Chapter 010 The Young Master – “You may not believe it when I tell you——” (10/35)
On the day he went to the film set, Shi Jingge deliberately dressed up. First, the young master couldn’t wear any of the distinctive clothes he would normally choose. Shi Jingge searched high and low and finally found two simple and casual items, paired them with a hat that matched, and also picked out a mask and a black backpack, which gave him a youthful look and made him resemble a well-behaved student.
Those who weren’t very familiar with him or didn’t observe him closely wouldn’t recognize him. However, if someone took a photo and looked closely, they would still be able to tell.
Shi Jingge was quite satisfied with the result.
—–
The film crew had made thorough arrangements.
All the selected fans gathered at a designated location first, where the film crew had arranged shuttle buses to pick them up. They boarded the buses according to the numbers on the cards distributed by the film crew, and were checked one by one.
Shi Jingge arrived at the location around the same time as the others, and after his number card was checked, he was allowed to get on the shuttle.
The seats were also assigned according to the number cards.
Shi Jingge sat down next to a young girl.
“Hey, handsome.” The girl next to him smiled, revealing two dimples. She looked like a lively and cheerful person. “Want some snacks?” She handed him a bag of dried plums.
Shi Jingge hesitated. “…Thank you.”
His voice was low and nervous. The girl didn’t think much of it and just smiled. “Let’s negotiate. My best friend and I came together, but our number cards are separated. We want to sit together. Can you switch number cards with her?”
Shi Jingge frowned, very unwilling.
The girl noticed his reluctance, clasped her hands together, and pleaded, “Please, handsome, help us out. Who are you a fan of? Did you bring any fan support items?”
Shi Jingge was taken aback. “Fan support items?” His tone was full of confusion.
The girl became excited and enthusiastically explained the concept to Shi Jingge.
Shi Jingge hadn’t even heard of fan support items, so how could he have prepared any?
The girl opened her backpack, took out a bunch of things, and then dug out a bag from the bottom and stuffed it into Shi Jingge’s arms. Inside were folding fans, index cards, and some markers.
“These are all brand new and haven’t been used yet. Look, there’s nothing on them.” The girl pulled out a fan from the bag—paper, pure blue, with indeed nothing on it. “Even though there are no stickers or photo cards, I have markers. You can write your idol’s name on them.”
“Handsome, let’s help each other out. I’ll give you these things in exchange for your number card, okay? Think about it. If you see your idol on set and everyone else has fan items but you don’t have anything, wouldn’t that be embarrassing? Handsome guy—”
Shi Jingge lowered his head. “Alright.”
The girl was in a great mood. “Thanks, handsome!” She waved to another girl, looking excited, and the two exchanged number cards. Shi Jingge walked away with the pile of items.
Before leaving, he heard the two girls whispering.
“This guy is pretty easy to talk to.”
“Yeah, he must be a true fan. He didn’t want to agree at first, but when I mentioned the fan items, he agreed right away.”
“It seems like those items we didn’t get to use were worth bringing after all.”
“You’re right. I told you we should bring them just in case. If we couldn’t use them, we could always make more in the car. Now you got a better spot.”
“That’s true.”
Shi Jingge found his new spot and smiled slightly. He took out his phone and sent a message to Li Zhuoyun, telling her that he had changed his number card and gave her the new one.
The person next to him hadn’t arrived yet, so he took out his fan, looked around, and carefully wrote Wen Xusheng’s name on it.
The only problem was that his handwriting was a bit messy.
Shi Jingge took out two more fans and carefully controlled his handwriting. This time, his writing was slightly better than before, but it wasn’t much of an improvement.
He took a deep breath, then messed everything up and stuffed it all into his backpack. He looked like he didn’t want to see it anymore.
The two girls who had just exchanged number cards with him kept glancing over, and they happened to see this scene.
“This guy is pretty funny.”
“Did he get angry because he couldn’t write it well? Hahaha.”
“You’re right, he does look upset.”
“Writing on a fan while holding it on your lap isn’t easy, so it’s normal that it’s not perfect.”
“But the guy clearly doesn’t think so.”
“He’s kind of cute.”
When Li Zhuoyun received the message, she was a bit confused. But it wasn’t a big deal, so she replied with an “okay” emoji and didn’t think about it anymore.
The next scene was her and Wen Xusheng’s scene together, and she was a bit nervous. Wen Xusheng might have noticed her anxiety, so he nodded at her before going on stage, as if to give her some encouragement. Li Zhuoyun instantly perked up.
She performed the scene flawlessly, and it was a one-take success.
After getting off the stage, Wen Xusheng nodded at her and said, “Not bad.”
Li Zhuoyun: !!!
Li Zhuoyun was genuinely excited. Wen Xusheng had very high standards for acting and receiving a “good job” from him was already the highest praise for a young actress.
“Thank you,” Li Zhuoyun said gratefully. “Thank you for helping me get into character.”
Wen Xusheng shook his head, refusing to take credit. Just then, Du Yi and the other assistants came over and quickly surrounded Wen Xusheng.
Li Zhuoyun watched for a moment, her eyes slowly filling with determination.
Li Zhuoyun’s assistant came over to hand her some water. She thanked him and took out her phone, only to find several messages.
They were all from Shi Jingge.
She was a bit confused and clicked on them. They were all messages about changes in the number cards. She quickly calculated that the numbers had changed seven or eight times.
What was going on?
Li Zhuoyun couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the same time.
“What’s the purpose of the number tags for the fan visit event?” Li Zhuoyun asked her assistant, “Do fans exchange their number tags?”
“Yes, they do,” the assistant explained, “The numbers on the tags indicate the order. It’s for management purposes: queuing, boarding the bus, getting autographs. Anything that requires a specific order is done according to that sequence.
“Generally, everyone wants the earlier numbers, so those with later numbers would be willing to swap for earlier ones, but those with earlier numbers wouldn’t want to swap for later ones, so swapping usually doesn’t happen. If someone did swap, they must be a good person,” the assistant said with a smile.
Li Zhuoyun looked down at his phone and saw that the young master’s number had been moved from the front to the back.
Shi Jingge had swapped so many times, each time moving further back.
A hint of helplessness flashed in Li Zhuoyun’s eyes. The young assistant was right. The young master was indeed a good person.
The kind who pretended to be fierce and terrifying, afraid that others would thank him.
How foolish.
Li Zhuoyun held her forehead and couldn’t help but smile. It was because he was so foolish, accustomed to giving without expecting anything in return. That was why those who knew him wanted to do everything they could to fulfill his wishes.
Li Zhuoyun made up her mind and turned to look for Wen Xusheng. Almost everyone around him had dispersed, leaving only Du Yi.
Li Zhuoyun calculated the time and thought that the young master should be here by now, so she took a deep breath and walked towards Wen Xusheng.
She happened to hear Du Yi persuasively say, “Don’t try to fool me! You didn’t eat breakfast this morning! You didn’t eat breakfast yesterday either!”
“I did,” Wen Xusheng replied coldly.
“You call a bowl of millet porridge eating?” Du Yi retorted. “If you don’t eat lunch, do you think your stomach will hold up?”
Wen Xusheng remained silent.
“Brother, young master, ancestor—Please, I’m begging you. Let’s at least eat something for lunch. If you don’t like the production crew’s boxed meals, we can order takeout. If you don’t want takeout, let’s go out to eat. If you don’t like any of the places nearby, we can go further out. We have a driver, so what are you afraid of?
“Wen Ge—ancestor—ancestor, say something!”
Wen Xusheng brushed it off lightly. “I have no appetite.”
Du Yi rubbed his temples, feeling like he was about to explode. Why the hell don’t you have an appetite?! You had a good appetite when you were eating with the young master the other day!
Wait—Young master?
A thought flashed through Du Yi’s mind.
Then he turned his head and bumped into Li Zhuoyun.
Du Yi: “…”
What bad luck.
Li Zhuoyun hesitated and said, “I know there’s a small lamb chop restaurant nearby that’s really good.“
But Wen Xusheng doesn’t like lamb.
Before Du Yi could finish his sentence, he heard Wen Xusheng say, ”Lamb chops?“
“Yes.” Li Zhuoyun nodded. “It’s on the next street, about a hundred meters down. The restaurant isn’t big, but the food is fresh and the chef is skilled. It tastes pretty good.”
“Let’s give it a try,” Wen Xusheng decided.
Du Yi: “…”
Lamb chops—aren’t lamb chops what the young master likes?
Wen Xusheng turned to thank Li Zhuoyun, who shook her head hurriedly, and the group walked out together.
After a moment, Li Zhuoyun said awkwardly, “I have a friend who is your fan. He really, really likes you. Because you’re his mentor, and he even asked us to vote for your students every midnight, rain or shine. He also participated in this fan visit event and wants to get your autograph…”
“No problem,” Wen Xusheng agreed readily. “Bring him to my dressing room.”
Surprised by Wen Xusheng’s generosity, Li Zhuoyun’s eyes lit up, and she thanked him repeatedly.
Just as Li Zhuoyun was about to send a message to the young master to tell him the good news, she spotted a group of people in the distance, lined up in an orderly queue, with someone leading the way, just like a tour group.
They must be the fans who came for the visit.
Li Zhuoyun perked up, focusing her eyes to search for the young master. Before she could find him, she noticed that Wen Xusheng had also stopped in his tracks.
Li Zhuoyun: “?”
Du Yi: “?”
Du Yi thought something was wrong and asked a few questions, but Wen Xusheng didn’t respond.
Du Yi followed his gaze and saw several question marks appear in his mind. He turned to look at Wen Xusheng and noticed a hint of a smile in his eyes.
Du Yi: !!!
The only person who could make Wen Xusheng show such an expression was the young master, right?
Could it be… that the young master was here?
Du Yi focused intently, observing carefully, and indeed spotted someone whose figure resembled the young master!
Just then, a small incident occurred.
Someone behind them seemed distracted and bumped into the person who looked like the young master, spilling their milk tea all over him!
Du Yi: !!!
In that instant, Du Yi felt Wen Xusheng stiffen beside him.
“I’ll go check,” Du Yi said immediately.
“No,” Wen Xusheng managed to squeeze out the word.
Du Yi: ???
Before Du Yi could react, Wen Xusheng strode forward. “I’ll go.”
Du Yi: !!!
“That person might not even be the young master. No need to be so tense.”
“I’ll go. You stay here,” Wen Xusheng said lightly. “Are you doubting my eyesight?”
Du Yi: “…”
That person was wearing a mask and so far away he couldn’t even see their face. What eyesight!
But Du Yi dared not say that.
Whether it was because of Wen Xusheng’s influence or not, Du Yi also felt that the person was the young master.
“You’re drawing too much attention, ancestor. Wait here. I’ll bring the young master back in three minutes. You go over there. You won’t even make it back in thirty minutes.”
Wen Xusheng finally stopped in his tracks.
Du Yi breathed a sigh of relief, pulled a mask out of his pocket, then put on a hat and walked over casually, striking up a conversation with the leader in front. “What’s going on? Did someone spill milk tea on him? It’s okay, leave it to me. You take the other fans to play. I’ll deal with him and come find you later. No problem, don’t worry.”
“No need.” Shi Jingge frowned. “It’s no big deal, no need to deal with it. Let’s keep going.”
“That’s not possible!” Du Yi wrapped his arm around Shi Jingge’s shoulder, but he pushed him away. “You guys should go sightseeing. You’ll meet your favorite idol. You want to make a good impression on your idol, right? It’s not good to show up looking like this in front of your idol.”
Shi Jingge bit his lip, and Du Yi persisted, eventually leading the young master away. The young master clearly didn’t recognize Du Yi. He was breathing heavily and looking very stressed. Soon, he lowered his head and stared at Du Yi’s feet, not even lifting his head.
Just then, a hand suddenly grabbed Shi Jingge’s arm.
Shi Jingge immediately started cursing. “Fuck o—”
Then he looked up and met Wen Xusheng’s extremely handsome face.
The rest of his words got stuck in his throat, and he just stared blankly at Wen Xusheng.
Wen Xusheng raised his eyebrows slightly, his tone casual. “What?”
Shi Jingge: “…”
Wen Xusheng looked Shi Jingge up and down, noticing that the milk tea had only landed on his clothes, and only then did he relax.
Seeing Shi Jingge stammering and unable to explain himself clearly, Wen Xusheng couldn’t help but feel a bit amused. “What did you just say? I didn’t hear you clearly. What grass[mfn]Grass is a radical/part of the slang for ‘fuck you’. It sounds similar when spoken aloud which is why it has become popular for avoiding censorship.[/mfn]?”
Shi Jingge’s face turned completely red. He shouted in shame and anger, “It was fuck! Fuck! It’s just a word I use to express my surprise! I was just scared when you suddenly grabbed me!”
“Pfft—”
“I wasn’t scared! I was just expressing my feelings! It’s just an interjection! Do you even know what that is?! What kind of ears do you have?!”
Wen Xusheng remained silent, watching him. Shi Jingge’s hands clenched into fists unconsciously, and his face grew even redder.
“Oh,” Wen Xusheng said lightly. “My ears aren’t very good. I misheard you, sorry.”
Shi Jingge’s face turned even redder.
“It’s not your fault…” Shi Jingge muttered something else, but Wen Xusheng couldn’t hear them clearly, only faintly catching those four words, and the smile in his eyes deepened.
Wen Xusheng patted him on the head. “Are you sure you don’t need to change your clothes?”
Shi Jingge stiffened and said in a muffled voice, “Yours?”
“Then whose do you want to change into?” Wen Xusheng raised his eyebrows. “Du Yi is a whole circle fatter than you, no, two circles.”
Du Yi said expressionlessly, “…Please call that ‘muscular,’ thank you.”
Shi Jingge looked at Du Yi and realized what had happened. “So you sent him to find me.”
Wen Xusheng chuckled. “What else?”
Shi Jingge blushed and stammered, unable to say anything.
Wen Xusheng teased him, “Are you going to change?”
“Change!” Shi Jingge said decisively, his ears turning bright red. “This little master isn’t going to wear these sticky clothes. This sticky stuff is an insult to me! Since you brought it up, I’ll… I’ll reluctantly… give you this chance. Shi Jingge’s voice grew smaller and smaller until he couldn’t say anything anymore.
But his eyes were unusually bright.
He seemed a little embarrassed and lowered his head, looking a little uncomfortable as he reached up to rub his ears. His bright red ears contrasted sharply with his fair fingers.
Wen Xusheng stared at Shi Jingge’s movements, his eyes darkening.
…He’s really cute.
Wen Xusheng swallowed hard and finally said, “Let’s go.”
Shi Jingge obediently followed.
Wen Xusheng finally noticed that Shi Jingge’s outfit today was unusually modest.
Du Yi, who had been ignored: “…”
Li Zhuoyun, who had been forgotten: “…”
No one would believe it if they heard it. But in the past ten minutes or so, the young master hadn’t looked at her once. He hadn’t even glanced at her. He hadn’t noticed her at all.
Completely—not once—
Li Zhuoyun’s heart ached.
Li Zhuoyun followed after them.
Du Yi turned his head and saw her, his eyes filled with surprise.
It was as if he was asking—
—【Why are you still here?】
Li Zhuoyun felt as if an arrow had pierced her heart.
Immediately after, she saw Du Yi realize something and say, “It’s because of the autograph, right? You saw it too. Wen Ge met his friend, so maybe…”
“How about another time?” Du Yi asked cautiously.
After a long silence, Li Zhuoyun looked up and said sincerely, “You might not believe me if I tell you.”
Du Yi: “?”
“My friend,” Li Zhuoyun said earnestly, “was taken away by Senior Wen.”
Du Yi: “…”
Edited: Krone
Proofread: Choux_choux
