CH 35

Thank you @Allison for the ko-fi ! ω

Bonus chapter 1/6

Chapter 35

Qi Xiaoyu was still a little confused. He picked up the little black dog and patted the top of its head comfortingly. He subconsciously retorted, “It’s not black. The eyebrows are white.”

The puppy barked coquettishly as if asking for credit, and then nuzzled Qi Xiaoyu’s hand docilely.

Qi Xiaoyu pulled it into his arms and rubbed its neck.

Immediately after feeling the death gaze from Xun Qian, Qi Xiaoyu immediately opened the quilt, picked up the little black dog, and got up from the bed. “I just bathed it before bringing it here yesterday…”

Xun Qian smiled and finally looked away from the little black dog. “I’m hungry.”

Qi Xiaoyu wasn’t much better either. He went to bed without eating dinner yesterday, and now his stomach was growling.

He took out his phone and looked at the time. It was only half past five, so Mama Li and Butler Cheng probably hadn’t gotten up yet.

“I’m going to heat up some food…and make some porridge for you?”

After walking a few steps outside, he turned back and asked, “How about you go downstairs and we eat in the dining room together?”

The dining room has floor-to-ceiling glass windows facing the outdoor lawn. A row of short, four-season begonias, with clusters of pink flowers blooming, was at the end of their flowering period.

In such a faint morning light and a cold winter morning, it’s just right to eat a steaming breakfast while waiting for the sun to rise little by little.

Xun Qian pondered for a moment, then turned around in his wheelchair and followed him.

Qi Xiaoyu used the leftover rice to cook a pot of preserved egg and lean meat porridge, one bowl for himself, one for Xun Qian, and another bowl for the little black dog.

After picking out a few leftovers and heating them up, the two of them quietly ate breakfast in the room, illuminated by the morning light.

The sun in the winter morning rises from behind Xun Qian, passes through his golden hair, and falls on Qi Xiaoyu’s fingers holding the spoon opposite, covering it with a layer of warm yellow color, and then continues to shine on the little dog.

Everything seems to be shining, light, and warm in the morning after a dark night.

After Qi Xiaoyu finished eating, he was ready to return to the set.

The little black dog, lying under the window basking in the sun after finishing its meal, saw Qi Xiaoyu get up and scratch the ground with its paws. It immediately got up and wanted to leave with him.

As it passed by Xun Qian, it was picked up by a pair of cold hands.

Xun Qian pinched a piece of smooth fur on the back of its neck and smiled softly. “Keep this little guy here; don’t take him away.”

The little black dog seemed to understand Xun Qian’s meaning. It barked twice, “Woof, woof,” then flapped its four paws in the air toward Qi Xiaoyu.

Xun Qian, however, seemed as if he didn’t see it. He stretched out a slender finger, scratched the puppy’s chin, and teased it, “Don’t bark; I’ll feed you delicious food.”

Qi Xiaoyu was a little hesitant. He saw that Xun Qian’s complexion looked much brighter than last night, although he didn’t know if he was feigning it…..

While he was hesitating, Butler Cheng, who had just gotten up, knocked on the door and came in. “Mr. Qi, just leave the puppy at home. I will help take care of it.”

Qi Xiaoyu felt relieved and said, “Okay, I’ll be back after filming in a few days. I’ll trouble Uncle Cheng and the Third Master to take care of him for me.”

Xun Qian just teased the dog with his fingertips and turned the wheelchair in a different direction, blocking the little dog in front of him.

*****

Qi Xiaoyu returned to the crew, and after another three or four days of filming, it was time for his last scene: falling from a cliff.

Young Prince Yan wanted to sneak out with the army and had just slipped out of the capital when he happened to come across the female lead being chased. In order to protect the female lead, he was stabbed from behind and fell from the cliff.

The dream of family and country, the young love, came to an abrupt end.

For safety reasons, the scene of falling off a cliff was shot in front of a green screen with a mat underneath for protection.

However, Qi Xiaoyu still wanted to jump down from the top with a wire.

Before the official shooting, Qi Xiaoyu and Xu Yan were doing final touches in the dressing room.

In the studio, where people were coming and going, the staff were all lowering their heads and doing what they were doing.

The most leisurely person is Young Master Jiang, who keeps swaying around all over the place.

Although this scene had nothing to do with him…he had gotten used to following Qi Xiaoyu recently. When he saw Qi Xiaoyu filming, he subconsciously followed him to the studio.

He wandered around in boredom, not knowing what to do, and finally found a reclining chair, crossed his legs, took out his mobile phone, and prepared to continue watching a mixed-edited video of Xue Qingchu that he had not finished watching last time. To be honest, he probably has hundreds of such videos on his phone.

He unlocked the screen of his phone, and before he entered the video app, he heard someone calling him.

Tang Kui stood at the top of the four or five-meter-high green screen and waved at him, “Jiang Sicheng, Young Master Jiang, come up?”

When Jiang Sicheng heard Tang Kui calling him, he raised his hips, turned his body, and changed direction, with his back to Tang Kui.

Tang Kui was not annoyed and continued to shout to Jiang Sicheng, “I have something to tell you about Qi Xiaoyu and Xue Qingchu. Don’t you want to hear it?”

Jiang Sicheng’s ears twitched, and he stood up.

Tang Kui pretended to be profound and stopped talking.

After a minute, Jiang Sicheng slowly put away his phone, stood up from the recliner, and walked towards Tang Kui with casual steps.

“What did you say you wanted to tell me just now?”

Tang Kui stood on top and waved to him, “You come up first, and then we can talk.”

Jiang Sicheng reluctantly walked up.

Tang Kui smiled when he saw Jiang Sicheng coming up. “I heard about a travel variety show recently. It seems that both Xue Qingchu and Qi Xiaoyu are invited.”

After that, seeing Jiang Sicheng show an angry expression for a second, Tang Kui added another blow: “What? Young Master Jiang doesn’t know? They were recommended by Orange Juice Entertainment.”

Jiang Sicheng’s face darkened, trying not to show his emotions too obviously.

But he was so angry that the curly hair on his head shook slightly.

Tang Kui grinned and sighed. “With this long journey and spending time together day and night, I really don’t know what will happen on the way.”

“Young Master Jiang, don’t you want to do something?” Tang Kui said, picking up the wire from the ground as if he were bored. He looked ahead and then stuffed it into Jiang Sicheng’s hand. “Say, if this wire is broken and someone falls down, it must be very painful.”

Jiang Sicheng was still thinking about the variety show and followed Tang Kui’s words to look down below. Although it was only three to four meters high, if he hit his face on the mat, he might get a scratch, break his nose, or something.

It took him a while to realize the meaning of Tang Kui’s words. He took a step back and distanced himself from Tang Kui. “G-g-get lost; if you want to commit a crime, commit it yourself. Don’t bullsh*t with me.”

After saying that, he looked at Tang Kui with disgust and said, “What the hell?”

Tang Kui laughed twice with self-deprecation, clapped his hands, and said, “Okay, if you don’t want to, forget it; just treat it as a joke.”

After saying that, he showed another fake smile and walked off the top of the green screen.

Jiang Sicheng was still thinking about the variety show Tang Kui was talking about and stood there for a while until the director entered the scene and shouted at him from a distance, “Jiang Sicheng, you don’t have any scenes today. What are you posing up there with wire in hand? Are you waiting for someone to take a photo of you?”

Only then did he come to his senses, put down the wire, and walk down.

He was put in a bad mood by Tang Kui, and he didn’t feel like tailing Qi Xiaoyu anymore.

Just as Qi Xiaoyu came out of the dressing room, he saw Jiang Sicheng walking away.

He gave Jiang Sicheng a puzzled look, wondering why he was climbing up there alone and why he left first today without waiting for him to come.

This confusion lasted until the staff tied the wire on him, and the director said to him from below, “Xiaoyu, there is a cushion below. You can just fall down later. Relax and don’t be afraid.”

“Yeah.” Qi Xiaoyu nodded.

Immediately afterwards, just before the staff cleared the scene and prepared to start shooting, Qi Xiaoyu suddenly thought of something: “Wait a minute, don’t shoot yet.”

Then he shouted to Li Kun, “Come here and help me pull the wire to try.”

Unsure why, Li Kun gripped the end of the wire and pulled.

“No, pull harder; use all your strength.”

Li Kun nodded. As soon as he put all his strength into it, he heard a “click,” and the steel wire broke.

Xu Yan, who was standing next to Qi Xiaoyu, frowned. She sensed something but decided to keep quiet for now. She just turned around and said sternly to the staff, “What’s going on? What if something happens if he falls this high?”

The director saw all this from the camera and rushed over, angrily shouting, “Why did the wire break? Where’s the props team? Do you no longer want this job?”

The staff from the props team quietly came to check and muttered in a low voice, “I checked before, and it was fine. Who knew it could break so easily?”

“It was fine, fine enough to break with a pull?”

As the director said this, he immediately thought of Jiang Sicheng standing there with the wire when he entered the scene just now. Jiang Sicheng loves to confront Qi Xiaoyu in everything, and everyone in the crew can see it.

Although he was usually very mean to Jiang Sicheng when he was filming, this matter could not be handled too hastily if it was really related to Jiang Sicheng. After all, Jiang Sicheng is the son of the owner of Orange Juice Entertainment, and he has to give them some face.

He said to the people on the props team with a sullen face, “Go and get a new wire immediately.”

He comforted Qi Xiaoyu and said, “Maybe it’s too cold, and this wire has been used for too long, so it’s frozen. Fortunately, you found it in time and weren’t injured. You go and have a rest first. We’ll replace it with a new one, then begin shooting again.”

After saying that, he patted Qi Xiaoyu on the shoulder.

“Um.”

Qi Xiaoyu didn’t say anything in front of the director and agreed very sensibly.

Next to him, Li Kun reacted very quickly and took out his mobile phone to take a set of photos of the place where the wire was broken as evidence.

*****

Although there was a small accident, the subsequent scenes of helping the heroine block the knife and falling off the cliff went smoothly.

After the filming, everyone gathered around the foam mat to pull Qi Xiaoyu up and help him untie the wires on his body.

The director looked at him with a guilty conscience and said, “Go back and have a good rest. Remember to come back on the final day so that we can all have a meal together.”

Xu Yan glanced at the director and snorted. She had been on the set for so many years and had a clear understanding of what had just happened. She knew that the director was afraid of accidentally offending people. She sympathized with Qi Xiaoyu, who had no background and was bullied but couldn’t say a thing. She could only hug him and say, “Next time, look for your sister to shoot a drama together.”

“Well, thank you, Director Zhu, and thank you, Sister Xu.”

After walking out of the studio, Qi Xiaoyu looked back and said to Li Kun, “If you have time in the next two days, go and find out why Jiang Sicheng went up to the green screen roof just now. Apart from him, has anyone else been there, especially Tang Kui? Pay attention to his whereabouts in the past few days and see if there is any surveillance here or if anyone has taken a video or something…”

Before Qi Xiaoyu finished speaking, a car parked on the roadside beeped twice.

Immediately, the car window rolled down, revealing Xun Qian’s cold face.

Xun Qian kept a low profile today and drove over in an Audi A8. Qi Xiaoyu didn’t even recognize it was his car.

Li Kun was stunned for a moment when he saw Xun Qian. It wasn’t that he knew Xun Qian, but he just felt that he had never seen such a good-looking man in the entertainment industry. Those “golden beauties,” “heartthrob arsonists,” and “peerless visuals” that were used to praise celebrities are really suitable to be used on him.

It’s just that… his eyes were a little too cold and a little too oppressive. Even if Li Kun thought he was the most stunning person in the world, he would naturally look away.

Qi Xiaoyu was also stunned for a moment, not expecting Xun Qian to come here.

He sent Li Kun away, then lowered his body and asked, “Third Master, why are you here?”

Xun Qian pressed the lively, leaping little black dog into his arms. “I was passing through on an errand and stopped by to take a look.”

The author has something to say:

Lazy Third Master: “There are people who don’t have eyesight. What should I do?”

Xiaohei: woof, woof, woof