TSBDRA 38: But it Still Look Really Good

They arrived at the film studio again. Xu Xishuang and Xiao Wang got out of the car first to drop off their things at the hotel.

Of course, it was Xiao Wang who carried the luggage. Xu Xishuang only needed to carry a backpack. If Xu Xishuang hadn’t insisted, Xiao Wang probably wouldn’t even have let him carry that.

Yan Yushan had arrived a little earlier than them. As expected, his room was right across from Xu Xishuang’s—just like it had been back at home.

When he saw Xu Xishuang come upstairs, Yan Yushan naturally reached out and took the backpack off Xu Xishuang’s shoulder, watching him unlock the hotel room door and following him inside. He placed the backpack by the bed and then helped Xiao Wang take the things out of the suitcase and put them away.

Yan Yushan had never hired an assistant since his debut. He handled all his personal matters himself, ate whatever the crew ate during shoots, and was quick and skilled at organizing things.

Xu Xishuang sat by the bed, a cup of warm water shoved into his hand by Yan Yushan. He took sips while watching Yan Yushan crouch down to sort through his luggage. The feeling in his heart was hard to describe.

When Yan Yushan pulled out his underwear from the suitcase, Xu Xishuang nearly choked. He stood up in a flash and snatched the item from Yan Yushan, hiding it behind his back. “I’ll do this part!”

Yan Yushan hadn’t even seen clearly what he was holding before Xu Xishuang grabbed it away, but seeing the faint blush on Xu Xishuang’s cheek, he figured out what it was.

He rubbed his fingertips, glanced at the suitcase that was almost sorted, then stood up. “Okay. I’m heading to the set. We’re doing character styling photos today. It’s windy out there so remember to wear an extra layer.”

“Okay.” Xu Xishuang responded. After Yan Yushan left the room, he pulled out the item he had hidden behind him and tucked it into the wardrobe.

Xiao Wang, who had been standing nearby, also said goodbye to Xu Xishuang and headed toward the kitchen.

Since the crew would be staying at this hotel for a relatively long time, Yan Yushan had arranged with the hotel owner in advance to free up a small kitchen where Xiao Wang could cook separately for Xu Xishuang.

Compared to the hotel in the small town where they filmed Bitter Summer, the hotel at the film studio was much more luxurious. Xu Xishuang lay for a bit on the big, soft bed, then picked up his backpack and headed for the door.

His hand touched the doorknob, then he paused as he recalled what Yan Yushan had said. He went back to the wardrobe, took out a jacket, put it on, and only then went downstairs toward the film set.

Several of the other actors had already arrived and were gathered together discussing the script. Xu Xishuang glanced at them from a distance. He didn’t know them well, only that they were newly signed actors from Yan Yushan’s studio, pushed into the production by producer Kong Xia.

Seeing that they hadn’t noticed him, Xu Xishuang didn’t intend to go over and greet them. In this drama, he barely had any scenes with them. In fact, most of his scenes were disconnected from the Special Ops team’s investigation arc. He had more interaction with extras than with these leads.

Without slowing down, he headed in another direction, planning to ask someone where the character styling shoot would be held so he could finish today’s work early and get some rest.

“Senior Xu!”

A voice called out from a distance. Maybe worried Xu Xishuang hadn’t heard, the voice grew louder. “Senior Xu!”

There was no other actor surnamed Xu in the crew, so Xu Xishuang assumed they were calling him. He turned around and saw three people walking toward him.

“Hello, senior! I’m Qu Yue.” Qu Yue said cheerfully. She was a cute-looking girl with short, ear-length hair and a lively personality. Xu Xishuang smiled and shook her hand.

Qu Yue, clearly excited, quickly withdrew her hand. Next to her, Luo Huai stepped up and offered his hand as well. “Hello, Senior Xu.”

Xu Xishuang glanced at the mature-looking Luo Huai, struggling to imagine how someone who looked like an uncle could call him “senior” with a straight face. He shook Luo Huai’s hand and couldn’t help saying, “I’ve only been in the business a few years. I didn’t go to drama school either. I’m hardly a ‘senior’. Just call me by my name.”

He remembered that all the actors signed by Yan Yushan had formal acting training and only started working after graduating college. Each one of them was older than he was.

Back in the Bitter Summer shoot, Chi Siyuan had at least been younger than him, so Xu Xishuang could accept being called “senior” by him. But now, faced with people all older than him who were going to call him “Senior Xu” for the next few months, he felt awkward all over.

Speaking of age, when he booked his plane ticket earlier, he had looked at his ID carefully and discovered that the online bio had listed his birth year as a whole year later than the actual one. In other words, he was already in his twenties—not “not even twenty yet” like the internet said. It matched his age before he transmigrated into the book.

Yan Yao, who had been standing quietly like air, finally held out her hand too. “We meet again, Xu… Xu Xishuang.”

When she stayed quiet, Yan Yao was as invisible as the air. If she hadn’t spoken, Xu Xishuang might have forgotten she was there.

Xu Xishuang blinked in surprise and shook her hand too. “You signed with Yan Yushan’s studio as well?”

“Yeah,” Yan Yao nodded, “we’d already talked about it earlier. Yan-ge said once Can I Like You finished filming, I could terminate my old contract. But the show got taken down early, so I ended the contract ahead of schedule and came over to film.”

Everyone knew why the variety show had been pulled, so Yan Yao didn’t mention that unfortunate name.

When she brought up her previous company, there was a flash of disgust on her face. Xu Xishuang noticed it and immediately understood. Clearly, things hadn’t ended well between Yan Yao and her old agency. That also explained why she had “checked out” during Can I Like You.

Most likely, her company had forced her into that variety show and even shoved some annoying character settings into her script, making her play a persona she didn’t want to. Yan Yao had refused, which led to her being silent the whole time on the show.

The three surrounded Xu Xishuang and walked with him into the Special Operations Bureau building.

Last time he had been here, he had rushed up the stairs and left in a hurry, so he hadn’t gotten a good look at the layout. This time, he noticed that in addition to the many workstations on the first floor, there were also interrogation rooms and small side rooms, which served as rest areas and makeup rooms.

There were many rooms, so each actor was given their own private makeup room. Xu Xishuang found the one with his name on it, pushed the door open, and saw a familiar face—the same makeup artist from Bitter Summer.

The makeup artist greeted Xu Xishuang and had him sit in front of the mirror, all while screaming internally.

Aaaaah it’s been so long and Xu Xishuang looks even more stunning! That flawless skin, those big watery eyes—she knew fighting off other makeup artists for this gig was the right choice. Please let this show film for six months or a year, so she could see this face every day!

Even though she was screaming inside, the makeup artist remained professional on the outside. She calmly took out a full set of cosmetics and asked, “Same as last time? Safe ingredients but less coverage and color payoff?”

“Yes,” Xu Xishuang nodded. “Thank you.”

“No trouble at all!” she waved it off quickly.

Xu Xishuang didn’t even realize how easy he made her job! She was so tired of saying “naturally beautiful”!

Xu Xishuang’s character in Who’s Standing Behind the Door was named Chen Muzhou, a Chinese teacher who didn’t exercise much and had some untreated illnesses, so his skin was a bit pale and sickly.

Xu Xishuang already had pale skin, so the makeup artist didn’t worry much about that. She just applied a bit of sunscreen, then used a light-toned foundation and tapped a little on his naturally red lips to create that sickly effect.

His hair, however, was a real challenge.

His character, Chen Muzhou, was gentle, responsible, and serious about teaching. He definitely couldn’t show up in front of students with hair almost reaching his shoulders so it had to be cut.

The makeup artist looked at Xu Xishuang’s soft, shiny black hair with regret and confirmed with him, “You’re really going to cut it?”

“Yeah,” Xu Xishuang replied. “Let’s do it.”

He had wanted to cut it for a while but just hadn’t had the chance.

The makeup artist, who also did styling, took out a cape and draped it over him. With a pained expression, she raised the scissors like she was cutting her own hair, not someone else’s.

Partway through, she couldn’t help letting out a quiet whimper. “Ugh.”

Xu Xishuang: ?

Out of selfishness, the makeup artist gave him a natural center-part style—not too short, but a lot shorter than before.

After the cut, she blew away the loose hairs, took off the cape, and looked at Xu Xishuang in the mirror. She felt completely recharged.

With that face? Any hairstyle would look good!

Xu Xishuang thanked her and headed into the dressing area. He changed into the gray shirt and casual trousers that his character, Chen Muzhou, often wore.

Both the shirt and pants were loose-fitting. With a bit of adjustment, they easily hid his slightly rounded belly. Once the weather cooled and he could throw a jacket on top, it would be completely hidden.

After checking that everything was fine, Xu Xishuang stepped out and went to the mirror. He took a pair of gold-rimmed glasses from his bag, put them on, and fixed his bangs.

The makeup artist, holding her brush, started screaming internally again.

Xu Xishuang with glasses was so attractive. Thinking of his character in the show, her mind was immediately filled with terms like “wolf in sheep’s clothing,” “refined scoundrel,” “fragile and beautiful,” “pretty psycho”…

Makeup artist: “Hehe.”

Xu Xishuang: ??

A bit confused, he adjusted his glasses and said goodbye to her before leaving for the temporary photo studio.

Yan Yushan was already there. His face didn’t need much touch-up, so he had gotten ready fast. He wore the special ops team’s uniform, similar to a police uniform, with a badge on his chest labeled “Captain” and a prop gun at his waist. His belt was tight, showing off his strong arms, slim waist, and long legs. Even from the back, he radiated raw masculine energy.

Xu Xishuang thought of all the silly videos he had seen online and figured that if someone posted a video of Yan Yushan’s back online, countless people would offer their wrists and beg him to cuff them.

As he walked up, Yan Yushan turned at the sound. His eyes landed on Xu Xishuang’s newly cropped hair, and he paused for a few seconds.

Noticing the hesitation, Xu Xishuang blinked. “Is it that big of a change?”

Why did Yan Yushan look like he didn’t recognize him?

“A little,” Yan Yushan replied, coming back to his senses. “But it still looks really good.”

Being praised so directly, Xu Xishuang felt a little awkward. He fluttered his lashes and pushed aside the bangs that were a bit too long.

Seeing Xu Xishuang adjust his bangs, Yan Yushan instinctively reached out to help, but halfway there, he remembered they were in a studio full of people. He discreetly pulled his hand back and asked, “Is it okay having it this short?”

“It’s fine,” Xu Xishuang replied. “It fits the character.”

While they talked, the other three actors also stepped out of their makeup rooms. They were all slightly intimidated by Yan Yushan and didn’t dare stand too close, so they bunched together behind him and Xu Xishuang.

Once everyone was there, the photographer called them up one by one to stand in front of the backdrop for photos.

The drama had a serious tone, so the character styling photos were just like ID shots—single portraits, no smiling allowed. If the cast wasn’t all good-looking, the results would’ve been painful even for fans.

The photos were handed off to the graphic design team for retouching. Once they added backgrounds and visual elements, the final versions would be posted to the official social media account.

After the shoot, Director Cheng addressed the group. “Alright, everyone can go rest now. Have dinner early and don’t go hungry. Remember to bring your scripts. At 7 PM, we’ll meet in the second-floor conference room of the Bureau for a full script read-through. If you can’t make it, let me know in advance.”

Everyone acknowledged the instructions.

Unlike Bitter Summer, which had a simpler script and fewer significant roles outside of the leads, Who’s Standing Behind the Door had a complex plot and heavy scenes for the supporting characters too. A script reading was essential to patch any holes before filming officially started so the production could proceed smoothly.

Director Cheng had heard about Yan Yushan’s habit of eating with the crew and invited him warmly to join them for boxed meals, but Yan Yushan declined.

He glanced at Xu Xishuang’s back and then turned to Cheng Tianwen with a polite smile. “Thank you, Director Cheng, but I already made plans with someone else.”