Chapter 18: Displeasure

On the last day of March, a light rain fell in the morning, washing every green leaf in the mountains clean and bright.

By the time Shen Xici arrived, the rain had already stopped. Lan Xiaoshan gossiped with animated excitement, “The assistant director is taking credit with the director, saying he prayed with three sticks of incense for the rain to stop, and his sincerity moved the heavens.” As he spoke, he showed a screenshot on his phone. “But it was clearly the weather forecast that worked its magic. It said the light rain would turn sunny at ten, and the sun really came out!”

Shen Xici made a “shh” gesture. “Keep it down. If the assistant director hears you, he might dock your lunchbox.”

Lan Xiaoshan immediately covered his mouth. Unexpectedly, in his moment of distraction, the mosquito repellent spray he was holding was snatched away. He watched with wide eyes as Sheng Shaoyan silently took the spray and carefully spritzed Shen Xici all over.

He didn’t get to it first again!

Lan Xiaoshan slapped his own forehead in frustration. How could he have forgotten? It was the same yesterday. Both times he tried to spray the mosquito repellent, he failed. Sheng Shaoyan beat him to it every time! And at mealtimes, breaking the disposable chopsticks for Shen Xici, wiping off the splinters, handing him mineral water—he didn’t get to do any of it.

He considered himself quite experienced as an on-set assistant, but he had never assisted a sticky, lovey-dovey little couple in their honeymoon phase. In this situation, when his job was being taken, should he try to take it back?

Seeing Shen Xici greeting someone, Lan Xiaoshan thought it over and finally moved next to Sheng Shaoyan, whispering, “Brother, I’m getting paid for this. Shouldn’t I be the one doing these things?”

“No need, I’ll do it,” Sheng Shaoyan said, gazing at the back of the figure ahead. He pulled up his black mask, hiding the second half of his sentence—I also get paid by Shen Xici.

Lan Xiaoshan always had a sense of crisis that his position as an assistant was not secure. Feeling unsettled, he decided to demonstrate his usefulness in another way. He scurried over. “Brother Shen, in just a few days, your Weibo account has already surpassed 600,000 followers! For the past two nights before bed, I’ve been switching between several video platforms. The photo set of the ‘Son of the Mountain God’ and the live stream video have so many fan edits and video mixes with incredibly high view counts! It’s definitely going to keep growing!”

A thought flickered in Sheng Shaoyan’s eyes—fan edits and video mixes?

“Brother Shen, have any management companies approached you?” Lan Xiaoshan patted his chest. “I’ve been around crews for years. I know a little something about which companies are harsh on their signed artists, whether their contracts are conscientious, and if their canteens have good food!”

Ever since the crew’s official account had tagged him, Shen Xici had indeed received many invitations from management companies in his direct messages. He spent most of his free time on the script, so he simply tossed his phone to Sheng Shaoyan and asked him to help reply.

Unexpectedly, last night, Sheng Shaoyan had used his laptop to produce a twenty to thirty-page analysis report for him. The content ranged from the ability to secure top-tier projects to the brand cooperation levels for commercial resources, from persona building and crisis PR skills to the professionalism of the team, from the existing artist matrix to past legal disputes, as well as the company’s development prospects, management level, and equity structure.

Holding this report, which couldn’t be more professional, Shen Xici read two pages and just felt utterly undeserving. How could he, of all people, trouble the Vice Chairman of the Board of Shenghe Group to provide him with decision support!

“A’Shao has already screened the interested management companies.”

Lan Xiaoshan, shocked that his job had been snatched again, asked curiously, “Are there any good ones?”

“Not a single one is good enough.”

Sheng Shaoyan chimed in, “Basically, they’re all just trying to sign Brother Shen at this stage, betting that he’ll become famous, and expecting him to single-handedly earn money to support the entire company.”

“That’s definitely not okay! Brother Shen can’t be a blood bag again!” Lan Xiaoshan shook his head faster than a rattle drum. Then, he had another good idea. “Brother Shao is so capable, he would be a great manager for Brother Shen!”

That way, they wouldn’t have to worry about Brother Shen being too busy and the two of them spending too much time apart. They could be clingy in a perfectly legitimate way.

Shen Xici quickly rejected the suggestion. “A’Shao is not suitable.”

With Sheng Shaoyan’s ridiculously high net worth, he could film 360 days a year for decades and still not afford his salary, not to mention that Sheng Shaoyan only had half a month left before he would regain his memory.

“Mm,” Sheng Shaoyan thought. Shen Xici was very rational when it came to his career. An office romance would indeed affect team collaboration and cohesion. As the core figure, Shen Xici’s fairness would also be questioned, which was not conducive to his long-term development.

After two weeks, the staff had all gotten familiar with each other. While sharpening an eyebrow pencil, the makeup artist asked, “Did you see the trending topics? Hasn’t Jiajia been doing his makeup in Teacher Zhong’s dressing room these past two days? When he did a live stream this morning, Teacher Zhong accidentally walked into the frame and said hello to the fans. Who would have thought that just a few days ago, when Jiajia went to ask Teacher Zhong for advice on his lines, Teacher Zhong wouldn’t even open the door for him.”

Lan Xiaoshan actively joined the gossip. “I saw it! Teacher Zhong had only posted a photo to say he was safe, and the fans were incredibly anxious. This time he showed his face on the live stream, and so many fans flocked to Teacher Xu’s stream to see Teacher Zhong. When I was browsing Weibo, there were already three trending topics about it!”

The makeup artist put on her mask, and her voice lowered. “Then did you see ‘Xu Wo Zhong Qing’?”

Lan Xiaoshan was confused. “What ‘Zhong Qing’?”

“‘Xu Wo Zhong Qing’! It’s a pun with Xu Lingjia’s ‘Xu’ and Zhong Yue’s ‘Zhong.’ The phrase means ‘Promise me your love.’ I saw it in the live stream comments. They came up with a CP name so quickly!” the makeup artist said casually. “But someone in the crew said Teacher Xu is taking the opportunity to leech off Teacher Zhong to raise his own status—”

She stopped abruptly, realizing she had misspoken. Just as she was about to say something to salvage the situation, she heard Shen Xici speak. “That person must be a die-hard fan of Teacher Zhong to say something like that, right?”

Shen Xici was certain this was Xu Lingjia’s design.

If he remembered correctly, hyping up male-male CPs would only start to become a trend next year. One show would do it, then another movie would do it. If it generated buzz, it was a win. If not, there was no loss. He vaguely remembered that during the promotion of Zhong Yue’s next movie, they had hyped up a CP with the second male lead, and it had been extremely popular.

Piggybacking on Zhong Yue to create a CP, and if they could co-star again in “Divine Capital Murder,” was indeed a shortcut.

“Right, right. That’s why she’s so mad, just wants her idol to be successful on his own,” the makeup artist said, following the change of topic. “Teacher Wen is really amazing. She won Best Actress at last night’s Golden Leaf Awards. When I came in, I saw several cars parked nearby, bringing food over to our set to celebrate!”

When they arrived at the filming location, Wen Yage was already in full makeup and costume, waiting. She held an unlit mint cigarette between her fingers and was chatting with Director Wan Shan. Catching sight of Shen Xici approaching, she raised the corner of her lips in a bright smile, a silent greeting.

Shen Xici smiled back and silently mouthed the word “Congratulations.”

Nature is the best master of light and shadow. With the sun high in the sky, Shen Xici, playing the mute boy, walked leisurely at the front of the group, traversing the mountain forest. The shadows of the swaying leaves danced on his coarse white robe like the most exquisite ink-wash patterns.

He stopped in front of a cliff face where a clear spring trickled down from a crevice in the rocks. He bent down, smiling, and cupped a handful of water, splashing it on his face, like cool spring water washing over white jade.

Wen Yage, playing Du Yu, saw him place a handful of wildflowers he had picked along the way under the spring to water them. “The wildflowers in the ceramic jar in your yard, did you pick those too? You like them?”

The mute boy nodded, then shook his head.

Du Yu had always been wary of the mute boy. She observed his expression probingly. “Then who likes them? Your mother? Or your sister?”

The mute boy’s wet fingers drew a little figure with pigtails on the mountain wall in a few strokes, and he looked at Du Yu with a smile.

Du Yu didn’t ask any more questions.

As they continued forward, the mute boy raised his hand and plucked a leaf. A flicker of hesitation crossed his eyes, but in the end, he blew on it twice. The clear sound of the leaf whistle echoed through the mountain forest.

Next scene.

The forest was dense with branches and leaves, blocking out the daylight, and the field of vision was dim. The mute boy walked in front. Just then, behind him, the young policeman Xiao Lin suddenly shouted, “Boss! It’s an ambush!”

His voice was cut short as Xiao Lin stepped on a trap. His ankle was caught by a thick rope and pulled upwards, leaving him hanging upside down from a tree. The pursuit team leader Zhang Xun, Du Yu, and the undercover agent Ah Zheng were all entangled in a huge, coarse net that had risen up, unable to move.

The mute boy stood in place, his back to them, a hint of guilt in his eyes. He turned around. Xiao Lin was swinging back and forth in mid-air, shouting, “Don’t move from where you are! Be careful, there might be traps nearby too!”

The mute boy didn’t move. He just looked up at Xiao Lin and gave a smile, as clear and beautiful as the one he had given them from the thick tree branch at sunrise that day.

The worry on Xiao Lin’s face slowly faded, replaced by a coldness.

He was incredulous. “It was you? You deliberately led us here. Your leaf blowing—” He realized. “You weren’t imitating a bird call at all. You were communicating with the criminal organization, reporting our position! Why? Why would you do that?”

The mute boy looked at Xiao Lin, picked up a leaf, and blew on it softly twice more.

Xiao Lin’s expression went blank for a moment, then he bit down hard on his jaw.

Du Yu, trapped in the net, asked, “Xiao Lin, what did he say?”

“He said,” Xiao Lin’s voice was hoarse. He suppressed his sorrow, closed his eyes tightly, and shouted, “He said we are indeed fools from the outside!”

“Cut!” Director Wan’s voice came through. “All of you, stay still. Hold your current positions. We’ll do another close-up, especially Shen Xici. That micro-expression just now was excellent. Let’s do it again!”

A short while later, the on-set publicity team edited the footage and posted it on the crew’s official Weibo account.

In the half-minute video, in front of the camera, the youth in the coarse white robe had a face dripping with water. He smiled at the camera, holding a bouquet of brightly blooming wildflowers. The scene changed, and he was holding a branch, gazing at the outline of a little girl pieced together from wet marks on the rock wall, his expression full of nostalgia and sorrow.

In a very short time, the comments directly exceeded a thousand.
“—This sense of brokenness is divine! Sob, sob, sob, what happened to him? He looks so sad! I feel like he’s going to shatter in the next second! I love a broken beauty, hiss~”
“—That smile is so pure! This character is so beautiful! He’s smiling at me while holding flowers. Okay, okay, I’ll marry you, I’ll marry you!”
“—Who gets it? I’ve watched this back and forth so many times! So beautiful, so beautiful. Every time I see Shen Xici, it’s a different Shen Xici. Divine, enchanting, pure and healing, broken. I’m immediately firing up my editing software!”

In the rented house, Sheng Shaoyan opened Bilibili, which Lan Xiaoshan had mentioned, and searched for Shen Xici’s name. After watching a few videos, he understood what “fan edits” and “video mixes” meant.

However, apart from one video called “A Visual Assault, There’s Still Hope for the Entertainment Industry” edited by someone named “Dazed Little Lamb,” and another video titled “Mesmerized by This Face for Three Minutes” which was barely decent, the rest could only be described as crudely made.

In addition, there were several beauty bloggers with millions of followers who had recreated the makeup Shen Xici wore when he was worshiping the mountain god.

Sheng Shaoyan couldn’t tell how good their technique was, but in the end, none of them were as good-looking as Shen Xici.

Shen Xici never stayed up late; he was very health-conscious and was already asleep at this hour. The small wooden bird hanging on the window frame was moved by the wind. Sheng Shaoyan watched a tutorial on how to edit videos and started cutting one himself.

He ended up editing until past four in the morning.

Outside the window were the dark silhouettes of trees and the warm yellow glow of streetlights. In the dark living room, the computer screen was the only source of light. Sheng Shaoyan sat relaxed in the old sofa, not a trace of fatigue on his face. His long legs, encased in black trousers, were casually planted on the floor, while the other was bent, his long, well-proportioned fingers resting on his knee, loosely holding a can of a cold drink.

He watched the video he had edited with concentration.

His eyes were lit up by the light of the screen, reflecting a deep shade of blue.

On the screen, the spots of light dancing between the leaves of the mountain forest were just like the shimmering waves on a lake. Shen Xici stood among them, dazzlingly white, his features even more radiant than the wildflowers in his arms.

A clear, sparkling drop of water slid down the line of his profile, leaving a faint wet track on his delicate skin.

It made one want to raise a hand and wipe that drop of water away for him.

His eyes never leaving the screen, Sheng Shaoyan lifted the aluminum can and took a sip of the cold drink. The fizziness spread between his lips and teeth, and his Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed.

The BGM’s music was turned down low, looping over and over. Outside, there was the occasional sound of a motorcycle engine speeding by, and a flatbed truck carrying goods passed through the narrow street below. Sheng Shaoyan crushed the aluminum can and threw it into the trash.

A muffled “thump” came from the bedroom.

Sheng Shaoyan stood in the living room, turned his head, and looked at the closed door.

A few seconds later, another sound.

Walking to the door, Sheng Shaoyan stood in the darkness, not opening it rashly. He called out softly through the door, “Shen Xici?”

After an unknown amount of time, just as Sheng Shaoyan took a step back, ready to leave, in the extreme silence, he heard a low, soft voice: “…A’Shao.”

Without hesitation, he pressed down on the doorknob. The bedroom light was not on. He could only vaguely make out the edges of the furniture in the pre-dawn light.

Shen Xici didn’t speak. That “A’Shao” seemed like it could have been his imagination, but listening closely, he could hear the sound of breathing in the darkness, abnormally rapid.

Relying on memory, Sheng Shaoyan turned on the table lamp. A corner of the room was illuminated. He turned around. The quilt on the bed was messy, bulging with the outline of someone lying on their side. A slender, fair ankle stuck out from the corner of the quilt, delicate and beautiful.

Sheng Shaoyan stood by the bed and called out his name: “Shen Xici?”

“A’Shao,” Shen Xici’s voice was very hoarse and very light. He shifted from his side to lie flat on his back. The arm covering the side of his face moved away. His black hair, soaked with a thin layer of sweat, stuck to his cold, pale skin. A faint blush colored his cheekbones, like an apricot blossom unable to withstand the intrusion of the spring rain. His lips were also a deeper shade than usual, and the open collar revealed a glimpse of his collarbone.

His vision wavered before it focused on the face of the person by the bed. “I have a fever.”

“Should I get you some medicine?” Sheng Shaoyan had seen it when he was changing the dressing. Besides tools like tweezers and gauze, the box was well-stocked with cold medicine, fever reducers, and stomach medicine.

“Wait a minute.” Shen Xici was drowsy with fever, his vision foggy. His throat was very dry. With his eyes half-closed, he said, “My back feels uncomfortable. Can you check my back for me, see if there are any injuries.”

Check his back for injuries?

This request sounded more like something someone would say when they were delirious with fever. It was a bit strange, but Sheng Shaoyan was silent for a moment, then answered, “Okay.”

Shen Xici was wearing a pair of dark blue silk pajamas. He lay on his stomach, his face buried in the pillow. Amidst his messy hair, a glint of silver adorned his exposed earlobe.

Sheng Shaoyan grabbed the hem of the pajamas. The fabric felt very smooth. As he pulled the clothes up, Shen Xici’s entire back was exposed.

His delicate, smooth skin seemed to be covered in a layer of moonlight, with a thin sheen of sweat on it. His frame was slender, and the curve of his protruding shoulder blades was like a jade sculpture, rising and falling with Shen Xici’s fast, heavy breaths.

He pulled the clothes back down. “There are no injuries. It’s probably because you were sweating that you feel uncomfortable. Should I get you a change of clothes?”

After a long while, Shen Xici’s low, hoarse voice came from the pillow, seeming relieved. “Mm, okay.”

Straightening up, Sheng Shaoyan remembered in the dressing room, when he had gone to check the wound on Shen Xici’s lip, Shen Xici had not flinched at all when he held his chin, not thinking there was anything wrong with the action.

As if a treasured possession had been violated, a strong sense of displeasure towards his pre-amnesia self suddenly rose in Sheng Shaoyan’s heart.