The martial arts instructor taught the two of them some fight choreography.
After the instructor demonstrated once or twice, Shang Xueyan had already mastered it, his movements clean and sharp.
The instructor was surprised. “Have you studied martial arts before?”
Shang Xueyan had studied it, but this body hadn’t.
Shang Xueyan shook his head. “No.”
“Then you’re naturally talented.” The instructor squeezed his shoulder and arm, looked at his face, and praised him. “You’re handsome and smart. You’ll definitely make it big in the future.”
“Instructor Chen, you’re pretty handsome too. If you hadn’t become a martial arts director, you might have become an action star.” Shang Xueyan said sincerely. Although Instructor Chen was past forty, his features were still well-proportioned.
Instructor Chen sighed. “The competition was too fierce when I was young.”
Jiang Lan watched the two of them chatting happily and suppressed the irritation building inside him.
After more than half an hour, Jiang Lan had practiced the moves well enough. The director had them run through the scene first, first the female lead being harassed by Shang Xueyan and his two subordinates, then the male lead making a dashing entrance to teach the young ruffians a lesson.
There was no special requirement for this scene other than showcasing the male lead’s handsomeness from every angle, handsome in a natural, effortless way.
The director sat behind the monitor, staring at Shang Xueyan in the frame. When Jiang Lan and he appeared in the same shot, the director frowned and walked out from behind the monitor.
He called over the makeup artist, studied Shang Xueyan’s face, then glanced at Jiang Lan’s face, and instructed the makeup artist, “Make Lin Han darker. He’s too pale.”
Lin Han was Shang Xueyan’s character name in the drama.
The makeup artist quickly applied darker makeup to Shang Xueyan.
“Is that good enough, Director Wang?”
Director Wang shook his head. “No, still too handsome. Make him uglier.”
Makeup artists were usually asked to make people more handsome or beautiful; requests to make someone uglier were rare. Following the director’s instructions, she added a large dark mole above the corner of Shang Xueyan’s mouth.
“Alright, that’ll do. Good enough.”
After the rehearsal, formal filming began.
The female lead was out strolling when she ran into Shang Xueyan and his two attendants harassing her. Just as she was about to teach Shang Xueyan a lesson herself, the male lead descended from above.
Shang Xueyan dodged to the side. Jiang Lan, following the moves he had just practiced, turned sideways and kicked toward Shang Xueyan’s knee.
According to the choreography, the kick wasn’t supposed to use much force just barely making contact. Shang Xueyan would take two steps back, then continue exchanging blows with the male lead, ultimately losing to him with reluctance.
Jiang Lan slammed his foot into Shang Xueyan’s knee with several times more force than during practice. Pain instantly radiated outward from the knee.
Caught off guard, Shang Xueyan’s expression shifted slightly, and his subsequent movements faltered.
“Cut.” The director called a stop and stood up from behind the monitor. “What’s going on?”
Jiang Lan looked apologetic. “Director Wang, I got too into character just now and couldn’t hold back my strength.”
He looked at Shang Xueyan with remorse. “Shang Rong, are you okay? Did I hurt you?”
Shang Xueyan shook his head, looking like he was enduring the pain. “Director, I’m fine. Let’s continue.”
The director restarted the scene of the two of them fighting.
As Shang Xueyan reached out to harass the female lead, Jiang Lan suddenly appeared from the side. They exchanged a round of blows, then Jiang Lan raised his leg, moving into the kicking motion.
Shang Xueyan was prepared. In his past life, he had been a young marquis, surrounded by servants from a young age, but he had been kidnapped as a child, so his parents had hired martial arts masters to teach him and his elder brother. Though he hadn’t mastered it perfectly, in the eyes of ordinary people, his movements were quicker and sharper.
Jiang Lan viciously raised his leg, and the instant before his toes were about to sweep across Shang Xueyan’s knee, Shang Xueyan decisively stumbled back two steps.
Jiang Lan’s expression flickered with surprise.
The director didn’t call cut, and Jiang Lan quickly adjusted, continuing with the rest of the scene.
Shang Xueyan struck first, his arm swinging with a gust of force. Jiang Lan grabbed his fist tightly, restraining Shang Xueyan’s movement. According to the fight choreographer’s earlier instructions, Shang Xueyan was supposed to follow up with an elbow strike, which Jiang Lan would nimbly dodge.
Shang Xueyan’s right wrist was caught by Jiang Lan, and he sidestepped, throwing an elbow with his left arm. Jiang Lan was just about to dodge when Shang Xueyan’s movement came faster and fiercer than during their earlier rehearsal.
Jiang Lan had no way to avoid it.
The elbow slammed into the man’s ribs, producing a distinct dull thud. Jiang Lan suddenly forgot every move the fight choreographer had taught him, letting out a muffled groan as he clutched his ribs in pain.
Shang Xueyan looked baffled, his expression bewildered: “Jiang Lan, why didn’t you dodge just now? Lucky I didn’t put much force into that.”
Jiang Lan’s face twisted for a moment, but when he met Shang Xueyan’s seemingly innocent gaze, he gritted his teeth, turned to the director, and said weakly, “Director Wang, I need to go to the hospital. My ribs hurt so badly they might be fractured.”
Director Wang was taken aback: “Is it really that serious?”
Shang Xueyan explained, “Director Wang, I barely used any strength just now.”
Jiang Lan’s voice was frail: “But it really hurts so much. It’s agonizing.”
Jiang Lan’s manager rushed forward to support him, shooting Shang Xueyan a hostile look: “Shang Rong, you must be getting back at him for personal reasons! Do you have any idea how packed Jiang Lan’s schedule is? He has work every single day. If something really happens to him, can you afford to take responsibility?”
Then, in a commanding tone, he demanded the crew call 120 and have Jiang Lan taken to the hospital.
The director looked at Jiang Lan with a troubled expression.
Shang Xueyan suddenly spoke up: “Director Wang, this drama has no shortage of fight scenes for the male lead, right? I really didn’t use much force just now you all saw how I moved. If the male lead has such a frail, delicate body, I’m worried can you really finish filming this smoothly?”
Shang Xueyan wasn’t afraid he’d actually seriously injured Jiang Lan. He had indeed done it on purpose, putting real strength into it should have hurt more than the kick Jiang Lan had landed on his knee, but it wouldn’t cause any lasting damage.
Unless Jiang Lan was made of glass.
And glass was perfect!
“Director Wang, Coach Chen was just saying that Jiang Lan is already slow at learning the fight choreography, and now with a body made of tofu…” Shang Xueyan let out a long, exaggerated sigh.
Director Wang’s expression turned stern.
At that moment, a low, cold voice rang out: “Jiang Lan, are you sure you still want to go to the hospital now?”
Shang Xueyan glanced sideways. The speaker was a young man he didn’t recognize, dressed in an expensive-looking black suit. He was tall, a few centimeters taller than Shang Xueyan, frowning at Jiang Lan. When he noticed Shang Xueyan looking at him, he raised an eyebrow in a fairly friendly manner.
Director Wang hurried forward to shake his hand. “President Feng, when did you get here?”
Feng Yu: “Just arrived not long ago.”
Feng Yu glanced at Shang Xueyan. “He’s right. This drama’s male lead has quite a few fight scenes. If our male lead is this fragile, this drama might not suit him.”
Feng Yu’s lips curled into a meaningful smile. “Fortunately, we’ve only been filming this for a few days.”
Jiang Lan’s expression shifted. This wasn’t a particularly big production, but it wasn’t some unknown low-budget project either. The man before him, Feng Yu, was the biggest investor in this drama. If he proposed replacing the male lead, even if Lu Han objected, Lu Han might not necessarily be able to outmatch him.
Feng Yu stared at Jiang Lan. “Still in pain? Need to go to the hospital?”
Everyone was staring at him, especially Shang Xueyan, who watched him with an unhurried, composed air.
Jiang Lan suppressed the grievance in his heart and forced a gentle, warm smile. “I’ve rested a bit. It doesn’t hurt as much as before now. I probably don’t need to go to the hospital.”
Feng Yu didn’t respond, casting him a faint, indifferent glance as if he didn’t even register the other man’s presence. Instead, he looked at Shang Xueyan. “Your fight scene just now was quite impressive. Your movements were very crisp.”
Shang Xueyan beamed at the praise, his eyes sparkling. “The fight choreographer just said I’m very quick-witted and talented.”
A few minutes later, after the director confirmed Jiang Lan was fit to film, he called for action.
There was only this one scene today, and after it was done, he’d earn three hundred yuan.
Shang Xueyan mused that if they wrapped up early, he could still squeeze in some other part-time work in the afternoon. As long as Jiang Lan didn’t keep scheming against him, Shang Xueyan wanted to finish the scene as quickly as possible.
But even if Jiang Lan didn’t pull any tricks, this scene was inherently about the cannon fodder Shang Xueyan played getting taught a lesson by Jiang Lan. In the end, Shang Xueyan was still kicked to the ground by him.
After the director called cut, Shang Xueyan caught the sneering look in Jiang Lan’s eyes.
Shang Xueyan averted his gaze from him, dusted off the dirt on his clothes, and looked at the director with a cheerful expression. “Director, how was my performance just now?”
The director praised him. “Not bad. Your fall was very crisp. But you, Jiang Lan do you even know how to act? You’re the male lead, not some cunning, treacherous villain.”
Jiang Lan suppressed the hatred in his heart. It was always like this. No matter how he compared to Shang Rong in acting or looks, he could only land the male lead in short web dramas while Shang Rong got the second or third lead. Even after he signed with a major company through his own efforts, when Shang Rong lucked into the second male lead role in a full-length drama, Jiang Lan’s fourth lead role got replaced by the production team.
Fortunately, a person’s luck couldn’t last forever.
Now Shang Rong was just an extra, while he was the male lead of this production. Shang Rong had no right to compete with him for anything anymore, and he wasn’t even worth Jiang Lan’s attention.
They filmed three more takes before the director was finally satisfied. After the scene ended, Shang Xueyan stood up, and a crew member came forward to unbuckle the wire harness from Shang Xueyan’s body.
Shang Xueyan went to the production’s trailer to remove his wig and change back into his own clothes, ready to head home.
He didn’t see any shared bikes nearby, so he walked toward the subway entrance, scanning for one along the way.
He walked quickly because the sky was growing increasingly overcast. When he’d been changing clothes earlier, several background actors had worried aloud about whether it might rain soon.
Just as the thought crossed his mind, a bolt of lightning split the dark sky, and heavy raindrops came pouring down. At first, it wasn’t too heavy, and Shang Xueyan could still sprint toward the subway entrance. But within a few minutes, the rain intensified, soaking his hair. He hurriedly dashed under the eaves of a roadside building to take shelter.
Standing under the eaves, Shang Xueyan pulled out his phone. The weather forecast showed heavy rain for the next six hours.
He wasn’t scheduled for a shift at the coffee shop today, and he’d planned to deliver food in the afternoon, but with the rain pouring down, his riding skills weren’t exactly great. Sure, the delivery fees were higher in the rain, but if something went wrong, it would cost him even more.
Shang Xueyan mulled over what to do for the rest of the day.
Amid the roaring sound of the downpour, a low, rumbling engine gradually drew closer.
Shang Xueyan looked up. A black Bentley pulled up on the road beside him, and the window rolled down slowly, revealing a familiar face on his retina.
During a break in the filming earlier, Shang Xueyan had asked the makeup artist who the man called President Feng was. The makeup artist told him his name was Feng Yu, the CEO of Xinghai Entertainment and the biggest investor in this production.
He’d chosen Jiang Lan as the male lead, so Shang Xueyan naturally hadn’t had a great impression of him but just now, from an objective and fair standpoint, he’d managed to salvage some of that impression.
Seeing him lower the window, Shang Xueyan flashed him a grin. “President Feng.”
Feng Yu nodded slightly and said with a smile, “Get in. I’ll give you a ride.”
He opened the door.
Seeing this, Shang Xueyan didn’t stand on ceremony. With a beaming smile, he said, “Thanks a lot, President Feng.”
He bent down, afraid of getting his head soaked by the rain, and slipped quickly into the car, taking a seat beside him.
Young men as handsome as Shang Xueyan were rare, and young men who, after learning his identity, neither flattered him nor awkwardly tried to curry favor, but simply interacted with him naturally those were even rarer.
Feng Yu turned his head and asked, “Where to?”
Shang Xueyan: “Just drop me off at the nearest subway entrance.”
“Only to the subway entrance?”
Shang Xueyan smiled, revealing a row of snow-white, even teeth. “Yeah, getting me to the subway entrance is already a huge help.”
“Alright.”
A few minutes later, the Bentley arrived at the nearest subway station.
The spot where they stopped was still a few dozen meters from the entrance, but fortunately the rain had lightened a bit compared to a few minutes ago. Shang Xueyan turned his head and thanked Feng Yu once more. He ducked his head, pulled the hood of his sweatshirt over his head, and pushed open the door with his dry, slender fingers.
The rain fell in slanting lines, and the boy’s silhouette was somewhat striking against the hazy downpour. His sweatshirt, soaked by the rain, clung to his shoulders, tracing out clean, handsome lines.