Chapter 32: [Bonus Chapter]

The filming location for the movie Xia Dao wasn’t in Shen City but in the neighboring province’s neighboring province, which took about three hours by high-speed rail. Considering they would have to go into the mountains later, riding in his own car would definitely be more comfortable than the crew’s vehicles, so Lu Changjun simply drove his senior there himself.

Having gotten up too early, the little snake was drowsy. After eating some bread, he draped himself in the blanket Xiao Lu had given him and fell into a deep sleep. When he opened his eyes again, Lu Changjun had already driven to the nearest town to Wenxiang Mountain, where the crew was located.

The crew’s meals were average because going up and down the mountain wasn’t easy—they did a big group shopping trip down the mountain only once every week or so. When Cheng Jie, the person in charge, heard they would arrive around noon, she told them to simply eat in town before heading up, to have one good meal.

Bai Ying treated Xiao Lu to a hearty meal at the best restaurant in town according to Cheng Jie, then took him to the town’s market to buy a bunch of fresh fruits and snacks, stuffing the trunk half full. They planned to bring them up the mountain to comfort the crew staff. They would be staying with the crew for a long time, so they definitely needed to build good relationships with the crew members.

Speaking of which, the one who truly couldn’t leave for the time being was Bai Ying. Lu Changjun could actually leave whenever he wanted, but…

The car had already reached the foot of the mountain when Bai Ying turned to ask Lu Changjun, “Xiao Lu, are you really going to stay on the mountain with me the whole time?”

Lin Si’s intention was for Lu Changjun to help Bai Ying out for the first week, but Lu Changjun had volunteered to stay longer. Lin Si naturally had no objections—Lu Changjun was originally an external staff member for Zhonghe. With his internship period about to end, the work assigned to him was decreasing, so whether he stayed on the mountain or in the office made no difference to Zhonghe. As long as Lu Changjun didn’t mind the simplicity of the mountain, it was fine.

Lu Changjun put on a pitiful expression. “Senior wouldn’t find me annoying and want to chase me away, would he?”

“How could that be?” Bai Ying laughed helplessly. “I’m just worried you’d be putting up with too much.”

Lu Changjun was actually the one worried that the mountain conditions would be too harsh for Bai Ying. He had made up his mind to stay on the mountain and take good care of his senior.

However, if filming went smoothly, none of them—including the crew—would stay on Wenxiang Mountain for too long. They might even all head down the mountain collectively before Lu Changjun’s graduation defense. After picking them up, Cheng Jie explained the current filming situation to them. Director Yang Lijin’s habit was to shoot the most difficult scenes first. She also disliked using special effects and excelled at on-location shooting. After scouting locations across the country with her team, she had selected a desolate village deep in Wenxiang Mountain and an ancient temple that perfectly matched parts of the movie’s scenes. The scenes in the desolate village and ancient temple didn’t take up a large portion of the film, but they included several crucial plot-advancing segments with extremely difficult action scenes that expressed the characters’ mindset shifts in an impressionistic style. The crew had arrived ten days earlier than them and hadn’t relaxed for a single day, but Cheng Jie said only yesterday’s all-night scene had satisfied the director.

As expected of a big director and big production… Bai Ying asked, “Is the crew resting now?”

After all, last night’s scene had gone until dawn.

Cheng Jie replied, “The early risers are probably awake by now. Our director, the screenwriter, and the lead actor—they film like their lives depend on it, with scary levels of energy. They sleep only four or five hours a day and wake up full of vigor. Tan Laoshi and Xie Laoshi are young, so that’s understandable, but Yang Dao is over sixty this year and still so hardworking…”

“Tan Laoshi, Xie Laoshi?” Bai Ying noticed those two surnames.

He wanted to grab Cheng Jie and ask more, but her attention was drawn to someone eating under the eaves. She pulled them over and said, “Look, that’s Yang Dao. She’s fierce when filming, but super approachable otherwise. Don’t be afraid of her.”

Yang Lijin saw Cheng Jie leading people over and lazily greeted them without asking what they were there for. Aside from filming, Yang Dao rarely managed other things. She wore a luxury brand trench coat, dressed quite fashionably, but her hair was streaked with white since she was too lazy to dye it. She was clearly an elderly lady, and considering she had gotten up after sleeping less than six hours post-filming, she truly deserved the phrase “veteran vigor.”

“In our crew, Yang Dao has the biggest say, of course.” As Cheng Jie led Bai Ying and Lu Changjun toward the temporary housing that had been set up, she continued, “Next is screenwriter Tan. You might not recognize his real name, but he’s known by his pen name—have you heard of Wu Ming?”

Lu Changjun nodded and named a few films.

Cheng Jie: “Right, right, he wrote those scripts.”

On the other hand, Bai Ying wasn’t familiar with the pen name. Although his work always had some connection to the entertainment industry, he dealt with flops. Aside from people and films he needed to know for work, Bai Ying had little interest in movies and TV.

But Bai Ying suspected he might recognize the screenwriter Tan’s real name even if he didn’t know the pen name.

“Not many actors have joined the crew yet, since the scenes we’re shooting now mostly feature only the lead. The actors stay in a separate building—we’ll take you to meet the lead later.” Cheng Jie continued, “It’s Xie Laoshi…”

“Xie Jin.” Bai Ying said the name.

“Right.” Cheng Jie wasn’t surprised that Bai Ying knew Xie Jin; it would be strange if he didn’t, given how famous Xie Jin was.

Actually, Bai Ying hadn’t known much about him before. He’d certainly heard the name—Xie Jin was truly a superstar. But before learning Xie Jin’s identity at the Willow Mansion banquet, even if Xie Jin had taken off his mask and stood right in front of him, Bai Ying probably wouldn’t have recognized the national-level film emperor.

Sorry, the little snake hadn’t been exposed much to fine artistic works. After work, in his spare time, he just wanted to lie on the sofa gaming or watching brainless variety shows.

As they spoke, two people came walking toward them from the end of the hallway, seemingly discussing something. Cheng Jie spotted them immediately and said in surprise, “Eh, Xie Laoshi, Tan Laoshi?”

At her voice, Xie Jin and Tan Ming, who had been walking and discussing the script in their hands, both looked over.

They immediately spotted Bai Ying behind Cheng Jie. Tan Ming also noticed the persistent Lu Changjun.

Lu Changjun saw Tan Ming too, and the smile on his face gradually faded.

“Guess we don’t need to take you to the actors’ building specially.” Cheng Jie turned back to them with a smile. “These two are screenwriter Wu Ming and Xie Laoshi. They get along pretty well, and since you’re around the same age, you should hit it off too.”

The two quickened their steps instinctively and soon reached the trio.

Cheng Jie introduced them: “These two are employees from Zhonghe, Little Bai and Xiao Lu. They’ll be with the crew next, assisting with the promotional work from the film publicity company side.”

Actually, no introductions were needed here.

Xie Jin’s gaze locked straight onto Bai Ying, and he opened with his name: “Bai Ying, long time no see.”

At those words, before Bai Ying could say anything, Tan Ming and Lu Changjun’s expressions both shifted slightly.

Tan Ming looked at Xie Jin: “You know him?”

Xie Jin sensed something off and frowned slightly: “You know him too?”

Seeming to detect the other’s odd attitude toward Bai Ying, their gazes toward each other suddenly turned unfriendly. The harmonious atmosphere from discussing the script moments ago vanished in an instant.

“…Actually, they really do get along well.” Cheng Jie suddenly doubted herself a bit.

Meanwhile, Lu Changjun stared at Bai Ying in disbelief. Senior, the screenwriter being your neighbor was one thing, but how did you know this film emperor too?

Bai Ying: “…”

So what if he happened to know them all?

***

For some inexplicable reason, the film emperor and the screenwriter stopped discussing the script and both followed along to help tidy Bai Ying’s room.

“You two should focus on filming. I’m enough here.” Lu Changjun smiled through gritted teeth. How had his sweet two-person work trip with his senior been invaded by these two third wheels? If he didn’t want to seem aggressive in front of his senior, he’d have kicked them straight out of his and his senior’s room.

Xie Jin said, “No rush. Most of the crew is still resting, so just the two of us can’t start anyway.”

On this point, Tan Ming agreed with Xie Jin: “Young people are bound to be sloppy. More hands make for a cleaner job.”

Lu Changjun clenched his fist inwardly. Damn old men.

He maliciously guessed that this big screenwriter, being older, probably couldn’t perform in that department anymore, so he was jealous of Lu Changjun’s youth and vigor.

“Uh, actually,” Cheng Jie interjected, “the room’s already cleaned. The bedding’s prepared too—Little Bai and Xiao Lu can just put on their own sheets and covers.”

Bai Ying nodded vigorously beside her. Yeah, yeah, it was just such a small thing—no need for such a big fuss.

However, once inside the room, Lu Changjun snatched the sheet to drape it, Tan Ming grabbed the duvet cover, and despite Bai Ying’s best efforts, Xie Jin took the pillow for the pillowcase.

Bai Ying stood there in a daze for a moment.

He suddenly thought of something and said to Lu Changjun, “Xiao Lu, mind if I open your suitcase and change your sheets and stuff?”

Before Lu Changjun could reply, Xie Jin said, “Xiao Lu has hands and feet—let him do it himself. Young people need more practice.”

Lu Changjun glared at Xie Jin. He knew this guy wasn’t any good either.

Bai Ying couldn’t help thinking, But he has hands and feet too… Though his true form really didn’t.

Tan Ming added coolly, “Being young means not knowing how to care for others. Xiao Lu probably won’t lift a finger at home after marriage, leaving all the chores to his wife, right?”

“That’s going too far, Tan Laoshi. I’d never let my wife lift a finger.” Lu Changjun ground his teeth, then turned to Bai Ying. “Senior, just sit—you can leave everything to me.”

Bai Ying sat down in confusion. Why did it feel like they were suddenly competing? But what exactly were they competing over? Was housework that fun?

Cheng Jie also couldn’t figure out these young people.

She had come along to help too, but in less than half an hour, the three men had the room looking brand new.

The reason it took three hours was that Tan Ming and Xie Jin had fetched all sorts of things from their own rooms: blankets to prevent the nighttime chill, sleep-aid aromatherapy, small heaters, water purifiers. Lu Changjun wasn’t about to be outdone and ran back to the car for a pile of his own stuff.

Bai Ying fell silent. Weren’t the mountain conditions supposed to be harsh?

But Tan Ming and Xie Jin still weren’t satisfied with the room—mainly because of the extra person in it.

Why should Lu Changjun get to sleep in the same room as Bai Ying at night?

Tan Ming said directly, “Bai Ying, why don’t you come stay with me? This room’s too small, and it shares a bathroom. Mine has a private one—more convenient.”

Xie Jin said mildly, “Better come to mine. It has a private bathroom too, and only actors stay there—fewer people, quieter.”

While inwardly cursing these two for brazenly stealing his senior, Lu Changjun said, “Your rooms probably only have one bed each, right?”

Xie Jin fell silent—that was indeed a problem. But Tan Ming said nonchalantly, “So what? It’s not like Xiao Bai and I haven’t shared a bed before.”

The words hit like a bombshell!

Lu Changjun felt like he heard his heart shatter. He looked at Bai Ying in disbelief: “Senior…”

Bai Ying saw no issue: “Sharing a bed when staying over at a friend’s place is normal, right?”

Of course it was fine for real friends, but one of them had ulterior motives.

Lu Changjun itched with anger but couldn’t expose it in front of Bai Ying or burst Tan Ming’s bubble. He could only curse Tan Ming inwardly as a scoundrel for taking advantage of his senior’s innocence to share a bed!

Who knew if he’d done anything shady!

The atmosphere among the three men grew increasingly tense. Sandwiched in the middle, Bai Ying felt an urge to shift to his true form and slither away.

“I think we should stick to the original arrangement…” Bai Ying said softly.

But that didn’t ease the tension among the three—it just temporarily shifted their glares from Tan Ming to Lu Changjun, who would get to room with Bai Ying. Whichever of the three gained the upper hand with Bai Ying would immediately face hostility from the other two.

Bai Ying stopped talking.

He should just run!

He found an excuse about distributing fruits to the crew members and quickly slipped away with Cheng Jie.

On the way, Cheng Jie mused thoughtfully, “Looks like being around the same age doesn’t guarantee getting along.”

Bai Ying nodded vigorously in deep agreement.