Chapter 81

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Huang Jixin drove to the studio and dealt with the contract, then stayed there waiting for Xia Xingcheng to finish shooting the commercial.

On the way back, Xia Xingcheng found that Huang Jixin was very quiet, and he asked him somewhat strangely, “Why aren’t you talking anymore?”

Huang Jixin glanced at him from the rearview mirror and said, “There’s nothing I want to say.”

Xia Xingcheng surmised that Huang Jixin was still not too happy, so he also quieted down and lowered his head to play with his phone.

In the evening, Yang Youming sat on the sofa in the living room reading a script. He held one in his hand while three more scripts were scattered on the coffee table in front of him.

Leaning against the sofa, he was entirely relaxed, and his long legs were stretched out on the coffee table, one hand holding the script up high and his head raised slightly as he gazed down upon it.

Xia Xingcheng was also reading a script, but he was lying down, his head pillowed on Yang Youming’s lap as he held up the ‘Murder Accident’ movie script with both hands, eyes slowly sweeping over his marked lines row by row.

He’s read through the script more than once and Qian Chengjin’s parts have all been outlined with multi-coloured markers. Every time he read the script, he would picture the scene in his mind then immerse himself in the character, imagining the kind of expressions and intonations Qian Chengjin would show in any kind of scenario.

When he got an idea, he got up and knelt on the sofa and made Yang Youming move from the right-most side of the three-seater sofa to the middle. Then he lay across Yang Youming’s lap, set his script down on the sofa, and directly wrote down notes..

Yang Youming was very cooperative with him. After switching his seat, his hand that was previously on Xia Xincheng’s head also moved, this time to Xia Xingcheng’s ass, yet his line of sight had not left the script one bit.

Xia Xingcheng buried his head in his notes. The script was padded by the soft sofa cushion underneath and his words were written crookedly. After he finished writing, he read through it once and found that he could still make out the words, so he flung his pen aside. Only then did he feel Yang Youming’s warm palm on his ass.

“Ming ge,” Xia Xingcheng called out to him.

Yang Youming rested against the sofa and let out a languid “Mm.”

Xia Xingcheng grinded against his lap and called out once more, “Ming ge.”

Only then did Yang Youming lower his gaze to glance at him.

Xia Xingcheng smiled and said, “Isn’t my ass very perky?”

Yang Youming laughed at his words, kneading it with his hand and said, “It’s pretty nice.”

Xia Xingcheng refused to accept this, “Just nice?

Yang Youming then squeezed twice more and said sincerely, “This is truly the perkiest ass I’ve ever seen.”

Still not satisfied with the answer, Xia Xingcheng whined, “I don’t know how many asses you’ve seen!” At the same time, he reached out to grab Yang Youming’s scripts on the coffee table and opened them up to take a look.

The films that sought after Yang Youming were commercial films with big investments, niche art films, as well as comedy films that strongly showcased a director’s personality.

Xia Xingcheng asked Yang Youming, “Which one do you like?

Yang Youming put down the script in his hand and pondered over it for a moment before saying, “Actually, apart from the script and director, I also care about the repetitiveness of the roles.”

Xia Xingcheng sat up and looked at him.

Yang Youming said, “I don’t want to portray the same characters on screen over and over again. I want them to be somewhat distinctive from past roles.”

Xia Xingcheng crossed his legs. “Is that why you did ‘Gradual Distance’?”

Yang Youming raised his hand to stroke his face. “Yu Haiyang is indeed the type of character I haven’t had much exposure to in the past.”

Hearing Yang Youming bring up Yu Haiyang, Xia Xingcheng couldn’t help but freeze.

Yang Youming touched his head and said, “You should also try different types of roles and work with different styles of directors.”

When Xia Xingcheng came back to his senses, he said, “I read the script for ‘Murder Accident’ and thought the story was pretty interesting.”

“Ding Wenxun is a very capable director,” said Yang Youming, “He’s a very good storyteller. I’ve seen his short films before, his plots are very well paced so I felt that this was a good opportunity.”

Xia Xingcheng grabbed his hand and asked him, “What should I do if it’s too hard for me to pull away from the role?”

Yang Youming was silent. He stared at Xia Xingcheng for a moment and said, “Time will always let you pull away. In fact, every actor who treats a role seriously will inevitably enter the play. You have to adjust your emotions, distinguish fiction from reality, and get back on track with your life.”

Not long after they started filming ‘Gradual Distance’, they had a conversation about acting where Yang Youming told Xia Xingcheng to live as Fang Jianyuan once he left the set–yet now, Yang Youming was telling him to learn to adjust his emotions and distinguish between fiction and reality.

Time passes, and people don’t stay the same.

Xia Xingcheng could recall Yang Youming’s indifferent tone and expression at that time, but now, even though Yang Youming’s expression was even, his eyes had a softness to them.

He asked Yang Youming, “What if I can’t do it?”

Yang Youming answered, “Then you’re not suited to be an actor,” he paused for a moment then added, “Maybe you can also act in idol dramas until you’re forty.”

If every actor has to devote his heart and soul and throw himself into a character’s identity in every single play, experience their joys and sorrows, bear their sadness and sufferings, love many and hate just as many people, then there is bound to be a day when this path will collapse.

The strong ability to empathize is a double-edged sword that can help an actor feel the character’s emotions but also torment the actor who is incapable of withdrawing himself from it.

Inexplicably, Xia Xingcheng felt somewhat panicked.

At this time, Yang Youming’s phone on the coffee table suddenly rang.

Xia Xingcheng subconsciously turned his head to look and caught sight of a WeChat notification. The person who sent a message was Yuan Qian, but he didn’t see the contents clearly.

Yang Youming reached for his phone and unlocked the screen without deliberately concealing it.

Xia Xingcheng resisted leaning closer to take a look with great difficulty.

Yang Youming opened WeChat and sent a quick reply, then said to Xia Xingcheng as he put his phone down, “Yuan Qian wants to meet me.”

Xia Xingcheng asked him, “Are you going?”

Yang Youming nodded, “Since she has something to do, I should go talk to her in person.”

Xia Xingcheng lowered his head and didn’t say anything.

Yang Youming looked at him and asked, “Do you want to come with me?

Xia Xingcheng was stunned. He looked up and asked, “Can I?”

Yang Youming smiled at him and said, “Of course you can.”

Xia Xingcheng almost blurted out, “I want to go!” But something else quickly came to mind and he tentatively asked Yang Youming, “Does Yuan–Miss Yuan know about our relationship?”

Yang Youming said, “She doesn’t. I only have Li Yun around me, and Li Yun won’t tell her.”

Xia Xingcheng remembered her promise to Huang Jixin and hesitated for a while before finally saying, “I better not go.”

If he accompanied Yang Youming to meet Yuan Qian, Yuan Qian would definitely figure out about the two of them.

Yang Youming was slightly quiet before he agreed, “Okay.”

“I believe you,” Xia Xingcheng hugged Yang Youming, kissed his face, and then coaxed him after saying, “She’s the one who doesn’t want you, you’re mine.”

Yang Youming smiled and patted his face.

Xia Xingcheng said so but his heart was uneasy all the while, his decision to not go with Yang Youming to see Yuan Qian wavering.

In the end, two days later, Huang Jixin notified him that he had to go out of town for a variety show recording. It was only a short time, just two days and one night, and when he rushed back from the trip, Yang Youming had already gone to meet Yuan Qian.

Xia Xingcheng wanted to ask Yang Youming what Yuan Qian had said to him, but Yang Youming didn’t want to mention it at all, and only told him, “I won’t meet with her alone from now on.”

Xia Xingcheng had just gotten home at that time. He was wiping his face with a wet towel in the bathroom and his cheeks were still red as he saw Yang Youming bring out of the kitchen and help him pull out the chairs at the table. He said, “Let’s eat.”

He walked over and sat down. Seeing that Yang Youming was unwilling to mention Yuan Qian, no matter how curious he was, he didn’t dare to ask any questions.

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⟵ Chapter 80 | TOC | Chapter 82 ⟶

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