After My Cross-dressing Cover Was Blown, the Movie Star Became My Accomplice - Chapter 10

Chapter 10

◎Can I Call You Xiao Yao?◎

 

On the way to the dyehouse, Mu Yao continued to intentionally walk at the very back of the group, minimizing his presence as much as possible.

 

Up ahead, Qu Fu and Kong Yanfei chatted as they walked. Since they weren’t the primary ones responsible for today’s task, both were in high spirits and moved with light steps.

 

As for Bi Tu, the protagonist of today’s travel variety show task, his footsteps seemed a bit heavy. Nevertheless, he continued to speak with a chuckle, occasionally cracking funny jokes for the benefit of the follow-shot camera.

 

While walking, Mu Yao observed every corner of the village. The production crew had already been targeted by the ghost of the girl in red. During the day, the female ghost could not appear under sunlight, but she could lurk in dark corners to harm people. He needed to remain vigilant at all times to prevent a danger similar to yesterday’s from recurring.

 

“Mu Yao, what are you looking at?”

 

The magnetic and pleasant voice of Cheng Zeyi suddenly rang in his ear. Mu Yao’s footsteps faltered. He snapped his head around to find that Cheng Zeyi had caught up to his side without him noticing.

 

Where did this guy come from? He didn’t make a sound while walking!

 

Mu Yao considered himself quite alert; usually, he could sense someone approaching in advance. He hadn’t expected that while he was vigilantly observing the surroundings, he would allow Cheng Zeyi to get this close.

 

“Mu Yao?”

 

Seeing no response, Cheng Zeyi called out softly.

 

“Ah, Movie King Cheng. I’m looking at the surrounding architecture. The buildings here are very distinctive.”

 

Mu Yao quickly responded. He looked at the unique stilt houses around them and picked a random reason to answer Cheng Zeyi’s question.

 

“Yes, the architecture here is indeed very unique. Built against the mountains, the buildings are staggered in height, and the roofs overlap layer by layer. It has a very rhythmic feel to it. Is this your first time here?”

 

Following Mu Yao’s answer, Cheng Zeyi’s gaze fell upon the buildings. After a brief commentary on the architectural style, he brought the topic back to Mu Yao once again.

 

This Movie King Cheng is acting a bit strange. Why is he steering the conversation toward me again? Are we even that close?

 

Mu Yao sensed a subtle oddity. He originally wanted to just brush him off, but then he realized that with Cheng Zeyi by his side, the camera was definitely following. He couldn’t appear too resistant.

 

“Yes, it’s my first time. The scenery here is very beautiful.”

 

Even though the Yin energy is heavy, the environment is truly good. Even the air carries the scent of peach blossoms.

 

Mu Yao replied briefly. He truly liked the scenery of Xiantao Village, but he didn’t dare say too much. The voice changer wasn’t infallible; he still had a mission to hide his gender, and he couldn’t let Cheng Zeyi hear any clues.

 

His words were difficult to follow up on, and since the two weren’t familiar to begin with, Cheng Zeyi opened his mouth, sighed dejectedly, and decided not to force the conversation.

 

“Sigh, alright then. Can I call you Xiao Yao?”

 

“Huh?”

 

Mu Yao was slightly stunned. He thought Cheng Zeyi would continue the awkward small talk about the scenery, which he could just handle with a couple of perfunctory sentences. He hadn’t expected the other man to jump directly to a completely different topic.

 

“…Xiao Yao?”

 

Mu Yao murmured the name to himself, then nodded.

 

“Movie King Cheng can call me whatever he likes. Calling me Xiao Yao is no problem.”

 

“Good, Xiao Yao!”

 

Having received Mu Yao’s affirmation, Cheng Zeyi revealed a smile. This smile softened his domineering aura, making him look much more gentle.

 

“Xiao Yao, you shouldn’t call me Movie King either. It sounds strangely distant. You can call me…”

 

“Teacher Cheng. I’ll call you Teacher Cheng.”

 

Mu Yao had a bad premonition. He abruptly looked up at Cheng Zeyi and interrupted with a fake smile.

 

I have a feeling that a different form of address would get me scolded by fans! Big brother, don’t screw me over. I won’t let you have your way!

 

“Uh, that works too. Calling me Teacher Cheng is fine.”

 

Cheng Zeyi hadn’t expected Mu Yao to interrupt. There was a flash of surprise and helplessness in his eyes, followed by a bitter smile.

 

“Teacher Cheng, we’ve arrived at the dyehouse. Next, we’ll have to fight for those boat tickets.”

 

As they spoke, they had reached the entrance of the dyehouse. Bi Tu, acting as the master dyer, lightly knocked on the main door.

 

“Hello, we are here to do the task in exchange for cruise vouchers.”

 

Inside the dyehouse, wooden racks were placed in the first-floor hall. Multi-meter-long dyed fabrics hung from the racks—vibrant colors looking like rainbow ‘waterfalls’ or ‘rivers’ drifting with the wind.

 

In a corner on the other side of the hall sat some used dye vats and wooden buckets, with the floor stained by mottled traces of dye.

 

The smell inside the dyehouse was very special: a strange plant fragrance, the honey-sweet scent of beeswax, and the unique, slightly sour smell from the fermenting dye vats.

 

“You must be the ones here to help make the Mountain God dyed fabric. Come, follow me.”

 

A man walked out from inside the dyehouse. He wore a dirty cowhide apron covered in old dye stains, forming a sharp contrast with the clean clothes Bi Tu was wearing.

 

He gave a simple wave and turned to walk further into the dyehouse. The group exchanged glances and quickly followed.

 

The guide led them to the work area, which was divided into four zones: the wax-drawing area, the dye vat area, the dewaxing area, and the drying area.

 

Naturally, these four areas were highly professional and not something the show’s guests could join randomly. The dyehouse had specially carved out a small work area for them. Here, they would be alone without outside interference, and they wouldn’t obstruct the work of the regular laborers.

 

The guests looked at the various tools in the small work area with varying expressions.

 

Qu Fu glanced at Bi Tu with a theatrical smile; she could finally relax and watch Bi Tu struggle.

 

Bi Tu rubbed his temples. He felt a massive headache coming on, but the smile on his face didn’t fade for a second.

 

Kong Yanfei was curious about everything, but she rubbed her nose when passing the dye vats; she didn’t like the sour smell.

 

Cheng Zeyi wore a gentle smile, looking thoughtful.

 

Mu Yao remained expressionless as usual. He looked left and right, first checking the surroundings for any lurking dangers. Only after sensing that the area was safe did he relax slightly.

 

The guide led them to a long table in the small work area. He picked up an envelope and handed it to Bi Tu. He was evidently a straightforward person who didn’t care for theatrics, giving them the task card immediately.

 

Bi Tu took the task card, and the group crowded around to read it.

 

“Congratulations to all guests for arriving at the dyehouse to participate in the production of the Mountain God dyed fabric. For this task, the Master Dyer must participate in the dyeing stage; other stages may be completed by other guests. Successfully completing the task to produce the ‘Mountain God Color’ fabric will earn you five cruise vouchers and a portion of ingredients for today’s lunch. We hope all guests work hard~”

 

As they read the text on the task card, everyone’s eyes slowly widened.

 

“Wait, didn’t the task this morning say only cruise tickets? Why are there lunch ingredients too?!”

 

The smile on the face of Bi Tu—the core of the task—cracked. He looked toward the camera in disbelief, his shock plain to see.

 

“So that means our lunch is closely tied to our success today!”

 

Cheng Zeyi rubbed his chin, a distressed expression appearing on his face, looking as though he had no choice but to work hard for the sake of his stomach.

 

As soon as he spoke, Bi Tu flinched. He swallowed and gave a dry laugh.

 

“Production crew, did you write the task card wrong?”

 

“There are no mistakes. This morning we only told the guests the main objective. As for the ingredients, they can be a reward or a punishment!”

 

The staff’s voice-over came through. Everyone looked at Bi Tu. This veteran senior suddenly felt a lot of pressure, but no matter how great the pressure, his smile couldn’t falter.

 

“Haha, it’s fine. It’s just dyeing fabric. I’ll learn it in no time. I’ve eaten more salt than you’ve eaten rice; this is nothing!”

 

He thumped his chest, but his gaze swept across the other guests one by one. The subtext was clear.

 

Yeah, I’ll learn it in no time—but I might also ‘un-learn’ it just as fast. If I fail, we’ll have nowhere to get our food.

 

Mu Yao listened silently, mentally finishing Bi Tu’s sentence.

 

“Teacher Bi, don’t worry. You have us. Just focus on learning the dyeing part.”

 

Cheng Zeyi didn’t let Bi Tu’s words hang; he responded with a smile.

 

Qu Fu uncharacteristically didn’t take the chance to mock Bi Tu. Instead, she pointed at the task card and asked:

 

“The Master Dyer participates in the dyeing phase. Could you tell us what the other phases are so we can distribute the tasks?”

 

“Let me introduce the production process of the Mountain God Color fabric to you all. Our dyeing crafts are mainly divided into batik and bright-cloth production. Each category is handmade and involves complex processes. The Mountain God Color fabric to be made today primarily uses the batik process.”

 

The guide began his explanation in the small work area.

 

Batik primarily uses beeswax as a dye-resist. Patterns are created through a process of drawing designs, immersion dyeing, and dewaxing.

 

Step One: The fabric needs to be pre-treated. The dyehouse has already prepared this in advance, so the guests don’t need to handle it.

 

Step Two: Pattern drawing, also known as “wax-dotting.” This is a crucial step in creating the patterns. Beeswax is placed in a ceramic bowl and heated over charcoal to about 60°C until it melts into a liquid state. The temperature must be maintained to prevent the wax from solidifying. A special wax knife is dipped into the liquid wax to draw designs directly on the cloth.

 

Highly skilled masters can draw traditional patterns like spirals and bird feathers freehand without a draft, creating exceptionally smooth and precise lines. However, considering the guests are trying this for the first time, drafts have already been drawn on the fabric.

 

To show respect to the Mountain God, the patterns on the fabric consist of stepped, overlapping triangles representing continuous mountain ranges. Between these triangles are sawtooth and double-vortex patterns, representing dangerous peaks and the medicinal herbs bestowed by the Mountain God.

 

The guide explained these patterns in great detail, his tone deeply reverent. Sensing his respect, the guests’ expressions grew serious as they listened intently.

 

Step Three: Immersion dyeing and oxidation. The waxed cloth is placed into the dye vat. For this task, the fabric needs to be dyed indigo. Normally, authentic Mountain God Color fabric requires five to six days of repeated dyeing and oxidation to deepen the color layer by layer. For the purpose of the task, it only needs to be repeated once.

 

Step Four: Dewaxing and finishing. The dyed fabric is washed in cold water, then boiled in hot water to remove the beeswax. The beeswax can be recycled. Once the wax is removed, blue-and-white patterns appear, showing beautiful natural “ice cracks.”

 

The Final Step: Placing the fabric into a wooden roller for pressing, which makes the texture of the fabric soft and lustrous.

 

After the guide finished, everyone had a preliminary understanding of the craft. The most important immersion dyeing phase was already assigned to Bi Tu. The remaining four steps—melting wax, drawing wax, boiling wax, and pressing—needed to be distributed among the other guests.

 

“I can’t draw. I’ll be responsible for melting the wax.”

 

Qu Fu looked at the tools. Considering that using charcoal was somewhat dangerous and unsuitable for Kong Yanfei, she took the initiative to propose this.

 

“I can’t draw either. Should I boil the wax then?”

 

Kong Yanfei pointed to herself, speaking uncertainly. Although the hot water was also dangerous, she felt pressing would be harder for her because it required strength. Her strength definitely wouldn’t be as great as Mu Yao’s or Cheng Zeyi’s.

 

“Xiao Yao, what about you? Which one will you choose?”

 

Cheng Zeyi didn’t choose immediately but asked Mu Yao first.

 

Mu Yao looked at the remaining steps of drawing wax and pressing. He preferred pressing; after all, it looked simple—all you had to do was use force. But he immediately remembered that his current gender required camouflage. A girl who could effortlessly press fabric would surely be suspected by Cheng Zeyi. He couldn’t choose pressing.

 

“I’ll choose drawing wax. My hand is fairly steady, and I’ve dabbled in drawing before.”

 

If taking sketch classes as a kid counts as ‘dabbling in drawing.’ Mu Yao murmured to himself, finalizing his choice.

 

“Alright then! I’ll take the pressing. Without further ado, for our cruise tickets and lunch, let’s get moving!”

 

Cheng Zeyi took a deep breath and began to rally the group. Everyone started rolling up their sleeves, working hard for those cruise vouchers and ingredients.