Mr. Liang and President Huo worked together to discuss climate issues in the bedroom for a full three days.
On the evening of the third day, Liang Xiao hung on President Huo’s arm, drifting with the wind, and weakly boarded the private jet.
“Need some supplements?”
Duan Ming crouched beside him, looking at President Huo meticulously delegating work outside the cabin window. “I have a purchasing agent in my WeChat moments, kidney treasure on special…”
Liang Xiao withered in his seat, took out the water gun, and fired several shots at his manager.
Duan Ming was quite regretful, wiped the water from his face, and deleted the friend: “I specifically added them.”
The manager had returned with the assistant on the second day, had spent a week cracking melon seeds in the large Huo residence work group that included the butler and bodyguards, and had mainly been responsible for working with the air conditioning maintenance staff to figure out how to drain water and reduce humidity.
These days had been spent rushing work at the film set. Having finally taken a week off, Duan Ming’s complexion had improved considerably: “Actually, your current state is perfect for filming the ending, no need for adjustment.”
Director Jin wasn’t unreasonable and had worked with omega actors before. Hearing that Liang Xiao had special circumstances, he simply moved the originally scheduled later scenes forward, and the crew hadn’t been idle waiting for Liang Xiao alone.
The only requirement was that Liang Xiao’s condition must be guaranteed to not differ much from before he left.
“Not just ‘not differ much,'” Duan Ming sighed. “If Director Jin sees you, he might think you weren’t resolving a heat but volunteering for drought relief…”
Liang Xiao was embarrassed and angry: “Brother Duan!”
Duan Ming, who hadn’t reacted in time the first time and was ditched by his own artist, had chased to the airport only to get a face full of jet exhaust, had nursed his grudge for a week, and was now seizing the opportunity for revenge: “Does the youth version of the inducer work that well?”
His question made things worse. Liang Xiao got a headache just hearing about the inducer and was furious: “Not good at all.”
Duan Ming was surprised: “Not good enough?”
Duan Ming had eaten all the gossip and couldn’t help but ask: “Then why did you tell President Huo back then that if he didn’t hurry, it would be too late-”
Liang Xiao said expressionlessly: “If President Huo didn’t bite me, my pheromone mini-outburst would have ended.”
Duan Ming: “…”
The inducer had been personally sourced by the manager, a youth-safe type, and Liang Xiao had enthusiastically stuffed a whole bag full.
Too safe.
If their pheromone compatibility hadn’t been high enough for them to connect and respond to each other, Liang Xiao didn’t dare imagine what scene the two would have faced after the inducer wore off.
Duan Ming hadn’t expected this and coughed: “At least it was safe…”
“Yes, safe,” Liang Xiao sighed. “With the effective period precisely controlled to half an hour.”
Duan Ming clicked his tongue, feeling guilty: “Couldn’t it have lasted a bit longer?”
Liang Xiao still felt that his half-century illusion was inseparable from the inducer. Embarrassed and angry, he took the manager’s phone and coldly deleted the inducer purchasing agent from the friends list.
…
President Huo had briefly delegated matters below the aircraft and didn’t delay much, boarding the plane together with the butler.
The time agreed with the film crew was rather tight. President Huo had specifically discussed with Liang Xiao that rather than wasting time traveling the next day, they might as well fly over directly that evening and rest well at the hotel for the night.
“Is everything arranged?”
Seeing him come up, Liang Xiao supported himself on his arm and stood up: “I’m not in a hurry; let’s wait until things are settled here before leaving.”
“It’s done,” President Huo embraced him. “There’s nothing much to arrange.”
The attitude toward the branch family had already been determined, the division had become a foregone conclusion, and no room for negotiation had been left.
Over the years, Huo Corporation had gradually reclaimed rights and capital flow. The branch families had been spoiled rotten by unexpected windfalls and, even if someone were to struggle in their death throes, they couldn’t stir up much trouble.
“What about Long Tao?” Liang Xiao hadn’t seen him work much these days and was worried he had become a nation-ruining omega. “My matters aren’t urgent… if necessary, I can go back to film for a couple of days first, and you can come over after you’ve arranged everything.”
The more Liang Xiao thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed: “When I’m not around, you can work with peace of mind, and when you miss me, just solve a few problems.”
President Huo’s shoulders tensed slightly. He held Liang Xiao’s hand, letting him lean against his chest: “…No need.”
President Huo lowered his head to adjust his collar and asked softly: “Don’t you want me to go with you?”
Liang Xiao was speechless: “How could that be possible?”
He hadn’t been able to sleep well alone in the hotel. Unless he exhausted himself completely, he could hardly sleep at all. Lying down and closing his eyes, his mind was full of President Huo.
Liang Xiao had tried using his own arm as a pillow, but the effect was far too inferior. The next day, because his shoulder was numb, he couldn’t draw his bow, and Director Jin had severely supervised him for half the day.
This time, he had taken leave for “personal reasons.” Considering the previous situation, Director Jin, under the strict supervision of the production manager, had engaged in criticism and self-criticism, sincerely apologizing to him for neglecting the actor’s physical and mental health.
“It’s just… I don’t want you to see.”
Liang Xiao hadn’t originally wanted to mention this, but thinking that he probably hadn’t been able to hide from President Huo in the previous instances either, he steeled himself and told the truth: “Going back to film the ending, I’ll need to suffer a bit.”
President Huo was very clear about what “suffering a bit” meant. His arm tightened around Liang Xiao, but he didn’t speak.
To ensure the best effect on camera, Liang Xiao had barely been able to come down from the wire harness for the past half month. The rare scenes on the ground included quite a few of riding horses through the forest.
The bruise on Liang Xiao’s chest still hadn’t completely faded. It had happened when he was on the wire harness and the wind direction changed, with the steel wire extending too far, nearly causing him to crash headfirst into a tree.
If he hadn’t reacted quickly, he might still be lying in the hospital.
Liang Xiao had filmed many horse scenes over the years, but they were generally not very dangerous. The difficult ones could be managed with his solid riding skills developed through real practice. But riding through the forest not only tested the actor’s skill but also had many environmental factors.
“Two years ago,” President Huo squeezed his shoulder blade. “Is this where you fell?”
“How do you even know about that…”
Liang Xiao laughed and deliberately moved a few times to show him: “It healed completely long ago.”
President Huo didn’t respond, placing his palm on his shoulder blade to warm it, slowly massaging.
Liang Xiao’s body was still faintly sore. He sighed comfortably, pressed his face against President Huo’s arm, and nuzzled slightly: “I don’t want you to see.”
President Huo held him and said softly: “I won’t disturb you.”
“If you can’t focus,” President Huo clenched his fist slightly. “I can stay somewhere else-”
“That’s not it,” Liang Xiao smiled. “When you’re not around, I can’t calm down.”
Liang Xiao closed his eyes briefly and tugged at the corner of his mouth: “It’s just…”
Liang Xiao wasn’t used to saying such things and felt quite embarrassed. He buried himself in President Huo’s arm and coughed lightly: “When you’re around, I become weak.”
Two years ago, Liang Xiao was still a stunt double, also filming a horse riding scene in the forest. The horse wasn’t in good condition that day and somehow suddenly lost control, galloping unstoppably through the forest, knocking over several martial arts performers responsible for safety protection.
Liang Xiao’s physical condition wasn’t sufficient to contend with the frightened horse. He was carried along and crashed headfirst into a tree, completely shattering his left shoulder, and remained unconscious for quite some time.
Being a martial arts performer inevitably involved such incidents, and with the varying levels of professionalism in film crews, there was hardly a part of Liang Xiao’s body that hadn’t been injured.
This time, with the two of them completely honest with each other, President Huo had carefully examined all of Liang Xiao’s old injuries. Although thanks to omega’s natural gifts, there weren’t many places with scars, he still couldn’t successfully fool their President Huo’s overly powerful intelligence network.
Liang Xiao had long been accustomed to the rough and tumble life and hadn’t felt there was anything unusual about his journey. But when President Huo held him preciously, carefully kissing each place that had been injured, it suddenly pulled out all the weakness he had hidden away in the corners of his heart and lungs over these years.
Thinking about how frequently he had cried since meeting President Huo, Liang Xiao suddenly became a bit worried: “Could it be that I’m actually a crybaby at heart…”
President Huo kissed his eyes and said softly: “You’re not.”
Liang Xiao was deeply concerned: “I’m not?”
President Huo was silent for a moment, then shook his head: “I also snow.”
Liang Xiao: “…”
Their President Huo, half a year ago, would never have been able to say this sentence so calmly and steadily.
Liang Xiao was influenced by his calm and steadiness, cleared his throat, and extrapolated: “I… my eyes rain.”
President Huo nodded.
Liang Xiao held it in for a long time but still couldn’t help laughing.
Liang Xiao had originally wanted to tease him about making up any nonsense for his sake, but when he looked up and met President Huo’s particularly serious gaze, his heart unexpectedly warmed.
…Perhaps it was because his nature was too dignified; President Huo probably didn’t even know how much he melted people’s hearts when he was earnestly talking nonsense.
Liang Xiao’s heart was completely soft, and his ears reddened: “…Huo Lan.”
His voice was soft. President Huo stroked his hair and lowered his head in response.
Liang Xiao leaned forward to look at the back of the cabin, confirmed that everyone else was asleep, tugged at President Huo’s sleeve, and asked softly: “A kiss?”
President Huo’s breath caught slightly. He closed his eyes briefly and shook his head: “You’re very tired.”
“I’m not completely exhausted yet.” Liang Xiao had forgotten the pain once the wound healed and completely forgot who had been swaying in the wind. He sighed lightly, “I haven’t been sleeping well lately.”
President Huo was slightly taken aback, his brows furrowing.
“I have to be completely exhausted to sleep.”
Liang Xiao sighed languidly: “Really, if you don’t believe me, ask Brother Duan, or Director Jin…”
The two were nestled together, and as his breath brushed over President Huo’s skin, President Huo’s shoulders tensed slightly. He pressed his forehead against Liang Xiao’s: “Just one.”
Liang Xiao pushed his luck, happily: “One point five-mmph-”
President Huo kissed him, his arms embracing, completely enveloping him in his arms.
–
The next day, Liang Xiao returned to the film set on time.
“Are you really alright now?”
Director Jin, having been taught a lesson by the production manager, stared at him, looking him up and down with concern: “If not, you can rest a bit more.”
Liang Xiao smiled: “I’m fine now.”
Jin Zhenbo had been directing for many years but had never known that using high-intensity filming for omega actors could force them into heat. He felt somewhat guilty: “Don’t force yourself.”
The crew had been busy as fire these days. Director Jin raised his hand and gestured: “There are quite a few supporting roles and group scenes; there’s still filming to do even if you’re not here.”
The producer passed by and added with a smile: “Even if you’re not here, Director Jin still has people to scold…”
With the main target of Director Jin’s fire not present, the rain had fallen evenly. From actors to staff, anyone who didn’t perform well these days received a severe scolding.
Several young actors had developed a stress response, trembling as they stood up straight, looking around vigilantly, and quickly running away along the wall.
Liang Xiao, who hadn’t been back for several days, was impressed by the crew’s new ecological landscape: “Let’s go.”
In principle, he didn’t have many scenes left, but the final scenes indeed couldn’t be rushed. They had to be polished one by one to ensure a beautiful ending.
With President Huo’s help, he had memorized his lines thoroughly. Liang Xiao didn’t need much preparation. After putting on makeup and walking through the scenes a few times, the group director nodded and sent out the ready signal to the side of the set.
After not filming the lead actor’s close-ups for several days, the camera and lighting teams were particularly energized. The reflectors were adjusted with perfect precision, sending light into the densely covered forest.
The young general, covered in dust and blood, rode his horse at full speed. The steed was suddenly caught by a trip wire, neighed loudly, and crashed to the ground with its rider.
Yun Lang rolled on the ground, avoiding several powerful crossbow arrows.
The sounds of pursuit grew closer from the distance. Yun Lang casually wiped the blood from the corner of his lips, patted the horse’s neck twice, leaped onto its back, and continued galloping without looking back.
…
This segment required extremely strong visual tension. Director Jin didn’t relax at all just because Liang Xiao had just returned to work and was particularly strict: “Move the horse away, pull back.”
Several assistant directors couldn’t see any problems and hesitated to persuade him. They called someone to lead the horse away, clearing the shot.
The horse was rented and, although trained to perform in films, couldn’t keep being made to fall like this.
These shots would be edited later anyway, so Liang Xiao had no objections. He stepped on the prop spring board again and again, rolling and crashing to the ground, supporting himself with one hand to protect his head and neck, rolling with force to avoid the crossbow arrows.
After all, it had been a week without continuous filming. No matter how well he maintained his condition, he needed to find his camera sense again.
The camera is the most stringent standard. Even subtle differences in state between shots would be particularly obvious, causing viewers to feel an unconscious sense of dissonance.
This kind of difference could be understood but not explained. Liang Xiao rested for a while on one knee, supported himself to stand up, let the makeup team touch up his makeup and brush off the mud and fallen leaves, looked at Director Jin Zhenbo’s expression behind the monitor, and walked back to the spring board.
“Isn’t it good enough?” Even the producer couldn’t see any problems anymore and said softly, “This scene is too physically demanding. After a few more takes, the lead actor might not be able to hold up.”
Jin Zhenbo was looking for exactly that point where he could barely hold on and was about to collapse. He frowned and waved his hand, indicating to do it one more time.
Liang Xiao rolled sideways on the ground, avoiding the sharp crossbow arrows that brushed past him.
“You’re already out of strength, but you must muster strength,” Director Jin had someone touch up Liang Xiao’s makeup and went over to explain the scene to him again. “You’re more exhausted than ever before, but your mind is also more focused than ever. This is your most serious attempt.”
Liang Xiao took small sips of water, caught his breath, and nodded.
“There will be facial close-ups,” Jin Zhenbo said. “Your spirit can’t slacken; once it slackens, it’s wrong.”
The production manager called for someone to bring Liang Xiao a chair and couldn’t help but say: “What kind of director would do facial close-ups when someone is rolling over with a horse…”
Director Jin was furious, threw down the script, and rolled up his sleeves to argue with the production manager.
“It’s already very good… Director Jin is pursuing perfection.” The assistant director helplessly smiled bitterly and apologized to Liang Xiao. “Thank you for your hard work.”
Liang Xiao shook his head and smiled: “My state is indeed not right.”
Before returning, his mind had been preoccupied with President Huo and worried about the sword that hadn’t fallen. He couldn’t settle down no matter what, which coincidentally matched the character.
Now his heart was too full, making it difficult to find that feeling again.
Liang Xiao pondered for a while and asked Duan Ming: “Does President Huo have any rumors?”
Duan Ming was hugging his phone, routinely maintaining Weibo, and was startled when he heard this. He nearly threw his phone under the horse’s hooves: “Are you going to use it to blackmail President Huo?”
“No,” Liang Xiao coughed, also feeling it wasn’t quite appropriate. “I’m trying to find the feeling…”
Attitude problems were different from others; they couldn’t be compensated for purely by an actor’s professionalism. No matter how high Liang Xiao’s professional level was, he still needed a starting point to get into character.
Unfortunately, their President Huo was too reassuring. Liang Xiao tried hard to search for a long time but couldn’t find any useful entry point: “Has President Huo ever had rumors with anyone?”
“Yes,” Duan Ming checked and nodded. “About ten years ago, when he first took over Huo Corporation and resolutely poured money into that pharmaceutical company, people suspected it might be a case of ‘risking everything for an omega.'”
Liang Xiao: “…”
Duan Ming opened another section: “Five years ago, he attended a banquet headed by Long Tao, and an omega of unclear identity was urgently sent to the hospital. People suspected it might be related to him.”
Liang Xiao: “…”
Duan Ming flipped through and found the last one: “An unidentified omega, disheveled, was seen leaving the Huo residence late at night, trending for three days…”
“Alright, alright,” Liang Xiao seriously interrupted, coldly waving his hand. “None of these are useful.”
Duan Ming pretended not to see his red ears and cooperatively nodded: “Control your mouth corners.”
The director hadn’t returned yet. Liang Xiao quickly suppressed his upturned mouth corners, trying hard to pull them down, switching back to his sharp and cold demeanor.
Duan Ming switched back to the Weibo comment section: “Actually, we can try a different approach.”
Liang Xiao was curious: “What?”
“A long, long time ago,” Duan Ming said, “we discussed having President Huo restore your reputation.”
Liang Xiao choked: “…”
“At that time, you hadn’t widely attracted attention,” Duan Ming added. “But this time, the sharp-eyed netizens saw you sneaking through the airport.”
Liang Xiao was exasperated: “How am I ‘sneaking’—”
“Everyone knows you’re filming, and there are many rumors and debunkings on Weibo discussing why you went back.”
Duan Ming flipped through: “Coincidentally, these days there’s no trending topic that can divert attention from you, only Huo Corporation’s announcement of asset restructuring.”
“Year’s End” was currently airing to great popularity, and Liang Xiao’s popularity couldn’t be suppressed. After watching about thirty episodes of black and white photo scenes, the vast audience was green-eyed waiting for Yun Lian’s fate, and inevitably the attention spilled over to the actor himself.
Liang Xiao lamented: “I shouldn’t have agreed to Director Song back then.”
“It’s too late,” Duan Ming patted him. “You and President Huo have had too many interactions. Someone used a microscope to find that the watch you wore to the banquet last time was the same model as President Huo’s but in a different color, and there’s data analysis of the timing between your job change and the acquisition of Long Tao.”
Duan Ming: “Gossip has a memory. Last time you had an accident on set, it was also President Huo who carried you out.”
Liang Xiao had a headache and couldn’t refute: “…Yes.”
“Xingguan currently has two approaches: directly go public or temporarily suppress it.”
Duan Ming had seen many storms and wouldn’t get nervous over such a small wave: “Considering Huo Corporation’s overall situation, their PR department is more inclined to suppress it, trying not to stir up waves at this time.”
Liang Xiao nodded: “We can’t go public yet.”
Huo Corporation’s asset restructuring wasn’t just an internal reorganization but also a significant public opinion battle. During this period of frequent major moves, many people would connect this matter with the acquisition of Long Tao, and then attack the capital flow of Xingguan or even the entire Huo Corporation from various angles.
Other listed companies were fine, but the entertainment industry was more affected by public opinion, and such changes would inevitably make Xingguan’s stock price unstable.
Now was the time to strengthen President Huo’s personal business image and enhance the trust and reliability of corporate public opinion.
Liang Xiao was a bit worried: “Would participating in a variety show be a problem at this time?”
“That’s not a problem,” Duan Ming knew what he was thinking and shook his head. “Long Tao was originally a major player in variety shows. Many people see Xingguan’s acquisition as the first step in expanding business from the film and television circle, so it’s natural for President Huo to lead by participating in a variety show.”
Duan Ming: “Xingguan officially announced it a few days ago, and now many people are analyzing the far-reaching considerations and commercial nature of President Huo’s personal participation in the variety show.”
“It’s perfect for President Huo to establish the image of a decisive and cold CEO in the variety show, projecting confidence.”
Liang Xiao sighed in relief, nodded, and thought carefully: “Then hold a press conference to clear my name.”
As long as the two of them maintained proper boundaries in the variety show, the press conference clarification would be natural. At most, he would be questioned for a period, and the impact on Xingguan could be minimized.
Liang Xiao felt reassured: “Is there anything else?”
Duan Ming looked at him.
Liang Xiao: “…”
Duan Ming: “…”
Liang Xiao suddenly became alert: “I won’t talk to President Huo about it! Let the butler-”
“The butler has already spoken to him,” Duan Ming said. “Their PR department and marketing department have also tried… Unable to refuse such sincerity, I also tried once.”
Liang Xiao opened his mouth, his heart vaguely sinking: “Did it work?”
Duan Ming: “Have you ever built a snowman?”
…
With concerns on his mind, the lead actor precisely found his state and successfully completed an entire scene of exhaustion without mental distraction, earning high praise from the director.
Liang Xiao removed his makeup, packed his things, and hurriedly returned to the hotel, just in time to meet the butler who was waiting at the door.
“Mr. Liang!”
The butler had been eagerly waiting and quickly approached: “Did Mr. Duan tell you? President Huo is a bit angry now; only you can help.”
Liang Xiao pressed his forehead, for the first time not feeling confident: “What do you want me to do?”
“Persuade President Huo to be a bit more distant with you in the variety show,” the butler said. “Be polite and courteous to you, cold and dignified, pretend not to be familiar…”
Liang Xiao looked at him: “…”
“…” The butler was deeply worried: “It might not work.”
“Not even just in front of the camera?” The marketing department head, who had specially come to report on the work, was in an extremely difficult position. “We just need a few detailed shots, mainly relying on post-production editing. We can completely make President Huo’s affectionate gazes fall on flowers, plants, and trees…”
Liang Xiao took a deep breath: “I’ll… try my best.”
“Could you use your pheromones to coax President Huo?” The butler led Liang Xiao to a corner and lowered his voice to whisper: “If you make it rain, President Huo might feel better.”
Liang Xiao had no way to explain: “I can’t actually make it rain…”
If he could really make it rain, that day in Jiangnan when he forcibly treated young Huo Lan, the study would probably have been flooded.
President Huo’s pheromones could cause water molecules in the air to condense, which was already the limit of pheromone influence on reality. Liang Xiao’s pheromones only had the scent of rain and couldn’t actually burden the air conditioning’s dehumidification system.
Liang Xiao’s gland had recovered most of its function. Although it hadn’t yet recovered from the state of being flushed with large doses of matching alpha pheromones and showed no tendency to be active, it wasn’t completely unable to drive conversion: “If you don’t believe me, look-”
Liang Xiao: “…”
Liang Xiao rubbed his eyes in confusion, looking at the small hailstones falling around him with a crackling sound.
The butler had already asked the doctor and quickly explained to him: “Your gland is still in the bonding period with President Huo’s pheromones. The released pheromones will tend toward a fusion state; it will be fine after it passes.”
Liang Xiao had complex feelings: “Oh.”
When the butler heard the doctor’s reminder, he only thought the rain would be heavier and didn’t expect the fusion state to be like this. Afraid that Liang Xiao might feel burdened, he said: “It’s alright, we just bought a batch of cola with no ice cubes-”
Liang Xiao took several deep breaths, pressed his forehead, shook his head, and took the plan from the marketing department head who was eagerly watching the two of them.
Liang Xiao hugged the plan, walked through the living room, and opened the side bedroom door.
He went to make hail for their President Huo.
##
(advanced chapters available on kofi)
tx2bdw