Chapter 11: Arrogant Big Star

Lin Wu looked up and noticed Ji Xingci staring intently in their direction. His heart skipped a beat. This didn’t feel good at all.

As soon as the protagonist gong and shou came face-to-face, the plot’s unstoppable force would kick in again.

What a hassle.

Ji Xingci watched as Lin Wu just stood there, letting Xu Qing paw at him freely. His lips pressed into a thin line before he suddenly yanked his collar upward.

Without another word, he turned to the director.

“Let’s film Xu Qing’s scenes first today.”

What did he mean by filming Xu Qing’s parts? The director itched to snap back, “Are you the director or am I?” But this was Ji Xingci.

He could only swallow his frustration and scrap his schedule. “Fine…”

Xu Qing only turned around when he heard his own name. He saw Ji Xingci looking right at him.

But that gaze was dark and ominous. Xu Qing shivered involuntarily, his mind racing with unease.

Fortunately, the classroom set was a standard setup at this film center, so it wasn’t much trouble to prepare.

Xu Qing, however, lacked Lin Wu’s natural acting talent. He couldn’t relax in front of the camera at all. Even simple everyday scenes came out stiff and awkward.

The director shook his head. “His expression’s all wrong. He needs to smile more naturally, more relaxed.”

By now, Xu Qing had changed into a student uniform and was standing in the classroom.

Ji Xingci stood just outside the camera frame, feeding him lines.

All Xu Qing really had to do was smile at him.

But when Xu Qing glanced stiffly at Ji Xingci’s expressionless face, he only grew more tense.

Lin Wu hovered right by the camera, watching them both closely. He didn’t dare let his guard down for a second.

Unlike when others were filming, when Lin Wu usually just quietly reviewed his script with his head down.

Ji Xingci glanced sideways at him and tsked. Then, without warning, he strode toward Xu Qing.

His tall frame cast a shadow over Xu Qing.

“You didn’t used to look at me like that.”

Xu Qing looked up. “W-what?”

“You used to blush whenever you saw me. You even cried when your mom dragged you away.”

Ji Xingci lowered his voice, leaning in close to Xu Qing’s face.

“Don’t you remember?”

Xu Qing stared at him and did indeed flush—but from sheer embarrassment.

He remembered.

Back then, he’d thought Ji Xingci glowed like some celestial being. After all, everyone in that villa revolved around him.

A boy not much older than him, yet he had all those adults trembling, hanging on his every mood.

His mother always tensed up whenever she mentioned the young master, carefully instructing him to obey the young master’s every word. If he could play with him, that would be ideal.

But if he was too tongue-tied, better to stay far away. Above all, never, ever anger the young master.

Xu Qing couldn’t help stealing glances at him. The image of Ji Xingci burned deepest in his memory: standing in the garden upstairs, looking down like he was born superior, offering a faint smile.

Only today did he realize that smile had been one of utter disdain.

All his curiosity, his longing, his admiration—Ji Xingci had seen it all and dismissed it without a second thought.

He’d taken it all for granted. So much so that now he could stand here, impatience written on his face, asking if Xu Qing had forgotten.

As if someone ordinary like him had never mattered from the start.

Ji Xingci’s expression darkened when Xu Qing didn’t respond for a long moment. Irritation bubbled up inside him.

“You can’t even handle something this simple.”

He nearly barked at Xu Qing to get lost, to stop filming altogether.

But halfway through, he caught himself. Hadn’t he gone to great lengths to get Xu Qing on set just to interact with him?

Even putting up with filming alongside Lin Wu…

So what the hell was he doing now?

“Ji Xingci.”

Xu Qing suddenly looked up, his face pale but his eyes brighter, a smile breaking through.

“Has there ever been anything in this world that didn’t go exactly your way?”

Ji Xingci frowned at him.

“And?”

What was that supposed to mean?

Xu Qing shook his head with a bitter laugh. He truly wished he could see… the day Ji Xingci faced rejection, helplessness, powerlessness.

“I’ll do it.”

Lin Wu couldn’t stand watching the protagonist gong and shou whispering so closely. He stepped forward and explained to the director.

He knew Xu Qing better, so he’d have more success feeding him lines. It’d probably work out better that way.

No need for Ji Xingci.

The director knew Xu Qing and Lin Wu were familiar with each other, so he nodded in agreement.

Once Lin Wu took position, Xu Qing relaxed noticeably.

Lin Wu patiently guided him with a few lines, and Xu Qing’s eyes lit up with a genuine smile as he looked at him.

Filming finally proceeded smoothly, and the director was pleased.

Ji Xingci, meanwhile, simmered with displeasure throughout.

Next came the scenes between Ji Xingci and Lin Wu, but Ji Xingci’s mood swung wildly—he just wasn’t in the right headspace.

Lin Wu whispered sweet nothings, and Ji Xingci scowled. Lin Wu leaned in for a kiss, and Ji Xingci glared. Lin Wu pulled him into an embrace, and Ji Xingci stomped on his foot.

The director: ???

With no cuts, Lin Wu had no choice but to keep murmuring endearments, kissing him, and holding him—over and over.

“Cut, cut!”

The director desperately wanted to curse him out, but remembering it was Ji Xingci, he swallowed it down. In the end, he just told Ji Xingci to go rest and get his head straight.

Ji Xingci stormed off.

Lin Wu hurriedly grabbed his hand.

Ji Xingci paused and looked back at him.

“What?”

“Um, Xu Qing’s scenes are done… Can he leave now?”

Ji Xingci’s face darkened instantly.

“So what if I say no?”

Lin Wu mumbled softly. “But… he’s finished shooting…”

“So? He smiles at you a couple times and now he’s too tired?

“What was that ‘big bro’s so great’ crap? Isn’t that disgusting? Are you two toddlers or what!”

Lin Wu looked dazed from the scolding and ducked his head.

“…S-sorry?”

Ji Xingci rolled his eyes and stalked away.

The crew broke for lunch early.

The butler, knowing the young master’s poor appetite, had gone all out. This time, lunch was delivered straight from home—personally prepared by the family chef.

But Ji Xingci barely touched it. Especially when he glanced up and saw Xu Qing and Lin Wu sitting together again.

Remembering how he’d just thrown a tantrum and refused to let Xu Qing leave made him inexplicably irritable.

He hadn’t eaten much, yet his stomach felt bloated. He’d planned to lie down in the rest room for a bit.

Somehow, he dozed off.

It was an uncomfortable sleep—hot, swollen, sticky, an itch he couldn’t scratch.

Then suddenly, he sensed someone on the bed.

Ji Xingci’s eyes snapped open, only to have someone pin his head down—bedding and all.

Urgh!

He thrashed wildly in retaliation until his hand brushed the other’s wrist. He recognized those familiar knuckles instantly, along with the ring on the index finger.

Ji Xingci froze just as the other seized his ankle and yanked his leg brutally over his head.

He stared in disbelief, his eyes bulging wide. His eye sockets instantly turned red.

No!

His stomach felt even more bloated.

“Ah, you bastard! You… @#%!”

No one had ever dared to treat him so roughly before. Veins bulged on Ji Xingci’s forehead in fury.

Yet the spot inside his boot that he hadn’t been able to reach no matter how he tried had finally been struck hard. Amid the pain came an indescribable sense of satisfaction.

Ji Xingci’s pupils trembled violently. His voice came out muffled from beneath the quilt, and his legs suddenly went limp.

His eyes rolled back in his head, and he blacked out almost immediately.

When he came to, Ji Xingci did something he’d never done before in his life: he bolted to the bathroom and threw up.

“Urp—”

He bent over, clutching his stomach. Sweat beaded on his forehead, his eyes were bright red, brimming with tears that made him look like he’d been crying.

His bangs clung to his forehead, soaked with sweat.

For the first time, his sharp features lost their aggressive edge and instead appeared utterly disheveled.

Even after vomiting, though, his stomach still felt bloated—worse than before.

Worse still, once the nausea ebbed away, that fleeting satisfaction vanished like an illusion.

In its place surged a deeper dissatisfaction, fiercer than ever. It was just like a mosquito bite trapped inside a shoe, swelling redder, throbbing with pain and itch.

He collapsed there, panting heavily, unable to move for the longest time.

Impossible…?

This wasn’t what he wanted at all.

Suddenly, a thought struck Ji Xingci. He clenched his fist and punched himself hard, forcing himself to calm down.

Then he cinched his pants tight and stormed out to find someone.

Lin Wu was still sitting quietly in the corner, reading his script, when Ji Xingci grabbed him by the collar and hoisted him up again.

Lin Wu blinked in confusion at Ji Xingci’s flushed face, only for the man to seize his arm.

“Was it you?”

Lin Wu had taken off all his rings for filming, but Ji Xingci clearly remembered exactly how they had looked on his fingers.

Lin Wu’s hand turned red under the pressure, yet he was still worried about him. “What’s wrong?”

“You running a fever again?”

Ji Xingci panted heavily without answering. All he wanted to know right now was one thing.

Did Lin Wu even have that kind of strength?

If he’d really been trying to beat him to death, Ji Xingci reasoned, he would’ve fought back, wouldn’t he?

Lin Wu stared at him, his own face growing paler by the second.

“Ji Xingci? That hurts.”

Xu Qing spotted them from across the room and came running, his heart already in his throat. Seeing Ji Xingci twisting Lin Wu’s hand only terrified him more.

What the hell? Lin Wu needed those hands to write songs!

For once, courage filled him to the brim. “Let go!”

Their three hands tangled together in a frantic tug-of-war.

Right then, a rack loaded with filming equipment loomed behind them. With a sharp creak, it began to topple straight toward all three.

Lin Wu: “…”

He just knew nothing good ever came from the protagonist gong and shou sticking together.

In the original text, the pivotal moment when Xu Qing fell for Ji Xingci was the time Ji Xingci casually saved his life. Ji Xingci hadn’t thought much of it, but Xu Qing never forgot.

So why couldn’t it happen naturally now? Were they forcing the plot instead?

To keep the gong and shou’s relationship progress firmly at zero, Lin Wu had no choice but to lunge forward.

“Brother, look out!”

The rack crashed down. Ji Xingci froze for a split second but didn’t panic—he was already yanking Lin Wu back.

Lin Wu wrenched his hand free, shoved past him, and pushed Xu Qing clear.

Ji Xingci: ?

Fuming at the sheer idiocy of it, he took a miscellaneous chunk of debris to the head.

Meanwhile, Lin Wu shoved Xu Qing out of harm’s way with one hand while raising the other to brace the rack.

Ji Xingci was still processing it when Lin Wu’s arm buckled under the weight. His whole body crumpled, and odds and ends rained down around him.

Xu Qing rushed back, pale as a ghost, and tried to lift the rack. But the iron frame was packed with gear and wouldn’t budge an inch.

“05!”

“I’m okay,” Lin Wu grunted through gritted teeth. Then he felt a chill run down his back.

Uh… He looked up stiffly. Ji Xingci’s face was pitch-black, his eye twitching, teeth clenched as he spat out each word.

“Are. You. A. Fucking. Moron?”

“Goddamn it, you can’t even lift a rack!”

He stormed over and heaved the equipment-laden iron frame up just enough.

“Get out of there, you useless idiot!”

“…”

Lin Wu scrambled free.

The massive blunder quickly drew the attention of the entire drama crew. But the priority was rushing Lin Wu to the hospital—his wrist was visibly swollen.

When it came to speed, nobody beat Ji Xingci’s assistant. His car was always parked right outside, ready to roll.

Ji Xingci’s forehead had been scraped too, so in the end, all three piled in and headed to the hospital together.

Lin Wu cradled his throbbing wrist, sweat pouring down his face from the pain. He stole a glance at Ji Xingci.

The superstar sat up front. Though his injury was just a scrape on the forehead, he kept a hand over his mouth, his face ashen the whole way. He hadn’t said a word.

…It really wasn’t Lin Wu?

That pathetic, wannabe-hero act from earlier!

But…

Then what…?

Ji Xingci’s brows knitted tight. He rubbed his stomach again, and a fresh wave of nausea hit him hard.