WAM CH15

Early the next morning, the sky was not yet light. Looking out the window, a layer of mist veiled the surroundings. The greyish, slightly bruised-looking sky felt oppressive, and occasional gusts of wind rustling the leaves were the only sounds. Shao Si stepped through the hazy darkness and, with remarkable speed, slid into the back seat of the nanny van, raising his hand to take off his sunglasses.

He had gulped down two large cups of coffee before leaving the house, barely managing to hold back his sleepiness. Li Guangzong, sitting next to him, pulled a thermos from a bag and asked, “Still sleepy? Do you want a little more?” Shao Si waved his hand and rolled down the window slightly, causing the temperature inside the car to drop immediately.

After the wind blew for a while, the unfamiliar face sitting in the passenger seat turned around and handed them two palm-sized black boxes. “These are in-ear communicators. Put them on according to the instructions. The police have already been deployed among the extras, security, and various points around St. Peter’s Academy. Whatever you say or do, the police will know instantly. Likewise, you can receive guidance and reminders from us.” This unfamiliar face was one of the Major Crimes Unit members Captain Wang had assigned to pose as an assistant by his side. The driver had also been replaced.

Shao Si withdrew his assessing gaze, took the box, and rolled the window back up. Li Guangzong fiddled with it. The in-ear communicator was highly advanced, tiny enough to lie flat in the palm of a hand. “Uh, do I have to wear this too? I’m… just an irrelevant party.” “You do,” the unfamiliar officer gave them a slight smile. “There can be absolutely no slip-ups in this operation.”

By the time they reached the filming location at St. Peter’s Academy, the sky had already brightened. Throughout the journey, sitting in the car, they fell into a sort of pre-battle silence, surprisingly not speaking much to each other. Shao Si leaned against the car window, watching the horizon slowly shift from a touch of fish-belly white into a rising, sunny-side-up egg. Just as he was staring at the ‘egg’, his phone vibrated.

[Gu Yanzhou]: Arrived yet?

Two seconds later.

[Gu Yanzhou]: [/Image] Who is this?

The image was a screenshot of the fanboy message Shao Si had sent him yesterday. Shao Si rubbed his ear. Ever since stuffing the micro-communicator inside, it felt uncomfortable. He rubbed it for a moment before dropping his hand.

[Your Son Shao]: Not yet.[Your Son Shao]: That idiot is my manager. He’s been a fan of yours for a long time. Any thoughts?[Gu Yanzhou]: Am I supposed to have any thoughts?

For some reason, after meeting at the police station yesterday, Shao Si felt Gu Yanzhou’s attitude towards him had improved. It wasn’t exactly enthusiastic, but at least it had turned into normal communication. Shao Si sighed inwardly.…The power of revolutionary friendship is truly formidable.

For the drama The Demon Prince’s Runaway Sweetheart, the producers originally intended for Gu Yanzhou to take a role. They were bold and full of whimsical ideas, but naturally, they were rejected. Later, they invited him to make a cameo, and were repeatedly rejected again. Being able to persuade him to come this time was truly an unexpected delight.

Because of this unexpected delight, the director and assistant director were positively glowing all morning. Faced with Liu Qi’s eye-burning acting, they didn’t even lose their tempers much; they even reduced the number of NGs and pretty much just let her pass. During a break, Liu Qi sat down to chat with Shao Si, asking without a shred of self-awareness, “…Did I improve today?”

Shao Si had originally been sitting under a tree, listening to Captain Wang reiterate the precautions for the operation. Captain Wang’s voice, transmitted through the in-ear communicator, was incredibly clear, though the tone was slightly distorted. Caught off guard by Liu Qi’s words, he looked up and squinted at her. From Liu Qi’s perspective, this man—or rather, this youth—dressed in a school uniform, exuded an icy aloofness. But the act of squinting added a layer of laziness, giving him a completely different aura than his usual self. She actually found herself unable to look away.

Little did she know, the only thought in the mind of this ‘unable to look away’ Shao Si was:—Why is this woman standing against the light while talking? It’s so fucking glaring.

“Mhm,” Shao Si curved his lips insincerely. “You made a lot of progress today.” …Yeah right.It was terrible.

Lu Jiahui was off to the side talking to the assistant director about something, not accompanying Liu Qi. Liu Qi simply sat beside Shao Si, resting her chin on her hands, looking very well-behaved as she chatted with him. “I heard Best Actor Gu is coming this afternoon? He’s a very impressive figure.” Shao Si pulled out the spiel Li Guangzong usually nagged him with to reply: “…Impressive, the myth of the entertainment industry, I suppose.”

“Brother Shao, why do you leave so quickly after filming ends every day?” Liu Qi didn’t linger on the topic of ‘Gu Yanzhou’, directly asking about Shao Si. “I never see you after work, and you never come to the crew dinners.” To this question, Shao Si had nothing to hide: “I have a habit of leaving early.” Liu Qi tilted her head, not quite catching his drift: “Leaving early? …Do you have some urgent matter?” “No, I just want to go home and sleep early.” “…”

After this conversation ended, Captain Wang coughed lightly over the communicator. Shao Si consequently split his attention to listen to what he had to say, and heard Captain Wang say calmly: “Lu Jiahui is walking towards you, at your three o’clock.” Less than a minute after Captain Wang spoke, Lu Jiahui’s face indeed appeared within visual range. Shao Si discreetly surveyed his surroundings, sweeping his gaze over the unfamiliar faces on campus, feeling that every single extra on set today was no ordinary person.

Li Guangzong was also a bit unnerved by this setup. He spoke less and didn’t bicker with Shao Si as much. When he ran into Lu Jiahui while going to the bathroom, he didn’t even dare pull his little brother out to pee freely. “Little Zong,” Lu Jiahui smiled at him after finishing, shook his thing, pulled up his pants, and said as he walked over after washing his hands, “Are you in a bad mood today?” Facing that smile, Li Guangzong lost thirty percent of his urge to pee. Fortunately, he was quick-witted, and his adaptability as a manager was up to par: “Look at what you’re saying, I’ve just been suffering from internal heat these past two days. Got a blister in my mouth, a bit of an ulcer too, it’s uncomfortable… In our line of work, we really have to worry about everything for our artists. It’s stressing me to death.”

Later, when Shao Si heard him complaining about this, his focus was only on one thing: “Little Son, did you actually manage to pee in the end?” …

The morning shoot passed quickly. When Gu Yanzhou arrived, everyone was eating lunch. Shao Si and Li Guangzong were fighting over a piece of pork belly, their chopsticks clashing fiercely, neither willing to yield. Li Guangzong: “You have to control your figure, you can’t eat too much, maintain your male model physique.” Shao Si: “Bullshit, your Daddy can’t get fat no matter how much he eats.”

However, upon seeing his male god, Li Guangzong got distracted, and his grip loosened uncontrollably. Shao Si immediately snatched the meat into his own bowl.

Gu Yanzhou was dressed entirely in black today as well. His long coat made him look steady and tall. His hair was cut slightly short, looking very clean and simple. Gentle and courteous—this was probably the first impression that surfaced in the mind of anyone who had contact with Gu Yanzhou. —Except for Shao Si, of course.

The director had originally thought that this god-tier big shot who had rejected him countless times would be difficult to get along with. He didn’t expect that upon meeting, Gu Yanzhou would immediately shake his hand. “I am truly sorry, I didn’t have any free time in my schedule recently,” Gu Yanzhou said, releasing his hand after a three-second shake. “I could only squeeze out enough time for a cameo. I hope Director Huang doesn’t mind.” “Not at all, not at all,” the director beamed, waving his hands repeatedly. “I didn’t know you’d arrive so early, we’re still eating here… Please wait a moment, I’ll have them hurry up.” Gu Yanzhou said, “Eat slowly, there’s no rush. I don’t have anything else going on this afternoon, so I came early to familiarize myself with the script.” He paused, looking towards a very conspicuous figure not far away, before finishing his sentence: “And, conveniently, to run lines with Junior Brother Shao.”

“You… you guys know each other?” The director looked at him, then at Shao Si who was still eating, and sighed, “So you’re acquaintances.” Gu Yanzhou smiled politely and said, “Not exactly close.”

Just as Shao Si finished his meal, he saw Gu Yanzhou walking towards him with a script in hand. “I heard you want to run lines with me?” Shao Si chugged two mouthfuls of water, closed the bottle cap, hooked the bottle with his finger, and looked up at him. After holding back for a moment, he couldn’t help but speak his mind: “…For this brain-dead drama?”