MMLDU Chapter 32

“Wrap it up, everyone!” Director Jin called out as he walked over, his eyes gleaming. When he saw Pei Lang, it was as if he had discovered a treasure. “Kid, give it your all in this role. After this drama, your brilliance will be seen by everyone.”

This was the highest praise. Director Jin had never spoken so highly of anyone before. Zhong Yixiao, standing nearby, was astonished as he watched. The two started chatting, and Zhong Yixiao left first to remove his makeup and change clothes.

Director Jin valued Pei Lang highly, showering him with praise for his earlier performance. Pei Lang was a bit embarrassed by the compliments. For him, earning his paycheck and delivering a good performance were just part of his duty as an actor.

Thanks to Pei Lang’s arrival, the shoot finally wrapped up. The crew, who had been hungry for hours, were ready to eat. After chatting with Director Jin for a while, Pei Lang also went to change his clothes.

“Brother Lang, you’re amazing! You have no idea how those people who barely acknowledged you earlier are now singing your praises behind your back,” Lu Lu said excitedly on Pei Lang’s behalf, his eyes sparkling as he grinned foolishly in triumph.

“Where should we eat later?” Pei Lang asked, removing his wig and changing back into his own clothes without troubling the stylist. Food seemed to be his main concern at the moment.

“…” Lu Lu fell silent. “Brother Lang, didn’t we just finish eating not long ago? Aren’t you supposed to be managing your figure as an actor? The actors I’ve worked with before never ate at night. Even if they did, it was just some vegetable salad.”

“That fight scene just now burned a lot of calories, so I’m hungry,” Pei Lang replied. Before coming, he had already looked up food spots near the film set and made a mental note of the good ones. However, since it was already late and he had to wake up early tomorrow for styling and filming, he didn’t want to go far. “There’s a crawfish restaurant five kilometers from here. Let’s give it a try?”

“Fine,” Lu Lu reluctantly agreed, resigning himself to the fact that persuading Pei Lang to watch his diet would be a long and difficult battle. Though Pei Lang was in great shape and not overweight, as an actor, he still needed to be mindful of his eating habits. Eating like this wouldn’t work in the long run. “I’ll go get the car.”

“Sure, go ahead.” Pei Lang stood outside, pulling out his phone to make a reservation through a group-buy app. Just then, he happened to run into Zhong Yixiao, who had just finished changing.

Zhong Yixiao’s sharp eyes caught the order page on Pei Lang’s screen. “Heading out for food?”

“Yeah, I’m going with my assistant,” Pei Lang replied with a smile, facing Zhong Yixiao directly. The two openly sized each other up.

The atmosphere was oddly harmonious despite the subtle tension.

“Zhong Yixiao,” Zhong Yixiao said, extending his hand in introduction once the silent assessment was over.

Pei Lang shook his hand. “Pei Lang.”

“Looking forward to working together tomorrow.”

“Pleasure working with you.”

As they exchanged pleasantries, Lu Lu arrived with the car. Pei Lang gave a quick goodbye and got in, heading toward their destination.

Zhong Yixiao stared at the departing car, lost in thought. Liu Ran emerged shortly after. Since neither of them planned to eat, they decided to head back to the hotel together, chatting idly along the way.

Pei Lang and Lu Lu arrived at the restaurant and ordered a feast of crawfish. They chatted while eating. Lu Lu was quite capable but occasionally a bit naive, which made Pei Lang enjoy teasing him. He especially loved seeing Lu Lu’s confused yet resigned expression.

“Brother Lang, I saw you chatting with Zhong Yixiao earlier. What did you two talk about?” Lu Lu asked, his curiosity piqued.

“Just random stuff. Why?” Pei Lang replied, focused on peeling a shrimp without even looking up.

“Nothing much. I just heard he likes men. Brother Lang, you’re so good-looking, so be careful. He has a massive fanbase. If any rumors spread, his fans will probably blame you for it,” Lu Lu warned earnestly. He was worried sick, knowing how harsh online comments about Pei Lang often were. If trouble could be avoided, he wanted to help prevent it.

Pei Lang: “…”

This was a world where gay relationships were everywhere and same-sex marriage was legal. Zhong Yixiao liking men was perfectly normal. Okay, maybe what wasn’t normal was him and me being lumped together.

“Relax, I know what I’m doing. Right now, your Brother Lang just wants to act and casually enjoy shipping a few CPs. If even normal social interactions are overanalyzed by netizens, well, there’s not much I can do about that. I can’t give up living my life just to stop people from talking.”

Fair enough. But Lu Lu knew he couldn’t win an argument with Pei Lang. “I get it. I just don’t want to see you getting completely trashed online. It hurts me to see it.”

Pei Lang smiled, peeled a shrimp, and placed it in Lu Lu’s bowl to comfort him. “Don’t worry, just let things take their course. I’ve survived all those vicious rumors and insults before—what else could possibly bring me down?”

“I know you care about me. Even if one day I’m no longer getting hate online, I’ll still have you, my little angel, by my side. When that day comes, you can keep me company, eating and drinking together. I promise I won’t have a single worry in the world.”

Lu Lu’s face flushed red. After holding back for a while, he couldn’t come up with a rebuttal. “Brother Lang, if anything comes up, you have to tell me. If I can’t handle it, Sister You can help. Don’t carry everything on your own.”

“Got it, got it.”

By the time they returned, it was already very late. After washing up, they went straight to bed.

The hotel arranged by the production crew had two-bedroom suites, making it convenient for the lead actors and their assistants to stay together. Director Jin’s crew had excellent confidentiality measures—no leaks, no paparazzi following them, and the actors didn’t dare cause trouble. It was a solid team.

Pei Lang’s room was directly across from Zhong Yixiao’s, with Liu Ran’s room diagonally opposite. The next morning, as they got up and opened their doors, the three happened to come out at the same time. Since they weren’t familiar with each other yet, they exchanged awkward glances. After a simple nod to greet one another, they wordlessly headed to the filming location together.

Today’s filming was in a new location. Pei Lang’s scenes in the morning were with other supporting actors, while in the afternoon, he would have scenes opposite the male and female leads.

The fight scene shot last night featured Fu Zhixing and Qin Junru jumping off a cliff. At the bottom was a deep, dark pool of water, which saved their lives. Emerging from the pool, they found a cave and stayed there until dawn.

Fu Zhixing was injured. The Protector’s blade was coated with a potent poison. After a night of enduring its effects, half of his martial arts skills were lost, leaving him in excruciating pain.

Qin Junru refused to abandon him, carrying him across mountains and rivers. After much difficulty, they finally arrived at Lixixi Inn. The innkeeper, skilled in medicine and detoxification, examined Fu Zhixing. Unfortunately, the poison from the demon sect was too rare and complex for her to cure. She suggested they seek out a divine doctor who lived in Fengzhu Residence. This healer was said to cure any poison, heal any disease, and even regenerate flesh and bones.

However, the divine doctor resided in a lush bamboo forest, shrouded in mystery. Even highly skilled martial artists might not find him unless fate was on their side.

Determined to save Fu Zhixing, Qin Junru decided to take a chance and brought him to Fengzhu Residence.

The so-called divine doctor of Fengzhu Residence was none other than the second male lead, Wen Yan. Upon meeting Qin Junru, Wen Yan fell for her at first sight. He cured Fu Zhixing’s poison and insisted they stay until he fully recovered.

The scene scheduled for the afternoon was the meeting of the three characters.

Since all three had scenes together, the director requested they gather to discuss and rehearse.

Pei Lang sat casually, munching on potato chips as he watched Zhong Yixiao and Liu Ran practice their lines.

Yes, the scene originally required all three of them to rehearse together. But since Liu Ran disliked Pei Lang, she deliberately excluded him. Zhong Yixiao wanted Pei Lang to join, but Liu Ran kept pulling him into their two-person scenes, monopolizing him completely.

Pei Lang didn’t get upset. After all, it would be a waste not to enjoy the “shipped” chemistry between the male and female leads being handed to him on a platter. So, he pulled out a bag of potato chips, eating while watching their interaction, completely at ease.

His demeanor was calm and unbothered, which only frustrated Liu Ran more. She had intended to irritate him, but his indifference left her feeling annoyed instead. Repeatedly pulling Zhong Yixiao to rehearse the same scene, she started feeling irritated herself. However, she couldn’t let it show on her face—after all, who dared to act displeased when an award-winning actor was rehearsing with them?

“Mr. Zhong, let’s take a break,” Liu Ran finally said.

“Mm.”

The two assistants eagerly handed over water bottles to their stars. Since their bosses didn’t like Pei Lang, the assistants followed suit, looking down their noses at him. To be honest, in the hierarchy of the entertainment world, an infamously tarnished actor like Pei Lang often held less status than the assistant of a well-regarded actor.

Even though Director Jin valued Pei Lang highly, some people still weren’t convinced. They would rather assume there was some unsavory connection between the two to explain it.

Pei Lang wasn’t oblivious to what they were thinking; he simply didn’t care. This reaction was entirely expected.

If a situation couldn’t be changed in the short term, there was no point in agonizing over it—it would only add unnecessary stress.

“Brother Lang, how about we head to the car for now? You’ll need to change costumes soon anyway,” Lu Lu suggested, unable to bear seeing Pei Lang subjected to such scorn.

“Sure.” Pei Lang stood up, but just as he took a couple of steps, a woman approached him. Her gaze was locked on him, making it clear that she was here for him. “You’re Pei Lang, right?”

He paused briefly, then politely responded, “And you are?”

“I’m a teacher at the International Academy of Music. Director Jin asked me to teach you a few guqin movements for your upcoming scene,” the woman explained impatiently. Although the man in front of her looked decent enough, everyone knew about his scandals. She wasn’t about to be swayed by appearances.

The woman, in her forties, was thin, with an unkind tone and a disdainful gaze that added a touch of harshness to her demeanor.

While she spoke, her assistant brought over the guqin meant for the scene and placed it right in front of the three lead actors, clearly intending to put Pei Lang in an uncomfortable spot.

Pei Lang raised an eyebrow, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. “Thank you for coming. I appreciate your effort.”

“Director Jin knows you don’t know how to play the guqin, but the scene requires it, so he asked me to be your hand double. You don’t need to actually play, but for the wide-angle shots, you’ll need to perform the basic guqin motions. Otherwise, it won’t look convincing,” she said bluntly. To her, being a hand double for a minor actor like Pei Lang was beneath her.

“Understood. Thank you, teacher,” Pei Lang replied courteously. Despite Liu Ran smirking at the drama unfolding and the teacher’s increasingly sharp and condescending tone, Pei Lang remained unruffled, as if he were merely an uninvolved observer.

“Tch~” What a show. Liu Ran couldn’t help sneering internally. She was eager to see how this teacher would humiliate Pei Lang.

Zhong Yixiao’s expression remained neutral, but he carefully observed Pei Lang. Maintaining composure in a situation like this would seem fake to some, yet Zhong Yixiao didn’t see any signs of pretense.

Pei Lang’s demeanor was different from what the rumors described. Interesting.

“Teacher, actually, I can do it myself,” Pei Lang said politely.

The upcoming scene involved the female lead guiding the male lead through a bamboo forest, where they stumbled upon Wen Yan playing the guqin. The elegance of his performance captivated the female lead. Wen Yan, in turn, fell for the woman who interrupted his music. This scene required the guqin performance to be stunning—enough to impress both the characters and the audience.

Pei Lang happened to know how to play several instruments, including the guqin.

He had already prepared for this scene, but everyone assumed he was incapable. That’s why Director Jin brought in the teacher to coach him and serve as a hand double.

Pei Lang initially wanted to explain that he could play, but before he could say more, the teacher snapped. “You? You can do it? Everyone knows what kind of person you are. I bet you’re just making excuses because you don’t want to learn. Lazy, aren’t you? Don’t think for a second I wanted to teach you. If Director Jin hadn’t invited me, do you think I’d bother to be your stand-in?”

Pei Lang was momentarily stunned. “Uh—”

The teacher didn’t let him respond. “You don’t want to learn, do you? Fine! After all, it’s not you actually playing the guqin in close-ups. No big deal, right? When this scene fails and Director Jin asks, I’ll just tell the truth. You’ve got your ‘special relationship’ with him anyway. Worst case, they’ll film your scenes without showing your hands. Who cares? The audience won’t know any better. In your eyes, they’re all idiots, aren’t they?”

After firing off her tirade, the teacher stormed off angrily.

Pei Lang blinked, utterly speechless. He turned to Lu Lu with an innocent expression. “Did I say anything remotely like that just now?”

Lu Lu gave Pei Lang a sympathetic look before glancing toward the door. “Brother Lang didn’t say any of that. She made it all up herself.”

Pei Lang burst out laughing. “She’s got the imagination of a storyteller and the interpretative skills of a poet. Not bad! Lu Lu, don’t be such a naive little guy. Learn a thing or two from her.”

“I’m not naive!”

Pei Lang didn’t take the teacher’s harsh words to heart and Lu Lu didn’t dwell on the negativity either. The two ended up laughing until tears rolled down their cheeks.

Their unbothered laughter was blinding. Liu Ran, watching from the side, felt as if their smiling eyes were mocking her. She wished she could gouge them out and stomp on them.

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