【Chapter 016】 “I Was Waiting for You.”
The tall man at the front turned his gaze toward them and casually removed his sunglasses.
“Sister Yin, we meet again.”
Yu Yinhe took the initiative to shake his hand.
“Changting, welcome to our program.”
“It’s my honor to participate in a program produced by you, Sister Yin.”
Fu Changting smiled as he replied, but his gaze fell on Jing Shun beside her.
Following his line of sight, Yu Yinhe began introducing them.
“Changting, let me introduce you—”
“This is Jing Shun, one of the guests on the observation panel. And this is his manager, Yu Xiuzhu.”
Fu Changting took in the wheelchair beneath Jing Shun, and a complicated look flashed through his eyes.
“Mm.”
Jing Shun had noticed Fu Changting’s gaze long ago. Considering the man’s current status and position, he greeted him politely and formally.
“Hello, Teacher Fu. I’m Jing Shun. It’s an honor to record a program with you.”
“…”
Fu Changting was silent for a few seconds, but his response was not distant.
“It’s only been a few years, and you don’t recognize me anymore? Didn’t you call me ‘Brother’ on set back then?”
As soon as he said this, the people around them showed varying degrees of surprise.
Jing Shun had not expected Fu Changting to take the initiative to reminisce with him either, and he was momentarily speechless.
Yu Yinhe asked curiously, “You two know each other?”
Yu Xiuzhu knew quite a bit about Jing Shun’s acting career.
“I think you’ve worked together before? Played brothers, right?”
“Yes, we worked together on two dramas. Speaking of which—” Fu Changting deliberately imitated the way Jing Shun had addressed him earlier. “Teacher Jing made his debut before I did, so he should actually be my senior.”
Jing Shun’s ears grew hot, and he hurriedly denied it.
“Teacher Fu, you’re joking. How could I count as your senior?”
Yu Yinhe glanced at the time with a smile.
“How about everyone head inside and get ready first? Once we’re on the program, we’ll have plenty of time to chat and reminisce.”
“Mm.”
“Sure.”
The spacious reception lounge had been divided into several small makeup rooms. However, none of the doors had guest nameplates on them, so it seemed they could choose whichever one they wanted.
Jing Shun knew that his status was nothing special compared with the other guests present, so he tactfully chose a small makeup room in the corner. Since he was not very mobile, he had already changed into his on-camera outfit at home.
Yu Xiuzhu handed him a cup of freshly brewed fruit tea.
“Here, I just made this for you. Have some to warm yourself up. The makeup and styling artist will be here soon.”
“Okay, thank you, Brother Yu.”
Yu Xiuzhu pulled over the chair beside him and sat down.
“Xiao Jing, how’s your relationship with Fu Changting? Are you close?”
Jing Shun thought back to their chance encounter outside the elevator and took a small sip of the hot tea.
“We worked together on set before, but we haven’t seen each other in years. We’re not that close.”
The two had had very few scenes together back then, and the time they spent together across both productions had been quite short.
Still, there had not been many people his age on set at the time, and Jing Shun had really liked Fu Changting, the older actor who was a few years his senior. On top of that, he had been influenced by the characters they played—
Even off-camera, he really had called him “Brother” one time after another.
“I didn’t have my own WeChat account back then, and my Weibo account was still managed by my parents, so I never personally added him as a contact.”
The entertainment industry was neither as big nor as small as it seemed.
Ten years had passed. Fu Changting had become a household-name actor, while Jing Shun had suffered multiple pressures and setbacks, eventually becoming a marginal figure in the entertainment industry.
He knew the gap between their positions was enormous, which was why he had greeted him so formally. He had never intended to bring up their past connection, lest others mistake it for an attempt to curry favor.
Hearing Jing Shun’s reasoning, Yu Xiuzhu agreed with his cautious approach.
“Still, since you have the chance to record a program together this time, it’s not impossible to get reacquainted. Fu Changting has had a pretty good reputation in the industry over the years, and he has a wide network of connections and resources.”
If Jing Shun wanted to develop a long-term career in the entertainment industry, he would inevitably have to get to know more people in front of and behind the camera.
Of course, those connections had to be clean. He could not get involved in any of those messy unspoken rules.
Jing Shun understood what Yu Xiuzhu meant, and suddenly remembered something else.
While there was no one else around, he asked, “Brother Yu, what’s Producer Meng’s reputation like in the industry?”
Jing Shun had not had much contact with variety shows before, so he knew absolutely nothing about Meng Zhide.
Yu Xiuzhu answered, “Meng Zhide has been at Hai City TV Station for nearly seventeen years, right? He’s produced quite a few programs over the years, so he should have accumulated quite a few connections. He’s always smiling and friendly to everyone. He’s actually quite…”
Halfway through, he keenly sensed that something was wrong.
“Xiao Jing, did Meng Zhide do anything to you while I was outside taking the call?”
Hearing Yu Xiuzhu’s question, Jing Shun shook his head.
“No, I was just asking.”
Maybe his long-standing psychological issues had made him overly sensitive, causing him to react too strongly to Meng Zhide’s sudden contact?
Yu Xiuzhu’s expression turned serious, and he asked again to make sure.
“Really, nothing happened?”
Jing Shun nodded.
“Mm.”
“Good.”
Yu Xiuzhu breathed a sigh of relief and gave him a serious reminder.
“It’s true that Meng Zhide worked his way up to becoming a producer, but I really haven’t heard of him doing anything shady in the industry.”
“Still, Sister Yin is the one who calls the shots on this program. From now on, don’t deal with him alone. If anything comes up, let me handle it.”
“Mm.”
Jing Shun had his own sense of right and wrong.
He would not easily cross other people’s boundaries, nor would he casually allow others to cross his. Besides, there was no concrete evidence of anything yet, and filming had not even begun. It was better to avoid unnecessary trouble.
…
After all, this was a television variety show, so Jing Shun’s hair and makeup took nearly two hours to complete.
Yu Xiuzhu had already gone outside to coordinate the program’s procedures. Jing Shun sat alone in his wheelchair, still holding the fruit tea, of which more than half a cup remained.
It wasn’t that he didn’t like drinking it. He simply didn’t dare drink too much.
After so many years, he was about to face the cameras again, and the nervousness in his heart would not go away. Besides, he was still less mobile than the others and had to minimize the possibility of needing to use the restroom while outside.
Knock, knock.
A knock sounded at the door.
“Come in.”
Jing Shun had assumed it was Yu Xiuzhu returning, but he did not expect the person who opened the door to be Fu Changting. The other man had changed into a simple black-and-white sweater, and his previously unapproachable presence had faded considerably.
Jing Shun was surprised.
“Teacher Fu, what brings you here?”
Fu Changting explained, “The staff told me your makeup room was here. Judging by your appearance, you should be finished with hair and makeup, right? Do you mind if I come in and chat for a while?”
The man was a celebrated Best Actor, and he had already come all the way to the door. How could Jing Shun possibly turn him away?
Jing Shun straightened his back and invited him in.
“Of course not. Please, have a seat.”
Fu Changting walked over and sat down. His gaze traveled over Jing Shun from head to toe, but it was not intrusive.
“There were too many people around earlier, so it wasn’t convenient to ask. How are your legs? Is everything okay?”
Jing Shun instinctively tugged at the blanket. “I’m okay.”
Fu Changting was afraid he had misunderstood. “I just wanted to see if there was anything I could do to help.”
Jing Shun had never liked showing outsiders his suffering. “I’ve already found a doctor and am preparing for surgery. There should still be a chance of recovery.”
Hearing this, Fu Changting gave a genuine laugh of relief. “That’s good. Actually, when I saw the trending news, I contacted your auntie right away to ask about your situation.”
This was the first time Jing Shun had heard about it. “My mom?”
“Mm.”
Fu Changting’s expression did not look like he was lying. “You forgot? Back when we were on set, you asked your mom to add me on WeChat. She would send me holiday greetings, and sometimes she’d chat with me and ask how busy I was.”
“I remember. There was even one time you messaged me to complain that you hadn’t passed the audition. Otherwise, you could have worked with me a third time.”
Mentioning those memories brought back some of Jing Shun’s old familiarity with Fu Changting.
“I was pretty immature back then. Was I bothering you?”
“Not at all.”
At the time, Fu Changting had been in the middle of his rising career, busy with all kinds of work. He had also seen the viciousness and complicated scheming of the entertainment industry.
But the greetings and concern Jing Shun sent him every time had been genuine, without any ulterior motives.
“Three months ago, when I heard about what happened to you, I wanted to help as much as I could. But the messages I sent your auntie never got a reply.”
Fu Changting had been busy filming a television drama overseas at the time, and he could not get any information even after asking around.
It was not until more than half a month later that Jing Shun’s mother finally replied. However, before they could exchange more than a few words, she took the opportunity to make a rather difficult request.
Fu Changting left out some of the less pleasant details and did not say much more.
Jing Shun explained, “My parents have been divorced for many years. They both have new families now, and I don’t really keep in touch with them anymore.”
He paused, then immediately added an apology.
“I’m sorry, Teacher Fu. I didn’t know you had sent messages asking about me back then.”
“Calling me Teacher Fu every other sentence is really too distant.” Fu Changting stopped him helplessly. “Even if you can’t call me ‘Brother’ like you did when you were little, at least call me ‘Brother Ting’ like everyone else?”
Jing Shun hesitated for two seconds before changing his address.
“Brother Ting.”
“That’s more like it.”
Fu Changting nodded in satisfaction, then asked, “You’re about to go on the program. Are you nervous?”
Jing Shun still had both hands around his thermos, concealing his true feelings.
“I’m okay.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Yu Xiuzhu pushed open the half-closed door of the makeup room.
“Xiao Jing, you…”
He paused slightly when he saw Fu Changting, then immediately continued.
“Teacher Fu is here too? They’re about to do a trial recording over there. How about we go together?”
“Sure.”
Fu Changting stood up first and said to Jing Shun, “We can chat more after the program, when we have time.”
“…”
The moment Jing Shun thought about the program starting soon, his heart began pounding like a drum. He even forgot to respond to Fu Changting.
Unable to help himself, he took a large sip of fruit tea to soothe his throat, which had tightened from nervousness, then forced himself to remain calm.
“Okay, let’s go.”
…
The observation room’s recording content was not complicated.
After the guests introduced themselves at the beginning, they would watch the reality show’s main footage together and then discuss certain topics.
As the biggest name among the guests, Fu Changting naturally sat in the center position. The other guests took their assigned seats and exchanged polite greetings.
Jing Shun sat second from the right. Beside him was the corporate flying guest for this episode—
Fang Lun, the publicity director of Xiaomai Technology.
All four companies participating in the reality show had sent representatives, each of whom would take time out of their schedules to record two episodes as flying guests.
The five-hour recording session was indeed a long one, but all the guests present maintained a high level of professionalism. They picked up on one another’s jokes and kept the conversation lively, making the entire program go more smoothly than expected.
The first round of recording finally came to an end before eight that evening.
Back in the makeup room, Jing Shun’s tense nerves finally relaxed, and his mind went completely blank.
He looked at Yu Xiuzhu beside him and thanked him sincerely.
“Brother Yu, you worked hard today too.”
For a recording session of this length, even the assistants could sneak backstage and slack off for a while, let alone the managers.
But Yu Xiuzhu was worried that Jing Shun might not be used to being on a program again after so long, and even more worried that his body might not be able to handle it. He had stayed in front of the cameras the entire time, watching over him until the recording ended.
“We don’t need to be so polite with each other. Besides, how could I have worked harder than you?” Yu Xiuzhu handed him his thermos again. “You can drink more now. Do you want to remove your makeup?”
“No, I’ll do it when I get home.”
Perhaps he had been too nervous during the recording. Now that he had relaxed, Jing Shun felt exhausted.
“Then get some rest. I’ll go confirm everything with Sister Yin and the others one more time. If there’s nothing else, I’ll take you home.”
“Okay.”
The moment Yu Xiuzhu left, Jing Shun felt his smartwatch vibrate.
He quickly rolled up his sleeve to check.
A message appeared on the square watch screen:
“Finished recording?”
Jing Shun immediately realized who it was from. Since typing on the watch was inconvenient, he replied directly by voice.
“Mr. Chi, how did you know? We just finished here. I’m about to head home.”
Chi Gui’s reply came quickly.
“Your heart rate only just returned to normal. I guessed you must have finished the program and stopped being nervous.”
“…”
He had clearly hidden his nervousness so well in front of everyone, yet Chi Gui, who wasn’t even there, had noticed something was off?
A subtle, indescribable feeling stirred in Jing Shun’s heart. Then, on second thought, he found it strange.
How did someone as busy as Chi Gui even have time to check his heart rate?
He had even immediately deduced that Jing Shun had finished filming. Surely he couldn’t have been watching the whole time?
While his thoughts wandered, Chi Gui sent another message:
“Parking space B20 on Level B1. Come down after you’ve finished getting ready. No rush, take your time.”
Jing Shun asked in return:
“Did you send the driver to pick me up?”
Chi Gui’s reply was brief, yet it struck Jing Shun’s heart with surprising force.
“I’m the one waiting for you.”