He Zhan: “Heh, really? I stayed up a bit late gaming last night…”
He Zhan awkwardly touched under his eyes. Was his poor complexion that obvious? He’d already lost badly, and now even his one advantage—his face—was off. Didn’t that make him look even worse?
If the makeup artist hadn’t finished applying and was now styling his hair, He Zhan might have impulsively pulled out a face mask.
“No, I mean, has Little He Teacher run into some trouble lately?” Chu Yi said tactfully.
He Zhan’s expression changed. “What do you know—”
Realizing his reaction was too big, he quickly adjusted and laughed it off awkwardly. “What trouble could I have? I shoot in the Film Crew every day, game a bit—who’d hurt me?”
With that, Chu Yi was basically sure he had trouble, though He Zhan might not realize how serious it was yet.
Chu Yi fell silent. He could tell He Zhan was resistant to the topic. The victim hadn’t asked for help; he’d given a heads-up out of kindness. Meddling further wasn’t right.
Phantom Sea, this web drama, was shot and aired simultaneously, so time was tight. After makeup and a quick run-through, they started filming in the afternoon.
The male lead played by He Zhan, Wu Qi, was a very special person. Even he didn’t know how long his lifespan was; he only knew that every so often, he’d fall into a deep sleep, and upon waking, his previous memories were gone.
The first scene they shot was Wu Qi waking from slumber. To get a meal, he helped the villagers deal with the Rat Demon causing chaos. Meanwhile, the new Great Marshal played by Chu Yi was investigating his father the old Great Marshal’s death and discovered Wu Qi’s special abilities, so he had his men capture him.
The Republic Era Arc opened with an action scene, demanding a lot from male lead He Zhan. But as a trained actor, besides his acting skills, his martial arts foundation was solid too.
To make the fight look good, Ji Dao had arranged wirework. Just as He Zhan and the actor playing the Rat Demon were locked in fierce combat, the safety harnesses around their waists suddenly loosened. Then, a massive steel frame snapped in the middle and came crashing down on them!
“Ah—” The female actors who witnessed it screamed. The crew staff froze, forgetting to react.
Everyone’s mind had only one thought: such a huge steel frame crashing down would definitely kill someone. Some even covered their faces, too scared to look…
At the critical moment, Chu Yi stepped up. He rushed forward, grabbed the two by the backs of their collars—one left, one right—and hurled them out. He followed with a flying backward leap, narrowly dodging the falling frame.
Watching the steel frame brush past his eyes and slam into the ground with a “bang,” causing a massive tremor—even Chu Yi broke out in a cold sweat.
“You okay?” Ji Dao snapped back to his senses and hurried over. “Thanks to your quick reaction, or this huge accident today would’ve ruined the whole drama.”
“No.” Chu Yi shook his head, his gaze instinctively sliding over the steel frame. Noticing something unusual at the break point, his pupils contracted sharply. “Ji Dao, this frame didn’t break by accident—it was man-made. We should call the police.”
Ji Dao jumped. “How could that be?”
But soon, the wirework specialists came to check and confirmed Chu Yi’s words. “Director Ji, this section shows tool marks. The spot’s too high; we didn’t notice during previous checks…”
Ji Dao reacted and quickly chose to call the police.
Chu Yi kept watching He Zhan’s reaction. At first, he was just shaken. Once helped up from the ground and hearing their conversation, He Zhan’s expression shifted from terror to fury.
But he still had his wits and didn’t erupt on the spot. Amid the chaos, he found his assistant, grabbed his Mobile Phone, and slipped into the resting room alone.
“Lu Changzhou, what the hell do you Lu Family people mean?! Sending dead cats and rats, dropping flower pots from upstairs, slashing my tires to scare me—that was bad enough. Now you’re going for real?!”
He Zhan went quiet for a bit—probably the person on the phone soothing him and asking what happened. But He Zhan was clearly agitated, rapidly recounting while barely containing his rage. By the end, he was almost shouting.
“Lu Changzhou, of course you’re not worried. Telling me to calm down—the one almost killed isn’t you! Do you know I nearly died today?! If not for our crew’s new male number two saving me, do you think I’d still be standing here talking to you?”
Chu Yi: “…” He was indeed male number two, but in their conversation, it sounded weird, like he’d accidentally gotten involved in something.
After this shout, He Zhan stayed quiet for a long time before speaking dejectedly. “Forget it… What else could it be? We’re done, broken up. I could understand your family wanting to split us. I could tolerate their threats to me. But them trying to kill me—and dragging in other innocents? That, I can’t tolerate.”
“You don’t need to come back, Lu Changzhou. The Film Crew’s called the police. When they ask, I’ll tell the truth—no more covering for the Lu Family. You… take care.”
Hearing this, Chu Yi realized that though He Zhan had been a bit love-brained before, it was only when the harm was to himself. Now that others were involved, he sobered up fast… So he didn’t need to interfere.
Hearing He Zhan hang up, he quickly left.
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