Director Wan was watching the playback on the monitor. The lighting technician was adjusting the lights, and someone from the art department was anxiously shouting nearby, “Don’t step on it, don’t step on it! I put that rock there on purpose!”

Just then, a soft “thud” was heard, followed by a woman’s panicked voice, “Teacher Zhong! Teacher Zhong? What’s wrong?”

The set quickly descended into chaos. Countless people crowded around, and someone shouted, “Director, Teacher Zhong seems to be having an episode!”

Upon hearing this, Director Wan stopped watching the monitor and hurried over, asking as he ran, “Where’s the on-set doctor? Quick, go get the on-set doctor!”

Soon, the assistant director’s angry roar was heard: “Back off! Why are so many people crowding around? Can’t you see Teacher Zhong can barely breathe!”

As the crowd retreated, Zhong Yue’s female assistant panicked. “Director, the doctor! Has the doctor come! Teacher Zhong seems to be unable to breathe!”

Someone answered, “Someone already went to get him, but the on-set doctor is at the foot of the mountain, he didn’t come up with us!”

Can’t breathe? Shen Xici put down the mineral water and strode over. Through the crowd, he saw Zhong Yue lying on the ground in a dark coat, his hands clutching his neck. His mouth was open in a futile attempt to take large gulps of air, a heavy “hu-he” sound coming from his throat, but like a fish out of water, he couldn’t take in any oxygen at all.

Shen Xici was about to move forward when a hand suddenly reached out from the side, defensively asking, “What are you doing?”

“Move!” Ignoring Xu Lingjia’s obstruction, Shen Xici went straight through the crowd. He quickly scanned Zhong Yue’s exposed wrists and neck, where large red patches of hives had already appeared. There were some on his face too, and the area around his trachea was slightly swollen. Shen Xici approached and knelt down. “What did Teacher Zhong drink just now? Does he have a history of allergies?”

The assistant director next to him suddenly remembered Shen Xici’s file. “Quick, tell him what Teacher Zhong just drank! He studied medicine!”

“What did he drink? The cup, Teacher Zhong drank from the thermos!” The female assistant calmed down a little, trying hard to recall, her voice tinged with tears. “Teacher Zhong doesn’t have any allergies. I even specifically asked when I started working for him!”

The drink, along with the thermos, had fallen to the ground. It was a yellow fruit juice, impossible to tell what it was exactly. Shen Xici used his fingers to forcefully check Zhong Yue’s mouth. The throat was not visible, but his tongue already showed obvious swelling, and his heartbeat was very fast.

“Teacher Zhong is likely having a severe allergic reaction to this drink,” Shen Xici said, then lifted Zhong Yue’s upper body, tilting his neck back slightly. At the same time, he shouted to the director, “Director Wan, get the adrenaline from the doctor as fast as you can! Teacher Zhong’s throat is swelling, blocking his airway, and he’s breaking out in a cold sweat. It’s for saving his life!”

Director Wan also saw the severity of the situation. Zhong Yue’s hands clutching his neck had lost their strength, his face was turning blue, and the wheezing from his throat was getting heavier. The person sent to get the medicine was already running down the mountain, and he quickly called the on-set doctor as well.

Just then, a voice piped up: “Adrenaline? I have some. My mom was afraid I’d have an allergic reaction to mosquito bites, so she prepared it for me.”

Xu Lingjia emerged from the crowd, holding an epinephrine auto-injector pen. He looked at Zhong Yue lying on the ground, gasping for air but unable to breathe in, completely losing his usual glamorous appearance. His face was purple, covered in red rashes on his face and neck, which was very frightening. He couldn’t help but take a half step back.

The hand holding the injector pen trembled, but he gripped it tightly again. Xu Lingjia hadn’t expected the allergic reaction to be so severe. He had learned from his dream that after Zhong Yue joined the cast of “Divine Capital Murder,” he soon fell ill from exhaustion and was hospitalized. But that time, it wasn’t due to overwork. His godmother had told him that Zhong Yue had actually suffered a severe allergic reaction after eating starfruit, almost dying, which was why he was hospitalized.

He had just thought that if something happened to Zhong Yue and he saved him, he would be Zhong Yue’s lifesaver. But when Zhong Yue collapsed, clutching his neck, he was so scared that he didn’t dare to step forward. It wasn’t until he saw Shen Xici taking the spotlight that he mustered the courage to speak up.

“An injector pen? You have one? Quick, inject him!”

Hearing Shen Xici’s voice, Xu Lingjia hesitantly took a few steps forward. His palm holding the injector pen was sweaty, and he reached out tremblingly toward Zhong Yue’s thigh.

At this moment, Zhong Yue’s whole body was trembling, and a terrifying “he-he” sound came from his throat, as if he were saying, “Save me.”

His mind was a blank. Xu Lingjia couldn’t remember how to use this thing at all.

Someone anxiously spoke up: “Jiajia, a life is at stake! Teacher Zhong is in great danger right now. Do you know how to use it? If not, let Shen Xici do it, he’s more professional!”

How could that be?

It was Shen Xici again, always Shen Xici!

Xu Lingjia gripped the injector pen tightly, his hand subconsciously pulling back. “I’ll do it!”

Shen Xici glanced at him, then reached out and pulled off the cap, commanding, “Side of the thigh. Jab it in. Quick!”

Under the gaze of countless people, Xu Lingjia closed his eyes and quickly jabbed it through the fabric of the pants into the outer side of Zhong Yue’s thigh.

A few minutes later, Zhong Yue’s breathing finally eased and became normal. The doctor who had rushed up from the foot of the mountain took over, and he was carried down the mountain by the strong assistant director and a few lighting technicians.

Watching coldly as Xu Lingjia followed the crowd down the mountain, Shen Xici sat down on a rock, feeling a bit drained.

A mountain breeze blew over, but before he could feel the chill, a jacket was draped over his shoulders. Sheng Shaoyan then sat down next to him, reminding him, “You were sweating. Don’t catch a cold.”

The sweat-soaked fabric sticking to his back was indeed uncomfortable. Not standing on ceremony with Sheng Shaoyan, Shen Xici wrapped himself in the jacket and murmured, “…More nervous than when I took the practical skills exam for emergency medical aid. My heart felt like it was going to jump out of my rib cage.”

During the exam, he was facing a plastic dummy with big eyes. But just now, he was facing a breathing person. A moment’s delay, and a life would have been lost.

Only then did Shen Xici feel his chest ache from his heart pounding so hard. He leaned to the side, resting his head on Sheng Shaoyan’s shoulder. “Let me recover, let me recover.”

Sheng Shaoyan’s back was tense and motionless, providing a steady support for him to lean on.

Replaying the situation in his mind, Shen Xici sighed, “If it weren’t for that epinephrine auto-injector, Zhong Yue would have most likely been done for here today.”

Sheng Shaoyan wanted to say something, but since they were outside, he only said, “What a coincidence.”

Yes, what a coincidence, Shen Xici thought. It just so happened to be something that didn’t happen in his past life.

But Zhong Yue’s assistant had just said through her tears that Teacher Zhong had no allergies and could eat anything. It was obvious that Zhong Yue himself probably didn’t know he was allergic to that kind of juice.

If this was Xu Lingjia’s plan, then even if someone became suspicious, it would ultimately be attributed to coincidence. Moreover, this coincidence had saved Zhong Yue’s life.

Zhong Yue was currently popular. Although not the top-tier kind of fame, his fan base and appeal to the general public were both very large. The set was full of people and prying eyes. Director Wan had gone to the hospital with him, and the assistant director was on the megaphone, telling everyone not to spread the news. But the car taking Zhong Yue to the hospital hadn’t even gone far before the topic “Zhong Yue Critically Ill and Rescued on Set” shot up the trending charts like a rocket.

The notification sounds and vibrations from phones on set were incessant. Even Lan Xiaoshan’s phone had people asking what had happened and if Zhong Yue had had an accident. The assistant director was non-stop on the phone.

Not long after, Zhong Yue’s manager logged into Zhong Yue’s account and explained the situation. Zhong Yue had accidentally ingested a certain fruit juice, which caused severe anaphylactic shock, but fortunately, his co-star Xu Lingjia had an epinephrine auto-injector and saved his life.

“—Sob sob sob, thank you, Jiajia! If it weren’t for you, our Brother Zhong would have been in real trouble!”
“—Damn, anaphylactic shock is so scary. Thank goodness for Jiajia! Every ‘Xiao Yue Bing’ is immensely grateful!”
“—I saw in the video that was posted, it looks like someone else was also helping to rescue Teacher Zhong? It’s too far away, I can’t see who it is.”
“—What do you mean? Without Jiajia’s life-saving medicine, what’s the use of rescuing him? Our Jiajia is a true lucky star! If something had really happened to Brother Zhong, this movie couldn’t have continued, right?”

Soon, #XuLingjia’sLifeSavingMedicine# also flew up the trending charts.

The crew announced an early wrap-up for the day. Lan Xiaoshan slapped his own mouth hard. “Serves you right for talking, serves you right for talking. We really did wrap up early. Exciting enough for you!”

Shen Xici took one last look. Seeing that the trending topic stated Zhong Yue’s condition was stable and he was out of danger, he also let out a long sigh of relief.

Lan Xiaoshan scrolled through his phone as he walked, skipping over topics like #WhyAnaphylacticShockCanBeFatal#. He roughly browsed and said indignantly, “Brother Shen, judging by this trend, Xu Lingjia’s hired water army and his fans clearly want to take all the credit for saving Teacher Zhong. But if it weren’t for you, Brother Shen, Xu Lingjia wouldn’t even have known where to inject the needle!”

He was both angry and worried. “Brother Shen, why don’t you sign with a company? Otherwise, if you encounter this kind of situation again, you won’t be able to fight against the professional water armies of those PR companies!”

Shen Xici walked towards the parking area. “Let’s talk about signing with a company after filming here is done. The comments are actually right. If it weren’t for the adrenaline, I wouldn’t have been able to save Teacher Zhong unless I were a god. Laryngeal edema causing inability to breathe plus low blood pressure is really critical. In any case, the best outcome is that he’s alive.”

The motorcycle weaved through the dense forest. The sun was half-set, and the twilight was sliced by the lush foliage, golden fragments like amber landing in the palm of a hand.

Shen Xici had little energy and lazily rested his forehead against Sheng Shaoyan’s back. He saw the light of the setting sun land on Sheng Shaoyan’s shoulder like a piece of swaying gold foil. Staring at it for a while, he calculated the time. “It’s the 29th today. It’s been fourteen days since you got your stitches. Since we wrapped up early today and have time, shall I remove them for you?”

Sheng Shaoyan held the handlebars, having no objection. “Okay.”

The two returned to the rented house. The sky hadn’t completely darkened yet, and the bougainvillea swayed its flowering branches in the twilight. Shen Xici went to the bathroom to wash his hands carefully.

Sheng Shaoyan stood in the living room, casually tossing his jacket onto the sofa. His fingers moved to the buttons of his black shirt, undoing them one by one, revealing pale skin and prominent abs.

Footsteps sounded and then stopped. Sheng Shaoyan looked up, just in time to see the obvious appreciation in Shen Xici’s eyes.

Shen Xici was indeed very appreciative. This physique, these muscle lines, these abs—who wouldn’t like them?

He wished he could transfer them to himself with one click!

He directed Sheng Shaoyan to turn around. The wound had already healed, turning into a deep red scar. Shen Xici put on a mask and, holding a pair of medical pointed scissors, carefully cut the sutures. “Does it hurt?”

“No.” Compared to the slight pain of removing the stitches, the cool touch of Shen Xici’s fingertips on his skin was more noticeable.

Sheng Shaoyan spoke casually to distract himself. “Do you want to be a doctor in the future?”

When dealing with Zhong Yue’s emergency on the mountain, Shen Xici was calm and decisive, with an extremely strong presence, his eyes like cold stars.

“It’s alright.”

“Then why did you choose to study medicine?” Sheng Shaoyan remembered what Shen Xici had said before. “To better protect yourself?”

“Yeah, to understand the process of diseases, to know the methods of treatment.” Shen Xici’s fingers moved, and he laughed lightly. “I had another thought when I was choosing my major. If I work in a hospital and suddenly faint, I can get the most timely and professional rescue immediately, greatly increasing my chances of survival.”

“Is that why you go to the hospital for a blood test every week?” Sheng Shaoyan had seen another blood test report by the door. The results were normal, and the report was dated this morning.

The hand cutting the black sutures paused. Shen Xici then continued as if nothing had happened. “You saw that? Pretty much. I’m very worried about getting sick.”

For a while, Sheng Shaoyan hadn’t spoken much. Although it didn’t show on his face, Shen Xici could feel that Sheng Shaoyan was mostly observing him, observing the environment, observing the people he met, adapting to the low ceilings and door frames, the bustling crew and the not-so-great boxed meals, watching the news, and even learning a few local dialect phrases from the old lady downstairs.

If it were Shen Xici himself, waking up to find his mind a blank slate, remembering nothing, he wasn’t sure if he could be as composed as Sheng Shaoyan and even try so hard to adapt to the environment.

Perhaps because he was sure there was no danger, Sheng Shaoyan had been talking a lot more in the past two days, occasionally asking questions, but the questions were very cautious, carefully maintaining his persona of not having amnesia.

“Then will you continue to be an actor in the future?”

“I will.”

“Why?”

In his past life, during interviews or talk shows, he would also encounter the question, “Why did you choose to become an actor?” Shen Xici would usually answer that it was because he loved acting, and there was a great sense of accomplishment in interpreting a character well.

Facing Sheng Shaoyan—if it were the Sheng Shaoyan from his past life who knew about the baby swap and the attitude of his adoptive parents and the Xu family, he might also say it was because he loved acting. But facing this Sheng Shaoyan who knew nothing, he tried to tell the truth for the first time.

“I will continue to act because the more roles I play, the better my acting skills become, the higher my fame, the more people will like me.”

Actually saying these words out loud, even he himself was stunned for a moment.

Almost no one liked him.

Before knowing his true parentage, his adoptive father was either indifferent or would hit and scold him, as if his very existence was an unsightly mistake. His adoptive mother would give him food and water, but she rarely hugged him or smiled at him, preferring to talk to the person in the poster on the wall.

When he was a child, he was very confused. Was it because he wasn’t good enough, not obedient enough, not hardworking enough, that his parents didn’t like him? He even hated the person in the poster, feeling that he had stolen his mother’s attention, and he hated himself, hated that he couldn’t win his parents’ affection and attention.

Later, the fortune teller who had named him patted his head and said that he was fated to have shallow ties with his family, so he shouldn’t force it. If he wanted it, he could look for it elsewhere, and one day he would find it.

In countless collapses and reconstructions, he repeated to himself over and over: What you can’t have, just don’t want it.

But people are always greedy. They want to be recognized by others, want to establish a connection with the world, want someone to like them.

In his past life, after “The Mountain Range Line” was released, the character of the undercover agent Ah Zheng unexpectedly became a breakout role. He saw countless people on Weibo saying how well he acted, how good-looking he was, and how much they liked him.

He was almost dazed for two or three days before he came back to his senses.

So this is what it feels like to be liked.

So, so many people would like him.

So, he was also worthy of being liked.

So it wasn’t his fault.

“All done. Your wound has healed very well.” Shen Xici took off his mask and squeezed another pump of sanitizing gel into his palm. Before he could rub it in, he saw Sheng Shaoyan stand up and turn around.

The line of his jaw and neck was sharp and clear. The black shirt with one button undone created a strong contrast with his exposed skin. His waistline was cinched, the belt resting above his hip bones, its buckle gleaming with a metallic luster.

Who was he trying to seduce?

Shen Xici averted his eyes, not seeing Sheng Shaoyan’s slight movement, the hand that was raised and then lowered again.

“Shen Xici.”

Shen Xici lowered his head, putting the scissors, tweezers, and other tools into a box. He heard Sheng Shaoyan call him: “Hmm?”

“Many, many people will like you,” Sheng Shaoyan said, gazing at the exquisite profile of Shen Xici’s face. “And many, many people will be good to you.”

The movements of his hands stopped. Shen Xici tried his best to suppress the emotions welling up in his heart and smiled, “I know, aren’t you being pretty good to me—”

Before the words could fall, he was pulled into an embrace by Sheng Shaoyan, a strong arm wrapping around him.

Shen Xici’s eyes widened slightly.

A very light hug.

The expensive fragrance on Sheng Shaoyan that reminded one of moonlight and mountain forests had faded, replaced by the clean scent of his usual shower gel.

Looking at the night outside the window, Shen Xici suddenly thought, he had known from the very beginning that there was only one month.

After one month, Sheng Shaoyan would regain his memory.

But… why was he a little reluctant to let go?