In the sixteenth year of Guangcheng, the Forbidden City welcomed another sunny and mild spring day.
Carefully crafted kites flew high in the sky, riding the wind. The end of the kite string was held in the hand of the eldest imperial son, Ying Shi. The other younger princes and princesses stood beside him, looking up, feeling that their elder brother was truly impressive. The kite that refused to fly in others’ hands became so obedient and nimble in his.
“Royal Brother, Royal Brother, let me play too!”
Ying Shen Yue looked on eagerly, lifting her skirt and running to Ying Shi’s side.
Ying Shi had always doted on his sister, so he smiled and handed the kite reel to Ying Shen Yue.
Not far away, a young tutor with snow-white robes and picturesque features sat at his desk, lowering his head to review the princes’ and princesses’ test papers.
The students varied in talent and temperament. Some were mature, steady, and aware of the bigger picture; others were lazy and mischievous, causing worry. If one had to name someone who combined admirable talent with troublesome playfulness, making people both love and hate them, it would be the little princess now holding the kite string.
Looking at her test paper with its elegant handwriting and novel, outstanding viewpoints, she should have received top marks, but she had mischievously drawn a small portrait of Master Zhuge in the corner of the paper, with a fallen flower in his hair.
Zhuge Wenyun belatedly raised his hand to touch his hair, and indeed found a fallen peach blossom there.
“Master! Look how high Shen Yue’s kite is flying!”
Ying Shen Yue called to him with a smile. Zhuge Wenyun looked up and saw her smile, as bright as the spring sunshine.
“Brother, higher, I want it to fly higher!”
Ying Shi sighed helplessly: “Any higher and I’m afraid the string will break, and it will float away without a trace.”
“I don’t care. If it flies away, I’ll just ask the master to make another one!”
The figures of the young man and woman laughing and playing gradually blurred, transforming into Zhuge Wenyun’s eyes, as deep as ink and as gentle as water.
“Cut-”
The director called for a stop at this point.
“That was quite good! Shanshan, keep acting like that, very lively!” The director sat behind the equipment, speaking through a megaphone.
The actors gathered around to watch the recorded scene on the viewfinder. Later, the frame switched to a close-up of Jiang Nan’an. The director stared at it for a few seconds, then looked up at Jiang Nan’an and said to him:
“Nan’an, you’re also quite good, but… I feel like something’s missing somewhere?”
He pondered for a moment, then clapped his hands:
“Look here, Nan’an, what do you think Zhuge Wenyun’s emotions should be at the moment he sees the princess?”
This question touched on Jiang Nan’an’s blind spot.
After careful consideration, he answered:
“To Zhuge Wenyun, she is an excellent student, a mischievous little sister, so perhaps… admiration?”
“Yes, admiration, and maybe a bit of attraction that he himself hasn’t realized yet. Just like that fallen flower in his hair-it fell silently, without him noticing, until someone drew it out, making him realize there was such a small flower on him.”
The director described the character’s thought process to him. Jiang Nan’an listened to his words, somewhat lost in thought, until the director raised his hand and patted his arm:
“So I think in this shot, the gentleness is enough, but the emotion you express could be a bit more nuanced. Alright, come on, get ready, let’s do another take!”
…
“Ah, finally done for the day!”
They had added a night scene, and by the time the director was finally satisfied and called “wrap,” it was quite late.
Jiang Shanshan stretched and rubbed her stomach:
“I’m so hungry- Teacher Sheng, Teacher Jiang, are you two having a late-night snack?”
“Oh? What happened to your self-discipline as a female celebrity?”
Sheng Yujia teased.
Previously, when he and Jiang Nan’an had arranged to have late-night snacks, Jiang Shanshan never participated, saying she needed to maintain her figure and beauty-that was the self-discipline of a female celebrity.
“Oh, I’m just too hungry! I’ve only had one salad all day! Self-discipline can wait until tomorrow. I really want some barbecue-”
Sheng Yujia and Jiang Nan’an exchanged a glance, then he nodded with a smile:
“Okay, I’ll treat today.”
After removing makeup and returning to the hotel, Jiang Nan’an took a shower in the bathroom. When he came out, he received a message from Sheng Yujia inviting him to his room for a late-night snack.
Filming is physically demanding work. Lead actors often start early in the morning and work intensely until evening. It’s common for actors to arrange late-night meals together after wrapping up.
Sheng Yujia had bought barbecue from the night market, and it was still warm when he brought it back. Jiang Nan’an could smell the aroma as soon as he entered the room.
Since they all stayed in the same hotel, Jiang Shanshan arrived almost right after him, bringing along the second female lead, A Qi.
In the drama, A Qi plays the only daughter of a military family who has been best friends with Jiang Shanshan’s Princess Shen Yue since childhood. The two actresses also get along well off-screen, but Jiang Nan’an didn’t have many scenes with A Qi, so he wasn’t very familiar with her.
Jiang Shanshan must have told Sheng Yujia in advance that she was bringing someone else, as Sheng Yujia had already set four place settings on the table. Seeing the two of them arrive, he very naturally pointed to the dining table in the suite:
“Sit anywhere.”
“Thank you.” A Qi seemed to be in a bad mood. After sitting down, she reached into her hoodie pocket and, like a magician, pulled out two cans of beer and placed them on the table.
“You’re drinking?” Jiang Shanshan’s mouth fell open.
“It doesn’t matter. I don’t have any schedule tomorrow morning, so a little drinking is fine. I’m drowning my sorrows. Besides, my alcohol tolerance is very good-this small amount won’t get me drunk.”
As she spoke, A Qi pulled the tab on the can and, without having eaten any barbecue yet, took a big gulp of beer.
Jiang Nan’an raised an eyebrow slightly.
Since he wasn’t familiar with A Qi, he didn’t say anything, just silently took a skewer of toasted bread to eat while listening to the other three chat.
“What’s wrong?” Sheng Yujia asked A Qi. “Bad mood?”
“Yes, I got dumped!” A Qi didn’t treat anyone present as outsiders. As she spoke, she viciously bit into a meat skewer, grinding her teeth:
“May all the scumbags in the world get hit by cars when they go out, okay? Good.”
“I told you that Liang Cheng wasn’t a good person,” Jiang Shanshan sighed along:
“Men in this world can’t be trusted! Of course, Teacher Sheng, Teacher Jiang, and my male friends are exceptions.”
Liang Cheng?
Hearing this familiar name, Jiang Nan’an looked at A Qi with some surprise.
“Speaking of Liang Cheng, wasn’t he the male lead in Teacher Jiang’s last drama? I heard he was parachuted in, pushing out Teacher Sheng who was originally cast, and always tried to create CP buzz with Teacher Jiang. After the drama finished, he even backstabbed Teacher Jiang. Is all this true?”
Having stumbled upon gossip involving the person present, Jiang Shanshan couldn’t help but ask.
Sheng Yujia cleared his throat, glanced at Jiang Nan’an, and nodded: “Yes.”
“Great, so the dead man is not only trash in relationships but also a lowlife at work. I was really blind!”
A Qi fumed and began to expose her ex-boyfriend’s outrageous behavior to her friends:
“Do you know how attentive he was when pursuing me? His sweet talk was so smooth he could make black sound white. I didn’t like him at first, but he insisted he loved me to the bone and would only be good to me in this life, asking me to believe him and give him a chance. I was moved to tears, crying like a shower head. Well, I gave him the chance, and what happened? Good grief, as soon as we started dating, he coaxed me into bed, and after sleeping with me, his attitude did a complete 180-degree turn, like a second personality took control of his body. As clingy as he was before dating, he became that cold afterward, even using the silent treatment to break up with me!”
A Qi had a straightforward personality and was very direct, saying whatever came to mind:
“Could I tolerate that? Obviously not, so I kept my guard up. Well, these past few days I discovered that while pursuing me, he was also flirting with three or four other women, using the same lines he used on me. What a player! Today I confronted him face to face, and that’s how we broke up for good! Ruining my good mood for the day, what bad luck.”
A tragic, bizarre love story of meeting the wrong person that made one sigh with regret.
Jiang Nan’an appeared to be earnestly eating meat, but in reality, he had been quietly listening for quite a while.
After A Qi finished speaking, he tried to hold back but finally couldn’t help asking:
“Why?”
The other three at the table clearly hadn’t expected him to join this conversation and looked at him with some surprise.
A Qi was also a bit confused:
“Wh-what do you mean, why?”
“…Why would he suddenly stop liking you?” Jiang Nan’an searched for the right words.
“Oh-” A Qi sighed:
“It’s not that he suddenly stopped liking me. This kind of cliff-like coldness can only mean he never truly liked me from the beginning.”
“Then why would he date you if he didn’t like you?” Jiang Nan’an tilted his head slightly.
“Because he wanted to sleep with me.” A Qi took another swig of beer:
“He said it himself-because he thought I was pretty, easy to fool, and seemed naive, he wanted to pursue me and try sleeping with me. I was just a hunting target for him. Once he caught me and slept with me, his goal was achieved. I was of no more use to him, and continuing to spend time with me wasn’t interesting anymore, so he used the silent treatment to force me to break up. Damn him! If my agent hadn’t stopped me, I would have exposed him and torn him apart!”
A Qi ground her teeth fiercely:
“How nice his words were before sleeping together, and how quickly his face changed afterward! Men’s brains are in their lower bodies. The ultimate purpose of dating is to sleep together! Hey, Shanshan, don’t you have a little romance going on recently? I think you should be careful too. You’re so pretty, don’t let some scumbag target you. Yours is still a regular person-if he tries to blackmail you, you won’t even have a place to cry.”
“Ah? I… probably won’t.” Jiang Shanshan seemed a bit embarrassed:
“He’s my high school classmate.”
“Oh? Well, if you know him well, that’s better… Teacher Jiang, you should be careful too.” A Qi suddenly changed the subject.
Once bitten by a snake, one fears ropes for ten years-she now wanted to warn everyone she could.
“?” Jiang Nan’an was still thinking about what she had said earlier when she suddenly addressed him, leaving him confused: “Me?”
“Yes! I have a good eye for people. I think you must be very innocent, right? Have you never dated before? Let me tell you, in today’s world, not only are there many scumbag men, but there are also many scumbag women! In any case, with your face and your status, you should be careful, listen less to sweet talk, and never be deceived by smooth-talking romance scammers.”
“Thank you for your reminder.” Jiang Nan’an nodded seriously to her:
“…But I’m already dating someone.”
The statement shocked everyone.
“Pfft-” Sheng Yujia spat out a mouthful of water.
The piece of bread Jiang Shanshan was holding in her mouth fell onto the table because she opened her mouth in shock:
“You’re dating??”
“Mm.”
“With whom??? Is this something you can talk about???” Jiang Shanshan felt like her worldview was shattering:
“Which lucky girl is so fortunate??? Someone in the industry or a regular person???”
“Not someone in the industry…” Jiang Nan’an assessed Yan Jie’s status:
“But I don’t think he counts as a regular person either.”
“Then what is he? An internet celebrity??” A Qi, who had accidentally stumbled upon this shocking news, also became curious.
“Ahem… alright, alright.” Sheng Yujia stopped the conversation just in time:
“Let’s eat. The barbecue won’t taste good if it gets cold.”
Jiang Shanshan really wanted to know what was going on, but since Sheng Yujia had already spoken, it would be impolite to continue pressing, so she had to let it go.
The four of them chatted about relationships throughout the entire late-night meal before returning to their respective rooms.
Jiang Nan’an returned to his suite, originally planning to wash up and memorize some lines before sleeping, but as he looked at the script, he recalled what A Qi had said during the meal.
Romance scammers?
The ultimate purpose of dating is to sleep together?
Jiang Nan’an knew his appearance was outstanding; otherwise, he wouldn’t have made it to where he was today.
His looks were the only worthwhile thing about him.
He also knew that Yan Jie liked his face and often complimented him on his good looks. There was nothing to be conflicted about, as this was probably his only value to Yan Jie.
But, sleeping together…
Jiang Nan’an understood that “sleeping together” referred to sexual intercourse. From some of his experiences, he knew that men could have sexual relationships with other men, just like men and women, but Jiang Nan’an didn’t know exactly how it worked.
After thinking for a moment, Jiang Nan’an reached for his phone, opened WeChat, and sent a message to Yan Jie.
Jiang Nan’an: Do you want to sleep with me?
Yan Xiaochun: ?
Yan Xiaochun: ??????
#
(advanced chapters available on kofi)
