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Chapter 22 – Wake-Up Call
“Ding dong—!”
“Ding dong—!”
Jiang Liusui stirred awake, still hazy-eyed. The unfamiliar ceiling made him pause for a second, and the red light of the camera in the room blinked on.
The next second, the host’s cheerful voice rang through the speakers: “Good morning! How did you rest last night? How did everyone sleep? Time to get up, teachers—let’s go catch the sunrise! The driver will be at the villa in half an hour!”
…Oh, right, he’s filming a show.
The series of announcements made Jiang Liusui’s head spin. Drowsiness washed over him once more, and he resignedly closed his eyes.
Just five more minutes.
Five minutes, and then he’d get up. He would, really!
Last night, he had been assigned to share a room with Qin Yi. Thinking it was rare to get to see him and stay together, Jiang Liusui took the opportunity to show Qin Yi several audition scripts Jiang Chuan had given him earlier.
Qin Yi went through each audition segment with meticulous care. By the time he finished, it was almost past one in the morning, and Jiang Liusui could barely keep his eyes open. Finally, Qin Yi finally gave his opinion.
“⟪Eternal Bell⟫ is the best among these scripts, and also the one most suitable for you. This project has a lot of room to show your skills, but it’s unconventional[mfn]剑走偏锋 (jiàn zǒu piān fēng) – lit. the sword strikes from an unconventional edge; means daring, or going against the usual safe route.[/mfn] and may not be as safe as the other two TV dramas,” Qin Yi asked. “What do you think?”
“I like this one the most too,” Jiang Liusui admitted.
He had actually already leaned toward it in his mind. But Jiang Chuan didn’t want him to take this project, thinking it was too risky. After all, he finally had the chance to work on a big-budget TV drama—why not play it safe instead of taking something with an uncertain outcome?
Jiang Liusui had come into this industry not just to earn a living, but because he loved acting. Yet, after a few years in the business, he also understood how rare opportunities were for him. One couldn’t always act solely on personal preference—steady and stable[mfn]稳扎稳打 (wěn zhā wěn dǎ) – lit. plant firmly and strike steadily.[/mfn] progress were the choice most people would make in such situations.
Still, he hesitated, unable to make a decision.
Hearing Qin Yi’s words, Jiang Liusui finally made up his mind.
Playing a role he was genuinely interested in was more exciting than a safe, steady path.
“This is it,” Jiang Liusui finally said. “I want to play this character.”
Qin Yi nodded, his eyes catching on the director’s information. “The director for this one is Pei Wen? I have some connection with Director Pei. I can introduce you to him later.”
“Then I’ll thank you in advance,” Jiang Liusui said cheerfully, gathering the scripts and tucking them away. “I’ll talk to my agent later and have him arrange the audition.”
As he spoke, he couldn’t hold back a yawn: “I can’t take it anymore—let’s sleep, Qin-ge. We still have to get up early tomorrow. Thanks for helping me pick a script.”
Rustling sounds came from the other bed in the room. Qin Yi seemed to have gotten up directly. Jiang Liusui silently marveled: Damn, impressive.
Since there was only one bathroom anyway, and letting Qin Yi go first would be more convenient, he was just about to peacefully pass out again when the broadcast called his name.
“Teacher Jiang, Teacher Qin, there is a task that requires the two of you to complete.”
“Only your room received this announcement. The other teachers haven’t been notified—you’ll need to wake them up yourselves.”
Qin Yi also seemed momentarily stunned. After the broadcast ended, he hesitated and looked at his roommate who was still hovering somewhere between sleep and wakefulness.
“Jiang Liusui?” Qin Yi walked over to his bed. “Did you hear it? We need to get up.”
“…I heard.” Jiang Liusui pried his eyes open in agony, only to see that it was barely four in the morning. “Qin-ge, have you ever played a special forces soldier?”
“…?”
“Otherwise how can you be so ruthless to yourself?” Jiang Liusui rubbed his forehead and forced himself to turn over and sit up.
Qin Yi was both amused and exasperated[mfn]啼笑皆非 (tí xiào jiē fēi) – lit. neither crying nor laughing is appropriate[/mfn]. Seeing how groggy and pitiful he looked, he said, “Why don’t you sleep a bit more? I’ll go wake everyone else.”
“Really?” Jiang Liusui paused his movements.
“It’s just waking people up—it’s not a big deal.”
Jiang Liusui smiled at him. Just as Qin Yi thought he would lie back down to sleep, Jiang Liusui got out of bed: “No need. Since the task was assigned to the two of us, it wouldn’t be right to leave it all to you.”
After a quick wash and a change of clothes, Jiang Liusui stepped out with Qin Yi. The staff waiting outside approached them. “Teacher Qin, you’ll wake Teacher Mu and Teacher Shang. Teacher Jiang, you’ll go wake Teacher He and Teacher Xu. We leave at 4:40—there’s about thirty minutes for everyone to get ready.”
Jiang Liusui nodded and followed the staff outside Xu Miao’s room. The cameraman whispered, “Teacher Xu is already awake. We’ve informed her—you can go into her room.”
Jiang Liusui knocked on the door, receiving a muffled response from inside. He raised his voice: Xu Miao, are you up?”
“Mmm—”
“Then get ready. I’ll go wake the next person, okay?”
“…Wait, wait—don’t go!” There was a sudden burst of movement inside. Xu Miao scrambled out of bed and flung the door open. “I’ve been waiting forever! I even put on a no-makeup makeup[mfn]素颜妆 (sù yán zhuāng) – a trendy term meaning makeup that looks natural and bare-faced.[/mfn] look, just so I’d look gorgeous during the wake-up segment!”
“…?”
“Here’s how we do it,” Xu Miao said briskly. “You knock. I don’t respond. Then you come in—I’ll be lying on the bed—and you wake me up at the bedside.”
She rattled it off like reciting a script without pausing. Jiang Liusui looked at her fair, translucent skin that showed no trace of makeup, the perfectly curled strands framing her cheeks, and her bright, energetic eyes: “If I may ask, what time did you wake up?”
Xu Miao held up three fingers. Jiang Liusui was genuinely impressed: “You’re truly a warrior[mfn]战神 (zhàn shén) – lit. god of war; slang meaning someone absurdly tough, disciplined, or hardcore[/mfn].”
Xu Miao laughed heartily, then clasped her hands together coquettishly: Sorry to trouble you, Suisui—let’s do it again.”
Jiang Liusui redid the wake-up call exactly as she’d asked. This time, Xu Miao was thoroughly pleased. She found herself liking him more and more. Good-looking boys with sharp, eye-catching features were rare to begin with, and Jiang Liusui’s temperament—soft-spoken yet laced with playful wit—only added to his appeal.
No wonder He Yujing insisted on monopolizing him during the task. If it were her, she’d enjoy being around a kid like this too.
Xu Miao said, “Love you, love you~! Oh right, have we not added each other yet? Come add me once you’re done!”
The next person on the list was He Yujing. Jiang Liusui stopped outside his room, lifted his hand, and knocked, calling his name several times.
There was no answer from inside the room. After a moment’s hesitation, Jiang Liusui keyed in the password the staff had given him and opened the door.
He Yujing wouldn’t actually still be asleep, would he? Before going to bed, both he and Qin Yi had set alarms just in case. If not for the broadcast reminding them half an hour early, they would have woken up on their own.
Hopefully nothing that shouldn’t be filmed gets caught on camera…
Jiang Liusui pushed aside the jumbled thoughts in his mind and pushed the door open. The cameraman followed quietly behind, careful not to miss a single shot.
Everyone knew He Yujing valued his privacy. When confirming the arrangements earlier, the production team had worried whether he would agree to be filmed. To their surprise, he had agreed readily. The only oddity was that he named Jiang Liusui specifically as the one to wake him up. This small demand happened to suit the production team perfectly, and the director had immediately agreed upon hearing it.
Dawn had yet to arrive. The spacious single room lay shrouded in darkness. Whether from incense or the faint trace of cologne left behind, a barely-there cottonwood scent lingered in the air.
Jiang Liusui fumbled in the dark and turned on the small bedside night lamp. Warm yellow light spilled out like flowing water, illuminating a corner of the bed—and revealing the long, lean outline of a body beneath the covers.
He really hadn’t woken up at all—talk about being carefree.
The person on the bed seemed to be sleeping somewhat restlessly. His sharp eyebrows were slightly furrowed, his nose bridge straight, the lines of his brow bone neat. His profile under the lamp was stunning. His skin was flawless, and even without makeup, he could rival others who had carefully done up their faces.
“Yu-ge?” Jiang Liusui almost couldn’t bear to disrupt the scene, calling out softly, Time to get up.”
“……”
He patiently called a few more times, but He Yujing did not respond at all, not even moving an eyelid. Jiang Liusui finally lost his patience and reached out to push his shoulder: “He Yujing! Get up and see the sunrise! You’re the last one still asleep in this house—”
The man being awakened slowly opened his eyes and murmured a low “Mm?”
His gaze was unclear, as if he were trying to recognize who stood before him. Seeing he was awake, Jiang Liusui started to pull back and withdraw his hand, but his wrist was abruptly seized.
The large hand gripping him held tight, as if refusing to let him escape. The palm pressed against his skin radiated a scorching heat.
“What… are you making noise for?”
The man’s voice carried the lazy, husky tone of someone just awakened. Jiang Liusui was momentarily stunned by his unusually captivating voice, failing to notice the subtle hint of danger in his words.
He Yujing’s grip was too strong. Jiang Liusui twisted his hand, only to find it impossible to break free. “Why are you holding me so tight? Did you have a bad dream?”
No reply came. Perhaps due to lack of sleep, his gaze was heavy as he looked at Jiang Liusui, and a restless, irritable aura surrounded him.
After wandering around outside earlier, he hadn’t been able to fall asleep. Inevitably, his thoughts had drifted back to Jiang Liusui. When he finally succumbed to slumber, Jiang Liusui even appeared in his dreams. The scenes were hazy now, but the memory lingered—Jiang Liusui, smiling gently, as if speaking directly to him.
He had been so eager to find out what Jiang Liusui wanted to say, but before he could even ask, he was abruptly woken. He Yujing was simmering with anger, annoyed at the person waking him for being so inconsiderate.
But the moment he opened his eyes, the familiar figure overlapped with the one from his dream, standing vividly within reach.
Realizing it was Jiang Liusui who had woken him, He Yujing couldn’t vent his anger at all, and it made his teeth itch in frustration.
Why was he the only one getting so bothered?
Seeing He Yujing staring at him without a word, Jiang Liusui assumed he still wanted to laze in bed. After all, he himself had been in a similarly miserable state just minutes ago, so he empathized and suggested, Want me to help you up—”
The fingers gripping Jiang Liusui’s wrist suddenly clenched tightly. He Yujing tugged forcefully, yanking the unsuspecting person toward him.
Before Jiang Liusui could even react, he collided with He Yujing’s chest. His eyes caught the faint dip of the pajama collar and the smooth line of a collarbone. The raw, masculine aura was overwhelming[mfn]铺天盖地 (pū tiān gài dì) – lit. cover the sky and blanket the ground[/mfn]. The firm chest moved gently with each breath, and the heat pressing against him was impossible to ignore.
Behind the camera, the chief director stared wide-eyed, utterly astonished by He Yujing’s shocking action.
Having He Yujing on the show was already an unexpected delight, and the chief director personally oversaw all segments involving him. Neither of the room’s occupants wore microphones, so the surveillance captured no sound. Tilting his head, the director asked his equally stunned assistant, “What are they saying?”
Among the staff, a young woman covered her mouth excitedly and whispered, “This… this part—can we keep it? Teacher He’s team might demand it be cut…”
Jiang Liusui, disoriented and confused about how he’d been dragged onto the bed, suddenly found the scene shifting around him.
The culprit grabbed the blanket and covered him entirely. His voice, still thick with lingering sleepiness, was sticky and muffled, carrying a petulant tone: “I’m unhappy.”
“…?” Jiang Liusui thought he was throwing a tantrum after being woken, protesting from under the blanket: “Is that necessary?! I just woke you up!”
He Yujing pressed the edge of the blanket down with one hand, watching the squirming figure beneath. To make sure Jiang Liusui couldn’t wriggle free, he even draped a leg over him.
Leaning closer, He Yujing complained through the thin summer quilt: “You make me extremely, extremely troubled.”
He had made up his mind.
What’s the big deal? So what if he had feelings for Jiang Liusui?
Then he’d test whether those feelings were genuine attraction, and how strong they truly were.
Jiang Liusui gave in with a resigned sigh. “Fine, young master. We’ll just lie here… and watch the sunrise in your room.”
“Are you happy now?”
A muffled chuckle came from beside him.
The blanket was abruptly pulled away from his head. He Yujing pushed himself up from the bed, slipped into his slippers, and walked around to Jiang Liusui’s side, extending a hand. “I won’t tease you anymore. Come on, let’s go.”
Jiang Liusui held his hand, using He Yujing’s strength to get up from the bed. After all the commotion, it was nearly five o’clock, with just over ten minutes until departure. Jiang Liusui urged, “Hurry up and get ready. Do you need makeup?”
“No.” He Yujing grabbed his outdoor clothes and headed straight for the bathroom, pausing mid-step as if remembering something. “Can you grab me a necklace from the white suitcase? All the accessories are in a dark blue box. Thanks.”
Jiang Liusui found the jewelry box as instructed. Every piece of jewelry—worth a small fortune[mfn]价值千金 (jià zhí qiān jīn) – lit. worth a thousand gold pieces[/mfn]—was neatly separated into individual transparent bags. Dazzled by the glittering collection, Jiang Liusui asked uncertainly, “Which one do you want me to take?”
“Pick whichever you like,” He Yujing’s muffled voice came from the bathroom.
Jiang Liusui, unable to decide, grabbed the simplest platinum necklace he could find. When He Yujing finished changing, Jiang Liusui urgently pulled at him: “Hurry up! I just saw everyone else downstairs already.”
“What’s the rush? There’s still five minutes.”
Even though he spoke teasingly, He Yujing allowed himself to be dragged downstairs by Jiang Liusui.
Everyone else was standing at the villa entrance, waiting for the driver to turn the van around. Xu Miao, Shang Qingzhi, and Mu Zhe all had light makeup, and a few of them couldn’t stop yawning. Seeing the two of them come down, Xu Miao looked them over carefully, then gave a thumbs-up: “Bare-faced, huh? That’s some serious confidence.”
Jiang Liusui’s face was strikingly beautiful, with eyes that always seemed dewy and shimmering no matter who he looked at. Xu Miao at first thought he had applied makeup while calling people, maybe even wearing colored contacts.
Beside him, He Yujing was impeccably dressed from head to toe, as if he’d stepped out of a fashion shoot. He wore a black hoodie with neon green prints, slim-fit jeans that hugged his long legs, and black-and-white sneakers. Even in his rush, a delicate long necklace swung lightly around his neck.
Xu Miao pulled out a small mirror to check her reflection and suddenly wondered if her “no-makeup” makeup look was too understated. “Why do I feel so out of place[mfn]格格不入 (gē gē bù rù) – lit. mutually clashing and not fitting in[/mfn] next to you two…”
Mu Zhe glanced over and remarked, “Yu-ge’s necklace looks really nice.”
Now that the urgency of waking He Yujing had passed, Jiang Liusui began to feel the fatigue setting in. He was about to yawn when he sensed the person beside him glance his way.
He Yujing stood casually with his hands in his pockets, responding offhandedly, “Suisui picked it out.”
Author’s Note:
Jiang Liusui: That scared my yawn right back in.
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