take a photo if someone comes," Xiao Yi suggested. "They love you so much."

Lu Zhou: "You don't understand, stop talking nonsense."

Xiao Yi wasn't as afraid of Lu Zhou as before. Lu Zhou realized it too and said, "Your courage is growing. You dare to argue with me?"

Xiao Yi said, "No, no, I love you too!"

Lu Zhou: "..."

Xiao Yi knew that Lu Zhou fell for this kind of flattery. As long as it was someone genuinely caring for him, no matter how much trouble he caused, Lu Zhou wouldn't turn hostile if the intention was good.

Maybe Lu Zhou lacked love when he was a child.

Lu Zhou said seriously, "I have to explain to you to prevent you from spreading rumors."

Xiao Yi said, "I never talk nonsense... Don't bother the fans. If you're not in a good mood, just beat me directly."

Lu Zhou: "How dare I! If I make you cry again, my image will be ruined!"

Xiao Yi: "..."

Xiao Yi blushed, being teased by Lu Zhou. He thought the crying incident would become a lifelong black mark.

Lu Zhou continued walking and said, "I'm not bothering the fans. I just want them to be more rational."

This was actually an unsolvable dilemma. Lu Zhou spoke again, "You're also a fan. What do you love about me? Tell me."

Xiao Yi explained, "The dramas you act in are really good. You can even rescue poorly written plots. I became your fan in the beginning because you act so well."

Lu Zhou said, "That's it, understand? Regardless of whether the drama is good or bad, I just hope that kids watching my dramas can study hard after watching and strive for progress. I don't advocate mindlessly idolizing stars."

Xiao Yi was a bit surprised. Lu Zhou pointed to a distant stall and asked him to buy drinks. Xiao Yi bought a cola and came back. Lu Zhou took a sip, then waved his hand and said, "Don't say this outside."

Xiao Yi said, "Can I ask you for a signed photo, Zhou-ge?"

Lu Zhou held a pen, looked at Xiao Yi for a moment, and pretended to sign on his face.

Xiao Yi: "..."

Lu Zhou was just pretending to sign and wanted to tease him. He put away the pen before touching Xiao Yi's face. Xiao Yi found it amusing, and Lu Zhou said, "Go find your movie star."

‘Don't be so stingy’ Xiao Yi thought, chasing after Lu Zhou.

After returning from dinner that day, Xiao Yi stopped the car to get something from the back seat. Lu Zhou got out of the car first, glanced at the driver's seat before getting out, picked up the signed photo of Li Changzheng, and threw it into the trash bin at the corner. When Xiao Yi returned to the hotel, he suddenly remembered Li Changzheng's signed photo and went back to the car to find it.

After searching for a long time, Xiao Yi couldn't find it. He was on the verge of tears. Was it gone just like that? Where did it go?

With a dejected look, Xiao Yi went upstairs. However, as he looked down from the staircase, he saw a corner of the photo in the trash bin in the hallway. Carefully, he pulled out the photo and found countless footprints from Xiao Yi's own shoes all over Li Changzheng's face. Below it was written, "To Xiao Yi."

Xiao Yi: "..."

Veins popped on Xiao Yi's forehead as he silently cursed Lu Zhou. He carefully took the photo.

 

Translator : DarNan