AS Chapter 50

It seems I really hurt Li Mu’s pride.

Zhuang Qin quickly waved his hands, saying, “No, no, no: I can feel that you’re not faking it.” As he spoke, he pushed Li Mu away, feeling it was a bit inappropriate to be so close—Li Mu seemed too deep into his role.

“How can you tell?” Li Mu, noticing his attempt to break free, released him just in time.

Zhuang Qin stepped out of the bathtub, and Li Mu looked up to see the skin-colored shorts provided by the crew had become almost completely transparent from soaking.

Unaware, Zhuang Qin, while turning his back to him, put on a clean bathrobe, saying, “It’s just… when you sit down, you can really feel it, it’s quite uncomfortable.” He tied his belt, trying to salvage the situation, “I know someone who bought those, and now I suspect everyone might be using these aids, it’s not about you, really.”

“I’m not holding that against you.” Li Mu stood up from the bathtub, water dripping rapidly down his body. Zhuang Qin heard the sound, turned around, and handed him a bathrobe, noticing Li Mu was bending over to peel off the wet modal cotton layer.

Zhuang Qin startled for a moment, then quickly turned around: “You…”

“It’s tight.” Li Mu reached out, “Give me the bathrobe.”

“Oh…” Zhuang Qin, with his back turned, handed over the bathrobe, and Li Mu slipped his arm into the sleeve: “Do you still doubt me now?”

Zhuang Qin: “…”

Who was the one who said they weren’t holding it against him?

Zhuang Qin stayed silent, while Li Mu deliberately said, “Haven’t seen this in men’s bathrooms before? Why the rush to hide?”

Zhuang Qin: “…”

Li Mu lowered his head, his hand on Zhuang Qin’s back, quickening his step towards the makeup room: “Embarrassed? Or shy?”

Zhuang Qin, realizing he was being teased, retorted, “…I didn’t mean to hide, I just thought it wouldn’t be polite. If you don’t mind me looking, then I can look.”

Li Mu was at a loss for words then.

He looked at Zhuang Qin’s eyes—clear, devoid of the earlier emotions from the scene, now clean and empty.

Li Mu usually seemed easygoing, like he got along with everyone, and seldom talked back, because he was eloquent and had a good temper, often just going with the flow.

This kind of personality, in such a cutthroat industry without strong backing, made it too easy for him to be bullied.

He said nothing, lifted his hand, and tousled Zhuang Qin’s slightly damp hair, a gesture of affection only his mentor’s wife and senior sister would usually show.

The two entered the makeup room, and Li Mu locked the door behind them.

Zhuang Qin heard the lock click and stopped: “I… maybe I should leave.”

“Don’t you want it?”

“I’m not that… I’ll handle it in the car, it’s not convenient here.” Zhuang Qin said, looking at him, “I’ll leave you some private space, hurry up and finish, then we’ll continue working.”

“It won’t be quick.” Li Mu thought if he could help himself it might be quicker, but he couldn’t say that outright, so he changed his approach, “You don’t want me to help you?”

“…No.” Zhuang Qin furrowed his brows slightly, his hand on the doorknob, “I’ll handle my own matters.”

Zhuang Qin fled.

Leaving Li Mu alone in the makeup room, feeling deflated.

Onscreen they were so affectionate, Zhuang Qin so proactive, but offscreen, why was he so keen to escape? Li Mu felt like his heart was being pulled in all directions, now thinking he might have been overthinking it—perhaps Zhuang Qin didn’t really like him that much.

Zhuang Qin, clad in a bathrobe, hurried out, just as Xiao Lian returned with ice cream, asking him why he hadn’t changed yet.

“The clothes are a bit wet, I’ll change later.”

Xiao Lian handed him the box of ice cream, Zhuang Qin’s favorite kind.

Zhuang Qin sat in the crew’s car, digging into the ice cream. It wasn’t a fancy car, but the air conditioning was strong and cooling.

This topic, he didn’t know who to ask.

Ask Xiao Lian? Xiao Lian would instantly know what happened and might even think Li Mu was harassing him.

Ask Xiao Dao? But how could he tell his junior brother such things.

He felt Li Mu didn’t mean it that way, but Li Mu’s tone and subtle hints made Zhuang Qin wonder if he was too absorbed in his role, mistaking their on-screen relationship for real life.

Such incidents were common among actors working closely under high-pressure conditions, beneficial for acting.

Even Zhuang Qin couldn’t deny being influenced by his role; otherwise, where did his fondness for Li Mu come from?

He sat in the car, browsing on topics.

A man inviting another man for a hookup—what does it imply?

After reading, Zhuang Qin concluded that such offers were most common among roommates.

It didn’t necessarily mean the person making the offer was of a certain sexual orientation.

Having reviewed the matter, he figured Li Mu might not be gay but possibly liked him, probably because of their roles.

He checked the calendar and the shooting schedule; there were several ambiguous scenes ahead, including a bed scene.

They would return to their country in July, then resume shooting from the start.

They could finish by mid-August, returning for action scenes that didn’t involve him, practically wrapping up the film.

That meant in twenty days, after shooting all ambiguous scenes, today’s incident wouldn’t repeat.

Zhuang Qin thought about suggesting to Director Guo to schedule these scenes all within this week and shoot them all at once.

As he pondered this, someone knocked on the car window.

Zhuang Qin opened the door, Li Mu had already changed into his costume, wearing large black sunglasses: “Director Guo said it’s time to start, he’s looking for you.”

“That fast?” Zhuang Qin felt it was only a few minutes, “You… sorted everything out?”

Li Mu’s expression darkened.

Li Mu, expressionless, said: “Not in the mood, drank two bottles of ice water to cool down.”

In trying to cool down, he couldn’t stop thinking about the few moments Zhuang Qin had carelessly rubbed against his lap earlier. Li Mu could only listen to some noisy rock music to chase those thoughts away.

Now seeing him again, those feelings resurfaced, and he couldn’t help but pinch the bridge of his nose, looking down, smelling the creamy scent on him, like ice cream.

Li Mu asked if he had eaten ice cream.

“Just had a box, want some?” Xiao Lian had just bought a bunch, distributing them around the set, but Li Mu, having locked himself in, probably didn’t get any.

Li Mu shook his head, he didn’t like those, but liked the smell on him.

The next two scenes, domestic settings, didn’t go smoothly, but Guo Baozhen wasn’t angry, just kept reshooting until late at night, finally getting it right.

“That’s a wrap!” Guo Baozhen stood up, stretching lazily.

Sometimes Zhuang Qin also felt filming was exhausting, though fulfilling like an adventure, but each time he saw Director Guo, he felt he had no right to complain.

Director Guo was the one who never rested.

Back in the makeup room, Zhuang Qin changed out of his clothes, said goodbye to Li Mu, and ran off.

Seeing him run, Li Mu’s heart sank.

Li Mu had always been popular from a young age, never lacking admirers, thus rarely caring about these emotions of affection, often ending them with his frequent “Sorry,” more often than even the British.

So Li Mu never knew what it felt like to be romantically frustrated.

He felt slightly irritable, and as he walked out, he saw Zhuang Qin and Guo Baozhen getting into a car.

Guo Baozhen’s voice came through the window: “Mr. Li, we start at noon tomorrow, you can have a good sleep.”

Li Mu nodded from a distance, peering through the gap between Guo Baozhen’s face and the seat, at Zhuang Qin on the other side.

The driver started the car, and Li Mu quickly walked over, calling for a stop.

Director Guo leaned out: “What’s up?”

Li Mu: “Give me the cat.”

The yogurt was in Zhuang Qin’s lap.

Through the window, they passed the little white cat to Li Mu, who could embrace the whole cat in one arm.

“Be careful on the road.” Zhuang Qin told him.

Li Mu nodded, saying nothing.

In the car, Zhuang Qin sent a file to Guo Baozhen: “Director Guo, aren’t all the scenes scheduled already? I have a small idea, could we adjust the order a bit…”

“What order?”

“I sent you a file, take a look when you download it.”

Guo Baozhen’s phone was full of storyboard pictures, almost out of memory, and he was eating ice cream, hands full: “Just tell me, how do you want to adjust?”

“It’s just… the scenes over the next twenty days, aren’t there romantic scenes every day?” Two were kissing scenes, one outdoors, one indoors.

There was a bed scene, others involved hugging and caressing, some were shot in bed but weren’t quite bed scenes, even a car intimacy scene.

Zhuang Qin said, “I figured, if we shoot them more intensively, we could finish in a week.”

“Oh, you mean, shoot all the intimate scenes together.”

“Yes, because I found shooting them separately is quite draining, like today, and afterwards, I wasn’t in good shape…” He found plenty of reasons to convince Guo Baozhen.

“Alright, alright, but I need to notify the cinematographer and lighting in advance, yeah, and also inform the investors.”

“Yeah, we need Li Mu’s consent.” Zhuang Qin said, “You let the site manager notify him?”

“Sure, I’ll check your file later.”

At the parking lot, they got out of the car.

Elsewhere, Li Mu also reached the parking lot, carrying yogurt, walking alone from the main gate back to his villa.

Used to living alone from a young age, he found solitary life comfortable, not that he was bad at socializing, just disinclined. At his age, he preferred not to do things he disliked.

Li Mu entered his home, opened a can of cat food.

The cat was usually quiet, the crew’s darling, but not fond of strangers.

However, yogurt was attached to him, having been rescued by Li Mu, liking to jump onto his lap and lick his fingers. Li Mu’s large hand brushed through the cat’s fur, his mood slightly improved—he wasn’t that unlikable after all.

Then, Li Mu went upstairs to shower.

Showering was a good time to zone out, he continued to process his thoughts, realizing perhaps Zhuang Qin didn’t like him after all, casting a shadow over his mood. He stood under the shower, reflecting on his overconfidence.

Initially reflecting, he thought back on their interactions, either it was acting, or playing along.

But the intimacy and passion felt too real, almost indistinguishable from reality.

Li Mu couldn’t afford to think about him too much, as thinking led to feelings.

After resolving things in the shower, Li Mu stepped out, a towel wrapped around his waist, gauzy curtains revealing a pale blue pool outside, with dark ocean waves rhythmically advancing and retreating in the distance.

Ready to rest, Li Mu saw a message.

It was from Guo Baozhen.

“Starting the day after tomorrow, we’ll be adjusting our filming schedule.”

“Tomorrow’s schedule remains the same.”

“[Screenshot]”

Schedule adjustment?

Li Mu opened the image, a screenshot of a spreadsheet showing the next week’s scenes from the day after tomorrow.

He saw several repeated words.

“Clear the set, clear the set, clear the set, clear the set…”

He zoomed in on the image.

“Eighteenth, car scene, outdoor kissing scene, nineteenth is a kissing scene, twentieth is a bed scene?” Li Mu messaged him.

Guo Baozhen replied: “Zhuang teacher just suggested it, wanted to shoot earlier.”

Li Mu’s recently faded mood suddenly surged, like a rollercoaster, and came back to life.

Author’s note:

Li Mu: Confidence restored.