Xiao Yi finally got a taste of how formidable this group of people was. The trending topics on Sina Weibo changed, with the hottest one being the movie currently directed by Li Changzheng, preparing for a Monday release. It seemed like the water army hired by Zhang Xinran had all retreated, and the remaining individuals started gossiping about how many male artists from their company Qi Quan had slept with.

Finally, everything became quiet, and it was unlikely that Lu Zhou and Zhang Xinran could ever collaborate again. Xiao Yi thought, ‘This is truly terrifying. Maybe I should just be an assistant for the rest of my life.’

As the entertainment feast concluded, Lu Zhou returned to the hotel feeling sore all over. Xiao Yi updated him on the afternoon's situation while browsing Taobao for him. Lu Zhou simply responded with an "oh" and said, "Go tell Director Du that it's almost done. Keep an eye on the entertainment sections of major websites..."

"Oh," Xiao Yi responded and stood up, still staring at his phone. Lu Zhou said again: "Forget it, don't go, she must know."

Xiao Yi hummed, Lu Zhou pointed to his shoulder, so Xiao Yi began massaging it. Lu Zhou had a sturdy physique, looking thin in clothes but meaty without them—a natural clothes hanger. Xiao Yi, who had been in a highly tense state all afternoon, massaged Lu Zhou while his head drooped. Eventually, he lay on the bed, massaging Lu Zhou's arm. As he massaged, he fell asleep first.

After an unknown amount of time, Xiao Yi heard Lu Zhou talking on the phone. Struggling to get up and climb back into bed, he found himself unable to stand. In the middle of the night, Xiao Yi was kicked off the bed by Lu Zhou.

Xiao Yi: "..."

As he touched around, Lu Zhou threw down a blanket from the bed. Xiao Yi picked it up and hugged it, falling back asleep.

*

In the bright sunlight, the weather in Hengdian had been excellent these days. During breaks from filming, Lu Zhou and Wu Henggu took a few pictures for their fans. Lu Zhou looked awkward, and only one photo was released for publicity, quickly gaining over twenty thousand reposts.

Xiao Yi thought, "They also want to ship themselves with Lu Zhou. It would be so nice to be shipped with a male god." He laughed when the director suggested he do the same.

"Do you want to post some shipping photos too?" the director asked with a smile.

Xiao Yi hurriedly replied, "The audience doesn't even know me."

"They both seem pretty into it normally, right?" the Coordinator added with a smile.

Xiao Yi's mouth twitched. He was often teased by the crew and had gotten used to it. After Lu Zhou finished taking pictures, he came over and sat down.

Xiao Yi was still lost in thought when Lu Zhou said, "What are you thinking? Are you becoming more foolish? Where's the phone?"

Xiao Yi reflexively handed his phone over, and Lu Zhou snatched it. He began browsing, and Wu Henggu came over, greeting them with a smile. Lu Zhou said to Wu Henggu, "You're handsome, but when you're acting, don't pay too much attention to the camera and your own face."

Wu Henggu became a bit embarrassed, repeatedly apologizing. Lu Zhou didn't say anything more, and Xiao Yi also felt it. Several supporting actors were like this, afraid that the camera would make them look ugly. In their free time, they would often check themselves in the mirror, adjusting to make their face look better from a thirty-degree angle.

Lu Zhou's words offended some people, but considering his high status, the newcomers didn't dare to say anything. They could only endure the criticism. Lu Zhou did consider the other party's feelings, stopping after a brief mention without elaborating further.

These days, Hengdian enjoyed rare good weather. With the completion of the first batch of actors, life suddenly became more relaxed.

Du Mei had already returned to Beijing to review the promotional trailers. Lu Zhou said, "Remember to send your ID card to Director Du. And take care of the plane tickets back."

Xiao Yi didn't react immediately and said, "Huh? Going back... going back?!"

Lu Zhou twitched his face, saying, "Weren't we still counting down the remaining days until the shoot a few days ago? It's finishing the day after tomorrow."

Xiao Yi's mental state instantly turned into a turbulent tsunami, crashing against the tall Mount Tai.

"It's ending—yes!" Xiao Yi checked the schedule and realized that it was indeed ending. Unconsciously, over two months had passed. Oh my god! Finally, he could return to Beijing! He no longer minded the smog and traffic jams.

"No shoot the day after tomorrow," Xiao Yi said.

"Yeah," Lu Zhou said strangely, "It's a wrap. Why? Don't want to leave?"

Xiao Yi asked, "Don't we need to stay a few more days?"

"Stay?!" Lu Zhou roared, "The filming is done. Do you want to spend Chinese New Year here?!"

Xiao Yi immediately contacted the company to book a plane ticket. Lin Yao asked him to prepare photos and post a completion announcement on Weibo. Happiness came too suddenly; he could finally go home for the New Year! Wait... Xiao Yi suddenly realized he didn't have a home.

Returning to Beijing meant staying in Lu Zhou's house. He had already moved out of the rented apartment, and some simple home appliances were gathering dust in the company's storage. Xiao Yi vividly recalled Lu Zhou's shouting and scolding, imagining him saying, "Is it shameful to live in my house?"

Shivering, Xiao Yi, after making a call, attempted to call his girlfriend again in the hallway, but her phone was still switched off.

In previous years, they would only get a break around the 27th of the lunar new year. During the time at the filming location, Xiao Yi had tried various ways to contact her. Although she continued updating her Weibo with her usual eating, drinking, and playing, when Xiao Yi left comments, he found himself blocked.

He should apologize when he goes back, Xiao Yi thought. He also realized that he hadn't settled his salary. He had to handle a bunch of things tomorrow before going back to Beijing—sorting accounts, submitting invoices, and dealing with other matters.

The next day, Lu Zhou finished all the remaining scenes, especially a rain scene. The water truck poured water, and Lu Zhou couldn't even open his eyes. Amidst the chaos, he hugged Ning Yaqing, getting drenched and looking quite miserable.

Although the weather was warming up a bit, the director didn't dare to shoot too harshly. The final scene with rain was arranged to prevent Lu Zhou from getting sick after the shoot. Now that it was all wrapped up, he could return to Beijing and get sick if he liked.

After taking a shower and coming back, Lu Zhou took photos on set, posted a completion announcement on Weibo, and took photos with all the crew members. He signed fifty autographs. When Xiao Yi was preparing to hand everything over to the coordinator, he suddenly felt reluctant.

"Wuwuwu," Xiao Yi said, "I can't bear to leave everyone."

"Go back and work hard," Ning Yaqing patted Xiao Yi's shoulder and said, "Stay in touch more in the future."

Xiao Yi had a group chat on WeChat with the crew. They discussed various topics every day, including eating, playing, and a lot of gossip within the industry. He had grown quite fond of Ning Yaqing, but Lu Zhou definitely still disliked her—after all, she was the one who first leaked information for fan hype.

Although Ning Yaqing was a bit scheming, she took her acting seriously.

Xiao Yi bid farewell to the lighting crew, with whom he wasn't very familiar, distributed the autographs, and bid a reluctant farewell to the coordinator, the script supervisor, and the director. Over the past few months, he indeed felt a sense of family within the crew. They endured hardships together, carried things together, climbed mountains together, got soaked in the rain together, and even had a few fights. Xiao Yi really didn't want to leave.

"We're leaving, and you guys take care!" Xiao Yi said when leaving.

Lu Zhou: "..."

Xiao Yi finally made a tearful farewell, got into the car, and said, "Hey, Zhou ge, if it weren't for you, they wouldn't have treated me so well!"

Lu Zhou was speechless for a moment. His words were stuck, and Xiao Yi burst into laughter.

"You better pack up and get out early!" Lu Zhou stared at Xiao Yi and angrily said, "Stop causing trouble for me all the time!"

Xiao Yi hurriedly apologized with a smile. Although the work was hard, it was also enjoyable and worthwhile.

*

The next morning, Xiao Yi bid farewell to the assistants and returned the car. He and Lu Zhou waited outside the hotel for the airport car. Busy with various tasks, they checked in and boarded the plane. Lu Zhou behaved quite well this time; after the rain scene, he surprisingly didn't catch a cold. Xiao Yi had even prepared medicine, fearing another unexpected twist.

Back in Beijing, Xiao Yi opened the door of Lu Zhou's house, turned on the lights, and felt a sense of returning home. Lu Zhou sighed, glanced at Xiao Yi, seeming to have something to say. Xiao Yi said, "I'll go check the bathtub; it should be cleaned."

Lu Zhou said, "You don't have to hurry. Go rest; we can tidy up tomorrow."

Feeling a bit pampered, Xiao Yi remembered Lu Zhou's attitude towards him on the first day compared to now. It was so much better. Whistling, Lu Zhou seemed comfortable returning home. Xiao Yi went to take a look at the bathtub. Once both of them finished bathing, Xiao Yi hugged his notebook and went back to his room, opening the TV drama footage obtained from the post-production yesterday—Wow!

All of it was about Lu Zhou.

Although the trailer hadn't been released yet, post-production was already underway. Xiao Yi had specifically requested a lot of footage, including riding horses in the desert, fighting in the mountains, wearing dark night clothes, performing acrobatics, and standing in the court, suddenly turning around with a domineering aura.

A collection of Lu Zhou's cool, overbearing, and charming moments—materials had all arrived. Ning Yaqing and other supporting actors were considered irrelevant, and their scenes were cut. Xiao Yi decided to use these materials to create a music video. When the drama would officially air, he planned to release it online to boost Lu Zhou's popularity. Additionally, it would serve as a gift for him, a commemorative gesture.

There were already plenty of Lu Zhou's MVs online, created by fans one after another. He probably wouldn't notice another one.

However, Xiao Yi was still somewhat excited. Regardless of whether the idol liked it or not, he would enjoy it first. He found his professional headphones, put them on, opened the editing software, adjusted the microphone, and started editing. On and off, he paused, opened another software to record a song.

"Cough, cough." Xiao Yi set up the microphone and said, "Hello, can you hear me?"

Xiao Yi remained silent for a moment, clicked on the music prelude, adjusted the reverb, and swayed in the swivel chair.

After a moment of silence, he began to sing softly.

"Lips haven't—opened yet, already hurting each other..."

"A date hasn't—been set, just don't want to anticipate—"

"A call hasn't—been hung up, feelings have already—corrupted—"

Xiao Yi took a deep breath. "Wish you were a—butterfly—quick to come and quick to go—oh, oh—"

Xiao Yi's voice carried a male and magnetic quality, and singing pop songs was his strength. He could always add a unique flavor to his voice, and hitting high notes was effortless for him. He smoothly transitioned into the chorus, singing passionately.

"Give me a moment, to cherish you—hey—"

"Give me a lifetime, to send you—away—"

"Can't wait until dawn, dreams wake up..."

Xiao Yi closed his eyes, and with a slight huskiness in his voice, he sang, "Can't wait until dawn, dreams... wake up..."

"We're all... free... feel at ease—"

With the last line, Xiao Yi pressed his hand against the table, closed his eyes, and gently, slowly pushed it, extending the trailing note. He turned around, leaving the microphone.

Immersed in his own singing for a full ten seconds, Xiao Yi finally moved his lips slightly, opened his misty eyes.

Lu Zhou had a contorted expression, three black lines on his forehead, standing in front of him.

Lu Zhou: "..."

Xiao Yi: "..."

In an instant, Xiao Yi was in a panic, took off his headphones, nervously hugged the computer, accidentally knocked down the microphone, and it fell to the ground. Xiao Yi emitted a mournful cry.

"Haven't you heard me calling you?!" Lu Zhou said. "Don't want to work anymore?!"

 

"No... no it’s not that." Xiao Yi hastily picked up the microphone. Lu Zhou said again, "What are you doing?"

"Nothing!" Xiao Yi said, "Recording... recording a character song, editing an MV."

"Editing, editing, editing," Lu Zhou said, "How much box office can you make? Can the viewership break three?"

Xiao Yi's mouth twitched. Lu Zhou turned and walked away.

Xiao Yi thought to himself, God is fair, giving you such a perfect appearance, physique, and acting skills, and also giving you such an annoying personality. Oh well.

"Come over!" Lu Zhou roared in the next room, "Do you want the male god to come and worship you?!"

"Oh, oh!" Xiao Yi said, "Sure! Wait a moment! Immediately!"

Xiao Yi put on his pyjama pants, ran over barefoot. He was shirtless, his hair not completely dry, wearing only pyjama pants on his lower half. He kneeled on one knee and asked, "What does the male god command? This little one is ready to start worshiping. Where do you want me to lick, sir?"

Lu Zhou: "..."

Xiao Yi pretended to kneel, and Lu Zhou pointed to the iPad on the bedside table, giving him a meaningful look.

Xiao Yi thought, Oh my! You can get up from the bed, stand on the floor, use your own two legs to walk to the door, personally open the door, walk into the corridor, and then come into my room! With so much strength and time, can't you sit and play with your own iPad?

Xiao Yi took the iPad, opened Taobao, scrolled through the hot items today, facing Lu Zhou with a sincere expression.

Lu Zhou moved his fingers, and Xiao Yi scrolled through the items. When he reached sneakers, he suddenly wanted a pair. Xiao Yi thought, Buy this one.

"What are you muttering about me?" Lu Zhou suddenly said.

"Huh?" Xiao Yi said, "Nothing, really nothing."

Lu Zhou looked dissatisfied and said, "This one."

Great, Xiao Yi selected the shoe size and asked, "How many pairs?"

"Fifteen pairs," Lu Zhou said.

Xiao Yi thought, why is it always fifteen when Lu Zhou mentions numbers? Not thirteen or fourteen, but fifteen. Is it because he's not good at math? Or in his concept, fifteen means appropriate, and twenty means a little more than appropriate...

Anyway, Lu Zhou would just throw them away after buying. Great, Xiao Yi set them all to his own shoe size, so there would be many sports shoes. If he couldn't wear them all, he could send them back for his younger brother to wear. After putting them in the shopping cart, Lu Zhou, looking puzzled, said, "Do you know my shoe size?"

Xiao Yi: "..."

Xiao Yi said, "Size 44, right?"

Lu Zhou nodded, looking a bit better, and said, "Keep going."

Xiao Yi carefully served Lu Zhou as they shopped on Taobao. After a while, Lu Zhou seemed a bit sleepy. Xiao Yi, holding the iPad, felt his hand getting sore. He said, "Director Du just called, saying to bring the script to the company tomorrow. What does that mean?"

"Whatever." Lu Zhou was also a bit sleepy. He opened his eyes and said, "Put on a movie."

Xiao Yi went to play a movie for Lu Zhou, who then lay down. Just as Xiao Yi stepped out of the room, he heard Lu Zhou snoring. So, he turned around, went back in, turned off the movie, and took the opportunity to tuck in Lu Zhou with a blanket.

"Good night," Xiao Yi said.

Humming a tune, Xiao Yi finished editing the MV, felt sorry for the microphone for a while, and then went to sleep.

*

The next day, there was a half-filled bag of salt on Du Mei's desk wrapped in a plastic bag.

Du Mei: "..."

Xiao Yi: "?"

"Hahaha—" Du Mei laughed so hard that she almost fell under the desk.

Xiao Yi: "????"

Du Mei laughed, pounded the office desk, and couldn't move as she held her stomach. Xiao Yi was puzzled and said, "Didn't you ask Zhou-ge to bring some salt? There's no full pack left at home..."

Lu Zhou came in, glanced at Xiao Yi, and his mouth twitched.

"We don't have a full pack. Can't you buy it downstairs?" Lu Zhou angrily retorted.

"Hahaha—" Du Mei laughed uncontrollably, and Xiao Yi said, "I'll go buy it right away..."

"Come back!" Lu Zhou roared.

Xiao Yi: "..."

Xiao Yi stood in the office, looking confused. Lu Zhou burst into laughter, then laughed so hard that he collapsed onto the sofa.

 

Translator : DarNan