It was precisely because Li Mu was a male actor that Zhuang Qin felt comfortable going over to his place in the middle of the night, without anyone else accompanying him, to practice their scenes. If it were a female actress, there would be no way Zhuang Qin could do that without raising suspicions. People’s intentions can be hard to gauge, and you never know what traps might lie beneath the surface.
But Zhuang Qin trusted Li Mu’s character completely.
Xiao Lian, carrying a cat, headed back to the hotel and was overwhelmed when he saw the message.
Practicing scenes alone again?
“Brother Zhuang… Even though Li Mu is a guy, and we are abroad where there might not be any local paparazzi following us, you guys are acting in a film with a gay theme. Maybe still be a bit cautious?” Having been in the industry for a long time, Xiao Lian had seen it all; male actors interacting with other male actors was nothing new. However, he definitely didn’t want his talent getting caught up in any scandals.
Just then, Zhuang Qin arrived at his destination and saw his message.
“Yeah, I’ll be careful,” he replied.
Xiao Lian: “Brother Zhuang, make sure it’s not just lip service…”
Zhuang Qin understood his concerns and texted back: “Let’s just get through this shoot, no need to worry. Li Mu isn’t that kind of person, and I won’t do anything inappropriate.”
Deep down, he also felt that it wasn’t good to be too close or ambiguous outside of filming. But since they were still shooting, their daily close interactions on set were normal and beneficial for their performances.
In his heart, he had drawn a clear line; once the filming was over, they’d distance themselves for a while, and any feelings from the shoot would naturally fade. Zhuang Qin wasn’t worried about anything else. In his experience, Li Mu would probably be even more eager to shake off any clinginess after the shoot. Perhaps once the filming ended, they might not even remain friends…
He had an experience in his past life where an actress, after filming a bit with him in another movie, tried to use Li Mu’s name to stir up a scandal. It didn’t work, and she ruined her own acting career.
Having sent that message, Zhuang Qin began to think about these things. Li Mu, not wanting him to fall behind, occasionally looked back at him and, seeing him distracted, didn’t call out to him but rather grabbed his wrist and led him on.
The two entered the house, the motion-sensor lights turned on, and they changed their shoes.
Zhuang Qin hadn’t been here often; he had come last week during a day off to rehearse and had even swum in the pool before leaving in the evening.
Li Mu casually picked up a towel from the entrance table: “I’ll go run the hot water.”
“Okay.”
Zhuang Qin sat down to wait for him, exhausted from the day’s shooting, resting his chin on one hand and extending two fingers of his other hand as if holding a cigarette.
Acting naturally is one thing, but performing with skilled naturalness is another.
Some actions that seem very ordinary in daily life can be hard to pull off in acting if you haven’t experienced them yourself. It becomes all too easy to overthink and add unnecessary movements.
Zhuang Qin was subconsciously trying to avoid that kind of overacting.
After a while, Li Mu’s voice called out: “Come with me.”
“Okay.” Zhuang Qin rubbed his eyes and stood up to follow him upstairs.
Li Mu noticed his droopy eyelids and rubbed the top of his head: “Tired again?”
“A bit.”
“Let’s take a bath and then you can sleep.” Li Mu opened his own bedroom door, pulled out a pair of swim trunks, and handed them to him. “The ones you wore last time.”
Zhuang Qin followed him inside, took the swim trunks, and looked up just as Li Mu began undressing… something seemed off.
Li Mu opened the bathroom door, turned off the faucet, and poured some essential oils into the tub: “You go in first, I’ll have a quick shower and then come practice the scene with you.”
“Wait… wait a second.” Zhuang Qin paused, realizing something amiss, and pointed at the steaming bathtub, “Are we… rehearsing the scene with the bathtub?”
“That’s right,” Li Mu turned around, “Didn’t we discuss this in the car?”
“What we discussed in the car was…” he hesitated, having thought they’d talked about something else.
Zhuang Qin had already thought about how to shoot the bathtub scene, whether to soak in disinfectant or wash thoroughly with it beforehand. But Li Mu suggesting they rehearse it in advance took him by surprise.
He was confused.
“Put on the swim trunks.” Li Mu said, “Tomorrow in the actual scene you’ll still be covered up, no one’s going to see anything. After we practice, I’ll leave and you can soak and relax.”
“Then… then I’ll wipe down with some disinfectant first.”
“What are you wiping? The tub’s been disinfected.”
Zhuang Qin felt embarrassed: “Just a quick wipe down.”
Li Mu stood under the bright bathroom light, tilting his head: “Put on the trunks and come to the shower.”
The door was partially closed. Zhuang Qin hesitated outside, then took off his clothes, changed into the swim trunks, and folded his clothes neatly, unsure of where to place them.
Really, if you think about it, wearing swim trunks was just like being at a pool, wasn’t it?
Tomorrow they wouldn’t even allow swim trunks, just tape and stockings to cover the essentials. According to Director Guo Baozhen, they’d use a dense layer of foam from bath bombs on the water surface, and most of what was underwater wouldn’t be visible—it’d be no different from only showing your upper body.
Having changed into the swim trunks, he heard the shower running inside, and then the bathroom door opened from within, and Li Mu’s voice came through, “Are you ready?”
“Ready.”
“Come in.” Li Mu looked at him holding his clothes, “Put them on the table.”
“Oh…” Zhuang Qin walked from the dim bedroom into the bright bathroom.
They had filmed scenes today where they were just in shorts, so really, Zhuang Qin still felt a bit embarrassed facing the shower, stopping short: “Are… we going in together?”
Li Mu was going to say wait for him to finish first.
Upon hearing Zhuang Qin, he replied: “Together.”
“Oh…” Well, since he was wearing swim trunks, Zhuang Qin thought, looking up at Li Mu. His features were sharp and chiseled, usually devoid of much emotion, but perhaps because he stood under the warm light, he seemed more approachable. His body was perfectly sculpted, a classic inverted triangle, the swim trunks covering the essentials, his long legs entirely exposed.
Zhuang Qin glanced once, then again.
Last time, he had suspected something about Li Mu.
During last month’s shooting, he had touched it once, and it seemed like there wasn’t anything extra.
The two entered the small shower together, the hot water cascading down from above. Because they were so close, Zhuang Qin turned his head; Li Mu looked down through the blurry veil of water, scanning his fair body from top to bottom.
Li Mu had felt it before; he knew what it felt like. That frame was rather narrow, but not devoid of muscle, somewhat like a cat’s physique—soft but resilient.
However, due to intentional fat reduction, he was now even thinner, and the outlines of his bones were visible, looking as if they might break if bent.
Li Mu’s throat felt dry, and he instinctively stepped back, shaking the water droplets from his head, his voice steady: “I’ll go to the bathtub.”
Zhuang Qin turned his back to him and hummed in acknowledgment, relaxing only after Li Mu left, his palm wiping the water from his face.
He didn’t know why, but he felt unusually nervous.
Soon, Zhuang Qin stepped out of the shower.
The bathroom lights were warm, the surface of the double massage bathtub steaming with hot mist, a faint scent of roses spreading in the air.
He saw Li Mu already in the water, his shoulders exposed, his arms resting on the white edge of the bathtub, small droplets of water condensing on his muscles.
He stood by, unsure whether to just step into the bathtub.
Li Mu lifted a finger: “Come in, don’t space out. The sooner we finish, the sooner you can rest.”
“Oh, okay…”
Li Mu noticed that this kid, whenever he got drowsy, would agree to anything, almost as if he didn’t know how to refuse.
Zhuang Qin stepped into the water from the other side, sitting face-to-face with Li Mu, very restrained. He silently sank down, crouching almost, with just his neck and head above water, finding calm in the fragrant aroma and warm water, beginning to recall the script and get into character.
Li Mu’s moist fingers opened a cigarette box, pulling one out and lighting it with a candle.
The smell of the cigarette made Zhuang Qin sink deeper into the water.
Li Mu held the cigarette outside the tub: “Relax a bit, who soaks in a bath all crouched like that?”
Zhuang Qin said, “The tub on set is so small, we can only fit if we curl up.”
“That makes sense,” Li Mu’s gaze rested on him, Zhuang Qin had a kind of gentle scholarly air, and if you didn’t know he grew up in a drama troupe, you’d think he came from a highly educated family.
“That tub is small; stretch your legs over here, like I am,” said Li Mu, “If you’re uncomfortable, we can’t shoot tomorrow.”
Zhuang Qin was slow to react but did as told.
Only then did Li Mu place the cigarette in his mouth, pressing it between his lips, Zhuang Qin waited a while, thinking in his mind that this was a scene, they were on set, wondering how long he should wait before reaching to take the cigarette.
From his own directorial perspective, he’d like to capture more of a man smoking.
An old bathroom, a blue-toned bathtub, calm water and soap suds, a rubber duck floating on the surface, a calm, restrained hitman sharing a bath with a young lover—this scene held a lot of visual impact.
Whether as an actor, director, or viewer, this moment was striking.
Zhuang Qin’s eyes moved to him, watching Li Mu as he exhaled smoke from the side of his mouth, and for a while, Zhuang Qin just watched him as if filming a movie with his eyes.
Then he reached out naturally and took the cigarette from his hand.
Li Mu just watched him, not speaking or stopping him.
Zhuang Qin took a drag, looking uncomfortable.
For someone who never smoked, performing the ease of a seasoned smoker wasn’t easy.
Li Mu extinguished the cigarette, saying: “Forget it, let’s have the director change that line to ‘first attempt,’ so you don’t have to struggle so much.”
“No need to change, I can perform it well.” It was just a minor issue in the acting process, not even a real problem. Zhuang Qin always faced issues head-on, and there was nothing he couldn’t handle on his own.
“I can try again, and if not good enough, I’ll do it a few more times. There are no shortcuts here.”
“I’m just worried you might get hooked if you try it too many times.”
“It’s not that easy to get addicted.” He still tasted it in his mouth, somewhat disgusted, thinking of rinsing it out.
“How many times have we shot kissing scenes?” Li Mu reached under the water, finding his hand and holding it.
“Twice.” He didn’t move.
“Counting private rehearsals, it’s more than twice.” From the first rehearsal, he seemed to have gotten hooked, realizing his feelings, growing fonder of him.
Zhuang Qin looked up.
“If you’re not used to the taste, you can take your time to get used to it.” Li Mu suddenly leaned closer, “Have you ever tried a kiss with a tobacco flavor, kid?”
