ASFSODS 97

Without realizing it, he has been in the film crew for over a month. This is the first time Wen Chi has stayed in a crew for this long. In the past, when he was an extra, he would only stay for a day or two before wrapping up.

“Didn’t Jiang Ge bring you breakfast today?” Chen Li moved a small stool over and sat beside Wen Chi. They both held a cup of soy milk and a giant fresh meat bun.

Wen Chi replied, “He had other work and had to leave for a day or two.”

Chen Li nodded, eating while quietly saying to Wen Chi, “I crammed your variety show last night. Damn, it was so sweet, it almost killed me!”

Wen Chi glanced at him, “Why did you suddenly start watching variety shows?”

“Just suddenly wanted to check it out,” Chen Li’s gaze wandered, “Actually, I wanted to watch it before, but the first month was so busy, every day after work I just wanted to go straight to sleep without even taking a shower. Finally, this month, I had a little free time, so I watched it.”

Wen Chi suspiciously stared at Chen Li for a few seconds. Actually, he wasn’t worried that Chen Li would figure something out, because his interactions with Jiang Siheng in the crew were completely normal. They hadn’t been overly intimate in front of everyone.

But it’s also strange. When he first joined the crew, Wen Chi never would have imagined that he and Chen Li would become good friends a month later.

Wen Chi still remembered that when they first started filming, Chen Li would always stare at him, blushing while looking at him. Jiang Siheng would get jealous every day but couldn’t show it, so after work each night, Wen Chi’s WeChat would be bombarded with messages from the man.

Who would have thought that a man who appeared gentle on the surface, polite and distant with everyone, would secretly be a big pot of vinegar behind the scenes.

Fortunately, Wen Chi resolved this issue in time. To calm his boyfriend down, he directly asked Chen Li in front of Jiang Siheng why he kept staring at him. Chen Li, blushing, said he just thought Wen Chi looked good in red clothes.

In fact, Wen Chi never believed that Chen Li had any improper thoughts toward him because the way Chen Li looked at him was very pure and just simple admiration.

Knowing that there was no hidden rival or danger, Jiang Siheng let out a light snort and finally stopped bombarding Wen Chi with WeChat messages.

Looking back on it, Wen Chi couldn’t help but laugh.

Now it was Chen Li’s turn to look at Wen Chi with a suspicious gaze. This friend of mine, with that expression, it’s hard not to wonder if you’re thinking about Jiang Siheng.

“Come on, it’s time to start shooting!”

Wen Chi finished the last bite of his meat bun, stuffed the plastic bag into the empty soy milk cup, and handed it to Sangsang before jogging over with Chen Li.

Today they were shooting on location in a remote mountain, and since it was May, the temperature in Huai Xin City was already quite high. The actors wearing long robes had to endure not only the mosquitoes in the mountains but also the stifling heat.

“I can’t take it anymore! I’m going totally crazy!!!”

Wen Chi had just approached when he heard this shout. He followed the direction of the sound and saw an actor playing an unimportant role frantically fanning himself with a fan, while others were either spraying mosquito repellent or sunscreen.

Sangsang glanced at the others and silently took out a small fan from her bag, planning to give it to Wen Chi later.

The scene to be shot was a chase scene. The obstacles on the set were cleared, and all the equipment was ready.

“Run from here to there, to the spot where Lao Yue is standing. Then Wen Chi and Chen Li, you will both fall and crash onto the ground,” Director Xu explained the scene to the group.

For scenes that involve falling, mats are used during the rehearsal, but they are removed once the official filming begins.

Chen Li nodded, “Got it.”

Wen Chi also roughly understood.

Since Jiang Siheng wasn’t in the crew these past two days, they decided to shoot the other actors’ scenes first. Director Xu had high standards, making Wen Chi and Chen Li rehearse the fall scene repeatedly, with each fall having to be redone over and over again.

In the end, Chen Li was nearly numb from all the falls. Even with the mats for protection, his knees still ached after so many repetitions.

“Alright, let’s remove the mats,” Upon hearing Director Xu’s words, Wen Chi and the others knew they had met the director’s standard.

…

Behind them was the roar of a beast. Wen Weiyang glanced back from time to time, then angrily looked at Zhou Mian and Wu Congyan, who insisted on coming here, saying, “I’m a fool to come here with you guys.”

Wu Congyan called out a couple of times, “Well, it was you, young master, who insisted on coming with us, okay. Don’t blame me for this.”

Zhou Mian turned around and noticed that the beast was getting closer. Seeing Wen Weiyang and Wu Congyan still bickering, he furrowed his brows and snapped, “Enough talking, run faster.”

Luckily, all three of them had martial arts skills. If they were ordinary people, they would’ve already run out of energy after being chased by the beast for so long, and would have been “appetizers” for the beast by now.

Wen Weiyang shut his mouth. They weren’t familiar with the forest, so they had been running around aimlessly, not knowing where they were headed.

“There’s a swamp ahead!”

Wu Congyan was the tallest among the three, and he was the first to spot a swamp not far ahead. He immediately alerted the others.

Zhou Mian muttered a low curse, then pushed off the ground with the tips of his toes. This swamp was really too large for them to cross directly. They could only jump onto the tree trunks to temporarily avoid the beast’s pursuit.

“Is this a wild boar?” Wen Weiyang steadied himself by holding onto a tree trunk and looked down. The beast kept ramming its head against the ground, resembling the wild boars he saw when his uncles took him hunting as a child.

Zhou Mian shook his head. “I don’t know. I’ve never seen this kind of beast before.”

“Better think of a way to escape quickly. We’ve got a beast in front and a swamp behind us,” Wu Congyan said.

Wen Weiyang looked around. The branches were tangled, and they couldn’t tell where they were. Moreover, he wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but he felt the mist in the forest was gradually spreading.

…

Sangsang looked at the artificial “mist,” then glanced at Wen Chi and the others, who were hanging on wires and working hard to act. For some reason, she found it a little funny.

After finally finishing the scenes in the forest, since they had arrived just as the sky was getting light, it was still early when they wrapped up. During this time, everyone had been shooting very tightly, often arriving at the set as soon as it was light and not leaving until one or two in the morning. So Director Xu waved his hand and decided to let everyone finish early today.

It had been so long since they wrapped up this early, and Wen Chi, happy about it, pulled out his phone to send a WeChat message to his friends, reserving a spot for tonight’s fun three rounds.

Sangsang saw that Wen Chi was still wearing his costume and was already thinking about tonight’s King of Glory session. She couldn’t help but shake her head.

Director Xu had specifically rented several comfortable buses, which were parked outside. The air conditioning inside was cool, relieving them from the heat outside. Wen Chi went to a small house nearby to change back into his clothes, then got on the bus, randomly finding a seat. The cool air made him feel so comfortable that drowsiness started to creep in.

Sangsang sat by the window, looking outside. This had become a habit for her and Wen Chi whenever they took the bus, as Wen Chi had told her that sitting by the window as a girl could make it easier for others to bump into her.

“Wen Chi, do you want to go out for dinner when we get back?” Chen Li, sitting in the back, stood up, patted Wen Chi on the head, and leaned over to ask enthusiastically.

“What should we eat?”

“How about barbecue?” Chen Li suggested.

“Sure, just the two of us?”

“Bring Xiao Sang along, I’ll ask in the group.”

To make it easier for Director Xu to contact them, the main and supporting actors were all in the same group chat. Chen Li, being overly enthusiastic and socially gifted, had good relationships with everyone. As soon as he asked if anyone wanted to join for dinner, he immediately received a lot of replies.

Wen Chi roughly counted, and six people said they would come. To his surprise, Xu Zhouwei also said he would join. However, during this time, Wen Chi hadn’t seen Xu Zhouwei act up, as he had been behaving well. Wen Chi didn’t really dwell on the past events anymore.

The barbecue place was not far from the hotel. Since they had been shooting in the mountains all day and had sweated a lot, everyone decided to return to the hotel to shower first before heading out for the barbecue.

“How did you know I was going out for a barbecue tonight?” Wen Chi had just finished showering and was drying his hair when he received a call from Jiang Siheng. As soon as he heard Jiang Siheng’s voice, his eyes curved into a smile. “Did you finish work on your end?”

“Yeah, just finished. I saw the message in the group,” Jiang Siheng’s tone carried a hint of a smile.

“I thought you didn’t pay much attention to the group,” Wen Chi half-lay on the bed. “Now that your work is done, when are you coming back?”

“Tonight, by plane.”

Although Jiang Siheng was still on the phone with him, Wen Chi’s phone WeChat pinged with a screenshot from him. Wen Chi opened it and saw the flight details.

Wen Chi glanced at the departure time, then hummed in acknowledgment. “Alright, got it. Make sure to rest well when you get back.”

In another city, Jiang Siheng raised an eyebrow, seemingly dissatisfied with his boyfriend’s attitude. “Is that all you’re going to say?”

“Yeah,” Wen Chi replied confidently. “What else do you want me to say?”

Jiang Siheng chuckled in frustration, putting down the watch in his hand and signaling for the store assistant to pick it up. He then walked to another glass display case to look at something else. “Well, you go ahead and eat. I have some things to take care of here, we’ll talk later.”

“Okay, goodbye, Teacher Jiang.”

Jiang Siheng hung up the phone, and the store assistant placed the bag in front of him. “Mr. Jiang.”

Jiang Siheng opened the bag, checked it, and seeing no issues, picked it up and turned to leave.

His manager, Zhou Ge, was sitting on a long bench outside, crossing his legs and playing a game of Landlord on his phone.

It wasn’t until a cold “Let’s go” came from above his head that Zhou Ge looked up. He glanced at the gift bag in Jiang Siheng’s hand. “Did you buy everything?”

“Yeah.”

The two of them walked out of the shopping mall and got into the car, heading to the restaurant where they had arranged to meet with the brand representatives.

The atmosphere in the car was quiet. Zhou Ge turned to look at Jiang Siheng. “Are you really planning to leave the entertainment industry after finishing this drama?”

Jiang Siheng sat lazily in the window seat, and upon hearing the question, he hummed in response, “Didn’t I already tell you that?”

Zhou Ge replied irritably, “Back then, who knew if you were joking or being serious? But if you suddenly quit, your fans might not take it too well.”

“Boiling the frog in warm water. If nothing comes up, don’t have me take on any other jobs for now. I’ll gradually fade from the public eye, and they should start to realize it,” Jiang Siheng said, his tone calm as he stared at his phone.

Zhou Ge looked at Jiang Siheng and suddenly felt that the man had become someone a bit unfamiliar, even to him.

…

After finishing the barbecue, the sky had completely darkened. With so much rare rest time, no one wanted to waste it, so everyone headed straight back to the hotel to rest. Wen Chi returned to his room, took off his hat, and fiddled with his hair, which had been flattened by the hat and headgear all day. Then he went to wash his hair.

He played a few rounds of games with Qiao Congnan, but Wen Chi soon became so tired he couldn’t keep his eyes open. Qiao Congnan’s alternate account was three wins away from reaching the “Unmatched” rank and was eager to push for it. Wen Chi didn’t hesitate to decline, afraid that he might fall asleep in the middle of the game.

After spending the day outside, feeling all dusty and worn, now that he was clean and dry, lying in bed was incredibly comfortable. Wen Chi turned off all the lights except for a small bedside lamp. Before going to sleep, he checked the screenshot of Jiang Siheng’s flight information again to confirm that the man was already on the plane. Only then did he feel at ease and close his eyes to sleep.

When he woke up from his nap, he would be able to see his boyfriend again.

…This was what Wen Chi thought before falling asleep. He didn’t know how much time had passed, but the phone next to his pillow rang. Half-asleep, Wen Chi grabbed the phone without looking at the caller ID and answered with hello.

The person on the other end of the phone paused when they heard Wen Chi’s voice full of sleepiness. “Did you fall asleep?”

Wen Chi, still groggy, recognized Jiang Siheng’s voice and became a little more awake. “Yeah, I fell asleep.”

Jiang Siheng hummed in response, then was quiet for a few seconds. “It’s fine, you can go back to sleep.”

Wen Chi couldn’t go back to sleep now. Sitting up with messy hair, he replied, “I’m not sleepy. Did you land?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay.”

Wen Chi yawned, then heard Jiang Siheng say, “Can you open the door for me in a bit? I’m about to get in the elevator.”

Wen Chi: “???”

He was now fully awake. “You’re already at the hotel?”

Jiang Siheng could hear the shock in Wen Chi’s voice. The cold elevator doors reflected his smile. “Yeah, I’m here.”

A few seconds later, the sounds of ding and beep came from the other side of the phone, and the elevator just happened to arrive at the floor where Wen Chi’s room was.

Jiang Siheng wasn’t worried about being spotted and walked down the hallway with ease. On the other hand, his assistant, Xiao Pang, was very alert.

“Ge, here’s your clothes. I’ll head back first—message me if you need anything.” Xiao Pang shoved the bag he had been holding into Jiang Siheng’s arms. His voice was particularly low, as if he were afraid someone might overhear.

There was a reason Xiao Pang left early. As Jiang Siheng’s assistant, he would inevitably be linked to him. If others saw him there, they would surely assume Jiang Siheng was nearby, and even if they didn’t see him, they would think Xiao Pang was there because Jiang Siheng had asked him to do something.

Jiang Siheng couldn’t help but feel speechless at his assistant’s sneaky behavior.

Just as he reached the door to Wen Chi’s room, it suddenly opened with a click. Before Jiang Siheng could react, he was pulled inside.

Jiang Siheng looked down at Wen Chi, who was like a little squirrel afraid of losing its pinecone, cautiously glanced outside before shutting the door.

So cute.

Wen Chi turned around and saw his boyfriend, whom he hadn’t seen for two days. Unable to resist, he eagerly threw himself into the man’s arms, wrapping his arms around Jiang Siheng’s waist. He tilted his head slightly and asked, “Why are you back so early?”

“It’s not early. If the flight wasn’t delayed, I would’ve arrived at the hotel around this time,” Jiang Siheng replied, his whole body relaxing as he held his freshly showered, soft and fragrant boyfriend. He lazily rested his chin on Wen Chi’s shoulder. “I’m sleeping in your room tonight.”

“Sure,” Wen Chi replied, gently rubbing the back of Jiang Siheng’s neck. “You should go shower now.”

Jiang Siheng, a bit unaccustomed to Wen Chi’s straightforward agreement, straightened up and looked at Wen Chi. His hand pressed firmly against Wen Chi’s lower back, and with a smile that was both teasing and mischievous, he asked, “Aren’t you afraid of what I might do to you?”

Wen Chi kept a straight face and said, “I have a scene early tomorrow, and so do you. Oh right, it’s that scene where you bite my family members.”

Jiang Siheng: “…”

Jiang Siheng was both amused and frustrated. He pulled his hand away and patted Wen Chi’s head. “I’m going to shower.”

The sound of water came from the bathroom. Wen Chi took out a new pillow from the wardrobe and placed it beside him, then lay back in bed. Sleepiness quickly overtook him again.

He intended to wait for Jiang Siheng to finish his shower, but the fatigue from the day was too much, and he drifted into a deep sleep once more.

When Jiang Siheng finished his shower and came out, the sight he found was Wen Chi curled up in bed, sound asleep, wrapped in the blanket. He paused for a second, then, realizing what had happened, smiled helplessly. He bent down, took out a small square black velvet box from his bag, and quietly placed it near Wen Chi, close enough for the boy to notice when he woke up.