For this album of Xu Luoyang, the direction from Youli Entertainment was to create a classic representative work. So, every detail was refined to perfection—especially the title track. Both the lyrics and composition were handled by top-tier talents in the industry.
Previously, several versions of the MV script had been rejected. The current one had gone through three rounds of revisions, and the latest version had just arrived. Director Yang made a few changes with his pen and finally approved it.
Ye Shanshan flipped through the script handed over by Director Yang. After reading, he closed it and said, “Got it memorized.”
He nodded, showing no hint of doubt or surprise. Director Yang twirled a pen in his hand and suddenly asked, “Do you think it looks good too?”
Xu Luoyang, standing nearby, was completely confused until he heard Ye Shanshan reply, “It looks good! Though it does make it hard to guess your actual age, it’s really quite nice.”
If he dyed it a flashier color, it would look even better. But Ye Shanshan thought about it and decided not to say that out loud.
“That’s exactly the effect I’m going for,” Director Yang said, his expression neutral, though there was a slight change in his gaze.
It was only then that Xu Luoyang realized—they were talking about facial hair again. He had done his research: Director Yang entered the industry at a young age and was once publicly humiliated for it. The comments were nasty. Even though he later won an international award and proved himself, it must have left a mark, so he kept his beard ever since.
Looking at Director Yang’s impeccably groomed beard, Xu Luoyang suddenly admired Ye Shanshan’s ability to find such odd but effective conversation starters. Was it some kind of natural talent?
But the next second, he was surprised again when Director Yang, still expressionless, asked, “That giveaway during the livestream… are you really not doing any rigging?”
It took a few seconds for Xu Luoyang and Ye Shanshan to realize what he was talking about.
“All the gifts have been sent out,” Ye Shanshan scratched his head, a bit hesitant. “If you really want one, I can have someone make another?”
Director Yang was silent for a few seconds, then shook his head. “No need. I’ll get picked next time.” With that, he turned and walked away.
Watching his back, Xu Luoyang could hardly speak. “That livestream giveaway… he’s your fan?”
Ye Shanshan also looked dazed. “Seems like it?”
The MV shoot went smoothly. They started filming at 8:00 a.m. and wrapped up a little after 5:00 p.m. Most of it was Ye Shanshan improvising freely while Director Yang silently filmed. Xu Luoyang watched from the sidelines the whole time, feeling like Director Yang’s gaze was literally glowing while watching through the camera—comparable to Director Zhang, but with a slightly different vibe.
His eyes stopped on Director Yang’s beard. Xu Luoyang thought for a moment, then opened his phone, found Gong Yue’s number, and sent a message.
When Director Yang announced filming was complete, Ye Shanshan was in disbelief. “We don’t need to continue tomorrow?” He looked to Xu Luoyang for confirmation. “I remember the MV is almost four minutes long.”
Assistant Zhang, standing nearby, held his breath—worried Director Yang would leave without a word. But instead, Director Yang turned off the equipment and explained patiently, “No need. What we filmed today is sufficient. I’ll handle the editing personally. The footage from the last two hours is more than enough.”
Then he added, “The final product will turn out great. Don’t worry.”
“Of course, I trust you. Right, Luoyang?” Ye Shanshan thanked him and added, “But if any scenes need to be reshot, please do contact me.”
“Alright, I definitely will.”
Coming out of the studio, Ye Shanshan opened a bottle of water, took a sip, and looked at the still-setting sun. “It feels surreal. How did we finish so quickly?”
Xu Luoyang wasn’t sure either. “Maybe he has some kind of special MV shooting technique?” Thinking of what he saw earlier, he added, “But he really treasures his beard. I saw him grooming it at least seven or eight times today. The frequency was intense.”
Mentioning beards made Ye Shanshan touch his own chin. “I don’t have a beard. Still feels like a loss.” Back on Mishus Island, the researchers deemed facial hair as vestigial and removed it, so unless Ye Shanshan did some biological modifications himself, he wouldn’t grow any.
Xu Luoyang suddenly understood—of course a vampire wouldn’t grow facial hair. No wonder Ye Shanshan was so curious.
Just then, Ye Shanshan patted his shoulder. “Luoyang, look over there. Are those fans visiting the set? Yours or mine?”
Following Ye Shanshan’s gesture, they saw a group of fans holding up banners and posters. It was hard to tell from afar, but after a closer look, Xu Luoyang guessed, “Looks like both yours and mine?”
It wasn’t a secret that they were filming an MV there. Fans are resourceful like that.
Ye Shanshan squinted to read the banners. “Yeah, some are here for you, and some for me. Shall we?”
“Let’s go sign for them. It’s not easy traveling all this way,” Xu Luoyang replied, glancing at Ye Shanshan. “If I left without signing, you’d stay behind anyway, right?”
They walked over. The group had around forty fans total. Ye Shanshan, with his keen hearing, heard whispers from afar:
“They have such a good relationship! They look perfect together!”
“Ye-Xu CP is canon! They look amazing in real life! No wonder Ye Shanshan’s fans keep praising his godlike beauty!”
“I’m switching fandoms. Ye Shanshan is cheating-level good-looking! Even though I came here for Luoyang!”
Ye Shanshan, listening quietly, was puzzled: Ye-Xu CP? Switching fandoms? What do those mean?
Very curious, he wanted to ask directly but held back—he didn’t know these fans well, so he planned to ask Gong Yue later.
No assistant was needed for crowd control. When Ye Shanshan and Xu Luoyang approached, the fans naturally lined up and stopped whispering.
Xu Luoyang smiled and greeted them, “You’re all so well-behaved,” triggering a wave of screams.
While signing, a girl whispered to Ye Shanshan, “Louzhu, quick! Say something to steal the spotlight from Luoyang!”
Others chimed in, “Yeah! We’ll cheer you on! Can’t let our Little Immortal lose face!”
Ye Shanshan poked his cheek with the pen but didn’t speak yet. Then the fans covered their faces with their banners and posters, exclaiming things like “So cute!” and “Not fair!” and “I want to be that pen!”
Ye Shanshan scratched his head. “This pen belongs to Luoyang. I think you’re aiming at the wrong target.”
His reply was off-topic as usual, and the fans burst into laughter.
Still clueless about what was funny, Ye Shanshan continued signing, even asking for the fans’ names and writing them carefully. Just as he finished a line, someone called him from behind.
He turned around and saw Director Yang.
Fans also looked over, wondering who the newcomer was.
Director Yang walked over, paused for a few seconds, then said, “I just had some new ideas for the MV. Can we talk in the car on the way back?”
“Of course,” Xu Luoyang agreed without hesitation. Creative inspiration doesn’t wait.
Looking relieved, Director Yang nodded. “Then I’ll wait with you.”
As Ye Shanshan continued signing and chatting, he suddenly looked up, as if sensing something, and saw a Rolls-Royce parked nearby.
He rubbed his eyes, making sure he wasn’t seeing things, and his expression changed instantly. Handing the notebook back to the girl in front, he said, “Excuse me a moment!” and ran off.
Just then, the chauffeur—wearing white gloves and uniform—stepped out and opened the back door. Gong Yue, dressed in a tailored suit, stepped out and walked toward Ye Shanshan.
Seeing him, Ye Shanshan instinctively stopped and raised a hand, calling out, “Ge, I’m over here!”
The fans left behind nearly exploded at the sound of “ge.” One girl holding a poster whispered, “Did that koi repost yesterday actually work? Is that His Majesty from Shanshan’s household?”
Another girl was equally stunned and tried to take a video, only to be politely stopped by two foreign bodyguards.
Ye Shanshan, unaware of the crowd watching, stood before Gong Yue with a bright smile. “Ge, why are you here? Don’t you have an important meeting now?”
“It was rescheduled,” Gong Yue replied gently, smoothing Ye Shanshan’s hair. “Did everything go well?”
“Very! Filming finished fast. The director even said we don’t need to come back tomorrow. Luoyang and I were shocked.” Then he remembered, “I’m still signing autographs. Should be halfway through.”
“Alright. Go ahead. We’ll go home together once you’re done.”
Ye Shanshan nodded, feeling conflicted—part of him didn’t want to share his “His Majesty” with others, but another part of him felt proud. In the end, he listened to Gong Yue, turned around, and instinctively reached back to hold his hand before walking back.
Xu Luoyang, seeing that hand-hold, felt like he’d just been force-fed another dose of sugary romance. He glanced at Director Yang and saw that while his face remained neutral, his eyes had dimmed.
Back in place, Ye Shanshan resumed signing but noticed the fans glancing at Gong Yue. Unhappy, he said, “Aren’t you here for me? Don’t look at him.”
One fan laughed, “Louzhu, are you jealous? We can’t even look once?”
Ye Shanshan nodded seriously, “Not even once. Not even half a glance.” Extremely possessive.
He even gestured for Gong Yue to step back a little more.
Gong Yue cooperated and moved farther away. Ye Shanshan relaxed and signed faster.
But with Gong Yue present, he kept getting distracted—signing one character, then glancing at Gong Yue for a smile, and then focusing again.
All the fans noticed and clutched their posters, thrilled.
Gong Yue stood still, eyes never leaving Ye Shanshan.
“Mr. Gong.”
Hearing the voice, he turned slightly. Director Yang said, “He really loves acting.”
Gong Yue nodded, “Mm.”
“He’s incredibly smart, exceptionally talented. No matter the field, he should shine in the spotlight. He shouldn’t be held back.”
Feeling Gong Yue’s gaze, Director Yang broke into a cold sweat but continued, “He should be free to pursue everything he loves—acting, physics, piano—without limits. He can achieve truly great things.”
Gong Yue listened, then looked back at Ye Shanshan, who happened to be smiling at him. He smiled back, and Ye Shanshan turned back to finish signing.
Director Yang, still without a reply, adjusted his beard and asked, “What’s your view on this?”
At that moment, Ye Shanshan finished signing, tossed the pen to Xu Luoyang, and ran over, instinctively holding Gong Yue’s hand and tickling his palm. “Ge, we’ll go home soon.”
Then he turned to Director Yang, frowning slightly. “He’s tired. If you have questions, ask me instead. It’s the same.”
Director Yang said nothing.
Seeing something was off, Xu Luoyang quickly came over and said, “Mr. Gong’s here to pick Shanshan up, right? Director Yang, come with me. If anything needs discussing, I’ll pass it on.”
Ye Shanshan nodded. “Great. Just call me later. I’ll head home with my ge.”
Director Yang remained silent.
After Gong Yue and Ye Shanshan left and the bodyguards cleared out, the fans erupted into shrieks of excitement. Xu Luoyang noticed even his fans were freaking out about “His Majesty,” “Little Immortal,” “holding hands,” and “public display of affection.”
Looking at the silent Director Yang, Xu Luoyang commented quietly, “In Shanshan’s eyes, there’s no one but Gong Yue.”
In the car, Ye Shanshan grinned. “Boyfriend, did you miss me? Came early to pick me up just to see me sooner?”
Gong Yue nodded. “Mm, missed you.” He stroked Ye Shanshan’s dimple. “Also worried someone else would steal your attention.”
Not getting the point, Ye Shanshan guessed, “You mean Luoyang? He’s all about acting and roles. He even ran lines with me earlier.”
He took Gong Yue’s hand and pressed it to his chest. “Ge, feel my heartbeat? Every beat is just for you.”
Seeing Gong Yue smile again, Ye Shanshan beamed. “Now kiss me. You’ve seen me for this long and still haven’t kissed me!”
When Gong Yue’s tongue slid into his mouth, their tongues intertwining, Ye Shanshan opened one eye and stared at his long eyelashes, thinking:
—Boyfriends who get jealous are really so handsome. I love it!
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