Chapter 44

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Although He Zheng didn’t say anything about the kiss that went off script, Xia Xingcheng felt that the director wasn’t too happy about it. As a matter of fact, this wasn’t He Zheng’s usual style. No matter how an actor chooses to perform, as long as it still makes sense, he would always encourage and approve of them.

That night, He Zheng went to look for Yang Youming.

At that time, Xia Xingcheng had just gotten out of the shower. As he wiped the water off his face with the towel in his hand, he heard the sound of He Zheng’s voice coming from the corridor outside. The person he was talking to was none other than Yang Youming.

He stopped in his tracks, standing near the door to listen carefully, but He Zhen soon followed Yang Youming into his room and after the door closed, Xia Xingcheng could no longer hear a thing.

He had a bad feeling about this.

Returning to sit on the bed, he put the towel over his head and raised his hands to press them against his face. He knew that there were a lot of complicated emotions in his heart, and he basically couldn’t think straight at all. At the same time, a definite answer was on the verge of coming out into the open, but he didn’t dare to admit to the fact.

Shooting this movie had truly been difficult to bear until now.

But the worst was yet to come.

Because Yang Youming’s schedule took precedence over everything, after they wrapped up the location shoot in the small town, the crew rushed to the neighboring county to film the movie’s ending.

The demands on Xia Xingcheng’s ability to adjust his emotions were extremely high. He wasn’t in the mood to deal with that unexpected kiss, nor did he have the time to savor the faintest hint of romance between him and Yang Youming in those days. He had to return to Fang Jianyuan’s wounded state as quickly as possible and continue with filming.

There was no doubt that Yang Youming had given him more help than He Zheng had during the filming process.

In the past, Xia Xingcheng used to always say that Yang Youming was his idol. He had watched many of Yang Youming’s movies, admired and revered him, but only when he was actually filming opposite him did he know what a great actor Yang Youming truly was.

No matter the circumstances, Yang Youming was able to quickly get into character in an extremely professional manner, and he hardly ever laughed. He respected the actor he was playing opposite of and was able to bring the other person into their character.

This made Xia Xingcheng mix up what was fictitious and what was reality countless times during the filming process. One of the hardest scenes to bear was one where he was crying in Yang Youming’s arms. Even when the director shouted “cut”, he still couldn’t stop his tears. He couldn’t come out.

At that time, Yang Youming didn’t relinquish his embrace from start to finish. He had no strength left from crying, so he simply sat on the floor, leaning into Yang Youming’s arms. The man used one arm to draw Xia Xingcheng’s back towards himself, and his other hand continuously stroked Xia Xingcheng’s hair.

They stayed like that until Xia Xingcheng could no longer cry anymore. He raised his head to look at Yang Youming with his red and swollen eyes, and Yang Youming smiled and said, “It’s all right.”

Xia Xingcheng suddenly felt at ease. At that moment, he felt that Yang Youming was Yang Youming, and he also wasn’t Fang Jiangyuan, so he was able to let go of those sad emotions.

However, not long after that, Yang Youming’s scenes were completed.

On the day of his parts’ completion, Yang Youming invited the whole crew to dinner in the hotel’s buffet restaurant. Yet since his schedule was also very tight, he had to take a bus to the airport directly after dinner, not even able to stay one more night.

Before dinner, Xia Xingcheng went back to his room to shower and change his clothes. He seriously blow-dried his hair, found the necklace Yang Youming gave him and put it on, and took out a pair of star-shaped earrings, which happened to match the necklace Yang Youming gave him.

He was already late, yet he was still in the bathroom in front of the large mirror to put on the earrings. For a while the ear pins refused to go into the ear holes. An indescribable anxiety overtook him, and he suddenly gripped the earrings, throwing them at the mirror one after another.

The metal earring bounced off the mirror and fell into the corner of the bathroom floor.

Xia Xingcheng braced his hands on the sink and breathed heavily, trying to calm his nerves as he stared at his reflection in the mirror, thinking that his face looked very wan and sallow. It wasn’t actually a recent state. In accordance to Fang Jiangyuan’s mood, he was already thinner than he originally was, and his entire face had a depressed look that even makeup couldn’t cover up.

But that wasn’t the cause of his anxiety. The only reason why he was anxious was because Yang Youming was leaving.

Xia Xingcheng squatted down, picked up the earring that had fallen on the floor, and wiped it with a wet towel. He took a deep breath and poked it through his pierced ear again, and this time, the stud finally managed to go through smoothly.

By the time Xia Xingcheng appeared at the restaurant, the production crew had already arrived.

Yang Youming seemed to have been there for a while. He didn’t sit down to eat, but was instead drinking with the crew, a wine glass in his hand. In this kind of occasion, he would naturally be the centre of attention. He also responded gently and gracefully to everyone who took the initiative to toast him, no matter what position the person held within the crew.

He Zheng sat at a table near the middle, chatting with the assistant cinematographer while smoking.

Just as Xia Xingcheng was walking towards Yang Youming, He Zheng raised his hand and shouted, “Xingcheng, sit over here.”

Xia Xingcheng stopped in his tracks and looked over at him, then shot a quick glance at Yang Youming, finally walking over to sit at the empty seat next to He Zheng.

He Zheng put a hand on his shoulder and asked him, “How are things?”

Recently, whenever He Zheng saw him, he always asked how he was doing. The director was probably aware that his emotions were deeply affected by the movie’s characters, so he couldn’t help but show his concern about him with a few words from time to time.

Xia Xingcheng said, “It’s been great.”

He Zheng didn’t say anything, staring at him with a cigarette in his mouth.

Xia Xingcheng looked towards him, “What’s wrong?”

He Zheng snorted, “By the look on your face, it doesn’t seem like you’re doing great.”

Xia Xingcheng stared at a transparent glass placed in front of him, slightly startled.

He Zheng said, “It’s just that you’re young. Wait until after you’ve shot more movies, you’ll gradually be less affected. Look at your Ming ge. He’s an old fox who’s invulnerable to all kinds of poison, he’ll act in the afternoon and throw it aside once night comes.”

In the wake of his words, Xia Xingcheng looked over at Yang Youming.

Yang Youming was currently smiling and talking to someone. If you looked carefully, his smile was just a smile, it wasn’t at all complicated nor pretend. If he had to describe it, it was probably a serene smile.

Xia Xingcheng suddenly wanted to find a wine glass on the table, but quickly realized that this was a buffet restaurant and the glasses on the table were all the ones that other people had drank from, so he stood up to go get a drink, saying, “I should go toast Ming ge.”

He Zheng leaned back against the back of the chair, cocked a leg and look at him, and said, “Yeah, you should go. Go.”

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⟵ Chapter 43 | TOC | Chapter 45 ⟶

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