MMLDU Chapter 77

The day before entering the production crew, Pei Lang met up with Lu Lu, who brought along a man named Xiao An. He was tall, muscular, and imposing—a bodyguard and driver assigned by the company, said to be highly skilled in combat.

Pei Lang smiled faintly and tacitly approved of Xiao An’s presence, knowing full well that this arrangement was orchestrated by Yan Han.

The day before joining the crew, Yan Han had already departed. His reluctance to part was both endearing and amusing. Pei Lang had to urge him multiple times before he finally boarded the plane. If he had stayed any longer, Pei Lang might have caved and asked him to stay.

The next morning, Pei Lang officially joined the production. This time, he was the leading actor, with no romantic subplot or partner. The story featured a significant ensemble cast, but the focus was on Pei Lang’s character, Guan Ming. The plot unraveled through Guan Ming’s perspective as he pieced together the mysteries of a case, gradually revealing the truth.

When Pei Lang reported to the set, many cast and crew members, including the director and screenwriter, acted as though they didn’t see him.

Pei Lang had landed the role without an audition, as it had been directly secured by his company. The unspoken implications of such an arrangement were obvious. The production team had begrudgingly complied with the company’s decision but internally didn’t acknowledge Pei Lang, some even considering him loathsome and unscrupulous.

Fortunately, although they disliked him, no one dared to overtly sabotage him. The hotel arranged for him was decent. But when they learned Pei Lang would not be staying in the production’s hotel, certain individuals looked at him with increased disdain.

Actors opting out of production accommodations wasn’t uncommon, but the underlying assumption was often that it was to cozy up to a “sponsor”. Everyone understood the insinuation, further deepening their distaste for Pei Lang.

Despite this, Pei Lang remained consistently polite and approachable, treating everyone equally. His demeanor left no room for criticism, but it only made others feel stifled, interpreting his actions as hypocritical and pretentious.

Guan Ming, the character Pei Lang was to portray, was a disheveled man in his thirties. With Pei Lang’s striking looks, the role initially seemed misaligned. The director and screenwriter were skeptical of his suitability. However, after the makeup artists worked their magic and Pei Lang donned his costume, his eyes immediately captured the essence of the character. The transformation was startling—Guan Ming’s weary and dejected spirit seemed to leap off the pages of the script, leaving the production team in awe.

After the opening ceremony concluded, shooting was set to begin the next day. As Pei Lang removed his makeup, he touched his now soft hair thoughtfully, while Lu Lu stood nearby, brimming with excitement.

“Brother Lang, I just knew they’d be blown away by you! Seeing their dumbfounded expressions makes me so happy!” Lu Lu exclaimed, half-annoyed on Pei Lang’s behalf and half-delighted by the poetic justice of it all.

Pei Lang smiled indulgently, a trace of helplessness in his expression. “You, tone it down a bit.”

Pei Lang took out the script again to study it carefully. Although the production team was satisfied with the earlier makeup test, he felt something was missing. Upon further examination, he identified the issue.

“The story begins with Guan Ming being released from prison. My hair’s a bit long—not quite in line with someone freshly out of prison…”

With that, Pei Lang grabbed the script and went to find the director to share his thoughts. The director, after hearing his reasoning, looked at Pei Lang with newfound respect. Pei Lang’s most striking feature was his face. Everyone knew he had been placed in this crew by a powerful backer. For him to suggest shaving his hair into a buzz cut for the sake of the role—it was astonishing. Wasn’t he worried about ruining his image and upsetting his backer?

But since Pei Lang made the request himself and it was reasonable, the director had no objections. He immediately arranged for the stylists to get to work. In less than half an hour, when Lu Lu came to find Pei Lang after packing up, he was greeted by the sight of him sporting a buzz cut.

“Bro… Brother Lang!?” Lu Lu was stunned. Although Pei Lang had a beautifully shaped skull and perfectly proportioned features, which the buzz cut only emphasized, shaving one’s head still required a certain amount of courage. How could his Brother Lang decide to shave it off just like that?

“How is it? Does it match the character better now?” Pei Lang smiled as he waved at him, his grin radiant and charming. His soft, relaxed demeanor, coupled with the buzz cut, made him look like a pure-hearted monk who had just left the mountains to rejoin the secular world. He was nothing like the disheveled, despairing Guan Ming described in the novel.

Yet, during the makeup test earlier, Pei Lang was Guan Ming.

Lu Lu couldn’t help but admire Pei Lang’s acting skills. He had the ability to fully embody a character with a personality and aura entirely different from his own.

“Well, but…” Lu Lu frowned, his expression torn. “Won’t President Yan be angry when he sees this!?”

“Uh…” Pei Lang was at a loss for words.

Lu Lu, it seemed, was aware of everything, though he had never voiced it directly.

The last time Pei Lang was injured by Yan Xiuyuan, Lu Lu had seen Yan Han rush over with a face full of worry. Later, Pei Lang left with Yan Han, and not long after, he signed with Lanjin Entertainment. The connections between all these events weren’t hard to piece together—there was undoubtedly an unspeakable relationship between Pei Lang and Yan Han.

Initially, Lu Lu had been assigned as Pei Lang’s assistant by the company. While external rumors swirled, Lu Lu didn’t care much for them. His Brother Lang wasn’t just a pretty face. He earned his roles through genuine skill. Yes, he had a connection to Yan Han, but that was far superior to those who climbed the ladder through underhanded means to secure resources.

However, his Brother Lang, once a fair-skinned and delicate beauty, had now shaved his head. Although he was still good-looking, he worried that such a drastic change in appearance might affect Pei Lang’s standing in Yan Han’s heart.

Pei Lang remained silent for a long while, which made Lu Lu incredibly anxious. He swallowed nervously, his unease evident as he fidgeted, looking pitiful and timid. He braced himself for Pei Lang’s possible anger. Though he had never lost his temper with him before, he felt that his thoughtless remark about Pei Lang’s relationship with Yan Han had crossed a line, and any outburst would be justified.

Unexpectedly, Pei Lang didn’t get angry. Instead, he burst into laughter. “So, you’re not completely clueless after all. Don’t worry—your boss is head over heels for me right now. He’s so smitten he doesn’t even know which way is north. He won’t be mad at me.”

Lu Lu blinked, his wide, shining eyes filled with admiration as he looked at Pei Lang. “Really? Brother Lang, you’re amazing.”

Pei Lang tried to hold back a chuckle. “Ah, it’s just standard practice. No big deal.”

Hearing this, Lu Lu finally relaxed.

While Lu Lu and Xiao An stayed at the hotel arranged by the production crew, Pei Lang returned to his private residence. The two locations were only about a ten-minute drive apart, so Xiao An would drop Pei Lang off before heading back to the hotel.

Despite being apart for less than two days, Yan Han already missed Pei Lang terribly. He video-called him. Upon seeing Pei Lang’s new buzz cut, he fell silent. Pei Lang struggled to suppress his laughter, waiting for Yan Han’s reaction. Finally, Yan Han spoke, as if making a significant decision. “I’ve decided to put the script I’m working on aside for now and draft a new story.”

“What kind of story?” Pei Lang asked curiously.

“A tale about a pure-hearted monk leaving the monastery and encountering an old rogue bandit,” Yan Han said, his tone serious. Pei Lang’s new look perfectly suited the image of an innocent monk being deceived, both physically and emotionally.

“Oh? And… who’s playing the rogue bandit?” Pei Lang humored him, going along with his whimsical idea.

Yan Han’s gaze darkened. “Obviously, me.”

After a bit more playful banter, they ended the call.

Under Yan Han’s leadership, the people working for him were far from incompetent. The production team for Rot was top-tier, which was precisely why there was dissatisfaction about Pei Lang’s inclusion. Many in the team viewed him as a stain on the project, a mistake that could tarnish the film. To them, Pei Lang’s presence might ensure that Rot lived up to its name, rotting away into obscurity.

Yet, no one truly knew what Pei Lang’s performance would bring to the screen.

In Rot, the character Guan Ming is a young man who has been studying martial arts since childhood. His father is a police officer and his mother is a housewife. Due to his father’s frequent absence for work, Guan Ming rarely received any attention from him. His father even forced him to learn martial arts. To the public, his father is a revered and stern figure, but to Guan Ming, he was just a distant, strict man. That all changed when, at the age of fifteen, his father was killed by criminals while on duty. His mother, who loved his father deeply, followed him in death by jumping from a building.

At fifteen, Guan Ming was already at an age full of rebellion. After losing both parents, he was lost, like a headless fly darting around aimlessly. He felt immense sadness and even thought often about his estranged and stern father during the lonely nights.

The family had enough money to ensure he could complete his education, but his world had lost its support and direction. At sixteen, he enrolled in an ordinary high school, where he befriended a group of misfits. Having learned martial arts, Guan Ming was good at fighting and running, which naturally made him the leader of the group. They skipped school, fought, smoked, and drank—living a life full of rebellion. The school couldn’t control them, so they stopped intervening, and that continued for three years. One night, after playing games at an internet cafe until the early hours, they went out for a barbecue and drinks. Drunk out of his mind, Guan Ming stumbled into a crime scene. When the police arrived, they found him holding a bloody knife, standing next to the victim. He was immediately arrested.

At the time, he was still under eighteen. Although he tried to argue his innocence when he sobered up, the testimonies of witnesses led to his conviction. The area lacked surveillance cameras, and with Guan Ming’s history of misbehavior, he had no way to defend himself. One of his father’s old colleagues at the police station, seeing his misfortune, hired a lawyer for him. Given that he was underage and intoxicated, there was a possibility it was a case of involuntary manslaughter. Guan Ming was ultimately sentenced to fifteen years in prison.

Only Guan Ming knew he was innocent. He behaved well in prison. By the time he was released after fifteen years, he was in his thirties. He had no higher education, no work experience, and only the skills he had learned in prison to rely on for survival. Finding a job was difficult, and when he returned to his old home, everything had changed—people were gone and things were no longer the same.

Just after being released from prison, Guan Ming ran into another crime scene.

It felt as though someone had set him up, carefully planning everything to make sure Guan Ming would fall into the trap. Just as Guan Ming stood next to the body, the police arrived. When Officer Chen, the son of his father’s old colleague, saw him, he was first shocked, then angry. “Guan Ming, do you want to die? Do you have any idea what you’re doing?”

Guan Ming was no longer the naive eighteen-year-old he once was. Fifteen years in prison had tempered him. He was no longer foolishly letting the police take him away. “I didn’t kill this person. I just got here when you showed up.”

Officer Chen immediately ordered the crime scene to be sealed off. “You’re the only suspect here. Come with me to the station and wait for the investigation results.”

Guan Ming, just out of prison, was once again brought back as a suspect. The scheme seemed eerily similar to what had happened fifteen years ago. Guan Ming couldn’t help but suspect that the same person was behind it all. Even the criminal responsible for his father’s death had never been caught.

After being brought back, Guan Ming had no evidence pointing to him as the murderer. After a few days of detention, he was released.

Guan Ming felt like he was sinking deeper into a swamp, unsure of what kind of abyss he would step into next. He decided to clear the fog and find out who was behind it all.

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