TSBDRA 4: Got Jealous

Xu Xishuang had always been excellent at managing his expressions, so no one in the room—not even the makeup artist—noticed the brief flicker of discomfort that passed across his face.

Chi Siyuan, now fully convinced they were already close, plopped down right beside him, chatting excitedly about the script while his makeup artist worked on him. He gushed endlessly about Yan Yushan and talked about the scene they would be filming today.

Chi Siyuan had arrived earlier and already heard the filming schedule from the assistant director. Today’s scenes mostly centered on Xu Xishuang’s character, Yu Xiang, focusing on his experience with school bullying and highlighting his tragic daily life.

As Xu Xishuang listened to Chi Siyuan, he silently recalled what he had seen online. Chi Siyuan was a relatively new face in the industry, who’s also from a boy group—same as the actor who had recently left the project. Unlike his predecessor, Chi Siyuan had more male fans than female ones. Most of his female fans were mom-type fans, probably because his big puppy-dog eyes were far too deceiving.

In the original novel, it was this very film, Bitter Summer, that officially launched Chi Siyuan into the acting world. Afterward, he landed several successful dramas and even joined a hit variety show. His career skyrocketed, and he gradually got closer to Yan Yushan. Eventually, the two developed mutual feelings and reached the sweet ending the author had planned for them.

Meanwhile, Yan Yushan was finalizing the day’s shoot. As he flipped through the script, his fingers paused. After thinking it over, he turned to the assistant director and said, “Cut the physical conflict from this part.”

The assistant director looked up, quickly realizing that the scene involved extras bullying Xu Xishuang’s character. He hesitated. “Should we use a double?”

“No need,” Yan Yushan said. “Just shoot more scenes of Yu Xiang’s injuries afterward. We don’t need to show the beating in detail, just imply it.”

The assistant director nodded and watched Yan Yushan walk away, already trying to read between the lines of his young boss’s thoughts.

Though he never worked with Xu Xishuang before, he heard the rumors that Xu Xishuang’s health really was poor and the wind-triggered coughing blood wasn’t fake. 

Despite that, Xu Xishuang was known for taking acting very seriously, rarely using stand-ins, and being committed to every role. His acting was solid and his reputation was clean. Honestly, if it weren’t for his health, he would likely be a big star by now.

As for Yan Yushan, he was notoriously strict and couldn’t tolerate underhanded tricks. Anyone trying to cut corners in front of him would need to consider whether they could survive the consequences.

The assistant director recalled an incident from when Yan Yushan had served as a mentor on an idol show. During a live broadcast, he had openly lashed out at a pretty boy who had been shoved into the show by a sponsor—clearly coasting with no real talent, but guaranteed a debut. The broadcast director didn’t even dare mute his mic, let alone cut the feed, so they could only let Yan Yushan scold him freely.

That pretty boy wasn’t much worse-looking than Xu Xishuang and was a pro at crying those teary, heart-melting sobs without even smudging his makeup. Even so, Yan Yushan had ripped into him, “If you don’t have the skills, don’t take the job. Stop dragging the team down,” The guy ended up quitting the show that very day.

He still managed to debut later through other channels and entered the acting world, but he always avoided Yan Yushan like the plague and never dared to work with him again. The man had clearly left him psychological scars.

So… why was Director Yan being so lenient with Xu Xishuang?

While the assistant director pondered, Yan Yushan had already stepped into the dressing room.

He remembered every detail of the character he had written. Yu Xiang had longish hair, a defining visual element. No matter how much his teachers scolded or punished him, he refused to cut it because he was hiding a burn scar on the back of his neck from when his alcoholic father had poured boiling water on him.

Yu Xiang believed the scar was ugly, shameful, and terrifying. If anyone saw it, they’d treat him like a monster. So he hid it, even if it meant getting beaten.

Yan Yushan had always been proud of this design but now the problem was… Xu Xishuang had a bite mark on the back of his neck and he probably didn’t know.

Yan Yushan wasn’t even sure what exactly had driven him here, but when he walked in and saw Chi Siyuan practically leaning face-to-face with Xu Xishuang, something in him twisted.

Xu Xishuang had just been watching one of the funny videos Chi Siyuan recommended. When he looked up, he caught sight of Yan Yushan standing at the door. Something about his expression seemed off, but Xu Xishuang quickly noticed his gaze resting on him and Chi Siyuan and immediately understood.

The gong protagonist… was jealous!

Xu Xishuang hurriedly pushed Chi Siyuan’s face away from his phone, motioning for him to sit back and get his makeup done properly. 

Don’t make Yan Yushan more jealous—he couldn’t handle the wrath of the male lead!

Wait… did that mean the male lead already fell for the shou at first sight?

His sense of self as a “childbearing tool” deepened further. Xu Xishuang glanced at Chi Siyuan, who was grinning like a golden retriever. Who would’ve thought the wide-eyed, thick-browed main shou had already secretly gotten together with the male lead?

As far as Xu Xishuang was concerned, he’d already distanced himself from the main shou. Yet in Yan Yushan’s eyes, Xu Xishuang had just tenderly pushed Chi Siyuan’s face back, Chi Siyuan sat down obediently, and then Xu Xishuang gave him a lingering, reluctant look—as if the two were flirting right in front of him.

Yan Yushan didn’t even know what he was feeling.

…Had they always been this close? Or did they know each other beforehand?

Was he interrupting something?

The task at hand still needed to be done. Yan Yushan walked over, took the mid-length wig from the stylist, and said, “I’ll do it.”

Before the stylist could react, Xu Xishuang immediately panicked.

There’s no way he was letting the male lead put a wig on him! Xu Xishuang waved his hands to refuse. “No need, I—”

“You’ve still got a mark on your neck,” Yan Yushan said in a low voice, close to his ear.

Xu Xishuang instantly froze.

Even though he knew from the beginning that Xu Xishuang disliked him—and rightfully so—Yan Yushan still felt a bit uncomfortable seeing him reject his help so strongly. Still, he silently helped him put on the wig, then took the body paint and prosthetic materials from the makeup artist and began working on the scar that Yu Xiang was supposed to have.

Xu Xishuang was stunned the moment Yan Yushan’s fingers ran through his hair. Every time those slender fingers slid through, he remembered how, that night, those same fingers had gripped his hair and forced him into a kiss.

Just as he was on the verge of exploding internally, Yan Yushan finally finished with the wig.

Before he could even exhale in relief, he felt a soft brush stroke glide across the back of his neck. A chill ran down his spine, and he nearly stood up to punch the man behind him on reflex.

In the mirror, he saw Yan Yushan calmly painting the scar. Out of nowhere, Xu Xishuang remembered something he’d read online—how Yan Yushan had once held a solo art exhibition, and someone had described his painting gaze as being “like putting makeup on a lover.”

He had scoffed at that before but now, sitting here, he had to admit… that description was disturbingly accurate. He could practically feel his neck burning under that focused gaze. If he weren’t gripping the chair armrests like his life depended on it and planting all ten toes into the floor, he would’ve leapt out of his skin and run for his life.

He glanced over at Chi Siyuan, who had already finished makeup and stood up cheerfully. “I’ll head to set first!” he said brightly, then bounced off, seemingly not caring at all that Yan Yushan had just personally painted scars on Xu Xishuang’s neck.

Xu Xishuang looked away in confusion and didn’t notice that, in the mirror, Yan Yushan had been staring at his gradually reddening ears and the faint blush rising along his nape.

A faint smile curved on Yan Yushan’s lips—only to vanish the moment Xu Xishuang looked back toward Chi Siyuan.

No one else noticed Yan Yushan’s subtle change in expression. The stylist and makeup artist—now basically unemployed—were first shocked, then numbed as they watched Yan Yushan do all the work himself. Eventually, they just moved aside, deciding they were unnecessary here.

Yan Yushan worked quickly and professionally. The burn scar he painted was realistic, frightening, and somehow beautiful in its detail. Xu Xishuang, now facing away from the mirror, parted the fake bangs and hair to peek at the scar. He turned his head and looked over his shoulder, nodding in satisfaction.

“It looks great, Director Yan. Thank you,” he said with a small smile.

It really was beautifully done!

For a brief moment, Yan Yushan was dazed—staring into the eyes that shimmered like starlight.

“…You’re welcome.”