Chapter 29: The Truth is More Dramatic Than You Think
Chi Xiasheng had been living at the bottom of the sea for so long, cut off from the outside world, that he had no idea a storm was brewing on Weibo because of him.
After studying the role of Xiyu, he knocked on Bo Wenye’s door.
Bo Wenye was currently in a standoff with Little Bo Wenxing, his eyes fixed on the boy who refused to eat.
“Bo Wenxing, come and eat.”
Bo Wenxing remained silent, staring at his own slender, white fingers as if a flower were blooming on them.
“You’re only hurting yourself. You have to eat properly to grow strong and become an adult. Doesn’t Xingxing want to become an adult?”
All children seemed to wish they could grow up overnight, wear adult clothes, and do adult things.
Little Bo Wenxing was no exception. That day, he had felt he was grown up and could go anywhere independently, which was why he had pushed his wheelchair to the edge of the forest near the beach and met Chi Xiasheng there.
But he later realized that being an adult wasn’t so great after all. His legs were still the same. No one in the world would like a little cripple. This realization had sent his mood plummeting, and he didn’t want to interact with anyone.
In fact, Bo Wenxing’s legs weren’t completely immobile. It was just that the injury was too severe, and walking was as painful as being pricked by needles. He would often break out in a cold sweat after just two steps and fall to the ground. The doctor had said the chances of recovery were very slim. Perhaps Bo Wenxing would have to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair.
Seeing that Bo Wenxing was still unresponsive, Bo Wenye sighed and opened the door for Chi Xiasheng.
“Hello, Director Bo. Xingxing is here too.”
When dealing with children, especially Bo Wenxing who couldn’t walk properly, Chi Xiasheng unconsciously exuded a gentler aura.
Like a gentle sea breeze caressing one’s cheek, it carried Chi Xiasheng’s unique coolness and softness, making one’s heart tremble, almost losing oneself in his world.
Bo Wenye was, after all, a mature adult, so Chi Xiasheng’s influence on him was not great. But for Little Bo Wenxing, just Chi Xiasheng’s show of goodwill made him want to get closer to him.
Bo Wenxing thought Chi Xiasheng was beautiful, and his scent was like clean seawater, exceptionally pleasant.
“Are you here to see me?”
Bo Wenxing lifted his head, his eyes still filled with tears from his earlier tiff with his uncle, looking at Chi Xiasheng pitifully.
Chi Xiasheng rubbed his little head. “Half of the reason is to see Xingxing. The other half is to see your uncle.”
Chi Xiasheng, who was not good at lying, told Bo Wenxing the truth about his purpose for coming.
Bo Wenxing was not angry. He liked being treated with such sincerity, feeling as if he were on equal footing with the other.
The thought of ignoring Chi Xiasheng had long since vanished. Bo Wenxing lifted his little face and asked him what he was here to see his uncle for.
“I’m here to interview for a job. What about Xingxing? Why did I hear your uncle say you’re not eating properly?”
Bo Wenxing’s little face immediately fell, and he silently turned his head, not wanting to continue the conversation.
Chi Xiasheng had never coaxed a child to eat before and never thought it would be so difficult. When a child refused to communicate with you, there was really nothing you could do.
“Don’t mind him. He’s always like this. It’s really a headache.”
Bo Wenye also couldn’t help but let out a long sigh.
He had held a sliver of hope when he saw Chi Xiasheng and Bo Wenxing talking, hoping that Chi Xiasheng could persuade him to eat. But it seemed that no one could get through to him. Little Bo Wenxing’s temper was just that stubborn.
“It’s okay, all children are like this. It means Xingxing is spoiled. He’ll still throw a tantrum at people.”
It was the first time Bo Wenye had heard such an explanation. He found it a bit strange, but upon careful thought, it made a lot of sense.
Chi Xiasheng thought of his own childhood and sighed, shaking his head. “A child who isn’t spoiled doesn’t dare to throw a tantrum.”
Because he knew that no matter how much he acted out, no one would pay attention to him, so he could only learn to be more obedient.
Bo Wenye nodded in agreement.
“Let’s start. Xingxing always takes a long time to eat.”
Chi Xiasheng glanced at Bo Wenxing again and then nodded in agreement.
In fact, the role Chi Xiasheng was to play did not have many scenes in the drama. In this forty-to-fifty-episode series, he might only appear for about half an episode.
But this role was a highlight every minute he was on screen.
The character, Xiyu, was as handsome as a god. Although his prototype was unknown, he was born as a favorite of the heavens, and all things were gentle towards him.
As the female lead’s strongest golden thigh, Xiyu was not only powerful but also made even the villains feel a sense of pity and admiration for him.
Because this TV series was adapted from a novel, the character of Xiyu also had many fans. If he was not played well, he might attract a lot of criticism.
Just like Chi Xiasheng’s previous drama, he had been flamed so badly he had almost quit the industry.
Before Chi Xiasheng, the crew had publicly auditioned many artists, but without exception, none of them could interpret the spiritual aura of the character Xiyu.
It was already very difficult to be able to portray the feeling of being favored by all living things.
In addition, Xiyu lived on the top of a mountain, isolated from the world, and had only appeared a few times when the female lead asked for help. He was a person with an extremely cold personality.
Being favored by the heavens and being cold were very contradictory in many people’s eyes. Most people who were favored by fate should have a gentler personality, not to mention that Xiyu was a somewhat “heartthrob” type of character. But Xiyu just happened to have a cold and distant personality, and was still loved by everyone.
This contrasting and contradictory character setting was very easy to remember, but it was also very difficult to portray.
Chi Xiasheng had been studying it all morning, referring to the fans’ comments on Xiyu, and felt that this role was surprisingly a good fit for him.
Pulling himself back from his thoughts, after Bo Wenye said “start,” Chi Xiasheng put down the script and got into character.
After being criticized for his acting in his last drama, Chi Xiasheng had also put in a lot of effort, taking acting classes at his own expense for more than half a year.
It wasn’t that he had a sudden epiphany and reached the pinnacle of acting, but he had at least gotten rid of the awkward acting of just staring, pouting, or overacting.
Many things didn’t require much talent before you could reach the top. For Chi Xiasheng, acting was the same. He had relied on diligence to get out of the beginner stage, and his performance had reached a decent level.
In addition, Xiyu’s personality was too similar to Chi Xiasheng’s, so he acted with ease, without any stumbling.
Xiyu was truly cold. He had already transcended the mortal realm and was a true immortal lord.
And although Chi Xiasheng was also a cold type of beauty on the surface, his heart was very easy to soften. He was a person of flesh and blood, unlike Xiyu who was as unattainable as a snow lotus on a mountaintop.
But Chi Xiasheng’s grasp of Xiyu’s coldness was very accurate. It could even be said that among all the actors Bo Wenye had auditioned, he was the most suitable for the role.
And, Bo Wenye felt an attraction in Chi Xiasheng’s overall coldness. For a moment, he felt that he really did like him. He even felt that liking him was a very normal thing, that he should be loved by all things.
It was only after Chi Xiasheng finished his performance that Bo Wenye slowly pulled himself out of his emotions, his eyes filled with surprise and astonishment.
“You… are very strange.”
Chi Xiasheng knew what Bo Wenye was talking about, but he just smiled. His identity as a merman was also a favorite of the heavens, which, in a sense, perfectly matched Xiyu’s character.
Chi Xiasheng even dared to guarantee that there was no one in the entertainment industry more suitable to play Xiyu than him.
“You can come to the set with me tomorrow. Xiyu’s scenes are not many, and most of them are on location. We should be able to finish filming on this island.”
Chi Xiasheng knew he had passed, and he let out a sigh of relief.
“Are you done with your work?”
Seeing the two of them stop talking, Bo Wenxing, who had been watching quietly for a long time, lifted his little face to look at them.
“We’re done. Is there something, Xingxing?”
Chi Xiasheng squatted down and looked at Bo Wenxing, holding the armrest of his wheelchair.
“Can we go out together?”
Bo Wenxing’s tantrum had finally passed. He looked at the sky, which was once again dyed with sunset clouds, and a hint of longing appeared in his eyes.
“But Xingxing, you haven’t eaten yet. You won’t have the energy to go out and play if you don’t eat.”
Bo Wenxing shook his head. “I’m not going out to play. I just want to see the sky outside. And I don’t need energy to sit in a wheelchair.”
Chi Xiasheng was slightly taken aback and had no way to refute him, feeling a headache coming on.
In the end, it was Bo Wenye who shook his head at Chi Xiasheng. “Forget it, don’t try to persuade him. He’ll eat when he’s really hungry.”
Seeing this, Chi Xiasheng couldn’t say much more and could only nod and leave first.
Then, Bo Wenye still pushed Bo Wenxing out to let him feel the outside air.
People often longed for things they couldn’t do. For Little Bo Wenxing, who couldn’t walk, being outside made him feel completely different from being confined in a room.
Since he had already pushed Bo Wenxing out, Bo Wenye decided to take him to the film set for a spin to check on the filming progress.
Bo Wenye had come to this small island because he liked its sparse population and fresh air, which were similar to some of the scenes in the script. And he could also bring Bo Wenxing out for a change of scenery.
After arriving at the film set, the other assistant director, Liu Bo, came over to say hello.
“Director Bo, Xingxing came with his uncle. He’s so well-behaved!”
Bo Wenye smiled and asked a few questions about the film set. Director Liu answered them all dutifully, but when he mentioned Xiyu’s scenes later, his expression became a little strange.
Thinking that Director Liu was worried about no one playing Xiyu, Bo Wenye reassured him, “I’ve already found someone. He can join the cast tomorrow to play Xiyu’s scenes.”
Director Liu ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “I know you found someone. It’s already all over the internet. It’s Chi Xiasheng, right?”
Bo Wenye frowned in confusion, wondering how it could be all over the internet. Chi Xiasheng had just passed the audition. How could it have spread so quickly?
“What’s going on?” Sensing something was wrong, Bo Wenye turned to ask Director Liu.
Director Liu had thought Bo Wenye knew about the online matter, but seeing that he didn’t seem to know now, he was also a little surprised. “Director Bo, you don’t know? I thought you knew and didn’t care.”
Bo Wenye’s frown deepened. He simply borrowed Director Liu’s phone and went online to check the news.
On the other side, Chi Xiasheng, who was returning to his room, ran into a frantic Bai Ranran in the corridor.
The moment she saw him, she pulled him to a window seat in the restaurant and handed him her phone.
“See for yourself. It’s almost exploded online.”
Chi Xiasheng thought, What else could it be? I haven’t done anything.
But looking at the news online, his face grew darker and darker.
There was a blogger on Weibo who had suddenly revealed this morning that he knew the truth about Chi Xiasheng falling into the sea!
This statement had aroused the curiosity of many netizens.
Could it be that Chi Xiasheng falling into the sea was actually a conspiracy?
Because the Su family had hidden the kidnapping matter very well, most netizens didn’t know that Chi Xiasheng had experienced such a dangerous thing before falling into the sea.
This blogger was also very good at creating suspense, directly whetting the audience’s appetite, saying that the truth was not so simple.
Pink Orange Entertainment: [I can guarantee that Chi Xiasheng falling into the sea was not as dangerous as you think. On the contrary, he’s living a very comfortable life now! He’s even filming Director Bo’s new drama on the island, you don’t know how happy he is!
[Image.jpg] See? He’s even watching the stars and the moon with Miss Bai! Only we netizens are being played like monkeys! In fact, he just wanted to create some buzz to promote his own drama!]
At first, the netizens thought this blogger was talking nonsense, but when they saw the picture, and a small video below it showing the film crew filming, they found it hard not to believe. And in the video, Chi Xiasheng’s figure did indeed appear.
With pictures and the truth, it was hard for netizens not to believe. They even directly sent a private message to Bai Ranran, asking if the person in the video was her.
Because she had been discussing makeup and clothes with Wen Shu last night, Bai Ranran had gone to bed very late. She had only woken up groggily after lunchtime.
But the moment she woke up, she saw this revelation, and she was almost furious!
“This blogger has a video. The netizens basically all believe him now, thinking you’re using the falling into the water incident to create hype for your drama.”
Bai Ranran had seen Chi Xiasheng and Wen Shu come ashore penniless. The first time she had even seen Wen Shu, she didn’t even have shoes, and her toes were scraped by the gravel.
Wen Shu and Chi Xiasheng had already made up a story, saying that he had been rescued by her and Wen Nian, but their boat had capsized on their way back to land, and they had happened to end up on this island.
Bai Ranran was the first to come into contact with them. She sympathized with Wen Shu and generously gave her a set of clothes. Even the clothes Chi Xiasheng and Wen Nian were wearing were sponsored by her.
After all, it was quite draining to always use scales to transform into clothes. Chi Xiasheng was not very skilled at using his spiritual energy in the first place, and in the sea, it would often dissipate inexplicably, attracting large groups of sea creatures. So Chi Xiasheng was really short of money. Now, he even had to borrow Bai Ranran’s phone.
“Now it’s great. This role was originally something you fought for yourself, but after what this person said, it makes you look like a scheming boy who used tricks to get the role.”
Bai Ranran was still very angry. She was genuinely concerned about the careers of the celebrities she was a fan of.
“He’s indeed talking nonsense, but there’s one thing he didn’t get wrong,” Chi Xiasheng said slowly, staring at the phone.
Bai Ranran was confused. “What is it?”
“Me falling into the sea was not an accident.”
Hearing this suddenly, Bai Ranran’s eyes widened in shock.
She had been too busy chasing stars before, so she didn’t know about the kidnapping of Chi Xiasheng that was rumored in the wealthy circle.
“Don’t worry, someone is definitely more anxious than we are. This buzz will definitely be suppressed soon.”
Chi Xiasheng was very certain. After all, this revelation was too easy to make the Su family panic. Even if the blogger’s revelation was a million miles away from the truth, it still brought the public’s attention back to the matter of him falling into the sea.
This was exactly what the Su family didn’t want to see.
Especially after they knew he wasn’t dead, they would definitely be even more panicked and would try to suppress this trending topic by all means.
“Then what should we do? Nothing?”
Bai Ranran was a little confused. She scratched her head and rested her chin on her hand, looking at Chi Xiasheng.
“No,” Chi Xiasheng shook his head. “We need to make this a big deal, so that everyone knows about it.”
Otherwise, how could the netizens guess the disgusting things the Su family did during the kidnapping?
“But I might need your help with this,” Chi Xiasheng looked at Bai Ranran and said with a hint of embarrassment.
Since he had come to the island, he had received too much kindness from Bai Ranran. Chi Xiasheng was not one to easily trouble others. He would only look at his phone when Bai Ranran offered it to him.
“It’s okay. In the end, I’m also responsible. I shouldn’t have dragged you out to wander around in the middle of the night, otherwise you wouldn’t have been photographed.”
Bai Ranran sighed and then patted her chest. “What can I do to help?”
Chi Xiasheng leaned over and whispered in her ear.
The moment Bai Ranran came into contact with Chi Xiasheng’s aura, her heart began to pound. Chi Xiasheng’s scent was a bit like the faint smell of seawater, but with a hint of coolness. Although it was a cold style, it made Bai Ranran’s ears burn.
As expected, the vow she had once made to never chase male celebrities again was finally going to be broken.
After Chi Xiasheng finished speaking, Bai Ranran quickly nodded and pulled away from him.
After putting some distance between them, Bai Ranran finally felt she could breathe a little more easily.
Taking her phone, Bai Ranran retweeted the blogger’s post.
Her Ladyship Ranran Has Arrived: [That’s right, the truth is far more terrifying than you can imagine. Let your imagination run wild, and guess boldly!!]
