Filming wasn’t as fun as Zuo Ning had imagined. Compared to the behind-the-scenes footage he had seen before, the process was downright dull and awkward. However, the good thing was that all he had to do was pose and quietly act as the handsome little dog he was. Camera angles and blocking were someone else’s problem. The best part? Even if he messed up a take, no one would scold him. Instead, an entire group of people would rush to comfort him. Compared to the poor actors who got yelled at until their heads spun, Zuo Ning was living a much easier life.
The challenge of filming with a dog was that they couldn’t understand complex human instructions. Many shots required actors to adjust accordingly. And since dogs couldn’t fake emotions, a lot of post-production editing was necessary. Many scenes also involved actors performing dramatically in front of an empty space, which could be painfully awkward to watch.
The director had braced himself for a difficult shoot, but once filming began, he realized it was even worse than expected.
“You motherf***er, where the hell are you looking?! Do you even know how to act?! Even the dog is doing a better job than you! You’re fighting over an inheritance, not avenging your father’s murder! Do you want to take acting lessons from Little Pudding?!”
The scolded actor could only apologize repeatedly. Getting berated for being outperformed by a dog was humiliating, but at least he wasn’t the only one. Still, when counting the number of retakes, it was clear—Little Pudding had the least NGs on set. If even dogs had top-tier acting skills these days, how were they supposed to survive in this industry? Sigh…
Since they were filming in an indoor studio with a lot of equipment and people, the air was a bit stuffy. Zuo Ning lay comfortably on his designated cushion while a small fan blew cool air at just the right angle. The butler sat beside him, feeding him freshly cut apple slices while watching the director lose his temper. All in all, it was quite a pleasant experience.
Even though autumn had already arrived, dogs had a higher body temperature than humans. Samoyeds, being snow dogs, were built for cold weather, not heat. The fan and constant hydration were necessary. The butler had even consulted Dr. Wen Ting in advance and carefully noted all the important details in a small notebook.
After finishing a shot, Chu Hang took a break and immediately sat down next to Little Pudding. Seeing the butler feeding him apple slices, he politely asked, “Excuse me, may I try feeding him?”
Although the eldest young master hadn’t officially brought Chu Hang into the Lu family, the butler was well aware that he was currently the young master’s lover. Regardless of what the future held, at least for now, this person held a certain level of importance in the young master’s heart. As the Lu family’s butler—despite primarily serving the second young master—it was still necessary to show the proper respect and courtesy.
Handing the bowl to Chu Hang, the butler reminded him, “Little Pudding eats very slowly. Feed him one piece at a time and wait for him to finish before giving him the next one. Otherwise, he’ll rush to swallow what’s in his mouth just to eat the next bite.”
Chu Hang nodded, thinking to himself that this was indeed a dog raised by a wealthy family—even feeding him required such meticulous attention. However, after filming a few scenes together, he had grown increasingly fond of Little Pudding. Naturally, he wanted to take this opportunity to get closer and build rapport with him.
More importantly, this was the first time he had ever encountered a dog like Little Pudding. He had an air of elegance about him, almost noble in demeanor. No matter how people tried to tease him on set, he never ran around wildly or caused a fuss. Sometimes, it even seemed like he could understand human expressions just by looking at them.
As Chu Hang fed Little Pudding an apple slice and took the chance to secretly stroke his paw, a third-tier celebrity suddenly approached. With a bright, cheerful smile, they crouched in front of Zuo Ning, their face beaming with excitement. “Brother Chu Hang, can I feed him? Little Pudding is so adorable! I love dogs so much!” As they spoke, they reached straight into the bowl Chu Hang was holding, took a piece of apple, and held it out toward Little Pudding’s mouth.
Although the butler’s expression remained neutral, a trace of displeasure flickered in his eyes.
Chu Hang, on the other hand, felt even more annoyed but couldn’t openly reprimand them in front of everyone.
However, that third-tier celebrity’s little act was something Zuo Ning had no intention of playing along with. Even though the food was right in front of his mouth, he simply stared coldly at the man, who was probably close to thirty but still pretending to be cute and innocent with his baby face.
He accepted food from Chu Hang because he was the eldest brother Lu’s lover. But this random nobody? If he ate from his hand, where would that leave his man’s dignity?
To avoid embarrassing Lu Chenghe, Zuo Ning had maintained his elegant and aloof persona ever since stepping into the film set!
Either the man was completely oblivious or just had skin as thick as a wall because instead of backing off, he even tried to shove the apple directly into Zuo Ning’s mouth.
Zuo Ning wasn’t having it. Without hesitation, he lifted a paw and swatted at the hand holding the apple.
At almost the exact same moment, Chu Hang had reached out, intending to stop the man’s actions. The result? The man jerked his hand back in surprise, colliding right into Chu Hang’s hand, and then—probably due to his delicate, fragile nature—he completely toppled over to the side.
That would have been fine on its own. What left Zuo Ning utterly dumbfounded was what happened next.
The man clutched his hand, which had turned a little red from the impact, and looked at Chu Hang with an expression of innocent surprise and grievance. His eyes shimmered with emotion as he said in a pitiful voice, “Brother Chu Hang, I-I only wanted to feed him because I love dogs… If you don’t like it, I won’t do it again.”
Zuo Ning’s dog eyes widened instantly. Holy sh*t.
If this guy put this level of acting into his scenes, he wouldn’t be getting NGs all the time!
Did he not feel how ridiculously overdramatic this performance was? Did he seriously think everyone here was an idiot? Or had he read too many trashy romance novels and convinced himself he was the protagonist of this world?
What a shame that he couldn’t speak. If only he could, he’d definitely run back and share this with Lu Chenghe! Witnessing showbiz drama firsthand for the first time—he was so thrilled that he almost broke character from his elegant persona!
Chu Hang probably never expected to encounter someone this bizarre. He was momentarily stunned. While he was still processing what had happened, the man had already gotten up and picked up the fallen apple. He tossed it into the trash, bowed apologetically to Chu Hang, and then turned around and ran off.
The butler, who had been silently watching the whole thing unfold, suddenly chuckled and commented, “People in your industry sure have a strong sense for drama.”
Chu Hang snapped out of his daze and, hearing the butler’s teasing, also laughed. “Yeah, the dramatics were on point.”
He just couldn’t figure out what that whole act was about. Did the guy think he could use that little scene to fabricate some scandal against him? That would be way too dumb and naïve.
Yet, to Chu Hang’s surprise, there really were people in this world with such an absurd thought process.
The very next day, entertainment headlines were flooded with “Rising Star Sucks Up to Big Shot’s Beloved Dog, Bullies Newcomers on Set”.
Accompanying the headline was a short GIF showing the so-called “bullied” newcomer crouching down to play with the dog. The dog then raised its paw at him. But at that moment, rising star Chu Hang supposedly stepped in and shoved the newcomer to the ground.
With just this few-second-long clip, the narrative of oppression on set was vividly brought to life.
To make matters worse, an anonymous “insider” even claimed that the dog in question belonged to a very powerful businessman. Allegedly, Chu Hang had been monopolizing time with the dog to curry favor with this big shot, even going so far as to prevent others from getting close.
The clip had been secretly recorded from a high vantage point, capturing the dog’s back, Chu Hang’s side profile, and the full front view of the ‘bullied’ newcomer. No additional proof was needed—the images fit the headline perfectly, telling a damning story on their own.
However, just as the gossip was gaining traction, the so-called “bullied” newcomer immediately stepped forward to clarify.
He explained that he simply loved dogs and couldn’t resist going over to play with it that day. However, the dog wasn’t very friendly toward him and even raised a paw as if to scratch him. In his attempt to dodge, he accidentally lost his balance and fell.
As for Chu Hang? The newcomer emphasized that Chu Hang had actually been trying to protect him. He even went on to praise Chu Hang’s kindness on set and expressed gratitude for his care.
So what originally seemed like a premeditated scheme of deception quickly turned into a win-win situation for everyone after the involved party immediately came forward to clarify things.
Zuo Ning only found out about this the next day. After all, he was one of the people involved—though it seemed he had been completely reduced to a mere background character for the other two. That was why, when the butler saw the news, he specifically mentioned it to Lu Chenghe.
Lu Chenghe, who had already finished breakfast and was waiting for Little Pudding to slowly finish his meal, glanced through the news and even looked at the accompanying GIF. Stroking Little Pudding’s ear, his tone carried a hint of displeasure. “There are a lot of people trying to get close to Little Pudding?”
Hearing his name mentioned, Zuo Ning lifted his head from his food and looked at Lu Chenghe, only to see him still scrolling through the news. So, he lowered his head and continued eating.
The butler, standing by the side, responded, “In the entertainment industry, these things are inevitable. However, aside from Mr. Chu, I haven’t allowed anyone else to approach Little Pudding.”
Lu Chenghe quietly watched Little Pudding, who was happily eating. After a while, he asked, “Is he having fun on set?”
The butler replied, “Little Pudding is very well-behaved. He never runs around on set. When it’s time to film, he obediently follows the director’s instructions and performs the required actions. When he’s not filming, he just lies on a chair and observes his surroundings. He doesn’t frolic or play around, but it seems he doesn’t dislike the set either. In fact, he appears quite interested in watching people.”
Hearing this, Lu Chenghe chuckled and gently squeezed Little Pudding’s paw. “So, you’ve been observing people, huh? Did you figure anything out?”
Zuo Ning lifted his head. “Awoo!” I was just striking cool poses to make you look good! Who’s observing people? He himself is a person—what’s there to observe?!
Although Lu Chenghe couldn’t understand dog language, he still did his best to play along with his Little Pudding’s performance. Hearing the “awoo”, he nodded and said, “Mhm, as long as you’re having fun.”
Zuo Ning buried his face into his paws. What happened to their supposed deep spiritual connection? This was nothing but a complete language barrier!
Seeing that Little Pudding had almost finished eating, Lu Chenghe picked up a warm towel from the side and wiped his mouth, fur, and paws. Looking at the little guy, who seemed to have grown even bigger, he lifted him up and tested his weight. “You’ve grown quite a bit again.”
The butler chuckled. “He’s almost four months old now. The director said Little Pudding’s performance has been excellent, so to maintain continuity, filming will be more intensive over the next period. They’re trying to get all his scenes done before his coat starts changing. Fortunately, Little Pudding is very cooperative. He has a natural camera presence and often receives praise from the crew.”
Lu Chenghe nodded. Since he had already agreed to let Little Pudding take on the acting job, he wouldn’t interfere just because of scheduling concerns. However, recalling some information he had read, he studied the little guy, who still looked refined and handsome, before remarking, “I heard that Samoyeds go through a ‘monkey face’ phase. Uncle Zhong, make sure to take lots of photos and videos when the time comes. He only gets to be ugly once in his life—we can’t miss it.”
Zuo Ning was instantly horrified. What monkey face phase?! What the hell was that?! Weren’t Samoyeds famous for their out-of-this-world good looks? Why would he suddenly become ugly?!
