TF01 80

After a little over two hours of sleep, Ying Ming woke up feeling completely refreshed.

He woke up earlier than Shi Yi. Maybe it was just a sensitivity in his internal clock, but the thought that Shi Yi had something scheduled at ten was still sitting in the back of his mind. At exactly nine-thirty, his eyes snapped open. It had always been like this. People used to complain about it on set. If someone said he had twenty minutes to nap, he would be up in twenty-one, never longer. It was like a curse. And the way he woke up, always so abruptly it almost looked like he had just come out of a nightmare. If anyone happened to be lying next to him without warning, they might actually get scared by how suddenly he moved.

Luckily, Shi Yi slept like a rock.

Even now, Ying Ming still hadn’t fully gotten used to the feeling of opening his eyes and seeing a face instead of a blank wall. The first time it happened, his instincts nearly sent Shi Yi flying off the bed with a kick. Suppressing the urge to punch him, he got up, splashed some water on his face, and opened the curtains. The sun had risen higher by then, and the room felt a little warmer. He leaned by the window, lit a cigarette, and smoked it slowly.

Before he could finish the whole thing, Shi Yi finally stirred. He sat up with a hint of that usual morning crankiness and scratched at his messy hair. “When did you wake up?”

“Just now.” Ying Ming stubbed out the cigarette. “You hungry? Want something to eat?”

“You already ordered?”

“Yeah. I called earlier. They’ll bring it up once you’re awake.”

As Ying Ming said this, Shi Yi reached beside him to look for clothes. After fumbling for a bit, he remembered his clothes were all soaked. He stayed sitting there in frustration, too lazy to move.

Ying Ming watched his back for a while, then finally let out a quiet laugh. “What are you even thinking about?”

“I’m just wondering what the hell made me go into the shower fully clothed.” Shi Yi turned his head and glanced at him, still completely baffled.

“Who knows what kind of screw is loose in that head of yours.”

Ying Ming gave him a blunt jab and stood up to pack his things. “I’m not staying for breakfast. You’ve got someone bringing you a suit, right? I’m heading back to the set.”

As Ying Ming walked past, Shi Yi reached out and grabbed his wrist. “The guy bringing the clothes won’t be here anytime soon. You should eat breakfast.”

“Breakfast?” Ying Ming raised an eyebrow. “It’s almost late enough for lunch.” Seeing the irritation on Shi Yi’s face, he added, “I had something before heading to set. I’m not really hungry now.”

“You really have no desire to sit through that meeting.”

Shi Yi still hadn’t let go. He flopped back onto the bed and let out a couple of groans. “I just want to go on vacation.”

“Vacation? Where to?”

“Haven’t decided yet. Just thinking about it for now. Is there anywhere you want to go?” He vaguely remembered Kou Jing, or maybe someone else mentioning that Ying Ming liked to take off whenever he had time off. Most of the time, he wasn’t even in the city.

Ying Ming gave it some thought, then shook his head. “No real plans. I just pick a direction and start driving. Wherever I end up, that’s where I go.”

Something like that road rally they did before wouldn’t be bad. He still remembered the starlight from that night, that rare moment of peace.

The two of them sat and stood with their hands still linked, and the position did look a little strange. But since Shi Yi hadn’t let go, Ying Ming didn’t pull away either. They stayed like that, chatting idly, until Ou Yang finally called. That was when Ying Ming actually left. Whether they had just missed each other at the elevator or Ou Yang hadn’t arrived yet, he wasn’t sure. Either way, he didn’t run into anyone on his way out.

Later, Shi Yi sent him a text saying they should grab a meal once he wrapped up work. Ying Ming simply replied, “We’ll see if there’s time.”

After all, no one had any idea what kind of schedule Si Ji had in mind for the day.

Since everyone knew Ying Ming had been filming night scenes the day before, it wasn’t until the afternoon that an assistant came to tell him they would be heading out for another shoot. He hadn’t slept at all since lunch, just lounged around watching TV. When his assistant told him that today’s shoot would be relatively light, he even managed a smile.

The location was a city block.

Compared to the place from last night, it was definitely an upgrade.

Ying Ming rode in with the cast shuttle, and to his surprise, Si Ji was already on set. As far as directors went, Si Ji was unusually hands-on. He was always present, rarely leaving things to assistant directors. Many big-name directors were older, and couldn’t keep up with the long hours on set. Sometimes you could go half a month and only see the director twice. Crews where the director was present for every scene, no matter how big or small, were rare.

To reach that level of success, there had to be something exceptional about him. Even if Ying Ming had reservations about Si Ji’s personality, he had to admit the man’s work ethic left nothing to be criticized.

The scene they were filming mainly focused on the male lead. Ying Ming only had a couple of lines off to the side. They didn’t even have him stand in during rehearsal. It wasn’t until Si Ji finished the first take that he called out to Ying Ming and told him the script had been revised.

Ying Ming already knew the actor playing the male lead.

His name was Han Yi. The two of them weren’t close, but they had crossed paths before. Han Yi had a good reputation in the industry. He had debuted as a singer, with a strong voice and flawless looks, and he was clearly younger than Ying Ming. The first time they met, he had called out a cheerful “Ming-ge,” which almost left Ying Ming stunned.

It had been so long since he heard anyone call him that, he had almost forgotten what it sounded like.

Han Yi was nearby when Si Ji called for Ying Ming. He gave him a polite nod as he walked over, his usual smile in place.

“Ying Ming, I want to give you a bit of action in this scene. Right here in this section.” Si Ji pointed to a line in the script. “I talked to the screenwriter about it too. Adding a small ambush here could really heighten the impact.” As he explained, Han Yi stood off to the side, listening. Every now and then, he would chime in with a comment like, “Director’s really good to Ming-ge.”

That offhand line made both men reading the script look up at him.

Ying Ming had a half-smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. Si Ji’s face looked complicated.

Realizing he might have thrown off the mood, Han Yi made a zip-it gesture with his fingers and backed off with a smile. Si Ji glanced at Ying Ming again, then looked back down and continued discussing the changes with him.

Since new action had been added, they couldn’t shoot the scene right away. Si Ji changed the schedule on the spot and decided to shoot the female lead’s part first.

That left Han Yi and Ying Ming with nothing to do but hang around the set. They made small talk here and there.

“Ming-ge, I grew up watching your movies.”

Ying Ming narrowed his eyes around the cigarette in his mouth. “I’m not that old. And you can drop the ‘ge’ while you’re at it. Just call me Ying Ming.” Anyone listening would think he was already some ancient figure. Grew up watching his movies? Seriously?

“Alright then, Ying Ming.” Han Yi played along without complaint. After saying it, he laughed again. “I think you’re really handsome.”

“Not as much as you.”

“But the director said he thinks you’re more handsome.” Han Yi laughed as he pulled out a mirror to check his makeup. From the side, Ying Ming’s sharp features stood out clearly in profile, and Han Yi couldn’t help lowering the mirror. “It’s not the usual kind of good-looking. You’re just… cool.”

He shrugged. “It’s a different kind of handsome than mine.”

Ying Ming couldn’t help finding him a bit amusing, but he didn’t respond. He stayed in his smoking posture, eyes fixed on Si Ji in the distance, who was now talking through the scene with the actress.

He still hadn’t figured out what exactly that director had meant when he spoke to him that night.

If it had been meant as mockery, then those words hadn’t quite crossed that line. But if there had been goodwill behind them, the underlying hostility was still unmistakable. At first, Ying Ming thought the man was still hung up on whatever had happened with Shi Yi and was just taking it out on him. But now, he wasn’t so sure.

Then again, the entertainment industry was full of all kinds of people. Especially directors—very few of them had anything close to a normal temper. It wasn’t exactly difficult to understand.

In the end, the best approach was to stay the same and let everything else shift around him.

After working with so many actors and directors, Ying Ming was long past the age of overthinking every minor provocation. If anyone was likely to read too deeply into things, it would be someone like Han Yi, who probably felt everything needed an explanation.

Ying Ming glanced over at him. That smiling face was still in place. In the end, he simply shook his head and said nothing.

When Shi Yi called him, he was still on set. It was a bit noisy, so he stepped off to the side to take the call. Shi Yi sounded like he was in a good mood, so the meeting must have gone well.

“How’s it looking? Are you free tonight?”

“Doesn’t seem likely anymore. They’re rewriting the scene. No idea how long it’ll take.”

“Rewriting?”

Shi Yi frowned. “Is it getting better or worse?”

“You actually care about that?” Ying Ming took two drags from his cigarette. “So far, not bad. They added a bit of action.”

“Then maybe I’ll come see you?”

“No need. Just go home. No telling how late we’ll be stuck here.”

The words had barely left his mouth when a loud explosion rocked the set. The blast sent a jolt down his spine. He spun around and saw flames erupting from a corner of the equipment area.

Shi Yi clearly heard it through the phone. “Shit, what the hell was that?”

It sounded like a bomb had gone off.

And in fact, it had been an actual explosion. Some of the pyrotechnic props meant for a blast scene had gone off due to mismanagement. Chaos broke out instantly. People were shouting to call the police, scrambling to put out the fire, screaming, running in every direction.

Shi Yi’s voice rose sharply. “Ying Ming, where the hell are you even filming?”

Shi Yi was already in the car by the time he said that. Ou Yang, sitting beside him, froze for a second when he heard Ying Ming’s name. A moment later, something seemed to click in his mind, and he looked at Shi Yi with a complicated expression. But Shi Yi was too worried to notice anything. Just then, a fire truck passed by with its lights flashing. Still holding the phone in one hand, he turned the wheel and followed it.

Back at the set, Ying Ming looked at the chaos unfolding and instinctively wanted to step in and help. But Shi Yi, not hearing any response on the other end, had already shouted his name several times. Only when Ying Ming snapped out of it did he pick up the phone again. “Something just happened here. I’m on North Street. Don’t come. It’s a mess.”

“I’m already here.”

Shi Yi slammed the car door shut and hung up the call. He scanned the scene, his eyes sweeping over the people rushing back and forth in front of the fire.

“Ying Ming!”

His voice was louder than the assistant director nearby, who was shouting orders to save the equipment.

It was the first time Ou Yang had ever seen an expression like that on Shi Yi’s face. The two of them had known each other for years, and he had never imagined that Young Master Shi would one day lose his composure like this. He was panicked, disoriented, grabbing random people and asking where Ying Ming was.

Ying Ming only realized someone was looking for him after hearing his name being called. He followed the sound until he found them, and only then did Shi Yi finally calm down.

The firelight cast shifting shadows across his face, blurring the lines of his features. When Ying Ming saw the two of them, his brow immediately creased. “Didn’t I tell you not to come? It’s a mess out here.”

Everyone else was doing everything they could to stay away, but he had shown up on his own.

Fortunately, the fire wasn’t too serious. Once the fire truck arrived, the situation was quickly brought under control. Shi Yi stood there rigidly, unmoving, his eyes locked on Ying Ming as if afraid to miss even a second.

In his head, he had already cursed Ying Ming’s ancestors eighteen generations back.

A chill ran down his back.