Bai Mao woke early the next morning even though he didn’t have any scenes to film. Out of habit, he stirred repeatedly in a half-dreaming state, waking once at seven, again at eight, like an alarm clock had been set inside his head, restless and unsettled.
But every time he opened his eyes, he found that Mr. Yu was still there.
With just one more turn, he could nestle straight into Mr. Yu’s arms.
Bai Mao adjusted himself into a comfortable position, stared at Yu Xiangchen’s breathtakingly handsome face for a while, then yawned again. Closing his eyes, he prepared to try falling back asleep.
Just then, an arm lifted and rested across Bai Mao’s waist.
Bai Mao froze. “Mr. Yu? Did I wake you?”
Yu Xiangchen replied softly, “It’s fine. Go back to sleep.”
He pulled Bai Mao closer into his arms, his well-defined hand pressing gently against the back of Bai Mao’s head, tucking him firmly into his embrace. In an even tone, he added, “The director knows I came last night. He won’t arrange any scenes for you today.”
Bai Mao: “?”
As if to confirm Yu Xiangchen’s words, not long after, a message came from his assistant, Dabao:
“Brother Bai, are you awake? The director told me your scenes can be postponed today. You can film whenever you’re free, no rush. If you’re still sleepy, you can keep sleeping.”
“Oh right, Teacher Le Zhijun arrived today. She’ll be staying with the crew for three consecutive days to make up for the previous scenes.”
This was something Bai Mao had instructed Dabao about before.
After glancing through it, Bai Mao finally closed his eyes again.
With his worries settled, he slept deeply and steadily, all the way until two in the afternoon.
By then, Mr. Yu was already up. He sat on the single sofa beside the bed, looking through messages. His fingers occasionally slid across a tablet, clearly handling work.
His brows were slightly knitted, his expression focused and serious. His clothes were neat and immaculate, his shirt buttoned all the way up to the top, carrying an air of restraint and abstinence.
Hearing movement on Bai Mao’s side, Yu Xiangchen turned his head. “Going back to sleep?”
“No need,” Bai Mao replied.
Yu Xiangchen tapped the tabletop. “Then go wash up. After that, drink this.”
Bai Mao’s gaze followed the gesture. There was a glass of milk beside Yu Xiangchen’s hand. The man seemed to recall something amusing and a faint smile curved at his lips.
Bai Mao: “……”
Instantly, he remembered.
Last night or rather, early this morning, the two of them had finally ended their battle.
Bai Mao hadn’t wanted to move but he’d worked up a bit of sweat. Not showering felt uncomfortable. In the end, he’d been dragged up to wash. Looking at Yu Xiangchen’s broad back in the bathroom, Bai Mao remembered that final kiss and suddenly got an idea.
Bai Mao believed that as a qualified, working canary, since Mr. Yu had solved so many of his problems in life, he should be more mature and proactive when it came to being Mr. Yu’s clingy vine, giving his patron a good experience. So he decided to take the initiative and kiss Mr. Yu.
Even though Mr. Yu always said he didn’t allow Bai Mao to kiss him, he would actually be the one to initiate kisses every time, acting all awkward about it.
Bai Mao guessed that his patron actually liked kissing very much. He was just all bark and no bite, embarrassed to admit it. Naturally, Bai Mao had to help Mr. Yu solve this difficult problem.
Thinking it through, Bai Mao acted on it immediately. “Mr. Yu,” he called.
Yu Xiangchen turned around.
And then a problem arose.
Mr. Yu was tall. Normally, he never lowered his head. His chin tilted up slightly, radiating an air of natural authority and aloof nobility. Bai Mao wanted to kiss him but no matter what, he couldn’t reach.
The situation became unbearably awkward.
Bai Mao stared unblinkingly at Mr. Yu’s lips and instinctively tiptoed, trying to reach but he hadn’t controlled his balance well. His center of gravity shifted and he ended up stumbling straight into Yu Xiangchen’s arms.
Yu Xiangchen caught him. After a brief pause, his expression twisted slightly.
After holding back for a long moment, he finally squeezed out a sentence: “You want it again?”
Bai Mao: “……”
Damn it.
Bai Mao’s face turned bright red. For a moment, he didn’t know whether to feel embarrassed that Mr. Yu thought his mind was full of filthy thoughts or furious at his own lack of height, needing to stand on tiptoe just to kiss someone and even then failing because of the distance!
Unbelievable.
Bai Mao practically exploded on the spot but since he’d already had the idea of kissing him, Bai Mao wasn’t about to give up so easily. More importantly, he couldn’t let Mr. Yu think that he was throwing himself at him because he wasn’t satisfied enough.
So without hesitation, he grabbed Yu Xiangchen by the neck, forcibly pulled him down and kissed him.
It was just a light, fleeting kiss.
Soft. Gentle and warm.
Bai Mao pulled back slightly, his eyes misty with lingering moisture as he looked at Yu Xiangchen. In a low voice, he said, “It’s not like that, I just wanted to kiss you.
As soon as he finished speaking, Bai Mao immediately pushed Yu Xiangchen and urged him, “Hurry up and go shower.”
Only then did Yu Xiangchen realize the true purpose behind Bai Mao standing on tiptoe earlier.
And then…
That was why there was now a glass of milk on the table this morning.
Bai Mao was speechless in a very macho sort of way.
Damn it.
What happened before had really just been an accident.
Next time.
If there was a next time he did something like that, Bai Mao swore he absolutely would not mess it up again!
After washing up, Bai Mao walked out with a calm expression, went straight to Yu Xiangchen’s side, picked up the glass and downed the milk in a few gulps. Then, as if nothing had happened, he said, “Mr. Yu, shall we go eat?”
Yu Xiangchen stood up. “Alright. After eating, take me for a stroll around the set.”
Bai Mao nodded. “Okay.”
The film set.
Le Zhijun’s acting skills were excellent and she had a solid grasp on her character. As long as she remembered her lines, a scene usually didn’t require many retakes, unless additional camera angles were needed but the core issue lay with the dialogue. Recently, Le Zhijun had been taking on a large number of gigs, bouncing between different productions. She simply couldn’t memorize all her lines, so she had no choice but to memorize them on the spot.
To keep up with the schedule, the director had no choice but to let her read numbers during long shots, planning to dub the dialogue later in post-production. Close-ups and medium shots would be filmed separately.
By the time Bai Mao and Yu Xiangchen arrived, Le Zhijun was in the middle of reading numbers.
She was dressed in an ornate, elaborate gown, filming a face-slapping scene in which she spoke with several “friends” who appeared gentle and friendly but whose words were edged with hidden barbs. Her expression was soft and virtuous, perfectly matching the temperament of Princess Xi He.
Bai Mao remembered this scene clearly.
In the original work, Princess Xi He delivered the harshest lines in the gentlest tone, completely suppressing the other characters without raising her voice, showing that she was kind but by no means weak.
Teacher Le Zhijun’s tone was indeed gentle but when random numbers popped out every now and then, no matter how one looked at it, it completely broke immersion.
The actors acting opposite her were inexperienced newcomers and for their very first collaboration with a popular young actress like Le Zhijun, they were already extremely nervous. With this kind of setup, mistakes happened even more frequently.
Sometimes, they’d exchange a glance and burst into laughter as they listened. Other times, when it was supposed to be someone else’s turn to speak, the newbie didn’t notice in time and the set would suddenly fall into an awkward silence.
The director was helpless and could only have everyone familiarize themselves with the script again.
The set was chaotic and Yu Xiangchen’s arrival didn’t draw much attention.
He stood with Bai Mao in a corner to the side, his brows slightly knitted as he leaned a little closer to Bai Mao and said quietly, “Is filming always like this over here?”
“No.”
Bai Mao’s expression turned serious as he replied in a low voice, “Teacher Le has a lot of engagements lately and has been very busy, so she hasn’t had time to memorize all her lines yet. She’ll dub them later. She’s very experienced, she only memorizes the dialogue for close-ups and medium shots. For wide shots, she reads numbers. That way, progress is faster and even if a line is spoken incorrectly, it’s not a big problem.”
“…I see.”
Yu Xiangchen asked, “When do you have scenes?”
Bai Mao lowered his voice. “The director thought I wouldn’t be able to get up today, so he didn’t schedule any scenes for me. Will you still be here tomorrow? If so, you can watch them.”
Yu Xiangchen replied, “Mm. I’ll be here tomorrow too.”
Before long, the director finally noticed Bai Mao and Yu Xiangchen standing nearby and smiled.
“Xiao Bai is here.” He waved them over.
Le Zhijun was standing beside the director, holding her script and rapidly memorizing her lines.
Hearing this, she looked toward Bai Mao and gave him a gentle smile. Combined with her costume and makeup, she truly looked like a pampered noble princess.
Bai Mao led Yu Xiangchen over.
They first greeted the director.
The director introduced them. “This is Le Zhijun, one of the Four Young Actresses and also our leading lady, Princess Xi He.”
“Hello, Mr. Yu,” Le Zhijun greeted Yu Xiangchen first.
She was slightly nearsighted. Even though she wore colored contacts, from a distance she still couldn’t see very clearly. Now that Yu Xiangchen was closer, she finally got a clear look at him. A hint of amazement flashed through her eyes and she couldn’t help but look at him a few more times.
Then, naturally, her gaze shifted to Bai Mao. Upon seeing him clearly, another look of pleasant surprise appeared on her face.
Her attitude was noticeably warmer than before. Smiling, she said, “You must be Xiao Bai, right? The director mentioned you to me before, saying your acting is good and that you’re very hardworking.”
“Yes, Teacher Le.” Bai Mao replied respectfully. “My name is Bai Mao. Being able to film with you is an honor for a newcomer like me.”
Le Zhijun forced a wry smile. “What honor? If anything, I’m the one who owes you all. Because of some… issues, I’ve had conflicts with the company’s higher-ups. I didn’t expect the company to privately line up so many engagements for me and it ended up affecting things here. I’ll do my best to film more scenes moving forward and try not to delay progress. I hope the director, Xiao Bai and all the staff here can be understanding.”
She added, “Dinner’s on me tonight. I’ll treat everyone to hot pot.”
The director smiled warmly. “Everyone understands your situation. At a special time like this, of course we need to be a bit more accommodating.” He then turned to Yu Xiangchen. “By the way, Mr. Yu, there’s something I’d like to discuss with you. Could you come over here for a moment?”
“Yes,” Yu Xiangchen replied.
Whenever he wasn’t alone with Bai Mao, Yu Xiangchen’s expression became noticeably colder and he rarely spoke. His whole presence felt cool and distant, like a human air conditioner.
With a calm expression, he followed the director away.
Only Bai Mao and Le Zhijun were left behind.
Bai Mao truly loved acting and cherished this job deeply. Back in university, when he didn’t even have money for food, he’d worked as an extra. Acting could be said to have changed his fate entirely, which made him place great importance on the word “professionalism.”
Because of issues like AI face replacement and reading numbers, Bai Mao’s impression of Le Zhijun wasn’t particularly good. Though this was merely his personal feeling and he had no intention of letting it affect work, in private, he genuinely had very little to say to her.
Just as he was about to find an excuse to sit somewhere else, he heard Le Zhijun say, “Xiao Bai, shall we add each other on WeChat?”
Bai Mao hesitated for a brief moment.
Le Zhijun had already taken out her phone.
She leaned in a little closer. Her brows and eyes were exquisitely refined, her smile still gentle and graceful yet her eyes were lively and sharp as they assessed Bai Mao freely. She looked him up and down before saying, “If one day you stop following Mr. Yu, you can consider me.”
Bai Mao: “???”
✦ ✧ ✦
Cresvynia
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
Tiny coffee. Big appreciation. ✧
☕ BUY THEM A COFFEE →
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ChaptersChapter 1 · A Nightmare or Reality?Chapter 2 · Yu family’s BanquetChapter 3 · I know your Secret..Chapter 4 · Becoming A Stand-InChapter 5 · Real IntentionChapter 6 · Yu XiangchenChapter 7 · Moved into new houseChapter 8 · Why he’s so perfect?!Chapter 9 · Role stolenChapter 10 · Four Times a WeekChapter 11 · Wrong Message?Chapter 12 · Flower protectorChapter 13 · Study MaterialChapter 14 Part 1 · I don’t have that kind of worldly desireChapter 14 Part 2 · I don’t have that kind of worldly desireChapter 15 · Four thousand yuan has arrived in AlipayChapter 16 · In the River?Chapter 17 · Boss like him, People would ready to do OvertimeChapter 18 · Does Mr. Yu have two faces?!Chapter 19 · Now we can begin to express our gratitude.Chapter 20 · Split Personality!Chapter 21 · Mr. Yu is busy and may not have time to comeChapter 22 · Call duration: 0:12Chapter 23 · He’s not Worth itChapter 24 · Mr Yu on film setChapter 25 · You can consider me if you decided to leave Mr. YuChapter 26 · Big Sister has unique hobbyChapter 27 · Really? I’m actually the young master of the Bai family?Chapter 28 · Bai Sheng is Pitiful?Chapter 29 · Someone took a picture of themChapter 30 · Your little one is hereChapter 31 · Mr. Yu asked me if I had a stiff neckChapter 32 · The little lucky butterfly’s wings flutteredChapter 33 · Mr. Yu, you came here just once at the beginningChapter 34 · The door wasn’t lockedChapter 35 · You’re an adult nowChapter 36 · Are rooms still available by scrambling?Chapter 37 · I’m definitely going to watch this variety show!Chapter 38 · Who asked Bai Sheng for money to support Bai Mao?Chapter 39 · How many zeros are there?Chapter 40 · You have to be careful with your methodsChapter 41 · Let’s get MarriedChapter 42 · I’m obviously just coveting your body!Chapter 43 · Does what we’re doing count as Sneaking?Chapter 44 · You want to change rooms?Chapter 45 · Isn’t Bai Sheng’s scheming way too deep?Chapter 46 · Mr. Yu in front of me has become calm and composedChapter 47 · You care a lot about Yu Yutian?Chapter 48 · Bai Sheng has found someoneChapter 49 · How to fall in loveChapter 50 · Uncle Long LegsChapter 51 · Bai Mao, I’m a little scaredChapter 52 · I simply told them the truthChapter 53 · That was far too mercilessChapter 54 · Your fans mention it in your fan forumChapter 55 · In your dreamsChapter 56 · Hello, UncleChapter 57 · Verified account had repliedChapter 58 · Maomao, you don’t need to be afraid of themChapter 59 · What a headacheChapter 60 · It’s a bit… tragicChapter 61 · I’m waiting for you at homeChapter 62 · That’s just too much!Chapter 63 · Is this watch really that expensive?Chapter 64 · Tian CityChapter 65 · They’re easy to get along with.Chapter 66 · Want to have a relationship with marriage in mind?Chapter 67 · Is this the joy of being someone’s “little uncle”?Chapter 68 · Has the protagonist finally figured it out?Chapter 69 · I miss youChapter 70 · That whole family is something else.Chapter 71 · Then comfort meChapter 72 · What about sincerity?Chapter 73 · There’s also 10% of the company’s sharesChapter 74 · So called conservativeChapter 75 · I thought you’d be walking with a limpChapter 76 · They’ve been brainwashedChapter 77 · We got marriedChapter 78 · CongratulationsChapter 79 · You already knew it was me?Chapter 80 · You look very good in a shirtChapter 81 · Did you used to like Bai Sheng?Chapter 82 · I never liked himChapter 83 · Uncle is super niceChapter 84 · Extra 1Chapter 85 · Extra 2Chapter 86 · Extra 3