“No, no, it’s fine. I’ll just keep looking on my own.”
Why does Xiao Deng have to tell everyone everything? He’s like a loudspeaker.
Mu Heng wasn’t discouraged after being rejected. He moved a little closer to Song Xun. “So where are you staying now? Still at the old place?”
Song Xun shook his head. Nowadays, paparazzi and fans kept showing up there from time to time. His home had practically turned into some kind of check-in hotspot.
“No.”
“Staying at a hotel then?”
“Not that either. I’m just staying at a friend’s place for now. I’ll move out in a little while.”
Mu Heng nodded. “Alright.”
When the two of them returned to the dorm, they found An Chu’s bed completely empty. It seemed An Chu really was upset. Although he usually didn’t stay there at night anyway, now he had even packed up all his things.
“Looks like he’s still quite thin-skinned.”
Song Xun was actually quite surprised.
Back when Song Xun first entered the industry, his acting skills were just passable. When he encountered strict directors, he would get scolded too.
At first, he really did feel wronged and even wanted to cry. If it weren’t for the fact that there were too many people around in public, he probably would have broken down in tears several times.
But gradually, he got used to it. His skin grew thicker and thicker. In less serious situations, even if he got scolded, he could still crack a joke or two to lighten the mood with the director.
Besides, once you enter the entertainment industry, it’s inevitable to encounter things that bother you. If you took everything to heart, you’d probably exhaust yourself to death.
Mu Heng sat down on a chair, picked up his makeup remover oil, and prepared to remove his makeup. He said to Song Xun:
“He’s been pampered for too long. He’ll be fine after getting scolded a few more times in the future.”
Song Xun completely agreed. Who could argue with that?
They both thought it was impossible for An Chu to terminate his contract. After all, the breach of contract fee was quite high. At most, he was just venting his frustration or applying to not stay in the dorm. That request wasn’t unreasonable, and they believed the production team would agree to it.
But he turned out to be tougher than they expected.
He said he wouldn’t come, and he really didn’t. When they asked the staff, An Chu had actually terminated his contract, paid a hefty penalty fee, and just walked away.
“Wow, he really did terminate his contract.”
Given his status, that penalty fee was no small amount. An ordinary person—no, a normal person—would never pay such a huge sum just because they got criticized a few times.
Anyway, Song Xun was poor. He simply couldn’t afford to be as tough as An Chu.
Mu Heng sat beside him, letting the makeup artist work on his face.
“Yeah, and a newcomer will be joining in a little while. They say he’s taking An Chu’s spot.”
The filming schedule naturally couldn’t be disrupted casually. If someone left, they had to find a replacement.
Song Xun clasped his hands together. “I hope he’s easy to get along with.”
Working with An Chu before wasn’t exactly problematic, but it was uncomfortable. He had a way of saying things that specifically hit where it hurt.
Moreover, he loved bringing up controversial topics once filming had already started. And the production team was no better—they loved stirring up discussions, so they included all those scenes in the edit, and sometimes even edited them out of context.
Mu Heng tilted his head and saw Song Xun earnestly praying to every deity imaginable. The corner of his mouth lifted. “He should be pretty easy to get along with.”
“Huh? How do you know?”
In Song Xun’s impression, Mu Heng had never been one for gossip. He always kept to himself, focused on doing his own thing properly.
Unexpectedly, Mu Heng said, “Because he’s newly signed to our company. They’re putting him in to generate some buzz for him. I’ve met him a few times. He seems quite polite.”
The entertainment company Mu Heng signed with has recently expanded significantly and is showing strong momentum for development, promising a bright future. As a result, they’ve signed many new talents for cultivation.
“That’s good.”
“Lun Lun”
Two men, both wearing masks and sunglasses, were pushing a shopping cart. The taller one pushed the cart, making it impossible to see their faces, but both had model-like figures—tall and long-legged. At a glance, they stood out from the crowd.
The supermarket was quite busy, though most shoppers were elderly, chattering away as they picked out items.
Passing by the fresh produce section, Yan Jiayu noticed some fresh fish and asked Song Xun if he wanted to eat fish. Song Xun nodded.
Looking around, Song Xun felt a bit bored and crouched in front of the glass fish tank, teasing the giant octopus.
“Hello~ Are you Squidward?”
The large octopus stared with its pitch-black eyes, its eight tentacles floating up and down.
Song Xun poked it with his finger, but the octopus ignored him and swam to the other side.
When Yan Jiayu finished shopping and came over, he patted Song Xun’s head and asked what he was looking at so intently.
“Ouch, don’t pat my head. It’ll stunt my growth.”
“You’re already 24. Still hoping to grow taller?”
Song Xun wasn’t short, standing at 178 cm barefoot, but he had his own aspirations, wishing he could reach 180 cm.
“A man is forever a boy at heart.”
Yan Jiayu was sometimes genuinely speechless at his words, but he didn’t dwell on it. “Alright then, shoot up to 260 cm and break a Guinness World Record.”
Song Xun stood up and laughed.
“Hahaha, I’m not a skyrocket. What’s the point of shooting up so high?”
After paying, they returned to their residential complex. Just as they drove into the underground garage, a blinding light flashed from the opposite side, temporarily blinding both of them. However, Song Xun forced his eyes open slightly and saw a man and a woman sitting in the car opposite them.
Once the car sped past, the two regained their senses.
“That wasn’t… Zhao Song, was it?”
“?! Zhao Song!”
Song Xun turned to look at Yan Jiayu, somewhat surprised. Seeing Yan Jiayu nod, he then asked if the woman sitting next to Zhao Song was Hu Minxuan.
Although Yan Jiayu hadn’t clearly seen the woman’s face, he was certain it wasn’t Hu Minxuan. Hu Minxuan had recently taken on a period drama and had long hair, as seen in the press conference news. The woman in the car, however, had short blonde hair.
Upon hearing this, Song Xun bit his lower lip. This was the perfect opportunity.
His eyes lit up with a mischievous idea.
“There’s a one-day experience activity for paparazzi. Want to join?”
“You mean…”
Song Xun nodded vigorously.
“An eye for an eye.” After all, Zhao Song wasn’t exactly clean in his dealings. Though they weren’t sure about the woman’s relationship with him, investigating would surely yield results.
No wonder the paparazzi hadn’t captured much before—only suspicions of infidelity. It turned out Zhao Song also lived in this complex. Once inside, it was difficult for them to capture anything they wanted.
Yan Jiayu naturally wouldn’t refuse Song Xun. In fact, he wouldn’t refuse any of Song Xun’s requests.
Two popular celebrities, acting almost like sneaky spies.
Yan Jiayu recalled that even the craziest thing he’d ever done with Xiao Chenglin was skipping class to play games at an internet cafe, only to be caught and given a severe beating by his father.
His father always looked down on his profession as low-class and disreputable. Well, now he’s taken on something even more disreputable.
The two of them followed Zhao Song and the woman. As soon as they got out of the car, Zhao Song couldn’t hold back and kissed her.
Song Xun reacted quickly, grabbing his phone and snapping a series of photos.
Then they followed them into the building.
They were a bit too far away to hear what the two were saying, only seeing the woman’s red lips part and close before Zhao Song started kissing her again.
The two were passionately French-kissing in the hallway, making Song Xun frown in disgust. It was downright gross—even filming a scene would consider aesthetic appeal, but these two looked like two pieces of raw, uncooked meat tangled together, saliva and all, clinging and pulling apart like lotus roots.
Song Xun wondered, poking Yan Jiayu and asking, “Don’t your apartment hallways have surveillance cameras?”
Yan Jiayu shrugged and pursed his lips.
“They do. Maybe they’re just too lost in the heat of the moment to care.”
Song Xun simply recorded a short video. Then the two entered the elevator, and they couldn’t follow any further, so they decided to head back.
The whole way, it was quiet and deserted, with no one around.
Song Xun flipped through the videos and photos in his phone album, frowning. Why weren’t they clearer?
“What’s wrong with that expression?”
He handed the phone to Yan Jiayu. “It’s a bit blurry. Do you think Zhao Song’s team will just deny it outright? This might not be enough to nail him.”
Unexpectedly, Yan Jiayu suddenly pulled out his own phone. “No worries, I recorded it too.”
The video in Yan Jiayu’s album was as clear as a professional camera. Song Xun immediately gave him a thumbs-up.
“You’re the reliable one, as always.”
Yan Jiayu’s ears suddenly grew warm, even though Song Xun was just sincerely complimenting him without any hidden meaning.
After walking for a while, Yan Jiayu suddenly said to Song Xun, “I have to go to Luocheng the day after tomorrow to film. It’ll probably take quite a while to finish.”
“Luocheng?!”
Seeing Song Xun’s surprised expression, Yan Jiayu nodded.
“Yeah, because I took on a movie recently, and the filming location is in Luocheng.”
That movie was a script Yan Jiayu had carefully selected. Ever since winning the Golden Statue Award, he had struggled to find another film as good as the last one.
People are always greedy, never satisfied with their current achievements.
Especially when it comes to winning awards—it requires the right timing, location, and circumstances, none of which can be missing.
Song Xun licked his slightly dry lips, recalling that in the original novel, Mu Heng returned to his hometown a few days later to pay respects to his family, while Yan Jiayu happened to be filming there. Though neither of them explicitly said it, they did share mutual feelings, and from then on, their relationship grew even more ambiguous.
“What about the show you’re recording? Are you not doing it anymore?”
“Of course not. I’m not that stupid. I can’t afford such a huge penalty for breaching the contract.”
Song Xun gave him a suspicious look. If Yan Jiayu hadn’t seemed so calm, he would have suspected he was hinting at something.
Yan Jiayu’s contract with the show wasn’t long to begin with, and he wasn’t hired as a mentor. The production team had invited him mainly for the popularity he brought, which was why they were willing to pay a hefty sum for his participation.
As for the schedule, they had already discussed how to arrange it, with Yan Jiayu flying back during his free time to film additional scenes, which would later be edited into the show.
“What kind of movie did you take on this time? Will it be even more exciting than the last one?”
Song Xun had seen the film for which Yan Jiayu won the award. The character design was truly outstanding, and the cinematography, in both its color palette and framing, fully showcased the character’s personal charm on the big screen.
Unexpectedly, Yan Jiayu didn’t answer his question but instead deliberately teased him.
“Oh? You’ve seen my film?”
His tone was somewhat… playful.
Song Xun blinked. “What, your film isn’t allowed to be watched?”
Yan Jiayu smiled. “No, it’s my honor that you liked it.”
Song Xun fell silent for a moment. The two walked side by side, nearing the entrance to the house, when Yan Jiayu suddenly stopped and looked at him. His eyes were filled with an emotion Song Xun couldn’t quite decipher.
“I’ve been away for so long. Did you miss me, even just a little?”